the hometown huddle - february 11th, 2015.pdf

8/9/2019 The Hometown Huddle - February 11th, 2015.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-hometown-huddle-february-11th-2015pdf 1/16



2 - “The Hometown Huddle” - Edon, Montpelier, North Central, Hilltop, Stryker, Fayette, Pettisville & Wauseon Sports Action Wednesday, February 11th, 2015

Varsity Boys Basketball ActionTHE HOMETOWN HUDDLE

24-Hour Truck

Repair & Road Service

[email protected]

ROLLIN BRITSCH

Vice-President

247 N. Brunell St.P.O. Box 391Wauseon, Ohio 43567

(419) 335-8871

1-800-466-1628Cell: (419) 466-3577Email: [email protected]

BRITSCH, INC NORTHWEST RECYCLINGBUYERS OF SCRAP METALS

Check Out Our Prices Before You Sell!

Roll-Off Container Service

419-636-5215 • BRYAN, OH12475 County Road H

www.northwestrecycling.com

OPEN: Mon - Fri 8 am - 4 pm, Sat 8 am - 12 pm

DON’T DELAY - GET YOURATHLETE PHOTOS ONLINE TODAY!

www.thevillagereporter.com

COACHES: PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR JUNIOR HIGH - VARSITY RESULTS SO WE CAN HONOR YOUR ATHLETES: EMAIL: [email protected]

Fayette Falls While Facing Delta(February 3rd, 2015) – DELTA: The

Eagles looked to be on top of things atthe end of the rst quarter of their road

game against the Panthers of Delta. Theyhad a 1 point lead, 6'7” junior Tristan

Bates had gotten things going early, andthe condence level of the team from the

Buckeye Border Conference couldn't have

been much higher as they stood on thehome court of North Western Ohio Athletic

League power Delta. With a start like that,Fayette had every reason to believe they

were in control of the contest. Then the second quarter happened.

Suddenly the Eagle boys were trailing

by double digits, and the Panthers neverlooked back, as Fayette lost 64-50. The

loss was a stunning one for a team that,on any given night, can go toe to toe with

almost any other squad in the area, hav-ing proved that point when they shocked

a then undefeated Hicksville unit a couple

weeks back. The rst quarter was a solid one for the

Eagles. Bates provided 6 points from the

paint, Koby Biddix, a senior for Fayette,opened the game with 5 points, and an-

other senior, Skylar Lantz scored a couple

of baskets in an effort that gave the vis-

iting Eagles a 15-14 lead. The Panthersweren't about to just take such a challenge

on their home court without a response,however. With 5 three-point makes, Delta

pulled ahead to a commanding 35-21 ad-vantage as the two squads jogged to their

respective locker rooms.

After scoring just 6 points in the sec-ond quarter, Fayette followed that perfor-

mance up with another 6 points in thethird. Meanwhile, Delta tacked another

14 points on to their total, giving them a22 point lead heading into the fourth and

nal quarter, 49-27. In a furious and des-

perate scramble, the Eagles rambled off 23points, including threes form Alec Bost,

Garett Reinking, and Biddix. While thePanthers only managed 15 points in that

same span, the point differential wasn'tenough to allow Fayette to come back, as

they lost by a 14 point margin.

Biddix led the Fayette scoring effort,producing 15 points on his own. Lantz

added 10 points to the Eagle cause, while

Bates put up 8 points as well. Jared Seilercame on strong in the fourth quarter, bal-

looning his points total to 7 in the loss.

Wauseon Indians Tame The Panthers In Overtime At Delta

(January 30th, 2015) – DELTA: Ten-sions were high on Friday night as the

Wauseon Indians traveled east on 20A toplay the Delta Panthers. Both teams en-gaged in a tug-of-war, ensuring for an ex-

travagant performance that would requiremore than four quarters to transpire.

In what could only be described as avolley between the teams’ offenses, both

Wauseon and Delta took off without look-

ing back; the Panthers shooting widewhile the Indians driving in towards the

basket. The back-and-forth action wasmost prevalent during the last ve min-

utes of the rst half – leaving the crowdanxious and on its feet by halftime with

Delta up by one point, 20-19.

Act II of the night would reveal the truestrengths and weaknesses in both teams.

As Wauseon began to commandeer alead in the third quarter, leading 60-52,

the Panthers would rally to leap over the

Indians with 1:30 left to go in the game.Senior Zach Johnson would tie the game

at 68, resulting in a showdown in over-time. The Indian boys would exert smart,

powerful offense and score 9 more pointsto cage the Panthers and take the victory77-73.

Both teams would demonstrate top-quality offense and defense throughout

the match; however, Wauseon would sur-pass the Panthers in combined rebounds,

steals, blocks, and turnovers. The Indians

shot 57% from inside the 3-point line,25% from the outside, and a steady 56%

from the free-throw line.Senior Noah Castle led the Indians in

scoring with 22 points, with teammates Jacob Newlove and Zach Johnson close

behind contributing 21 and 18 points,

respectively. Castle had a remarkableperformance resulting in a triple-double,

consisting of 22 points, 10 rebounds, and10 blocked shots.

The Indian boys improved their overall

record to 11-2 and 3-1 in the NWOAL, ty-ing Archbold for second in the league.

CRAFTY MANEUVERING ... Wauseon senior Jacob Newlove (32) weaves his way be-

tween a pair of Delta boys as the Panther defenders futilely attempt to get between himand the basket.

PHOTOS BY JAKE WEBER, STAFF

ALL TRIPPED UP ... Noah Castle (22), a senior for the Indians, trips over the foot of a

Delta defender on his way to the basket. As he falls, Castle is sure to protect the ball inthe hopes that his team will maintain possession of it.

PHOTOS BY T.J. HUG, STAFF

STAYING IN FRONT OF HIM ... Fayette’s Alec Bost (2) keeps his feet about him as herefuses to allow the Panther ball handler to dribble past him.

TOO MUCH SPACE ... Garett Reinking (10) takes a shot from long range after realizing

his defender was giving him the proper space to do so. Only too late does the Panthersee the error of his ways, as he attempts to disrupt the shot just as it is about to leave

Reinking’s hands.

Artesian of Pioneer

50 Industrial Ave • Pioneer, OHAOPWATER.COM

BEST OF LUCK

TO All Area

Athletes



Wednesday, February 11th, 2015 “The Hometown Huddle” - Edon, Montpelier, North Central, Hilltop, Stryker, Fayette, Pettisville & Wauseon Sports Action - 3


ORDER THESE PHOTOS & VIEW UNPUBLISHED PHOTOS FOR

FREE BY VISITING WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM

CONTINUATION OF VARSITY BOY’S BASKETBALL ACTION

Insurance Since 1923

1115 N. Shoope Ave., Ste. 5

Wauseon, OH 43567

419-337-5051Mon.-Fri. 9:30 am - 6:00 pm

Saturday 9:30 am - 2:00 pm

419-636-5661East Side of the Square

Downtown Bryan

Stryker Panthers Dominate Edon Bombers In Home Win

(February 6th, 2015) – STRYKER: The

Panthers allowed Edon into their den on

February 6, and they had no intention ofletting them leave with a victory.

Stryker defeated the Bombers 55-29on that night.

The Panther defense was stifl ingthroughout the evening, but was at its

strongest in the first period. Edon was

held to just 3 points in the opening

quarter, while Stryker managed to pro-duce 10 points in that span. The secondquarter saw the hometown boys make a

sizable expansion upon that lead, out-scoring the Bomber boys 18-4. This put

the score at 28-7 at the half.

Edon put up 6 more points in thethird period. Stryker, on the other hand,

added another 17 points to their collec-

tive score. The fourth quarter saw the

Bombers have their most explosive of-fensive output in the game, making 16

points throughout the final period ofplay. The Panthers tacked on 10 more

points to their total to finish out thecontest.

Hayden Clingaman, a sophomore, led

all scorers with 14 points. Senior Parker

Ruffer added 12 points to the Panthereffort. Chad Ruffer put up 7 points inthe win as well.

Alex Kirkingburg gave the Bombers 8points in the loss. Teammate and fellow

senior Floyd Young made 7 points, in-

cluding a three-pointer. Jim Peckham, aBomber junior, scored 4 points.

Edon Overpowered By Ayersville(February 3rd, 2015) – EDON: As Green

Meadows Conference power Ayersvillemade its way to Edon, the Pilots looked to

continue their reign of terror over Buck-eye Border Conference teams this season.

There was little the Bombers could do tostop their guests from doing just that, as

Edon had great difculty in dealing with

the Ayersville attack on both ends of the

oor.What resulted was a devastating loss,

as the Bombers fell to the Pilots 78-26.

