The Daily Standard
Story Archive
Members of the Marion Local boys and girls basketball teams pose for a photo after the boys won the 2003 Division IV state title at the Schottenstein Center. The Flyer girls won the Division IV title the week before, becoming the third school - and second straight MAC school - to sweep state titles in the same season. Delphos St. John's did likewise in 2002.
In 2002 and 2003, the girls and boys basketball teams from Delphos St. John's and Marion Local achieved a milestone that only one other school has accomplished - and none have done since.
The Blue Jays and Flyers became the second and third schools to sweep the state titles in one division in the same season.
The only other school to achieve a sweep was Upper Scioto Valley in 1994 when the Rams won their second straight Division IV girls title and the boys took home the Division IV boys title at St. John Arena.
Kelly Pohlman (24) scored 25 points in the 2002 Division IV girls state championship game.
The St. John's girls, coached by Dan Grothouse, entered the postseason at 21-4 after sharing the MAC title with Minster by going 8-1 in league and 16-4. The Blue Jays stayed close to home in playing both the district and regional at the nearby Elida Fieldhouse. After beating hometown rival Delphos Jefferson and then Kalida, the Blue Jays beat Ottoville 67-51 to head to the regional.
Next up was Van Buren, which St. John's beat 69-50 to advance to play fourth-ranked Patrick Henry for a berth to state. The game was close, but the Blue Jays reached the state final four for the first time since 1987 with a 49-46 victory.
"We started out 4-3, (having just lost) to Kalida and weren't playing well," said veteran St. John's coach Dan Grothouse. "Then all of the sudden, something clicked and we ran off a bunch of games before losing to St. Henry in the last game of (the regular season) at our place (Arnzen Gymnasium). I think after that game the girls thought they could be vulnerable and really got to practice and had a whole new attitude."
In the semifinals at the Schottenstein Center, the Blue Jays faced Mansfield St. Peter's. St. John's led 22-18 at halftime, then used a 13-4 third quarter to pull away en route to a 54-36 victory. The trio of Rachel Pohlman, Lyndsie Kill and Marcie Klaus scored 14, 13 and 11 respectively.
The final pitted the Jays against Shadyside, a 39-34 winner over South Charleston Southeastern in the second semifinal. The Blue Jays quickly put aside any Shadyside hopes, leading 15-8 after one quarter and 27-14 at the half en route to a 50-32 victory for the program's fifth state title and second since joining the MAC in 1983. Pohlman, a second team All-Ohio selection, finished with 25 points.
"When our kids focused on something, they weren't going to be denied," said Grothouse. "They did one heckuva job."
St. John's Nate Klaus (3) tries to avoid Russia's Jay Borchers in the 2002 Division IV boys state championship game.
A week later, the Blue Jay boys took to the Schott court. After losing to Bethel 79-53 in the 2001 Division IV final, the Blue Jays won a MAC title - shared with Versailles - and picked up wins over Columbus Grove, Ottoville and Arlington to reach the regionals at Savage Arena in Toledo. After beating Old Fort in the semifinal 65-61, the Blue Jays faced Holgate, coming away with a 50-41 win to reach the state semifinals for the second straight season.
"We probably overachieved based on expectations in 2001," said Brett Norris, who won 177 games as Blue Jays coach from 1996 to 2005. "When you return as many guys as we did, having that kind of experience was valuable. We had six losses in the regular season. As I remember, we couldn't find a regular rhythm during the regular season, but in the tournament, that kind of experience paid dividends."
First up was Bristol (21-4). The Blue Jays quickly took control and never looked back, winning 80-53 with four Jays scoring in double figures led by Keith Recker with 17 points and Nate Klaus with 15.
The final pitted the Jays against Shelby County power Russia, who beat South Charleston Southeastern at Millett Hall at Miami University to reach the final four for the first time in school history.
The Raiders were ready for the Jays. After trailing 32-27 at halftime, Russia outscored St. John's 21-9 in the third quarter to take a 54-41 lead.
Norris' squad was not ready to concede, outscoring the Raiders 33-16 in the final eight minutes to come back for a 74-64 victory for the program's third state title. Nate Klaus scored 27 points with Mike Anthony adding 15 in the victory.
"It was an odd game," said Norris of the final. "We got off to a great start, then Russia had a great third quarter. I think the 33 points was a record (for points in a fourth quarter). I think we made our first eight or nine shots. The game went quickly from us having our backs against the wall to being in control with three minutes to go.
"The year before (against Bethel), the game was close and got away from us in the second half," he continued. "I remember the huddle going to the fourth quarter (against Russia). For where we were in the game, having a calm confidence could only have come from experience from the previous year."
