All kids go through a phase where, for some reason, they seem to hate food. Being me, I hit the Internet looking for answers.
The most logical was the theory that very young children control very little about their environment, but around age three to four, they realize they can control what they eat. Let the battles begin!
Our oldest went through a phase where it seemed like all he would eat was macaroni and cheese, hotdogs and cold cereal for the better part of a year. He would turn up his nose at anything else and the loss of desert wasn’t enough of an incentive to get him to try anything.
Ryan has turned into a very good eater who will try just about anything and likes just about everything. He’s absolutely skin and bones, but so was I as a kid. The child grazes nonstop and still eats breakfast, lunch and dinner so I’m not too concerned about him.
My youngest has been a good eater since birth and has shown no hint yet of battling for “control” by arguing about food. Except for a tendency toward vegetarianism which makes me worry about her protein intake, I’m not losing any sleep over her, either.
Which brings me to my middle child, Ethan.
He started out as a great eater, but these days I’m not quite sure how Ethan manages to stay alive. He’s great about eating breakfast and he’s fine, not surprisingly, with snacks. Lunch and dinner, however, are another matter.
For the past couple of years I’ve tried to introduce more natural and organic foods into my family’s diet. One of the first things I did was switch from margarine to butter.
Ethan used to love macaroni and cheese, but now he won’t touch it. He says it tastes funny because of the butter. This is the same child who will scarf down buttered rice or buttered noodles and ask for seconds. He also loves toast. I’m not sure what kind of chemical reaction he thinks is taking place in the macaroni and cheese pan, but don’t even bother putting it on his plate.
Always a huge fan of fish sticks, Ethan recently turned up his nose at fish fillets.
“They’re the same thing as fish sticks, just in a different shape,” I tell him.
“I don’t like them!”
“You haven’t even tried them!”
“I don’t have to – I know I don’t like them!”
Butter and rectangle-shaped foods are obviously out.
While he loves dipping carrot sticks in Italian or Ranch salad dressing, duck and cover if you try to give him cooked carrots. Actually, I agree with him on this one.
Previously a broccoli and a mixed vegetable eater, now Ethan picks out the carrots, lima beans and peas and refused to touch broccoli. He tries to escape the green beans, too, but I draw the line at serving him mixed vegetables and having him reduce it to corn.
Butter, rectangle-shaped foods and any green or orange vegetables are out.
If it’s meat, it better be a hot dog or hamburger. Since hot dogs barely qualify as meat, that leaves hamburgers as Ethan’s only source of meat in addition to fish sticks. Occasionally, he’ll eat fried chicken.
Butter, rectangle-shaped foods, green and orange vegetables and most meats are out.
If it’s a new food, like beef stroganoff or stir fry or lasagna or lamb –don’t even think about it.
That doesn’t leave a whole lot except sugar. Withholding dessert if he doesn’t eat results in MUCH whining but that’s a non-negotiable rule so we have MUCH whining with virtually every dinner.
Ethan was a bit late starting this phase. In fact, it started about the time we moved from southern Ohio to Cleveland so maybe that whole “I don’t have any control over anything” theory has some basis in fact.
All I know is I cannot get this child to eat much of anything so suggestions from other parents struggling with food issues are welcome.

INDIANAPOLIS — Florida’s Joe Haden and the Browns will be linked until the NFL Draft. Cornerback is among their biggest needs, and he’s an All-American and the consensus best cornerback in the draft. He says he’ll continue to get better. “I haven’t nearly reached my peak at all,” he said Sunday at the NFL scouting combine. “I [...]

INDIANAPOLIS — Tennessee safety Eric Berry is predicted to go in the top five picks in April’s NFL Draft, but he wants more. He wants to be No. 1. “I want to come here and leave no doubt,” he said Sunday at the scouting combine. “My whole goal coming into the combine is to remove the [...]

ASHLAND - As powerhouse programs St. Edward and Wadsworth waged war in one of the most brutal district tournaments in the state, seven area wrestlers managed to navigate the minefield and earn spots in the Division I state tournament next weekend.

