Stritch’s high-octane backcourt duo lead All-Press Team

Only three of 10 local boys basketball teams had winning records, but when you look at the individual talent coming from this community, it is shocking.
That includes two guards who ruled the Cardinal Stritch backcourt and contributed over 40 points per game.
Leading the way is Stritch 6-foot-3 senior guard Joey Holifield, this year’s Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press Player of the Year.
In voting by 10 coaches and 10 media members, Holifield is a near-unanimous choice for POY after averaging 22.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and two steals per game. He is a first team All-Ohio Division III selection by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association.
"Joey has been an instrumental part of the success in our basketball program at Cardinal Stritch,” said Stritch coach Jamie Kachmarik.
“During his four-year career here at Stritch, our record was 86-18. This year as a senior he really stood out as our leader both on and off the court. All the accolades that Joey has received this season have been well earned through all his hard work that he has put into the game of basketball. I am excited to see Joey grow as player next season at Oakland University.  It has been a true blessing to coach Joey and watch him mature into a wonderful young man." 
Holifield is joined on the All-Press first team by teammate Jhaiden Wilson, a 5-7 junior guard who averaged 20.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.3 steals. Wilson is special mention All-Ohio.
"This season Jhaiden became a big weapon in our offense and really had a breakout season,” Kachmarik said. “He set the school record for made three-pointers in a season with 87.  Last season, Jhaiden's role was to be our outside shooter but this year he really showcased how talented of a scorer he is by scoring in a variety of ways."
Holifield and Wilson led Stritch to a 18-7 season, which included a trip to the district tournament, where they lost on a last second shot to Evergreen (44-43), which had a shot at the state tournament but never got the play its’ regional final game against Ottawa-Glandorf because the Ohio High School Athletic Association shut down winter sports because of the coronavirus epidemic.
 
Another “special player”
Joining the Stritch duo is Oak Harbor 5-10 senior guard Jac Alexander, who averaged 19 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.7 steals. Alexander is the only other player besides Holifield to receive All-Press POY votes and he is a D-II special mention All-Ohio selection and the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division POY.
“Jac is a special player in the Oak Harbor basketball program,” said coach Eric Sweet. “He is a four-year starter and two-time captain. He was always the hardest working player we had in the gym. Our team and program ran through him the past four years.”
This year, Oak Harbor went 19-5, losing in the tournament to eventual district semifinalist Rossford, 51-43.
“The leadership and work ethic he put into the game of basketball allowed the Rocket basketball program to elevate to a new level. He led Oak Harbor to its first league championship since 2001, and during his sophomore year helped lead the Rockets to a sectional championship, which was the first since 1998.”
Alexander finished his scoring career third all-time in Oak Harbor Basketball History. He also owns the record for most three-point goals in a career.
“Jac will be missed but he can be proud of the legacy he left on the program. Jac is a top six all-time great player in the Rockets basketball program. I am honored to have been his coach. Jac is an outstanding and amazing young man that was a joy to be around and coach over the past four years.
“Jac will further his basketball career at one of the greatest (NCAA) D-III programs in the state of Ohio and across the U.S. He will become a Pioneer and play for Coach Vanderwal at Marietta University. I look forward to watching Jac play basketball at the next level.”
Sweet, the son of legendary Ottawa-Glandorf coach Dave Sweet, is All-Press Coach of the Year, but finishing two votes behind in second place was Genoa coach Tim Hausfeld. Also getting votes were Kachmarik, Eastwood coach Todd Henline, and Rossford coach Brian Vorst, who had local representation on his team through open enrollment.
There were three players who live within The Press distribution area on the All-Press ballot, and one of them, Rossford’s 6-2 sophomore guard Ben Morrison, an Oregon resident, is first team All-Press. He averaged 14.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, had just 1.1 turnovers per game, and shot 66.7 percent from inside the three-point arc, 31.5 percent from outside the arc, and 62.7 percent from the free throw line. His father, Brad, is an assistant coach and an inductee in Clay High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Ben chose to go to school and continue playing with his friends from his AAU travel basketball days and Vorst, a Kalida graduate who is married to Eastwood graduate Amy Vorst (Rapelje), could not be more pleased. Together, Vorst and his squad led the Bulldogs to a 20-4 season and Northern Buckeye Conference title, losing to Sandusky, 82-60, in the D-II district tournament.
“Ben is an incredibly hard worker. His work ethic and drive to be the best is among the best that I have ever seen in my career. Ben has a very bright future and is very deserving of this honor,” Vorst said.
Filling out the All-Press first team is 6-7 Clay junior center Frank Waganfeald, who nearly averaged a double-double at 13.9 points and nine rebounds. Playing in the tough Three Rivers Athletic Conference, Clay went just 6-16, but Waganfeald is considered one of the finest big men in the area by many high school coaches and he has one year to play for coach David Rodriguez.