sports

Willow Bend Country Club hosted the annual awards banquet for the Van Wert High School golf team. Many parents, their sons, and coaches enjoyed a buffet style meal of Chicken Cordon Bleu, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and drinks.

After the meal, Head Coach Jeff Hood took the floor to honor this year’s Cougar golf team. Five members of the junior varsity squad earned their first-year award. Those included Trenton Metzger, Tyler Goodlin, Robby Trittschuh, Aaron Beck, and Nathan Profit.

Six members of the varsity squad were given various awards. First-year varsity letters were presented to freshmen Jacob Brake and Tyler Turnwald. Sophomores Matt Cucciarre and Vince Moreland also received first-year awards. Junior Brandt Taylor earned his second-year varsity letter, while junior Blake Doidge was awarded his third-year varsity letter.

Special awards were given out as well. Taylor earned Honorable Mention in the Western Buckeye League as well as Honorable Mention in the Northwest District. Doidge received his Player of the Year award from the Western Buckeye League, along with his First Team certificate. He earned First Team All-District with his performance at the District golf tournament and was voted Second Team All Northwest District. Doidge also received an award for participating in the state tournament.

The team finished with a record of 5-4 in league action and 7-5 in dual matches. The best team score of 159 was achieved against Wapakoneta. The best finish of the tourn

ament schedule was at the Antwerp Invitational, where the Cougars finished fourth overall.
Letter winners for this year's Van Wert varsity golf team include (from the left) Matt Cucciarre, Tyler Turnwald, Brandt Taylor, Blake Doidge, Vince Moreland and Jacob Brake. (VWCS photo)
11/6

Reserved seats for Crestview boys’ basketball games are currently on sale. Blue reserved seat reminder/application cards have been mailed to last year’s reserved seat ticket holders. Anyone who is interested in purchasing a reserved seat for the 2009-10 basketball season may do so by contacting the Crestview Athletic Department at 419.749.9100, extension 3. Each reserved seat is $55.

All-sports passes are also available for the winter sports season. An adult all-sports pass is $75. A student all-sports pass is $35. Any student interested in purchasing a boys’ basketball season ticket may do so for $30.

Pre-sale tickets for boys’ basketball will be available on Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the athletic department office. Pre-sale tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students. All tickets at the door will be $6.
11/5

(Second at Tiffin regional) Coach: Brendon Moody Katie Bono (junior, 21:00.30) Erica Davis (senior, 20:32.18) Jacey Eikenbary (freshman, 20:43.47) Madison Riethman (senior, 21:08.19) Sydney Riethman (sophomore, 21:17.44) Erika Smith (junior, 20:47.94) Lauren Taylor (senior, 19:08.78, regional champion)

(Runners-up at Tiffin regional) Coach: Robert Kaple Kari Beining (junior, 23:09.40) Brooke Bendele (junior, 21:21.54) Emilee Byrns (junior, 24:02.48) Molly Maag (senior, 21:09.27) Brianna Rodriguez (junior, 20:45.68) Shayla Siefker (junior, 19:37.61 regional champ) Melissa Turnwald (senior, 22:47.80)

(Runners-up at Troy regional) Coach: Brian McMichael Alexa Brown (sophomore, 21:36.62) Lyndie Brown (senior, 19:40.28) Ashley Gilroy (senior, 20:03.24) Kelli Ley (sophomore, 20:42.15) Claire McConnell (junior, 21:18.03) Cortney Miller (sophomore, 21:44.17) Kari Wisher (senior, 23:19.05)
INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS PANDORA-GILBOA: Sarah Flickinger (junior, 11th at Tiffin regional, 20:33.57)

(Runners-up at Tiffin regional) Coach: Obie Mouser Trevin Flickinger (senior, 16:28.25) Geoff Burns (senior, 17:52.21) Abel Flores (freshman, 16:28.50) Ben Hackworth (senior, 17:03.01) Ryan McDonough (senior, 18:44.84) Sebastian Miller (junior, 19:28.43) Ryan Zeller (senior, 17.47.10)

CELINA: Andrew Goodwin (senior, second at Tiffin regional, 15:59.13) SHAWNEE: Garrett Diltz (sophomore, 13th at Tiffin, 16:39.98) VAN WERT: Jared Fleming (freshman, 15th at Tiffin, 16:42.84)

The All-Northwest Conference football teams were recently chosen. They include the following:

Running backs: Rayce Risser, Columbus Grove; Tyler Rahl, Bluffton; Levi Hoy, Allen East

Offensive Lineman: Zach Gibson, Ada; Dylan Vogt, Columbus Grove; Max Brodbeck, LCC; Robert Guyton, Ada; Grant Brand, Delphos Jefferson; Joe Shanahan, LCC

Defensive Lineman: Tanner Craig, Ada; Dylan Vogt, Columbus Grove; Grand Brand, Delphos Jefferson; Demitrius Williams, Allen East; Cory Hahn, LCC

Defensive Backs: Heath Jackson, Ada; Desi Kirkman, LCC; Rayce Risser, Columbus Grove

Running backs: Rufus Johnson, LCC; Tyler Simmons, Ada; Matt Holden, Crestview; Mitchell Antalis, Delphos Jefferson

Offensive Lineman: Anthony Kimbrough, LCC; Tyler Obringer, Spencerville; Kyle Balliet, Crestview; Anthony McCormick, LCC; Ben Moser, Bluffton

Defensive Lineman: Tylar Dailey, LCC; Tyler Obringer, Spencerville; Robert Guyton, Ada; Jason Myers, Bluffton

Linebackers: Tyler Rahl, Bluffton; Garrett Burgoon, LCC; Devin Verhoff, Columbus Grove

Defensive Backs: Aaron Swaney, Allen East; Logan Bonifas, Delphos Jefferson; Bubba Krieg, LCC

Quarterbacks: Jordan Jettinghoff, Delphos Jefferson; Jordan Travis, Columbus Grove

Running backs: Kory Plotts, Paulding; Jacob Miller, Columbus Grove; Curtis Miller, Delphos Jefferson

Wide Receiver: Andrew Wiltsie, Delphos Jefferson; Craig Carder, Delphos Jefferson; Drew Nofer, Crestview; Ryan Ebbeskotte, Delphos Jefferson

Offensive Lineman: Cameron Aldrich, Paulding; Spencer Wolfe, Columbus Grove; Ben Krouskop, Spencerville; Daniel Buckingham, Bluffton; Greg Martin, Columbus Grove; Jared Burger, Crestview; Austin Hefner, Crestview; Cade Bevington, Delphos Jefferson; Brayton Kruse, Delphos Jefferson.

Defensive End: Dylan Welch, Paulding; Evan Miller, Allen East; Gavin Windau, Columbus Grove

Defensive Lineman: Sean Griesdorn, LCC; Justin Barne, Jefferson; Jared Burger, Crestview; Brad Wirth, Spencerville; Devin Gebert, Crestview

Linebackers: Mark McElroy, Delphos Jefferson; Clay Atkins, Bluffton; Drey Gamble, Paulding; Mitchell Antalis, Delphos Jefferson; Joey Overmeyer, Crestview; Zach Devier, Bluffton

Defensive Backs: Justin Riley, Paulding; Ryan Ebbeskotte, Delphos Jefferson; Drew Luginbuhl, Bluffton; Matt Holden, Crestview; Tyler Deitering, Spencerville; Brandon Deeds, Bluffton; Andrew Wiltsie, Delphos Jefferson

The Van Wert Parks & Recreation Department recently concluded their NFL Flag Football Program with a post-season tournament.

Tournament results were rather surprising. The Bears, who were league champs, came into the tournament with no losses (6-0), yet were defeated in their first game to knock them into the consolation game. The Bears regrouped to take third place honors in tournament action by defeating the Broncos, who entered the tournament with a 5-1 record and a second place finish in the league.

The Vikings, who came into the tournament with a 3-3 record, brought their "A" game in defeating the Packers, Bears and Jets to capture the tournament crown.

The Jets, who finished the regular season with a 2-4 record, took tourney runners-up honors.
Members of the Vikings, tournament champs, include Head Coach Preston Proffitt and team members Kolby Barnhart, Tanner Barnhart, Gavin Flickinger, Joshua Halker, Drew Motycka, Charlie Pauquette, Clayton Proffitt, Conner Smith and Karter Tow.

The Bears (league champs) include Head Coach Mark Price and team members Kaiden Bates, Worth Clark, Sam Easley, Hayden Maples, Colin Place, Jacob Place, Mox Price, Nate Showalter, Jacob Smith and Andrew Henkaline. (VW Parks Dept. photos)

TIFFIN – The Van Wert girls’ cross country team is heading back to Scioto Downs racetrack for the first time since 2006 to compete in the Ohio High School Athletic Association state cross country meet. Although the boys’ team didn’t qualify, Cougar boys’ team member Jared Fleming will join the girls at state, as he placed high enough to qualify as an individual.

The girls’ squad, led by regional champion Lauren Taylor (19:08), punched its ticket to the state meet by finishing in the runner-up position at the regional meet on Saturday.

Traveling to Columbus with Taylor will be Erica Davis (20:32) 26th, Jacey Eikenbary (20:43) 33rd, Erika Smith (20:47) 37th, Katie Bono (21:00) 46th, Madison Riethman (21:08) 49th, and Sydney Riethman (21:17) 54th.

“The girls ran well enough today to move on and that is the key at this point in the season,” said Van Wert Coach Brendon Moody. “We know that we can run better than what we did today, so that gives us a lot of hope for performing well next weekend.

“I’m so proud of what these young ladies have accomplished this far and the reward of being able to compete for a state title next week is just bonus,” Moody added.

The Van Wert boys cross country team finished 13th at the Division II regional meet at Tiffin on Saturday.

Fleming qualified for next Saturday’s state meet with a 15th place finish in a time of 16:42. The top 16 placers advance to the state meet.

“Jared went out and established himself early in the race,” Altstaetter said. “He knew he had to be in the hunt at mile 2. From that point, he was pretty much in control. He had a nice kick in the last 800 meters.”

Rounding out Van Wert’s pack included Luke Brubaker (18:18), Luke Strick (18:31), Brian Easley (18:45), Dustin Farmer (18:46), Jake Bagley (19:06) and Kase Schalois (19:23).

Altstaetter said Bagley – a two-time state qualifier– experienced some problems during the race.

“Jake suffered severe tightness in his hamstring,” Altstaetter said. “He tried to battle through it, but unfortunately it was too much to overcome. I felt bad for Jake … he really wanted to make another trip to state.”

“We have a good number of underclassmen,” he said. “I think that having the success they did this year will give us a lot to build upon.”

1. Shelby, 101; 2. Van Wert, 116; 3. Rocky River, 118; 4. Coldwater, 138; 5. Avon, 158 6. Defiance, 180; 7. Oak Harbor, 182; 8. Mansfield Ontario, 182; 9. Maumee, 187; 10. Lexington, 196; 11. Napoleon, 264; 12. Bay Village Bay, 293; 13. Milan Edison, 297; 14. Elyria Catholic, 298; 15. Bellevue, 370; 16. Pemberville Eastwood, 422.
The Van Wert High School girls' cross countr

y team and coaches pose with the Division II regional plaque at Tiffin on Saturday (click here for more photos). Photos by Jim Robideau for the Van Wert independent
11/2

Crestview's Garret Gleckler competed in the Southwest Ohio Division III Boys race in Troy on Saturday. Garret wrapped up his season with a 32nd place finish in a time of 17:51.
11/2

SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP – It was a disappointing end to a season that had its moments, as the Shawnee Indians turned in a dominating performance on both offense and defense to defeat Van Wert 47-6 in both teams’ final Western Buckeye League game of the season.