Leading the charge was Southview with a pair of state qualifiers - senior Uland Ralston at 119 pounds and junior Narcisco Inchaurregui at 125.

The pair also advanced to Columbus two years ago, and this is the third straight season Inchaurregui has accomplished the feat.

“It feels really good to be back (at state),” said Ralston, who placed third at 103 pounds as a sophomore. “I’m really happy. I still have a week to open up. I just got beat 3-0 (in the semifinals to Wadsworth’s Kagan Squire), so I have to find ways to improve.”

Inchaurregui placed seventh at 112 as a freshman, and he’s happy he gets to accompany Ralston to state for Ralston’s senior year and during the last year of existence for the Southview wrestling program.

“Me and him have always made it a goal (to get to state),” Inchaurregui said. “Now we want to make it our goal to be Southview’s last two state champions. We want to go out with a bang.”

Joining the Saints in Columbus will be Elyria senior Kodie Egnor (third at 130), North Olmsted sophomore Brian Brunner (fourth at 125) and senior Chriss Kelly (second at 189), Westlake senior Conner Dempsey (third at 140) and St. Edward senior - and Westlake resident - Anthony Salupo (second at 145).

Egnor’s finish was impressive, as he lost in his district opener before winning five straight matches - all on Saturday - to earn a No. 3 seed.

He had a particularly strong performance in the consolation quarterfinals, where he earned an 8-1 decision over Avon Lake senior Kevin Brunner, whom Egnor had never beaten in three previous meetings.

“I really wrestled his match the last time we met,” Egnor said. “I just had to stay solid … just had to focus more. After losing in the first round, I just had to try and take it one match at a time.”

Dempsey seemed happy to win his final match, which will give him a slightly better path than he had last year when he had to face a district champion in the first round in Columbus.

“I ended up losing to the eventual state champion,” he said. “So I’m happy that this year I will meet a kid that finished second. Not that it would have mattered as much this year, because our district is so tough. I know that I’ve wrestled the best competition this weekend.”

Kelly also seemed upbeat with his No. 2 seed, even though he believed he could have been the district champion had it not been for a mistake or two he made against Wadsworth’s Caleb Busson in the final.

“That first takedown he got on me was a five-point move,” Kelly said. “It would have been a totally different match if I didn’t give that up. I just made a couple stupid mistakes.

“But I’m going to be feeling the pressure during every match next week at state. So I might as well take the loss here at districts instead of having it happen in the first or second round down there.”

While the two Saints were able to extend their seasons and add a week to the existence of Southview’s wrestling program, Admiral King wasn’t as lucky.

Both of the school’s district qualifiers - Amon Willis at 215 pounds and heavyweight Caleb Borden - advanced as far as the consolation quarterfinals before bowing out of the tournament and closing the book on the Admirals’ wrestling program.

Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com.

TEAM STANDINGS: St. Edward 289.5, Wadsworth 268.5, Brecksville 121, Oregon Clay 113, Medina 80, Southview 56, Elyria 50.5, Findlay 47, Strongsville 46, Copley 44, Barberton 43.5, North Olmsted 42.5, Olmsted Falls 42.5, Sandusky 41, St. John’s Jesuit 30, Mansfield 27.5, Perrysburg 27, Cuyahoga Falls 27, Brunswick 25, Avon Lake 23, Toledo Start 23, Lakewood 22, Westlake 21, Fremont Ross 19, Amherst 16, St. Francis deSales 14, Sylvania Southview 12, Springfield 12, Admiral King 10, North Ridgeville 8, Bowling Green 7, Anthony Wayne 6, Toledo Whitmer 6, Marion Harding 3.5, Toledo Waite 3, Cloverleaf 3, Ashland 2, Toledo Bowsher 2, Akron Firestone 2, Lima 1, Midview 1, Nordonia 1.

103 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Dean Heil (St. Edward) pinned Sonny Shump (Barberton), 1:03. THIRD-PLACE: Nick Garcia (Oregon Clay) dec. Brandon Jones (Wadsworth), 7-4. FIFTH-PLACE: Nick Asadorian (Olmsted Falls) def. Michael Evans (Mansfield) by inj. def.

