The Hillsdale and Mapleton boys basketball teams seemed to be running parallel with each other this season.
They didn’t play on the same court Friday night, but in a way, their stars aligned.
Both hosting sectional championship games on their home floors, the Falcons and Mounties claimed victories that continued to accentuate seasons that would have looked impossible just a few winters ago.
The two Ashland County schools often have been punching bags for their respective league foes through the decades. And while there have been bright spots for each, their breakthroughs this year have been sights for sore basketball eyes.
Both will bus more than 90 minutes tonight to play in daunting district semifinals at 7 p.m. against higher-seeded foes.
The 10th-seeded Falcons (18-7) travel to Orwell Grand Valley High School for a Division IV tipoff against top-seeded Warren JFK (17-6). Hillsdale smacked both Southern (86-14) and Grand Valley (70-54) to claim its first sectional title since 2016.
The 17th-seeded Mounties (16-7) head to Salem High School for a Division III matchup with fourth-seeded Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (19-5). After a first-round bye, Mapleton held off Youngstown Valley Christian in a riveting contest, 54-50, giving the Mounties their first sectional crown in 17 years.
Neither Ashland County team would be favored in Vegas.
JFK is No. 8 in Ohio in the Division IV rankings on MaxPreps and has a pile of wins over quality opponents, including Cardinal Mooney.
Cardinal Mooney, meanwhile, is No. 8 in Division III on MaxPreps (received votes in the final AP state poll) and is 17-2 in its last 19.
But just to be where they are, the Falcons and Mounties have stacked team and individual accomplishments that have been worth noting, particularly after some rough recent seasons.
It is a Hillsdale program that from 2018 through 2022 finished in last place every year in the Wayne County Athletic League, a stretch that included a conference losing streak of more than 40 games.
This season, the Falcons and first-year head coach Ben Ferguson took third in the WCAL (8-6) and have tied for the fourth-most wins in a season in program history.
They have a senior in Braylen Jarvis who has broken the school’s single-season scoring record and surpassed 1,000 career points.
They have a junior in Bradey Krichbaum who has broken the school’s single-season rebounding record, and a senior in Jack Fickes whose average of 7.5 assists per game is among the best in Ohio.
For its part, Mapleton was in a similar boat a few years back, turning in winless conference showings in both 2019-20 and 2020-21 — just like Hillsdale — before its awakening.
Like the Falcons, the Mounties and fifth-year head coach Nick Hickey were third in their league, the Firelands Conference (9-5), and their 16 wins already are the most since winning 17 games in 1981-82.
Mapleton has a senior in Kyle Sloter who became just the second player in program history to clear 1,000 career points, doing so Friday night. He also holds Mapleton’s record for career steals.
The Mounties also have a junior in Scotty Hickey who sits at 962 career points and holds the MHS single-season record for 3-pointers made.
Mapleton was 11-2 at home this season. Hillsdale was 10-3, with one of those victories a 56-50 win over the Mounties that wasn’t decided until the final 30 seconds.
While the history has been more dire for Mapleton, which hasn’t won a conference crown since 1980 (Hillsdale last won the WCAL in 2011), they are programs that both were chasing better times.
Ironically, Ferguson said Hickey was the first coach he called when he took the HHS job last spring. The two shared mutual friends during their high school days in Ashland County and Hickey helped Ferguson line up the Falcons’ summer shootout and camp schedule.
Every little bit can help during the climb back to relevance and both programs have turned in winters to be remembered.
Whenever their seasons do end — for the first time in over three decades — Hillsdale and Mapleton will both have winning records.