The Indians compiled 515 yards of total offense – 453 of those yards on the ground – while holding Van Wert to a total of 196 yards of offense. Cougar running back Connor Massillo was held to 43 yards on 12 carries, while Shawnee had two runners with more than 100 yards of rushing. Isaiah Irons had 198 yards rushing on 19 carries and two touchdowns, while CJ Sewell rushed for 105 yards on 11 carries and also scored a TD.

The Indians set the tone in the first seconds of the game as Kishen Das took the opening kick-off 80 yards for Shawnee’s first score with just 17 ticks off the clock. The kick failed and it was 6-0, Indians.

It would get much worse. All but one of Shawnee’s seven touchdowns came on the ground. In addition to Das’ kick-off return for a TD, the Indians scored two more times in the first quarter on runs of 62 and 47 yards. Jamiil Williams scored the first of those touchdowns at the 9:43 mark of the first stanza, while Irons ran for the second score with 7:05 remaining in the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, Sewell scored his only TD of the night on a 2-yard run with 4:08 remaining in the half. It would be the only other score of the half, and Shawnee went into the locker room with a 26-0 halftime lead.

The second half wasn’t much different than the first. The Indians scored at the 6:11 mark of the third quarter when quarterback Seth Rosenbauer found Trey Runneals on an 8-yard touchdown pass. Shawnee scored again with just 29 second left in the third period when Nick Truesdale took a lateral and scored from four yards out for a 40-0 lead.

In the final quarter, the Indians put the capper on with a 34-yard TD run by Irons and a 47-0 lead. However, Van Wert finally broke into the scoring column with just 57 seconds left on the game clock when Austin Fleming hit paydirt from the Shawnee 13-yard line. Gyer Blackmore’s kick failed and that was the game.

The Cougars were hampered by the loss of quarterback Corey Clifton, who also plays defensive back for Van Wert. Clifton sustained a concussion in the Ottawa-Glandorf game last Friday.

Fleming took over for Clifton and was 9 of 23 passing for 131 yards and two interceptions. Leading receivers for the Cougars were Evan Hammons, who hauled in seven passes for 88 yards, and Austin Reichert, who caught one pass for 33 yards.

Zach Rosenbauer caught one of his brother’s passes for 26 yards. Seth Rosenbauer hit 5 of 11 pass attempts for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Van Wert was again hit by dropsy, fumbling five times but, fortunately, losing just one of those to the Indians.

The Cougars end the season with an overall record of 5-5 and are 5-4 in the WBL. Shawnee is now 7-3 after dropping three games early in the season and 7-2 in league play.
Van Wert's Nate Williams (7) runs down a Shawnee player during Friday's game at Shawnee. Photos by Jan Dunlap/Van Wert independent (photo reprints available; email snapshotjan@embarqmail.com)

10/31

Paulding jumped out to a 16-7 first half lead and then held off a furious rally by Crestview. The Panthers went on to post a 16-13 victory over their Northwest Conference and neighboring rival.

Vince Ross of Paulding (3-7, 2-6 NWC) had 106 yards on 21 carries and a score, while teammate Justin Riley caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Steve Heilman.

Matt Holden ran 26 times for 174 yards and a touchdown to lead the Knights (3-7, 2-6 NWC).

Wayne Trace ended their roller-coaster season with a victory over Holgate. Dylan Horner ran for 152 yards and a touchdown to help lead Wayne Trace to the 20-6 GMC victory.

Derrick Baksa added 37 yards rushing, while hitting pay dirt from 15 yards out for the Raiders (6-4, 3-4 GMC). Josiah Buttermore led the Tigers (1-9, 1-6 GMC) with 112 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Scoring summary
Wayne Trace - Horner 6-yard run (Gordon kick).
Holgate - Buttermore 25-yard run (kick failed).
Wayne Trace - Baksa 15-yard run (kick failed).
Wayne Trace - Horner 2-yard pass from Baksa (Gordon kick).

Delphos Jefferson scored twice in the second half to open up a halftime tie and take a 28-14 win in Northwest Conference football action.

With the win, Jefferson finishes an impressive first season under rookie coach Bub Lindeman at 6-4 overall and 5-3 in the conference. The Bearcats finish the season 0-10 and 0-8 in the Northwest Conference.

Mitchell Antalis returned an interception 36 yards in the third quarter to break the tie, and Curtis Miller ran in from 35 yards out in the fourth. Miller had 92 yards for the Wildcats. Jefferson quarterback Jordan Jettinghoff threw two first-half TDs, one to Andrew Wiltsie and the second to tight end Craig Carder.

Spencerville quarterback Tyler Dietering completed a TD pass to Dan Binkley and had a 2-yard TD rush.

Statistically, Jefferson totaled 263 yards of offense (169 rushing, 94 passing) in recording 10 first downs. Jettinghoff completed 5 of 10 passes with no interceptions. Jefferson did lose two of four fumbles.

Spencerville totaled 210 yards of offense (112 rushing, 98 passing) in registering nine first downs. Dietering was 11 of 22 with one interception. The Bearcats fumbled four times but lost none.

Delphos St. John’s (10-0, 8-0 Midwest Athletic Conference) won the outright Midwest Athletic Conference football title with a 62-0 thrashing of lowly Fort Recovery.

The Blue Jays had 359 total yards — 330 of those on the ground — while holding Fort Recovery to a mere 59 yards (38 rushing, 21 passing) of total offense.

Substitute running back Blake Williams carried the ball 14 times for 105 yards and three touchdowns, while starter Jordan Leininger had 14 carries for 89 yards and two scores. The Jays had only one penalty and punted just once.

Wes Ulm completed 3 of 9 passes with no interceptions, while the Jays fumbled twice on the wet turf but did not lose any. The Blue Jays defense picked off two Fort Recovery passes, while also recovering one fumble.

Parkway defeated Evergreen 25-20, 25-19, 25-17, and now faces Archbold in the district finals at Napoleon Saturday at 6 p.m.

Doug Herrett, Defiance; Shane Naylor, Bath; Mitch Leuger, Celina; Cody Sanderson, Elida; Matt Thompson, Elida; Brandon Good, Elida; Nick Leatherman, Ottawa-Glandorf; Cody Myers, Ottawa-Glandorf; Garrett Black, Shawnee; Austin Howard, Shawnee, Joe Brenneman, St. Marys; Andy Failer, Wapakoneta.

Alec Blake, Defiance; Mickie Grothause, Wapakoneta; Jared Stump, Elida; Josh Barnes, St. Marys; David Racster, Van Wert; Chad Braun, Celina; Cory Stewart, Elida; Cory Ellerbrock, Ottawa-Glandorf; Jordan Alt, Ottawa-Glandorf; Christian Loryza Shawnee; Christian Vouelgesang, Shawnee; Wade Rhodes, Kenton.

Conner Rockhold, Bath, Jacob Frysinger, Celina; Brady Collins, Kenton; Ryan Musgrave, Elida; Andrew Trenkamp, Ottawa-Glandorf; Scott Kinkley, St. Marys; Brad Brock, Bath.

Joe Koester, Defiance; Garrett Renner, Bath; Scott Moeder, Celina; Trey Bowman, Elida; Justin Long, Kenton; Matt Recker, Ottawa-Glandorf; Matt Birum, Shawnee; Jacob Luthman, St. Marys; Tyler Monroe, Van Wert; Mitch Johnson, Wapakoneta.

The Division IV district semifinals at Napoleon saw Antwerp face-off against Pettisville. After a close first set, Antwerp earned a 25-21, 25-13, 25-18 win and a trip to the district finals.

Pettisville (16-8) - Tessa Yoder 12-12 serving, 33-35 setting, 10 assists; Ashley Eicher 7-8 hitting; Chelsea Schmucker 9-9 serving, 18-20 serve receive, 15 digs, 17-20 hitting, 10 kills; Katie Yoder 30-33 hitting, 10 kills; Mackenzie Nofziger 7-7 serving; Stephanie Yoder 6-6 serving, 14-14 serve receive, 14 digs, 21-28 hitting, 5 kills; Laura Rupp 6-7 serving, 5 digs, 31-32 setting, 7 assists; Lauren Frey 7 digs.

Antwerp (18-6) - Kelsey Bashore 29-34 hitting, 19 kills, 36-36 setting, 10 assists; Megan Koppenhofer 19-22 hitting, 6 kills, 13-14 serve receive, 14 digs; Ashlee Smith 11-12 hitting, 5 kills, 14-15 serving, 4 blocks; A.J. Stuck 11-11 hitting, 5 kills; Loni Walk 39-39 setting, 15 assists, 18-18 serving, 3 aces, 12 digs; Darcie Reinhart 16-18 serve receive, 16 digs; Taylor Vail 6 blocks; Tricia Smalley 8 digs.
10/29

Van Wert Elks Lodge 1197 officials remind all boys and girls ages 8-13 of the upcoming Hoop Shoot Free Throw Contest that will be held this Saturday, October 31, a

t the S.F. Goedde Building (old high school) on West Crawford Street in Van Wert. Registration will be held at 8:30 a.m. and the contest begins at 9 that morning.

The contest is open to all boys and girls in the above age group. Boys and girls will be competing separately in their age class. All local winners will receive trophies and will be eligible to compete in the district competition, which will be held at the University of Findlay on January 10.

Elks Hoop Shoot Contests are free of charge, with no registration fees required. All boys and girls are encouraged to participate this year by Chuck Rollins, Hoop Shoot chairman for the local program.

GIRLS SOCCER
District Semifinals
Division II
Fort Jennings 2
Delphos St. John’s 1
Fort Jennings outshot Delphos St. John’s 3-1 in the overtime shootout to win the district semi-final match and move on to the district finals at 1 p.m. Saturday at Elida against St. Marys. Krista Maag scored in the first half for Fort Jennings (12-4-3) off a Katie VonLehmden assist. Morgan Haines answered with a goal for St. John’s (5-10-4).

VOLLEYBALL
District Semifinals
Division IV
St. Henry 3 Delphos Jefferson 0
St. Henry swept Delphos Jefferson 25-18, 25-21, 25-11 to advance to the district finals. The Redskins will play Marion Local for the district crown at 3 p.m. Saturday at Coldwater. St. Henry improves to 20-4 while Jefferson finishes the season at 21-2.
10/28

OTTAWA – The Van Wert girls’ cross country team won the Division II district title, while the boys finished fourth at Saturday’s district meet at Ottawa.

As she has most of the year, Lauren Taylor was the first Cougar – and first girl runner overall – across the finish line, winning the district individual title in a time of 19:04, again beating rival Megan Vogelsang of Defiance, who was 18 seconds behind at 19:22.

The second Lady Cougar to finish was senior Madison Riethman, who was ninth overall in a time of 20:10, followed by Jacey Eikenbary, 19th in 20:35; Erica Davis, 20th in 20:31; and sophomore Sydney Riethman, 21st in 20:41. Sixth runner Erika Smith actually won the race for the Cougars, as her 22nd place finish in a time of 20:55 allowed Van Wert to edge out Coldwater’s Lady Cavaliers for the team title. Katie Bono was the seventh runner for the Cougars, finishing 24th in a time of 21:06.