It was the Pilot Press that spelled doomfor the hometown boys of Edon. As they

have to many other teams, Ayersville

forced turnover after turnover, leadingto easy baskets in transition. In all, the

Bombers turned the ball over 34 times. They couldn't make amends with their own

defensive effort, as the Bombers created just 13 turnovers on the evening.

Unable to set into their offense due to

the immense pressure put forth by theAyersville defense, Edon simply could not

muster any offense. They produced just 3points in the rst period, compared to the

Pilot's 24. Things got a little better for the

Bombers offensively in the second quar-

ter. Putting up 9 points in the period, they

were able to quadruple their scoring out-put and head into the locker room with

12 total points. However, the Ayersville of-fense picked up steam, giving the Pilots 49

points at the half. The third quarter saw a return to rst

period woes for the Bomber boys. They

were again held to a mere 3 points, while

the Pilots raised their collective score to 69point. Edon would go on to add another 11points in the nal period. Ayersville added

another 9 points to their total.Perimeter defense was a huge prob-

lem for the Bombers in this game. Ayers-

ville's guards managed to knock down anastounding 10 three-point shots. By con-

trast, Edon only connected on a singlethree, made by Jim Peckham.

One of the few bright spots for theBombers was Landon Bloir. Despite giving

up some height to the Pilot inside players

guarding him, the Edon junior was stillable to earn 13 points, half of his team's -

nal score. Bomber senior Alex Kirkingburgmade 4 points in the loss, while Peckham's

triple supplied the junior with his only 3

points of the game.

PHOTOS BY LUCINDA HELD-FAULHABER, STAFF

GETTING BY THE DEFENSE ... Landon Bloir (20) uses his savvy and athleticism to get

past a stingy Ayersville defense and score 2 points for the Bombers.

A TOUGH SHOT ... With a pair of Pilot defenders in his face, Alex Kirkingburg (12) putsup a difcult one-handed shot, having to elevate in order to prevent the ball from being

knocked away.

AN AGGRESSIVE ASSAULT AGAINST THE BASKET ... Edon’s Braden Miller (10) drives

hard on the baseline, getting past his man and rising to make an easy layup late in thegame for the Bomber boys.


WHAT DEFENDER? ... Stryker senior Brannan Woolace (12) pays no heed to Edon’s Coy

Dunkle (22) as he sinks a layup that he makes look routine.





CHRYSLER - DODGE - JEEP - RAM

306 W. Main Street

Montpelier, OH 43543

419-485-4257

Dr. Roger L. Saneholtz

Dr. Jason R. Kunsman

CORNERSTONE

INTERIORS

F L O O R I N G O U T L E T

1000 South State St.Pioneer, Ohio 43554

419-737-9500

877-694-9500

M-F: 9:00 - 6:00, SAT: 9:00 - 3:00

Archbold • 419-445-6846

Wauseon • 419-335-9507

Insurance, Real Estate & Auctions

Vi

sit u

s at w

w

w.s

ho

rt

a

ge

ncy.com




Hilltop Cadets Pull Off Mild Upset, Defeat Pettisville

(February 6th, 2015) – WEST UNITY:

An immense fourth quarter performanceallowed Hilltop to shock Pettisville, and

clean up the Buckeye Border Conferencestandings, incidentally.

The Cadets defeated their visitors fromPettisville 58-51 on Friday, February 6.

Establishing control of the contest

early, the Blackbirds got off to an early

12-6 advantage. Hilltop was able to closethat gap a bit in the second quarter witha 12-9 scoring effort. However, this was

not enough to overtake their guests fromFulton County, and Hilltop jogged to the

locker room behind 21-18.

Pettisville refused to let them make upany more ground in the third quarter. In

fact, they put more separation betweenthemselves and the Cadets thanks to a

15-11 scoring margin during the period.Down by 7 heading into the fourth pe-

riod, Hilltop knew they had to put a run

together if they had any hope of winningthis game.

And that's what they did. And thensome.

Hilltop played a fast and furious last

stanza, doubling their scoring output fromthe previous three quarters combined. Not

even a solid 15 point period from Pettis-ville could deny the Cadets their victory.

The Hilltop boys put up 29 points to endthe game, giving themselves a 7 point win.

Cadet sophomore Tim Maneval was

pivotal to the offensive success of Hilltop,

scoring 14 points off of three-pointers.Kelby Grime, a senior for Hilltop, knockeddown a pair of threes himself, as he put

up 13 points. His classmate, Jalen Towershad a 10 point evening, doing most of his

damage from the interior of the Pettisville

defense. Josh Liechty led all scorers with 16

points, including a couple of triples. GabeBeck, a Blackbird sophomore, hit a three

as well, helping him to reach 11 points inthe contest. Eli King added 10 points in

the loss.

The loss to Hilltop puts Pettisville be-hind Stryker, who now controls their

own destiny in terms of winning a leaguechampionship.

Fayette Eagles Secure RoadWin At North Central

(February 6th, 2015) – PIONEER: KobyBiddix hit 4 threes on Fayette's way to a

57-33 victory at North Central. The senior wasn't the only Fayette

boy to knock down a triple, as Alec Bost,

Tharyn Colegrove, and Joel Smith could

make that claim as well. Of course, NorthCentral held their own in the three-pointshooting affair as well. Senior Josh Swayer

made 3 of his three-point attempts. Hisclassmate, Jordan Reeves connected on

another pair of threes as well. Ethan Dou-

glass and Steven Williams each added athree-pointer also.

With all of this long distance shootingtaking place, it's a bit surprising that the

contest start off in a low scoring manner.

Fayette came out of the opening quarterwith a 12-11 lead. Upping their intensity

on both ends of the oor, the Eagles from

Fulton County were able to pull away to a32-17 advantage at the half.

Coming out of the locker room, Fayettepicked up where they left off before the

half. Adding another 14 points to their to-

tal, the visiting Eagles were able to hold

North Central to 9 points. Fayette went onto outscore the Williams County Eagles11-7 in the fourth quarter, completing the

24 point victory.Biddix served as the leading scorer

for Fayette, putting up 15 points. Tristan

Bates, a monster inside for which NorthCentral had no answer, contributed 14

points to the win as well. Joel Smith added6 points.

Sawyer provided a team-leading 9 points

for the hometown Eagles. Both Reeves andDouglass added 7 points apiece. Williams

scored 6 points in the loss as well.

HEAD ON COLLISION ... North Central senior Jordan Reeves crashes into a Fayettedefender as he drives hard to the hoop, getting a shot up despite the fact that there are

four of the “other” Eagles standing in the paint.

PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY KAYS, STAFF DON’T GET TRAPPED ... Josh Roesener (5) attempts to dribble out of trouble as the

Fayette duo of Kamrin Hunter (left) and Casen Burkholder (right) close in on a trap.


GETTING A SHOT UP ... Pettisville’s Stuart Yoder (13) stands in the deep corner, readyto unleash a triple, as no one is there to cover him.

NOT THIS TIME ... Jalen Towers (22), a Hilltop senior, nds space next to the rim, tak-ing advantage of the open lane. Blackbird sophomore Caleb Rychener (35) tries to get

involved late into the play, but he’s too late to make an impact.





DUPONT

HASCH BODY SHOP, INC.HASCH BODY SHOP, INC.HASCH BODY SHOP, INC.Owner: Rex Hasch

Phone (419) 636-8925Fax (419) 636-8669

1302 E. High St., Bryan, Ohio

Woolace

Woolace

Electric Corp.

Electr

ic Corp.

419-428-3161419-428-3161

Industrial, Commercial

& Residential




Wauseon Handles Patrick Henry(February 6th, 2015) – WAUSEON: The

Indians of Wauseon hosted North Western

Ohio Athletic League foe Patrick Henry on

Friday, February 6. They weren't very kindto their guests, however.

Unless on considers a 62-38 drubbinghospitable.

Right away, Wauseon took control overthe contest. They came out of the rst

quarter with a 17-9 lead. Patrick Henry

had a great second quarter, however, out-scoring the Indians 18-14. This narrowed

the Wauseon lead to a 31-27 margin at

halftime.

The Indians had a solid third period. They outscored the Patriots 11-9. Hold-

ing a 6 point lead heading into the fourth

quarter, Wauseon looked to put the gameout of reach for Patrick Henry. They ac-

complished that and then some, dominat-ing the period 20-2. This gave them a 24

point victory, seemingly out of nowhere.Noah Castle had a phenomenal night,

scoring 30 points in his team's victory.

Zach Johnson offered up 13 points to theIndian cause. Jacob Newlove added 10

more points in the win. All three players

are seniors for the Indians.

201 E. Jackson St.West Unity, Ohio

419-924-9077

Surely Daisies LLC.

