The Lorain County 8 is an athletic conference spanning schools from Ashland and Lorain Counties. The high schools comprising the league include Black River, Brookside, Clearview, Columbia, Firelands, Keystone, Oberlin and Wellington.
5 Players to Watch:
(schools are as of last year – unless PGH is 100% certain that a player has enrolled elsewhere)
Allyson Ross – 5’7 Guard – Columbia – Class of 2021
Delaney Peters – 5’7 Guard – Keystone – Class of 2023
Megan Sutton – 5’10 Post – Firelands – Class of 2021
Isabella Zvara – 5’11 Forward – Firelands – Class of 2022
Brooke Rebman – 5’9 Guard – Clearview – Class of 2021
4 Thoughts:
Firelands shocked some by running the table last year in the LC8 – finishing 14-0 in conference play and grabbing the league crown all to themselves. Abbey Schmitz, Megan Sutton and Isabella Zvara were all double-digit scorers a year ago for the Falcons and all are back to try and repeat this winter. Madison Sutton is another all-league kid back for Firelands – who are the clear pre-season favorites in the LC8.
Allyson Ross could be the conference’s top player. The outstanding guard does it all for Columbia – stuffing the stat-sheet, not just as a scorer, where she was at nearly 20 PPG a season ago, but also rebounding, creating assists and getting steals for her team. She is committed to play collegiately at Winthrop. Senior guard Averey Lavinder will need to take on a larger role as a scorer if Columbia is going to compete for a league title.
Brooke Rebman at Clearview is a dynamic scorer of the basketball. The All-Ohioan shows flashes of single-handedly carrying the offensive load for her team, at times. Kamia Pilson is another talented guard who can score the basketball for the Clippers – who do not return much experience.
Although their teams may not necessarily be league contenders this winter, there are some other outstanding returning kids in the LC8. Brookside returns Sarah Torres, Casey Amato is back for Oberlin, Delaney Peters leads the way for Keystone and Amanda Spikerman will need to step up for Wellington.
3 Big Games:
Firelands @ Wellington on December 23rd
Columbia @ Keystone on January 9th
Black River @ Clearview on February 3rd
2 Fun Facts:
Wellington and Black River were not discussed much above – due to their lack of returning experience – they do have two of the league’s top coaches in Nathan Morris (Wellington) and Greg Vogelsong (Black River). Wellington is trying to maintain the level of success that they have established, while Black River is aiming for their first winning season in a long time.
Firelands averaged nearly 70 PPG last winter – including a 103 point outburst against Oberlin. With a majority of the scoring returning for the Falcons, it should be interesting to see what they do this year.
1 League Champion Prediction:
Firelands