BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) – After winning four-straight All-American Conference championships, the Spartans took a step back last year by dropping seven of their 8 league games to fall into last place in the standings.

“We look to regroup with a deeper and more experienced roster this season,” said Boardman coach Pat Birch. “We return six lettermen, along with some up-and-coming pieces that are hungry to leave their mark.”

A trio of senior letter winners return in Nico Holzschuh (3.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg), Noah Ziak (3.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg) and Jeffrey Markovitch (1.2 ppg) and are joined by juniors Terrell McDowell (5.6 ppg), Kaden Mayhew (4.4 ppg) and Grayson Eicher (1.5 ppg).

Holzschuh is a two-time letterman, who’s started games in each of the past two seasons.

“He has valuable experience that we’ll rely on as well as a strong ability to initiate the offense,” Birch said.

“[Ziak] earned a starting spot midway through last year with consistent play and a high motor. Terrell is a dynamic guard that we’ll rely upon for scoring and playmaking. Kaden showed great flashes, we’ll look to him to be more consistent as a ball handler and scorer. [Eicher and Markovitch] played valuable minutes last year. We’ll look for Grayson to take a big step as a player and a leader. We’ll also look for Jeffrey to be a consistent shooting threat.”

Other players to watch are Willie Torres, Andrew Cvercko, Zach Haus, Ivan Rudiak, Sullivan Smith, Vince Butto, Gabe Hammerton and freshman Jayse Varley.

“We took our lumps with a relatively young and inexperienced roster,” Birch said. “After a very strong off-season, we’re excited for the challenge ahead. We have a good group of players who are ready to compete.”

Boardman will welcome Lake on Dec. 1 for the season opener.

Boardman Spartans
Fast Facts
Head Coach: Pat Birch
2022-23 Record: 7-16 (1-7), 5th place in the AAC
2022-23 Post-Season Finish: Lost in Sectional Semifinal to Harding

2022-23 Team Stats
Scoring Offense: 49.8
Scoring Defense: 54.4

2022-23 Individual Leaders
Scoring: Demarr Clark – 11.1
Rebounding: Demarr Clark – 7.8
Assists: Brady DePietro – 2.5
Free Throw Percentage: David Daltorio – 93.3%
Three-Point Percentage: Kaden Mayhew – 43.8%

2023-24 Schedule
Dec. 1 – Lake
Dec. 5 – at Campbell
Dec. 9 – at Poland (United Way)
Dec. 12 – at East
Dec. 15 – East Liverpool
Dec. 19 – at Mooney
Dec. 22 – Tallmadge
Dec. 29 – Warren JFK
Jan. 2 – at Canfield
Jan. 5 – Massillon
Jan. 9 – at Fitch
Jan. 12 – at Harding
Jan. 16 – Howland
Jan. 19 – Canfield
Jan. 20 – at Louisville
Jan. 26 – Fitch
Jan. 30 – Harding
Feb. 2 – at Howland
Feb. 9 – at Hoover
Feb. 10 – Canton Central Catholic
Feb. 16 – Poland
Feb. 20 – West Branch