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“THE HOMETOWN”

EDON • HILLTOP • STRYKER • MONTPELIER • PETTISVILLE • NORTH CENTRAL • FAYETTE • WAUSEON

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4TH, 2015 A WEEKLY SPORTS PUBLICATION COURTESY OF " THE VILLAGE REPORTER"

W I L L I A M S F U L T O N

EDON BOMBERS • MONTPELIER LOCOS • NORTH CENTRAL EAGLES

HILLTOP CADETS • STRYKER PANTHERS • FAYETTE EAGLES

PETTISVILLE BLACKBIRDS • WAUSEON INDIANS

PHOTO BY JAKE WEBER, STAFF

REBOUND THAT BASKETBALL ... Stryker senior Tanner Clin-

gaman (30) stretches to his limit as he desperately attemptsto reach a loose ball before the Evergreen player beside him

can do so.

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2 - “The Hometown Huddle” - Edon, Montpelier, North Central, Hilltop, Stryker, Fayette, Pettisville & Wauseon Sports Action Wednesday, March 4th, 2015

Stryker’s Dominance Foreshadowed Easy Victory Against Evergreen

(February 23rd, 2015) – STRYKER:Monday night’s match between the BBC’s

Stryker Panthers and the visiting NWOALVikings of Evergreen set the stage for a

dynamic offensive showdown. The Strykerboys were determined on a win after Sat-

urday’s loss to Ayersville at home.

Stryker’s formidable offensive scoredearly and fast; Tanner Clingaman would

be the rst to score, sinking a three-point-er with ease from the outside. Sophomore

Brody Shock would answer Clingaman’s

shot with a three of his own. The Pan-ther’s defense aided in the early point

parade; a steal by Austin Grisier turnedinto a quick-driving layup. Parker Ruffer’s

towering 6’5” stature plowed through theViking defense, consistently adding two-

points. By the end of the rst half, the

Panthers had accumulated 40 pointsagainst the Viking’s 13 with Clingaman

and Ruffer leading in points, totaling 22points altogether.

The second half of the game saw a re-surgence of Evergreen’s offense; senior

Chad Maseman had a highlight thirdquarter, accumulating 11 points for the

Vikings alone. Despite the revitalization,the Stryker boys never found themselves

at-footed; the Panthers would retaliatewith 15 points of their own.

With the score at 55-32 going into the

fourth, the Panthers were set up for victo-ry; however, the Vikings wouldn’t go down

without a ght. Evergreen’s offense mayhave outscored Stryker’s by 12 in the nal

8 minutes but the drive would ultimately

prove ineffective. The Panthers were pro-nounced victorious at the nal buzzer

with a nal score of 68-57.Stryker’s notorious offense was fueled

by both great shooting and defensive turn-overs. Parker Ruffer would lead in total

points for the evening at 23; teammates

Tanner Clingaman and Brody Shock alsocontributed 18 and 9 points respectively.

Tallying 16 out of 24 from the free-throwline in conjunction with a staggering 17

turnovers further aided in the Panther’sdominance over the Vikings.

Wauseon Indians Defeat

Pettisville In Home Win(February 21st, 2015) – WAUSEON:

The Blackbirds of Pettisville made theshort trip to Wauseon, intent on upset-

ting the Indians on their home court.

Wauseon had other plans, however, andthey were well prepared for their guests

from the Buckeye Border Conference.Wauseon was able to best the visiting

Blackbirds 55-38.

Wauseon got off to a hot start, claim-ing a 10 point lead in the rst quarter,

15-5. While Pettisville would not allow theIndians to dominate another quarter so

completely, falling that far behind early inthe contest put them in a deep hole, out

from which they were unable to climb.

The second period saw Pett isville do abetter job of keeping pace with their North

Western Ohio Athletic League hosts. Still,they were outscored 11-8, adding to their

decit as they went into halftime down

26-13. Wauseon didn't tap the breaks

in the third quarter, claiming the peri-

od thanks to a 16-11 margin. While theBlackbird boys were able to nally pro-

duce more points than the Indians in the

fourth quarter, their 14-13 effort wasn'tenough to make up the double digit gap

separating the two teams.Wauseon's Noah Castle, a senior for

the Indians, craftily put up 14 points,

making 10 of them from the free throwline. Another Indian senior Jacob New-

love scored 12 points in the victory. ZacRobinson, yet another senior, recorded 8

points on the evening as well.Pettisville sophomore Gabe Beck led

his team with 10 points. Fellow second

year player Caleb Rychener had a strongnight from inside the paint, earning 8

points the hard way. Teammates EliKing and Stuart Yoder each provided the

Blackbirds with 7 points apiece in the

loss.

PHOTOS BY JAKE WEBER, STAFF

WHERE’S MY MAN? ... Pettisville’s Stuart Yoder (13), a junior for the Blackbird boys,

dribble drives right past Caleb Andrews (24) of Wauseon on his way to the basket.

OVER YOUR HEADS ... Eli King (25) leaps beyond the reach of Andrews (24) and senior

Zach Robinson (14) as the Pettisville senior get the drop on the Indian duo from behind.

REJECTED! ... Wauseon senior Noah Castle (22) reaches skyward as he closes in on alayup attempt by Yoder (13). The Pettisville junior looks up in time to see his attempt

swatted away by the Indian big man.

PHOTOS BY JAKE WEBER, STAFF

QUICK RELEASE ... Parker Ruffer, a senior for the Panthers, gets a jump shot off before

an Evergreen defend can arrive to contest the shot.

FOLLOW THROUGH ... Stryker’s Brody Shock (22) continues to focus on his shot evenafter the ball comes off of his ngertips, despite the Viking player attempting to box him

out.



Wednesday, March 4th, 2015 “The Hometown Huddle” - Edon, Montpelier, North Central, Hilltop, Stryker, Fayette, Pettisville & Wauseon Sports Action - 3


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Pettisville Plays Spoiler RoleOn North Central Senior Night

(February 27th, 2015) – PIONEER: Five

seniors were honored as North Centralplayed their last home game of the season.

Unfortunately for them, they were unable

to go out on a winning note against theBlackbirds of Pettisville.

The Eagles lost the contest to Pettisville53-27.

Getting off to a slow start didn't helpmatters for the boys of Pioneer. Offensive-

ly, the rst quarter was a nightmare for theEagles, as they were only able to manage 3points in the period. Of course, Pettisville

was unable to take full advantage, scoringa solid 11 points in that span to take an

early 8 point lead.For all their faults in the rst frame,

North Central played awlessly with the

ball in their hands during the second.Quintupling their offensive production, the

Eagle boys put up a strong 15 points toclose out the half. On the other side of the

court, the Blackbirds were able to score 12points of their own, refusing to allow the

Eagle surge to overtake them. Their efforts

allowed Pettisville to cling to a 5 point leadat the half, 23-18.

Coming out of the locker room, Pet-

tisville played with a renewed vigor, and

North Central simply did not have an an-swer. Throughout the third period, the

Blackbird boys racked up 16 points, hold-

ing the North Central boys to just 4. Thistrend continued in the fourth and nal

stanza, as Pettisville outscored the hometeam down the stretch 14-5.