112 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Edgar Bright (St. Edward) dec. Cobey Fehr (Barberton), 4-2. THIRD-PLACE: Alfredo Gray (Wadsworth) dec. Mike Griffith (Medina), 8-5. FIFTH-PLACE: Kevin Scholtz (Strongsville) def. Yousef Abdel Salam (Lakewood) by forfeit.

119 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Kagan Squire (Wadsworth) dec. Davion Caston (Sandusky), 3-2. THIRD-PLACE: Uland Ralston (Southview) def. Mitch Baran (Brecksville) by forfeit. FIFTH-PLACE: Nick Barber (St. Edward) def. Al Ewing (Medina) by inj. def.

125 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Gus Sako (St. Edward) maj. dec. Narcisco Inchaurregui (Southview), 13-2. THIRD-PLACE: Dylan Good (Brecksville) def. Brian Brunner (North Olmsted) by inj. def. FIFTH-PLACE: Jacob Conine (Oregon Clay) dec. Alexander Marzec (St. Francis deSales), 2-1.

130 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Jamie Clark (St. Edward) pinned Matt Hammer (Medina), 3:01. THIRD-PLACE: Kodie Egnor (Elyria) dec. Angelo Amenta (Oregon Clay), 5-3. FIFTH-PLACE: Garrett Manley (Springfield) dec. Kevin Brunner (Avon Lake), 7-1.

135 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Louden Gordon (Wadsworth) dec. Mark Martin (St. Edward), 10-8. THIRD-PLACE: Mark Orth (Oregon Clay) dec. Nick Ramsey (Lakewood), 6-2. FIFTH-PLACE: Eric Brooks (Strongsville) maj. dec. Nick Miller (Bowling Green), 11-2.

140 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Nate Ball (Wadsworth) dec. Matt VanCuren (St. Edward), 6-4. THIRD-PLACE: Conner Dempsey (Westlake) dec. Jon Garrison (Copley), 4-0. FIFTH-PLACE: Jimmy Gyorfi (Southview) dec. Matt Kohler (Oregon Clay), 6-5.

145 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Brad Squire (Wadsworth) dec. Anthony Salupo (St. Edward), 5-3. THIRD-PLACE: Jerrel Valliant (Sandusky) dec. Kyle Roddy (Brecksville), 8-3. FIFTH-PLACE: Corey Greenwade (St. John’s Jesuit) pinned Devan Price (Amherst), 4:24.

152 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Domenic Adounader (St. Edward) maj. dec. Teddy Hammer (Medina), 13-2. THIRD-PLACE: Clay Wenger (Wadsworth) dec. Kyle Swan (Strongsville), 4-3. FIFTH-PLACE: Chaz McGrain (Olmsted Falls) dec. Anthony Rensendez (Oregon Clay), 5-2.

160 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Nick Sulzer (St. Edward) maj. dec. Sheldon Brandenburg (Wadsworth), 18-8. THIRD-PLACE: Josh Linden (Brecksville) pinned Chico Cloyne (Oregon Clay), 2:26. FIFTH-PLACE: Tyler Tesny (Cuyahoga Falls) pinned Shane Gareau (Olmsted Falls), 2:05.

171 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Sam Wheeler (Copley) dec. Michael Alexander (Findlay), 6-4. THIRD-PLACE: Nate Brubaker (Toledo Start) dec. Bart Randolph (Wadsworth), 5-2. FIFTH-PLACE: James Suvak (St. Edward) dec. Garson Darrin (Sylvania Southview), 3-2.

189 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Caleb Busson (Wadsworth) dec. Chriss Kelly (North Olmsted), 8-3. THIRD-PLACE: Tylor Trautwein (Fremont Ross) pinned Kevin Schoen (St. John’s Jesuit), :43. FIFTH-PLACE: Jason Gott (Elyria) dec. Joe Gifliotti (Medina), 5-3.