Nicki JacksonOwner

206 W. Main St.Montpelier, Ohio 43543

419-485-5000or 419-485-5100

[email protected]/surelydaisies

M-F 9:00-5:00 • Sat 9:00-2:00

Montpelier Locomotives ComeUp Short At Liberty Center

(February 6th, 2015) – LIBERTY CEN-

TER: Montpelier traveled to Liberty Cen-ter in search of their rst win in a match

against one of their NWOAL league oppo-nents. Unfortunately, a strong opposing

offense kept the Loco boys at the heels of

the pawing Tigers.Liberty Center’s dominance emerged

early in the night. The roar of the Tigerswas fueled by the 11 points scored within

the rst three minutes of the game. Theenergy only then exasperated when senior

Jared Dishop crushed a s lam-dunk afterying down court to end the rst quarter

up 16 points against the visiting team.

Scoring only 8 points against LC’s 24

in the rst eight minutes of play, Mont-pelier added 18 more points by the half

to catch up 39-26. Although the Locomo-tives would play a stronger second half,

they would fall short to the Tigers 53-64.

Michael Blake and Nate McCord wouldbe the top point contributors of the night,

scoring 13 and 11 points respectively.Both teams showed an array of maneu-

verability towards the basket, shootingmainly from inside the three-point line

throughout the evening. Montpelier wouldadd another tough loss to their overall

3-14 record.


GOTCHA! ... Wauseon senior Zach Robinson (5) deceives the Patrick Henry defender as-signed to him, as the Indian makes a behind the back pass to a teammate.

MAKING A RUN AT THE RIM ... Senior Zach Johnson bends down as he prepares to

make a move toward the basket, perhaps incorporating his power game into the equa-tion.

ALMOST GOT IT! ... Michael Blake gets a ngertip on the ball as a Liberty Center ball

handler lets loose a layup from directly in front of the basket in Montpelier’s loss to the Tigers.


NOT A WINDOW ... Locomotive boy Alex Matzinger leaps into the air, hindering the vi-

sion of the Liberty Center player trying to unload the ball to his teammates.




ORDER THESE PHOTOS & VIEW UNPUBLISHED PHOTOS FOR

FREE BY VISITING WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM

Cool Beanz

217 West Main St.Montpelier

419-485-2665

Serving ice cream, shakes,sundaes, smoothies, coffee,

lattes & frappucions!

Authorized Generac Generator Dealer

CREIGHTON

ELECTRIC L.L.C.

Commercial - Industrial - Residential

Licensed: Ohio & Michigan

260 West Field Dr., Archbold

Telephone: 419-445-2223

Fax: 419-445-2238

* General Contractors * Commercial *

* Industrial * Residential *

BLAKESLEE, OHIO

419-272-2712

419

-272-2755

CONSTRUCTION

& SUPPLY CENTER

THIEL


JV B

o

y

s B

a

s

k

e

t

ball A

c

tio

nTHE HOMETOWN HUDDLE

Hilltop JV Defends HomeCourt Against Pettisville(February 6th, 2015) – WEST UNITY:

The Cadets dominated most of their junior

varsity contest against Pettisville on Feb-ruary 6, but the young Blackbirds neverstopped ghting. And while that wasn't

enough to get them back into the game,their efforts should still be commended.

Hilltop claimed a 43-31 win over theBlackbirds, but the score could have been

much worse, had Pettisville simply laid

down when the contest ceased to be indoubt.

The Cadets came out swinging, takinga 10-2 lead in the rst quarter. Then their

offense exploded in the second period. The Hilltop boys put up an impressive

19 points, dwarng the 8 scored by the

Blackbirds. At the half, Hilltop command-

ed a 29-10 advantage over Pettisville.Not letting up in the third period, Hill-

top again outscored the Blackbird boys10-2. Ahead 39-12 in the nal stanza, itlooked as though the Cadets would win be

at least 20 points. Pettisville's pride wouldnot let that happen, however. Making a

huge run for the entire third quarter, pow-ered mostly by some amazing three-point

shooting, the Blackbirds took the fourth

quarter as their own, 19-4. Still, Hilltopwas able to walk off the court with a 12

point victory.Steven Riley and Kristian Grapenget-

er, both Cadet freshmen, each totaled 12points. That tied them for the high scorer

of the game. Ben Gray, of Pettisville man-

aged 8 points in the loss.


Pettisville Falls Short InHomecoming Loss To Ayersville

(February 7th, 2015) – PETTISVILLE:

Typically, one would expect an opponent

who is easily beatable when playing in ahomecoming game. It makes things sim-

pler, almost assuring a victory for thehometown boys, thus giving everyone

something to celebrate. That's not how they do things in Pet-

tisville, however.

Instead, the Blackbirds sought out aquality foe, setting their sights on the Pi-

lots of Ayersville. The match-up againsta strong Green Meadows Conference

team did not pay off for Pettisville, how-ever, as they lost the contest 49-32.

Ayersville pulled out to an early ad-

vantage, forcing Pettisville to climb up-hill all game long. By the end of the first

quarter, the Blackbird boys found them-selves behind 16-8. Even though the

scoring balanced out in the last threeperiods, this established degree of sepa-

ration is what made the difference in the

contest.

Quarter number 2 saw Pettisville

fight back. While they weren't able to

out score the Pilots in the period, theydid stay close to them with an 11-9 mar-

gin. At the half, Pettisville was down 27-17. The third quarter occurred in a simi-

lar fashion, as the Blackbirds fell behindanother 2 points, 10-8.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the

boys of Pettisville were behind 37-25. They began the final period of p lay on a

bit of a run, closing the gap back downto single digits on multiple occasions.

Ayersville wouldn't relent, though, andthe Pilots reestablished and expanded

upon their advantage, eventually hand-

ing Pettisville a 17 point loss.Senior Noah Miller produced 11

points for the Blackbirds, leading theway for his team in the loss. Caleb Ry-

chener, a sophomore, made his presenceknown inside with 6 hard fought points.

Both Eli King and Josh Liechty put up 5

points on the evening as well.

PAYING TRIBUTE TO A FRIEND ... Noah Miller, wearing the injured Tate Kauffman’s

number 23, charges at the basket, avoiding the Pilot defenders attempting to get in hisway.

JUST A BIT OF CONTACT ... Sophomore Gabe Beck grazes the body of the Ayersville boyguarding him as he bypasses the defender on his way to the basket.


KEEP OUR EYE ON THE BALL ... Josh Liechty (3) moves in transition, checking to make

sure the ball is still within his reach as he curves his sprint toward the rim.


TOO TALL TO STOP ... At 6’1”, Austin Schaffner (40) gets some elevation on his jump

shot, preventing most junior varsity players from impeding his shot.

FIRST TO THE HOOP ... Steven Riley (10), a freshman for the Cadets, blows by his man,giving himself an opportunity to make an undisturbed shot at the basket.




CONTINUATION OF JV BOY’S BASKETBALL ACTION


Pettisville Blackbird JV StrugglesWith Loss To Ayersville

(February 7th, 2015) – PETTISVILLE:Feeling pressure from one end of the court

to the other, the Pettisville Junior Varsity

boys had a very difcult time breaking Ay-ersville's full court press in their loss to the

Pilots on February 7.With things coming so hard on the of-

fensive end, the Blackbirds couldn't keep

pace with their guests from Ayersville. Inthe rst quarter, the Pilots built a solid

lead, never looking back at the Blackbirds

along the way. Pettisville, for their part, gotthings going in the second half. It was too

little too late, however.Pettisville dropped the contest against

Ayersville 57-24.

Wauseon Indian JV SlipsPast Patrick Henry

(February 6th, 2015) – WAUSEON: In a

junior varsity North Western Ohio Athletic

League match-up, Wauseon hosted HenryCounty opponent Patrick Henry on Febru-

ary 6.

The youthful Indians were able to se-cure a tight victory, taking the contest 40-37.

Patrick Henry earned an advantage by

the end of the rst quarter, as Wauseontrailed them 11-7. The Indians came back

strong in the second period, however. Theyoutscored the Patriots 10-4. This allowed

the boys of Wauseon to enjoy a 17-15 lead

going into the half.

In the third quarter, the Indian boys

were able to expand on that lead a bit. Witha 14-11 scoring effort coming out of the

locker room, Wauseon carried a 31-26 ad-

vantage with just one quarter to go. PatrickHenry make a late run, scoring 11 pointsto Wauseon's 9, but it wasn't enough. The

Indians held on for a 3 point win.

Austin Rotroff produced most of histeam's points, as the Indian scored 16.

Teammate Brooks Gype added 7 points,while Chase Brock contributed 6 points to

the victory effort.

