Findlay boys basketball set for rare Thursday matchup vs. Clay

Jim Rucki just might go watch a basketball game Friday night. For him, that's not the norm. During his 35-year coaching career – 10 at Ricky River, 25 at Findlay – Friday night has always been game night for Rucki. That changes this week, though, with Findlay's boys team hosting Oregon Clay today and the FHS girls filling the Friday night spot with a Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division game at Toledo Whitmer. It will be a similar situation next week, with the boys traveling to Springfield on Thursday for an NLL cross-over game against the Cardinal Division Blue Devils and the girls hosting Sylvania Northview on Friday. "The weirdest thing about it is coming to school on Friday and having practice instead of a game," Rucki said after a season-opening 68-39 win over Defiance. "We never practice on Friday (because of a game). Obviously we will (this week), but then we have to decide what days do we start giving (players) off? It affects your schedule, and we have to figure out the best way to handle that." Some leagues have been doing the Thursday-boys/Friday-girls switch for years. Carey and Upper Sandusky of the Northern 10 Conference, for example, will have at least three cross-over weeks this season. Schools in the Western Buckeye League, though, have none, with boys teams sticking to the traditional Tuesday, Friday, Saturday routine except for possible in-season tournaments or special event pairings. No matter the night, Findlay will be looking to improve to 2-0 before heading into a treacherous stretch of December matchups that starts with next week's game at Springfield and includes road games at Anthony Wayne (Dec. 19) and pre-season league favorite Toledo Whitmer (Dec. 22) and a Dec. 29 home game with long-time rival Lima Senior. Despite being a bit shorthanded in its opener – senior guard Brody Barnes and junior wing/power forward Ryan Montgomery did not play due to slight injuries – the Trojans showed good overall balance with Javonte Hill (27 points), Luke Weihrauch (13), Will Cordonnier (11) and Sam Ernst (11) all scoring in double figures. "We have the potential to have balanced scoring," Rucki said. "We share the ball well, and when we're healthy we feel we have seven guys who can put the ball in the basket." Findlay will face an Oregon Clay team under the direction of first-year head coach Lionel Armstead. In its opener, Clay built a 44-39 fourth-quarter lead on Evergreen. A rash of turnovers fueled a 14-2 Evergreen run, though, and allowed the Vikings to come away with a 61-49 win. Emir Walker, a transfer from Toledo St. Francis, had 17 points for Clay, which plays its first five games and seven of its first eight on the road. GIRLS BASKETBALL When it comes to road games, Findlay High's girls team faced a brutal schedule with Tuesday's game at Anthony Wayne and Friday's game at Toledo Whitmer. Findlay entered Tuesday's game coming off a 42-32 win over a Springfield team that reached the Division I regional finals last season. Like Findlay, Whitmer also got off to a 3-0 start to the 2023-24 season. The Panthers were 10-13 a year ago, but returned seven letter winners and got a boost with the transfer of 6-foot senior post MacKenzie Royal Davis, a second-team all-Ohio player for Toledo Christian last season, and Braelynne Dunn, a junior guard from Toledo Notre Dame. HOCKEY Findlay's transition to the Northern Lakes League did not include the FHS hockey program, which remains in the Northwest Hockey Conference Red Division. The Trojans will battle two long-time NHC rivals in a pair of key matchups when they face Toledo St. John's today at the Huntington Center and host Toledo St. Francis Friday at The Cube. Off to a 10-2-0 start, Findlay is 1-0-0 in Red Division games and currently tied for first place with Bowling Green (1-0-0, 2 points) and Perrysburg (1-1-0), 2 points. Traditionally one of the top teams in the Northwest District, St. John's is off to an uncharacteristic 0-8-0 start. St. Francis is barely above .500 (4-3-0), but one of the Knight's wins was a 4-2 victory over 11-time state champion Lakewood St. Ed's Gold.