215 - CHAMPIONSHIP: Nick Tavanello (Wadsworth) pinned Caleb Curtis (Brunswick), 1:06. THIRD-PLACE: Ty Walz (St. Edward) dec. Spencer Willet (Brecksville), 4-3 (OT). FIFTH-PLACE: Micah Carter (Perrysburg) pinned Je’lous Gray (Mansfield), 1:46.

HVY - CHAMPIONSHIP: Billy Vaughan (Brecksville) dec. Ben Buzzeli (Wadsworth), 4-3 (OT). THIRD-PLACE: Max Gladstone (Findlay) pinned Greg Kuhar (St. Edward), :50. FIFTH-PLACE: Cory Frank (Avon Lake) def. Jared Snoderly (Oregon Clay) by forfeit.

MAPLE HEIGHTS - The district tournament at Maple Heights was, arguably, the strongest and toughest one in the state in Division III.

With state-caliber wrestlers at every weight class, area teams scraped and clawed their way toward berths in Columbus next weekend. When the dust settled, five area wrestlers - three from Keystone - were left standing.

The Wildcats, who placed all five of their wrestlers in the top six, set a team record with three state qualifiers - district champ William Spangler (112), district runner-up Brian Spangler (103) and fourth-place finisher James Gerken (152).

They also finished fourth in the team standings with 90.5 points, behind state powerhouses Chanel (210), CVCA (152.5) and Tuslaw (93.5).

“I’m real happy with how we did,” Keystone coach Jim Pycraft said. “To come in with five and have them all get onto the podium at the end, that’s awesome. They worked really hard and they deserve it.”

For William Spangler, his district championship capped a journey that began at last year’s district tournament, where he missed out on the third-place match by a point and wound up taking fifth.

“That point’s been bugging me the entire year,” said William (40-3). “I just wanted to come back (to districts) and win it. And to be going with everyone else, that’s something.”

William clinched a berth in the championship match, and a state berth, with a 4-2 overtime win over Jackson-Milton’s Vinnie Pizzuto. He followed that with a 9-3 decision over Beachwood’s Alex Dronzek, who came into the tournament with only one loss.

William broke a 3-3 third-period tie with an escape and a takedown, then picked up four more back points to clinch the championship.

“I just wanted to keep on attacking him, and I didn’t want to give him any breaks,” he said. “He tried go get a little roll on me to get on top, and I didn’t let him get all the way around and wound up with four points. It kinda worked out for me.”

Spangler’s twin brother Brian (34-3) punched his second-straight ticket to Columbus with an 11-1 major decision over Manchester’s Kyle Ferguson in the semifinals. But for the second straight weekend, CVCA freshman Nathan Tomasello defeated Brian. After losing 8-3 at Brooklyn, Brian cut the gap a bit in a 5-1 loss.

“We’re narrowing the gap a little bit there,” Pycraft said. “Brian showed some improvement against him. Hopefully, we can run into him again at state.”

Gerken (38-6) punched his first-career ticket to state the hard way, losing his first match Friday night and racking up four straight victories in the consolation bracket.

Gerken took on his close friend and Lorain County rival, Elyria Catholic junior Cory Campbell (23-3), in the third-place match. For the second straight week, it was Campbell who defeated Gerken, this time 12-6.

Campbell and Wellington senior Josh Roberts (215) are the other area state qualifiers.

Campbell rebounded from his quarterfinal loss to post two major decisions and a five-point victory to qualify for his third-place showdown with Gerken and his first career trip to state.

“I was in a zone (Saturday), and I never came out of it,” Campbell said. “My conditioning is 10 times better than it was last week, and it showed. I didn’t let (Friday’s) loss bother me at all.

“My brother (former Black River state champion Jesse Campbell) helped me through it, as did Coach (John) McNulty. I give him a lot of credit for getting me ready for this. It’s a dream come true.”

Roberts (37-8) also rebounded from a quarterfinal loss with a stellar performance in the wrestlebacks. He punched his first-career trip to Columbus with a 7-5 decision over Chanel’s Kennedy Smith, before pinning Orrville’s Gage Wright in 1:30 to take third place.

“I just stayed focused the whole day,” said Roberts, who is the only one of the Dukes’ five district qualifiers to reach state. “There are a lot of good guys here that could have beaten me easily had I not stayed focused. It feels great to get to state, especially since this is my senior year. I can’t wait.”

