In Person: Featuring Max Anatra
Recent Crestline High School graduate Max Anatra had a stellar career as a high school athlete. The future Bowling Green State Falcon and member of the Air Force National Guard also stood out in the classroom during his time as a Bulldog.
During his prep career, Anatra helped Crestline accomplish goals the school had not achieved in many years on the basketball court and on the track. Max was a 1st Team All-MBC performer on the hardwood and was a part of back to back conference championships in track & field.
In this exclusive interview with OH.Report founder Brian Skowronski inside their new studio in downtown Mansfield, Anatra talks about growing up in a small town, his top memories from high school and relives his best moments as a Bulldog. Max also shares his love of bagels, does an impression of Brian and finishes up with a round of This or That.
Crestline’s Ty Clark Signs With CMP Prep Academy
One of the most accomplished athletes in the history of Crestline High School will continue his playing career at the next level on the football gridiron. Bulldogs standout senior Ty Clark signed his letter of intent in front of a packed house inside the school’s library to play for CMP Prep Academy in Lafayette, Louisiana where he was recruited to play quarterback.
The 6’ 2” 180-pound righty was a 4-time letter winner for the Bulldogs football program, twice earning All Mid-Buckeye Conference, All Telegraph-Forum and Crestline Offensive M.V.P. honors. He was named to the All-Northwest District Team in 2017 and competed in the All-American Bowl Showcase in Orlando last December.
Clark is also an All MBC performer in both basketball and baseball where he earned All-Ohio recognition for his play on the diamond. He holds Crestline’s hoops record for most career rebounds and has a chance to go over 1,000 career points this season.
Lucas Rides Niswander To Win Over Crestline
An explosive opening quarter for Lucas inside the Cub Cave helped keep the Mid-Buckeye Conference frontrunners unbeaten in league play, holding off a late Crestline surge to beat the Bulldogs 69-54.
Junior forward Logan Niswander sparked the Cubs monster 28-point first quarter with 14 of his game-high 28 in the frame, including three straight triples that had Lucas ahead by a dozen heading into the second stanza. The Cubs edge swelled to 46-30 by the break as Ethan Wallace added 15 Lucas points in the contest and Jeb Grover chipped-in with 14 off the bench.
Behind senior’s Ty Clark and Max Anatra, however, Crestline clawed their way back into the game with a 15-10 third quarter spurt that included the first eight points of the frame. Clark finished with a team-best 23 points while Anatra scored nine, all in the second half, and dished out 10 assists, but it wouldn’t be enough to make up for the Cubs blistering first half.
Lucas improves to 10-0, 7-0 in MBC action while the Bulldogs dip to 5-9, 2-5.
Crestline Knocks Off Galion For Third Straight Win
Crestline collected their third consecutive victory in front of their home fans in the Bone Zone, knocking off visiting rival Galion 48-44.
The Lady Tigers (1-11) started off strong behind Gabby Kaple's 17-point performance, but the Lady Bulldogs gained the lead and ended the opening quarter ahead 11-8. Crestline would maintain their advantage with a 22-20 halftime edge before blowing the game wide open in the third quarter where the Lady Dawgs blitzed Galion 19-7 in the frame.
Led by sophomore Hannah Delong's game-high 17 points and clutch free throw shooting by Brianna Briggs, who ended her night with 15 points, Crestline (6-8) would hold off a late Lady Tigers rush to secure a hard-fought four-point win.
Spartans Slash Crestline 53-35
The four-time defending Mid-Buckeye Conference champion St. Peter’s Spartans continued their league dominance by protecting home court against visiting Crestline, routing the Bulldogs 53-35.
St Peter’s led from start to finish, going on top in the opening seconds and never looked back, as the squad built an 11-7 first quarter cushion that extended to 29-12 by the half with an 18-4 run to end the second quarter. Crestline outscored the Spartans 13-11 in the third and would trim the deficit to 12 early in the final frame, but St Peter’s balanced attack would cement a home court win.