Stuart Yoder, a junior for the Pettis-ville boys, took charge of the game with 17

points. While he did knock down a three,Yoder did most of his damage from insidethe arc with 7 two-point eld goals. His se-

nior teammate, Tate Kauffman, had a greatevening scoring the ball as well. Hitting the

Blackbirds only other triple, Kauffman to-taled 13 points. Sophomore Caleb Rychen-

er also had a big night, scoring 12 points

while controlling the paint.In the loss, North Central senior Jordan

Bailey connected on a pair of three-pointattempts on his way to 13 points. Josh Ro-

esener, a sophomore for the Eagles, hit athree as well. That helped propel his points

total to 8 for the night. Another senior,

Jordan Reeves offered up 4 points in thelast home game of his high school career.

Hilltop Cadet Boys Upset Fayette In Nail Biter At Home

(February 23rd, 2015): HILLTOP – With

the end of the regular season rapidly ap-proaching, both the Cadets and the visit-

ing Eagles of Fayette had great intentionsof winning; the Eagles on track to taking

the BBC conference while the Cadets look-

ing to nish the season at the .500 mark.Right out of the gate, both teams came

out charging; Fayette’s Alec Bost andKoby Biddix sinking three-pointers while

Hilltop’s offense was driving in tight to thebasket. Quinn Smith thrashed through

the Eagle defense, gaining 8 points in

the 2nd quarter alone. With the energeticdrive from Smith, the Cadets found them-

selves ahead 11-8 at the half.Hilltop’s early proclamation was an-

swered with erce retaliation from Fay-

ette’s offense. Though the Eagles weretotalling 14 points in the third quarter,

the Cadets were one step ahead with 16points of their own. Fayette’s Biddix sank

two three-pointers while the towering

Tristen Bates continued to ascend over

the Cadets and score from the inside. The Cadet’s 5-point lead going into the

nal 8 minutes would be jeopardized onmultiple occasions. Fayette’s Jared Seller

steadily shot 3/3 free-throws in addition

to four points in the chase; Bost and Bid-dix would each tally a three-point goal

as Bates added one more lay-up into themix. Hilltop responded with an equally in-

tensive quarter; Erik Stipe added a singlefree-throw while Jalen Towers and Tim

Maneval totaled 13 points to forge ahead

and claim victory against the Eagles, 49-47.

Hilltop’s triumph over the Eagles in-stilled hope in the Cadet’s ability to nish

the season on the upswing. Fayette’s loss

threatened the possibility of losing out onthe conference title; with Stryker’s team

in close pursuit, the last game of the sea-son would determine the outcome in the

race for rst place.

Montpelier Tops North CentralIn Overtime On The Road(February 26th, 2015): NORTH CEN-

TRAL – The clash between two opposingconference teams escalated to a standoff at

the end of the fourth quarter. The Montpe-lier Locomotives traveled to North Central

on Thursday to face off in the teams’ last

non-conference game.Both teams began the night scoring fre-

quently inside the three-point line. Mont-pelier’s Nate McCord ignited offensively

in the rst, accumulating 10 points con-sisting of three two-pointers and 4/4 suc-

cessful free-throw attempts. As the Loco-

motives tallied 15 points in the rst, theEagles would answer with 11 points of

their own. The Eagles went on to recip-rocate the Locomotive’s outburst; Junior

Ethan Douglass scored 7 points alongside

his teammates as they tied Montpelier atthe end of the half at 28.

A low scoring third quarter made for adelayed climax in the fourth quarter. Mi-

chael Blake and Nate McCord of the Lo-comotives added 6 points to the board;

Kyrin Schuman added 6 of his own, shoot-

ing 4/4 at the foul line, aiding in the con-

quest. The Eagles would outscore their op-

ponent throughout the nal 8 minutes ofplay. Nick Henry and Jordan Bailey each

making one three-pointer in conjunctionwith the team’s combined 9 points totalled

for 15 – tying the game at 48 by the nal

buzzer.After both teams quickly recouped, the

course of action went full-force in over-time. North Central’s Ethan Douglass and

Steven Williams forced a two-pointer pastthe Loco’s defense as Jordan Bailey drilled

a single three-pointer. Despite the valiant

effort, the Locomotives accumulated a to-tal of 11 points in overtime to win 59-55.

The key factor in Montpelier’s triumphover the Eagles was their indisputable fo-

cus at the free-throw line; shooting 67% at

the line as opposed to the Eagles’ 50%. TheLocomotives also totaled 3 more turnovers,

allowing for greater opportunities to score.North Central’s loss at home would set

their record at 2-19 for the season. CoachMuehlfeld and the Locomotives would

travel to Wauseon to try and earn their

rst league win in the NWOAL.

Stryker Panthers Earn SeniorNight Win Against Hilltop

(February 27th, 2015) – STRYKER: A

pair of seniors lead the Panthers of Stryk-

er to a home victory during their lasthome game of their high school careers.

With the Hilltop Cadets stopping by,Stryker was able to take the win 58-45.

Out of the gate, the West Unity boysgot off to a strong start, a much needed

happening if one is to win on the road. The Cadets pulled out to a narrow 12-10

advantage by the conclusion of the rst

period. Stryker was quick to organize acounterattack, however. They took the

second quarter, thanks to a 23-13 efforton the part of the Panthers. At the half,

Stryker held a 33-25 lead. The Panther boys were able to put

even more distance between themselves

and their guests from West Unity in thethird frame. Outscoring their opponents

14-6, Stryker was able to enjoy a 47-

31 lead heading into the fourth stanza.Hilltop fought hard to get back into thegame, but the Panther offense would not

allow them to make up enough ground to

give them a chance to win. After a 14-11

showing to close out the game, Stryker

secured the 13 point win.Parker Ruffer, a senior for the Pan-

thers, was a major reason for the Strykervictory. The 6'5” member of the 1,000

points club tacked on 29 more points tohis career total, using his size to score 11

eld goals from the interior of the Hilltopdefense. Classmate Tanner Clingaman

also reached double digit scoring. The se-

nior managed 13 points to help assurethe win. Austin Grisier, a third senior for

Stryker, had 6 points.Sophomore Quinn Smith led the Ca-

det scoring effort, putting up 14 points inthe loss. The guard did all of his damage

from within the arc, connecting on 7 two-

point eld goals. Jalen Towers was rightthere with his younger teammate. The

Hilltop senior earned 13 points against

the stout Stryker defense. Another soph-omore, Tim Maneval, knocked down atrio of triples as he totaled 10 points for

the Cadets.

PHOTO BY ANGI WALKUP, STAFF

PROTECTING POSSESSION ... While driving the ball up court, Stryker sophomore Bro-

dy Shock (22) shields the ball from an incoming Quinn Smith (12), who is determined toeither stop Shock’s progress, or remove the ball from his possession.

NOT QUITE ON TIME ... Brady Zuver (24), a senior for the Eagles, takes full advantage

as his man, Stuart Yoder (13), is caught out of position, leaving the North Central guardopen for a clean look at the basket.

PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY KAYS, STAFF

NO HARM, NO FOUL ... Pettisville’s Eli King (25) and North Central’s Josh Roesener(5) collide as the Blackbird senior elevates for a shot attempt, while the sophomore for

North Central stumbles backward.