Contact Dan Gilles at 329-7135 or dangilles73@gmail.com.

TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Chanel 210, 2. CVCA 152.5, 3. Tuslaw 93.5, 4. Keystone 90.5, 5. Waynedale 73, 6. Manchester 70, 7. (tie) Cuyahoga Heights, Jackson-Milton 64, 9. Northwestern 60.5, 10. Loudonville 59, 11. Chippewa 54, 12. Beachwood 53, 13. Kirtland 49.5, 14. Norwayne 44.5, 15. Rootstown 44, 16. Orrville 43, 17. Girard 42, 18. Independence 40, 19. Garfield 36, 20. (tie) VASJ, Wellington 30, 22. Triway 29.5, 23. Elyria Catholic 28, 24. Waterloo 25, 25. Fairport Harding 23, 26. Brookfield 20.5, 27. Cardinal 19, 28. Brooklyn 16, 29. Fairview 14, 30. Pymatuning Valley 13, 31. Black River 11, 32. Hillsdale 10.5, 33. Hawken 10, 34. Oberlin 9, 35. Liberty 8, 36. (tie) Columbia, St. Thomas Aquinas 6, 38. (tie) Chagrin Falls, South Range 4, 40. Wickliffe 3, 41. Cleveland Central Catholic 2, 42 (tie) Dalton, Lutheran West, Trinity 1.

CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
(top four advances to state, fifth is alternate)

103 - FIRST: Nathan Tomasello (CVCA) dec. Brian Spangler (Keystone), 5-1; THIRD: Aaron Assad (Chanel) dec. Kyle Ferguson (Manchester), 5-1; FIFTH: Casey Johns (Cardinal) pinned Jeff Powell (Tuslaw), 4:19.

112 - FIRST: William Spangler (Keystone) dec. Alex Dronzek (Beachwood), 9-3; THIRD: Vinnie Pizzuto (Jackson-Milton) maj. dec. Dustin Grier (Norwayne), 14-2; FIFTH: Scott Spreng (Loudonville) maj. dec. Esler Heyd (Garfield), 15-6.

119 - FIRST: Zack Nelson (Tuslaw) dec. Cody Tschantz (Chanel), 4-3; THIRD: Tim Wiseman (Jackson-Milton) dec. Tyler Thompson (Brookfield), 7-3; FIFTH: Brett Fortune (Northwestern) maj. dec. Josh Decatur (CVCA), 11-3.

125 - FIRST: Alec Jacober (Beachwood) maj. dec. Jeremy Walden (Chanel), 12-2; THIRD: Jacob Carpenter (Girard) dec. Drew Liechty (Fairview), 5-1; FIFTH: Tanner Lawrence (Garfield) dec. Seth Powers (CVCA), 7-6.

130 -FIRST: Mike Kovach (Chanel) dec. Johnny Matacic (Jackson-Milton), 4-2; THIRD: Shane Brown (Manchester) maj. dec. Angelo Colombo (Independence), 11-3; FIFTH: Matt Dobben (CVCA) maj. dec. Tony Widder (Waynedale), 18-7.

135 - FIRST: Zak Vargo (CVCA) dec. Jim Dankle (Cuyahoga Heights), 6-3; THIRD: Dan Collier (Chanel) dec. Justin Petersheim (Waynedale), 6-1; FIFTH: Josh Lawrence (Garfield) dec. Josh Taylor (Elyria Catholic), 8-6 OT.

140 - FIRST: J.C. Giffin (Fairport Harbor) dec. Zane Nelson (Tuslaw), 5-2 OT Criteria; THIRD: Dan Orrill (Chanel) dec. Brett Snyder (Rootstown), 8-2; FIFTH: Seth Heldenbrand (Hillsdale) dec. Aaron Hall (Girard), 5-1.

145 - FIRST: Zach Noernberg (Cuyahoga Heights) dec. Brandon Sommers (CVCA), 5-2; THIRD: Joey Kiefer (Chanel) pinned Tyler Topp (Northwestern), 4:16; FIFTH: Casey Gawen (Keystone) def. Ronell Spates (VASJ) by forfeit.