Montpelier Locomotive JVLoses To Liberty Center

(February 6th, 2015) – LIBERTY CEN- TER: The junior varsity boys of Montpelier

had a rough outing against Liberty Center

on Friday, February 6. The Locomotives lost the North Western

Ohio Athletic League match-up 45-24.After a defensive struggle in the rst

quarter, which saw the Locos staying closebehind the Tigers, 6-4, Liberty Center

made a move in the second period. Mont-pelier found themselves outscored 15-5

during that span. Heading into the half,

they were down 21-9. The third quarter put the game out of

doubt. Liberty Center took command of

the contest with an 18-4 performance inthe stanza. This put the score at 39-13,

in favor of the Tigers, with just a singlequarter yet to play. Montpelier put up 11

points in the nal quarter of the game, astheir defense held the Tiger boys to 6. Still,

the Locomotives couldn't make up nearlyenough ground to make the game competi-

tive.


FOR THREE! ... Clay Waidelich (21) unloads the ball from beyond the arc in the deep

corner, perfectly content to do so as there is not an Ayersville defender in sight.


GETTING THROUGH TRAFFIC ... Pettisville’s Levi Nofziger (10) drives into the paint,

keeping rm control over the ball, despite the prying hands of Pilot defenders reachingfrom all directions.

A GOOD LOOK ... With his defender out of position, Blackbird Evan King (1) cuts be-

tween the Ayersville boy and the rim, giving the Pettisville boy a clean look at the basket.

GETTING BACK ON DEFENSE ... Evan Friend (42) sprints back in transition, stopping

the ball before the Liberty Center ball handler could make his way into the paint and

cause some serious disarray amongst the Loco defense.


FIGHT FOR THE BOARD ... Nolan Stratton (50) battles with a Tiger player over a re-

bound, with Stratton have the advantage since his hand is under the ball.





Nofziger FarmService & TruckingNofziger FarmService & Trucking

16134 Co. Rd. B

Wauseon, OH 43567

Mark Nofziger - Manager

419-335-9136

FERTILIZER,

CHEMICALS & GRAIN

Va

r

s

i

t

y G

i

r l

s B

as

k

e t

ball A

c

t

io

nTHE HOMETOWN HUDDLE

"THE HOMETOWN HUDDLE" ~ HAMMER ATHLETICS ~ DIETSCH FURNITURE

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

The Wauseon senior stepped up in a

big way during the Indians’ victory overDelta. Castle recorded a triple-double,

scoring 22 points while pulling down 10rebounds and blocking 10 shots. Suchan amazing performance can simply not

go unnoticed.

HANNAH BLAKE

MONTPELIER HIGH SCHOOL

NOAH CASTLE

WAUSEON HIGH SCHOOL

Breaking the 1,000 point mark was an

accomplishment in and of itself. Yet,

after reaching the milestone in just the

first quarter, Blake showed no signs of

slowing down her frenetic scoring pace.

She put up 34 points in a great win

against quality opponent Hicksville.

Montpelier Railroads Hicksville As Hannah Blake Earns One Thousandth Point

(February 3rd, 2015) – MONTPELIER:

It was in the rst quarter that HannahBlake was able to rewrite the Montpelier

history books.Only a junior, the Lady Loco standout

scored her one thousandth point early inher team's contest against Hicksville. The

game was stopped, and congratulations

were given to her by pretty much everyone.Oh, and the Locomotives won the game

72-54. The rst period saw an intense battle

between the Locos and Aces. Montpelierwas able to grab an early advantage, n-

ishing the quarter with a 19-18 lead. Then

they began to pull away, starting with thesecond period. Outscoring Hicksville 16-9

in that particular quarter, the Montpeliergirls carried a 35-27 advantage into the

half.Not content with the 8 point lead, the

Lady Locomotives went right back to work

in the third quarter. With their highestlevel of offensive production in the game,

they were able to gain a wider degree ofseparation from the Lady Aces thanks to

a 20-14 effort. Montpelier didn't let up inthe fourth and nal quarter, winning the

period 17-13. This secured the 18 point

victory.Blake showed no signs of slowing

down her scoring rampage, totaling 34points against Hicksville, including a trio

of three-pointers. Senior Baylee Hagemanadded another 17 points on top of that,

making 7 eld goals from close range. She

wasn't the only senior to step up, however,as Breanna Stein nailed a three on her

way to 9 points. The win puts Montpelier at 8-9 on the

season, just one victory shy of reaching.500.

CONTINUATION OF JV BOY’S BASKETBALL ACTION

Edon Versus Ayersville JVNO STATS RECEIVED BY TIME OF PRESS


NO YOU DON’T! ... Blake Thiel (23) regains control of the basketball after having itknocked out his hands by an aggressive Ayersville defender.

COMIN’ IN HOT! ... Logan Bloir (10) speeds toward the rim with reckless abandon, pay-

ing absolutely no heed to the Ayersville defenders which he is just dribbling around.

STRAIGHT UP IS NOT ENOUGH ... Baylee Hageman, a senior for Montpelier, gets inside

of the Lady Ace trying to disrupt her concentration. She takes the ball up to the basket,while the defender can only hold her arms straight up into the air and watch.

PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY KAYS, STAFF

TAKING IT TO THE HOOP ... Lady Loco Hannah Blake nishes a drive as she avoids awould-be blocker for Hicksville.




CONTINUATION OF GIRL’S BASKETBALL ACTION


ORDER PHOTOS & VIEW UNPUBLISHED PHOTOS FOR FREE

BY VISITING WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM

A/C work - Auto -

Farm - Truck

We make all kinds of hydraulic hoses & fittings.

Tri-CountyRepair, Inc.

800-872-3220

419-237-2546

We make all kinds of

hydraulic hoses & ttings.

Robert C. Chrismer Registered Representative

SIGMA FINANCIAL

CORPORATION Securities Broker/Dealer Member FINRA/SIPC

111 Chase St., PO Box 3600Stryker, Ohio

1-886-660-9228

Fax: 419-682-4213

Home: 419-682-1231

[email protected]

Mention this ad for Special Discounts forNew & Current Customers with:

• Customer Owned Tank

• Payment on Delivery • 250 Gallons or More VERY Limited Time Offer - Call NOW While Prices Last

1299 N. Shoop Ave. • Wauseon, OH • 419-335-2220

Wauseon Lady Indians PullAway Late Against Tinora(February 3rd, 2015) – WAUSEON:

Wauseon played host to Green Meadows

Conference opponent Tinora on February3. The Rams charged onto the Lady Indi-

ans' home court head rst, challengingthe hometown girls for non-conference su-

premacy.

And they put up quite a ght for it, too,as Tinora was within 4 points of Wauseon

heading into the fourth quarter. Yet itwasn't enough, as the Indian girls built

upon their lead throughout the last periodof play, taking the contest 55-46.

The game began with both teams com-

peting ercely for an early advantage. Asthe rst quarter drew to a close, the Lady

Indians clung to a 15-14 lead, thanks inlarge part to a pair of threes drained by

senior Sariah Yackee. Wauseon foundthemsevles unable to shake off Tinora in

the second period either, they barely out-

scored the Rams 10-9 in the quarter. Thatput the score at 25-23, in favor of the Indi-

ans, at the half.During the third quarter, Wauseon was

able to put just a slight bit more distancebetween themselves and the Lady Rams.

They nished the stanza with a 36-32 leadgoing into the fourth quarter. It was in that

period that the Lady Indians were nally

able to gain some real separation from Tinora. The Rams tried to close the gap late

into the quarter, but Wauseon was able toclose out the contest with a 9 point victory.

A balanced scoring attack is what al-lowed the Wauseon girls to win this game.

Yackee led the way with 13 points. Fellow

senior Maddie Richer was close behindwith 11 points. Sally Frank and Briana

Coblentz were forces inside the paint, pro-ducing 10 and 9 points, respectively.

The win propels the Lady Indians to a12-5 record overall. Despite the loss, Tino-

ra still carries a 10-8 mark, proving that

they were no easy victory for the girls ofWauseon.

Stryker Panthers Fend Off Late Rally To Beat Edon(February 5th, 2015) – EDON: After

building a sizable early advantage, theLady Panthers had to withstand a late

run by the Bombers in order to secure avictory.

Stryker took down the Bombers in theHanger, 47-36.

The Panthers established a lead right

away, winning the rst quarter 17-9.

While the second period was a muchtighter affair, Styker was still able to addanother 3 points onto their lead with an

8-5 effort. That gave the Lady Panthers a25-14 advantage at the half.

Edon made a strong push in the sec-

ond half, however. They opened up thehalf with a 14-7 run in the third quarter.

