Best High School Program in Southeast Ohio

[John Wooden]

I like what trojandave has said. He backs everything he has said up with facts and stats. Anyone can get on here and say their team is better and show no stats. It means nothing without the facts to back it up. Nice work trojandave you always show us the facts.

[trojandave]

Thanks for the support, guys........I try to back up what I say with facts.......of course my top 8 all-time or top 10 of the 2000's are just opinions, but I have tried to present facts to support the rankings.

Opinions supported by facts are much stronger than just plain opinions.

[trojandave]

peake: I put McClain ahead of Chesapeake because they won consistently also.....Greenfield did not have a losing season in the 2000's.......they went 39-1 in the regular season in Dante Jackson's last 2 years......they dominated the SCOL, just like Chesapeake did the OVC, and went to the regionals quite a few times in the 2000's just like the Panthers.........it was a close call between those two, but I gave the slight edge to McClain.

The rankings are such that there are several positions that could be debated.......I think the lower you go, the more the teams are separated by a fine line.

[Peake]

trojandave, I think you are doing a great job.

I would like to see McClains post season success since 2000 if you could do that. If I remember correctly, they only went to the regionals once or twice since 2000.

[Kenny Bixx]

i might be a tool but i aint ignorant. that might be the problem i am a tool, who is smart who speaks the truth does that make me dangerous?

[trojandave]

peake: McClain went to the regionals 3 times in the 2000's, while Chesapeake went 5 times........but McClain did go farther than the Panthers in the tourney in 2007 and 2008.......reaching the district finals both years. Chesapeake and McClain both went to the district semifinals this past season. Both schools failed to advance to the districts only 1 time in the entire decade.

I could be wrong on this, but I believe that McClain and Wheelersburg were the only 2 schools in the SE District that did not have a losing season in the 2000's.......I think Chesapeake had a losing season the first year after Norm left, but have been winning since Ryan Davis took over.

To have 10 straight winning seasons in a decade is the hallmark of consistency for a great program.......and that is the stat that may have given McClain the edge in my rankings. But Chesapeake has a solid resume, and quite frankly could be higher........as I said before, there is a very fine line among teams once you get past the #1-#2 spots.........

[trojandave]

While looking up some information regarding Chesapeake and Greenfield McClain, I noticed the tournament resume of Reedsville Eastern......the Eagles won 4 district titles from 2000-2005, and had a state appearance during that time. But RE fell off sharply after that........still, some solid accomplishments that would put them in the conversation for a possible top 10 program of the 2000's.

[Peake]

What about Eastern Brown?

[trojandave]

peake: In reference to Eastern Brown......the Warriors won district titles in 2000 and 2002.......going back to the 90's, they also won the district in 1999.......they did win the regional in 2002, losing in the state semifinals. But in the 7 years since then EB hasn't done anything significant enough to warrant a top 10 ranking........although their state appearance is a great accomplishment, there's really not that much to go along with it.

[trojandave]

In rating tournament performance......district champions and beyond, I came up with this rating system:

5 points......state champions
3 points......regional champions
1 point........district champions

A team does not get additional points for winning the district, regional, or state in the same year.......example, Chillicothe gets 5 points for their 2008 state title, but no other points for that year. But they do get 2 points for their 2007 and 2009 district titles.......totaling 7 points.

Based on this point system, the top 10 tournament teams in the SE District for the decade of the 2000's are:

1. South Webster......10 points
2. Wheelersburg.........9 points
3. Chillicothe........7 points
4. (tie) Reedsville Eastern....6 points
Oak Hill..............6 points
6. (tie) Chesapeake....5 points
Ironton...................5 points
Whiteoak...............5 points
9. (tie) Eastern Brown.....4 points
Logan Elm...............4 points

Just outside the top 10:

11. (tie) Greenfield McClain...3 points
Piketon.....................3 points

South Webster occupies the #1 position because they won a state championship in 2006 worth 5 points, also won the regional in 2004 for 3 points, losing to Holgate in the state semifinals, and in addition won 2 other district titles in 2005 and 2007. That accounts for 10 points total. #2 Wheelersburg won regional titles in 2006 and 2007 for 6 points, and also won district titles in 2000, 2002, and 2008 for a total of 9 points.