Marion Local's Maria Moeller (14) gets a high-five from teammate Gina Hein at the 2003 Division IV girls state title game.
In 2003, it was Marion Local's turn. After losing their sectional opener in 2002, the Flyer girls had a loaded team led by seniors Erin (Puthoff) Siefring and Margo (Moeller) Chappel, who were on the roster when the Flyers were Division IV state runner-up in 2000. Marion also had freshman Maria Moeller in the starting lineup.
The Flyers rolled through the postseason, beating USV and St. Henry - the team that beat the Flyers in the sectional the season before - in the district before picking up convincing wins over Middletown Fenwick and Fort Loramie at the regional to reach Columbus.
"The big thing about 2003 was, unlike today, we played all MAC teams in our sectional," said longtime Flyers coach Treva Fortkamp. "We were the third or fourth seed and I went into Minster's bracket and faced (them) in the sectional final when two teams moved on. Once we got that and got the ball rolling, it just snowballed from there."
First up was Mansfield St. Peter's, which fell victim to a MAC team again as Maria Moeller had 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the Flyers 52-36 win. Standing in the way of a state title was Holgate, which defeated Shadyside 53-50 when Vanessa Rothman beat the buzzer with a half-court 3-pointer as part of a 28-point game.
"That was huge for us," said Fortkamp, who won 271 games as coach of her alma mater. "We came in as the underdog against Mansfield St. Peter, but we played defense that they had never seen before. When Holgate won on a buzzer beater, I thought it was one of the best things to happen for us because when you win on an emotional shot like that and have to play the next day, there can be some sort of letdown."
The two teams played close through the first half with Marion leading 16-14 at halftime. In the third quarter, Marion pushed the lead to 27-22 before pulling away in the fourth for the 46-28 victory. Maria Moeller, who went on to play college ball at Ohio State and now coaches the Flyer junior varsity, finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists, with Siefring adding 10 points and Chappel pulling down 12 rebounds. Rothman, the Division IV Co-Player of the Year, was held to just 10 points.
"The girls flat-out played great through the tournament," said Fortkamp, who now serves as varsity assistant to former player Beth Streib at Marion. "Between Maria and Rachel (Thobe), they could keep up with (Rothman) speed-wise, which was huge. Then we had the presence of Margo. She was 6-1 and had good feet. Erin was a tremendous athlete who could run the floor. We had overall good team speed."
Marion Local's Mick Bollenbacher shoots over Crestview's Kory Lichtensteiger in the 2003 Division IV boys state title game in Columbus.
The Marion boys came into their season with some added motivation after being denied a chance to win a third state football title, losing to Hardin Northern in the regional final.
"The boys didn't win the football title that season and came in with a chip on their shoulder," said then-Flyers coach Keith Westrick. "They had something to prove. I found out over the years that really made the difference. They knew they were very athletic and were determined to make it happen."
The Flyers' only losses in the regular season came in MAC play, where they shared the league crown with St. John's and Coldwater. The postseason proved more of a challenge, but Marion came up with wins over USV and Perry for a district title before beating Cedarville and Fort Loramie at Millett Hall at Miami University, the latter a 66-58 win in the regional final for its first state berth since 1984.
"The game I remember is Fort Loramie. They were well-coached and were a pretty good team," said Westrick. "If I remember right, we were down five (44-39 at one point). Those guys were blue-collar players. They were going to work and get it done. They weren't going to accept anything less."
First up at the Schott was Elyria Open Door Christian. Marion led 19-5 after one quarter and never looked back to pick up the 72-47 victory to reach its first state title game since 1975.
Awaiting Marion was Crestview, featuring future NFL offensive lineman Kory Lichtensteiger. Marion led 12-6 early, but the Knights trimmed the margin to 23-18 at halftime. Marion poured on the pressure as Craig Wolters scored 19 points and Kevin Garman added 13, and the Flyers won their second state title with a 62-46 victory. Lichtensteiger was held to 16 points and 13 rebounds.
"Looking at the state stats, I saw the amount of points we got off turnovers (29, compared to one for Crestview)," said Westrick. "I think the pressure got to them in the third and fourth quarter. Maybe we wore them down a bit. They were very well-coached and a quality team."
After the boys' win, the girls came down to the floor for a picture of both championship teams.
"Those kids were very close, and about half are related, so there was always friendly competition," said Westrick, who won 194 games in 14 seasons as coach. "The boys rooted the girls on and the girls rooted the boys on. I think the fact the girls paved the way might have set the tone a bit."
