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| The complete winners of the night at the Greater Akron-Canton High School Sports Awards. (Photo: Gene Simmons/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
AKRON, Ohio--The John S. Knight Center was filled with excellence, as friends and families gathered to witness the recognition of over 300 athletes honored at the Greater Akron-Canton High School Sports Awards, presented by Meijer.
The Louisville Leopard boys basketball team took home a trio of awards, winning the Boys Team of the Year award, boys basketball Player of the Year and Boys Coach of the Year Awards.
Tom Siegfried - Boys Coach of the Year
Siegfried served as the captain of the ship for 18 seasons before retiring after this past season, during which he led the team to win the school's first state title in boys basketball. Throughout his tenure, he achieved a career record of 270 victories against only 155 defeats.
"We wanted to have high expectations this year, and set forth and see where it ended up, and fortunately for our players, our community, and our staff, it ended the way it did," said Siegfried.
Brayden Gross - Boys Basketball Player of the Year presented by The Middlefield Banking Company
The Leopards' big man was instrumental in all that happened in his senior year and leader of this team, he averaged 18 points and 9 rebounds among all the Player of the Year Awards he received. The Walsh University commit ranks third all-time in points with 1,167.
"Yeah, you know it's just another award to put on the shelf with all an already great year, no offense, but nothing can beat that state championship, but it's a great award and a great privilege to get this, and I'm very grateful," said Gross.
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| The Louisville Boys Basketball team poses after winning the Boys Team of the Year award. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
Naomi Benson - Girls Basketball Player of the Year, presented by The Middlefield Banking Company
The Streetsboro native was the Division IV Player of the Year by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association, averaged 19.1 points and 11.4 rebounds, and is also the school's all-time scoring leader with well over 1,600 points and 1,200 rebounds. Unfortunately, she was not in attendance to comment on her success.
Keller Moten - Football (Offensive) Player of the Year
The Ohio Mr. Football finalist and All-Ohio athlete from Walsh Jesuit led his team to an undefeated regular season and got a big win over rival Akron Archbishop Hoban, he finished his senior season with a total of 1,734 yards and 17 touchdowns, followed by a rushing performance of 1,380 yards and 23 touchdowns, ultimately earning him the Division II Co-offensive Player of the Year and District Player of the Year.
"It's definitely a good feeling to cap it off, kind of a last hurrah, you know," said Moten. Honestly, you know I got two guys with me today, Kodey and Colton, those guys, two linemen who should of won, but they made everything possible."
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| Those in attendance at the Greater Akron-Canton High School Sports Awards. (Photo: Gene Simmons/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
Eli Lee - Football (Defensive) Player of the Year
The Greater Akron Defensive Player of the Year and Ohio Defensive Player of the Year from Akron Archbishop Hoban totaled 122 tackles, 12 sacks, and three interceptions. Lee will attend the Ohio State University; however, he was not in attendance to make any comments.
Lifetime Achievement Award
This was awarded to Doug Miller of Canton Central Catholic/East Canton, recognized as the most successful high school baseball coach in Stark County's history, boasting an impressive record of 790 wins and 355 losses in 42 seasons. This places him 3rd in the all-time rankings in Ohio. He was honored with the induction into the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2006 and the National High School Baseball Coaches Association in 2023.
"Well, it means, first of all, it means I'm very blessed, god blessed me with good health that I could coach for so many years and obviously I've been blessed with great players and athletes so I've just been very blessed, it's really truly about the athletes and it's about relationships for me as far as that's concerned," said Miller.
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| Gene Simmons is talking with the Lifetime Achievement Award winner Doug Miller before show time. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
The guest speaker was Joe Thomas, Hall of Fame Offensive Tackle for the Cleveland Browns, who gave some motivational insights for the nominees and the audience present. The interview was conducted by Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal.
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| Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal interviews Joe Thomas during the Greater Akron-Canton High School Sports Awards. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
"I'm a huge believer of being a multi-sport athlete," said Thomas. "You gotta be able to build a process every day."
Ulrich inquired about him taking his family around the world, particularly to Munich, Germany, where he also coached. "Last year at this time, I was in Munich, Germany, living there with my four kids and my wife, and we were enjoying the city and the European lifestyle."
For the complete list of winners from all sports, please visit: www.beaconjournal.com
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