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Stryker JV’s Third Quarter MishapResults In Loss To Evergreen

(February 23rd, 2015): STRYKER – The

Panther’s Junior Varsity boy's team hoped

to set the stage for the evening with a win at

home against the visiting Vikings from Ever-

green. Throughout the steadfast event, both

teams would exhibit comparable strengths

that were evenly matched.

A balanced rst quarter was propelled by

Stryker’s Cameron Frey and Hayden Clin-

gaman driving to the basket, putting up 2

points each. Sophomore Kaid Woolace also

added two points of his own at the free-

throw line. Woolace went on to have a stel-

lar second quarter, shooting a layup along-

side three free-throws that would alleviate

the Panthers to 11 points by the end of the

rst half. With the Panthers down 11-15 at

the break, the JV boys would need to recon-

struct their strategic course of action for the

second half.

Unfortunately, the Panthers couldn’t

nd their footing coming into the third quar-

ter. As the Panthers faltered, the Vikings

managed to add 4 points to lead 11-19 lead-

ing into the nal quarter of play. Stryker’s

offense quickly rallied; Hunter Lilleholm

made the team’s only three-point basket

with an additional three points at the foul

line. Alex Bost also scored 5 points in the

fourth, shooting two inside the three-point

line and one at the foul line. Despite the

hopeful resurgence by Stryker’s offense, it

wasn’t enough to take the win against Ev-

ergreen’s superior fourth-quarter shooting.

The JV Panthers would lose to the Vikings,

34-25.

Throughout the conquest, the Panthers

would top Evergreen in turnovers, 13 vs 11,

and demonstrated consistency at the free-

throw line, shooting 59%. Sophomore Kaid

Woolace would lead the Panthers in scor-

ing for the evening, totaling 8 points; team-

mates Hunter Lilleholm and Alex Bost also

contributed 6 and 5 points, respectively.

Pettisville JV Win With DefenseOver North Central Eagles

(February 27th, 2015) – PIONEER: It

was with a stunning defensive effort that

the Junior Varsity Blackbirds were able tosoar back to Pettisville with a win over the

hometown boys of North Central on Fri-day, February 27.

Pettisville claimed the road victory overNorth Central 40-24.

That defensive prowess on the part of

the Blackbird boys was on full display earlyin the contest. They held the Eagles to just

2 points for the entirety of the rst quarter,putting up 14 of their own in the process.

That stiing effort for Pettisville to keep the

ball out of North Central's net didn't let upin the second period, either. The boys of

Pioneer were able to tack on 6 more points,though their counterparts from Pettisville

gained 9 more points in that same span. That put the visitors from Fulton County

up 23-8 heading into halftime.North Central made a play to get back

into the contest in the third frame. They

played their own brand of intense defense,keeping the Pettisville boys bottled up for a

mere 4 points in the period. Yet the Eagle

offense still couldn't nd its way, unable to

take advantage of the opportunity createdby their defense as they only added 6 more

points to their collective score.In the last stanza of the game, both

sides played well offensively. Pettisvilleracked up 13 more points, while North

Central made 10 points down the stretch

as well. Despite the closeness of the con-test's nal quarter, the Blackbirds were

still able to secure the 16 point win. The part of lead scorer was played by

Pettisville sophomore Corey Lovins. He ac-

counted for 12 of his team's points. Closebehind was teammate and fellow second

year player Brayden Hernandez. The guardtotaled 11 points.

Cody Tomblin gave his team a rous-ing effort, putting up nearly half their -

nal score. The freshman standout had11 points on the evening. Another Eagle

freshman Keean Livensparger also had a

solid night scoring the ball. He added 5points to the North Central effort.

Edon JV Lose At Home To Fayette(February 27th, 2015) – EDON: In theirlast home game of the season, the junior

varsity boys of Edon were unable to over-come their visitors from Fayette.

The Eagle boys swooped in for the winover the Bombers, 43-22.

With just 2 points in the rst period, the

Bomber boys got off to a disastrous start. Their defense was able to keep Fayette from

putting the contest away early, however,as they were able to hold the potent Eagle

offense to 8 points in the opening quarter. The hometown boys of Edon couldn't keep

that up, though, as they gave up 15 points

in the second frame. On the other end ofthe oor, the Bombers added only 6 points

to their collective score.Going into the locker room, Edon faced

a 23-8 decit.

Thought they had a solid lead at thestart of the third quarter, the visitors from

Fulton County were unable to completelyshake off the Bombers on their trail. Their 9

point effort in the period was matched withan 8 point one on the part of Edon. Yet the

young Eagle boys were able to deliver the

knockout punch in the nal period of thegame. They outscored their hosts 11-6 to

close out the contest, securing the 21 pointvictory.

Freshman Grant Reinking led all scor-ers with 14 points. His teammate, Karrigen

Schaffner contributed 7 points to the Eagle

win.For the Bombers Blake Thiel had a big

night on the inside. He put up 12 pointsagainst the Fayette defense. Tyler Frantom,

his junior cohort, added 6 points in the loss.

Hilltop Cadet JV Rally FallsJust Short Against Stryker(February 27th, 2015) – STRYKER: Dou-

bling up the Panthers' score in the fourthquarter wasn't enough to give the junior

varsity boys of Hilltop the victory on Friday,February 27.

The Stryker boys held off an anxious Ca-det squad 41-38.

With a strong offensive performance in

the rst quarter, the Panthers laid claimto an early 14-9 lead. Stryker remained in

control throughout the second period, put-ting up 8 points to Hilltop's 5. That allowed

the hometown boys of Stryker to carry a 22-14 advantage into the locker room.

As the third stanza kicked off, the Cadets

just couldn't get their offense started. They

managed just 6 points in that span, falling

further behind their hosts, who scored 10points. That gave the Panthers a 12 point

lead going into the fourth and nal frame. That's when the visitors from West

Unity elevated their game. Suddenly, theiroffense was a high octane when, and the

scoring came fast and furious. They put

up 18 points to close out the contest. YetStryker was able to score 9 points to nish

the game, just enough to hang on for the 3point win.

It was Stryker's Hunter Lilleholm wholed all scorers with 16 points. Hilltop fresh-

man Kristian Grapengeter was close behind

with 14 points in the loss.

CONTINUATION OF VARSITY BOY’S BASKETBALL ACTION

Edon Senior Night Disrupted By Fayette(February 27th, 2015) – EDON: With

Senior Night at hand, the Bomber boyswere looking to give their seniors a final

home game to remember. They were un-

able to realize that dream, however, asthe Eagles of Fayette came to town to

play the role of spoiler.Fayette bested their hosts from Edon,

67-33.

Scoring 15 points in the first quar-ter, the Eagle boys only allowed Edon 3

points in that same span. Fayette didn'tslow down their frenetic pace in the sec-

ond period, either. While giving up just6 points in the frame, the added another

19 to their own total. This gave the Ful-

ton County visitors a 34-9 advantage asthey jogged back to the locker room.