Four Spartans finished in double-figures scoring with Shawn Perkins-Harris netting a game-best 14 points while Caleb Stewart added 13 and both Luke Henich and Jonah Ramey scored a dozen. Max Anatra paced the Bulldogs scoring attack with 13 followed by Kaden Ronk with seven and Trevor Phillips scoring five points.
St Peter’s remains unbeaten in MBC play at 3-0, improving to 4-2 overall. The loss dips Crestline to 1-5, and 0-3 in league games.
Cubs Smack Crestline To Stay Unbeaten
Lucas improved to 3-0 on the young season with a 68-46 victory at Crestline in their Mid-Buckeye Conference opener.
The Bulldogs (1-4) ran out to an 8-2 advantage by cashing in early Cubs turnovers for points but Lucas quickly recovered to regain a 20-16 edge by the end of the first quarter. The Cubs carried their momentum into the second stanza where they outscored Crestline 13-7 to hold a 33-23 lead at the break.
The third quarter would prove to be the difference with the Bulldogs coming out flat while Lucas strung together a consistent offensive attack and outscored Crestline 20-7 in the frame before taking their foot off the gas midway through the fourth with a sizeable lead.
Sophomore Riley Gossom led all scorers with 20 points while Logan Niswander added 18 for the Cubs and Ethan Sauder chipped in with a dozen.
Ty Clark paced the Bulldogs with 11 points, breaking the programs all-time career rebounding record during the contest.
Game Day Rituals: Featuring Crestline Sr. Ty Clark
Join Crestline senior forward Ty Clark as he takes you through his typical game day rituals during the high school basketball season.
Clark was preparing for his Bulldogs season opener at home against Mapleton where the program’s top returning player will get a chance to see if his one of a kind schedule will pay off with a victorious performance.
Crestline Edges Crusaders At Volley For The Cure
In an effort to raise money and awareness for breast cancer, Crestline hosted Temple Christian in a special “Volley For The Cure” event. There was a silent auction, recognition of survivors and, of course, a competitive volleyball match between the two programs.
The Lady Bulldogs came out of the gates red hot, dominating the visiting Crusaders in the first two sets 25-10 and 25-16. A bevy of junior varsity players then made their way into the contest for Crestline in the next two sets and Temple Christian was able to exploit them, forcing a decisive fifth set with wins of 25-23 and 25-22.
Despite the Crusaders carrying serious momentum into the final set, Crestline would prevail 15-13 to secure the victory.
Crestline Football Determined To Renew Winning Tradition
One of the proudest football programs in North Central Ohio believes it may be returning to glory. After a decade of losing football, Crestline is confident they’re on the right track to success this season.
The Bulldogs went 5-5 in 2017 after winning just 12 games during the previous seven years and return many of their core players from last season. A 26-6 win over Buckeye Central in their home opener to kick off this year’s campaign has now elevated the confidence of this veteran team as they head into Week 2 against Fisher Catholic (1-0) from Lancaster.
The senior-laden Dogs feel their matchup against the Irish could make or break the season for the program. Crestline fully expects to make a push for the playoffs with the teams returning talent and feels a 2-0 start could go a long way to achieving their goal.
Big Plays Push Crestline Past Buckeye Central
The Crestline football team kicked off the 2018 season by defending their home turf with a 26-6 win over Buckeye Central at Hutson Stadium.
Crestline held a 7-0 halftime edge on a 1st quarter TD run by Caleb Moore, then the combination of senior QB Ty Clark to junior WR Jaxson France exploded in the second half.
Clark connected with France four times for 114 yards and 3 scores, connecting on touchdowns of 29, 14 & 58 yards to blow open a 26-0 lead. The Bucks would score their only points on a 78-yard kickoff return in the 4th quarter.
Next up for Crestline (1-0) is a visit from Fisher Catholic (1-0) while Buckeye Central (0-1) will host Dalton (0-1)