Federal Hocking vs Berlin Hiland - 6PM

[93Bulldog]

The OHSAA has once again switched the time from 8PM to 6PM siting "traveling time" as the reason.

Did someone not tell them Berlin is a lot further away than Green or Worthington? lol

The OHSAA never ceases to amaze me.

Oh well, early start, early bedtime.

Thoughts on the game?

[HHS]

Most fans I know for Hiland were fine with the later start because it meant they didn’t have to figure things out at work.

I know fans in the Southeast revere the Convo but I consider it a terrible venue for a tournament game for us.

1) 3 hr drive each way sucks. I recognize it’s not that way for everyone and the SE district is geographically huge but playing there on 2 school/work days- Tues/Fri is a real challenge.
2) 0 atmosphere. Not having the bleachers out in the lower bowl is criminal. 0 atmosphere might be generous. -50 atmosphere.
3) parking situation is bad and they charge you $5/10 when tickets are already $10 at the regional level and I’m spending $30-40 in gas to get there.
4) the announcer that SE Ohio people seem to love so much is annoying as can be and a total distraction. Doesn’t enhance the experience at all for me.

In regards to the actual game, it should be interesting. This is a totally new Hiland team. Only 1 real returning rotation player from last year. (A 2nd got a little time). It’s been a tough year at times but they played a brutal schedule so they’ve been tested. They are capable of being awesome (1st 3 quarters vs River, last 1.5 quarters vs Caldwell) or terrible- not a lot of middle ground.

[93Bulldog]

Dang man, you had me until the comments about Lou. He is a legend and loved by both Ohio University fans and surrounding communities. He's widely considered the best PA in the MAC, let alone high school sports.

[HHS]

Dang man, you had me until the comments about Lou. He is a legend and loved by both Ohio University fans and surrounding communities. He's widely considered the best PA in the MAC, let alone high school sports.

For me, PA announcers should do the starters and then be quiet. We don’t need fouls announced, baskets announced, screaming at timeouts.

[93Bulldog]

Dang man, you had me until the comments about Lou. He is a legend and loved by both Ohio University fans and surrounding communities. He's widely considered the best PA in the MAC, let alone high school sports.

For me, PA announcers should do the starters and then be quiet. We don’t need fouls announced, baskets announced, screaming at timeouts.

translation = booooring.

Boy, you'd really hate an Ohio Univeristy volleyball game then. lol

[hoot]

I have massive respect for Berlin Hiland and have seen them for years at the Regional and State levels but really they should not be in the SE Regional . In D4 the SE Region goes west to Whiteoak and Fairfield up past Chilicothe to Paint Valley south to Franklin Furnace up to Racine then way north to River and Berlin. I understand the OHSAA has to try to match the numbers for 4 regions but the area size alone in the Region is ridiculous for travel and I’m not sure where the could play a Regional in anyplace except the Convo. Whiteoak is a very short drive to Cincy and Hiland is a short drive to Canton is a large area . With that being said someone will have a long trip . Convo atmosphere is great with big crowds but in D4 that is usually not the case. I’d love for them to use the bleachers but I also understand why they don’t. It’s not perfect but this week is usually fun. Good Luck to all and safe travels ..

[HHS]

Dang man, you had me until the comments about Lou. He is a legend and loved by both Ohio University fans and surrounding communities. He's widely considered the best PA in the MAC, let alone high school sports.

For me, PA announcers should do the starters and then be quiet. We don’t need fouls announced, baskets announced, screaming at timeouts.

translation = booooring.

Boy, you'd really hate an Ohio Univeristy volleyball game then. lol

Our team plays exciting basketball. Don’t need the phony hype. Haha. You can love him. I’m sure he’s a great guy. Just not for me and I know many Hiland fans feel the same.

[93Bulldog]

The DIV crowds last Thur were great. Lower bowl completely filled, then half way to the top in some place, especially mid court.

[danicalifornia]

Almost all PA guys in the SE announce everything. It’s strange to be at games that don’t announce baskets or fouls.

Lou is great and can be a bit over the top, but I’d much prefer that over silence.

