Winning time: Lucas all-stars want one more win in News Journal All-Star Classic
LUCAS — One more for the road wouldn't hurt.
That is the way Lucas' Corbin Toms and Andrew Smollen are approaching the 44th News Journal All-Star Classic on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Lexington. One more win to add to an impressive collection of victories, championships and memories.
After the Cubs were bounced from the Division IV district championship game by Colonel Crawford, the senior group, which includes Toms and Smollen, finished their careers with an 85-19 record in four seasons. That is an average of 21.25 wins a year. Not bad considering there are only 22 regular-season games.
But the only win they care about is the next one and that comes on Friday night at the Classic.
"The Colonel Crawford game is still eating me live every single day," Smollen said. "You are always sad when it is over, but to go out with a win would be very cool. But honestly, it is an honor to be playing in the Mansfield News Journal All-Star game with a bunch of other really great players. To be able to represent our school and our community one last time is special."
It wasn't long ago, the Lucas boys basketball program withstood a 56-game losing streak from 2010-2014. Around that time, a young Corbin Toms was starting to take interest in sports. He was in kindergarten when the losing streak started and it wouldn't be until third grade he would see it end. He had the wherewithal even at a young age to know that is what he wanted for his teams in the future.
"When I was a ballboy and waterboy, I saw a lot of teams at Lucas not experience much success," Toms said. "I knew I didn't want that for my teams. Then, coach (Taylor) Iceman took over and I saw how much work those guys put in to change the program into what it is today. It was tough to lose in the district final and in the regional semifinals in football, but when I look back on it, there is a lot to be proud of."
So, they went to work. Their fathers got them into every possible youth league possible in every sport they could imagine. At such a young age, they hated losing more than they loved winning. They were competitive beyond belief even if it was a family game of Scrabble. So when it came to playing high school basketball games, the fire burned brightest.
"It started from when we were little," Smollen said. "Our dads coached us in everything when we were in kindergarten all the way up through. I remember playing in a league at Madison where there were a ton of Madison teams with amazing athletes and just one Lucas team. They did whatever it took to get us to play sports. We only lost two games in basketball and one game in football throughout our middle school years. It became an expectation to win. When we didn't it was hard and lit a fire. It developed winners."
It certainly did.
Their freshman year, they helped the varsity team go 26-1 and make the program's second-ever trip to the regional championship game before their tournament run was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was that season when Toms believes helped him the most because he didn't just walk into practice and get handed a varsity jersey right away.
"We had five or six guys in our grade who have played together since we were little and we stuck together," Toms said. "When you play with each other for so long, you start to develop a competitive nature where you refuse to lose. Being freshmen, what helped us was that there were successful teams before us and we knew we weren't going to be freshmen who walked in off the street and into a starting role. We had to play JV and do the things that helped the varsity be successful without recognition. That helped me so much. We didn't just show up and play. You had to work for it."
In the next two seasons, they won 19 games in each and won the 2020-21 Division IV district championship for the second straight year. Then, they closed their careers out with a 21-win season and a district runner-up trophy. In all, they won four Mid-Buckeye Conference championships and went 38-2 in league play. They went 13-3 in the postseason tournament.
That wouldn't have happened had it not been for the fire that was lit when they were younger.
"It was definitely something that developed in us when we were younger," Toms said. "We both had fathers who cared about sports and put us in competitive leagues and did the right things when we were younger to help us be successful in the future. We had classes ahead of us that we looked up to like Riley (Gossom), (Ethan) Sauder and (Ethan Wallace) Goose. To be on their team when we were freshmen and seeing the success they enjoyed in that run to a state title game in football and then in basketball going 26-1, it started to become something to strive for. We wanted to be the ones who continued that for Lucas."
It also helped that they enjoyed so much success in football, too. In four years, Toms and Smollen were part of a class that played 50 football games in their careers. They went 35-15 including that 12-3 season when they made it to the Division VII state championship game in 2019.
The following season was when Smollen remembers being challenged by his coaches.
"Sophomore year, one of our coaches came up to us and told us it was time for us to grow up," Smollen said. "We had an entire season to figure out what it was like to play at a high level and what the expectations were so it is our turn. It is so cool to think about. To have the opportunity to play 10 more football games than you are guaranteed is something I took for granted at the time, but now that I look back, it is really cool."
Even in the COVID season where they were only given six regular-season games, they still managed to go 7-3 playing an all-Mid-Ohio Atheltic Conference schedule full of teams Division IV and higher and making a run to the regional championship game. They went 10-2 in 2021 and finished last year 6-7 but won two playoff games and had Danville on the ropes in the regional semifinals.
Smollen still remembers the day get got hooked on sports. It was the 2014 season and the Cubs were in the football playoffs for the first time since 2006. Lucas played at Plymouth in the first round of the playoffs and Ruben Luna drilled a walk-off field goal to win the first playoff game in program history setting the Cubs faithful into a frenzy at Mary Fate Park. He was right there with everyone storming the field.
"I remember when my cousin was playing football for Lucas and they weren't very good," Smollen said. "Then they won that first playoff game at Plymouth and everyone stormed the field when Ruben Luna hit that game-winning field goal. I was young at the time and didn't understand why he was so happy, but now, I realize he went through a struggle of getting there after years of not being very good and finally achieved something special. Now, I feel like we kind of take for granted the success we have had at Lucas recently. It should be something celebrated."
And they will be celebrated. Lucas travels well and fans were there for all 85 basketball wins and 35 football wins. Now, they will pack the gym at Lexington High School to cheer on two of their all-time favorites in the 44th News Journal All-Star Classic.
"To go out with a win would be huge," Toms said. "I always joke with my dad about the senior vs staff game and winning one last time at Lucas, but I would love to get one more win in the all-star game and end my career with that. But just to think about 85 wins, I remember when I was little, we would go to Ashland games because Lucas wasn't very good. And when we were outside playing basketball, we had those aspirations of winning district championships and to see the joking around in the driveway turn into something that actually happened, it is crazy to look back at. It is something I will never forget."
Maybe Toms and Smollen will inspire the next generation of Lucas Cub athletes out there playing in the driveway pretending to be them in the All-Star Classic.
jfurr@gannett.com
740-244-9934
Twitter: @JakeFurr11
If you go
What: 44th News Journal All-Star Classic
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 24
Where: Lexington High School
How to get tickets: Tickets are currently on sale at Catalyst Life Services locates at 270 Sterkel Boulevard in Mansfield. Cash, card and check will be accepted Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. and Friday 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Tickets will remain on sale there until the day of the game.
You can also purchase tickets during the all-star practices on March 21 and 22 from 4:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. and March 23 from 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m. Practices are open to the public and will be held at Lexington High School. This will be a cash or check-only option.
And finally, you can purchase your tickets at the door the night of the game. Tickets are $8 apiece.
Why: 100% of the proceeds from the 44th News Journal All-Star Classic will be donated to Catalyst Life Services and will benefit the Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Crisis Services department. Over the last 44 years, the News Journal had donated nearly one million dollars.
For any questions, please contact Mansfield News Journal Sports Reporter Jake Furr via email at jfurr@gannett.com or via text at 740-244-9934.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Winning time: Lucas all-stars want one more win in News Journal All-Star Classic
