WestChesterBuzz.com

To let West Chester and Liberty Township residents catch up with the news that they need to know, WestChesterBuzz.com will list and link to all of last week’s top local stories every Monday.

Governor John Kasich. File photo.

Kasich unveils plan to fund, reform Ohio schools – Governor John Kasich offered a new way of funding schools last Thursday he says will be more equitable for poor and rural districts and add to the school choices of working class families. The plan raises the amount of state aid going to education in the next two years and Kasich promised no district will see a reduction in that amount next year, even with the changes he’s proposing.

Crossroads coming to Mason? – Crossroads is one step closer to opening a new church in Mason to serve its rapidly growing congregation in Butler and Warren counties, Rachel Richardson of MasonBuzz.com reported last week. Chuck Moore, Crossroads’ director of multi-site, told Richardson that the church “responded to the people in Mason and West Chester who asked for a site.”

Ryan Kelly grew from 6-1, 200 pounds as a high school sophomore to a 6-5, 285-pound senior before he committed to Alabama. Ironically, the team Bama defeated – Notre Dame – in this past season’s national championship game was Kelly’s favorite team as a child. Photo provided by the University of Alabama Athletics Communications.

Lakota West grad talks about winning two national titles – Ryan Kelly wasn’t supposed to be playing in the national championship game. Yet, there he was snapping the football during his team’s last offensive series, as Alabama finished off Notre Dame, 42-14, in the BCS National Championship game in Miami, Fla. Jan. 7. It was the second straight season where Bama finished as national champions.

Gray to have number retired - The best basketball player ever to don a Lakota West basketball jersey, Amber Gray, will become the school district’s first athlete of the sport to have her jersey retired. Gray, who owns school career records in points, rebounds, assists, blocked shots and games played, will have her No. 10 jersey hung permanently in her high school’s gym before the Lakota East at Lakota West girls’ basketball game this Wednesday, Feb. 6. The announcement was made last week.

Sheriff weighs in on immigration proposal – Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones went to Washington, D.C. last week, where he offered his ideas on immigration reform at a meeting of the National Sheriff’s Association Immigration Committee.

Lakota Board of Education approves 2014-15 school calendar – The Lakota Board of Education approved last week its school calendar for 2014-15. According to the calendar, school would begin Aug. 21, 2014. The last day of school for students is set for May 29, 2015, with graduation either May 30 or 31, 2015.

Trevon Broomfield. Photo provided by the West Chester Police Department.

Craigslist car thief – A man used the Craigslist classified-ads website to troll for cars – then stole three of the vehicles, and drove one stolen car in a chase that ended with a crash, a Warren County grand jury says. The incident, when Trevon Broomfield of Dayton was caught, began in West Chester Township where police said they received a report that a 2005 Nissan Sentra had been stolen from a home.

Kroger case won’t be reviewed in Feb. – The West Chester Township Zoning Commission won’t hear the case of a proposed shopping center, which is to be anchored by a new Kroger Marketplace, on Feb. 25. Instead, the project, that has local neighbors worried about their safety, has been tabled until the commission’s next meeting on March 18. In effort to halt plans for a 133,000-square-foot Kroger, Tom Eggert and his neighbors on Wethersfield Drive have lined their street and the corner of Tylersville Road and Princeton-Glendale Road (State Route 747) with lawn signs that read “StopKroger.com.”

Vote for the 2013 Shamrock Shuffle t-shirt design – For the first time in the history of the Shamrock Shuffle, the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty is hosting a t-shirt design contest for the annual event that attracts approximately 4,000 runners every March. Participants sent in their designs earlier this winter. Beginning last Thursday, Facebook users could vote for their favorite design.

Posted in: Crime, Fall sports, Government, News, Schools, Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Amber Gray, Amber Gray Lakota West, Amber Gray Xavier, Amber Gray Xavier University, Craigslist, Craigslist crime, Craigslist grand theft auto, Governor John Kasich, Hamilton County Educational Service Center, John Kasich, Ken Dirr, Mary Ronan, Randy Bertram, Ryan Kelly, Ryan Kelly Alabama, Ryan Kelly Lakota West, Trevon Broomfield, West Chester Police, West Chester Police chase

Growing up a Notre Dame fan, Kelly is happy he is playing for Alabama

Ryan Kelly wasn’t supposed to be playing in the national championship game.

