rabbit
11-10-04, 04:27 PM
One of the fun things about my job is watching guys I cover in high school move on to bigger and better things. I have especially enjoyed watch Ben Roethlisberger have the success he has had at Pittsburgh, even though I am a Browns fan. I got to cover Ben's first high school start at quarterback on Aug. 27, 1999. (Not that that makes me special or anything.) I dug up my story about that game today. As many of you already know, Ben's high school coach didn't start him at QB until his senior season, choosing instead to play his son at QB. As you can see from the exerpt from my story below, it didn't take Ben long to make an impression.
Elida overmatched against bigger Findlay squad
By JOHN HULLINGER
The Lima News
The Trojans used their size advantage and a no-huddle West Coast offense to steamroll Elida 38-13 Friday at Kraft Memorial Stadium in Elida.
---snip---
Big Ben Roethlisberger spearheaded the Trojans' offense. The 6-foot-6, 186-pound quarterback completed 26 of 42 passes (62 percent) for 336 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for Findlay's final touchdown.
"He (Roethlisberger) improvises better than most I've seen," Findlay coach Cliff Hite said. "We had some dropped balls but we also had some great catches."
Roethlisberger certainly shared the wealth, completing passes to seven different receivers.
His favorite target was Chaz Hatfield who caught nine passes for 103 yards.
---snip---
Ben was also a very good basketball player. Four months later I covered a game he played against a very good Lima Senior team that came within one game of the state tournament later in the season.
Spartans edge Findlay
By JOHN HULLINGER
The Lima News
Lima Senior boys basketball coach Dick Heath wanted the ball in Bob Davenport's hands. He got it in Davenport's hands, but it was Earl Ingram who made the winning shot.
Ingram tipped in Davenport's missed jumper with eight seconds left in the game to secure the Spartans' 76-74 win over Findlay on Tuesday at Lima Senior Gymnasium. Lima Senior improves to 7-2.
The Trojans had one last try, but Ben Roethlisberger missed a desperation lay-up in traffic as time expired.
---snip---
Findlay (6-1) trailed by as many as 11, 48-37, in the third quarter. But Roethlisberger scored 23 of his game-high 42 points in the second half to key the Trojans' comeback.
"They were denying so hard on the wings, Ben was able to get down in the middle a lot," Findlay coach Jim Rucki said. "That opened some things up and he was able to get some three's and go to the line."
---snip---
"They're a great team. Take nothing away from them," Roethlisberger said. "They did a great job breaking our momentum whenever we got a solid run going."
---snip--- Anywho, I just found it interesting digging through some of my old files.
A side note to Ben's first start at QB against Elida: Ben went to Elida (my alma-mater) through the second grade until his dad was transferred to Findlay. The Elida team he would have played on went 1-9 that season. :(
Elida overmatched against bigger Findlay squad
By JOHN HULLINGER
The Lima News
The Trojans used their size advantage and a no-huddle West Coast offense to steamroll Elida 38-13 Friday at Kraft Memorial Stadium in Elida.
---snip---
Big Ben Roethlisberger spearheaded the Trojans' offense. The 6-foot-6, 186-pound quarterback completed 26 of 42 passes (62 percent) for 336 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for Findlay's final touchdown.
"He (Roethlisberger) improvises better than most I've seen," Findlay coach Cliff Hite said. "We had some dropped balls but we also had some great catches."
Roethlisberger certainly shared the wealth, completing passes to seven different receivers.
His favorite target was Chaz Hatfield who caught nine passes for 103 yards.
---snip---
Ben was also a very good basketball player. Four months later I covered a game he played against a very good Lima Senior team that came within one game of the state tournament later in the season.
Spartans edge Findlay
By JOHN HULLINGER
The Lima News
Lima Senior boys basketball coach Dick Heath wanted the ball in Bob Davenport's hands. He got it in Davenport's hands, but it was Earl Ingram who made the winning shot.
Ingram tipped in Davenport's missed jumper with eight seconds left in the game to secure the Spartans' 76-74 win over Findlay on Tuesday at Lima Senior Gymnasium. Lima Senior improves to 7-2.
The Trojans had one last try, but Ben Roethlisberger missed a desperation lay-up in traffic as time expired.
---snip---
Findlay (6-1) trailed by as many as 11, 48-37, in the third quarter. But Roethlisberger scored 23 of his game-high 42 points in the second half to key the Trojans' comeback.
"They were denying so hard on the wings, Ben was able to get down in the middle a lot," Findlay coach Jim Rucki said. "That opened some things up and he was able to get some three's and go to the line."
---snip---
"They're a great team. Take nothing away from them," Roethlisberger said. "They did a great job breaking our momentum whenever we got a solid run going."
---snip--- Anywho, I just found it interesting digging through some of my old files.
A side note to Ben's first start at QB against Elida: Ben went to Elida (my alma-mater) through the second grade until his dad was transferred to Findlay. The Elida team he would have played on went 1-9 that season. :(