Hi. My name is Curt and I’m new here. In fact, we’re all new to the Delaware County market, but we can’t wait to introduce ourselves and tell your stories.
That process begins Friday night.
For the past 30 years I’ve reported on high school sports in north central Ohio.
I covered LeBron James when he was a gangly freshman at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary. James and the Fighting Irish were in Ashland County for a holiday tournament and Keith Dambrot, who had coached at Ashland University and was the coach at SVSM at the time, told me he’d never seen a more talented freshman.
I interviewed Lexington High School product Cade Stover for the first time when he was a sophomore. Stover won Mr. Football in 2018 and is in his second year with the Houston Texans after starring at Ohio State.
I’ve covered pro baseball players and pro soccer players before they were household names.
That’s the best part of this job. It brings me back year after year.
The high school football state semifinals are Friday and two Delaware County schools, Olentangy Orange and Big Walnut, are still alive.
The Pioneers (13-0) won the Region 3 title last week and will take on Cleveland-area heavyweight Lakewood St. Edward in a Division I semifinal at Mansfield’s Arlin Field. Mansfield is the headquarters of Source Media and iconic Arlin Field is just down the street from our office.
Meanwhile, Big Walnut (12-1) will battle Cincinnati Anderson in the Division II state semifinals for a second straight year. The Golden Eagles beat Massillon 27-21 last week to win the Region 7 title.
I’ll be at Historic Crew Stadium on Friday to chronicle Big Walnut. I’m told I need to see junior running back Nolan Buirley play. I can’t wait.
We’ll have coverage from Orange’s game against St. Ed’s at Arlin Field, too.
So check back Saturday morning for complete game coverage. And with any luck, we’ll be following the Pioneers and Golden Eagles next week at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, site of the state championship games.
