Over the past few months, fans have witnessed a mass exodus of college programs such as Missouri, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Texas A&M to join super conferences. In high school athletics, this is not a foreign act to the area. Within the last five years, four separate leagues have been imploded to shape two gigantic groups. Just five years ago, the first super league took shape in the form of the Inter-Tri County League featuring schools from the Inter-County League and the Tri-County League. With the beginning of the 2008 academic year, the All-American Conference was formed mainly from schools which had recently been aligned in the Metro Athletic Conference (Campbell, Canfield, Howland, Niles, Poland, Salem, Struthers) and the Trumbull Athletic Conference (Brookfield, Champion, Girard, Hubbard, LaBrae, Lakeview, Liberty, Newton Falls), as well as, an independent (Beaver Local). The schools were split up into three divisions based on their size. Natural rivals such as Girard-Liberty or Campbell-Struthers were placed into separate tiers due to the size attribute which had some of the traditionalists up in arms. It didn’t take long for the critics to appreciate the new set-up in all sports including basketball. Since the All-American Conference’s inception there has been 5 district champions, 5 twenty-game winners, and 7 of the 15 players who have been selected on the MyValleySports.com ‘Starting 5’ team called the AAC their home. Red DivisionOne of the area’s most fabled rivalries hails in this division – Poland vs. Canfield. A length of ten miles on 224 separates the Bulldogs from the Cardinals. These two programs have been involved in league play prior to the All-American Conference, most recently the Mahoning Valley Conference and the Metro Athletic Conference. Since the formation of the Red Division, Poland has compiled a 20-4 league record while Canfield is not far behind with the second-best mark at 18-6. The Bulldogs have featured standouts such as Niko Fatimus, Ben Donlow, David Baker, Luke Wollet and Colin Reardon. Canfield has countered with the likes of Mike Podolsky, John Vrabel, Casey Carroll, Gene Wollet, and Danny Campolito. Just this past season, Howland improved their league mark from 2-6 to 7-1 to take home their first Red Division title. The Tigers were led by seniors TJ Lanier and Dontea Dawson. Lanier averaged 21.2 points per game (52.9 FG%). Dawson posted a 13.3 scoring average and hauled in 8.9 boards.Red Division Championship History2010-11: Howland (7-1, 14-8)2009-10: Poland (7-1, 22-2) & Canfield (7-1, 17-4)2008-09: Poland (7-1, 18-5)Red Division Regional Tournament History2009-10: Semifinal – Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary 74 Poland 60
Year | Champion | Scoring Leader | Rebounding Leader | Assist Leader |
2010-11 | Howland (7-1) | Colin Reardon (POL), 22.8 | Bobby Marino (NIL), 11.8 | Ray Russ (NIL), 6.2 |
2009-10 | Poland/Canfield (7-1) | Ryan Frantz (NIL), 19.1 | Zack Murray (BL), 8.2 | Luke Wollet (POL), 7.8 |
2008-09 | Poland (7-1) | Niko Fatimus (POL), 19.6 | Tyler Scott (HOW), 10.0 | Drew Guido (POL), 5.9 |
White DivisionStruthers has not lost a divisional matchup in the regular season since February 17, 2009. The Wildcats lost that night at Hubbard, 56-52. Since then, Struthers has been perfect. Over the course of the past two seasons, Joe Savko’s bunch has posted a 40-6 mark. Struthers advanced to the Regionals last year by winning a low-scoring affair over Poland, 36-33. Nate Jacubec led the ‘Cats in scoring each of the past three seasons while Adam Ryczaj can say the same in regards to rebounding. Hubbard has registered winning league records in each of the past two seasons. The Eagles have yet to win the league crown. Lakeview won the first league championship; however, over the last two campaigns the Bulldogs have only been able to muster a 3-13 division mark.Salem left the league at the conclusion of the 2010-11 academic year to join the Northeastern Buckeye Conference. White Division Championship History2010-11: Struthers (8-0, 21-3)2009-10: Struthers (8-0, 19-3)2008-09: Lakeview (7-1, 17-5)White Division Regional Tournament History2010-11: Semifinal – Cleveland John Hay 74 Struthers 60Year | Champion | Scoring Leader | Rebounding Leader | Assist Leader |
2010-11 | Struthers (8-0) | Nate Jacubec (STR), 19.8 | Mike Lopuchovsky (HUB), 11.6 | Kory Hopkinson (HUB), 7.7 |
2009-10 | Struthers (8-0) | Nate Jacubec (STR), 19.7 | Mike Lopuchovsky (HUB), 10.9 | Kory Hopkinson (HUB), 7.2 |
2008-09 | Lakeview (7-1) | Kurtis Drummond (HUB), 18.6 | Adam Ryczaj (STR), 10.2 | Kurtis Drummond (HUB), 4.3 |
Blue DivisionOn March 17, 2010 – Newton Falls registered the first (and only) regional playoff victory in the All-American Conference three-year history over previously unbeaten East Canton Hornets, 60-48. The league has seen its’ fair share of standout players such as Campbell’s Jerah’me Williams and Nate Hodge, Newton Falls’ Marcus Fowler and Cody Dillon, LaBrae’s Jacob Jaros and Matt Szorady, Brookfield’s Pablo Diaz and Anthony Uberti, Champion’s Ian Barnes and Girard’s Mat Pagano and Joe Augustine. Brookfield left the conference at the conclusion of the 2009-10 season to become an independent.Blue Division Championship History2010-11: LaBrae (8-0, 20-3)2009-10: Campbell (10-0, 19-4)2008-09: Newton Falls (9-1, 21-3) & Campbell (9-1, 18-6)Blue Division Regional Tournament History2009-10: Final – Orrville 67 Newton Falls 562009-10: Semifinal – Newton Falls 60 East Canton 482008-09: Semifinal – Smithville 63 Campbell 582008-09: Semifinal – Cleveland Central Catholic 51 LaBrae 39Year | Champion | Scoring Leader | Rebounding Leader | Assist Leader |
2010-11 | LaBrae (8-0) | Cody Dillon (NF), 19.4 | Cody Dillon (NF), 8.1 | Mat Pagano (GIR), 4.6 |
2009-10 | Campbell (10-0) | Jerah'me Williams (CAM), 23.2 | Pablo Diaz (BRO), 6.9 | Ian Barnes (CAM), 4.0 |
2008-09 | Newton Falls/Campbell (9-1) | Marcus Fowler (NF), 19.0 | Marcus Fowler (NF), 10.2 | Todd Medallis (NF), 7.9 |
The All-American Conference tips off their 4
th season on Friday. Fitch and Jefferson join the conference this year. Instead of the traditional three tiered division lineup, the conference will be split into two leagues, American and National.
American DivisionAustintown Fitch
Beaver Local
Canfield
Howland
Hubbard
Niles
Poland
Struthers
National DivisionCampbell
Champion
Girard
Jefferson
LaBrae
Lakeview
Liberty
Newton Falls
Tournament Wins Since 2008-09All-American Conference Teams1. Newton Falls, 10
2. Campbell, 8
3. LaBrae, 7
3. Poland, 7
5. Struthers, 5
All-American Conference RecordsCompiled since 2008-091. Poland, 20-4 (83.3%)
2. Campbell, 23-5 (82.1%)
3. Canfield, 18-6 (75.0%)
3. Struthers, 18-6 (75.0%)
5. Newton Falls, 20-8 (71.4%)
