MSL Cardinal/New Hope/Central District D4

[formerfcfan]

Finals 12/15
HP 115, FCA 37
FC 52, BU 39
BR 57, MP 36
Wellington 82, GCC 50

[Chieftain2009]

Finals 12/15
HP 115, FCA 37

Wow! I knew FCA was way, way down, but I didn't know by that much.

[formerfcfan]

Finals 12/15
HP 115, FCA 37

Wow! I knew FCA was way, way down, but I didn't know by that much.

I remember reffing the boys and girls that graduate in 2019 and 2020 for FCA when they were fourth and fifth graders at the biddy league that ran at Fisher.

The girls program has been pretty well-stocked for quite some time, and it has had direct involvement from Coach Bethel (varsity coach for quite some time that also coached multiple classes and squads of the girls biddy and MS teams) and Carpenter. It’s really not going to shock me to see FCA win the girls table for the 20th straight time in 2020. The boys on the other hand have always had lean numbers between the two classes. They’ve always had to play as a combined team because the split had been something to the effect of only four boys in the 2020 and three boys in the 2021 classes playing hoops.

I think FCA is just in a huge rut when it comes to its boys athletics. Just not enough “Jimmy’s and Joe’s.” I always wondered what was going to happen when the well of Brakes, Carpenters, Stevens’s, Deweses, Collins’s, etc dried up. You look at these names, and all of them either put multiple boys through the program or they put a boy and a girl through both programs... sort of like the “founding families” of varsity MSL basketball for FCA. All put out talented, dedicated “gym rats.” Now the younger Conley is at FU (although those boys are Lancaster city products via General Sherman JH) and the younger brother of the 6’7” kid from a few years ago apparently doesn’t play anymore. The girls still have a good collection of talent between families still there (see: the Custers.)

[formerfcfan]

Finals12/19
HP 95 BU 40
Wellington 90 MP 48
FC 66 BR 44

and... in what I am pegging as “UPSET OF THE YEAR” so far...

FCA 66 GCC 64, @ “The Nest”.


Standings
t1. FC (3-0)
t1. HP (3-0)
3. Wellington (2-1)
t4. Rosecrans (1-2)
t4. GCC (1-2)
t4. FCA (1-2)
8. Millersport (0-3)

[danicalifornia]

New Hope 74
Westfall 41

WKKJ had it reversed and I was shocked.

[Snowman]

Haha yeah if New Hope lost by 33 to Westfall that would be quite the surprise.

I'll agree formerfcfan, that's definitely the upset up the year so far with FCA winning at GCC. Heck, FCA only won by 4 against Granville Christian, one of bottom teams in the district. What in the world is going on in D4 this year?

It's way too early to think tournament, but nobody is really rising the top spots in D4 for the Central District yet. Is anyone going to run out and grab the top seed? I thought it would be GCC but maybe not. FC looks pretty good but are they #1 seed good? And having to face Wellington and HP twice won't help the record either. Last year Cardington was good but they lost something like 8 seniors and are 1-5. Centerburg was a good D3 school last year but they've struggled so far. Danville maybe but I can't seem to find much on them.

I guess it could be a MOCAL school, but Tree of Life hasn't played anybody, Northside Christian beat Horizon Science (who just beat a solid London team) but also lost to International, and Shekinah I know little about. Patriot Prep doesn't seem great either. It seems like just about anyone could beat anyone.

[formerfcfan]

FCA’s Caleb Collins is leading all Central District scorers, across division, in scoring.

I expect FC, as is common with teams under first year coaches, to wax and wane a little bit during the middle of the season. If they can go 10-4 in the MSL, that’s not a bad season. I think come tourney time, assuming they keep up the good work, that they’re going to be top three seed material.

The Lancaster Eagle-Gazette covered the FC/Rosecrans game last night. Here is the link to the story.

[formerfcfan]

On the District...

I’m not one to disparage nor undermine the MOCAL, but ever since that year where Tree of Life was the #1 seed (2010-2011) because everyone in the MOCAL block voted to prevent HP from holding that seed, only for the Trojans to lose in sectionals to Fisher, I think they lost a huge leg to stand on. I realize that was seven years ago, and probably none of the coaches back then are still around in the MOCAL, but that stood out to me as an example of just dishonest seeding. Nothing indicated that Tree would’ve played within 15 points of HP that year.