Down just 4 points at 32-28, the Lady

Bombers were poised to take control of

the game.Stryker would simply not allow it,

however. Answering the Bomber run, thePanthers put up a 15-8 showing in the

contest's nal period. This closed out thegame for them with an 11 point victory.

Haley Doerhmann and Audra Rupp, a

freshman and senior, respectively, each

contributed 13 points to the Stryker vic-tory effort. Senior Maddie Uribes addedanother 6 points as well.

The Lady Bombers were led by KaitlinSonneberger, who scored 17 points in the

loss. Alex Kiess was close behind with 15

points. Sophomores Eliza Zulch and Han-nah Kaylor each added 2 points to round

out Edon's scoring in the contest.

WITH THE FADE ... Kaitlyn Sonneberger (20), a Bomber junior, pulls off a fade awayshot as Lady Panther Rupp (24) is just a slight bit late in her attempts to block the eld

goal try.


IN PERFECT POSITION ... Audra Rupp (24) stands in front of Edon senior Alex Kiess(22), ensuring that the Stryker girl will have no problems getting her shot off.

A PERFECT PASS ... Lady Indian senior Sariah Yackee (15) makes a bounce pass acrossthe key to Brianna Coblentz (25), who’s waiting to go up with the ball before the Tinora

defenders can react.


IN TRANSITION ... Natalie Koenig (11) doesn’t hesitate as she sprints down the court,

forcing the Lady Ram beside her to try and catch up.






CONTINUATION OF GIRLS’ BASKETBALL ACTION


Pettisville Blackbirds BounceBack From Rough First Quarter

To Soar Above Hilltop Cadets(February 5th, 2015) – PETTISVILLE:

Despite falling behind big in the rstquarter, the Lady Blackbirds came back

to claim an easy victory, improving theirBuckeye Border Conference record to 8-0.

Hilltop got off to a phenomenal start,

but couldn't capitalize in the last threeperiods of the contest. Pettisville won the

league match-up 46-28. The Lady Cadets began the game with

great defense, limiting Pettisville to just4 points for the entirety of the rst quar-

ter. Hilltop played well on the other end

of the court as well, claiming 13 pointsfor themselves against a tight Blackbird

defense.Finding their backs against the wall

early, the Lady Blackbirds regrouped inthe second period. They shut down the

Cadet offense completely in the quarter,

refusing to allow even a single point tobe scored against them. Offensively, the

Blackbird girls came alive in that same

span, surging to 16 points. Suddenly,Pettisville was up 20-13 with both teamsheading into the locker rooms.

The third quarter saw a similar perfor-

mance take place, as the Lady Blackbirdscontinued their defensive efforts against

a shell shocked Hilltop squad. The Cadets

could muster only 2 points in the peri-

od, while Pettisville managed 13. In thefourth and nal quarter, the two units

battled back and forth. Each team totaled13 points in the period, which kept Pet-

tisville rmly ahead by 18 points as the

nal buzzer sounded. Turnovers played a crucial role in

this game. Hilltop turned the ball over13 times, which is not an especially

high number. However, Pettisville onlycoughed up the ball twice all night. Such

an absurdly low number is a true testa-

ment to how well the Lady blackbirdswork together and share the basketball.

Dana Fricke gave her team a mas-sive boost, scoring a game high 15 points

for the Blackbird girls. Teammate KateKauffman added 10 points. Senior Mika-

la Avina put up another 7 points, while

Lynnsey Crouch scored 6 points as well. Just three players handled all of Hill-

top's scoring. Allie Schmitt connected on

a three, as she earned a total of 10 pointson the evening. Sophomore Ariana Brownalso managed 10 points, but did most

of her work from the paint. Meanwhile,

fellow second year girl Felicity Jacksonmade a pair of shots from beyond the arc

on her way to 8 points in the loss.

Fayette Trounces North Central (February 5th, 2015) – FAYETTE: Kaela

Seiler recorded a double-double in Fayette's

victory over Buckeye Border Conference foeNorth Central.

The junior guard produced 10 points

and 12 assists in er team's 59-23 win.Fayette built a solid 13-7 lead in the rst

quarter, and just kept adding to it each andevery quarter. A 19-5 scoring effort in the

second period left the hometown girls witha 32-12 advantage at halftime. When the

teams returned from their locker rooms,

Fayette got right back into their groove.North Central found themselves out-

scored 16-6 in the third period. They were

unable to stage any sort of comeback in thenal stanza, either. Fayette took the last

quarter 11-5, cementing their 36 point vic-tory.

Junior Alexis Fruchey led all scorers

with 20 points, making 9 eld goals fromwithin the arc. Classmate Taylor Grifths

tacked on another 15 points to her team'stotal.

Sabrina Pickford helmed the scoring re-sponsibilities for North Central, putting up

9 points. Sophomore Makayla Hayes added

5 points to her team's collective score. Ra-chel Oxender contributed 4 points in the

loss as well.

LEAPING TOWARD THE RIM ... Allie Schmitt (10) tries to score for the Lady Cadets, tak-

ing off from the baseline and oating gracefully toward the basket as, in a rare instance,no Lady Blackbirds impede her path.


MY REBOUND ... Pettisville junior Kate Kauffman (32) refuses to let the ball merely goout of bounds after a Hilltop missed shot, instead stretching to obtain the rebound.


UNDER DURESS ... Cady VanDeVoorde (3) unloads the ball via a hook shot as multiple

Fayette defenders, including Paige Keefer (3), close in on her location.

TAKING IT UP ... Taylor Grifths (11) after driving the ball toward the baseline, endsup just beneath the rim. The Fayette junior looks up as she charts the ball’s path to

the rim.

DON’T WORRY, I’VE GOT IT ... North Central’s Alyssa Swank (2), a sophomore, leaps

over the baseline as she saves the ball from landing out of bounds, keeping it in play

for her teammates.






JV Girls Basketball ActionTHE HOMETOWN HUDDLE


North Central JV Fall To Fayette(February 5th, 2015) – FAYETTE: The

junior varsity girls of North Central wereable to keep the game close for a while, but

they just didn't have the repower to de-feat a very good Fayette squad.

As the game wound down in the sec-

ond half, Fayette began to creep away from

their Williams County guests. North Cen-tral had no answer for this, as they simply

could not score enough points to keep upwith their hosts.

Fayette took the contest 39-25.

Montpelier JV Bests Hicksville(February 3rd, 2015) – MONTPELIER:

The Locomotives played host to the Hicks-ville Junior Varsity Girls in a North West-

ern Ohio Athletic League versus Green

Meadows Conference match-up. The contest was a tight one, with both

squads ghting for control of the game.Home court advantage played a pivotal

role, however, as the Lady Locos were able

to establish a bit of separation late intothe contest. By the time the nal buzzer

sounded, the hometown girls of Montpelier

stood victorious, as the Lady Aces walkedoff the court in defeat.

Montpelier took down Hicksville 28-22.

Wauseon JV Suffers ToughOvertime Loss To Tinora

Edon Versus StrykerNO STATS RECEIVED BY TIME OF PRESS

JUST OUT OF REACH .. . Stryker’s Kira Pettit and Edon’s Karissa Sonneberger bothstretch to their limits in separate, though competitive efforts to secure a rebound for

their respective teams.


IN THE PASSING LANE ... Edon girl Shalyn Mason (14) nds herself being passed byLady Panther Allison Frisbie (32), who intends to take the ball to the rim hard.

PHOTO BY T.J. HUG, STAFF

PARDON ME, MISS ... Wauseon’s Halen Mealer (3) tries to make her way to the basket,only to be rudely interrupted by a Lady Ram standing in her way. Mealer decides to

simply go around the Tinora girl.


YOU CAN’T HAVE IT ... Vada Lashaway (12), after diving to the ground in order to securethe ball, plays keepaway from Fayette’s Rylee Ruger (5).

SCORE! ... North Central Sophomore Kelsie Beres (13) puts up a shot from mid-rangeas her freshmen teammates, Allyson Fenicle (3) and Emma Zenz (1) watch from behind

her.

UNBLOCKABLE ... Alexis Mapes (33) gets ahead of the North Central girl attempting toblock her shot, making the close range eld goal try nearly a sure thing.

(February 3rd, 2015) – WAUSEON:

In non-conference junior varsity action,

the Lady Indians of Wauseon hostedGreen Meadows Conference opponent Tinora on February 3.

After taking an early lead in the con-test, Wauseon trailed until late in the

fourth quarter, when they gained a brief

advantage. The Lady Rams would comeback to force overtime, however, and

the young Indian girls lost the game45-40.