With its fourth-place finish, the Van Wert boys also earned a berth in Saturday’s regional meet at Tiffin. The top four teams at Ottawa advanced to regionals.

Defiance won the team title with 50 points. The next three spots were tight, with just seven points separating second through fourth place.

Finishing second was Shawnee (85), Napoleon was third (89), while Van Wert finished fourth (92). There were 12 teams figured into the team scoring.

Jared Fleming led the way for the Cougars with a sixth-place finish in a time of 17 minutes, 5 seconds. Jacob Bagley was not far behind, finishing 11th (17:36).

Rounding out Van Wert were Luke Brubaker (19th, 17:57), Brian Easley (25th, 18:14), Luke Strick (32nd, 18:37), Dustin Farmer (34th, 18:38) and Kase Schalois (60th, 19:23).

Van Wert boys’ coach Mark Altstaetter said his team knew it was going to be a battle for the top four spots.

“We knew the battle for second through four would be tight,” Altstaetter said. “We did not run our best race

on Saturday, so to finish that close to Napoleon and Shawnee gives us something to build on for next week.”
Lady Cougar runners (from the front) Erika Smith, Katie Bono and Sydney Riethman run during Saturday's Division II district meet at Ottawa-Glandorf. Photos by Monica Campbell for the Van Wert independent
10/26

The Crestview High School girls’ and boys’ cross country teams placed sixth in the District meet on Saturday in Spencerville.

The Lady Knights were paced by Elizabeth Saylor, who finished 21st in a time of 22:39. She was followed by Katie Thompson 34th (23:48), Mari Young 37th (23:58), Leah Saylor 39th (24:02), Sammy Gerardot 50th (25:20), and Cora Finfrock 52nd (25:58).

The Knight boys were led by Garret Gleckler, who earned All-District honors with his eighth place finish in a time of 17:43. Gleckler qualified as an individual to the Southwest Regional meet in Troy on Saturday, October 31. He was followed by Micah Brant 21st (18:11), CJ Germann 29th (18:34), Joel Genter 32nd (18:40), and Conley Zaleski 37th (18:58).

Other Crestview competitors were Shelby Ripley 42nd (19:18) and Zach Merkle 48th (19:45).
10/26

Crestview was defeated by Ottoville in the sectional volleyball finals in four games, 25-19, 21-25, 17-25, and 17-25. Crestview finishes with an overall record of 13-10 overall and also as 8-1 in the Northwest Conference, sharing the league title with Delphos Jefferson.

“I am very proud of what these girls accomplished this season,” said Crestview Coach Tammy Gregory. “The seniors of this year's team were great leaders and will be greatly missed. The underclassmen are hard workers and have lots of varsity experience to carry with them into next year and know what it takes to compete at the highest level.

“I've really enjoyed working with this team, as they play with a lot of heart and they are true team players.” Coach Gregory added. “We were a young team and small in size, but these girls continually pulled for one another and set their goals high as we strived to be the best team possible.”

Defiance 50, Shawnee 85, Napoleon 89, Van Wert 92, Ottawa-Glandorf 137, Wapakoneta 169, Wauseon 197, Celina 204, Bryan 208, St. Marys 227, Lima Bath 249, Elida 346

Andrew Goodwin (C), 16:06.20; Trevin Flickinger (D); Steven Weaver (N); Abel Flores (D); Garrett Diltz (S); Jared Fleming (VW); Zach Diltz (S); Ben Majewski (N); Ben Hackworth (D); Michael Becker (W).

Van Wert 70, Coldwater 70, Defiance 82, Napoleon 102, Wauseon 127, Shawnee 140, Celina 155, Bryan 202, Ottawa-Glandorf 249, Wapakoneta 250, St. Marys 330, Elida 338

Lauren Taylor (VW), 19:04.40; Megan Vogelsong (D); Rachel Huddle (N); Alyssa Brunswick (Cold); Anna Meyer (D); Adrienne Pohl (S); Marin Baird (W); Ashley Figel (Cel); Madison Riethman (VW); Molly Scott (S).

The following runners advanced to next week’s regional at Troy: Spencerville’s Kevin Lenhart (fourth, 17:21) and Jonathan Rex (fifth, 17:28); Crestview’s Garret Geckler (eighth, 17:43).

Ottawa-Glandorf (17-7) - Kelly Selhorst 4 aces; Sara Basinger 3 aces, 31 assists, 18 digs; Melissa Verhoff 3 aces, 13 kills, 23 digs; Hannah Kaufman 10 kills, 21 digs; Shannon Roof 10 kills; Jill Recker 8 blocks.

Antwerp - Kelsey Bashore 27 kills, 10 assists; Loni Walk 15 assists, 3 aces; Taylor Vail 9 kills, 4 blocks; Toni Winslow 8 kills, 10 digs; Megan Koppenhofer 7 kills, 12 digs; A.J. Stuck 4 aces.

Hicksville (15-9) - Kacee Babinger 12-12 serving, 11-14 hitting, 4-4 serve receive, 11-13 passing, 6 digs; Whitney Thiel 14-14 serving, 21-21 setting, 30-34 hitting, 13 kills; Hailey Turnbull 21-22 serving, 3-3 setting, 13-14 hitting, 3 kills, 24-31 passing, 7 blocks, 3 digs; Macy Weatherhead 18-19 serving, 3-3 setting, 25-32 serve receive, 43-47 passing, 17 digs; Kayla King 16-19 hitting, 6 kills, 6-7 passing; Karley Schmidt 6-6 serving, 3-3 setting, 9-11 hitting, 9-10 passing, 5 blocks, 5 digs; Jenna Kinn 17-18 hitting, 4 kills, 4 blocks; Mariah Stevenson 20-22 serving, 31-35 setting, 7 assists; Megan Headley 13-22 serve receive, 31-35 passing, 6 digs.

After demolishing St. Marys 43-6 last week, the Van Wert Cougars had playoff stars in their eyes coming into Friday’s game against Ottawa-Glandorf. Four quarters later and those stars were lying trampled on the muddy field of Eggerss Stadium after the physical Titans administered a 36-14 whipping to the home team.

O-G scored in every quarter in a match-up of second-place teams in the Western Buckeye League. The victory leaves the Titans (7-2, 6-2 WBL) in a tie for second place with Shawnee (6-3, 6-2 WBL), which blanked St. Marys 25-0 on Friday. Kenton remains alone atop the league with a record of 8-1, 8-0 in the WBL after downing Wapakoneta 34-14. The Cougars and Roughriders are tied for fourth place with identical records of 5-4, 5-3 WBL, while Defiance slipped to sixth place after Elida shocked the Bulldogs 28-21 on Friday.

The Titans set the tone on their very first play from scrimmage, as Brandon Kuhlman took a pitch, ran around the right side of the line, cut back left and scampered 69 yards for the first score of the game. Kuhlman was the game’s leading rusher with 200 yards on 20 carries – an average of a first down each time he touched the ball.

O-G added another score in the first quarter after stopping the Cougars on their next possession. This time the Titans ate up most of the remainder of the quarter before Logan Kaufman ran the ball in from 7 yards out for a 12-0 lead with 16 seconds left in the stanza.

After coming up empty on its first two possessions, Van Wert got within a touchdown as Connor Massillo powered it in from the Titan 18-yard line. Gyer Blackmore’s kick went wide and it was 12-6 with 8:27 left in the half.

O-G wasn’t about to let things stay that way, though, as Titan quarterback Nathan Kahle found Ryan Kuhlman open for a 34-yard scoring strike that made it 20-6 with 1:42 left before halftime.

Ottawa-Glandorf added another touchdown to open the third quarter, with Kaufman running for paydirt from the Cougar 3-yard line for a 22-point lead at 28-6. Again, Van Wert gutted it out, scoring with just over 2 minutes remaining in the quarter when junior Austin Fleming, who took over for Corey Clifton at quarterback after his classmate was injured, ran the ball in from the 1. Fleming then hit Austin Reichert on a two-point PAT pass to cut the lead to 28-14.

That was as close as the Cougars would get, as O-G scored its final TD of the night when Brandon Kuhlman powered it in from the 3 for a 36-14 lead and just 6:11 remaining in the game.

The Titans compiled 412 yards of total offense, 292 of that on the ground, while Van Wert had 329 yards total, 181 of those via the rushing game. Massillo led the Cougars with 106 yards rushing and a touchdown on 19 carries, while Fleming rushed for 41 yards and a TD on seven carries.

Clifton was 6 of 16 passing on the night for 95 yards and one interception for Van Wert, while Fleming was 2 of 7 for 53 yards. The Titans’ Kahle completed 9 of 14 passes for 120 yards, a touchdown and one interception.

Nate Williams was Van Wert’s top receiver, catching four passes for 81 yards. Fleming caught two for 35 yards while Evan Hammons had two receptions for 32 yards. Ryan Kuhlman had four receptions for 67 yards for the Titans.

The keys to the game were penalties – most of the Cougars’ 57 penalty yards led to stalled offensive drives – and the defense’s inability to stop the Titan running game. O-G had 45 yards in penalties, but most of those were on the defensive side of the ball.

After Friday’s loss, Van Wert is placed squarely in the role of spoiler as it v

isits Shawnee this coming Friday for both teams’ final regular season game.
Cougar Tony Black (40) makes a tackle during Friday's game against Ottawa-Glandorf. The Titans won 36-14 to end Van Wert's playoff hopes. Photos by Jan Dunlap/Van Wert independent (photo reprints available; email snapshotjan@embarqmail.com)

It has been nearly a decade, but the wait was worthwhile for Delphos St. John’s as the Blue Jays finally won another Midwest Athletic Conference football title – or clinched at least a share of it with a 28-6 thrashing of St. Henry.

With a win over Fort Recovery next week, the ‘Jays can win the league championship outright. To understand just how tough it is to win the MAC, St. John’s has won three state titles in this decade (2000, 2005, 2008) without winning the league.

Blue Jay quarterback Wes Ulm threw for three touchdowns and completed 8 of 13 passes for 151 yards for St. John’s (9-0, 7-0). Ulm hit Jordan Leininger on a 50-yard TD pass, Tyler Bergfeld on a 30-yard scoring strike and Bergfeld again on a 3-yard touchdown pass. Leininger also scored on a 2-yard run and rushed for 68 yards on 18 touches.

St. Henry’s Kevin Stahl passed for 160 yards and Jon Speck kicked field goals of 25 yards and 22 yards. St. Henry is 6-3 overall, 4-3 in the MAC.

The Crestview Knights’ defense had no answers to the question of how to stop the Columbus Grove ground game, as Rayce Risser guided the Bulldogs to a 27-6 triumph over Crestview with 126 yards rushing on 21 totes. Risser also scored three touchdowns to help ‘Grove improve to 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the Northwest Conference.

Overall, Columbus Grove (6-3, 5-2 NWC) rushed for 240 yards while holding the Knights to 101 yards on the ground. Risser led the Bulldogs with 126 yards on 21 carries, with three of those runs going for touchdowns.

Risser started the scoring with a 6-yard run midway through the first quarter and added the other two scores late in the second half.