Ryan Kelly grew from 6-1, 200 pounds as a high school sophomore to a 6-5, 285-pound senior before he committed to Alabama. Ironically, the team Bama defeated – Notre Dame – in this past season’s national championship game was Kelly’s favorite team as a child. Photo provided by the University of Alabama Athletics Communications.

Yet, there he was snapping the football during his team’s last offensive series, as Alabama finished off Notre Dame, 42-14, in the BCS National Championship game in Miami, Fla. Jan. 7. It was the second straight season where Bama finished as national champions.

In actuality, it wasn’t that much of a surprise that Kelly played in that game.

In fact, heading into the title game, Kelly received national attention when reporters questioned if Bama’s All-American center Barrett Jones would be able to play due to a foot injury.

It was widely reported that if Jones, who will be selected in the NFL Draft this April, couldn’t play than it was Kelly who would fill in for the Crimson Tide.

The real surprise, however, was Kelly’s unlikely journey from a 6-1, 200-pound high school sophomore to a beefed up 6-5, 285-pound senior, how a Bama coach stumbled upon him while recruiting a defensive player and how he was snubbed from his favorite childhood team.

How did Kelly end up at Alabama?

After his freshman year of high school, Kelly grew tired of playing baseball. He decided to play football and started every game on the offensive line as a sophomore – at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds.

“To be perfectly honest he didn’t start because he was great,” Lakota West head coach Larry Cox said. “He was the best we had at the time. I don’t like playing sophomores if you don’t have to, but he was a young man who went out there and played hard.”

Kelly also worked hard in the weight room and grew to 6-3, 245 pounds before his junior year, according to Cox.

“I then thought he had a chance. I didn’t know how much or at what level,” Cox said of Kelly’s chances of playing college football. “But then he comes out as a senior at 6-5, 285 pounds. He continued to grow and grow. It was real neat to watch his development.”

Others started to notice as well and it wouldn’t be long before he had offers to play at Louisville and Cincinnati, whose head coach Brian Kelly had just left the program before Ryan’s senior year.

Ryan Kelly shows some Lakota West pride after Alabama routed Notre Dame in this past season’s national championship game. Photo provided.

Early on, the Lakota West offensive lineman was leaning towards UC, for multiple reasons, it was where his parents, David and Ann went to college, and it was one of the first schools to offer.

Brian Kelly, however, left Cincinnati to take over the program at the University of Notre Dame.

Suddenly, the Irish, who had been recruiting him when Charlie Weis was the head coach, appeared to be an option. Notre Dame was also Ryan’s favorite childhood team.

“His dream was to play at Notre Dame,” Cox said. “That was his first love. I mean, your name is Ryan Patrick Kelly. I couldn’t think of a better fit than playing for the Fighting Irish.”

The offer never came and the explanation did not make sense to the Lakota West coach.

“Brian Kelly had offered Ryan at UC. In fact, he was pretty highly coveted. I know they really wanted him down there and then when the switch came over, I thought it would be a no brainer because they loved Ryan,” Cox said. “He liked Notre Dame, but the coach who recruited him just said that he wasn’t tall enough.

“How tall do you want him to be? He is 6-foot-5.”

In comparison, Kelly, at 6-5, is two inches taller than the center Notre Dame started, Braxston Cave, in the title game, as well as Kyle Cook, who has started 50 games at center in the past four seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals.

“I was getting recruited when Weis was at Notre Dame, but when he left it just kind of dropped off. I don’t really know what happened with that,” Kelly said.

Kelly does, however, know how he ended up in Alabama.

On a recruiting trip to see Lakota West’s Jordan Hicks, who was one of the most coveted defensive recruits in the country, Alabama linebackers coach Sal Suneri noticed Kelly.

