Monroeville two wins from first Firelands title since 1984

MONROEVILLE — Bob Fries knew he was going to have a good team. Most within Firelands Conference basketball circles felt the same thing when the current school year started. The Eagles were set to return the majority of their team that had won 15 games overall and 10 in the FC, both of which were the second-most for the program over the past 42 years. But things happen. And unfortunately for the Eagles, bad things happened Oct. 10 during a Week 8 home football game against Plymouth. Twin siblings Blake and Derek Ackerman, key starters for the Eagles in football and basketball, suffered serious leg injuries on consecutive plays. Blake, an All-Ohio special mention selection and the team's leading basketball scorer in 2024-25, was lost for the remainder of the football season and all of basketball season. Derek Ackerman missed the first six weeks of the basketball season. Earlier this week against Seneca East, the Eagles played down two more starters. Another key player missed three games with a hand injury. And yet… "We're right where we wanted to be with all our goals right in front of us," Fries said. "There is a sense of excitement that really hasn't been around here in 42 years. That's the last time we won a conference title, and the way we've played the last couple of weeks has given us a chance to be back in that conversation." With two league games remaining, the Eagles (12-5, 9-3) are tied for first place with Plymouth (13-6, 9-3). Monroeville needs victories over Mapleton (2-16, 0-12) and South Central (10-10, 4-8) — two teams it already beat by 47 and 13 points, respectively — to do no worse than share its first FC championship since the program won the Class A state championship in 1984. After the basketball season started two weeks late from the football team's run to the third round, the Eagles opened with a 75-72 home loss to the Big Red on Dec. 9. Monroeville then reeled off victories in six of their next seven games, with the lone loss a last-second 60-59 defeat to Division V No. 15 Willard in a non-league game played at the Hoosiers Gym in Knightstown, Ind. The Eagles were overwhelmed by Margaretta on Jan. 10 before taking a 44-38 loss at St. Paul on Jan. 17. After bouncing back to beat the Trojans four days later, the Eagles took a 68-57 loss on Jan. 23 at Crestview. That loss put Monroeville two games behind Plymouth in the FC race with five league games left. But in their very next game, the Eagles went to Plymouth and claimed a 60-57 win to get right back in the race. That started the team's current five-game win streak it took into Wednesday's non-league game at Wynford. Meanwhile, the players and coaches watched and celebrated when they saw the Cougars stun the Big Red at the buzzer Feb. 7 after a home win over New London. Suddenly, things got real again for the Eagles in a matter of two weeks. "We keep focused on getting better every day, and we have these two FC games left and our non-league to get ready for the tournament," Fries said. "But at least now we know we don't need help from someone else. "We control our own destiny, and I think the kids are going to respond well." From a historical perspective, Monroeville has never been this close to an FC title since the magical state championship season. From 1964 to 1984, the Eagles won eight FC championships in 21 seasons. Since then, Monroeville has finished in last place 15 times and second-to-last eight times. In both 2021-22 and last season, Monroeville finished in second place but was three games behind the champions both times. Two big reasons that the current Eagles stayed at or near the top this winter are because of seniors Maverick Myers (6-foot-2) and Cole Perry (6-6). Myers averages 14.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. Perry adds 12.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per contest. "They played last year, obviously, but not as big of roles," Fries said. "They've been great. Maverick is our leading scorer, and Cole is right there with him and is our leader on defense and top rebounder." Senior Ethan Pomerich is averaging 8.2 points through 14 games. In eight games since returning, Derek Ackerman is averaging 10.3 points and 4.8 rebounds, while junior guard Link Schaffer-Paull adds 7.6 points and 3.8 assists per game. "Ethan has done a great job pushing through an injury, and then getting Derek back and into form has been big for us here down the stretch," Fries said. Not only are the Eagles two home wins away from an FC title, they entered the final two games this week as the No. 1 team in their Division VII group ahead of Sunday's district tournament draw. "To have that weight lifted off our shoulders of not relying on someone else is huge for these guys," Fries said. "Now it's on us to continue to get better and focus on these last two weeks of the season and try to accomplish our goals."