Crestview (3-6, 2-5 NWC) scored in the fourth quarter on a 65-yard pass from Cody Hagaman to Matt Holden.

The Wayne Trace Raiders finally put together four quarters of solid football. The Raiders outplayed Ayersville in all phases of the game: offense, defense, and special teams.

Offensively, Wayne Trace put up 34 points on the scoreboard, with Dylan Horner rushing for 171 yards and two TDs.

Horner opened the scoring on the Raiders’ first offensive play with a 73-yard TD toss to Kim Bickford and later scored two second-half touchdowns for the Raiders (5-4, 2-4 GMC).

Ayersville (1-8, 0-6 GMC) was held to 87 yards rushing and 88 yards through air.

Bluffton pounded out a 12-0 victory over Paulding the old-fashioned way – on the ground.

The Pirates compiled 207 yards on the ground while also holding Paulding to 220 total yards in the win.

Tyler Rayl had 77 yards rushing for Bluffton (4-5, 3-4 NWC), while teammate Levi Eason scored on a two-yard run and Matt Lee hauled in a 32-yard touchdown pass.

Paulding’s Steve Heilman broke the century mark, rushing for 137 yards in a losing effort for Paulding, which falls to 2-7 overall and 1-6 in the NWC.

Ada did its part Friday night in Delphos, defeating the Wildcats 33-6. Now the Bulldogs (9-0 overall, 8-0 NWC) will face off against Lima Central Catholic (8-1 overall, 8-0 NWC) next Saturday for the Northwest Conference title.

Ada jumped on Jefferson (5-4 overall, 4-3 NWC), building a 13-6 first-quarter lead behind the arm of Heath Jackson. Jackson threw TD strikes to Konnor Baker (20 yards) and Alex Weber (11 yards).

Ada’s defense also rose to the occasion, holding the Wildcats on downs from inside the 5-yard line just before halftime. The biggest play of the game came in the third stanza with Ada trapped on its own 1-yard line. Jackson found Kyle Baker at the 50-yard-line and the senior wideout zigged-zagged his way to the end zone for a 20-6 lead.

Jackson finished with 113 rushing yards on 18 carries for one TD and 324 yards on 15 of 32 passing with two interceptions to go with his three scoring tosses.

The YWCA announces a new swim lesson session scheduled from October 26 to December 19.

The new schedule includes an adult class, as well as the recently updated Red Cross Learn to Swim Program that includes new classes for preschool age children. The session runs for eight weeks and classes are offered once a week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Call or stop by the YWCA for more information on specific class offerings and availability. Costs for the eight-week session: 30-minute class – members $28 and non-members $36; 45-minute class – members $36 and non-members $50.

Sign-up starts Monday, October 26, at the YWCA, 408 E. Main St. Pre-registration and pre-payment is required.

Delphos St. John’s Bailey Calvelage scored the goal to help the Lady Blue Jays defeat Continental in the Division II sectional finals at Ottoville 1-0.

Samantha Stant had two saves for the Lady ‘Jays in the shutout. Lena Weller had four saves for the Lady Pirates.

The Blue Jays now advance to the district semifinals against Fort Jennings at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Ottoville.
10/23

DEFIANCE – The Van Wert Cougars entered the Defiance Soccer Sectional Tournament seeded seventh out of eight teams. They left the field Wednesday night after having earned a ton of respect.

Van Wert’s Curtis Calvelage scored a first-half goal to give the Cougars a shocking 1-0 halftime advantage over the top-seeded Wildcats of Napoleon.

The second half was playing out the same, with the Cougars holding their own, until five minutes showed on the game clock. That’s when Van Wert was called for a roughing penalty in the box, resulting in a penalty kick for Napoleon. The Wildcats made the easy kick and the score was tied at 1-all. Unfortunately, all the momentum then shifted to the fired-up Wildcats, who converted the winning goal a few minutes later.

“I am so proud of the way the team played tonight,” Van Wert Coach Derek Stemen said. “It is so unfortunate for us that a really bad call cost us – I mean the official that made the call was forty yards from the incident.”

In the Division II sectional volleyball tourney at Lima Senior, second-seeded Ottawa-Glandorf (16-7) will face Van Wert in a sectional final at 5:15 p.m. Saturday.

The Titans and Cougars will square off 20 minutes following the other sectional final, pitting Celina and St. Marys, which starts at 3 p.m.

Shawnee forfeited to Van Wert and O-G defeated Elida 3-0 in the Division II Lima Senior sectional.
10/22

Brittany Wrasman had 22 digs for St. John’s, Lindsy Reindel had 12 kills and 5 blocks and Katie Wallenhorst added 20 assists and 4 aces.

Ottoville - Tasha Kaufman 9 kills, 18 assists, 13 digs; Samantha Modica 6 kills, 6 blocks; Gayle Rayman 9 kills; Bridget Miller 20-20 serving, 3 aces; Shelby Roney 5 blocks, 4 kills; Melany Honigford 13 assists; Chelsea Ditto 13 digs.

Wayne Trace (12-12) - Janelle Davis 11 blocks, 11-12 serving, 66-66 setting, 9 assists; Jenna Stoller 7-7 serving, 29-37 hitting, 5 kills; Sarah Feasby 14 blocks, 12-13 hitting; Kelsey Heck 12-14 serving, 48-56 passing; Carlee Sinn 18-18 hitting, 4 kills.

Delphos St. John’s defeated Ottoville 2-1 Monday night in the first game of the Division II girl’s soccer sectional at Ottoville. Bailey Calvelage scored twice for Delphos St. John’s, who now advance to face Continental at 5 p.m. Thursday. Ottoville got a lone goal from Abbey Siefker midway through the first half.

Continental advanced in the night-cap with a 5-0 whitewash of Crestview. Kyleigh Holtsberry scored twice and Taylor Bidlack added a pair of assists as the Lady Pirates earned the right to face Delphos St. John’s at 5 p.m. Thursday. The Pirates out-shot the Knights 16-1.
10/20

In the Boys Division II State Golf Championships on Saturday, Van Wert junior Blake Doidge finished in a tie for 19th place overall.

Doidge’s two days of state competition saw the junior card 18-hole rounds of 81 and 82 for a total of 163. For a complete list of scoring, go to www.ohsaa.org (golf).
10/19

DEFIANCE – The Van Wert High School girls’ cross country team claimed its eighth overall Western Buckeye League title this past weekend, breaking a 7-7 WBL tie with Defiance by beating the rival Lady Bulldogs by five points.

Not only did the Cougars prevail as team champions, but Van Wert’s Lauren Taylor finished out her senior WBL campaign with a convincing 39-second win over the competition. Following Taylor into the chute were Jacey Eikenbary ninth (20:45), Katie Bono 10th (20:45), Erica Davis 11th (20:50), Madison Riethman 12th (20:51) – all of who earned First Team All-WBL honors – as well as Erika Smith 13th (20:53), and Sydney Riethman 14th (21:00), who were named Special Mention All-WBL.

“These girls work hard week in and week out,” said Coach Brendon Moody, who was named “Coach of the Year” for the WBL. “To go in to Defiance, beat them on their home course, and break the 7-7 WBL tie was a great feeling. I’m sure they’ll be gunning for us this next week at districts.”

Other Cougar girls crossing the line on Saturday include, Kelsey Wagner 18th, Becca Ries 25th, Rachael Scheidt 27th, Courtney VanHorne 38th, Shelby Wolford 41st, Courtney Showman 76th, Morella Mills 86th, and Madison Hernandez 100th.

Team Scores: 1. Van Wert, 43; 2. Defiance, 48; 3. Lima Shawnee, 75; 4. Celina, 95; 5. Ottawa-Glandorf, 134; 6. Wapakoneta, 155; 7. Kenton, 209; 8. St. Marys, 221; 9. Elida, 244.

Lauren Taylor (VW), 19:02.06; Megan Vogelsong (D); Ashley Figel (C); Anna Meyer (D); Adrienne Pohl (S); Emily Wolery (S); Kristen Fett (D); Molly Scott (S); Jacey Eikenbary (VW); Katie Bono (VW); Erica Davis (VW); Madison Riethman (VW).

Erica Smith (VW); Sydney Riethman (VW); Alex Ramirez (D); Kaitlin Blackburn (W); Ashley Coon (C); Kelsey Wagner (VW); Demi Snider (K); Elizabeth Martin (W); Brittney Holmes (D); Dana Lanwehr (O-G).

The Van Wert boys’ cross country team finished second at Saturday’s Western Buckeye League meet. Defiance won the boys’ title, scoring 34 points, while Van Wert slipped past Shawnee for second place – 84 to 85.

Jared Fleming finished sixth overall in a time of 17:09.94, while Jacob Bagley came in eighth in 17:14.34. With their top-12 finishes, both Fleming and Bagley earned First Team All-Western Buckeye League honors. Luke Brubaker’s 18th place finish (18:00.03) earned him Special Mention All-WBL honors.

Rounding out the remaining Van Wert competitors on Saturday included Brian Easley (24th, 18:14); Dustin Farmer (28th, 18:34); Luke Strick (33rd, 18:42); Kase Schalois (46th, 19:12); Brian Voisard (47th, 19:12); Nathan Simson (49th, 19:16); Noah Edwards (19:21); Adam Saylor (19:34); Spencer Prichard (20:42); Josh Roberts (21:24); Jacob Hoverman (23:13).

Van Wert coach Mark Altstaetter said his team came out and competed well on Saturday.

“I really liked the way the guys came out and performed on Saturday,” Altstaetter said. “I normally would not be happy with a second-place finish, but we knew how good Defiance is. They’re a top-10 team (in the state) and they showed it on Saturday.

“We need to get refocused on Monday and start preparing for Saturday’s district meet at Ottawa,” Altstaetter added. “We will need to keep improving if we want to take it to the next level.”

Final team standings: 1. Defiance 34; 2. Van Wert 84; 3. Shawnee 85; 4. Wapakoneta 105; 5. Ottawa-Glandorf 110; 6. Celina 161; 7. St. Marys 170; 8. Kenton 187; 9. Bath 206.
10/19

The Crestview cross country teams competed in the Northwest Conference meet on Saturday. The meet was held at a great cross country venue, Lima's Faurot Park.

The Crestview boys’ team raced to a third place finish. The Knights were led by Garret Gleckler, who placed fifth to earn First Team All-NWC honors. He was followed by teammates Joel Genter (12th), CJ Germann (16th), Micah Brant (22nd), and Conley Zaleski (23rd).

1. Spencerville (15), 2. Lima Central Catholic (66), 3. Lincolnview (83), 4. Columbus Grove (89), *Crestview (only four runners)

1. Spencerville (45), 2. Columbus Grove (60), 3. Crestview (74), 4. Lima Central Catholic (90), 5. Bluffton (137), 6. Lincolnview (140), 7. Allen East (172).

Boys Team Scores: Minster 61, St. Henry 62, Coldwater 85, New Knoxville 88, New Bremen 101, Versailles 113, Marion Local 203, Fort Recovery 221, Parkway 251.