152 - FIRST: Cody Walters (Chanel) dec. Zebulun Beam (Waynedale), 4-0; THIRD: Cory Campbell (Elyria Catholic) dec. James Gerken (Keystone), 12-6; FIFTH: Nico Francis (Girard) and Cole Drake (Triway) double forfeit.

160 - FIRST: Dennis Raber (Orrville) dec. Bryson Hall (Chippewa), 7-0; THIRD: Matt Meadows (CVCA) dec. Ken Trusnik (Chanel), 6-1; FIFTH: Dylan Bender (Loudonville) dec. Pat Meade (Cuyahoga Heights), 7-6 OT Criteria.

171 -FIRST: Alex Utley (CVCA) def. Garrett Linton (Rootstown) by forfeit; THIRD: Nick Zele (Kirtland) pinned Phil Wellington (VASJ), 2:44; FIFTH: Alex Tuttle (Loudonville) dec. Todd Remenaric (Tuslaw), 6-3.

189 - FIRST: Kurtis Schaefer (Northwestern) dec. Royal Brettrager (Kirtland), 8-7; THIRD: Jonathan Beam (Waynedale) pinned Jon Schafer (Chanel), :30; FIFTH: Treg Grubb (Tuslaw) pinned Mason Bremke (Oberlin), 2:27.

215 - FIRST: Justin Schafrath (Chippewa) dec. Brent Allerding (Loudonville), 3-1; THIRD: Josh Roberts (Wellington) pinned Gage Wyant (Orrville), 1:30; FIFTH: Nate Orrick (Black River) dec. Kennedy Smith (Chanel), 15-8.

285 - FIRST: Kyle Kelly (Manchester) dec. Greg Dailey (Independence), 8-4; THIRD: Jordan Richards (Norwayne) dec. Eddie Flinner (Triway), 5-1; FIFTH: Anthony Chizmadia (Keystone) def. Ajun Sessions (Brooklyn) by forfeit.

DIVISION II

Wukie wins district title; Avon’s Zeman makes state

Elyria’s Brad Wukie — a University School senior — captured the 160-pound championship at the Division II district wrestling tournament at Akron Firestone on Saturday.
Wukie won his first three matches of the tournament via pin, then handed Aurora’s Danny McNamara a 16-4 major decision in the final.
Avon sophomore Zane Zeman was the lone area wrestler to advance to state at the Division II district tournament at Marion Harding.
Zeman was second after losing a 13-5 major decision to Padua’s Brent Fickel in the
130-pound championship match.
Vermilion’s Anthony Budka (152) lost a 14-5 major decision to Clay Roehrig of Defiance in a fifth-place match.

MEDINA - In a single quarter, Briann Owens turned in a career-best performance for the Elyria girls Saturday afternoon.

The 5-foot-8 forward put together a one-woman 7-2 fourth-quarter run as the Pioneers pulled away from Amherst, 38-24, for a Division I sectional championship.

Owens finished with a career-high 11 points and nine rebounds in the kind of rough-and-tumble defensive struggle for which the old rivals have become known.

It was the 500th victory in the history of the Elyria program. With it, the Pioneers improved to 9-13 for the season. They also earned a district semifinal date Thursday night with Cloverleaf, which travels with, shall we say, an informal coterie of student fans? Cloverleaf defeated Avon Lake in the last two seconds of their sectional final.

Owens said she was unaware of her scoring splurge.

“I just wanted to get the ball and put it in the hole,” she said.

The Pioneers got a game-high 13 points and 11 boards from 6-0 senior post Brigette Jones.

“This means a lot to me because I didn’t want it to be my last game,” Jones said. “It was real physical. I think it just boiled down to intensity and who wanted it more.”

Amherst was done in by ice-cold shooting as much as by the Elyria defense. The Comets (14-7) made just 10 percent (3-for-30) of their first-half field-goal attempts and shot 14.5 percent for the game.

