For McNick, There’s No Place Like HOME

Archbishop McNicholas High School finally played a homecoming game at home.

The school hadn’t hosted a varsity football game since the late 1950s. Instead, it would have to play its home dates at schools such as Turpin, Anderson and Mariemont.

That changed when the Rockets hosted Purcell Marian in the inaugural game at McNicholas High School’s new Penn Station Stadium Oct. 16.

In front of packed crowd, the Rockets easily defeated the Cavaliers, 44-8.

Senior co-captain Jack Dooling appreciated having the support of the fans, who packed the auxiliary bleachers (the stadium project won’t be completed until 2012) on the east sideline during the contest.

“To be able to play in front of a crowd that big and win the inaugural game, and (to have) all the support from the McNick community, because sometimes, we’d get lost with Turpin and Anderson down the road…it’s great to see we have the support,” Dooling said.

Quarterback Matt Staubach shared Dooling’s attitude about school pride.

“It was amazing, to go out and have a win like we did, in front of the entire school, and entire community,” Staubach said, “It just felt great.”

The Rockets first points on the new field came when senior linebacker Ryan McMillan tackled Purcell Marian’s E.J. Burnett for a safety with 5:32 left in the first quarter.

Staubach added the Rockets’ first touchdown at the facility four plays later when he rushed up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown.

Staubach said he was excited to score the first touchdown at the new stadium.

McNick coach Steve Klonne, who will retire after 25 years of coaching in the Cincinnati area at the end of the season, was pleased with the win, but also glad the squad could start focusing on its next game.

“With all of the hoopla about the first game and homecoming here…I’m glad it’s over and we won and we can move on,” he said.

As the regular season start to wind down, McNick has postseason aspirations.

Through week seven, the Rockets were ranked No. 4 in the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s region 12 computer rankings.

Roger Bacon, whom McNick beat 21-14 Oct. 7, was ranked first in that same poll.

Dooling believes the Roger Bacon win helped McNick make a statement about how good a team the Rockets can be.

“For McNick to go out, and win a game like that - we haven’t done that in the past,” Dooling said. “It made a huge statement for the whole team, that we could win a game like that.”

Klonne, who has 197 career wins, relishes the fact that McNick, who would be in the postseason if the playoffs started today, controls its own destiny (the top eight teams from each region receive playoff berths).

“That’s the way you hope you have it,” Klonne said. “We have really two tough games coming up. If we beat these next couple of opponents, we’ll have earned our way into the playoffs.”

McNick travels to Dayton Carroll Oct. 22, and ends the regular season at Badin Oct. 29.

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For more information on synthetic or natural turf systems contact:
Zach Burns, Director of Sales & Marketing
The Motz Group
513-533-6452
info@themotzgroup.com

Riverside Park ~ Anderson Township Park District

If you've driven down Roundbottom Road in Anderson Township recently, no doubt you've seen a lot of exciting construction happening at Riverside Park.  

The Motz Group has just finished installing the 165,000-square-foot synthetic field  that will be used for football, soccer and lacrosse.

The Anderson Township Park District maintains a total of 7 athletic field complexes that offer sports of all varieties and for all ages.  Understanding the demand from their residents for year-round athletic field usage, the Park District knew the best solution was a synthetic turf system.  After much research and many field visits, 24/7®HP was their unanimous choice.  The 24/7HP system incorporates our work-horse slit-film yarn, Envirofill® acrylic coated sand, and the Alveo Sports Layer shock attenuation pad.  The decision to go towards the upgraded HP model was fueled by the District’s desire for a high performance and environmentally superior system.  The field footprint is over 165,000 sq ft and is permanently lined for football, full sized and youth sized soccer, and lacrosse tick marks.

The Park District will rent the new synthetic
fields from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.  Rental times include set-up, warm-up and take-down or clean-up time and fields will be allocated based on priority.  Park district youth or adult athletic programs of leagues, or Park-District sponsored event will have the first opportunities to use the fields.  Nonprofit youth organizations based in Anderson Township will be next on the priority list and general youth users, select programs and adult users fall into group three.  For-profit organizations, tournaments, clinics and camps with paid staff or trainers are also in the last group.

To learn more about The Motz Group’s ‘High Performance’ system upgrades, please contact Zach Burns at 513.533.6452 or email at info@themotzgroup.com.

Scott christens new home turf by crushing Lloyd

TAYLOR MILL, Ky. - Homecoming took on a whole new meaning Friday for Scott High School.

