Moeller hoops (update), Blan football, SBC musings

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Wilmington High School’s state-ranked showdown with Moeller Saturday night is a big game, no doubt. This has become a nice rivalry, with plenty at stake when the two teams meet. This year is no different.

Moeller is ranked No. 3 in the latest Associated Press Div. I Ohio boys basketball poll while Wilmington is No. 5.

The Hurricane is unbeaten at 13-0 while the Crusaders are 14-1.

And finally, Moeller ended Wilmington’s season last March with a 46-43 win in a Div. I Dayton District championship game at the University of Dayton Arena.

So there’s a lot riding on this game. But it is a regular season game and all basketball teams advance to the post-season. However, the winner of this game will receive plenty of pre-tournament seeding attention.

Extra attention has been brought to this game with Moeller selling tickets Thursday and Friday for the game, WHS athletic director Troy Diels said.

Orange and black fans are antsy about not being able to see their unbeaten Hurricane in action in what may be “The Game of the Century.”

Diels said Moeller athletic director Mike Asbeck was confident “presale would not affect our seating section and the game would not sell out.”

Wilmington fans would have the option, I suspect, of going to Moeller during school hours Thursday and Friday and purchasing tickets for the game.

Asbeck indicated in an email to the News Journal, the presale of tickets to Moeller fans would not infringe on the seating for Wilmington fans.

“Wilmington sections are reserved for Wilmington,” Asbeck wrote. “If anyone wants to purchase tickets before Saturday, they may do so during schools hours at Moeller as has always been the case.”

Asbeck said doors will open for the Saturday night reserve and varsity games at 4:30 p.m. The reserve tipoff is set for 6 p.m. with varsity to follow.

BHS FOOTBALL: Blanchester is down to two candidates for the vacant varsity football head coaching position, according to Supt. Dean Lynch.

Lynch said there were 40 applicants for the position, which opened following the season when Jack O’Rourke resigned.

Eight prospective coaches were interviewed and Lynch said two remain. He hopes to have a recommendation to the Board of Education for the February meeting.

SBC MUSINGS: The new Blanchester football coach won’t have to deal with the Southern Buckeye Athletic & Academic Conference American Division when it comes to football.

The rest of the BHS coaches and athletes will, however.

Lynch said for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years, Blanchester will participate in the SBC in the American Division for all sports but football, where it will continue to compete for National Division honors.

The Wildcats jump to the American Division came as a result of enrollment for grades 10-12 being higher at Blanchester than Bethel-Tate, Lynch said.

That means non-football sports at BHS will compete against Western Brown, New Richmond, Goshen and Batavia for league titles. The National Division would then consist of Bethel-Tate, Clermont Northeastern, Felicity, Williamsburg and Georgetown.

The football alignment would be Blanchester, Fayetteville, Williamsburg, CNE and Bethel-Tate in the National; and Western Brown, New Richmond, Goshen and Batavia in the American.

Norwood and Amelia are leaving the SBC at the end of the 2016-17 school year. Fayetteville will be a member of the SBC for football only.

Mark Huber On The Mark
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/01/web1_Huber.Mark_2.jpgMark Huber On The Mark

Reach Mark Huber at 937-556-5765, or on Twitter @wnjsports.

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