The Bombers came out firing in thethird stanza, racking up 12 points in

the comeback effort. Their defense wasunable to impede Fayette's momentum,

though, as the Eagles tacked on another

19 points to their collective score. With

just one period to go, Edon continued

to attack with their freshly rediscoveredoffense, making another 12 points be-

fore the final buzzer sounded. Fayette

would not be outdone, as they gatheredin 14 more points to close out the con-

test.Koby Biddix had a monumental eve-

ning for the Eagles from Fayette. The

senior scored 22 points against theBombers, powered by 6 triples. Tristan

Bates, a junior for the Eagles, put up 11points, using his 6'7” frame to dominate

the paint. Teammate Jared Seiler added10 points as well.

For the Bombers, a trio of threes

gave Braden Miller all 9 of his points. Jim Peckham hit a pair of three-point

shots on his way to 8 points. Strugglingto score from the field against the size

of Fayette, Landon Bloir had to do mostof his work from the free throw line. The

Edon junior went 6 for 9 from the char-

ity stripe, contributing 8 points in total.

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PHOTOS BY T.J. HUG, STAFF

OUT OF REACH ... Fayette senior Kamrin Hunter (32) leaps away from Floyd Young, asenior for the Bombers, as he puts up a layup from underneath the rim.

CHALLENGING THE INTERIOR ... Brayden Bauer (30), a sophomore guard for Edon,

normally accustomed to shooting from beyond the arc, ventures into the paint on adribble drive, challenging the much taller Jared Seiler (30) by jumping before the Eagle junior has a chance to take ight himself.

PHOTO BY T.J. HUG, STAFF

AMONGST A SEA OF DEFENDERS ... Garett Reinking (12), a junior for Fayette, puts upa jump shot, despite the fact that he is surrounded by Edon defenders.





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North Central Holds On ToDefeat Hilltop In Sectional Play

(February 24th, 2015) – PAULDING:

Despite a late run by the Lady Cadets, itwas the North Central girls who advanced

past the rst round of Sectionals. The contest was a very close one, with

the Lady Eagles taking down Hilltop 41-

40.North Central pulled ahead early

against their rival, outscoring Hilltop 14-4in the opening frame. The Cadets weren't

about to be outdone so easily however,as they made a similar run in the second

quarter, scoring 14 points to the Eagles' 6.

This led to a a close score at halftime, asNorth Central clung to a 20-18 advantage.

In the third period, the Lady Eagleswere able to expand their lead a bit. They

pulled ahead by 7 points, thanks to a 15-

10 effort. With just one stanza left to play,

North Central had to like their chancesof victory. Yet the Lady Cadets were feel-

ing pretty good as well. They nished thegame on a furious 12-6 run to try and take

the lead. As the nal buzzer sounded, they

were just 1 eld goal shy of doing so.Sabrina Pickford took charge of the

contest for North Central. The Lady Eaglesenior scored 18 points in the win, with

all 9 of her eld goals coming from insidethe arc. Sophomore Makayla Hayes added

7 points, while junior Cady VanDeVoorde

contributed 6 points from a pair of threes.It was Bailey Funkhouser who led the

Cadets with 10 points. Allie Schmitt andSydni Rivera each added 8 points in the

loss.

Freshmen Boys Basketball

Pettisville Freshmen Move PastHilltop In BBC Tournament

(February 16th, 2015) – WEST UNITY:Pettisville's defense proved to be a force in

their freshmen squad's victory over Hill-

top in the rst round of the Buckeye Bor-der Conference tournament.

The Blackbirds took the contest overthe Cadets 52-11.

In the rst quarter, the game wasclose. Each team struggled offensively,

leading to a 5-5 tie at the conclusion ofthe opening period. The Blackbirds would

nd their offense in the second frame,

however, while upping the ante defen-sively. They took the second stanza 14-2,

giving themselves a 19-7 lead going into

halftime. The boys from Fulton County pulled

away in the third quarter. The put up 20points, while again giving up just 2 to Hill-

top. To close out the contest, Pettisvillewent on a 13-2 run.

Noah Rocha led the Blackbirds with 14points. Teammate Dylan King was right

on his tail with 13 points.

Pettisville Freshmen BestFayette For BBC Title

(February 21st, 2015) – WEST UNITY: The Blackbird Freshmen did battle with

Fayette for the right to call themselvesBuckeye Border Conference champions.

Pettisville won the ght, defeating theEagles 41-30.

The rst quarter made all the difference,

as Pettisville was able to build a solid leadfrom the get go. Fayette found themselves

doubled up as the Blackbirds outscoredthem 16-8. The Eagles kept pace with Pet-

tisville throughout the remainder of thecontest, but they would not be able to re-

cover from that early decit.

In the second stanza, Fayette was ableto chip away at the Pettisville lead slightly,

thanks to a 12-11 effort. As they jogged to

the locker room, the Eagles were facing a 7point decit, as they were down 27-20.

Coming out in the second half, Fayettefound themselves in a similar position as

they were in during the second quarter. TheEagle boys stayed close to the Blackbirds,

but fell slightly further behind, 12-10. The

fourth and nal frame was a quiet one, withPettisville holding Fayette scoreless, only

putting up 2 points themselves to claim thevictory.

Noah Rocha led the Blackbird effort with11 points. Teammate Landon Roth totaled

8 points against the Eagles. Justin Rupp of-

fered up 7 points to the Pettisville cost.For Fayette, T. Wagner led all scorers

with 15 points.

THE HOMETOWN HUDDLE

CONTINUATION OF GIRL’S BASKETBALL ACTION

Stryker Lady Panthers Defeat Edon For Sectional Victory(February 25th, 2015) – PAULDING:

The girls of Stryker played spectacular de-fense against Edon in the opening round

of Division IV Sectional play, keeping theLady Bombers under 30 points, and their

lead scorer in single digits.

The Lady Panthers earned the hardfought win, 39-29.

Early on, Stryker developed a solid leadin the contest, never to look back. By the

end of the rst period of play, the Panthergirls held a 16-9 lead. That advantage

mostly stayed intact throughout the sec-

ond quarter. The Lady Panthers put up 6points, while Edon inched slightly closer

with 7. At the half, Stryker maintained a 6point lead over the Bombers, 22-16.

In the second half, Stryker was able togradually expand upon their advantage.

Outscoring the Edon girls 8-6, the third

period proved to be a good one of the Lady

Panthers. A similar performance in thefourth stanza saw the girls of Stryker n-

ish out the contest with a 9-7 effort. Notallowing the Lady Bombers back into the

game, the Panthers instead completed the

game with a 10 point lead. Taylor Haines had a huge night for

Stryker. The sophomore sensation totaled16 points in the rst round of the post sea-

son. Junior Audra Rupp was also a sizablepart of the Panther offense, contributing 7

points against the Edon interior defense.

Haley Doehrmann, a Lady Panther fresh-man, added 6 points in the victory as well.

Alex Kiess was held to just 9 pointsin the loss. Teammate Hannah Kaylor,

a sophomore, offered up 6 points to theEdon effort. Kaitlyn Sonneberger scored 5

points on the Bombers' behalf.

DON’T DELAY - GET YOURATHLETE PHOTOS ONLINE TODAY!

www.thevillagereporter.com

PHOTOS BY ANGI WALKUP, STAFF

GET ON THE FLOOR! ... Stryker junior Audra Rupp (24) and Edon sophomore ElizaZulch (12) battle for a loose ball as the former falls to the ground, and the latter dives

after her.

