Baptizing Athletic Excellence - OHio HS football playoffs - 2005

Plain Dealer, OhioStateWebsite, DollyHoward | November 13, 2005 | dolly Howard

[DollyCali]

Ohio State Quarterback Troy Smith, A Famous Glenville Grad (who was also at St.Eds for 2 years..

Troy Smith

	Class: Junior
	Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
	High School: Glenville

	Height / Weight: 6-1 / 215
	Position: Quarterback
	Birthdate: 07/20/1984
	Major: Communication

Career Notes:
One of three candidates for the starting quarterback spot ... started the final five games of the 2004 regular season and led the Buckeyes to a 4-1 record down the stretch, including a dominating 37-21 victory over Michigan in the regular-season finale ... turned in an unforgettable performance against the Wolverines with 386 yards in total offense, the third highest figure in school history and the most yards ever by an Ohio State player in the Michigan game ... 145 of those yards came on the ground, leaving him one-yard shy of the school rushing record by a quarterback (the latter mark of 146 belongs to Cornelius Greene and was set against Wisconsin in 1974) ... is the first Ohio State quarterback since Rod Gerald in 1977 to rush for 100 or more yards (Gerald had an even 100 against Iowa that year) ... is the most versatile of the OSU signal callers and his ability to scramble out of danger and turn a potential lost-yardage play into a positive play makes him doubly dangerous ... made his first start against Indiana last year and grew more confident with each succeeding start, turning in impressive performances in a come-from-behind win over Michigan State as well as a seven-point loss at Purdue ... is an outstanding athlete and competitor.

2004 (Sophomore):
Began the season as the backup to Justin Zwick, but took over as the starter in week seven after Zwick injured a shoulder the previous week at Iowa ... completed 58 of 107 passes for 791 yards and six touchdowns and ran for 325 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his five starts ... finished the season with 896 yards passing and 339 yards rushing ... was the Buckeyes' third leading rusher and averaged 4.1 yards per carry ... hooked up with Anthony Gonzalez on a 68-yard scoring pass on the Buckeyes' fifth play from scrimmage in the Michigan game to give OSU an early 7-0 lead ... accounted for three touchdowns against Michigan - two passing and one rushing ... completed his first college pass against Cincinnati, hooking up with Santonio Holmes on a 23-yard fourth-quarter touchdown strike ... made a brief appearance the following week against Marshall, but did not see any extended action again until replacing Zwick at Iowa ... connected with Ted Ginn on a 58-yard scoring pass at Michigan State to give OSU a 23-19 lead with 1:37 to play, then made it a six-point lead by scoring on a two-point conversion ... almost pulled out a win at Purdue, rallying OSU form a 17-3 deficit to a 17-17 tie by throwing for one touchdown and rushing for another in what turned out to be a 24-17 loss ... eight touchdown passes and three interceptions on the year with all three of the latter coming at Purdue in his lone loss as a starter.

2003 (Freshman):
Played in 10 games, but was used primarily as a slash back and on kick returns ... made his debut in the season opener against Washington and had a 2-yard run ... also had two carries against Northwestern, including an 8-yard run ... longest runback was 18 yards at Indiana .. did earn his first letter.

2002 (Redshirt):
Was the last player to sign with the Buckeyes in the winter of 2002 and was signed because of his overall athletic ability.

High School:
Played his first two years at Lakewood St. Edward, but transferred to Glenville as a senior ... threw for 969 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior, leading Glenville to the state playoffs ... played three years of basketball and ran track (high jump, long jump and 1,600-meter relay).

Personal:
Is the son of Tracy Smith and Kenneth Delaney ... has a sister, Brittany, who attends Cleveland State and is a registered nurse ... an older brother, Rod, played guard at Ohio State in the early 1990s, and another brother, Andre, played at Bowling Green ... a third sibling, Irvin White, played at Walsh College ... lists Michael Vick and Donovan McNabb as two of his favorite football players ... enjoys video games and shopping.