[pfloyd]

Most fans I know for Hiland were fine with the later start because it meant they didn’t have to figure things out at work.

I know fans in the Southeast revere the Convo but I consider it a terrible venue for a tournament game for us.

1) 3 hr drive each way sucks. I recognize it’s not that way for everyone and the SE district is geographically huge but playing there on 2 school/work days- Tues/Fri is a real challenge.
2) 0 atmosphere. Not having the bleachers out in the lower bowl is criminal. 0 atmosphere might be generous. -50 atmosphere.
3) parking situation is bad and they charge you $5/10 when tickets are already $10 at the regional level and I’m spending $30-40 in gas to get there.
4) the announcer that SE Ohio people seem to love so much is annoying as can be and a total distraction. Doesn’t enhance the experience at all for me.

In regards to the actual game, it should be interesting. This is a totally new Hiland team. Only 1 real returning rotation player from last year. (A 2nd got a little time). It’s been a tough year at times but they played a brutal schedule so they’ve been tested. They are capable of being awesome (1st 3 quarters vs River, last 1.5 quarters vs Caldwell) or terrible- not a lot of middle ground.

... wow , tell us how you really feel about SouthEast Ohio ... probably not real happy when you hear dueling banjo's playing either - I suggest keeping the windows rolled up to deaden the sound ... welcome to SE Ohio! 3 hr bus drive a couple of days? - got to be tougher than that! we have students who ride a bus to school 5 days a week 2 hours each way ... I think you can handle the inconvenience ... I will apologize up front for the $3 waters, $10 pizza, $5 Coke at the Convo Concessions - you should use the 93bulldog method of "packing a Subway sub & water" in your "go bag" ...

High School hoops fans Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line KNOW Berlin Hiland, respect the heck outta of Berlin Hiland basketball BOTH boys and girls! I was sitting in the Cheap Seats at the RoundHouse Thursday night - was asked a question about Who from the East in D4 was Federal Hocking going to play - I DIDN"T EVEN HESITATE - no other team even entered my mind - "Berlin Hiland if I have to guess" - disciplined, outstanding defense, well coached - all rolled off my tongue before I even had to think ... the next question I was posed "Who do they have? - I had no idea but threw out - (these names are always on the roster it seems) Yoder, Miller, Detweiler (starter from last season 5 treys vs Newark Catholic/1 vs Western Pike) ... You should probably just stay away from the Convo , pay OHSAA for the livestream so you don't deal with all of these inconveniences ...

... SEOhio, the Convo haters are going to hate BUT hating on Lou?!! - the Voice of OU sports/high school basketball in Southern/SEOhio - he has made getting to the Convo , Basketball :30 the goal of ALL 71 teams in the SE District ... being able to play on a college court, in a fabled building such as the Convo , announced by a legend in the MAC/high school ranks ... keep your East District - medicinal, announce the starters PA guys - we'll keep Lou ... HEY! here's a thought - maybe you'll luck out HHS and only have to make the trip Tuesday night ! ...

[formerfcfan]

The OHSAA has once again switched the time from 8PM to 6PM siting "traveling time" as the reason.

Did someone not tell them Berlin is a lot further away than Green or Worthington? lol

The number of tickets bought by the Hiland fanbase for regional appearances has been surprisingly low, over multiple sports, recently.

If the presumption is you get 100 Hiland fans to come out for an 8pm weeknight tip, the increase or decrease of Hiland fans for a 6pm tip is negligible compared to how many more Green fans you’d get for an 8pm.

[peake71]

Great post pfloyd. They should be glad they are still playing.
I have made an almost 2 hour drive to Athens, stayed in a motel just to watch regional semis and finals even when my school had been eliminated.
So be happy your still in the lose one and your out.

[OVC]

Man, Green has gotten shafted multiple times by the OHSAA regarding start time of the game. I think this is the third time they have moved their start time due to one lame excuse or another.

[formerfcfan]

the increase or decrease of Hiland fans for a 6pm tip is negligible compared to how many more Green fans you’d get for an 8pm.

I’ll add that Green’s game at 8pm features a high-major basketball recruit, so that also probably justifies the trade-off in switching times.