Top 10 Individuals: 1. Eilerman (NB) 16:27.20; 2. Prakel (VE) 16:34.20; 3. Seas (CO) 16:40.60; 4. Slonkosky (MI) 16:51.20; 5. Gray (CO) 17:09.00; 6. Schulze (SH) 17:13.80; 7. Muhlenkamp (CO) 17:26.80; 8. Barga (MI) 17:27.90; 9. Rindler (SH) 17:33.90; 10. Gorman (VE) 17:36.50.

St. John’s Runners (118 Runners): 69. Jason Michel 20:12.60; … 117. Todd Rode 26:29.20.

Girls Team Scores: Minster 30, Coldwater 47, Versailles 52, Marion Local 124, Fort Recovery 134, New Bremen 189, St. Henry 204.

Top 10 Individuals: 1. Berger (VE) 19:03.30; 2. Dahlinghaus (MI) 19:56.60; 3. Bruns (CO) 19:56.70; 4. Butler (MI) 19:59.10; 5. Holescher (MI) 20:02.90; 6. Grillot (VE) 20:09.20; 7. Brunswick (CO) 20:21.2; 8. Kohn (CO) 20:24.70; 9. Fausey (MI) 20:32.80; 10. A. Bornhorst (MI) 20:36.20.

St. John’s Runners (129 Runners): 50. Mary Bemis 22:54.60; … 114. Julia Dickman 27:09.50.

Summer Holtkamp tallied two goals to lift Kalida to the victory over Crestview. Also, Kylie McIntyre, Sam Edwards and Chelsea Verhoff each added a goal for the K-Cats (11-2-3), who dominated play by out-shooting Crestview 26-4. Kara Kaufman added 2 assists for Kalida, while Crestview keeper Darci Swager had 19 saves.

Antwerp (15-6) - Megan Koppenhofer 4 aces, 11 digs, 11-11 serve receive; Loni Walk 34-34 setting, 19 assists; Kelsey Bashore 24-24 setting, 5 assists, 24-27 hitting, 18 kills, 5 blocks; Taylor Vail 6-7 hitting, 4 kills; Darcie Reinhart 9 digs.

Antwerp (16-6) - Darcie Reinhart 14-14 serve reception; Loni Walk 16-16 setting, 6 assists, 16-16 serving, 9 digs; Kelsey Bashore 13-13 seting, 13-16 hitting, 8 kills; Taylor Vail 6 blocks, 7-8 hitting, 5 kills; Ashlee Smith 4 blocks; AJ Stuck 5-5 hitting, 3 kills, 11-12 serving, 3 aces.

Antwerp claimed its second straight GMC title Thursday night with a five-set victory over rival Edgerton (25-17, 25-16, 27-29, 22-25, 15-8).

Antwerp (14-6, 7-0 GMC) - Taylor Vail 36-40 hitting, 14 kills; Kelsey Bashore 35-38 hitting, 23 kills, 83-84 setting, 16 assists; Toni Winslow 34-34 hitting, 10 kills, 18-18 serving, 5 aces, 14 digs; A.J. Stuck 24-25 serving, 4 aces; Darcie Reinhart 25-26 serve receive, 13 digs; Megan Koppenhofer 10 digs, 5 kills; Loni Walk 38-39 setting, 16 assists.

Edgerton - Brooke Riehle 18-19 serving, 38-42 serve receive, 17-19 hitting, 21 digs; Brooke Clark 6-6 serving, 22 digs; Rebekkah Ferrebee 29-33 hitting, 9 kills; Jayma Nihart 15-15 serving, 17 digs; Addie Henricks 60-64 hitting, 25 kills; Sarah Smethurst 10-13 hitting, 4 kills; Taylor Stark 10-13 serving, 22 digs; Cassandra Fritch 7-7 serving; Tia Wheeler 37-37 setting, 9 assists; Miranda Landis 11-12 serving, 93-94 setting, 23 assists.

The Van Wert Middle School girls’ cross country team traveled to Defiance on Saturday to compete in the Western Buckeye League championships. The girls came away with an individual champion in Andrea Foster, as well as the overall team championship. Foster’s time of 13:05 bettered Celina’s Jenna Coon by just two seconds.

Following Foster’s lead were Courtney Smith 11th (14:38), Karlyn Koontz 13th (14:44), Taylor Whitcraft 16th (14:51), Becky Anderson 18th (14:56), Leah Brubaker 33rd (15:44), Carisa Burgos 34th (15:54), Alea Hill 35th (15:58), and Alexis Hawkins 50th (17:41).

“This was a great way for the girls to end their season,” said Coach Kylee Moody. “They’ve worked very hard and really deserved to go out on top.”

Team Scores: 1. Van Wert, 59; 2. Celina, 71; 3. Defiance, 78; 4. Ottawa-Glandorf, 83; 5. Wapakoneta, 110; 6. St. Marys, 121; 7. Shawnee, 163; 8. Elida, 187.

The Van Wert Middle School boys’ cross country team capped off its season with a Western Buckeye League championship on Saturday.

The team edged Defiance by only three points, 67-70, through a great team effort. Three Cougar runners were recognized as the “top 20” and included Connor Shaffer, 13th in 12:46; Eric Easley, WBL runner-up in 11:49; and WBL champion Connor Holliday in 11:40.

Rounding out the top five were Nick Keber, finishing 26th in 13:33 and Austin Taylor, 28th running a 13:35. Three runners also achieved personal records for the season. The team’s final record ends at 116-27.

ST. MARYS – It had been a decade since Van Wert had last beaten St. Marys. Frustration can be a dangerous thing, as the Cougar offense and defense showed in dominating the Roughriders in a 43-7 thrashing of the second-best team in the Western Buckeye League coming into the game. It was the most points a Cougar team has scored against St. Marys in more than 50 years.

As it has shown in the last few games, Van Wert can put up some impressive offensive numbers and Friday was no exception. The Cougars had 455 yards of total offense, including 285 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, as they tore up and down the field at Skip Baughman Stadium.

Van Wert quarterback Corey Clifton has become the team’s offensive leader and the junior demonstrated his explosiveness against the Roughriders, running for two scores and passing for two more against one of the best defenses in the league.

The combination of Clifton and fullback Connor Massillo, also a junior and Van Wert’s leading rusher, was a deadly one for St. Marys, as the pair rushed for a total of 253 yards and four TDs. The Cougar defense was also crucial in the win, holding the Roughriders’ vaunted running attack to just 137 yards on 37 carries, 3.7 yards a carry, while the Van Wert “O” turned that number around with an average of 7.3 yards a carry, thanks to some big runs by Clifton and Massillo.

Clifton completed 9 of 15 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions, while St. Marys quarterback Derek Roop hit just 1 of 10 pass attempts for 22 yards, while also throwing two interceptions in the game.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Cougars’ offense got on track with three scores in the second stanza and led 22-0 at the half. Massillo broke several tackles and scampered down the sideline for a 42-yard touchdown to start off the second quarter, while kicker Gyer Blackmore hit the point-after attempt to make it 7-0 Van Wert.

After stopping the Roughrider offense, Van Wert went back to work, with Clifton hitting receiver Nate Williams for a 50-yard TD. The two also hooked up on a faked extra-point kick to put two more points on the scoreboard on the PAT, making it 15-0 with 5:56 remaining.

The Cougars got the ball back one more time before the half ended and Clifton went solo, keeping the ball on a veer play and taking it 5 yards to paydirt with less than a minute left until halftime. Blackmore kicked the PAT this time and it was 22-0.

Van Wert continued its dominance of the Roughriders in the third period, scoring with 8:44 remaining in the quarter when Clifton again found Williams for a 31-yard scoring strike. The kick was wide this time and it was 28-0, Cougars.

Clifton was deadly from 5 yards out, scoring again from that distance on Van Wert’s next possession. Blackmore split the uprights this time and it was 35-0 with 5:50 remaining in the third stanza.

The final score for the Cougars was a 25-yard run by Massillo. Clifton hit Donny Sites on the PAT attempt and Van Wert had the game sewed up with a 43-0 lead with 5:28 left in the game.

St. Marys finally got on the scoreboard with 3:41 left when Brad Sawmiller broke away for a 47-yard touchdown. Allan Broyles kicked the PAT for the final score.

Massillo was the rushing leader for Van Wert, running for 147 yards and two TDs on 12 carries. Clifton had 106 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns.

Williams caught three passes – two for touchdowns – and 94 total yards, while Evan Hammons hauled in three passes for 39 yards.

Sawmiller had 63 yards on eight carries, most of those on his TD run, while the Roughriders’ rushing leader, Kyle Puschel, was held to just 45 yards on 21 carries, about 2 yards a carry.

With the win, Van Wert is now tied for second place in the WBL at 5-2 and 5-3 overall. St. Marys, which had held sole possession of second place coming into Friday’s contest, is now tied with the Cougars, and the next two opponents for Van Wert: Shawnee and Ottawa-Glandorf. Kenton, which defeated Defiance 40-21, remained atop the league at 7-0.

The Cougars now have a chance to make the state playoffs, but they’ve got a tough road ahead to do so. While Van Wert catches a bit of a break in meeting O-G at home next week, the Cougar

s then have to end league play on the road at Shawnee in two weeks. Winning out, though, would likely be enough to put the locals into the playoffs.
The Cougar defense solved the Roughriders' vaunted run offense, limiting St. Marys to just 137 yards on the ground during Friday's WBL match-up at Skip Baughman Stadium. Photos by Jan Dunlap/Van Wert independent

Blake Doidge, participating in the Division II State Golf Tournament, withstood cold and windy weather conditions at the North Star Golf Resort in Sunbury.

Doidge recorded an 81 on the first day of competition and currently sits in 20th place out of 72 golfers. Tournament leaders sit at 72 and 73, respectively.

Jordan Leininger took the pitch, shook a tackler at the 30-yard line, got outside, stopped and threw a strike to Tanner Calvelage running a curl at the 5-yard line, who then made a nice spin move to break a tackle and leap into the end zone, giving St. John’s a 26-20 lead with just 10 seconds remaining. Jordan Rode’s PAT kick gave St. John’s a 27-20 lead and the ‘Jays held on for a wild win over Midwest Athletic Conference nemesis Coldwater.

The victory gave St. John’s (8-0, 6-0 Midwest Athletic Conference) sole possession of first place in the MAC, just ahead of the Cavaliers (7-1, 5-1 MAC). It also marked the Blue Jays’ first win over Coldwater since 2001. In that time period, the Jays have not won the MAC, but won two state football titles (2005 and 2008). Coldwater entered the game ranked No. 1 in the state in Division V, while St. John’s is ranked No. 1 in Division VI.

Leininger finished with 106 yards, while Blue Jays quarterback Wes Ulm totaled 159 yards of offense (43 rushing and 116 passing). Two of Ulm’s passes found the end zone.

Coldwater quarterback Keith Wenning, a load at 6-4, 235 pounds, ran for 104 yards, while completing 25 of 37 passes for 343 yards. Wenning had two TD passes to go along with his two interceptions.

St. John’s led 6-0 after the first quarter and 20-13 at the half. The Blue Jays took a 20-13 lead on a 41-yard pass from Ulm to Leininger in the flat with 1:35 left before halftime.

Coldwater tied the game at 20-all on an 18-yard run by Wenning in the third quarter.

The Crestview Knights, behind the performance of quarterback Stephen Semer, who threw for 88 yards and a touchdown and added a game-high 112 yards on the ground and two more TDs, led Crestview to an exciting 27-21 win over Spencerville in Northwest Conference action on Friday.

