Round Two: Too many Portage County greats for just one list

The G.O.A.T. nominations keep pouring in, so we’re going to keep publishing them.

Two weeks ago, I put in my proverbial two cents that Marcus Sanders of Ravenna and Kim Kreiner of Mogadore were the greatest Portage County athletes I’ve ever seen. I then solicited your candidates for the Greatest Of All Time in our area, with the only caveat being that they had to have played sports at a Portage County high school.

So below is Round 2’s, well, round two of your G.O.A.T. selections — and like last week’s group, you can’t go wrong with any of them.

Here they are:

– “I was surprised that Larry Kehres’ name was not in that first list. Not only was he an all around athlete in high school [Southeast], but went on to coach the Mount Union football team to many records that still stand today.” – Janice Kent

[T.H.–Kehres coached Mount Union to 11 NCAA Division III championships — the most national titles of any coach in college football history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.]

– “Charlie Boykin. An outstanding basketball player, Charles Boykin played for Roosevelt, Kent State University and on a semi-pro team. Boykin, a 1957 graduate of Roosevelt, was named to All District, All Metro and All State teams for basketball.

“Considered one of the all-time leading scorers in Ohio, he helped Roosevelt compete for the state title his freshman and senior years. He was also a valuable member of the Roosevelt baseball and track teams.

“Erica Floyd. 1988 Roosevelt graduate Erica Floyd was an All-State basketball and track star in high school. She attended The Ohio State University on a full basketball scholarship where she earned two varsity letters and was a two-year starter.” – Jean Booth

– “The all time great athletes list has to include Roger Boykin of Kent Roosevelt. Outstanding in football, he also excelled in basketball and track. Going back even further, Carl Reedy was a legend as a running back at Ravenna High. He was on scholarship at LSU and was the number one running back until he blew out his leg. His backup, who filled in for him was a guy named Billy Cannon, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy and became a star as an all pro. And let’s not forget Yank Heisler, who was a star QB in football, a superb basketball player and a two time state champion in golf. The only other high schooler at that point who was a two time state champ was Jack Nicklaus.” – Chas Madonio

– “How about Robert “Yank” Heisler, a star three-sport athlete from Ravenna High School in the mid-sixties? Yank, as quarterback and point guard, led the Ravens to successful seasons on both the gridiron and court, but his qualifications for “GOAT” are centered on his golf accomplishments as a Raven. Yank won two consecutive Ohio State High School golf championships played at Ohio State’s famous Scarlet course. He won individual championships in 1965 and 1966, and led his team to a state championship in 1966.

“P.S.  I was glad to see Errol Prisby’s nomination. In high school (early 1960s) I ran 100/220 yard dashes against Errol and I was always behind “lightning Errol” — far behind. Some 40 years later I recognized Errol sitting a few pews ahead of me in church, and after church I tracked him down and told him I recognized the back of his head because I had seen it so often on the track.” – John P. Cipriano

– “Don Nottingham would be a viable candidate as well. Ravenna High School, Kent State, and the Miami Dolphins. Well respected on the gridiron.” – Robert Eberly

[T.H.–Nottingham, nicknamed “The Human Bowling Ball,” played running back on the 1973 Miami Dolphins team that won Super Bowl VIII.]

– “I’m with Edie Benner on [Crestwood’s] Bridget Franek! Great athlete and overall good person!” – Nora Brant

– “Bridget Franek, while clearly highly accomplished in her post-HS career, has perhaps one of the greatest achievements in Ohio HS Track and Field history. In the 2006 State Track and Field meet, she won THREE distance races — two in record times — in UNDER 90 MINUTES. From the OHSAA website: “From 1:35 P.M., when the 1600m race started, until approx. 2:51 P.M., when she crossed the finish line in the 3200m race, Bridget Franek had won the three longest races in the state meet — in a span of just under an hour and 15 minutes, and two of them in record time. Commenting on Franek’s remarkable day, University of Akron assistant track and cross-country coach Scott Jones put the accomplishment in “the realm of the unbelievable.” To the best of this writer’s knowledge, no high school athlete in the country, boy or girl, has ever won the 800m, 1600m and 3200m races in the same meet in the same day — except Bridget Franek of Crestwood High School.”

“She had also been a member of the state champion 4×800 team that same year. She truly is a Portage County GOAT for XC and Track.” – Janice Simmons

– “Archie Brown, class of 1951 of Suffield High School. Football, Basketball, Baseball. Not too many opportunities to go further back then, but he did play for the Air Force Basketball teams and Field Alumni Football, as kicker, well into his 60’s!!” – Jean Brown

What these special athletes above, the ones detailed last week and so many others who have yet to be mentioned accomplished in their careers is nothing short of spectacular. They are proof positive that Portage County takes a backseat to nobody in the athletic arena.

It’s a proud lineage, one that continues with today’s current batch of high school athletes and those waiting in the wings in middle and elementary school – or younger. Who knows? A future Olympian or hall of famer might well be in our midst as we speak.

And we’re not done: If you’ve missed the last couple weeks or have someone else you’d like to nominate, it’s not too late. Just email your Portage County G.O.A.T. candidate to me, and we’ll continue to include your choices in future Round 2 columns.

After all, this is a history worth repeating.