Heading into the 2010-11 season no one thought the Clearview Clippers would be a good team.

The Clippers had dominated the Patriot Athletic Conference the last few years and won the Westlake Division II championship, but they were led by the trio of Tony Williams, Anthony Hitchens and Kyle Baughman.

Those guys were replaced by players like Jacob Senquiz, DeShawn Carter, Anthony Fears and R.J. Pressutto.

They might not be household names, but somehow Clearview coach John Szalay has this year's team in a familiar place - first place in the PAC - Stripes Division.

The Clippers last loss came to Elyria in non-conferene play on Jan. 18. Since then, Clearview has won three in row. They are 8-5 overall, and lead the PAC by two games over Lutheran West and Oberlin with a 7-1 record.

The team has 13 seniors listed on the roster, but many of these guys are getting their first opportunity to play extensive minutes on the varsity level.

The Clippers control their own destiny to win another PAC title, but they still have games left against Lutheran West and Oberlin (regular season finale).

Friday night Ronnie Willoughby wanted to play well on his mother's birthday against Olmsted Falls, and boy did he.

In the Shoremen's 94-54 blowout over the Bulldogs, Willoughby scored a career-high and school-record 46 points. He made 17 field goals, including five 3-pointers. He also made seven free throws.

The 46 points is also the high in Lorain County this season, two more than Open Door's Abe Valentine, who scored 44 against Brookside last week.

Avon Lake is now 9-0 and 5-0 in the Southwestern Conference.


Avon 89, Firelands 38: The Eagles made short work of the Falcons jumping out to a 48-13 lead at halftime.

Claude Gray led the Eagles with 19 points.

The Eagles are now 8-2 and have a huge game at Avon Lake on Tuesday.

Oberlin 74, Brookside 60: The Phoenix continued their season of redemption as they built a big first lead and held on for the victory.

The Phoenix have already doubled their win total from last season (3) and are 4-1 in the Patriot Athletic Conference - Stripes Division.

Clearview 47, Keystone 42: The Clippers up-and-down continue as they came away with a big home victory.


Jacob Senquiz led the Clippers with 11 points, as Clearview improved to 5-4 overall and 4-1 in the PAC.

Medina 53, Elyria 42: The Pioneers couldn't overcome a six-point first quarter, as the Battling Bees led from start to finish.

After starting the season 7-1, the Pioneers have now lost two in a row and drop to 1-3 in the Northeast Ohio Conference - Valley Division.

Elyria is in the middle of a stretch where they play six of seven games on the road and the young Pioneers are struggling so far.

They'll look to bounce back against Clearview on Tuesday.

North Ridgeville 50, Vermilion 38: Danny Montgomery scored 29 points as the Rangers improved to 5-5 and 3-3 in the West Shore Conference.

The 2010 football season is officially underway, which means teams all over the state have started two-a-days.
On Monday, I made stops at a couple of camps to see how the football players at Lorain High and Clearview felt about getting back on the gridiron.
My first stop was at George Daniel Field, where I spoke Lorain High Titan seniors Tevvin Jones and Amon Willis about coach Todd Auvil's three-a-days.
Jones, who plays running back and corner back, said he made sure.
"I was used to doing two-a-days, so this whole new three-a-days thing is new to me," Jones said. "We get breaks, so it's not that bad."
Jones said he trys to stay activate and hydrated during the team's break.
Willis, who plays defensive end, said he thinks having three-a-days will be good for the team. Willis added that the workouts are going to get tougher, but said he's ready for it.
"It's all a mental thing," Willis said. "You can't let the heat get to your head. If your mind stays strong then you'll stay strong."
My next stop was to Tom Hoch Field in Sheffield Township, where I talked to Clearview Clipper seniors Cody Kaya, Davon Daniels and Tyler Mielcarek.
Kaya, who plays linebacker, said he liked what he saw from the team on the first day.
"Our team is looking pretty good, we're all a little tired but we'll get into shape," Kaya said. "It's fun to look forward to this because football officially starts today."
Daniels, who plans to compete for the quarterback position and play linebacker, said he felt pretty good after the team's first two-a-day.
"I don't think there anything really difficult for me," Daniels said. "I love it, so I don't sweat anything.
"I just don't want to over-sleep and show up late because coach Collier will run me."

ROCKY RIVER - The Clearview Clippers used a two-out rally in the top of the fifth inning on Wednesday to beat Lutheran West 8-7.

The win clinched the Clippers (16-8, 10-2) first-ever Patriot Athletic Conference - Stripes Division title.

It also adds to the accomplishments from the boys athletic program.

The Clippers made it a clean sweep in the major sports for the 2009-10 season.

They won the PAC title in football, basketball and now baseball.

That's a pretty impressive accomplishment for any school at any level of competition. So congratulations to all the players and coaches at Clearview High School.

They should be proud of themselves, and their fans should be very proud of them too.

WESTLAKE - Everyone knows about Anthony Hitchens skills on the football field, but Saturday night against Bay in the Division II Westlake District Final he let his skills on the hardwood do the talking.

Hitchens led the Clippers with 21 points, but it was his play in the first half that proved to be the difference.

He scored 10 points in the first quarter when the team struggled and only scored three points as the Clippers led 13-12.

Hitchens scored in a variety of ways. He hit jumpers, got offensive rebounds and putbacks and scored on layups.

"Most teams try to slack off on me and try to force me to be a jump shooter," Hitchens said. "I've worked on my shot during the summer because I didn't have one last season.

"If teams are going to slack off on me I'm going to keep taking that shot. Coach (John) Szalay has faith in me and I have faith in myself and I'm going to keep taking that shot."

Szalay said the team really fed off of Hitchens and that carried over to the second quarter, where the Clippers outscored the Rockets 17-3 and took a 30-15 at halftime.

"He stepped up and we followed his lead," said Szalay about Hitchens play in the first quarter.

Bay coach Jason Frolo said his team just didn't have an answer for Hitchens.

"We told our guys to give him a little bit of a cushion, because he loves to attack the hoop and knows how to finish strong," Frolo said. "He hit two mid-range jumpers which were big for him."

The Clippers went on to defeat Bay 61-29 and advance to the Region 6 semifinal against Celina, at Bowling Green State University, on March, 18.

WESTLAKE - Anthony Hitchens scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Clearview Clippers to the Division II Westlake District Final with a 76-59 victory against the Vermilion Sailors on Thursday night.

Nick Farley scored a team-high 24 points for Vermilion, but the Sailors could not keep up with the athleticism of the Clippers. The Clippers led 36-25 at halftime and outscored the Sailors in every quarter.

The Clippers improve to 20-2 and will now face top-seeded Bay on Saturday, March 13, at 7 p.m.

The Clippers had not won a tournament game since the 2006 season when they were still in Division III.

The win also snapped the Sailors eight-game winnning streak at Westlake High School. Vermilion had won the Westlake District the past two seasons. The Clippers also got revenge on the Sailors, who defeated them at home earlier this season.

Although they lost, a lot could be said about what the Sailors were able to accomplish this season.

Farley was the only returning player from last year's team that made it to the regional final, and they finished the season at 14-9.

The Clippers, who won the Patriot Athletic Conference title, face-off with the Bay Rockets, who were the West Shore Conference champs.

The game should be very entertaining, as both teams have a number of players who can score the basketball.