“We’re not a very good shooting team to begin with and we just could not shoot the ball at all today,” Amherst coach John Rositano said. “Our strength is pressure and it’s hard to get the pressure if you’re not making shots.”

Lizzie Soto, Amherst’s stellar senior guard, scored a team-high nine points, five of which were foul shots.

Elyria led 14-9 at the half and 24-13 after three quarters. It was 31-17 after Owens went on her 5-2 tear with about four minutes left.

“I’m happy with it, to beat a quality team like Amherst,” Elyria coach Mike Walsh said. “It was a defensive battle by both teams. We both struggled a little bit offensively and we (relied) on playing great defense. We had a few more opportunities on offense and we converted them.”

Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7135 or basketball@bobdaniels.info.

Elyria 38, Amherst 24

ELYRIA (38): Soni Seymore 0-1-1, Mary Jones 0-0-0, Briann Owens 5-1-11, Bergen Read 0-0-0, Galan Jones 0-0-0, Alecia Jones 1-0-3, Brigette Jones 5-3-13, Daphne Brown 0-1-1, Nais Williams 3-3-9. Totals 14-9-38.

AMHERST (24): Julia Porostosky 2-0-4, Amber Slotta 0-0-0, Lizzie Soto 2-5-9, Morgan Madera 1-0-2, Bridgette Cruz 0-0-0, Marisa Thomas 1-0-3, Brianna Shagovic 0-0-0, Melanie Tony 0-0-0, Mandy Taylor 2-2-6. Totals 8-7-24.

Elyria              7              7              10            14            -           38
Amherst         2              7              4              11            -           24

Three-point goals: Elyria 1-5 (A. Jones), Amherst 1-8 (Thomas). Field goals: Elyria 14-40 (35 percent), Amherst 8-55 (14.5 percent). Free throws: Elyria 9-17, Amherst 7-13. Rebounds: Elyria 36, Amherst 29. Turnovers: Elyria 15, Amherst 10. Fouled out: Soto.

EATON TWP. - There’s motivation and there’s motivation.

North Ridgeville seemed to have all the motivation it needed entering Saturday’s West Shore Conference game with rival Midview. After all, the Rangers knew if they could win and Avon could beat Bay, they’d end up sharing the league title with the Rockets.

Well, Avon did beat Bay, but the Rangers didn’t do their job, falling 54-47 to the red-hot Middies, who happened to have plenty of motivation of their own.

The Middies (8-12, 7-7 WSC) wanted to finish the regular season on a high note, stop the Rangers (13-7, 10-4) from gaining that share of the title and head into tournament time with a win over their chief rival.

Missions accomplished.

“I’m really proud of the way our kids bounced back from a slow start this season,” said Midview coach Troy DiFranco after his team won for the seventh time in its last eight games after a 1-8 start. “This was a huge win for us, giving us momentum going into the tournament. It’s a new season and you never know what can happen.”

Midview’s two seniors, Nick Clark and Andrew Agee, were instrumental Saturday.

“(They) were playing their last game on this floor and wanted to come out and give a good performance and get a victory,” DiFranco said.” Anytime you get North Ridgeville and Midview on the same floor or field there’s going to be that intense rivalry.”

Agee couldn’t have been happier with the win.

“You always want to come away with a win against North Ridgeville,” he said. “This is really an intense rivalry so it means a lot to me.”

After battling to a 27-27 first-half tie, Midview came out of the locker room and grabbed control, denying the Rangers the open looks they were getting in the first half.

Turning up the defense, the Middies outscored the Rangers 11-4 in the third quarter and jumped out to a 38-31 lead.

That turned out to be the difference in the game as the teams played to a 16-16 tie the final quarter.

The Rangers rallied late, cutting Midview’s lead to 50-47 with 18 seconds left, but the Middies put the game away from the free throw line as Eddie Brezina and Agee made two free throws each to close out the game.

“We were just not ready to go,” North Ridgeville coach Bill Noggle said. “You have to give them (Midview) credit. They played well and held us pretty good. Troy does a nice job with them.

