2011 Week 2 Preview - Orrville Red Riders at Triway Titans

Who: Orrville Red Riders (1-0) vs. Triway Titans (0-1)
Where: Titans Stadium
When: Friday September 2, 2011

All Time Series: Orrville leads 33-6 (detail here)
Last Meeting: Week 11, 2010 OHSAA Playoffs (Orrville won 27-25)
Last Week: Orrville beat Northwest 41-27, Triway lost to West Holmes 20-7.
Coaches: Doug Davault is 43-18 in his 6th year as Orrville coach, Tony Lee is 16-7 in his 3rd season as Triway coach.

It's the 40th matchup between the Riders and Titans, and the 3rd time these teams have met in the past 15 weeks of football.  Two programs that are very familiar with each other, and will look to add another classic chapter to this local rivalry.

Monheim Back on Ohio State Radar?

The recruiting news on Orrville senior LB/RB Mason Monheim took an interesting twist a few weeks ago and it seems now that the Ohio State Buckeyes are back in the picture.

After an impressive showing at Ohio State's camp over the summer (Mason was named one of the camp's MVP's), the thought was that Mason may get an offer from the Buckeyes, but an offer went to another Ohio LB instead, leaving a coveted Buckeye offer a question mark for the foreseeable future for the Red Rider standout.

It was thought that he would look to commit to Illinois (his first offer) before the season began, but a call to Ohio State has put that commitment to Illinois on hold for now.

Orrville Football: Thoughts after Week 1

Not going to dive too deep into analysis. A win is a win. And in week 1, all I could have asked for is a win, so it should end there.

But some observations from a convincingly, if at times, sloppy 41-27 win over Northwest.

Pic at right courtesy of Rod Dilyard Photography.  A complete gallery from the game can be found here.  Thanks to Rod for again providing this service.

2011 Week 1 Preview - Northwest Indians @ Orrville Red Riders

Who: Orrville Red Riders (0-0) vs. Northwest Indians (0-0)
Where: Red Rider Stadium - Orrville, OH
When: Friday August 26th, 7pm
Coaches: Doug Davault (42-18 in 5 seasons at Orrville) & Vic Whiting (99-40 in 13 seasons at Northwest -- 193-68 over 23 seasons)
Radio/TV: Updates on 104.5 WQKT
All Time Series: Orrville leads 20-7 (Click Here for Series Detail)
Last Meeting: 2010 (Orrville won 24-22)

Orrville Football: 2011 Season Preview

Here is my season preview football article that will also appear in this Friday's (8/26) OrrViews. I know a lot of my readers are out of the area, so I figured I'd post it here to reach those not in or around Orrville.

Enjoy.  Oh, here's a roster, schedule and a Region 13 map for your reference.

Now enjoy....

Pictures and Video from Louisville Scrimmage

Courtesy of LouisvilleLeopards.org, a fan site run by Leopard fan Jared Heller, here is a link to pictures and video from last night's scrimmage at Orrville.

http://bit.ly/qE47ut

Really nice job by Jared....and very kind words about his experience at Orrville.

I liked what I saw in the scrimmage from the Red Riders. I like to think that our young line will only get better as the season progresses and that should help our run game.

The games count for real in less than a week. Hope to see a full stadium for the Northwest game. Come out and see the new lights, the new scoreboard and hopefully, a Red Rider win.

Check back mid-week for my season preview as well as a game preview.

It's almost here....Go Riders!!

(PS...special thanks to Jared, or the person who snaps pictures for him, for capturing probably the last evening of action that our old scoreboard will ever see.)

New Lights Poles Installed at Red Rider Stadium

I live for this kind of stuff, in case you hadn't figured it out by now.

Another renovation is taking shape at Red Rider Stadium which seems to be a yearly thing anymore (new bleachers, new track records board, new turf in place of the asphalt on the sidelines, a new scoreboard on the way, brand new field turf).

OK, that last one hasn't happened...yet. But it is nice to see continuous upgrades. The stadium is on the wrong side of 50 years old and upkeep it vital to keeping it looking good.

The latest improvement in process right now is the install of new aluminum light poles and the removal of the old aging wooden ones. Along with it are new light sets which will eliminate dark areas of the field. The project of adding new light poles came in under budget so it was decided to add new light fixtures as well.

I guess a local official once said that our field was one of the poorest lit fields in the area. This project should eliminate that issue.

Let's take a look some photos.....

Updated Scoreboard Rendering with Local Advertisers

Here's an updated version of the scoreboard rendering I first posted here back in June. What's new in this version is that it features 10 local businesses who have stepped up and pledged their financial support in the way of purchasing advertising panels.

Thanks to Maibach Ford, Orrville Veterinary Clinic and Orrville Pet Spa & Resort, First National Bank, Kropf, Wagner, & VanSickle Law Office, Sue Ann Werntz - Howard Hanna Realty, Quality Castings, Pack Ship USA, Smith Dairy, Dunlap Community Hospital and Justin Haislip - State Farm Insurance.

Obviously, along with the 10 sponsors, the community owes a tremendous thanks to the anonymous donor who made this scoreboard a reality. Paired with the support of the Orrville business community, this project will provide a continuing source of revenue to the athletic department for years to come.

Many more local businesses than these 10 give their time and support...and they deserve thanks as well for helping in continuing the athletic endeavors of Orrville High School.

According to AD Kent Smith, the scoreboard will sit 10 feet off the ground and will be 20'+ tall. Once assembled, the entire structure will be nearly 30' off the ground.

Other features will include a 4-foot lighted 'Red Riders' on the top, a 6-foot LED Message Center with the ability to run graphics, pictures, announcements and a play clock.

The scoreboard won't actually ship until later this month and will arrive the week of the first home game versus Northwest, but assurances have been given that the install will happen and it will be ready for week 1.

Exciting times.

Get your Orrville Football Spirit Wear....

Thought I'd pass this along for anyone wanting some new gear before the start of another football season (which is coming real soon).

The All-Sports Booster Club will be partnering with Expert T's of Orrville for the sale of Red Rider merchandise at home football games this year. I think it's a great marriage and let's each organization stick to what they know best.

Check out the flyer/order form with the main design for the upcoming football season.

Red Rider Playoffs: 1994 (Part 1)

Back at it....hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Football season is right around the corner, and it's time to knock the rust off this site. What better way to get back in the groove than to dust off the Red Rider Football Playoff History series?

Next up on the docket, the 1994 playoff run.  This one was fun...and it just happened to be my senior year, so the memories run thick and deep.  Get ready for tons of minutiae.