WHAT TO DO NEXT ... Alex Kiess (22) positions the ball over her head, placing it out ofthe reach of the duo of Stryker defenders closing in on her location, as the Lady Bombersenior reads the defense, looking for the proper place to distribute the basketball.


A TOUGH TRANSITION LAY-UP ... Bailey Funkhouser (20), a Hilltop junior, takes the

ball down court in transition, looking to negotiate her way around Aylssa Swant (2), aNorth Central sophomore who hustled to get back in time to disrupt the attempt.

NICE AND EASY ... Sabrina Pickford (5) concentrates as she nds herself all alone near

the basket. The Lady Eagle senior takes her time as she collects herself, and puts up asimple, unimpeded jump shot.



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Stryker Falls In Sectional Finals(February 28th, 2015) – PAULDING:

Ironically, Stryker's season ended at the

hands of the same team in which it be-gan.

After advancing to the Sectional Finals,

the Lady Panthers had to go through Hol-gate if they wished to make it to districts.

These two squads played to open up theirrespective seasons, with the Lady Tigers

defeating the Stryker girls 70-48. That 22 point margin of defeat would

come back to haunt Stryker, as they fellto Holgate 45-23.

The Panthers would struggle mightily

in the rst quarter, scoring just 3 pointsin that span. Holgate put up 12 points

in the period. In the second quarter, the

girls from Stryker would nd themselvesoutscored 10-6. Going into the half, the

Panthers faced a 22-9 decit.Stryker played solid defense in the

third stanza, holding the Tigers to 9

points. They just couldn't get their offensegoing, only mustering 6 points in that

same span. Down the stretch, Holgatewas able to close out the contest, thanks

to a 14-8 effort in the fourth quarter. Taylor Haines and Audra Rupp tied for

the role of lead scorer for the Lady Pan-thers. The former, a sophomore, and thelatter, a junior, each had 6 points in the

loss. Freshman teammate Haley Doeh-rmann contributed 5 points, while senior

Maddie Uribes added 4 points as well.

Fayette Lady Eagles LoseClose Game In Sectional Finals

(February 28th, 2015) – BRYAN: The

contest was a close one throughout. It wasone of those games that, unfortunately,

someone had to lose.It just so happened that Fayette was the

one who lost, with Wayne Trace defeating

the Lady Eagles 61-55.Both teams experienced an offensive

renaissance early in the game, as Fayettematched the 20 points scored by Wayne

Trace during the rst quarter. The LadyEagles fell a bit behind the Raiders' pace inthe second period, nding themselves on

the wrong side of a 13-8 run. This put themat a slight disadvantage at the half, 33-28.

The girls of Fayette would go on a runof their own in the third frame. Outscoring

Wayne Trace 14-7, they reclaimed the lead

going into the fourth quarter, 42-40. The -nal period was a back and forth affair, with

each squad wrestling for control of the con-test. In the end, it was Wayne Trace who led

when the nal buzzer sounded. That may

very well have not been the case had theirbeen another two minutes on the clock,

though. It was just that sort of game. Taylor Grifths was a monumental part

of the Fayette offense against the Lady Raid-ers. The junior member of the 1,000 pointsclub put up 25 points in the loss. Team-

mate and fellow third year player KaelaSeiler scored 14 points on the Wayne Trace

defense. Senior Page Keefer added 5 pointsin her last outing in a Fayette uniform.

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Fayette Ladies Hold Off LocomotiveOffense To Win Bryan Sectional

(February 25th, 2015): BRYAN – The

girl’s varsity teams of the Fayette Ea-gles and Montpelier Locomotives met on

Wednesday night for the Bryan Sectional Tournament. The showdown consisted of

a compelling show of talent and air from

the opposing conference teams.As the game commenced, the lady

Eagles dismissed any hesitancy and fero-ciously attacked Montpelier’s defense; Ju-

nior Hannah Machacek found a workingrhythm early on, shooting two three-point-

ers and a single two-point basket in therst quarter. Teammates Taylor Grifths,

Alexis Fruchey and Jessie Wheeler com-

piled 11 points together to assert a 19-8lead at the end of the rst. Fayette’s domi-

nance continued into the half, adding 13more points to the board to lead 32-15.

Despite the early assertion by the Ea-gles, the lady Locomotives were intent

on not going down without a ght. Ju-

nior Hannah Blake led the third quarterrally by the Locomotives; Blake scored 7

points, acing both of her free-throws. Mad-die Richmond also added two points at

the foul line, with Breanna Stein and Bay-lee Hageman adding one three-point and

two-point shot, respectively. Montpelier’s

14-point third quarter surged the teamonly 9 points behind Fayette, 29-38.

The last quarter of play would turn outto be crucial for both teams. While Mont-

pelier’s Blake continued to dominate offen-

sively, Fayette’s offense had no choice butto respond with haste. Totaling 12 points,

10 of which from free-throws, Fayette re-corded a nal score of 50 points. The lady

Locos fought hard to take down the Eaglesbut unfortunately came up short in the

battle, the nal score 50-41.Both the Eagles and the Locomotives

took to shooting often; Fayette averaging

30% on the oor versus Montpelier’s 21%.At the foul line, Montpelier just outshined

the Eagles, shooting 70% versus 68%. TheEagles fought hard to recover the ball de-

fensively, accumulating 27 defensive re-bounds while the Locomotives found suc-

cess in offensive rebounds with 13. With 35

total rebounds, Fayette’s Kelsey Frucheyand Taylor Grifths recovered an astonish-

ing combined 19 rebounds altogether.Fayette’s win advanced the team to play

Wayne Trace in the Sectional Final at Bry-an on February 28th.

PHOTO BY KENT HUTCHISON, STAFF

IT MIGHT BE, IT COULD BE ... All eyes focus on the basket as Haines (15) lets loose a

desparate heave as the buzzer sounds, looking for a make of miraculous proportions in

order to help the Lady Panther cause against the Tigers of Holgate.

HER ONE-THOUSANDTH POINT ... With this free throw, Taylor Grifths (11) becomesthe newest member of the 1,000 points club, helping propel her team to victory against

a determined Montpelier Lady Locomotives squad.

IT’S UP ... Finding a hole in the Lady Eagle defense, Blake (3) uses it to launch a wide

open jump shot, free of disruption and interference on the part of the Fayette girlscaught off guard by the attempt.


YOU’D MAKE A BETTER WALL THAN DOOR ... Fayette junior Kaela Seiler (5) attemptsto squeeze past Montpelier’s Hannah Blake (3), but the Loco junior refuses to allow it.


BRING IT DOWN! ... Kaela Seiler (5) leaps into the air with outstretched arms as shetries to beat a pair of Lady Raiders to a rebound.





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North Central Lady Eagles DropSectional Final Against Ayersville

(February 28th, 2015) – PAULDING:North Central battled hard to earn their

way into the Sectional Finals, and a match-

up with Ayersville was their reward. The Lady Eagles weren't able to rep-

licate the performance that carried thempast Hilltop in the opening round of post-

season play, falling to the Pilots 68-24. The girls of Pioneer began trailing the

Lady Pilots early in the contest. By the

rst quarter's conclusion, they were down15-5. The second period went similarly, as

the Lady Eagles were out scored 17-6. Thisput them down 32-11 going into the locker

room. The second half was also difcult for

the North Central girls. With their best of-

fensive output of the game, they put up 11points in the third frame. Yet they couldn't

slow down the Pilot attack, as Ayersville

racked up 16 more points. In the fourthquarter, North Central was out scored 20-

2.

