HILLIARD DAVIDSON WILDCATS VS DUBLIN SCIOTO IRISH

OUR QUEST........CONTINUES


IRISH FANS............

"Just one look...that's all it took!"

This is a line from the 1978 Linda Ronstadt song, Just One Look.

Another song, pertinent to thewebguy's game article is by Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders released in 1979, .... So Special (Brass In Pocket).

A line from this song goes like this: ..."Cause I'm gonna make you see there's nobody else here no one like me....I gotta have some of your attention...."

thewebguy saw it in every players eyes during warm ups. It was not nerves, it was not fear, it was a focus of what was ahead for them. The players knew what they had to do to become part of Dublin Scioto High School athletic history!

The Wildcats of Hilliard Davidson attempted to focus on stopping Austin O'Connell and Kevin Lolli that they forgot that the IRISH had other players like Michael "Mr. Intensity" Eubank, Ben "The Calm Force" Ashwill, Spenser "Iceman" Mooney and Kelly "Special K" Winter that make up this Special Team from Dublin, Ohio.

20 wins and 1 loss.........looks good on paper, looks good in the minds of every player......you will cherish this the rest of your lives!

Lets talk basketball.....................


Varsity Game - Hilliard Davidson vs Dublin Scioto


One of the few times that thewebguy's thoughts about how to play a team came to pass.

He did not believe that the IRISH could win this game playing a zone defense against the Wildcats. Drobnick, Goodwin and Harvey are very good three point shooters. If the shot was there, these young men could bring heartbreak to any team!

Coach Bisutti had the Green & White start out in a man to man defense that created numerous turnovers in the first quarter.

On offense, the IRISH went down underneath. Kevin Lolli was fouled on a lay up attempt and he sank two shots from the charity stripe that gave the IRISH a 2-0 lead that they would only lose temporarily in the first quarter. It was the first of a long tough night under the boards that Kevin met the challenge for the IRISH!

Kelly Winter saw how Kevin was working under the basket and decided to drive underneath. He too was fouled and drained two freebies as the IRISH and the Wildcats traded baskets.

The Wildcats got a three point basket from Grant Goodwin that gave Hilliard a short lived 5-4 lead. Kelly, Kevin and Austin O'Connell hit on shots resulting from Wildcat turnovers and THE IRISH took a five point lead, 10-5 at the end of the first quarter.

The Wildcats came into the game with a record of 10 wins and 10 losses. A five hundred team is not supposed to be able to keep up with a 19-1 team. So much for what is on paper!

Coach Logsdon made some adjustments in-between quarters and the Wildcats came out at the beginning of the second quarter to outscore the Green & White 6-0 in the first three minutes.

The IRISH and Kelly Winter had seen enough!

Jerry Reed sang a song, When Your Hot, You're Hot! Kelly Winter was every bit hot in the second and third quarters for the IRISH!

Special K proved that if the Wildcats were attempting to keep Lolli and O'Connell from beating them, he would take things into his own hands.

Kelly opened the IRISH scoring with a huge 3 pointer from the top of the key and the IRISH were rolling. Kelly scored two more baskets to account for all 7 points of the IRISH scoring in the second quarter.

The IRISH had a scary moment when their number one defensive player, Michael Eubank slipped and fell to the floor. The referee stopped play and escorted Michael to the sideline with a gash over his left eye.

The Green and White continued to play good basketball and left the court with a 17-15 half time lead! thewebguy expected a low scoring affair with a lot of physical play from both teams. This was proving out to be a very good basketball game!

thewebguy has talked before about half-time adjustments, he was not concerned about making any huge adjustments. Rather, he was concerned about how "hot" would the IRISH remain on offense and could they contain a "potent" three point shooting squad!

The "team" came up big in the third quarter. Every player contributed within his role.

Kelly, maintained his "hot" hand. As Chrissie Hynde sang in her song, ....Gonna use my arms, Gonna use my legs, Gonna use my style....

Special K hit another 7 points for the IRISH, two baskets on driving lay ups and another 3 pointer!

Kevin Lolli and Austin O'Connell had been bottled up in the first two quarters scoring 6 points between them. Lolli, went to the basket in the third quarter. He was fouled three times and hit 4 of 6 foul shot attempts.

There were three other big baskets in this quarter. The first of these was a three point basket by Ben Ashwill. It maintained a five point lead the IRISH had built mid-way through the third quarter.

The second big basket involved three players. Austin O'Connell rebounded a missed shot and fired an outlet pass to Michael Eubank. Michael went up for a lay up and was pushed to the floor by a Hilliard player. Michael was in pain already, due to his stitches he received in the second quarter. The referee called an intentional foul. Michael was unable to shoot the foul shots.

In came senior, Spenser "Iceman" Mooney who stepped to the line and sank both shots to increase the IRISH lead to 7 points.

The third basket was sandwiched in between two foul shots by Austin O'Connell and a Wildcat turnover. Blair Gorniak, filling in for Michael Eubank, picked up a critical offensive rebound and dropped it in for two points. The IRISH now had a 37-27 lead at the end of the third quarter.

IRISH fans, if you remember anything about IRISH basketball, last year in the district semi-finals against the Hilliard Wildcats, the Green & White held a nine point lead starting the fourth quarter. The Wildcats hit several 3 point shots off of turnovers and the rest was history!

Just one look, that's all it took......" these seniors maintained their composure and their focus upon their quest!

Michael Eubank got the IRISH on the scoreboard with a driving reverse lay up going right to left. A tough shot for a right handed player!

The Wildcats had a look of desperation in their eyes but did not quit. The IRISH defensive pressure started to take it's toll as the IRISH got several easy baskets getting the ball up court to Lolli and O'Connell!.

Kevin led the IRISH in the fourth quarter with 6 points. thewebguy is very interested in looking at "assist" statistics. Between Austin, Michael and Ben the assists were very high. It demonstrated a lot of unselfish playing by the IRISH!

This was a special game for the IRISH! The crowd was fantastic! Spenser Mooney had an uncle from Michigan come down and watch him play; Kevin had his grandmother from Minster, Ohio visit; Austin O'Connell had relatives from Dayton, Ohio as well as his grand parents and other family friends attend. Kelly Winter had his grandmother in the house to watch his best night as an IRISH!

thewebguy has to mention that in the audience were several former players from the 2001 team who had owned the best record in IRISH Boys Basketball history! Joe Duzan and Michael Fiebig were present for this big win.

There were parents of former players who do not have teenagers attending Dublin Scioto anymore! There were football and lacrosse parents present! The IRISH are blessed with a large FAMILY!

Oh yes,.............the 'ZUTTI ZONE was there standing right behind the Dublin bench the entire game!

The final score was Dublin Scioto 52 and Hilliard Davidson 40.

The IRISH were led by Kelly Winter with 22 points; Kevin Lolli followed with 14 points; Austin O'Connell had 6 points. Ben Ashwill and Spenser Mooney scored 3 points each. Michael Eubank and Blair Gorniak scored 2 points each.

The IRISH are 20 and 1 overall and 10-0 in the OCC - Capital Division. CHAMPIONS OF THE OCC-CAPITAL DIVSION!

Dublin Scioto will return to tournament play on Saturday, March 3, 2007. The Green & White will play Upper Arlington (16-5) at the Fairgrounds Columbus Coliseum. Game time is 11:45 AM


GO IRISH!

.......your quest continues.......