Getting off to a strong start, the

Wauseon defense allowed Tinora to goon a run to close the first quarter, tying

the game 10-10. From there, the Rams

built a lead in the second quarter, and

defended that lead quite well in thethird period as well. The Indians never gave up, though,

and with less than a minute to go inthe fourth and supposedly final period,

a pair of free throws by Halen Mealer

put Wauseon ahead. Tinora came backto tie the contest at 40 points apiece,

which was the final score in regulation.Wauseon's offense went stagnant

in the extra period, however, and they

were outscored 5-0 in that span, lead-ing to their defeat.






Winter 2014-2015 Sports Schedules

FEBRUARY 13 - FEBRUARY 19

Basketball – Boys

(Feb 13) Hilltop @ Fayette

(Feb 13) North Central @ Edon

(Feb 13) Stryker @ Pettisville(Feb 13) Swanton @ Montpelier

(Feb 13) Wauseon @ Evergreen

(Feb 14) Edon @ Antwerp

(Feb 14) Fayette @ Evergreen

(Feb 14) Montpelier @ North Central

(Feb 14) Pettisville @ Hicksville

(Feb 14) Wauseon @ Elmwood

Basketball – Girls

(Feb 14) Edgerton @ Hilltop(Feb 17) Delta @ Fayette

(Feb 17) Hilltop @ Antwerp

(Feb 17) Liberty Center @ Pettisville

(Feb 17) Montpelier @ Fayette

(Feb 17) North Central @ Hicksville

(Feb 17) Wauseon @ Rossford

(Feb 19) Hilltop @ Edon

(Feb 19) Pettisville @ Fayette

(Feb 19) Stryker @ North Central(Feb 19) Wauseon @ Bowling Green

Bowling

(Feb 14) Conference Tournament (Wauseon)

High School Swimming ActionTHE HOMETOWN HUDDLE


Wauseon Boys & GirlsSwimmers & Divers CompeteAt NWOAC Championships(January 30th-31st) – FREMONT, OH:

Wauseon traveled to Fremont in order to

take part in the North Western Ohio Aquatic

Conference Championships over the week-

end. Both the boys and girls squads per-

formed respectably, with the Lady Indians

taking seventh place, and their male coun-

terparts claiming ninth. There were twelve

teams at the event.

Diving for the Wauseon girls were Jor-

dan Sloan, who earned a fourth place n-

ish, Alex Carteaux, coming in seventh place,

and Jenna Rhoads, the eighth place nisher

in the contest.

Kasey Darnell had a strong day, nish-

ing in third place in the 200 meter freestyle

at 2:04.68, and second in the 500 meter

freestyle with a time of 5:29.46. Sydney

Darnell swam admirably as well, takingthird place in the 200 meter IM thanks to

her time of 2:16.07, and fourth in the 100

meter y at 1:01.74. Alexis Meyer also com-

peted in the 200 meter freestyle race, taking

twelfth place at 2:10.08. Meyer also swam

in the 100 meter freestyle race, nishing in

tenth place at 59.87.

The team of Carteaux, Meyer, and Kasey

and Sydney Darnell took part in both the

200 meter and 400 meter relays. They n-

ished in second place for both events, swim-

ming a 1:45.62 for the 200 meter race, and

a 3:53.43 for the 400 meter competition.

For the Wauseon boys, Nick Dilworth

kept busy by competing in both the 200

meter freestyle and 500 meter freestyle rac-

es. He claimed sixth place in the 200 meter

event at 1:55.08, and fth place in the 500

meter race at 5:11.42. Austin Schuette also

swam in those races, taking ninth place in

the 200 meter at 1:57.96, and fourth in the

500 meter with a time of 5:08.32. Derek

Rupp and Seth Hutchison each took part in

the 50 meter freestyle, with the former lay-

ing claim to seventh place at 24.79, and the

latter close behind with a time of 25.4, goodfor tenth place.

Dilworth, Hutchison, Rupp, and

Schuette joined forces for the 200 meter

and 400 meter relays. They nished in sixth

place in each race, swimming a 1:39.64 in

the 200 meter, and a 3:42.35 for the 400

meter.

PHOTOS PROVIDED

NECK AND NECK ... Caleb Blanchong (forground) and Kyle Zirkle (background) compete

against one another in the 100 meter Breaststroke.

STROKE! ... Seth Hutchison swims at a high velocity as he keeps pace with the swimmer

beside him in the 100 meter Freestyle.

LIKE A BIRD ... Mac Warnke speeds through the water as he takes part in the 100 meter

Fly race.

Wauseon Versus AyersvilleNO STATS RECEIVED BY TIME OF PRESS


DO THE BACKSTROKE ... This Wauseon girl executes a perfect backstroke as she racesagainst girls from Ayersville.

DIVE! DIVE! DIVE! ... As a race begins, this Wauseon swimmer lunges gracefully intothe water, submerging himself without slowing down his momentum.

COMING UP FOR AIR ... In the middle of a race, Caleb Blanchong pokes his head outof the water for the briefest of moments in order to catch a quick breather on the go as

he continues to advance.





DON’T DELAY - GET YOUR

ATHLETE PHOTOS ONLINE TODAY!www.thevillagereporter.com

High School Wrestling ActionTHE HOMETOWN HUDDLE

Wauseon Loses ToCentral Catholic In OHSAA

Regional Semi-Finals(February 4th, 2015) – TOLEDO:

Wauseon stepped onto Toledo Central

Catholic's home turf expecting to win.While they were unable to pull off the win,

the Indians still had a very strong showing

in the 45-33 loss.Central Catholic brought 7 experienced

seniors to the match, while Wauseon had11 freshmen and sophomores in their

lineup. This was partly due to the strategyof Wauseon Head Coach Mike Ritter, who

made some serious adjustments to his

lineup in order to give his team the bestchance to come away with the victory.

“Most of our line up moves worked out,some didn’t but we still found ourselves

in a position to win going into the last 2matches.” Coach Ritter stated. “It didn’t

go our way this time, but I felt really goodabout how our kids battled and kept us ina position to win.”

In the 120 pound weight class, Mauri-cio Barajas pinned Central Catholic's Jor-

dan Rodriguez in 1:06. Sandro Ramirezwas able to keep Billy Corley's shoulders

to the ground in 1:12 in a match against

132 pounders. At 182 pounds, JacksonSluder scored a pinfall victory over Aaron

Grau in 1:57.But it was Tre Campbell who had the

most impressive victory of the night. The

195 pound Wauseon standout dispensedof Central's Isaiah Jackson, pinning him in

a mere 28 seconds.While not as physically impressive as

Campbell's victory, Wade Hodges won themost difcult match of the evening, win-

ning a 3-1 decision over Josh Mossing,

an extremely talented wrestler for CentralCatholic. This win is particularly signi-

cant as Hodges has now tied Zane Krall forthe Wauseon Wrestling career wins record

at 159 victories.Coach Ritter expressed his feelings on

his team's performance against CentralCatholic.“I’m disappointed for our kids not win-

ning the match, but not disappointed intheir effort. We knew we had an uphill bat-

tle going into the match.”And the Indians nearly conquered that

hill.

Wauseon Indians Lose To Delta, Defeats Montpelier Locomotives

(February 5th, 2015) – DELTA: Go-ing into not one, but two meets with sev-

eral competitors unable to participate,Wauseon knew they were in for a challenge

as Delta hosted both the Indians and the

Locomotives of Montpelier.Wauseon went up against Delta rst,

losing the meet against the elite team 48-22. Giving up 3 forfeits put the Indians

into an 18 point decit before matcheseven began, however.

At 132 pounds, Hunter Yackee had a

great match against John Mlynarek, pin-ning the Panther wrestler in 44 seconds.

Tre Campbell was able to win the 182pound division, pinning Mark Francois in

4:19. In the 192 pound match, Tony Ban-

ister won a 15-2 decision over Jaccob Wol-ford.

Wauseon was able to defeat Montpelierin their second meet of the night, despite

giving up those same 18 points in forfeits,

due partly to the fact that the Locos hadto forfeit two matches themselves. Sandro

Ramirez was able to score a technical fallagainst Ramey Dean at the 126 pound lev-

el. At 285, Alex Sosa pinned Chris Blosserin 1:35.

For Montpelier, Jordan Birdsall claimed

a 7-2 victory over Derek Schuette at 152pounds. Hunter Mckelvey scored a pin

over Jackson Sluder in 3:18, giving Mont-pelier a win in the 170 pound division.

Overall, Wauseon took the meet 50-21.


AND STAY DOWN ... Justin Gaucin, of Wauseon, keeps a Montpelier wrestler to theground by staying on his back while executing a hold.

HOW YA DOIN’, BUD? ... Indian wrestler Mauricio Barajas places a hand on the head of

a Montpelier wrestler as he ponders his next move.

GET LOW ... Sandro Ramirez stays close to the mat as he approaches his foe from host

school Delta. This not only makes him more difcult to grab, but gives the Wauseonwrestler an advantage in leverage.

