Monroe Central wins first OVAC title against Toronto | News, sports, work

photo: Nick Henthorne

Monroe Central's Jacob Fogle pulls up a corner 3-pointer by Toronto's Camryn Baker during Saturday's OVAC 2A championship game at Harrison Central High School.

CADIZ – The good times just keep rolling for the Monroe Central Seminoles.

Coming into the OVAC Class 2A Championship undefeated at 17-0, first-year head coach Mason Lang and his 'Noles defeated Toronto 60-32 to claim their schools first OVAC title.

Led by Tucker Howell's 31 points, 13 rebounds, five steals, Monroe Central overcame a shaky start to bring home the gold.

“Coming into the season, we have goals,” Monroe Central head coach Mason Lang said. “The first goal was to win more games than last year; 16 was the number, we reached that number. The second goal is to win the OVAC Championship. For the first time in school history, the boys actually bought in. This is how it goes, you have to buy in from day one, you have to work from day one, you have to have super competitive practices, you have to even know about it. down, you must be seen. We were down tonight, our second scorer came out tonight, and it was that next-man-up mentality, and we were able to finish the game strong.”

While the final score was decisive, Monroe Central fell behind 8-0 to start action Saturday and trailed 12-6 after the first quarter.

Monroe Central, without second-leading scorer Chance Allen, started the game with four turnovers and one missed field goal on its first five possessions, while Toronto turned the game around.

The Seminoles were 2-5 with six turnovers in the first quarter, while Toronto was 5-12 with three.

“We came out in the first quarter, played our game, had some big mistakes, but we tried everything we wanted,” Toronto coach Sean Tucker said. “Monroe is a great team, they're in the state for a reason. We knew going into it that we had to limit our mistakes, limit our turnovers, because they take advantage of that very well.”

“This is a senior-led team,” Lang said of Toronto. “We knew they were going to come here hungry to win. We talked about them coming out like fists; We should have been able to get one and throw a counter punch.

While the Red Knights dominated the first quarter, things couldn't have been more different in the second.

With 6-foot-7 Toronto big man Caden Benton on the bench with two fouls, Monroe Central went on an 18-2 run in the second quarter. The Seminole's dominance outweighed Benton's absence.

Monroe took better care of the ball, committing only two turnovers in the second quarter, while Toronto committed seven. Tucker Howell slid past passing lanes twice, went down the other end, had one foul and one turnover. The second inning gave Monroe a 13-12 lead, their first lead of the night and would grow to 28 late in the game.

Benton's bench felt much deeper than the offensive glass. Howell had three tackles in the second quarter and finished with five. He scored 14 of his 31 points in the second quarter alone.

From the closing moments of the first quarter until the end of the second quarter, Harrison Central High School witnessed a 19-0 Monroe Central run that led them 22-12 and 24-14 at halftime.

“In the second quarter, we started to get away from our game plan and it all snowballed,” Tucker said. “Monroe ran really well, I think we only had one goal in the second quarter, which wasn't enough for us. We cannot allow this. Something snowed from there.”

“Throughout the year, we've been able to find a quarterback that can really lock down and hold the team,” Lang said. “It's the second quarter tonight, let's get back to the game. I am proud of the boys for this effort.”

Turning a nine-point deficit into a 28-point championship victory, Lang focused on offensive adjustments that led to defensive success.

“We stuck to the game plan,” Lang said. “The children did not panic, they continued to play hard. We learned early on, we talked about 'turnovers lead to fast breaks for them.' They're a 1-3-1 defense, a 3-2 defense, their best players come out and run, pressure the ball, take away the passes you want to make. They train very well in this regard.

“We needed to start receiving the ball with both hands and feet, throwing stronger passes. Once we started doing that, we took away their transition opportunities and we play really well in midfield. When we got them in the half court, I was happy with that.”

Toronto was led by Camryn Baker's 14, 10 points and Noah Caraffa's nine points and four rebounds in the first quarter.

Howell's younger brother Cooper joined Tucker in double figures with 11 points. Jacob Fogle, who filled in for Allen in the starting lineup on Saturday, scored nine goals, all thanks to a trio of threes in the third quarter, during which Monroe Central put its game on another dime and took a 48-25 lead. the fourth. Tucker Howell was awarded the game's MVP.

The Seminoles got their first taste of conference gold in school history and did it through injury and adversity. They believe that their preparation has enabled them to overcome any challenge.

“We practice in a very competitive environment; we're going to play 10-deep all season,” Lang said. “I think if you're a pair (player), it really prepares you. There were three of us on Tuesday night, so these guys really battled it out tonight. A great win for us.”