Orrville–Wooster rivalry reignites with sold-out gym, dramatic split

The Orrville versus Wooster basketball rivalry amped up to a level not seen in many years Jan. 10 at the Steve Smith Court in Bob Knight Gym.

A highly competitive girls-boys varsity doubleheader made for two times the fun.

It also was two times the drama with the outcomes of both games in doubt until the final minutes, two times the usual noise level as raucous student sections competed to be louder and two times the usual difficulty in finding a seat.

The Wooster girls basketball team held on for an exciting 54-48 win in the opener, with the 1,250-person gym officially sold out as the second half got underway. The big crowd on hand was already amped up cheering, and the fans arriving for the boys game quickly got into the act of rooting for their girls team of preference.

Orrville made it a split in the nightcap, as the Red Riders boys edged the Generals 70-66. The Riders (9-1) are on pace to have their best season in nearly a decade while Wooster fell to 5-8.

Orrville boys coach Sly Slaughter said the frenzied crowd reminded him of some of the classic Orrville-Wooster matchups from decades ago.

“I think that's good for everybody, both schools’ boys and girls programs,” said Slaughter, whose boys snapped an 11-year losing streak against Wooster. “Hopefully, we'll continue to do that. It's really nice to see our girls be able to get to play in front of a packed house like that.”

Orrville’s boys showed signs of things to come with a 13-9 record last season. Prior to that, the Riders had five straight seasons of five or fewer wins, extremely uncharacteristic for one of the area’s all-time best programs.

Senior Kodah Allen, a 6-foot-3 guard, led Orrville with 21 points including 11 in the fourth quarter. The Riders had led by 15 points, but the Generals outscored them 49-38 in the second half to make a game of it.

“They've been resilient all year,” Slaughter said of his team. “They've been in tough games, and they've shown that they don't get rattled. We’re trying to get better so that we're not in so many tough games, but they still are very resilient.”

Backing Allen for Orrville were junior Brayden Cox (17 points), 6-4 senior Breylon McDuffie (13, 10 rebounds) and 6-3 junior Malakhi Gray (10).

Allen increased his career points total to 1,199, which ranks him seventh on the Riders’ all-time scoring list. The Wooster student section was egging Allen on all night, and he had fun by giving them some looks as well.

“We had to sit Kodah for a little while with four fouls, but he stayed in the game mentally,” Slaughter said. “When he got back in, he had his chances, and he knocked down a couple huge 3s for us.”

Wooster 5-11 sophomore guard Adrian Jelks led all scorers with 22 points including 10 in the fourth quarter, as the crowd reached its crescendo. He used his lightning-quick speed to knife through the defense for numerous layups.

“Adrian is starting to mature,” Wooster coach Che Richardson said. “He's starting to figure out what he can and what he can't do. We’ve talked about him having the potential to be one of the best players in our conference this year and in the future. He showed that in spurts tonight.”

Junior Brock Bowen added nine points while sophomore Cam Chaney and junior Javen Mitchell netted eight apiece.

“There were more positives than negatives for us,” Richardson said. “Coming off a game the night before (loss at Madison), it's tough, but our guys fought. I told them if we play like we did in the second half from the start, we win. We’ve gotta learn from it and continue to just grow.”

The Wooster girls won their sixth game in a row as they improved to 8-4. Junior Jay-Cee Hackett scored 15 points to lead the Generals, followed by senior Brooke Ritchie (13) and freshman Kayla Reid (11 points, 11 rebounds).

“Orville had won five in a row, and we knew it was gonna be a dog fight,” Wooster girls coach Alex Kacere said. “We were up 18 at one point, but we settled back in and got the win. These girls will definitely remember playing in front of a sold-out gym. I told them that before the tipoff: ‘These are the fun ones. You're not gonna hear me. You're not gonna know what we're calling. You're just gonna be out there playing. Have fun.’”

Orrville senior Cadence Wilson was red hot with her outside jumpshot as she scored a game-high 21 points.

“Wilson had the game of her life,” Orrville coach Maggie Davault said. “She's a senior who’s worked really hard, and I’m proud of her. They were focusing a lot on Brooklyn (Butzer), so that's what we needed.

"We love the boy-girl doubleheaders for getting our girls in front of a crowd like tonight. It was really awesome to see. I told our girls that they really showed their community that they're going to fight and battle. We've had a rough last couple of years, and these girls have continued to work hard, and they play for each other."