Turnovers are what really killed NorthCentral's chances of victory. They turned

the ball over a stunning 35 times againstthe pressure of the Lady Pilots. Compared

to the 10 possession-costing mistakesmade by Ayersville, the Lady Eagles hand-

ed their opponent an additional 25 posses-

sions. It's very difcult to win with such adisadvantage.

Alyssa Swank, a sophomore, served aslead scorer for the Eagles, offering up 10

points to the North Central effort. SeniorRachel Oxender contributed 8 points in

the loss. Another senior, Sabrina Pickford,

managed 4 points, while Mikayla Hayes,another second year player, put up 2

points.

Defense Leads Pettisville To Districts(February 28th, 2015) – BRYAN: De-

fense has been the name of the game forPettisville throughout their historic sea-

son, which saw the Blackbird girls set anew record for the best win-loss mark in

school history. They decided to carry this

philosophy with them into the post-sea-son as well.

Pettisville bested Antwerp in the Sec-tional Finals 41-13 to advance to Dis-

tricts. The Lady Archers were unable to pro-

duce a single point in the rst quarter

due to the intensity of the Lady Blackbirddefense. Pettisville would not be able to

keep their Green Meadows Conference op-ponent off the board in the second period,

however, as Antwerp actually outscored

the Blackbirds 7-5 in the quarter. Still,the girls from Pettisville held on to a 14-7

lead as they jogged to the locker room.It was the third frame that put this

contest out of contention. The Blackbirds

dominated the period on both ends ofthe oor, scoring 19 points while hold-ing the Lady Archers to just 4. After that,

the fourth quarter was little more than aformality, with Pettisville expanding their

lead thanks to an 8-2 effort. This secured

the 28 point victory for the Buckeye Bor-der Conference champions.

Pettisville Coach Jason Waldvogel sin-gled out the efforts of Jordyn Pursel, Andi

Aechliman, and Alexa Leppelmeier on thedefensive end of the court as vital to the

Pettisville victory effort. The trio prevented

Antwerp scorer Peyton Short from gettingher usual number of touches in the game.

Mikala Avina was the contest's highscorer. The scrappy senior guard connect-

ed on a trio of threes to propel her total

to 17 points. Classmate Dana Fricke wasclose behind, controlling the paint to earn

14 points. Pursel, also in her last year, didsome work offensively as well, scoring 6

points in the win.

Wauseon Indians Take Down

Celina, Advance To Districts(February 28th, 2015) – SPENCER-

VILLE: Maddie Richer stepped up in a

big way in the Lady Indians victory in theSectional Finals against Celina. The se-

nior girl knocked down 5 threes on her

way to 19 points as for Wauseon. The Lady Indians defeated the Bull-

dogs 64-52. Things were tight in the game's open-

ing quarter. Mid-way through the peri-od, the two squads were knotted up at 6

points apiece. Yet Wauseon closed out the

frame on a 5-0 run to take an 11-6 lead. They would never trail from that point

on.In the second period, the Wauseon

girls increased their defensive efforts. They held their counterparts from Celina

to just 3 points in that span, giving them-

selves ample room to expand their advan-tage. The Indians did just that, exploding

offensively with 17 points. This gave thema cushion of 14 points going into the half,

28-14.

Wauseon didn't slow things down in

the second half. In fact, they picked upright where they left off in the third quar-

ter, tacking on 16 more points to their to-tal. Celina tried to keep pace, managing

12 points of their own, which kept them

from falling behind by 20 points.With an 18 point lead heading into

the nal stanza, the Lady Indians lookedas though they would cruise to victory.

The Bulldogs had one last run in them,however. Celina cut into the Wauseon ad-

vantage early in the fourth quarter, cut-

ting their decit down to 10 points. Thatwould be as close as they'd get, though,

as the Indian girls held on for a 12 pointwin to advance to Districts.

Aside from Richer's incredible eveningshooting the ball, Natalie Koenig stood

out with her performance. Playing great

defense and scoring in transition, as wellas driving the ball hard to the rim and

connecting on a three-point attempt, thesenior standout put up 13 points in the

win. A third senior, Sariah Yackee, offered

up 9 points to the Wauseon effort as well.



ON THE MOVE ... Sariah Yackee, a senior guard for the Lady Indians, takes advantageof the space offered to her by the Celina defense, making a hard push toward the basket.

CUTTING DOWN THE NETS ... Maddie Richer takes her strand of net from the Spencer-

ville court after Wauseon took down Celina in the Sectional nals on Saturday, Febru-ary 28. Richer played a major role in the Lady Indian victory, scoring 19 points in the

win.

PHOTOS BY KENT HUTCHISON, STAFF

RIGHT BY YOU ... Sabrina Pickford (5) completely leaves her defender in a trail of dust

as the North Central senior leader moves rapidly for the basket.

A QUICK SHOT ... Mikayla Hayes (10) rushes to get her eld goal attempt off before thepair of Ayersville girls charging her can get in close enough to disrupt her jump shot.

PHOTO BY TIMOTHY KAYS, STAFF

AND ONE ... Pettisville senior Mikala Avina (12) goes up for a layup as the Antwerp de-

fender attempting to guard her steps in front of the Blackbird girl for the foul.





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High School Bowling ActionTHE HOMETOWN HUDDLE

Kearney Has Solid ShowingIn Districts For Wauseon

(February 27th, 2015) – ROSSFORD: In-

terstate Lanes played host to the Division IIBowling Districts on Friday, February 27.While neither the boys or girls Wauseon

Bowling team's made it past sectionals, Indi-an bowler Nic Kearney qualied for the event

as an individual.

In a solid showing at a massively competi-

tive level, Kearney climbed his way to twenty-seventh place. In his rst game, he bowledan impressive 233. Game two saw Kearney

knock down 181 pins. During his third andnal game of the evening, Kearney scored a

150. That gave him a total score of 564.

Wauseon Indian Boys Finish Sixth In Sectional Play

(February 21st, 2015) – NAPOLEON:

The Indian boys performed admirably in

the Sectional match set in their home alleyof River City Bowl-A-Way lanes.

The Wauseon squad took home sixth

place against a wide eld.

Nic Kearney led his Indians with a 578score, with a high of 214 in game two. Pey-

ten Shadbolt also had a great afternoon,using a 200 in game one to propel his total

score to 546. Noah Stickley added a 528as well.

Going into the Baker Games, Wauseon

had a colletive score of 2603.

Powered by a 245 in game three, a 221

in game ve, and a 220 in game two, theIndians had a strong showing in the teamoriented style of bowling. With a 163 in

game one, a 175 in game four, and a 161

in game six, the Indian boys totaled an1185 in the Baker Games.

That gave Wauseon a total score of3788. While that wasn't quite enough to

qualify them for Districts as a unit, Kear-ney did earn the right to advance as an in-

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Yoder had a strong week, even though

his squad split their two games in thatspan. In the loss to Wauseon, the Black-

bird boy scored 7 points in a solid show-

ing against a great defense. At NorthCentral, he totaled 17 points, helping tospoil the Eagles’ senior night.

