February 29th News

By Shaun Spence

February 29, 2008, 7:35AM

Shaun Spence - ohioHSsports.com

Check back each and every weekday for the top prep headlines from across the state. Here are a list of summaries from some of the major stories around Ohio for Friday, February 29th:

Boys Basketball: State-Ranked Warren Harding Knocks off Upset-Minded Bedford

There are 16 Division I districts across the state of Ohio. None have the fire power of the district at Warrensville Heights. Last night in a district semifinal matchup, top-seeded Warren Harding held off Bedford, 65-59. The Raiders found themselves trailing 59-52 late in the game before rallying for a 13-0 run to put away the Bearcats. Bedford (16-7) played incredibly tough against the state's No. 6 team despite playing without their leading scorer and point guard, Randal Holt. Junior guards Desmar Jackson (22) and Sheldon Brogdon (18) led the Raiders in scoring. Warren Harding will play Cleveland Heights, a team who upset state-ranked Garfield Heights in the other semifinal, in the final at 1:00 at Warrensville Heights High School. The Vindicator

Boys Basketball: North College Hill Keeps Streak Going

Four year starter Damon Butler has seen a lot during his time at North College Hill. He has played alongside current USC freshman and future NBA lottery pick OJ Mayo as well as the talented Kansas State sophomore Bill Walker. Butler started his 25th tournament game in a district final against Arcanum last night at Dayton. With a 62-48 win, Butler and the Trojans are now 25-0 in tournament play over the last four seasons. North College Hill won their fourth consecutive district title and are also looking for their fourth consecutive state title. The Trojans, ranked No. 11 in the final state poll, will take on Anna (the No. 2 team in Division III) in a regional semifinal on March 5th. The Cincinnati Enquirer

Boys Basketball: Toledo Whitmer and St. John's Jesuit Advance to Final

The Toledo City Series is the toughest conference in Northwest Ohio. Whitmer and St. John's Jesuit are two of the reasons why. Luckily for the Panthers and Titans, City Series champion Libbey (led by all-everything William Buford) is in Division II. Without Libbey or Buford to spoil their success, both teams were victorious last night in district semifinal games at Savage Hall at the University of Toledo. St. John's defeated Sylvania Southview, 67-50, and Whitmer was victorious over City Series foe Waite, 69-61. St. John's was led by their backcourt (which includes a freshman, sophomore, and junior) combining for 44 points. Purdue basketball recruit Ryne Smith (19 points) and Michigan football recruit Kevin Koger (20 points) helped Whitmer advance to the district final at Savage Hall on Saturday. The Toledo Blade

Wrestling: St. Paris Graham Dominates First Day

The nation's No. 1 ranked wrestling team wasn't expected to have much trouble at the Division II state tournament this weekend. After one day of preliminary matches, it was evident the Eagles are on their way to a memorable weekend in Columbus. St. Paris Graham advanced 11 of their 13 wrestlers to the quarterfinals on Friday. The only major shocker for Graham was when projected state champion Brian Stephens was eliminated. In Division III, Troy Christian (last year's state champion) is off to a good start as they are just behind Marion Pleasant in the overall team lead. The DIII Eagles advanced eight of their nine wrestlers to the quarterfinals while Marion Pleasant advanced ten. These two teams finished at the top two positions of last year's state tournament and both should again be at the top when all is said and done on Saturday. Dayton Daily News

Don't see news from your area of the state? Post a comment below with your local paper's web address and we'll feature your prep coverage throughout the week.