The second matchup of the weekend is one of high powered offenses as Walnut Ridge from the Columbus City League faces off against Villa Angela St. Joe’s from Cleveland. Walnut Ridge made a deep run in the tournament last year finishing district runners up after falling to eventual Regional Champion Delaware Hayes. Their fast, aggressive play style has been successful in the City League for years and has helped produce some very high level prospects in the past. Head coach Chuck Jefferson will look to improve on a 17-8 record from a year ago. Despite losing Duquesne commit Dom Adkins, the Scots bring back plenty of firepower led by rising junior forward Marquis Lucas, who is a physical freak to his opponents. 2026 Lee’Sean Saunders and 2027 Deon Johnson will likely be keys in Ridge’s success.
Villa Angela St. Joseph’s from Cleveland had an excellent season a year ago, finishing 18-8 overall and winning their district as a #17 seed. Balanced scoring was a big reason for the success, as the Vikings had 4 players average double figures in scoring for the season. Head Coach Ashen Ward is looking to bring his team back to being as dominant as they’ve been in the past, as they’ve won 7 state championships as a program. Although the Vikings lose leading scorer Quandell Wright, they have many offensive contributors returning such as seniors Jeremiah Martin, Sean Shenker, Jayveon Roe, and Antonio Brown. Also, look for sophomore big man Oren Spikes to make a big jump in minutes and role. It’ll be interesting to see if the experience of Villa Angela St. Joseph’s is strong enough to handle the physicality and speed of Walnut Ridge on December 27th at 1:15pm