HERE WE GO ... Each wrestler is about to make his move as Wauseon’s Tony Banister

grips the arm of his opponent with his left hand, moving his right in for a counterattack.


GRAPPLING FOR AN ADVANTAGE ... A Wauseon wrestler positions himself lower than

his opponent from Central Catholic during the Indians’ meet against the Toledo school.





CK TechnologiesCK Technologies, LLC1701 Magda Dr.

Montpelier, OH 43543 419-485-1110 ext. 7381

419-485-1405 fax

Congratulations Hunter!

“Serving Your Area

with Quality, Selection

& Service”

See us before you buyShop & Compare

Fackler Monument Co.411 W. Main St., Montpelier

419-485-5588 1-800-272-5588

Family owned and operated since 1924Andrea Roerig, Owner

Now is the time to purchase your memorial

www.facklermonument.com

Gearig All-StarInsurance Agency Inc.

1239 East Main Street

Montpelier, Ohio 43543

419-485-5112

Great Job Hunter!

1248 E. Main • Montpelier, OH • 419-485-3181www.maxtonmotors.com

Montpelier Athletic Boosters

CongratulationsHunter!

305 Mike StreetPioneer, Ohio419-737-2389


Montpelier, Ohio419-485-3059

Congratulations Hunter!

419-485-3147 Montpelier OH, 43543

www.winzelerstamping.com

By: Timothy Kays - THE VILLAGE REPORTER

Montpelier’s Hunter McKelvey is a modest young manof few words. Look at all those pins in his jacket…they do

all the promotional talking for him. Each pin represents

a wrestling win over an opponent, by pinfall. With Hunt-

er recently registering his 100th win as a member of the

Montpelier Iron Horse Wrestling Team, those pins speak

volumes, and more. By more, I mean that you cannot

count all his wins by pinfall, simply because he ran out of

room on his Montpelier Varsity jacket. The pockets of that

jacket are loaded with more pins, awaiting a place for dis-

play. Add those in, and Hunter will look like he is wearing

medieval Columbia Blue scale armor. As it stands now, he

is carrying enough heavy metal to set off an airport metal

detector from the parking lot…and he’s still going.

The son of Rex and Tracy McKelvey, and the brother

of Abby, Hunter found his niche as a grappler at an early

age, and I do mean an EARLY age. The Loco senior has

been plying his trade since his single digits. “I’ve got four

years in high school,” he said, “…and ever since I was

in Kindergarten. Every year since then…thirteen years.”

Think about that for a second. While some kids his agewere still experimenting with eating dirt, Hunter was

working on takedowns and escapes.

Crunch the numbers; Hunter, at

some level, has been wrestling

for almost three-quarters of his

life. Talk about experience. Talk

about dedication. Hunter is the

embodiment of both.

To win a wrestling match

requires hard, strenuous

work and an element of skill.

To win 100 matches, that skill

level has to be rened like the

nest steel, which comes

from experience. The

experience, in turn, is

once again a deriva-

tive of work… and a

lot of it. As Huntersaid, “It takes a lot

of really hard work…

every day. Going to

open mats and prac-

tices, staying after

and working out… it’s

a lot of hard work and

dedication. I’m re-

ally thankful for the

opportunity to do

that.” Bear in mind

that in this day and

age where it seems to some cantankerous members of the

older generation that some of the kids of today have the at-

tention span of a goldsh, Hunter McKelvey has been put-ting in that hard work and dedication for thirteen years.

Take note, you curmudgeons who would doubt; Hunter

has dealt your stereotypical image an earth shaking body

slam… on the mats, and in the classroom. Hunter is not

only a top-ight wrestler, but he’s earned the distinction of

being an All-NWOAL Scholar Athlete. To attain that honor,

a student must be a senior, must have a 3.5 cumulative

grade point average through six semesters of school, and

must have lettered during the sports season.

As he got older, Hunter found a role model whose name

is more than familiar in the annals of Loco lore. “Denitely

Tyler Benner,” Hunter said without a shadow of hesita-

tion. “He graduated a couple of years ago with the Class of

2013. I looked up to him a lot.” The work ethic of Benner

showed wherever he put himself to the test, on the football

eld, on the mats, on the baseball diamond, and yes, in

the classroom. Hunter has stepped into Benner’s shoes

admirably, and like Tyler Benner, he is ready and willing

to work with those with less experience in order to improve

their skills.

“I stay and help with the little kids’ wrestling practice

on Mondays and Tuesdays,” he said. “They ask me, ‘Why

are you so good?’ I just tell them that I work harder than

anybody else. I want to be the best that I can be, and I

want them to be the best that they can be.” To know that

the future matmen of the Iron Horse wrestlers are looking

up to him in the same way that he looked up to Tyler Ben-

ner puts a shy smile on his face, as he says, “That feels

good.”

Every great program, existing or rebuilding, needs to

have a strong foundation upon which to build. Tyler Ben-

ner is a solid rock in the Locomotive foundation. After

passing the torch to Hunter McKelvey, that foundation is

even stronger. Keep an eye on the Iron Horse Wrestling

Team in the upcoming years. The names will change, but

the inuence of Hunter McKelvey will live on in Locomotive

Country long after he trades in his singlet for a graduation

cap and gown. Using one’s successes to help the young-

er generation to be the best that they can be…that’s justwhat foundation pieces do, and Hunter does it well.

Timothy Kays can be reached at [email protected]

Hunter McKelveyOf Montpelier Never

Rests Upon His Laurels

Serving Northwest

Ohio with

Natural Gas

Since 1914

1-800-331-7396

Congratulations on 100+ wins Hunter! From these community sponsors.





CK TechnologiesCK Technologies, LLC1701 Magda Dr.

Montpelier, OH 43543 419-485-1110 ext. 7381

419-485-1405 fax

Great Accomplishment Hannah!

“Serving Your Area

with Quality, Selection

& Service”

See us before you buy

Shop & Compare

Fackler Monument Co.411 W. Main St., Montpelier

419-485-5588 1-800-272-5588

Family owned and operated since 1924Andrea Roerig, Owner

Now is the time to purchase your memorial

www.facklermonument.com

Gearig All-StarInsurance Agency Inc.


Montpelier, Ohio 43543

419-485-5112

Congratulations Hannah! Follow your dreams!

1248 E. Main • Montpelier, OH • 419-485-3181www.maxtonmotors.com

Montpelier Athletic Boosters

CongratulationsHannah!

Serving NorthwestOhio with

Natural Gas

Since 1914

1-800-331-7396

305 Mike StreetPioneer, Ohio

419-737-2389

1051 East Main StreetMontpelier, Ohio419-485-3059

Congratulations Hannah!

419-485-3147 Montpelier OH, 43543

www.winzelerstamping.com

getting these girls

to stop and con-template their

futures, and they

are looking upon

her as the idealrole model. If you asked Coach

Mike Martinelli, he’d say that those little Lady Locos aredead on accurate in their choice. “She’s a great kid,” he

said; “You’ll nd none better.” Of those girls, Hannah says,

“That is huge for me. It means the world to me to see the younger kids getting into it, and looking up to me like that.

I always hoped that when I got older, that I could providesome leadership for girls like that, and be a role model for

them. I took pictures with them after the game. Just to seetheir faces light up about this game, and them wanting to

be out on the court when they get older, it’s just an awe-

some feeling.” To those Lady Locos in training, Hannah has some sage

advice. “It takes work. It takes a lot of work, and it takesa lot of commitment and time. It takes a lot of days in the

gym, including days where you don’t want to be in here.You just have to have that goal in mind, and really focus on

achieving that goal.”

Somewhere out there in the stands, the next 1,000-pointscoring Montpelier Lady Locomotive may well be watching,

taking mental notes as she watches Hannah leave defend-ers in her wake. To say that she is the next Hannah Blake

is a tall order, though. To quote a recurring line from TheHighlander movies…”There can be only one.”

How fortunate are we then, that we can see Hannah

Blake plying her trade on the court of The Railyard beforeshe moves on to bigger and better things in college, and

beyond. No doubt about it… thanks to Hannah, they’ve gotit good in Montpelier!

Timothy Kays can be reached at [email protected]

Montpelier’s Hannah Blake:

Wrecking Stereotypes Today -Rewriting Records Tomorrow

Congratulations Hanna! From these community sponsors:

By: Timothy Kays - THE VILLAGE REPORTER

I’ve seen plenty of high school hoopsters that excel attheir sport. Their dedication to pushing themselves to be

better always seems to follow a familiar, stereotypical pat-

tern. Their skill set tabs them for the Varsity squad as afreshman. There’s always bumps in the road, but they even

out as the skills become rened as a sophomore. By thetime that they are seniors, they are at the top of their game,

and then…bang! They break the 1,000-point mark in theircareers, and go on to cement their spot amongst the lo-

cal legends in their school record books. It is a tradition

reserved for the elite. It is a tradition reserved for seniors.Uhh…check that last part.

