MEIGS GALLIA MASON - Gallipolis Daily Tribune

Transcription

60673917
MEIGS
GALLIA
MASON
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60673922
2
2016 Fall Sports Preview
Alex Hawley/OVP Sports
The time is now for Meigs football
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
ROCKSPRINGS, Ohio — It’s been 18 years
since the Meigs football team has won the TriValley Conference Ohio Division. It’s been eight
years since the Marauders’ first and only postseason appearance.
If fifth-year MHS head coach Mike Bartrum
get his way, both of those droughts will end this
fall.
“We started 30 days after we were done, and
we’ve been in the weight room four days a week
since,” Coach Bartrum said. “Hopefully it will
pay off this year, we have an opportunity to be a
decent football team because of the commitment
made in the offseason. You don’t win games in
August, you win them in December, January,
February, March, April, May, June and July.
We’ve had a decent training camp, it could always
be better, but the kids are working hard.”
On the field, the Marauders will be led fourthyear starting quarterback Cody Bartrum, who
completed 157-of-267 passes for 2,206 yards as
a junior. The MHS signal caller threw 17 touchdowns against only seven interceptions, while
also adding 418 yards and nine touchdowns on
the ground. Cody Bartrum was named AP AllSoutheast District Player of the Year last fall,
while earning first team All-Ohio and first team
Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division honors.
Unfortunately, graduation took Cody Bartrum’s favorite two targets in Kaileb Sheets and
Colton Lilly.
MHS football schedule
Lilly was an
August
all-district first
26 at Gallia Academy, 7 p.m.
team receiver
September
and an all-league
2 vs. Amanda-Clearcreek, 7:30
selection, haul9 vs. Logan, 7:30
ing in 52 passes
16 at Vinton County, 7:30
23 vs. River Valley, 7:30
for 809 yards
30 at Nelsonville-York, 7:30
and eight touchOctober
downs.
7 vs. Athens, 7:30
Sheets — a
14 at Jackson, 7:30
signee to the
21 vs. Wellston, 7:30
University of
28 at Alexander, 7:30
North Carolina at Charlotte
football team — caught 56 passes for 720 yards
and six scores last fall, earning all-district and
all-league first team honors. Sheets will also be
missed in the Marauders backfield, as he posted
665 yards and six touchdowns on 101 carries.
“The good thing about these kids is that competition has made them all better,” said Coach
Bartrum. “There have been a ton of guys on
offense that have stepped up. We’re excited to
get five receivers out there and just rock-and-roll
down the field, because we have some pretty
good speed.”
Coach Bartrum is looking for Christian Mattox, Zach Helton, Lane Cullums, Jared Kennedy,
Zach Bartrum and Tyler Garretson each to step
up as key skill players for the Maroon and Gold
this fall.
See Meigs football | 58
MHS football roster
1 Zach Bartrum*, So. 6-0 170 WR-LB
2 Cody Bartrum*, Sr. 6-1 205 QB-LB
3 Cole Adams*, So. 5-10 145 RB-DB
4 Isaiah Fish*, So. 5-11 160 QB-DB
6 Weston Baer, Fr. 5-11 140 WR-DB
7 Cameron Burnem, Fr. 5-7 120 WR-DB
8 Jake Perry, So. 5-8 140 RB-DB
9 Brentten Young*, Jr. 5-9 170 TE-LB
10 Zach Helton*, Jr. 5-10 160 RB-DB
11 Christian Mattox*, Jr. 5-10 145 WR-DB
12 Bailey Caruthers*, Jr. 6-0 140 WR-DB
13 Cory Cox, Fr. 5-8 130 QB-DB
14 David Robson*, So. 5-9 160 RB-DB
15 Tyler Bachtel*, Sr. 5-6 150 WR-DB
18 Gage Shuler, Fr. 5-9 140 RB-DB
19 Tyler Garretson, Jr. 5-9 150 RB-DB
20 Dalton Dickens, So. 5-9 150 RB-LB
21 Wesley Jones*, So. 5-7 135 WR-DB
23 T.J. Williams*, Sr. 5-10 165 WR-DB
25 Landon Acree, Fr. 5-10 140 RB-LB
35 Lane Cullums*, Jr. 6-0 190 RB-LB
36 Nate Gearhart, Jr. 5-8 145 RB-LB
42 Caleb Workman, Fr. 5-8 140 TE-LB
44 Matthew Brown*, Jr. 5-6 140 RB-LB
48 Brock Roush, Sr. 5-10 180 MGR
50 Freddie Hill*, Sr. 6-0 185 OL-DE
51 Wayland Ramage*, Jr. 5-10 230 OL-DT
