High school football: Finalists for Fisher Award, Ritley Award announced
Nov. 15—Finalists for the Tony Fisher Award and the Bob Ritley Award have been announced by The News-Herald.
The awards go to the area's football player of the year (the Tony Fisher Award) and the area's coach of the year (the Bob Ritley Award), and the presentations will be made on Monday, Nov. 21 at a special edition of the Varsity Chalk Talk Show at Hooley House in Mentor.
The awards show begins at 6 p.m.
Finalists for the Fisher Award are (in alphabetical order): Chardon senior Alex Henry, Mentor sophomore Scotty Fox, Riverside junior Mikey Maloney, Kenston junior Sean Patrick and Perry junior Brayden Richards.
Finalists for the Ritley Award are (in alphabetical order): Riverside's Dave Bors, Mentor's Matt Gray and Kirtland's Tiger LaVerde.
In perhaps the most competitive season to date, the five finalists who separated themselves for the Fisher Award are:
—Henry, who has thrown for 724 yards and six touchdowns and run for 1,149 yards and scored 12 touchdowns — for a total of 1,873 yards and 24 touchdowns. He is 27-1 as Chardon's starting quarterback and leads the Hilltoppers into this weekend's Division III, Region 9 championship game against Canfield.
—Fox, who has thrown for 2,882 yards and 29 touchdowns in his first full year as the Cardinals' quarterback. He and his teammates will play St. Edward in the Division I, Region 1 championship game this weekend.
—Maloney, who finished the season throwing for 2,289 yards and 28 touchdowns with three interceptions, while also rushing for 677 yards and 15 touchdowns — for a total of 2,966 yards of total offense and 43 touchdowns. Maloney guided the Beavers to the Western Reserve Conference championship and into the Division II, Region 5 semifinal round where they lost to Hudson, 16-14, on Nov. 11.
—Patrick finished the season rushing for 1,496 yards, with 36 catches for 721 yards — for a total of 2,217 offensive yards and 24 touchdowns — to go with three interceptions on defense. With Patrick standing out on both sides of the ball, Kenston finished 9-3 and lost to Chardon, 10-7, in a Division III, Region 9 semifinal on Nov. 11.
—Richards, who has run for 789 yards, caught 37 passes for 610 yards, thrown for 110 yards and has 533 yards in returns — for a total of 2,042 yards of offense — with 25 touchdowns and five two-point conversions. He has also intercepted five passes with 63 tackles and three pass breakups. Richards and the Pirates will face South Range in the Division V, Region 17 championship game this weekend.
The competition for three finalist spots was equally as difficult this year, but the three who are vying for the Ritley Award are:
—Bors, who led Riverside to an 11-2 record and two Division II, Region 5 playoff victories. Riverside lost two games by a total of three points, 7-6 to Mentor in the regular season and 16-14 to Hudson in a regional semifinal.
—Gray, who has led Mentor to a 9-3 record, with seven wins in the last eight games — including a regional semifinal win over Medina that avenged a midseason loss.
—LaVerde who has guided Kirtland to a 13-0 record heading into this weekend's regional championship game against Mogadore. The Division VI Hornets played an entire regular season against larger-division schools.
A capacity crowd is expected, so those wishing to attend are encouraged to call for reservations (440-942-6611) and arrive early.