“They were there to look at him and I was there too,” Kelly said. “Next thing you know, Sal Suneri and I developed a relationship. I went down there a few times. I also visited Florida, Florida State, Tennessee twice and Michigan.”

Eventually, Kelly picked the Crimson Tide after piling up offers from many Division I programs. Now, he can say that he made the right choice.

“Winning back-to-back national championships has been a lifetime experience and I wouldn’t trade my college experience for anything in the world,” Kelly said.

After appearing in 10 games this past season, Kelly is the frontrunner for the starting center spot this fall when he will be a redshirt sophomore.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Alabama football, BCS National Championship Alabama, BCS National Championship Ryan Kelly, Lakota West, Lakota West football, Lakota West sports, Ohio football recruiting, Ohio High School sports recruiting, Ohio preps recruiting, Ohio sports recruiting, Ryan Kelly, Ryan Kelly Alabama, Ryan Kelly Lakota West

Cincinnati Enquirer’s Tom Groeschen reports:

Lakota West product Ryan Kelly will be with his University of Alabama football team tonight in New Orleans, when the Crimson Tide and LSU compete for the BCS national football title.

Kelly, a true freshman offensive lineman, is redshirting but made the trip for tonight’s game.

Larry Cox, who was Kelly’s coach at Lakota West, said Kelly is highly regarded by the Alabama staff.

“He had a great summer, but then he got a concussion in the final scrimmage right before the season,” Cox said. “I don’t think they planned on redshirting him, had he not gotten a concussion.”

Kelly, listed as 6-foot-5 and 281 pounds, primarily is working at guard for Alabama. Kelly played every offensive line position at Lakota West, Cox said.

“He’s very smart,” Cox said. “His football IQ is really high. Typically your redshirts don’t travel, but he’s traveled as a redshirt because they want him to get the experience.”

Additional notes: When Kelly signed with Alabama last February, he also had offers from Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Michigan, Cincinnati and many others. Furthermore, Kelly was ranked as the No. 4 offensive center in the nation by ESPN.com. Other recruiting services, Rivals.com (No. 6 center) and Scout.com (No. 2 center) also had Kelly ranked as one of the top offensive line recruits in the entire country.

The BCS title game is scheduled to kickoff at 8:30 p.m. Monday. The game will be televised on ESPN.

(Photo above was taken during Kelly’s senior season at Lakota West in 2010. He is No. 78, sitting to the direct right of offensive line coach Bob Odom)

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Alabama football, BCS National Championship Alabama, BCS National Championship Ryan Kelly, Lakota West, Lakota West football, Lakota West sports, Ryan Kelly, Ryan Kelly Alabama, Ryan Kelly Lakota West

The Lakota West football team got off to a “fresh start” to the season when it opened its summer practice program on a hot evening on the high school’s football field Monday evening.

“What is neat about our sport is that every year is a new year, a fresh start, fresh beginnings and as I tell our kids – we are undefeated right now,” Lakota West head coach Larry Cox said. “Somebody else is going to have to prove that otherwise.”

With the departure of quarterback Jordan Darling, who moved to Texas after leading the Firebirds and the Greater Miami Conference in passing in 2010, there are currently four players trying to prove to Cox that they deserve the starting quarterback gig.

>>>PHOTOS OF LAKOTA WEST SUMMER FOOTBALL PRACTICE<<<

Cox will learn a lot more about his four candidates during the two weeks of his summer practice program. Battling for the starting position, which figures to be a close race, is junior Dustin Parker, sophomores Justin Martin, Malik Grove (photo) and Tyler Jones.

“We have four kids who are really, really working hard for that position,” Cox said. “They are also all good kids who all want a shot at it, but they are helping each other. That is the neat part about it.”

Three returning starters on the offensive line and the return of senior wide receiver Tyler Williams (21 rec. 257 yards in 2010) and senior running back Marcus Davis (542 rushing yards in 2010) should help the new starting quarterback.