The Knights outgained Spencerville 183-9 on the ground. Bearcats quarterback Derek Goecke completed 10 of 13 passes for 149 yards and a pair of TDs. He also scored on a 1-yard romp into the end zone.

Jordan Travis sparked the Bulldogs (5-3, 4-2 NWC), throwing for 77 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Luke Kohls scored on a touchdown pass from Travis, while also kicking a field goal. Jacob Miller had an end zone reception to cap the night.

Bruce Sowder hauled in a touchdown pass from Steve Hielman for Paulding (2-6, 1-5 NWC).

Paulding - Sowder 11-yard pass from Heilman (pass failed).
Col. Grove - Miller 47-yard pass from Travis (kick failed).

John Brown led the Archers (3-5, 1-4 GMC) with 111 yards on the ground and a touchdown while John Rindahl added 68 rushing yards.

Dillon Flint ran for 176 yards and a score to lead the Pilots, who fall to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in the conference.

Antwerp - Stuart 3-yard run (Kobee kick).
Antwerp - Koppenhofer 4-yard pass from Brown (Kobee kick).
Antwerp - Rindahl 9-yard run (Kobee kick).
Second Quarter

Ayersville - Justin Flory 7-yard run (McIlvan kick).
Antwerp - Brown 56-yard run (Kobee kick).
Fourth Quarter

Fairview improved its record to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the GMC with a 42-21 romp past Wayne Trace Friday night. Derrick Baksa finished with 11-of-23 passing attempts for 155 yards to lead Wayne Trace (4-4, 1-4 GMC), but it was not enough as Fairview had too many weapons.

Scoring summary:
Fairview - Yoder 42-yard pass from Bro. Mosier (Murray kick).
Wayne Trace - Holbrooks 42-yard INT return (Gordon kick).
Fairview - Webb 28-yard pass from Bro. Mosier (Murray kick).
Wayne Trace - Baksa 1-yard run (Gordon kick).
Fairview - Valle 28-yard pass from Bro. Mosier (Murray kick).
Fairview - Roehrig 5-yard pass from Bro. Mosier (kick failed).
Wayne Trace - Horner 1-yard run (Gordon kick).
Fairview - Yoder 50-yard pass from Bro. Mosier (Woenker pass from Mosier).
Fairview - Roehrig 36-yard pass from Mosier (Murray kick).

Sidney Lehman Catholic ran roughshod over Delphos Jefferson Friday night to the tune of a 35-7 romp.

Lehman Catholic used rough field conditions (mud, rain, wind, cold, and snow) to subdue the D-Cats. Lehman Catholic totaled 360 yards of offense, with 358 of those coming via the ground attack.

The hosts recorded 16 first downs to Jefferson’s nine, while also holding the D-cats to 112 total yards. Jefferson ended the night 12 of 30 for 101 yards passing, while throwing one pick.

Jordan Jettinghoff’s throw was intercepted by Jonathon Slagle and returned 45-yards for the TD. The D-Cats lone TD came via the airwaves too, as Craig Carder hauled in a 12-yard pass from Jettinghoff.

Lindsey Brown came up with 20 kills, while Becka Hurless had 35 assists for the Cougars (10-10, 7-2 WBL), and Tisha Parish had 37 digs, with Carlee Brown adding 26 more.

New Knoxville defeated Delphos St. John’s 3-2 (19-25, 25-16, 14-25, 25-21, 15-12)

Lindsy Reindel had two aces and 24 kills for the Jays, while teammates Katie Wallenhorst had 20 assists and Brittany Wrasman had 40 digs. The Jays fell to 9-12 while the Rangers moved to .500 at 11-11.

Wayne Trace (12-11, 4-3 GMC) - Kari Myers 6 blocks, 8-8 serving; Sarah Feasby 4 blocks, 18-23 hitting, 6 kills; Rebecca Habern 6 blocks, 7-7 serving, 15-15 hitting; Janelle Davis 120-120 setting, 39 assists, 15-15 serving; Jenna Stoller 50-56 hitting, 17 kills; Kelsey Heck 13-14 serving, 16 digs; Carlee Sinn 21-22 hitting, 8 kills; Taylor Baumle 10-11 hitting.

Delphos Jeff. (20-1) - Mallory Wilson had eight blocks and 20 assists. Kristin Klausing and Courtney Rostorfer each had 21 digs.

Kalida (14-6) - Julia Fuerst 13 kills; Amy Hamburg 5 kills; Trisha Horstman 5 kills; Emily Turnwald 6 kills, 13 assists; Halie Zenz 15 assists.

Garrett Black and Ryan Magee each scored twice as Shawnee ran over Van Wert 9-0 in a boys soccer match Thursday.

The Indians improved to 10-4-2 overall and 7-1-1 in the Western Buckeye League. Shawnee totally dominated the match, outshooting Van Wert 35-2. The Cougars fell to 2-12-1.

The Lady Knights were defeated in three straight games by a very aggressive and dominating team, the Wildcats of Delphos Jefferson. Scores were 19-25, 13-25 and 13-25. Due to the loss the Lady Knights share the conference title with Delphos Jefferson as both teams finished 8-1 in the NWC.

Crestview finished its regular season 13-9 overall. The Lady Knights will begin their tournament run on Saturday, October 24, at Lincolnview as they play the winner of Ottoville and Wayne Trace. The first match that day will begin at 3 p.m. and Crestview’s match will begin 20 minutes after the first match.

Leaders for Jefferson included Mallorie Wilson (17/17 serving with five aces, 12 kills, six blocks, four digs), Bridget Culp (4/4 serving, 11 kills, ten digs, two blocks), Stacey Blockberger (12/12 serving, five digs, three kills, one block), Jenna Miller (12/12 serving, eight digs, two kills, one block), Kristin Klausing (8/8 serving, 15 digs, three blocks, one kill), Courtnie Rostorfer (14/14 serving with an ace, 12 digs), Steph Blockberger (eight kills, three digs, one block), and Tiffany Culp (6/6 serving, three digs).
10/14

Lindsey Brown led Van Wert in kills with nine. Brittany Kallas and Carlee Brown each added four kills. Becca Hurless led the Lady Cougars in assists with 16 and Molly Gamble added four.

Tisha Parrish and Danielle Hoverman each had 12 digs for Van Wert, with Brittany Hoverman contributing 11. Hurless and Carlee Brown each added an ace on the night.

Van Wert falls to 9-10 overall on the season and 6-2 in the Western Buckeye League.

Leaders for the Lady Lancers in digs were Eley and Emily Osting with 28 and 15, respectively. Calista Dowdy was 24 of 24 hitting with seven kills, while Courtney Tunis was 13 of 15 with four kills. Paige McClure was the leading setter (63/64 with 22 assists) and server (18/18 with two aces) for Lincolnview on the night.

The leaders for the Lady Panthers included Emily Crowell (nine kills, four aces, five blocks), Tara Luth (18 digs, six kills), Claire Burtch (ten digs, six kills), Haley Roehm (16 assists), Morgan Cron (14 assists), Kelsey Bates (11 kills), Danielle Matthews (five blocks), and Haley Burtch (three aces). Parkway improves to 16-5 on the year and 6-2 in the Midwest Athletic Conference.

Leaders for Wayne Trace included Jenna Stoller (27/32 hitting with 15 kills, 15/17 serving with one ace), Janelle Davis (72/72 setting with 17 assists, 12/14 serving with two aces, five blocks), Carlee Sinn (18/19 hitting with five kills, 3/4 serving with an ace), Kari Myers (5/5 hitting with a kill, 10/11 serving with two aces), Sarah Feasby (11/13 hitting with three kills, 12 blocks), Rebecca Habern (6/7 hitting with three kills, 3/3 serving), Abbey Linder (3/3 serving, four blocks, three digs), Kelsey Heck (10/12 serving, 13 digs), Taylor Baumle (10/12 hitting, nine blocks), and Jalyn Egnor (10/10 serving). Wayne Trace improves to 11-11 on the season and is 3-3 in the Green Meadows Conference.
10/14

Van Wert Elks Lodge 1197 will be holding its annual Hoop Shoot Free Throw Contest on Saturday, October 31, at the Goedde Building (old high school) on West Crawford Street in Van Wert. Registration will be held at 8:30 am and the contest will start at 9 a.m.

The contest is open to all boys and girls, ages 8-13. Boys and girls will be competing separately in their age class.

The Elks National “Hoop Shoot” is the nation’s largest coed sports competition and the only non-commercial sporting event conducted on a national basis. More than 3 million boys and girls, ages 8 to 13, from all 50 states, compete in the Elks “Hoop Shoot” contests at various levels of competition each year. Seventy-two finalists advance from the regional competition to Springfield, Mass for the national finals.

The national winners, three boys and three girls, will each receive a trophy and have their names inscribed on plaques permanently displayed at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in Springfield, Mass., which began in 1976.

The “Hoop Shoot” program exerts a great constructive influence upon the young people who are brought into its activities. The program is to build character in young people through competition with their peers, in which there is no outside influence from parents, coaches or teammates, reported Chuck Rollins, Van Wert Lodge Hoop Shoot chairman.

The local winners will advance to the district competition in Findlay on January 10 with those winners going to state competition. The state winners will advance to the regional contest. The local, as are all the contests, are free of charge with no registration fees required. All boys and girls are encouraged to attend and participate this year.
10/13

The Lady Knights varsity soccer team traveled to Bluffton to take on the Lady Pirates. Bluffton defeated the Crestview 2-0 despite a strong effort by the Lady Knights.

"We started out a little sluggish, but a great performance by freshman keeper Darcci Swager and standing strong on our corner kicks helped us stay strong defensively," said Crestview Coach Sarah Plas.

The Lady Knights were unsuccessful in the few opportunities they had to score goals, but played strong through the end of the game.

"We had to throw girls into positions they had little experience in because our numbers were low tonight, and those girls really stepped up to the challenge," Plas added.

On Saturday October 10, the Van Wert YMCA Marlins swim team coached by Lee Schumm, traveled to Kenton for the Hardin County Sprint Invitational. This was the first meet of the 2009-10 winter season.

Participating in the invitational were four teams: Lima Family YMCA, Harden County YMCA, Van Wert YMCA and Tiffin County YMCA, with a total of 120 swimmers competing. Van Wert was the smallest team competing with only nine swimmers making the trip, but the Marlins made their presence known by scoring 133 points for a very respectable finish.

Overall, Coach Schumm was pleased by the performance. Every swimmer contributed to the team score and several improved their personal best times. One item of note: Emma Pollock swept first place in all four of the 6 and Under Girls events.

The Marlins will be in action next on Saturday, October 24, when Hardin County visits the Van Wert YMCA for a home meet. Following is a summary of Saturday’s results:

St. John's improves to 8-10 on the year and is 1-6 in the Midwest Athletic Conference.

The Parkway boys cross country team finished eighth overall (200 points) at the Antwerp Invitational on Saturday. The girls’ team did not qualify for team placement with fewer than five runners participating on the day.

For the boys, Cameron Strunk led the way with an 18th place finish in 18:55. Following Strunk were Adam Schlemmer (20th, 19:04), Phillip Schlemmer (42nd, 20:00), Landon Brehm (44th, 20:04), Ralph Oberlitner (93rd, 22:46), and Austin Eschbach (95th, 22:50).