“I just don’t think we had that fire we needed. The motivation wasn’t there and that’s disheartening. I told them we’ll see what we can do in the tournament. It’s the seniors’ job to make sure we’re up come tournament time. I don’t think our players realize how big a rivalry this is. (Midview) put it on the line and we didn’t. That’s very, very frustrating. Once again it was missed layups and missed foul shots.”

Contact Ron Nenadal at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

Midview 54, North Ridgeville 47

MIDVIEW (54): Eddie Brezina 5-6-16, Nick Clark 5-2-13, Patrick Geyser 4-0-9, Patrick Linn 2-2-6, Riley Moore 3-0-6, Andrew Agee 1-2-4, Ryan Mains 0-0-0, Matt Briggs 0-0-0. Totals 20-12-54.

NORTH RIDGEVILLE (47): Nate Alpine 5-2-12, Zack Wade 3-2-11, Domonique Qualls 1-0-2, Ben Nelson 3-0-8, Robert Michael 0-0-0, Mark Szylakowski 1-1-3, Radu Aron 3-2-9, Conor Sullivan 1-0-2. Totals 17-7-47.

North Ridgeville          13            14            4              16            -           47
Midview                           13            14            11            16            -           54

Three-point goals: North Ridgeville 6-14 (Nelson 2, Wade 3, Aron), Midview 2-5 (Geyser, Clark). Field goals: North Ridgeville 17-41(41 percent), Midview 20-34 (59 percent). Free throws: North Ridgeville 7-14 (50 percent), Midview 12-18 (66 percent). Rebounds: North Ridgeville 22 (Aron 6), Midview 24 (Clark 7). Turnovers: North Ridgeville 17, Midview 14. Fouls: North Ridgeville 18, Midview 15. Junior varsity: Midview, 44-41.

INDIANAPOLIS — Browns coach Eric Mangini is in a reduced role at this year’s scouting combine, and says he’s enjoying it. Mangini was the de facto leader of the organization in his first season with the Browns. This year, he has two bosses — president Mike Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert — so the final [...]

INDIANAPOLIS — Ole Miss’ Dexter McCluster has a bright smile, long dreadlocks and big personality. The do-everything prospect captivated the audience Saturday during his time at the podium — just like he does on the field. “I definitely pride myself on being electrifying,” McCluster said. McCluster measured 5-foot-8, 172 pounds, which is the only reason he might [...]

By Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune

“See Mom Run” by Beth Feldman (Plain White Press, $12.95)

Motherhood could be a real downer if it weren’t so hilarious.

The sleepless nights, the potty disasters, the temptation to add soy formula to your coffee when you run out of milk — and the regret when you give in to said temptation.
Thankfully, a universe of mom bloggers captures the maternal experience in all its glory, proving that misery loves company — especially if the company makes you laugh.

Beth Feldman, founder of online events company rolemommy.com and a mom blogger herself, has collected 32 essays from her favorite mom bloggers on all stages of motherhood, from labor to empty nest. The result, “See Mom Run” (Plain White Press), is an entertaining glimpse into the world of the harried, modern mom.

(Contributor Issa M. Mas, who blogs as Single Mama NYC, can vouch for that soy formula incident.)

“I wanted to showcase voices of moms who aren’t necessarily New York Times best-selling authors, but are talented and have stories to tell,” says Feldman, a former television network executive.

“When I worked on shows like ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ and ‘King of Queens,’ people always asked ‘How do you come up with ideas for the shows?’ ” she says. “It’s based in real life. Writers sit in a room and talk about what went on in their lives that was funny that week. And I thought to myself, ‘I have a lot of funny in my life.’ A lot of moms do.”

Feldman and the “See Mom Run” writers recently completed a rather unconventional book tour, stopping in spas, comedy clubs, play groups and other mom hot spots to perform readings — and the occasional song.

“I performed two song parodies on the road,” Feldman says. “That was what I really wanted to be when I grew up, a singer. Then I grew up.”

Feldman is working on a stage version of “See Mom Run,” scheduled to open as a workshop in New York in May. She’s also got a sequel in the works, focusing on mom guilt trips.

Jokes Feldman, “It’s developing into a ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’-type series.”