NORTON: Brothers Russ and Rod Swartz both used the word “similar” to describe their coaching styles before meeting for the first time in a regular-season game.
Russ’s Mogadore Wildcats won 63-56 over Rod’s Norton Panthers in the first boys basketball game inside the new Norton gymnasium on Saturday.
“This will be similar to an intra-squad scrimmage,” Russ said Thursday with a laugh. “We each have our own little wrinkles, but overall the philosophies are the same.”
Seniors Jarad Dunn and Kole Jaber each scored 13 points, and senior Austin Williams contributed 10 points to guide Mogadore (5-2) past Norton (6-5). Dunn grabbed 16 rebounds, Jaber had two blocks and Wildcats sophomore Connor Kerr scored nine points.
Norton sophomore Dom Reinart scored 18 points, junior Dylan Marks totaled 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks and junior Jourdain Roberts-Lane chipped in nine points.
Russ, 53, and Rod, 51, grew up in Mogadore with their parents, Larry and Jan, who now live in Norton. Russ and his wife of 29 years, Dianne, have children Alexis and Lukas, a freshman on Mogadore’s team. Rod and his wife of 22 years, Beth, have children Amy, Brooke, Todd and Bryce.
“Being from a close-knit family and a small town, we were brought up with family values, and I think to this day the closeness that was instilled in us, we instill in our teams,” said Rod, who has a record of 129-62 in his ninth season as Norton’s basketball coach.
Mogadore outscored Norton 22-8 in the third quarter to hold a 47-36 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Wildcats maintained the lead the final eight minutes with Dunn, Jaber, Williams, senior Justice Ramirez (six points, seven rebounds, five assists) and junior Austin Fisher (seven points) playing key roles.
“Rod approached me about this game and thought it would be a good idea since I was at Norton for 14 years,” said Russ, who has a 363-268 career coaching record in 29 years.
“He thought it would be a great thing to open up the new gym with us as the opponent.”
Russ graduated from Mogadore in 1981 and Rod graduated from Mogadore in 1983. They both played guard in basketball, and in baseball Russ was the shortstop and Rod patrolled center field. Russ earned 10 letters in football, golf, basketball and baseball and Rod earned nine letters in golf, basketball and baseball.
“I was always the little brother tagging along,” Rod said Friday. “I played with him, and we played with and against older guys. The biggest thing I learned at that time was I had to learn how to compete if I was going to go play with these guys at parks, whether it was in Mogadore or in Akron.”
The brothers played basketball together at Hiram and won a Presidents’ Athletic Conference title to qualify for the Division III NCAA Tournament when Russ was a junior and Rod was a freshman.
Rod finished as Hiram’s top scorer with 2,252 points, and was a Division III All-American in basketball twice in addition to playing baseball.
“We have been competitive and close all the way,” said Russ, who is in his ninth year as principal and basketball coach at Mogadore. “As kids we had our fights and arguments like every other sibling rivalry, but we were also each other’s No. 1 supporter and fan.”
Russ, who previously coached at Southeast for six years and Norton for 14 years, has led Mogadore to win totals of 19, 19, 19, 21 and 23 the past five seasons. The Wildcats were Division IV district runners-up in 2016, and district champions in 2012 and 2015.
This is Rod’s 25th year with Norton boys basketball, the first 16 years as junior varsity coach. He has led Norton to the Division II district bracket three times in the past seven years, and the Panthers have won between 15 and 19 games in each of the past four years.
Rod is also in his 25th year as a physical education teacher at Norton, and will enter his 25th season, 22nd as head coach, in the spring with the Panthers baseball program, with which he has over 300 wins. He also has 16 years of coaching boys golf on his resume.
Jimi Howell dominates
Norton’s girls basketball team beat Coventry 60-21 in Saturday’s opener.
“This was a great day opening the new gym,” Norton coach Brian Miller said. “This is a fantastic day for the city of Norton and all of our community members.”
Jimi Howell led Norton (9-2) with 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Kelsey Hosey added 12 points and six rebounds. Bryana Housley (seven points, six steals), Abbey Murawski (nine points) and Sarah Shearer (seven points) also played pivotal roles.
“Jimi Howell has been unbelievable all year,” Miller said. “She is averaging pretty much a double-double. She is phenomenal and it’s hard to keep her off the boards. Kelsey Hosey is steady. ... and our ship is really run by Bryana Housley, our point guard.”
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the #ABJVarsity high school blog at www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.