It looks like, though, the vote share advantage has swung back to the MOCAL with HP (and now Wellington) moving up. As someone, like you, Snowman, who is familiar with the D4 Central and who always tries to enrich himself with what’s happening across the District: I truly do believe if Fisher 10-0’s the D4 portion of the MSL-Cardinal, they should be seeded higher than the MOCAL champ. If they 9-1 or 8-2 it, then maybe not. The overall records truly shouldn’t matter, but then again coaches generally don’t care enough to do their homework.

We play Madison, Granville and Delaware Christians this year. So at least some MOCAL exposure.

[Snowman]

I had not heard that about the MOCAL actually when Tree was the #1 seed. Like you said I doubt that many coaches are still there from that period and some new schools have been added also, so I doubt that plays a big factor anymore. Actually, I talked with a coach from last year and he said that it was the northern schools (Danville, East Knox, Ridgedale, and Cardington) that voted for each other higher than anywhere else. Ridgedale and East Knox both voted each other 10th (out of 21 I think) even though they each only won 3 games. Collusion lol!

I do agree with you on having FC higher than a MOCAL champ in that scenario. 2 years ago the MOCAL was the worst conference I've ever seen with no significant non-conference wins. It seems to be bouncing back a little with the addition of Shekinah, Tree getting Arndt back for a year, and Northside with all of that height, but since there are no elite teams in the MOCAL I would certainly favor MSL Cardinal teams or the other D4 teams over that conference.

And unfortunately for Fisher, them beating the 3 worst MOCAL teams probably won't help the resume too much. But like you said, it sure seems like coaches don't do their research. Then again, I couldn't find anything on Danville or some other schools online either so maybe coaches should start promoting their teams a little more.

[icanpickem]

Danville has only played 2 games because of a late start due to football team making final 4.

Beat Fredericktown 64-56 (a game they led by 20 in the 4th.)
Beat Cardington 74-42.

Play at centerburg on friday and play home against undefeated northmor on saturday night in rescheduled game.(football)

They are led by Skyler Durbin 6-4 sr. guard who averaged 18 ppg last year and is averaging 26 ppg through 2 games this year.

Other starters:
Tyler Mickley 5-6 sr.
Skyler Moore 5-9 jr.
Trey Fritz 6-1 sr.
Corbin Hazen 6-4 jr.

and rotate 2 guys in off the bench
Dylan James 6-0 jr.
Andrew Walls 5-10 soph.

[Snowman]

Danville has only played 2 games because of a late start due to football team making final 4.

Beat Fredericktown 64-56 (a game they led by 20 in the 4th.)
Beat Cardington 74-42.

Play at centerburg on friday and play home against undefeated northmor on saturday night in rescheduled game.(football)

They are led by Skyler Durbin 6-4 sr. guard who averaged 18 ppg last year and is averaging 26 ppg through 2 games this year.

Other starters:
Tyler Mickley 5-6 sr.
Skyler Moore 5-9 jr.
Trey Fritz 6-1 sr.
Corbin Hazen 6-4 jr.

and rotate 2 guys in off the bench
Dylan James 6-0 jr.
Andrew Walls 5-10 soph.

Thanks for the update! Feel free to jump into the conversation as it seems to be morphing into a central district D4 conversation at times.

I have heard of Durbin but didn’t know much about him other than he can score. Hard to tell after 2 games but I’m sure Danville will be at the top of the seedlings, barring injuries (like most small schools). Especially with a schedule with most games scrunched together, an injury now could really have a big impact.

[formerfcfan]

Wellington 66, Whitehall (D1 now) 55

[formerfcfan]

FC beat Madison Christian pretty badly last night. It was 68-15 after the third quarter. Pretty much a no-win situation for all involved. Thinking that FC will get humbled tomorrow night when they play Wellington, only to bounce back against Millersport Saturday.