MADDIE RICHER

WAUSEON HIGH SCHOOL

STUART YODER

PETTISVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

It wasn’t just the 19 points she scored

that made Richer so vital to the Lady

Indians against Celina in the Sectional

Finals; it was how she scored them.

Whenever Wauseon needed points, thesenior was there to knock down a three.

High School Swimming ActionTHE HOMETOWN HUDDLE

Wauseon Indian Girls PerformAdmirably Strong At State

(February 25th, 27th, and 28th, 2015)

– CANTON: Six Lady Indians made the tripto Canton, determined to show what they

could do at the State Swim and Dive meet.

Divers Patience Bachman and JordanSloan were rst, competing on Wednes-day, February 25. Bachman nished in

eighteenth place in the event. Sloan was

right behind her, taking nineteenth placeoverall.

The relay team of Alexys Carteaux,Alexis Meyer, Kasey Darnell, and Sydney

Darnell competed in the 200 meter free-style relay over the weekend. The team had

a strong time of 1:42.11. That earned them

nineteenth place against the elite eld.

Sydney also competed in the 200 me-

ter IM. She took home nineteenth placein the race, swimming a 2:11.61. Kasey

was involved in individual races as well.

She nished in twenty-second place in the200 meter freestyle, with a time of 1:59.92. That wasn't her only event, though, as she

also took part in the 500 meter freestyle

race. Thanks to her time of 5:13.12, Kaseywas able to complete the race in fteenth

place. That nish earned her All-Ohio hon-ors.

The Lady Indians excelled against verystrong competition. Each girl swam their

best time of the season when they needed

to step up the most.

200 FREE RELAY TEAM ... Pictured above is the Wauseon High School 200 Free Relay

team (left to right: Alexis Meyer (So), Alexys Carteaux (So), Sydney Darnell (Fr), and

Kasey Darnell (Jr) They placed 19th with a time of 1:42.11. Sydney Darnell also com-peted in the 200 M, placing 19th with a time 2:11.61. Kasey Darnell (Jr) also competed

in the 500 Free, placing 16th with a time of 5:11.36 and the 200 Free, placing 22nd witha time of 1:59.92 This is Kasey’s third year at the State Championships.

PHOTOS PROVIDED

ABOUT TO TAKE THE PLUNGE ... Patience Bachman focuses with outstretched armsas she prepares to embark upon a challenging dive while competing at the State Swim-

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Assorted Sports ActionTHE HOMETOWN HUDDLE

PHOTO BY LUCINDA HELD-FAULHABER, STAFF

SUCCESSFUL BID … Following an auction conducted by Shane Sumner and crew dur-

ing Senior Recognition Night, Edon Athletic Boosters President Tina Parrish (left) hap-pily presented Tammy Chrisman the treasured varsity girls’ autographed basketball.

With a successful bid of four hundred dollars, the Chrisman family won the keepsakeas a gift for their number one Edon Blue Bomber basketball player, senior Kaitlin Chris-

man. Proceeds from the auction will benet future Edon Athletic Boosters projects.

Edon Athletic Boosters AuctionOff Varsity Girls Autographed

Basketball In Annual Fundraiser

Fayette Hosts “Mini-Eagle”Basketball Tournament

The Deance College Men’s Basketball

team captured the HCAC title in a con-vincing fashion as they dominated over

Bluffton in the teams’ March 1 match-up.Wauseon’s Wade Wooley helped the Yellow

Jacket charge, adding 10 points to the De-

ance College total that earned the teamtheir 78-55 victory. As excited as he was

about the victory, however, Wade was evenmore excited to celebrate the success with

his younger brother, Thane, who assistedwith cutting down the nets as part of the

celebration. Thane was diagnosed with

stage four neuroblastoma shortly after his

fourth birthday and has continued to bean inspiration to all in his battle against

the childhood cancer. Thane’s treatmentshave included multiple rounds of aggres-

sive chemotherapy, surgery to remove the

abdominal tumor, and multiple rounds ofradiation therapy. Thane, with the support

of his family, has continued to battle on. The family has never given up hope and

Wade and Thane have grown especiallyclose, sharing not only the battles – but

also the wins.

Wauseon’s Thane Wooley Helps Brother Wade Celebrate Big Win

PHOTO PROVIDED

VICTORY CELEBRATION ... Thane Wooley helps cut down the net after his big brotherWade and the Deance College Men’s Basketball Team won the HCAC title.


GETTING BY THE DEFENSE ... This Fayette fourth grader had little trouble maneuver-

ing around the Liberty Center defense to earn himself 2 points.

SAVE IT! ... A young Hilltop player goes all out to save the basketball from going out

of bounds, already acting upon an instinct which every coach wishes to instill in theirplayers; value every possession.

KEEP THE BALL SAFE ... This Pettisville boy uses the triple threat position to prevent

an Evergreen defender from simply ripping the ball from his young and inexperiencedhands.



CONGRATULATIONS & GOOD LUCK

WAUSEON Girls’ Basketball




DISTRICT QUALIFIERS ... Front Row: DesaRae Hadley, Halen Mealer, Morgan Bzovi, Maddie Richer, Sally Frank, Rylee Campbell, and Karli Penrod. Back Row: Coach Mike

Marshall, Anna Marshall, Sariah Yackee, Natalie Koenig, Jana Armstrong, Brianna Coblentz, Kallie Stauss, Head Coach Ashley Oyer, Coach Nofziger.


WAUSEON Wrestlers

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Continental Plaza

1265 N. Shoop Ave. Wauseon

Best of Luck Indians

Tre Campbell - Sectional Champion Sandro Ramirez - Sectional Champion Wade Hodges - Sectional Champion

Mauricio Barajas - 3rd Tony Banister - 4th Andrew Bailey - 4th Derek Schuette - Alternate

Hunter Yackee - 2nd

GOOD LUCK INDIANS!




Pettisville Girl’s Basketball



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Coronado. Back Row: JV Coach Brian Leppelmeier, Jaelyn Rufenacht, Kate Kauffman, Rebekah Steele, Nicole Foor, Amber Sauder, Dana Fricke, Jordyn

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Congratulations

Taylor!Fayette Athletic Boosters

124 W. Main St. Fayette, OH 43521

(419) 237-2501

Fayette Medical Center

Jennifer Schweitzer-Ahmed, M.D.

1000 Points!

Congratulations Taylor!Love,

Dad, Mom & Hunter

By: Timothy Kays

THE VILLAGE REPORTER

When it comes to hoops, it’s all aboutwhat you can bring. The more you bring,and the more ash with which you bringit, the more name recognition you get. Weall remember the names and the moni-kers. Names like Doctor J. Bird. Magic.Kareem. The Stilt. Jordan. The Mailman.

The Dream. The Glide. Now we nd our-

selves in the second generation beyondthose ‘old-timers’, but still it’s all aboutthe ash element. Today we have Melo,

Kobe, Flash, and of course, King James.I mean, c’mon…who doesn’t want to playlike Lebron?

Then there’s that guy who excels infree throws. He’s…uhh, wait a minute.

What was his name again?Oh yeah…nobody excels at ‘measly’

free throws anymore. They’re only goodfor a single point. Who cares about that?ESPN only features slam dunks andthrees from another zip code. Why botherpracticing free throws?