Scott Eagles Stadium hosted its first game of the season with one brand-new striking feature: artificial playing turf.

“That’s better than anything we’ve ever had,” head coach Dave Campbell said.

School board members participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the field’s inaugural game — a 42-7 Eagles win against Lloyd.

“It was tough playing every game on the road the first five weeks,” Campbell said. “Of course it’s sweet to be home, but we really wanted to bring home the first win here at our first home game and our kids rose to the occasion. I’m proud of them.”

The Scott defense paved the way, forcing four Juggernauts turnovers and a safety while keeping Lloyd off the scoreboard until backup running back Daishaun Bruton scored with 2:16 to play.

Nick Farris’ interception of Dexter Smith ended Lloyd’s first drive deep in its own territory. Scott quarterback Joey Heeb’s first rushing touchdown of the season gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead after seven minutes.

Scott senior Rob Swinford recovered a fumbled snap and junior Brandon Stamper picked off Smith’s second interception to end Lloyd’s next two possessions. Both turnovers led to Scott touchdowns, giving the Eagles a 21-0 edge early in the second quarter.

“We finally got everybody back on defense. We’ve been moving people around,” Campbell said. “We finally had a couple weeks in a row where we had our top 11 out there in the same positions. That really helped us tonight.”

Offensively, Heeb completed 6 of 9 passes for 51 yards and ran for 53 yards, scoring one touchdown each through the air and on the ground in his first start since in a month.

Fellow junior Ryan Sowder earned the starting nod before Scott’s win against Bellevue in week three, but an early injury against Dixie Heights last week put Heeb back under center.

“He struggled the first couple games of the year, but he’s a great team player,” Campbell said. “Joey did a great job tonight managing the game.”

Though he didn’t play quarterback against Lloyd, Sowder carried the ball out of the backfield eight times for 54 yards and two touchdowns.

“We’re still trying to take it easy on Ryan,” Campbell said. “We didn’t want him to take so many hits tonight.”

Junior running back Justin Hoskins added another pair of rushing touchdowns, the second giving the Eagles a 42-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve got everybody back on our offensive line and we always tell them an average back can run through a big hole,“ Campbell said. “But we’ve got a couple good backs, and when the line is letting them get to the second level, they can make some plays for us.”

To see original article, click here.

For more information on Synthetic Turf Fields, contact:
Zach Burns, Director Sales & Marketing
The Motz GroupSM
Phone: 513.233.2366
email: info@themotzgroup.com

NKU Norse Dedicate New Stadium

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Another undefeated weekend for the Northern Kentucky University men’s soccer team meant another jump in the national rankings, as the Norse checked in at No. 4 in the latest NCAA Division II national poll, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America announced on Tuesday.

More of this article can be found HERE

NKU returns to action at home on Friday against GLVC foe Illinois-Springfield. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. The Norse wrap up the weekend on Sunday by hosting Lewis for a noon start.


The Brand New NKU Norse Stadium
The Motz Group recently finished installing NKU's new synthetic turf field at their new Soccer Stadium.

• NKU constructed a $6.5 million soccer stadium adjacent to The Bank of Kentucky Center, ending a 10-year period of Norse soccer playing off-campus in Wilder, Ky.
• Seating for 1,000 spectators 
• Artificial playing surface that will contain a fully lighted, World Cup style 120-yard by 80-yard competition field. 
• Other amenities include concessions and restroom facilities, coaches’ offices, four team locker rooms plus officials’ dressing rooms, full athletic training facilities, a press box and media work area to facilitate radio and television broadcasts, laundry and equipment storage. The stadium will also include the "Founders' Suite," a 1,000 square foot luxury box that includes a walk-out deck which overlooks the field and will provide exceptional amenities for spectators to the game as well as meeting space on non-game days.

The new NKU soccer stadium will provide a championship-caliber soccer stadium that will permit Northern Kentucky University to host sporting events, including NCAA championship tournaments, and Kentucky High School Athletic Association district, regional, and state championships. This will attract visitors who will benefit the area financially, bring prospective students to the campus, and give NKU the opportunity to recruit top-notch student-athletes in soccer to compete at the highest level in NCAA Division II.


Additionally, the school will benefit from having lighted facilities with adequate seating and crowd control that permits Northern Kentucky University to increase the number of games held at convenient times for spectators.


The NKU Soccer Complex was formally dedicated Sunday September 19, 2010. 


For more information, contact:
Zach Burns, Director Sales and Marketing
info@themotzgroup.com
513.533.6452