[93Bulldog]

per 740sports

The Athens County game of the week returns on Power 105 Tuesday when Federal Hocking (22-3) takes on Berlin Hiland (17-9) in a DIV regional semi-final at the Convo. Tariq Cottrill scored a game high 25 points to lead Federal Hocking past Notre Dame 64-56 to claim its first district title in 53 years. The Hawks meanwhile held off a late rally by Hannibal River on Friday for their 7th consecutive East District championship.

Who is Hiland? Berlin Highland is considered one of the top small school programs in the state and has won 3-of-the-past-5 DIV regional championships in Athens, including last season. The Hawks have been to the state tournament 12 times, won three state titles and finished runner-up twice. They are located in Northeast Ohio about 10 miles east of Millersburg in Amish country and are well known of their boys and girls basketball programs. In fact, you could say basketball is to Hiland what football is to Marion Local. They eat, breath and sleep the game 365 days year. But this year’s Hiland squad doesn’t appear to be the juggernaut fans have become accustomed to over the years. The Hawks are probably closer to the team that beat Trimble 56-48 in the semi-finals at Southeastern High School in 2021. They have 9 losses on the year, barely slipped past River and defeated Caldwell by 7 last Tuesday, who beat Fed Hock 72-66 in the season opener. But the Lancers have been a much different team since then having won 22-of-their-last-23 games heading into the Sweet 16 match-up.

Is Federal Hocking the underdog? Yes, maybe a little just based on past history of teams from the Southeast District performing in regional tournaments. Back in 2021 coach Howie Caldwell led the Tomcats to the regionals versus Hiland, but his teams play the same brand of basketball as the Hawks. Disciplined, defensive minded, slow it down and look for quality shots. It’s tough to beat a team at their own game when that team is the best at it and the Cats lost by 8 in a really tough, physical semi-final. The Lancers play a completely different game though and that may be what’s needed to finally get over the hump and send Hiland packing back to Berlin. Federal Hocking plays tough, aggressive defense and likes to press and get up and down the floor, but are probably best known for its offense. The Lancers average 68.6 points per game and love to shoot the three, which is the great equalizer in basketball these days. They drained 7 in the district championship versus Notre Dame, 8 during the win over Eastern Pike and have at least five players on the floor that can knock down shots from beyond the arc. It’s almost imperative you have a PG that can handle the ball and control tempo against a team like Hiland and Fed Hock has one of the best in DIV Southeast District POY Tariq Cottrill. The Hawks do have a 6’7 man, but so did Notre Dame, Eastern Pike and Vinton County, which the Lancers went (3-0) against. Last but not least, it takes a special group of young men to get this far in the tournament and beyond and Federal Hocking certainly has that, on and off the court. You have to be tough, hardnosed, play together as a team and have a lot of heart, which again, the Lancers possess. All they need to do now is show up, be themselves, play hard, knock down shots from the outside and rely on the big crowd that is for sure going to show up and support them.

Tuesday's game can be heard live on 105.5FM or via the Power 105 app with tipoff scheduled for 6PM

Good luck and go Lancers!

[Ironman92]

Man, Green has gotten shafted multiple times by the OHSAA regarding start time of the game. I think this is the third time they have moved their start time due to one lame excuse or another.

How has it affected them? So far 2-0 on time changes.

[Ironman92]

Lol at hating Lou

[buckcc]

This Hiland fan much rather take that 2 hour drive to OU,and I know it's probably about 45 minutes to hour to Canton, but then have to run into that Richmond Hts.all star team every season,I like our chances at OU every year to make it to state

[Raider6309]

Lol at hating Lou

Culture of cry babies. Hiland could play at Canton HS and lose by 40 to Richmond

[buckcc]

Any win from this point on will be icing on the cake for this team, this years senior class didn't have alot of success coming up through the ranks, I guess you can look at Martin RPI rankings and see where my Hawks rank for a tuff schedule ,I know you still have to play the game, but if we stumble in the regionals this season, I'd say you better look out for next season, because we have the main core returnng next season, and with outstanding freshman class this season and one is a starter the other one comes off the bench and also a very good 8th grade team coming up ,the future looks very good by Hiland standard's