Running for the girls team were Ramona Hess (34th, 25:09), Morgan Fisher (47th, 27:07), and Becca Baker (61st, 30:03).

The Van Wert Cougars soccer team fell to Bryan on Saturday by a score of 4-0. The Cougars fall to 2-11-1 overall, and 1-6-1 in the WBL with the setback. Van Wert wraps up its regular season this week with a home game versus Continental tonight, and then on the road at Shawnee on Thursday and at Ottawa-Glandorf on Saturday.

The Cougars drew Napoleon in a Defiance sectional match to be played at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21.

LCC 4, DSJ 2
Kelly Ahman led Lima Central Catholic to a 4-2 victory over Delphos St. John’s on Saturday at Lima Stadium in a girls soccer match. Ahman scored her 20th goal of the season and had 2 assists for the TBirds (7-6-3). Emily Hawley, Morgan Greeley and Kelly Weichart added a goal apiece. Hawley also had an assist. Delphos St. John’s fell to 3-8-4 on the season.

Delphos Jefferson 3, Lima Senior 1
Megan Moreo scored three goals for Delphos Jefferson in the non-league win at Lima Stadium. Jennifer Kemper scored for the Spartans.

Delphos Jefferson wins tri-match
Delphos Jefferson knocked off Elwood 25-16, 25-8 and host Leipsic 25-12, 22-25, 25-18 in a tri-match. Jenna Miller finished with 33 assists while Mallorie Wilson had 19 kills against Leipsic for the Wildcats (17-1). Stacey Blockberger had 13 digs against Leipsic.
10/12

The Van Wert Cougars showed their resiliency Friday, bouncing back from last week’s demoralizing loss at Defiance to administer a 55-6 thrashing to the Wapakoneta Redskins in a Western Buckeye League match-up in Eggerss Stadium.

In the past weeks, the Cougars have shown they could put some pretty big offensive numbers on the board and Friday was no exception. Van Wert amassed a total of 554 yards of offense, 426 of those on the ground, while the Cougar defense limited Wapak to just 136 yards of offense – less than Van Wert quarterback Corey Clifton had in rushing offense on just eight carries. The Cougars had 28 first downs, to just 6 for Wapakoneta.

One telling game statistic was the number of punts. The Redskins punted seven times for an average of 34 yards a kick, while Van Wert never punted once in the contest. One statistic Coach Bob Priest was likely not happy with was the three fumbles the Cougars had on the night, but at least his team was able to cover the ball each time, losing none of the fumbles to Wapak. The Redskins coughed the ball up four times, but also was able to recover all of the fumbles.

The junior tandem of Clifton and Connor Massillo each had 100-plus yards of rushing on the night, with Clifton running for 142 yards on eight carries and three touchdowns, while the junior running back had 125 yards on 20 carries and two TDs.

Austin Fleming also ran for big yardage for Van Wert, rushing five times for 88 yards and a touchdown, while Tony Schaffner ran 15 times for 50 yards.

Connor Pickens was the Redskins’ top rusher with 38 yards on nine carries, while Brandon Wilson carried the ball eight times for 34 yards.

Clifton completed 7 of 15 pass attempts for 118 yards and a touchdown, while Redskin quarterback Jordan Martin was 4 of 10 for 59 yards, a TD and one interception.

Fleming caught three passes for 66 yards for a total of 154 yards of total offense, while Evan Hammons had two receptions for 42 yards, a touchdown and also caught a two-point PAT pass from Clifton.

Van Wert set the tone right off the bat when Massillo ran the opening kickoff 85 yards for the Cougars’ first score with just 15 ticks off the clock. Gyer Blackmore’s kick was no good, but it was a harbinger of bad things to come for the beleaguered Wapakoneta defense.

Following Van Wert’s stop of the Redskins on their opening possession, the Cougars went right back to work, with Clifton breaking loose for a 44-yard TD run with 7:14 left in the quarter. He also passed to Hammons for a two-point PAT that made the score 14-0, Van Wert.

The second quarter brought on a veritable flood of scoring with a total of 34 points scored in that quarter alone, including Wapak’s lone score and four TDs for the Cougars.

Van Wert hit paydirt first in the stanza when Clifton ran it in from 23 yards out at the 10:36 mark. Blackmore hit the PAT kick to make it 21-0, Cougars.

Five minutes later, Massillo bulled it in from a yard out to make it 27-0, while Blackmore’s kick went wide on the PAT attempt.

The Redskins then scored their lone touchdown of the night on a 39-yd pass from Martin to Alex Parker. The PAT attempt failed and Van Wert led 27-6.

The Cougars would score twice more, though, before the first half ended. Clifton ran 25 yards for the first score and also passed to Nate Williams for the PAT to make the score 35-6 at the 1:38 mark. A minute and a half later, the junior quarterback found Hammons on a 9-yard scoring strike with just 4 seconds on the clock. Blackmore kicked the PAT and Van Wert had a commanding 42-6 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.

The last two quarters were mostly a defensive slog on the wet and muddy Eggerss field, with the Cougars scoring once in each stanza.

Van Wert’s third-quarter TD came at 3:29 when Massillo again ran the ball in from the 1-yard line. Blackmore again split the uprights and it was 49-6, Cougars.

In the final stanza, Fleming scored his lone touchdown on a 16-yard scamper with 9:54 remaining in the game.

With the win, Van Wert finds itself in a tie for third place in the league with Defiance, a 20-0 loser to Shawnee, along with Shawnee and Ottawa-Glandorf, whi

ch lost 21-13 to St. Marys, all at 4-2 on the season. The Cougars are also 4-3 overall.

In second place in the WBL are the Roughriders at 5-1, a team the Cougars will face this coming Friday at Skip Baughman Field in St. Marys, while Kenton remains undefeated at 6-0 with a 38-0 win over Celina.
The Van Wert offense swarms over a Wapakoneta ball carrier during Friday night's WBL match-up with the Redskins won by the Cougars 55-6. Photos by Jan Dunlap/Van Wert independent (reprints available; email snapshotjan@embarqmail.com)

Crestview caught a glimmer of the Heath Jackson quarterback show first hand Friday night in a Homecoming loss in Convoy. Jackson ran for four touchdowns and threw for another as the Ada Bulldogs romped past the Knights 48-15.

Jackson totaled 89 yards on the ground, scoring on runs of 15, 17, 1 and 4 yards. Konnor Baker caught a 7-yard scoring strike from the super-athlete, while Jackson completed 12 of 18 passes for 140 yards and also had one interception.

Ada had 278 yards of rushing yardage and 418 yards of total offense, while limiting the Knights to 48 yards on the ground and a total of 88 yards of offense on the night.

Steven Semer tallied the lone score for Crestview. Ada improves to 7-0 and 5-0 in the NWC, while the Knights fall to 2-5 and 1-4 in the same categories.

CRESTVIEW 3 1:52 #25 HOLDEN, MATT 4 yd run (#7 LICHTENSTEIGER, DANIEL kick) 41 15

Wayne Trace won a good old-fashioned shootout against Green Meadows Conference rival Antwerp by a 27-20 count Friday night in Archerland.

Antwerp’s Beau Kobee started off the first quarter scoring with a 27-yard field goal, giving the Archers a 3-0 advantage. It did not last long as Wayne Trace responded on the next series. Derrick Baksa passed to Jason Gordon for a 13-yard touchdown. The PAT was missed and the Raiders led 6-3 at the first stop.

Both offenses heated up in the second quarter, as Wayne Trace tallied a quick score as Dylan Horner rushed 5-yards to pay dirt. With the 2-point conversion, the Raiders led 14-3. Then John Rindahl took the rushing game over for Antwerp and finished the series with a 2-yard TD run. The PAT attempt by Beau Kobee was good to make the score 14-10 at the break.

Antwerp came out in the second half fired up, as John Rindahl tallied a score from 25-yards. The PAT attempt by Beau Kobee was good making the score 17-14 in favor of Antwerp at the third stop.

The fourth quarter was a seesaw battle, with Wayne Trace coming out on top. A 68-yard scoring strike from Derrick Baksa to Jordan Sherry gave the Raiders a 20-17 lead. Beau Kobee came back for Antwerp and kicked a 28-yard field goal to tie up the game at 20-20. Then Derrick Baksa ran a 1-yard quarterback keeper for a Wayne Trace TD and the PAT by Jordan Sherry was good, making the final score 27-20. Jordan Sherry led the Raiders (4-3, 1-3 GMC) with 159 yards receiving and a touchdown.

John Rindahl ran for 116 yards and found paydirt twice to lead the Archers (2-5, 0-4 GMC).

Antwerp - Kobee 27-yard field goal.
Wayne Trace - Gordon 7-yard pass from Baksa (kick failed).
Wayne Trace - Horner 5-yard run (Baksa run).
Antwerp - Rindahl 2-yard run (Kobee kick).
Antwerp - Rindahl 25-yard run (Kobee kick).
Wayne Trace - Sherry 68-yard pass from Baksa (kick failed).
Antwerp - Kobee 28-yard field goal.
Wayne Trace - Baksa 1-yard run (Gordon kick).

Columbus Grove’s Rayce Risner pounded his way for 135 yards on 35 carries to lead the Bulldogs to a 26-14 victory over Delphos Jefferson Friday in a Northwest Conference game at Stadium Park. Wade Heffner had nine carries for 67 yards and two scores for the Bulldogs. Overall, Columbus Grove finished with 330 yards, 239 on the ground.

The Bulldogs led 19-14 at the half and pushed the lead to 26-14 in the final quarter on an 8-yard TD by Heffner. Jordan Travis completed 3 of 5 passes for 91 yards and one touchdown.

In the Delphos Jefferson spread offense, quarterback Jordan Jettinghoff completed 17 of 32 for 198 yards and one touchdown. Jettinghoff ran for 81 yards on 22 carries.

Columbus Grove stands 4-3, 3-2 in the Northwest Conference. The Wildcats are 5-2, 4-2 in the NWC.

Allen East held Paulding to a mere 123 total yards of offense en route to an 18-0 victory.
Levi Hoy led the way for the Mustangs with scoring runs of 20 and 21 yards.

The loss drops the Panthers to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the Northwest Conference while the Mustangs improve to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the league.

Allen East - Swaney 1-yard run (kick failed).
Allen East - Hoy 20-yard run (run failed).
Allen East - Hoy 21-yard run (pass failed).

Delphos St. John’s (7-0, 5-0) remained undefeated and the Panthers remained winless (0-7, 0-5) in this MAC match-up.

The Blue Jays gained 374 yards rushing. Jordan Leininger led the way 166 rushing yards and four touchdowns on eight carries. Leininger scored on runs from 15, 24, 40, and 13 yards out. Blake Williams carried the ball 12 times for 62 yards. Wes Ulm had seven carries for 70 yards and a 61-yard touchdown. Ulm also went 1-for-4 for 18 yards for the Blue Jays.

The Van Wert Middle School Football team defeated Wapakoneta 22-0. Michael Smelser scored the Cougars’ first touchdown and PAT on the first drive of the game. Julian Salinas collected the Cougars second touchdown of the first quarter with quarterback Tyler Williams converting the 2-point conversion. This touchdown was set up by a Williams pass to Matthew Bidlack to get the Cougars down to the Redskin 12-yard line.