52 Layne Acree*, Sr. 5-11 225 OL-DE
55 Trae Hood*, Sr. 5-10 215 OL-DE
56 Adam Cotterill*, Sr. 6-10 200 OL-DE
57 Matt Dowell, Fr. 5-7 150 OL-DT
58 Keaton Huffman* Sr. 5-9 200 OL-DT
60 Matt Gilkey, Fr. 5-7 140 OL-DT
61 Elijah Swanson, Fr. 5-8 140 OL-DT
62 Drake Hall, Fr. 6-0 150 OL-DE
63 Trenton Durst*, Jr. 6-2 250 OL-DT
64 William Smith*, So. 5-9 180 OL-DT
65 Jon Newsome*, So. 6-1 250 OL-DT
66 Riley Ogdin*, Jr. 6-0 230 OL-DE
67 Steven Vance, Fr. 5-10 200 OL-DT
68 Justin Searles*, Jr. 6-1 210 OL-DT
69 Claytin Neutzling*, So. 6-3 245 OL-DT
70 Zach Dailey, Fr. 5-8 170 OL-DT
71 Tyler Shull*, Sr. 5-11 240 OL-DT
72 Alex Douglas, Fr. 5-9 110 OL-DT
73 Andrew Douglas*, Jr. 6-3 210 OL-DT
74 Donovan Chapman*, So. 5-10 240 OL-DT
75 Austin Mahr, Fr. 5-9 164 OL-DT
76 Matthew Jackson*, So. 5-10 190 OL-DT
77 Trevor McKinney, Fr. 6-0 195 OL-DT
78 Ethen Watson, Fr. 5-11 190 OL-DT
79 Jimmy Porter*, Jr. 6-1 270 OL-DT
80 K.J. Tracy*, Sr. 6-1 160 RB-LB
81 Jared Kennedy*, Sr. 6-3 175 WR-DB
84 Tucker Smith, Fr. 5-9 130 WR-DB
Head Coach: Mike Bartrum (5th season)
* — indicates varsity returnee
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3
Big Blacks aiming high in return to Class AA
By Bryan Walters
[email protected]
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — They’re back.
After a highly successful four-year run through the
Class AAA ranks, the Point Pleasant football team is
glad to be back in the Class AA field headed into the
2016 campaign.
The Big Blacks — fresh off its third consecutive
unbeaten regular season — enter this year with a
state-best 33-game regular season winning streak and
are also aiming for the program’s ninth consecutive
postseason appearance.
In fact, PPHS went a combined 41-6 overall and 4-4
in postseason contests in their four years associated
with the triple-A ranks — which included a state semifinal appearance (2015) and three consecutive seasons
with at least one postseason victory.
Just before heading into the big-school division, the
Big Blacks also enjoyed an unbeaten regular season
and a state final appearance at the Class AA level in
2011.
PPHS suffered 14 significant losses to graduation
— including Curt Warner Award winner Cody Mitchell, leading tackler Cody McDaniel and sack machine
Tanner Hill — but the Red and Black are far from an
empty cupboard headed into 2016.
Point Pleasant will have 37 varsity returnees on its
63-strong roster this fall, which includes several starters on both sides of the ball and also in the special
teams department.
And with 14 seniors, 17 juniors, 13 sophomores
and 19 freshmen all committed to a similar goal,
10th-year PPHS coach David Darst believes the 2016
gridiron campaign can be as special as any other in the
program’s history.
“One of our preseason goals has always been to
make it Wheeling Island, including the last four years
at the triple-A level. The last time we played a double-A
season, we played in a state final and we really feel like
we have an opportunity to make a run like that again,”
Darst said. “I also think that between being back at the
double-A level and us starting to close in on the state
record for most consecutive regular season wins, I
believe it helps motivate the kids just a little bit more.
“We know we have a talented team and everyone
is motivated to make this year as successful as we
can make it. We just need to keep working hard, stay
healthy and continue doing the things that have been
4
successful for us. It safe to say we are all looking forward to the 2016 season.”
The Big Blacks will have several individual pieces to
work with, rather it be an offensive lineman that has
verbally committed to Louisiana State University (Seth
Stewart), a returning running back that accumulated
close to 1,500 rushing yards (Grant Safford) last fall or
a starting quarterback with a year of triple-A experience under his belt (Cason Payne).