Don’t ask that question to Taylor

Grifths of the Fayette Lady Eagles. Those same Lady Eagles took on the

Montpelier Lady Locos in the rst round ofthe D-IV Sectional Tournament on Febru-ary 25. With 3:05 left in the game, Taylorwas fouled going up for a shot, giving her

an and-one opportunity. It was just a freethrow…just one point. That free throwwas more than just one point though. It

was much-needed insurance against aLady Locos team that was giving the LadyEagles all that they could handle. It wasalso a watermark for Taylor, and every-body in attendance.

That free throw was point number1,000 in the career of Taylor Grifths.Once the ball went through, everyone in

attendance was witnessing somethingvery special. On the oor was not justone, but two 1,000-point scorers…Tay-lor, and Hannah Blake of Montpelier. Tomake it even more special, both players

are juniors. Doing in three years what

most never come close to doing in four isa sign of excellence in work ethics. Tay-

lor Grifths is all about that, and has the

hardware to back it up.On the afternoon of March 10, 2011,

I had a photo assignment at the Fayette

School. It was then that I met an eighthgrader named Taylor Grifths. She was

sitting on the stage in the cafetorium,wearing a medallion, and surrounded by

plaques and trophies. Seemed as though

Taylor had been dedicating herself tothe practice of accurately shooting those

measly free throws. She entered the Na-poleon Elks Lodge #929 free throw shoot-ing contest in the 12 to 13-year-old girls’

division. She won there, then moved on to

the Districts where she earned the right toadvance to the State Finals. On February

19, 2011, Taylor Grifths calmly threw

down 24 of 25 of those measly free throwsto become the champion of the State of

Ohio, taking home the prestigious James

Baylor State Presidential Award, as wellas the championship trophy. So much for

free throws being ‘measly’.

The free throws turned out to be justa starting point. By the time that she had

nished her freshman year, she had add-

ed a three-ball to the arsenal, and had be-come an effective ball handler. Two years

later, here she is at the millennium mark,

and it all started from the forgotten fun-damental…the free throw.

The daughter of John and Krys

Grifths, and the brother of Hunter, Taylor has not forgotten her free throw-

ing roots. “It helped,” she said. “In that

gym, it was complete silence. Everybodywas watching you.” She learned to handle

pressure at an early age, but even then, of

that one history-making free throw, shesaid, “That was worse!” Why? “I knew that

I only needed one point.” With the experi-

ence she has backing her though, it was just another nothing-but-net moment in

her career.What does 1,000 points mean to her?

“Not very many people get to say that

they’ve gotten that many. I’m lucky to

have the team that I have to have helped

me get there.” Of her Lady Eagle team-mates, she said, “They’re basically all my

sisters. They’re all going to be there for

me when I need them, and like I said, Iwouldn’t have been able to do what I have

done without them.”

When asked who her hero is, Taylorwas quick to answer. “Denitely my dad,”

she said, adding, “He got me started in

basketball, and he has helped me get towhere I am, and how I am playing today.”

Despite not even being through her junior year yet, Taylor has eyes on herfuture, and is drawing a focus on what

she wants to do with that future. She

said, “I denitely want to go on to collegeand play,” although she is not sure as

to where. Insofar as her career ambition

goes, she would like to enter the veteri-nary eld.

With success at this level, popularity is

a natural by-product. College scouts aregoing to have the name Taylor Grifths

at or near the top of their shopping listsnext year, and that’s something she says

that she is prepared to deal with. “I want

to play at the next level,” she said, butas she looked out to the gymnasium oor

where her teammates were beginning to

practice, her countenance changed some-

what. “I’m going to miss it,” she said con-templatively. “I’m going to miss playing

with my team. I’ve been playing with themsince third grade.”

Team legacies and lifelong bonds are

built this way. Every second…every min-ute spent together builds upon an already

rock-solid foundation that time itself can-

not erode. Likewise, time will never erodeor erase the accomplishments of Taylor

Grifths in the annals of Fayette High

School. Her Lady Eagle legacy is assured,and continually growing… free throw by

free throw.

Timothy Kays can be reached [email protected]

Taylor Griffiths’ Investment In Fundamentals Pays Dividends




8TH GRADE BOYS BASKETBALL ... Pictured above are (front row, left to right): Austin

Horning, Caleb Keim, Payton Moyer, Wyatt Cerda, Sam Rychener, William Fenton, andElias Rash. Back row: Caleb Nolander, Logan Rufenacht, Detric Yoder, Coach Michael

Schrock, Eli Grieser, Brodie Miller, and Josh Graber.

Junior High Winter Sports TeamsTHE HOMETOWN HUDDLE

Pettisville 8th Grade Boys Basketball


STRYKER SEVENTH GRADE BOYS BASKETBALL ... Max Wonders, Carter Zimmer-man, Noah Huffman, Coach Blake Ruffer, Sean Shindledecker, Emanual Villaneuva,

and Izaiah Sanchez.

STRYKER EIGHTH GRADE BOYS BASKETBALL ... Front - Luke Holsopple, Tristinsampson, Logan Boetz, Alex Grice, and Izayuh Littin. Back - Reece Hall, Thomas Bost,

Izayah Ferguson, Coach John Ruffer, Chase Glock, Jeffrey Neville, and Daniel Fether.

Stryker 7th & 8th GradeBoys Basketball Teams


JUNIOR HIGH ... Front Row - Alison Lamontagne and Ashtyn Wiyrick. Middle Row - Al-lison Altaffer, Lydia Grime, and Katelynn Moor. Back Row - Bailey Ward, Alexis Mavi-

hugh, and Brooke Ward.

Montpelier Junior High Cheerleaders

ORDER THESE PHOTOS & VIEW UNPUBLISHED PHOTOS FOR

FREE BY VISITING WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM


FAYETTE JUNIOR HIGH GIRLS BASKETBALL ... Front - Jillian Figgans, Zoee Keiser,Mataya Rufenacht, Dakota Blosser, Addisyn Bentley. Back - Coach Geoff Gilmore, McK-

enna Shade, Rhys Ruger, Kendra Ellis, Coach Sarah Weiland.

Fayette Junior High Girls Basketball


STRYKER SEVENTH GRADE GIRLS BASKETBALL ... Front - Managers Jessie Currierand Emmalee Fulk. Kneeling - Shauna Miehls, Abby Grice, Emilyanne Cox. Standing -

Kalista Blevins, Courtney Stewart, Courtney Deitz, Coach Nikki DeGroff, Eryn Currier,Sophia Rockey, Emily Banks.

STRYKER EIGHTH GRADE GIRLS BASKETBALL ... Front - Managers Kassandra Stuck-ey, Jessie Currier, Emmalee Fulk. Back - Emma Grime, Breanna Doriot, Katelyn Tin-

gley, Coach Joe Grieser, Anna Stuckey, Erica Breier, Brittney Haines.

Stryker 7th & 8th GradeGirls Basketball Teams


JUNIOR HIGH WRESTLING ... Ashton Varney, Mason Foote, Tre Hutchinson, and

Brayden Custer.

Montpelier Junior High Wrestling

Documents

The Hometown Huddle - March 4th, 2015.pdf