[Snowman]

Nice for FC to get that and let everyone see lots of action before a tough one with Wellington. Madison Christian is really bad and was missing their starting PG. Madison's best win came against a now 1-8 Delaware Christian team that was missing their best player, a second starter, and playing most of the second half with 4 players on the court (how that happens when they have a full JV team is beyond me). They also beat a winless Gahanna Christian missing 3 of their 4 best players. Their other wins are against Cristo Rey and non-OHSAA Genoa Christian and Liberty Christian, so that 5-5 record is a bit deceptive. Patriot is 1-8 and beat them easily too. That first tournament game count be rough. Not to dig on Madison Christian, it's just that I see them a decent amount and know that they aren't in the class of any MSL teams.

Gahanna Christian (missing their best player though that wouldn't really matter much) got hammered by Grove City Christian. Delaware Christian got beat by double digits to Danville. Bottom of the MOCAL is certainly among the bottom seeds in the district. Still, good wins from the MSL Cardinal to get out-of-conference victories.

[Snowman]

First AP polls came out and it’s certainly a bit of a joke at this point, but BU comes in at #6. Any input on whether that’s realistic or not? Tree of Life is #7 and they had a game where they were down 5-0 after the first quarter to Granville Christian, who was missing their only good player, so I’m not sure how much stock we can put in it yet. Shekinah comes in at #15 and Fisher is no where to be seen, which I think is kinda ridiculous but will correct itself in due time.

In the more accurate Dispatch poll, FC is #1, BU is #2, Danville #3, and Shekinah #4.

In D3 AP poll, HP is #2 behind Bishop Ready. Wellington plays Ready soon and could potentially hop into the top 10 with a win there.

[formerfcfan]

A few thoughts...

1) Berne Union at #6, let alone having a first place vote (what the hell?) is a crime.

2) No one in the Central District, D4 deserves a top ten spot in my opinion; and that includes FC. Maybe Fisher deserves a "receiving votes" designation (maybe?) We still have no idea if Fisher really is "any good." What I do know is they play a pretty sound brand of basketball and are playing as a team better than half of the MSL. I'm a bit anxious about Friday night, when they play GCC. Friday is the eleventh game, it's the twelfth game when the big kid is eligible to play. GCC could very well gut Fisher alive down low with Tomlinson and Sullivan this first time around.

3) BU and Tree of Life probably got the votes they did based on record. Maybe Fisher should've ditched Newark Catholic, Amanda and Crooksville in favor of Genoa Christian, Cristo Rey and Torah Academy. Oh well, anyone remember who was ranked #7 in week 2 of the AP poll from eight years ago? Hoping that Fisher puts together a very solid second half of the season. 10-4 in the MSL will mean something; it may not be very impressive, but hey, this team could've gone 2-12 at the same time! Still lots of hoops to be played; take nothing for granted, Irish!

[formerfcfan]

On the D3 side...

Yeah, Wellington was a notable absent. While the D4 Central District representation is Jim Carrey funny, at least the D3 one is reasonable. That's a tough schedule for a D3 team that is D4 on EMIS alone. Even though the box score says it's a two point win, Wellington was in complete control of Westerville North (who is 8-2 and has wins over New Albany and Olentangy HS.) It may be hard to argue that there's four top ten teams in the state coming from the Central District. And this isn't to undermine Northmor, they're definitely good. I guess it just remains to be seen if they're on par with Ready, HPS and Wellington (all of whom are on fire!) Ready probably deserves to be above HPS just on the basis of their performance thus far in the CCL.

Also notably absent: Africentric.

That D3 in Central District is absolutely STACKED! And that is without the traditional firebrand Worthington Christian being in the top five mix this year.

Grandview Heights is also very solid this year. Jim Lachey's son plays for them; he's a beast.

[Hawks1112]

Would have like to seen that matchup between Bishop Ready and Hannibal River that was cancelled at the Tusky Catholic holiday tournament, there schedule is not the strongest,there 9-0 record only one team with a winning record

[formerfcfan]

69-43 FC over GCC on the road. 43-19 at half; why so bad of a margin? Not usually one to compare scores and draw, but BU only beat GCC by six at home.

[Snowman]

This game is actually on YouTube under GCC's broadcasting setup that they use for a few games each year. I try to check after some ones that I'm interested in. Tomlinson got into foul trouble early and FC was hitting everything. FC definitely looked like a top team in the district while GCC did not look good at all. Horrible shot selection and poor defense. FC dominated every facet of the game and has to be a favorite for a District finalist if they play like that.