>>>LAKOTA WEST 2011 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE<<<

Meanwhile, opposing quarterbacks could have a difficult time passing against West with what Cox dubs as his best secondary in his 15 years as the Firebirds’ head coach. The foursome includes seniors Dawson Fletcher (Indiana commit), Peair Foster, Amarie’ Bryant and Antonio Darden.

Also on defense, senior Blake Bell leads the defensive line and junior Mike Kelly (Ryan Kelly’s brother – Ryan is a now a freshman on the University of Alabama football team) is expected to make an impact at linebacker.

“I really like this team,” Cox said. “I think we have a lot of depth.

“Even though it is July 18th, I get a little jacked up because I know what the pay off is going to be. I know how close things are down the line and I am excited about that. Every year is a good year, some are just better than others.”

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Amarie' Bryant, Antonio Darden, Blake Bell, Darwin Fletcher, Dawson Fletcher, Dustin Parker, football, Jordan Darling, Justin Martin, Lakota West, Lakota West football, Lakota West sports, Larry Cox, Malik Grove, Marcus Davis, Mike Kelly, Peair Foster, photo gallery, photos, Ryan Kelly, Tyler Jones, Tyler Williams

Many of the nation’s top high school football recruits made their decision and signed with their college of their choice today, on Signing Day, Feb. 2.

At 7 a.m. this morning, three players from the Lakota West football program gathered in the high school’s community room to participate in a Signing Day event.

One of the most notable signees, 6-foot-5 285-pound offensive lineman Ryan Kelly, officially signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Alabama. Kelly committed to Alabama and head coach Nick Saban this past July. At the time, Alabama was coming off a season where it won its 17th national championship.

Kelly, who had offers from Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Michigan, Cincinnati and many others, joins Alabama, who ESPN.com currently considers to have the No. 3 recruiting class in the country.

ESPN.com also ranks Kelly as the No. 4 offensive center in the country. Other recruiting services, Rivals.com (No. 6 center) and Scout.com (No. 2 center) also have Kelly ranked as one of the top offensive line recruits in the entire nation.

Meanwhile, Kelly’s teammates, defensive lineman Matt Fox (6’4” 230 lbs.) and OL Phil Brinkman (6’4” 260 lbs.) also signed with schools on Signing Day.

Fox, who had been trying to decide between Princeton and Air Force, received a late offer from Ball State just days before Signing Day. The First-Team All-GMC selection has decided to sign with Ball State.

Brinkman, who was a Second-Team All-GMC selection, signed with Indianapolis. Brinkman was also considering Georgetown (Ky.) and St. Francis (Ind.), but committed to Indy about a week ago.

“We were in the market for some quality offensive linemen and Phil fit that bill,” University of Indianapolis head coach Bob Bartolomeo said. “He is a tough, hard-nosed player. I have watched a lot of tape of him and we are getting a guy who can move and can play multiple spots on the offensive line.”

Also signing today, but not participating in the Signing Day event were Lakota West girls’ soccer players Alex Azeez (Purdue), Devyn Ciotti (Louisville) and Megan Cravenor (Cincinnati).

In November, the following Lakota West athletes signed:

Yasmine Battle, softball, Mississippi Valley State; Alex Caudill, softball, Northern Kentucky; Lexi Dannemiller, volleyball, Michigan; Ty Davis, wrestling, Central Michigan; Ronni Grandison (photo), basketball, Massachusetts; Jaymee Heineke, lacrosse, Cincinnati; Ashley Jeffers, golf, Western Illinois; Kaitlin Jennings, lacrosse, St. Bonaventure; Liz McMahon, volleyball, Illinois; Korey Ward, golf, Xavier; and Taylor Wogenstahl, golf, Northern Kentucky.

Soccer and football players had to wait until Feb. 2 and could not sign during Signing Day in November.

WestChesterBuzz.com will also cover the Lakota East Signing Day event, which was rescheduled due to the weather, Friday, Feb. 4, at 7:45 a.m. at the high school.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports, Spring sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Alabama, Alex Azeez, Alex Caudill, Ashley Jeffers, Ball State, Devyn Ciottie, Jaymee Heineke, Kaitlin Jennings, Korey Ward, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Lexi Dannemiller, Liz McMahon, Matt Fox, Megan Cravenor, National Signing Day, Phil Brinkman, Ronni Grandison, Ryan Kelly, Signing Day, Taylor Wogenstahl, Yasmine Battle

In mid-November, 11 student athletes from Lakota West High School signed letters of intent to play a sport in college. On Feb. 2, another group of athletes will sign.