[DollyCali]

Pinging a few of my buddies here at FR
(and a few I don’t know, just to annoy you)

What did you do yesterday afternoon? Here is a little of what I did, with the commentary on it.

High School athletes baptized week prior - article snippets.

Same High School State football players contend at playoffs at Brown’s stadium

marching bands & classy coaches & tournaments

[lysie]

Wow! Excellent post, Dolly. Thank you.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Gucho]

Great post DC - Thank you.

[DollyCali]

A bit more info to show the differences between the two schools.. the privilege & the poor. BTW. I noted my figure of 85% was inaccurate for Solon white population. chart here shows 78%

Glennville Demographics etc

.Comparison of other Nearby Schools to Glenville

Solon Demographics etc

.Comparison of other Nearby Schools to Solon

[chalkfarmer]

Reading your post was more inspirational than sitting in church. Thanks. Brought back some good memories of my Sunday Granny (cleveland resident)visits...she lived near this very neighborhood!

[DollyCali]

Thanks for your comments chalk.. I am a former teacher who has no desire to return to public school.. but I am going to go to glenville & volunteer to help tutor (free) etc., counselor (free) etc. I am old enough I have had lots of careers & would like to use what I have acquired to help those great kids & their families.

I bike in the area & am not afraid of it or the people.

off to play (Forever Plaid) ... appreciate you dropping in & sharing about your Sunday Granny!

[U S Army EOD]

Check out this website and look at the whole thing, especially the history. Lincoln County Red Devils is the way football is spelled. I was fortunate to be able to play on the first state championship team of many, my son followed me years later on another one. For a small town in Georgia, having your coach ranked as 7th in the nation is not bad. Hope this works.

http://www.lincolncountyreddevils.com/

[eleni121]

What an inspiring article. Thanks Dolly!

Rich or poor I'll bet on victory for the "Baptized" team any day of the week.

[E Rocc]

It figures that this becomes a topic the week after my alma mater (Maple Heights) gets knocked out in the first round after going 10-0 for the first time in over half a century. >:o

The turnaround at Maple is as dramatic as Glenville's, albeit on a smaller scale. Both came about due to bringing in a coach that can really inspire their players.

-Eric

[IndyTiger]

Dolly,

I saw the article in the PD this week as well...very inspiring story. Thanks for sharing your experience. This Saturday will have more great games with St. Eds going against Glenville, and also a rematch of McKinley and my alma mater, Massillon.

[mak5]

Let's not forget the coach's son, Ted Ginn, Jr., Ohio State Wide Reciever, who may win a Heisman before he is done.

Career Notes:
Electrifying young player, who is a threat to score each time he touches the football ... coming off a sensational true freshman year in which he began the season as a defensive back, but wound up playing offense and garnering national attention with his explosive scoring ability as both a receiver and a punt-return specialist ... further demonstrated his versatility in the Alamo Bowl by subbing at quarterback when the Buckeyes were down to one experienced signal caller ... heads into his sophomore season regarded as one of the most dangerous weapons in college football ... scored eight touchdowns on 59 touches in 2004 - four via punt returns and two each on runs and pass receptions ... his four punt returns for scores set a school and Big Ten single-season record and tied the NCAA one-season mark (later broken by Hawaii's Chad Owens with 5) ... additionally, he is already the school's career leader in punt returns for touchdowns, breaking the old mark of three that had been shared by Garcia Lane (1981-83) and Jeff Graham (1989-90) ... needs four more touchdowns on punt returns during his career to equal the current NCAA record of eight (Wes Welker of Texas Tech and Antonio Perkins of Oklahoma) ... has incredible speed, is sure-handed and is blessed with great instincts and tremendous vision ... came to Ohio State as a renowned track star with Olympic potential, but is first-and-foremost a sensational football player ... was used sparingly on kickoff returns last year, but could see more action there this year in an attempt to get him more touches ... he would like to also play cornerback, but that is not expected to happen this year unless an emergency arises ... was named to several freshman All-America teams last year and was a third-team pick on the Associated Press All-America squad ... named to several preseason All-America teams and will certainly be a candidate for post-season honors in 2005.