[trojandave]

South Webster, Oak Hill, Eastern Brown, Whiteoak, and Reedsville Eastern all had good tournament performances in the 2000's......each school made it to the state.....and all could be considered in the argument for spots 8-10 in my rankings.......I do think that North Adams won more consistently than any of these teams throughout the decade. But Piketon, Vinton County, and Zane Trace could possibly be pushed out of the top 10 by any of these teams........although I think that Eastern Brown probably has the weakest case.

What hurt all 4 teams in my overall rankings is that none of them won consistently throughout the decade........and even though Zane Trace didn't win a district title during the 2000's, they played in the district 6 times, while finishing district runnerup twice. The Pioneers most years were in contention for the SVC title.

[trojandave]

If one were to look at all-time point totals, Portsmouth has 68 points.......4 state titles for 20 points, 9 other regional titles for 27 points, and 21 points for 21 other district titles.

Wheelersburg has 18 points for 6 regional titles and 9 points for 9 other district titles for a total of 27 points.

Southeastern Ross has 15 points for 5 regional titles, and 10 points for 10 other district titles for a total of 25 points.

These are the top 3 schools all-time in the SE District in tournament success.

[Bozo]

Zane Trace is 130-91 in the last 10 years. (59%)
One SVC title. (2001)
Two District Runner-ups (2003, 2009)

[nickle back]

I believe Southeastern Ross has five regional titles. 66-67-77-81-90

List looks good.

[trojandave]

nickle back: I will double check to make sure about the regional titles for Southeastern Ross.......I thought they had 4 when I first checked it.

Bozo: Thanks for the stats about Zane Trace.......I knew that the Pioneers had won consistently throughout the 2000's, and your numbers confirm it.

[trojandave]

I made a mistake on Portsmouth's all-time point total the first time I posted it, and have made the corrections. My initial tally for the Trojans was 59 points, but actually Portsmouth has accumulated 68 points. I omitted 3 regional titles in which the Trojans ended up state runnerup.

[JIMMY THE GREEK]

Piketon is up and coming, however I believe they have proven to be in the top 10 over the past 10 years and #1 out of the SVC.

2 SVC Titles (2004, 2009)
2 District Semi-Finalist (2005, 2008)
1 District Runner-up (2004)
1 District Championship (2009)
1 Regional Championship (2009)

[trojandave]

nickle back: You are indeed correct about Southeastern Ross.......after checking the 2009 state tournament program, the Panthers do have 5 regional championships......they have a corrected total of 25 points in my rating system.

Jimmy the Greek: I am not changing my original top 10 which means Piketon stays at #8.......but it is a little more murky from that #8 spot on down......I do think North Adams is a very solid #7.

[trojandave]

For the decade of the 2000's........

Player of the decade: Dante Jackson, Greenfield McClain.....top 20 scorer all time in the state of Ohio......led the Tigers to a tremendous 4 year run despite not having a great cast around him.

Runner-up: Anthony Hitchens, Chillicothe.......State Champion 2008.......phenonmenal, super quick point guard.......doesn't get the nod over Jackson only because he had a much better cast around him (Chambers, Knights, Dawes, Beverly). Broke Toledo Libbey's full court press in the state championship and made the assist for the game winning bucket by Ray Chambers as time expired.

Coach of the decade: Norm Persin, Oak Hill/Chesapeake.....led his teams to 7 district titles, 1 regional title, and 1 state championship.

Runner-up: Tom Barrick, Wheelersburg.....led the Burg to the 2006 and 2007 state semifinals.......the Pirates won 5 district titles in the decade.......and Coach Barrick also guided the Burg to the 1995 state championship D3 game vs. Orrville. The Pirates also beat a strong Chillicothe Cavalier team on CHS's home court in the 2007 season.

Team of the decade: 2008 D2 State Champion Chillicothe Cavaliers........would beat any team in the SE District during the decade.......had all the ingredients of a great team, including outstanding coaching by Gary Kellough. They finished the season 25-2.......the only losses were to Brookhaven and Zanesville.

Runner-up: 2005 State Runnerup Ironton Fighting Tigers.......lost a heartbreaker to powerhouse North College Hill in the D3 state championship game 71-65.......the game was tied with just a minute to go........Dennis Gagai, Brigham Waginger, and Clifton Howard led the Fighting Tigers to a fabulous 26-1 season. IHS was coached by Roger Zornes.

[sparky]

trojan dave,
do you have the records and tournament success for all of the mentioned teams over the past 10 years?