A seven-time Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association writer of the year, Blackledge spent the final 34 years of a four-decade career as the chief prep beat writer for the Columbus Dispatch. A Delaware, Ohio native, Blackledge graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1982 with degrees in journalism and communications. He served as sports editor of the Wilmington News-Journal for three-plus years. He also worked at the Lake County Telegraph and the Delaware Gazette. In addition to the prep beat, Blackledge has covered the Browns, Indians, Reds, Bengals, Columbus Crew and various Ohio State sports.
Micah Young (24 points, eight rebounds) and Tai Perkins (19 points, four assists, four steals) led the charge as the Warriors ambushed Perry to cap a championship season with a 24th straight win. Dayton, OH – In the midst of a second-quarter Westerville North feeding frenzy Friday night, a Massillon Perry fan frantically screamed at
Micah Young scored 29 points as high-powered North won its 23rd straight game — most of them in the same dominant fashion as Sunday. Fairborn, OH – Truth be told, Westerville North’s road to the Division II state championship game has seemingly been free and clear of any red lights or speed bumps. In winning
Damon Griffin found an inexplicably wide-open Xavier McKinney alone under the basket and the Raiders erased a four-point deficit in the final 80 seconds to edge West Chester Lakota West 64-63 in a wildly entertaining state semifinal. Fairborn, OH – The final second of a wild and crazy Division I state semifinal Sunday at Wright
Zoe Coleman knocked down two huge 3-point shots down the stretch and poised, patient Pickerington Central withstood a 19-4 run by Cincinnati Princeton to secure a 47-44 win in a ragged but exciting big-school title game. Dayton, OH – The first three possessions of the Division I girls state championship game between Pickerington Central
Toledo-bound Toby Nwokolo scored a career-high 33 points as Reynoldsburg wiped out a six-point deficit in the final 70 seconds of the first overtime and went on to capture the program’s first final four berth. Columbus, OH – Some of Reynoldsburg’s loudest partisans – and there were plenty at the Ohio Expo Center’s Taft Coliseum