1. There was a rumor that Orrville would be the home team on the scoreboard, but sit on the visitor side grandstands. There's ZERO truth to that. Orrville will sit on the home side and be the home team on the scoreboard. In both games at Medina last year, against Elyria Catholic and against Chagrin Falls, the Riders sat on the visitor side....but this week, they'll sit on the home side. Both sides look familiar, but the home side is the one with the bigger press box....and opposite the main ticket gates.
Here's a Google Maps overhead picture of the stadium...click to view full size.
2. Per the OHS student body, Saturday's game is a "black out." All Orrville fans (not just students) are encouraged to wear black. Bring noisemakers (milk jugs w/ rocks, cowbells...whatever..just be noisy)
3. As far as driving directions...I'd heavily advise against taking Route 57 all the way into Medina. With Norwayne fans likely coming up Route 3, and the fact that Routes 3 and 57 intersect in downtown Medina, anyone taking 57 into downtown Medina runs the risk of heading straight into gridlock. Here's what I'd recommend...click here for driving directions.
This would avoid downtown Medina and make your drive a lot smoother in my opinion.
4. Gates at Medina's Ken Dukes Stadium will open at 6pm...but guessing that the line to get in the gate will begin forming much earlier. Get there early, do some tailgating and enjoy the day.
5. Orrville has played Norwayne twice...once in 1958, which was actually the first game ever at Red Rider Stadium. Orrville won that game 46-0, and the 2nd game was 1981 in which the Riders also won 29-0.
6. All-time...Orrville holds a 49-8-2 record against Wayne County League Schools. The WCAL team they've played the most is Rittman (28-5-1). Orrville has never played Smithville or Hillsdale. They've played Apple Creek (4-0-1) and Doylestown (9-0), but never Waynedale or Chippewa. So technically...Orrville has only played 4 WCAL schools as they currently exist. They've played Rittman 34 times, Dalton 9 times, Norwayne twice and Northwestern once.
7. This will be the 9th playoff game in the last 3 years for seniors Mason Monheim, Drew Brenner and Matt Davis. Not sure any class of seniors can boast 9 playoff games. Only one stretch of Orrville history saw more playoff games in a 3-year period and that was from 1997-1999 when Orrville played a total of 10 playoff games.
8. This will be Orrville's 14th second-round playoff game....and in the previous 13 games, Orrville is a stellar 9-4. Week 12 is also when we beat defending state champ Wauseon in 1994, Ursuline in 1998, the Lima Bath mudbowl in 1985, and the classic win over Genoa in 2009.
My point...we've had LOTS of big week 12 games.
9. If Orrville is able to win Saturday, they will be making their 3rd straight appearance in a regional final game....and at most, they'd be one of only 11 teams in the state that could boast 3 straight regional final appearances in 2009, 2010 and 2011. That's less than 2% of the football playing schools in Ohio that could boast that honor.
10. Enjoy the game Saturday...be loud, POSITIVE and support these kids. It's been a great run over the last 3 seasons, and I'd like it to continue for another 3 weeks....but enjoy the moment Saturday night. Should be an awesome atmosphere, one that all us fans should appreciate and savor.
Orrville has never played a WCAL school in the playoffs and who knows when it might happen again.
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