2004 (Freshman):
Averaged 25.6 yards per punt return, leading the nation and setting an Ohio State single-season record in that department ... scored on punt returns of 65 yards (Wisconsin), 67 yards (Penn State), 60 yards (Michigan State) and 82-yard (Michigan) ... the latter broke the game open and was one of the most spectacular runs in Ohio State history ... scored three touchdowns at Michigan State, tallying on a 17-yard reverse and a 58-yard reception in addition to his punt return ... finished second on the team in receiving with 25 receptions for 359 yards ... had a career-best five catches for 87 yards against Michigan and followed that up with six receptions against Oklahoma State in the bowl game... longest reception of the year was a 59-yard TD grab against Indiana ... tied for second on the team in scoring with 48 points ... spent most of the preseason working with the defense, but was moved to offense just before the start of the season ... was used sparingly early in the year as he learned the system, but was a key factor in the Buckeyes' late-season success ... caught passes in the last seven games of the season and had 18 receptions in the last four games ... took seven snaps at quarterback in the bowl game when the Buckeyes were down to one quarterback.

High School:
Played for his father, Ted Ginn Sr., in high school ... was selected as the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year ... also a 2004 Parade All-American ... SuperPrep named him as its 2004 National Defensive Player of the Year ... Most Valuable Player of the U.S. Army All-America game ... also played quarterback, wide receiver and running back for Glenville and returned punts and kickoffs ... intercepted eight passes as a senior, returning five of them for touchdowns ... one of his interception returns went for a state-record 102-yard touchdown, while another went for a 97-yard score ... also passed for 932 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for 845 yards and 17 touchdowns ... named one of Ohio's three 2003 Division I Offensive Players of the Year ... returned four punts and one kickoff for touchdowns ... the national champion in the 110 high hurdles as a junior and the best time in the nation as a senior when he won the state title for the second consecutive year ... has been timed at 10.5 seconds in the 100 meter dash.

[Billie]

I'm not very much into football, and especially not high school or college, but I read your comments about the two teams (Solon and Glenville) with interest, Dolly. What an inspiration to read about the Glenville School team, their coach - and their spirituality.

[DollyCali]

wow, quite impressive. and I like the website.. the marching band music! awesome. good luck to those Red Devils!

[OneLoyalAmerican]

Greetings DollyCali:

Thanks for the ping. The weather was beautiful, and the Solon vs Glenville game was great. And regardless of economic backgrounds, both teams and their supporters were a class act.

As far as the earlier Brush vs St. Edward game, IMHO, a terrible mismatch. My recommendation: hold the next St. Edward vs St. Ignatius game at the Browns Stadium.

Cheers,
OLA

[DollyCali]

I go to church in Walton HIlls. Last Sunday one of the elders was at the table & could barely talk. He apologized & said it wasn't a cold/flu.. it was Mapleitis! screamed his team on to unfortuante loss...

Maple Heights needs to stop following in the awesome footsteps of the Browns it seems.

[U S Army EOD]

Thank you, mam :)

[DollyCali]

I did not know that about Ginn's son. thanks for info.

as I mentioned earlier, I hope to get involved as an academic helper there if wanted (know it is needed) and will possibly learn more. I am NOT a sports expert by any means. Love football & understand fairly well the mechanics but knowing all the teams & their former & current players & relations to others of past is not where I am at.

Will try to be at the games this weekend if it is not TOO cold. not sure today how I will define "TOO cold", But if you are local, you know what it is like in the stadium with below zero weather & the wind whipping off the lake!

[DollyCali]

were you there sweetie? where did you sit? was thinking it would have been nice to check w/you regarding parking at your "work place" if possible.