The Cougar defense held strong the rest of the half and Van Wert took a 16-0 advantage after two quarters.

The play of the game came in the third quarter by Van Wert’s Jacob Scheidt. A Wapak defender intercepted a pass on Van Wert’s first possession of the quarter, but on the runback, Scheidt’s hit forced the Redskin defender to fumble the ball. Van Wert’s Chandler Adams scooped up the fumble and returned it for a touchdown.

Van Wert’s offense continued to move the ball in the second half, but could not put the ball in the end zone. However, the Cougar defense also did not allow Wapak to pose a serious threat in the half. Van Wert’s Nick Krugh had an interception, while Elijah Wortman and Adams recovered fumbles for Van Wert.

The VWMS football team’s record is now 4-2 and the Cougars will face St. Marys at home on Thursday, October 15, to finish their season.
10/10

It took four holes of playoff competition, but Cougar golfer Blake Doidge is headed to the Division II state tournament.

The Sycamore Springs Golf Course hosted the Division II Boys Golf District Tournament on Thursday. Many quality teams and individuals avoided the raindrops and cool temperatures to try and punch their ticket to the state tournament.

The Bryan Golden Bears earned their way, capturing the team title with a score of 323. The Genoa Comets also advanced as a team, shooting a team score of 330 and edging out the Shelby Whippets by one shot. Only two teams qualify for the tournament.

Two individual qualifiers, not on the winning teams, also have a chance for state tournament. Tyler Korbas of Shelby was match medalist and first individual qualifier. However, runner-up medalist honors had to be determined by a playoff as two players, Van Wert’s Doidge and Port Clinton senior Marcus Hunt both carded 77s and headed to the first tee for extra holes to determine who would go to the state tournament as the second individual qualifier.

Doidge, who won the coin flip, elected to hit first and nailed a drive down the center of the fairway. Hunt hit his shot to the right and into the trees, but responded by cutting a 7 iron about 30 yards around the trees to give him a 20-foot birdie putt. Doidge responded with a 30-footer of his own.

Both two-putted and went to the second playoff hole: a tough par 3 that measures 180 yards lay in wait for the linksters. Doidge hit the middle of the green and had an uphill 25-footer. Hunt responded by hitting it to within eight feet of the pin to put the pressure on.

Doidge advanced it to five foot, marked and waited for Hunt's birdie attempt. Hunt left it short and tapped in for par and Doidge promptly made his putt to extend the playoff.

The third hole was again halved with two nice pars, but lying in wait for the golfers was the long Par 5, No. 4 hole. Total yardage, with a big pond in play, measured 533 yards. Both players found the fairway with their drivers and both laid short of the pond, about 120 yards away. Hunt missed the green to the right and Doidge found his opening, lofting a pitching wedge into the air and depositing his ball to within 4 feet of the cup. Hunt chipped to about 8 feet, marked, and drilled the putt to again apply pressure to Doidge.

The Cougar golfer, with the chance to punch his ticket to state tournament, lined up his putt. Onlookers, including coaches, players, and parents, erupted as Doidge drained the putt. After shaking hands with Hunt, Doidge was mobbed on the green by the Van Wert contingent.

Doidge will participate in the state tournament next Friday and Saturday at the North Star Golf Resort in Sunbury, just north of Columbus. This will mark the second time that Doidge has qualified for state tournament, but the first as an individual. He played for the team as a freshman when it qualified two years ago.
10/9

Rain, mud, and cold temperatures couldn’t hold back a strong performance from the Van Wert girls’ cross country team on Thursday evening.

The Lady Cougars finished third out of 18 teams at the Coldwater Lions Invitational, a race that featured current Division III No. 1 Minster, No. 2 Versailles, No. 4 Fort Loramie, along with Division II No. 5 Coldwater and No. 15 Van Wert.

Lauren Taylor kept up her top notch racing by finishing second overall in 19:21. Taylor was followed by Katie Bono 14th (20:31), Jacey Eikenbary 16th (20:37), Sydney Riethman 22nd (20:44), and Erica Smith 40th (21:35). Becca Ries 47th (21:49), and Kelsey Wagner 63rd (22:19) rounded out the cougars top seven.

“The girls felt slighted by the latest state coaches poll and felt that they had something to prove tonight,” said Van Wert Head Coach Brendon Moody. “We were missing two of our usual top five runners due to illness and we had people step up. To be able to knock off two of the better teams in Division III was a great way to build momentum heading in to the latter part of the season.”

Courtney VanHorne (22:47), Shelby Wolford (22:59), and Morella Mills (28:58) finished 81st, 89th, and 224th, respectively.

1. Minster, 39; 2. Coldwater, 60; 3. Van Wert, 91; 4. Versailles, 103; 5. Fort Loramie, 113; 6. Shawnee, 188;

7. Troy, 202; 8. Fort Recovery, 211; 9. Marion Local, 226; 10. Lincolnview, 344; 11. Ansonia, 365; 12. Celina, 390;

13. Crestview, 406; 14. New Bremen, 411; 15. St. Marys Memorial, 434; 16. St. Henry, 460; 17. Elida, 461;

18. Bradford, 479.

10/9

COLDWATER – The Van Wert boys’ cross country team finished ninth out of 24 teams at last night’s Coldwater Lions Invitational.

Jacob Bagley led the Cougars on a very wet and sloppy course – finishing in 11th place in 17:29 (261 runners).

Rounding out the Cougar scoring was Luke Brubaker (18:21); Brian Easley (18:30); Luke Strick (18:50); Nathan Simson (19:39); Brian Voisard (19:54); Josh Roberts (20:19); Spencer Prichard (20:21); Noah Edwards (20:32); Adam Saylor (20:41); Jacob Hoverman (22:48).

Van Wert coach Mark Altstaetter said his team will need to get refocused for next week’s league meet.

“We had a couple guys hurt that did not run Thursday,” Altstaetter said. “So I knew we would not be quite where we wanted to be.

“But, we need to put this race aside, get healthy and get focused on next week’s WBL meet,” he added. “We can’t afford any major gaps in our pack in that race.”

The Crestview High School girls cross country team placed 13th out of 18 schools on Thursday at the Coldwater Lions Invitational.

The Crestview boys cross country team placed 10th out of 24 schools on Thursday at the Coldwater Lions Invitational.

The Lady Knights of Crestview defeated the Ada Bulldogs in a Northwest Conference match-up in three straight games with scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-16.

Crestview is now 8-0 in the NWC and 13-7 overall. The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, as they host the Delphos St. John's Blue Jays at 10 a.m.

Score by Quarters
Team	1^st Quarter	2^nd Quarter	3^rd Quarter	4^th Quarter	Total
Paulding	8	8	0	0	16
Crestview	7	0	6	0	13

Score by Quarters
Team	1^st Quarter	2^nd Quarter	3^rd Quarter	4^th Quarter	Total
Holgate	0	6	0	0	6
Wayne Trace	7	13	0	0	20

Score by Quarters
Team	1^st Quarter	2^nd Quarter	3^rd Quarter	4^th Quarter	Total
Jefferson	7	7	14	0	28
Spencerville	0	14	0	0	14

Score by Quarters
Team	1^st Quarter	2^nd Quarter	3^rd Quarter	4^th Quarter	Total
Fort Recovery	0	0	0	0	0
St. John’s	14	28	14	6	62

Score by Quarters
Team	1^st Quarter	2^ndQuarter	3^rd Quarter	4^th Quarter	Total
St. John’s	6	14	0	7	27
Coldwater	0	13	7	0	20

	Hardin County Sprint Inv
Name	Event	Time	Place
Burley, Lydia	Girls 50 Back 13-14	41.66	4
Burley, Lydia	Girls 50 Breast 13-14	50.29	2
Burley, Lydia	Girls 50 Free 13-14	37.17	4
Burley, Lydia	Girls 100 IM 13-14	1.36.44	4
Cucciarre, Matt	Boys 50 Fly 15-18	37:97	9
Cucciarre, Matt	Boys 50 Back 15-18	37.49	9
Cucciarre, Matt	Boys 50 Free 15-18	32.23	9
Cucciarre, Matt	Boys 100 IM 15-18	1.27.62	9
Deschner, Colton	Boys 50 Back 11-12	52.25	10
Deschner, Colton	Boys 50 Breast 11-12	57.73	7
Deschner, Colton	Boys 50 Free 11-12	46.03	10
Deschner, Colton	Boys 100 IM 11-12	1.52.21	7
Grooms, Taylor	Female 50 Fly 15-18	34:89	3
Grooms, Taylor	Girls 50 Back 15-18	35.69	5
Grooms, Taylor	Girls 50 Breast 15-18	42.06	5
Grooms, Taylor	Girls 50 Free 15-18	29.06	6
Grooms, Taylor	Girls 100 IM 15-18	1.19.13	3
McVaigh, Katie	Girls 25 Fly 7-8	23.47	7
McVaigh, Katie	Girl 25 Back 7-8	22.28	5
McVaigh, Katie	Girls 25 Breast 7-8	30.41	6
McVaigh, Katie	Girls 25 Free 7-8	19.37	3
Miller, Erin	Girl 50 Back 9-10	53.78	9
Miller, Erin	Girls 50 Breast 9-10	59.94	9
Miller, Erin	Girls 50 Free 9-10	48.03	13
Miller, Erin	Girls 100 IM 9-10	2.03.86	12
Mills, David	Boys 50 Fly 15-18	29.81	3
Mills, David	Boys 50 Back 15-18	29.81	3
Mills, David	Boys 50 Free 15-18	25.63	6
Mills, David	Boys 100 IM 15-18	1.05.88	2
Pollock, Emma	Female 25 Fly 6 & Under	23.44	1
Pollock, Emma	Girl 25 Back 6 & Under	24.28	1
Pollock, Emma	Girls 25 Breast 6 & Under	31.91	1
Pollock, Emma	Girls 25 Free 6 & Under	21.15	1
Pollock, Risa	Girl 25 Fly 7-8	22.47	4
Pollock, Risa	Girl 25 Back 7-8	21.75	4
Pollock, Risa	Girls 25 Breast 7-8	32.28	9
Pollock, Risa	Girls 25 Free 7-8	20.22	5

Wapakoneta	Team	Van Wert
6	First downs	28
136	Total offense	554
25/77	Rushes/yards	53/426
4-12-59-1-1	Comp-Att-Yds-TDs-Ints	7-15-118-1-0
2/20	Penalties/yards	6/43
4/0	Fumbles/lost	3/0
7/34.0	Punts/average	0/0
Scoring Summary First Quarter VW – 85-yd kick-off return by Connor Massillo (kick failed); 11:45 VW – 44-yd run by Corey Clifton (PAT pass from Clifton to Evan Hammons); 7:14 Second Quarter VW – 23-yd run by Clifton (Gyer Blackmore kick); 10:36 VW – 1yd run by Massillo (kick failed); 5:27 Wapak – 39-yd pass from Jordan Martin to Alex Parker (PAT failed); 3:37 VW – 25-yd run by Clifton (PAT pass from Clifton to Nate Williams); 1:38 VW – 9-yd pass from Clifton to Hammons (Blackmore kick); 0:04 Third Quarter VW – 1-yd run by Massillo (Blackmore kick); 3:29 Fourth Quarter VW – 16-yd run by Austin Fleming (kick failed); 9:54