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State of the City League: Opening Week

By Mark Francis Jr., 12/06/21, 12:15PM EST

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A look at the City League heading into opening week

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Welcome to the State of the City League! Here I will look at the past weeks action, along with who stood out and any major performances from players across the most passionate league in Central Ohio, while also looking ahead to the biggest games of the upcoming week. Without any further ado, here is your look at the Columbus City League through the first two weeks of the season: 

North Division


International is 3-0 for the first time in school history

After defeating Horizon Science Academy 55-53 (11/29), a 53-35 victory over West (11/30), and a 72-45 win over Liberty Christian (12/3), International High School is unbeaten to start the season. The combination of juniors Sam Whitaker II and Jujuan McLester has used these games to announce themselves as a dangerous duo in the City League. The two sleeper players combined for 19 points in the first win of the season then 31 points in the win over West. 

Linden-McKinley and Beechcroft both had inspiring starts to their season, after a tough 67-64 loss to Eastmoor Academy (12/1), the Panthers bounced back to defeat Maple Heights (12/4) which was sealed by a huge stop from junior guard Chris Towns. After his 27-point outing against Eastmoor, senior LA Walker scored 25 against Maple Heights and is making an early case as the best bucket getter in this league. The Cougars went down swinging at Cincinnati Woodward 88-81 (11/27) then bounced back in an 83-35 blowout win over Toledo Rogers (12/4). Coach Simmons’ bunch is looking like a well-oiled offensive machine ready to roll through the City League on their road to another City League Championship game. 

New Centennial head coach Shawn Williams picked up the first victory of his head coaching career, beating Cristo Rey 49-42 (12/2) after three straight losses to start the season. Coach Williams is being led by Marlin Byron who scored 14 points against the South Bulldogs and 17 in his Stars win over Cristo Rey. 

No other City League north team has a victory, traditional power Northland and new coach Tihon Johnson haven't been able to get over the hump. The Vikings lost to Westerville South on the road (11/24) then fell to Canton McKinley 55-52 (11/27). Whetstone and Mifflin join Northland as the other winless teams, while East has not taken the court for a game yet this season. 

South Division


Dennis Asoro is leading Eastmoor Academy with his paint dominance

The Warriors of Eastmoor Academy had themselves a week, starting it off with a victory over Linden-McKinley (12/1) and following that up with a big time 59-47 road win over Thomas Worthington (12/4). Senior Dennis Asoro has firmly planted his flag in the “best big man in the city league” debate, following up a 20-point, 15-rebound game with a 14-point, 13-rebound game. Senior point guard Aaron Lawson has been an orchestra conductor for the Warriors so far this season, calmly leading the bruising offense that Jim Miranda wants from his team.

South High School along with Briggs have both started this infant season with two victories, the Bulldogs have one loss while the Bruins have two. Sophomore Lajames Washington has spear-headed the scoring attack for South, being one of three players who led the Bulldogs in scoring in the 50-31 win at Centennial (11/24) then scoring 19 points in the victory over London (12/4). Sophomore Maurice McCall is a superstar in the making for coach Spears, being able to do a little bit of everything on the court and being the leader of his team.

The Bruins started hot by grinding out wins over Athens (11/26) and Zanesville (11/27) by a combined margin of nine points. Senior guard Devonte Curry powered the Bruins to both wins, including a game-winning runner from 25 feet out to defeat Zanesville. Briggs is now heading into city league play off back-to-back losses after falling to Watkins Memorial (12/1) and Grove City (12/4). 

Africentric and Independence both stand at 1-1 with both basically splitting road games. The Nubians, possibly the most talented team, have not seen a home game and won’t see one until the 76ers visit them on December 14th. Africentric started the season beating Sandusky 83-74 (11/26) in an energy packed, electric game that saw junior star Dailyn Swain light up the scoreboard for 27 points and senior leader Dan Wagner pour in an extra 24 just for victory assurance. They followed it up with an excruciating 50-47 loss to Huber Heights Wayne that next night.

The 76ers bounced back from a 63-49 loss at Lancaster (11/24) with a 63-62 win against Bishop Hartley (11/27). Eastmoor transfer Antony Lowery, along with Denarius Crowder and Christian Byrd have played excellent, with all three young men having standout performances so far this season. 

Marion Franklin, Walnut Ridge and West all look to change their winless fortune this upcoming week. The Scots were defeated by Newark 66-41 (11/27), the Red Devils fell to Heath 65-26 (12/1), and the Cowboys were taken down by the aforementioned International. 

Upcoming This Week


Africentric will be tested heavily this week with games against Walnut Ridge and South both on the road

City League action really heats up this week with teams looking to get off the schnide and other teams looking to prove they are legit contenders. International has a chance to prove something to themselves and make a statement by beating Northland this Tuesday in what now has become an important matchup in the north division. 

Eastmoor Academy travels to South and Africentric goes to Walnut Ridge on Tuesday in what will be two slugfests and go a long way into deciding the representative of the south division. These four teams will swap places on Friday as Africentric travels to the southside to battle the Bulldogs and Walnut Ridge takes a drive down Livingston along with a skip over Main St. to take on the Warriors. 

Hilliard Davidson visits Linden-McKinley on Wednesday in what will be an interesting out of conference match and will allow the Panthers to test their talent against other teams. Linden will also visit so far unbeaten International on Friday to test how good the Lions can actually be.

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