The Feb. 2 signing day is discussed extensively around the country due its impact on college football. Three Lakota West football players are expected to sign with their colleges of choice during a ceremony at the high school on Feb. 2 at 7 a.m.

One of the most notable athletes that will sign in the region is offensive lineman Ryan Kelly, who will sign with the University of Alabama. Kelly (6’5” 285 lbs.) committed to Alabama this past July. He also had offers from Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Michigan, Cincinnati and many others.

Meanwhile, Kelly’s teammates OL Phil Brinkman (6’4” 260 lbs.) and defensive lineman Matt Fox (6’4” 230 lbs.) will be making their decision on signing day. Brinkman is deciding between Georgetown (Ky.), Indianapolis and St. Francis (Ind.), while Fox’s choice is down to Princeton and the Air Force Academy.

The Feb. 2 signing day is also the first time soccer players can sign with their colleges. For Lakota West, Alex Azeez (Purdue), Devyn Ciotti (Louisville) and Megan Cravenor (Cincinnati) will all be playing on the next level. Ashea Bell could also sign with her college of choice next week.

The girl soccer players above will not be at the signing day event.

Posted in: Events, Fall sports, School events, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Alabama, Alex Azeez, Ashea Bell, college signing, Devyn Ciotti, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Matt Fox, Megan Cravenor, National Signing Day, Phil Brinkman, Ryan Kelly, signing

Lakota West will kickoff its regular season against LaSalle High School in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown at Nippert Stadium, home of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 28.

Lakota West: The Firebirds’ strength this season will be on the line of scrimmage with the return of several linemen including senior Ryan Kelly, who verbally committed to Alabama this summer. Overall, Lakota West graduated 33 seniors from a team that finished with a 9-2 overall record and a 7-0 record against Greater Miami Conference (GMC) opponents. The Firebirds will be a team searching for their identity early this season and they hope to find it against LaSalle.

LaSalle: The Lancers hope to contend for the Greater Catholic League’s (GCL) South Division title in 2010. Senior quarterback Andrew Kummer (photo) leads the offense and has already verbally committed to Miami (Oh.). Last season, Kummer threw for 1,863 yards and 14 touchdowns. His top pair of receiving targets, Matt Woeste (35 rec. 634 yards) and Rodriquez Coleman (30 rec. 466 yards), return for their senior seasons. LaSalle finished last season with a 5-5 overall record and a 0-3 record within their GCL division, which boasts Cincinnati powers St. Xavier, Moeller and Elder.

Posted in: Fall sports, School events, Schools, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Andrew Kummer, football, game preview, Lakota West, Lakota West vs. LaSalle, LaSalle, Ryan Kelly

Lakota West senior offensive lineman Ryan Kelly announced this afternoon, July 19, that he will play college football for the University of Alabama and its head coach Nick Saban (photo).

Kelly (6-5, 285) received an offer from Alabama in May. It was after he had already received offers from Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, Michigan and Cincinnati. According to Rivals.com, Kelly also had offers from Arizona, Boston College, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina State and Syracuse.

Also in May, Kelly accepted an invitation to play in the Under Armour game on Jan. 5, 2011 at 7 p.m. at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. The all-star game will be televised on ESPN.

Kelly is considered by numerous scouting services to be one of the top center prospects in the class of 2011. The lineman’s profile on ScoutingOhio.com features Kelly’s 2009 highlight video.

Alabama won the 2010 BCS National Championship, 37-21, against Texas this past January.

Lakota West will participate in a 7-on-7 tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m. The scrimmage will be at Lakota West.

Posted in: Fall sports, News, Schools, Sports |

Tags: Tags: football, Lakota West, recruiting, Ryan Kelly