At 8:43 p.m. on the evening of February 3, with 1:22 re-maining in the rst period of the Montpelier Lady Locomo-

tives versus Hicksville Varsity game in the friendly connesof The Railyard, Hannah Blake of Montpelier made his-

tory, and totally rewrote the traditional stereotype. As she

slashed in from the lower left to land a three-foot oater, the junior point guard had racked up her thirteenth point of the

night, bringing her career total to an even 1,000.Go back and read that last part again. I said junior. Not

senior…but junior. So much for senior traditions, but theother part, the one about being reserved for the elite, that

still stands…or does it. If getting to the 1,000-point plateau

in your senior year puts you amongst the elite, what titledo you earn if you can accomplish the feat a full year ear-

lier? There is no other title other than the one her parents, Joe and Midge Blake, gave her when she is born. What do

you call being better than the elite? Elementary, my dearWatson. You call her Hannah Blake. Don’t be fooled by the

perpetual beaming smile; she is at a level where no one else

in the area has gone in recent years, and yes…she’s THAT

good.Being that good demands focus, both on the present and

the future. Hannah says she is, “…denitely going on to

play basketball in college.” She doesn’t know where yet, nordoes she know what her major will be, but hey…she’s still

a junior. She’s got time! Speaking of time, it shouldn’t be

that long before the college recruiters and coaches beginwearing ruts into the walkway to the front door of the Blake

home. Somewhere, some college coach is going to land ablue chip amongst blue chip recruits, and the competition

is going to make Joe and Midge, along with Hannah’s sib-lings, brother Michael and sister Kelly, almost as popular

as Hannah amongst the recruiters.

Another man that may receive a call or two from the re-cruiters is Hannah’s coach, Tim Nicely, who is nishing his

second campaign at the Lady Loco helm. He knows whata special player and person he has in Hannah. “It’s very

special to come and coach at a new school,” Coach Nicely

said. “Having Hannah, it just makes a coach’s job so mucheasier knowing you have a coach on the oor. She’s just a

tremendous leader and a fabulous scorer. I mean, havingover 1,000 points as a junior is a great feat. I think that

she’ll denitely beat the school record. She’s got a greatfuture, going to college somewhere and playing four more

years. It’s a great opportunity as a coach to have somebody

like that. It’s a coach’s dream to have a

great player like that.”

What does 1,000 points mean to Han-

nah? “It’s been a goal of mine for a long

time,” she said. “I walk by all the pictures and

awards in the hallway, and I always look up and see

1,000-point Shanna Pressler’s picture up there. It’s been

something that I wanted to do, and it’s a nice goal to get

checked off the list.”

Being the rst junior that I have ever spoken with that

has eclipsed the 1,000-point barrier, I had to ask what it

takes to be able to do in three years, what it takes the rest

of the best four. Her answer was essentially the same as

the others…a work ethic. “A lot of work, at a young age,”

she said. “You just can’t pick up a ball your freshman yearand decide, ‘I am going to score 1,000 points.’ It’s taken

me years…hours and hours of practice. Starting in second

grade in the gym, just perfecting how to score. It’s tough,

but a lot goes into it.”

Although she ies at an elite level all her own, Hannah

still has a hero that she looks up to… her grandfather.

While others may say Lebron James, Kobe Bryant or Mi-

chael Jordan, the name George Roerig is at the top of Han-

nah’s list of heroes. The accolades mean a lot, but to her,

nothing tops family. “My grandma died a few years back

when I was a lot younger. Just the way he’s continued to

keep our family together, put on such a strong face, and see

me through everything… and even tell me how it is some-

times. He’s always been there for me, and just the way he

lives his life… it’s amazing.”

What’s next for Hannah? She had a response before

the echo left the room; “The scoring record, 1,364 points,

that’s what’s next hopefully.” Before we go any further, let’s

crunch some numbers. Hannah landed career point num-ber 1,000 with 1:22 left in the rst period of the Hicks-

ville game. That shot gave Montpelier a 17-13 lead. It also

matched Hannah’s point total on the night with the entire

Hicksville team output up to that point. She had a career-

type night in this game, nishing with a personal best 34

points, and leading the Lady Locos to a 72-54 win over the

Lady Aces.

As of the nal buzzer of the Hicksville game, Hannah has

1,021 points, leaving her 204 points behind Mike Bumb,

the all-time scoring record holder for the boys, and 342

points behind the overall all-time Montpelier scoring record

holder, Shanna Pressler-Newburg. Now factor in the fact

that she has four more regular season games, and the en-

tire 2015 postseason run this year, then a full slate of regu-

lar season and postseason games for the 2015-16 season. It

doesn’t take a Las Vegas odds maker or an MIT mathemat-

ics professor to tell you that both of those record numbers

are easily within the reach of Hannah, and she is not one

to stop and smell the roses for one tick of the game clock.

Being at the level that Hannah is at also brings on re-

sponsibilities that transcend her time on the court. Go to

any Montpelier home game, and look up into the stands.

There are dozens of young girls that are intently watching

Montpelier number 3 on both sides of the court. Hanna

h is



By: T.J. Hug

THE VILLAGE REPORTER

As the Blackbirds prepared to do battle with the Pilots

of Ayersville for their homecoming, Queen Mikala and her

Court entered the school’s gym, ready to watch their Pet-

tisville boys give it everything they have on the court. Of

course, the girls weren’t alone, as they were accompanied

by their escorts, most of whom would by competing on the

court a bit later that evening.

Two by two, the queen’s court make their way to cen-

ter court. First came Freshman Attendant Nichole Foor,

linking arms with her escort and classmate, Justin Rupp.

Following them was Teagan Kauffman, the Sophomore At-tendant, and Caleb Rychener, her escort for the evening.

Behind them came Junior Attendant Natalie Hauffmire

and Junior Escort Matt Krill. After them, Senior Atten-dant Dana Fricke, with Tate Kauffman serving as her

escort, took their turn in the limelight. Finishing off thecourt introductions, Kindergarten Attendant Ashalyn Rice

walked onto the court with her escort, fellow kindergar-tener Brady Murray.

Finally, it was time for Queen Mikala to make her

grand entrance. With an escort minding each arm, Mikala

strode to mid-court. On one side, she had Josh Liecthy,

and on the other, Ben Graber. After everyone had beenformally introduced to the crowd, the queen and her court

took their seats, taking in an exciting homecoming game.

Afterward, the school retreated to the auxiliary gym forthe Homecoming Dance. The queen and her attendants

were again formally announced with their escorts, as thecourt members took the rst dance for themselves. Then

the entirety of Pettisville High School, as well as a certaintwo kindergarteners, danced the night away.

T.J. Hug can be reached at

[email protected]

Pettisville Homecoming 2015: An Evening To Remember

FRESHMEN ARM AND ARM ... Freshman Attendant Nich-

ole Foor links arms with her escort, Justin Rupp at Home-

coming.

SOPHOMORES SIDE BY SIDE ... Teagan Kauffman,

Sophomore Attendant, stays close to her escort, CalebRychener.

JUST LIKE THE BIG KIDS ... Kindergarten Attendant

Ashalyn Rice looks to the high school kids for dance tipswhile her escort, Brady Murray, already knows what he’s

doing.

WELCOME TO THE DANCE, JUNIORS ... Escort Matt

Krill walks with Junior Attendant Natalie Hoffmire as the

pair are announced at the Homecoming Dance.

A QUEEN’S ESCORT ... Both Josh Liechty (right) and Ben

Graber (left) stand beside Homecoming Queen Mikala

Avina.

SENIOR SMILES ... Senior Attendant Dana Fricke is all

smiles as she stands beside her escort, fellow senior Tate

Kauffman.


A QUEEN AND HER COURT ... From left to right, Front Row: Nichole Foor (Freshman Attendant), Natalie Hofre (Junior Attendant), Brady Murray (Kindergarten Escort), MikalaAvina (Homecoming Queen), Ashalyn Rice (Kindergarten Attendant), Dana Fricke (Senior Attendant), and Teagan Kauffman (Sophomore Attendant). Back Row: Ben Graber

(Queen’s Escort), Josh Liechty (Queen’s Escort), Tate Kauffman (Senior Escort), Caleb Rychener (Sophomore Escort), and Justin Rupp (Freshman Escort). Missing from picture: Junior Escort Matt Krill.

the hometown huddle - february 11th, 2015.pdf

Documents