Darst, however, believes that the collective talent
of this group far outweighs the strengths of a few
individuals — which will be helpful as the season progresses.
“Coming off of another undefeated regular season, I
can tell you that this group of kids have worked really
hard in the weight room during the offseason,” Darst
said. “We feel that this might be the strongest football
team that we’ve ever had here at Point Pleasant, especially our linemen up front. We have a lot of depth on
both sides of the ball up there and a lot of experienced
players coming back at skilled positions too.
“Obviously the expectations are once again very
high for us as we get back into double-A and we don’t
have to make excuses about opponents having twice
the enrollment numbers as us. Honestly, it’s get the
job done around here time and that’s what we are
telling this football team. We’re all in this year and
the kids have bought in, so things have gone pretty
smooth so far.”
Darst acknowledges that the offense has been
tweeked a bit to incorporate more offensive weapons
on the perimeter, but with a massive line and experienced backfield — the Big Blacks will not abandon
their bread-and-butter rushing attack.
PPHS football schedule
The biggest quesAugust
tion, early on, is how
26 at Lincoln County, 7:30
well can PPHS fills
September
the holes left by grad2 at Ripley, 7 p.m.
uated players? So far,
9 vs. Gallia Academy, 7 p.m.
however, Darst feels
16 vs. Logan, 7:30
confident in what he’s 23 at Mount View, 7:30
seen. He also believes
30 vs. Parkersburg South, 7:30
October
that some early expe7 vs. Bluefield, 7:30
rience will help in
21 at Man, 7:30
that transition.
See point
football | 58
28 at Westside, 7:30
November
4 vs. Princeton, 7:30
PPHS football roster
2 Josh Wamsley* So 5-9 150 WR-DB
6 Ryan Mullinex* So 5-6 125 RB-DB
7 Cason Payne* So 6-2 190 QB-DB
8 Jason Schultz* Sr 5-9 215 PK
9 Beau Wallace Fr 5-6 118 WR-DB
10 Justin Brumfield* Jr 5-10 190 RB-DB
11 Jovone Johnson Fr 6-0 142 WR-DB
12 Jared Icenhower Fr 5-11 160 QB-DB
13 Jason Wamsley* Sr 5-10 180 WR-DB
14 Nick Leport Fr 5-11 135 RB-DB
15 Sheb Harris* Sr 6-2 182 RB-DB
17 Dakota Booth* Sr 5-11 203 RB-LB
19 Otis Johnson Fr 5-7 125 WR-DB
21 Andrew Jones* So 6-0 170 WR-DB
23 Keshawn Stover* Jr 5-8 150 WR-DB
24 Tyler Bright Jr 5-8 142 RB-DB
25 Zach Karras* Sr 5-6 137 RB-DB
26 Brady Adkins Fr 5-8 140 RB-DB
27 Andrew Roach* Sr 6-2 192 WR-LB
29 Shawn Myers Jr 6-0 180 RB-DE
30 Alec Smith* Jr 5-11 165 WR-DB
33 Aiden Sang Fr 6-0 145 WR-DB
34 Wyatt Stanley Fr 5-10 180 RB-LB
35 James Musgrave* So 6-1 200 RB-LB
36 Chunk Patterson* Sr 5-10 192 RB-NG
37 Grant Safford* Sr 6-2 220 RB-LB
39 Fernando Marcos Del Rio Sr 5-8 135
WR-DB
40 Tyron Howell* So 5-8 170 RB-LB
42 Tucker Mayes* Jr 5-11 195 RB-LB
43 Steven Trent Fr 5-10 155 RB-LB
44 Gage Withrow* Sr 5-9 153 WR-DB
48 Cameron Nott* Jr 5-10 185 RB-LB
49 Andrew Flowers* Jr 5-9 162 RB-DB
50 Seth Stewart* Sr 6-8 330 OL-DL
52 Wyatt Pearson* Jr 5-10 238 OL-DL
53 Colton Carr* So 5-10 135 OL-DL
55 Jacob Muncy Fr 6-1 260 OL-DL
56 Eddie Mayes So 5-10 210 OL-DL
57 Jason Chapman* Jr 5-11 225 OL-DL
58 McKeehan Justus Fr 5-6 196 OL-DL
60 Gage Neville So 6-1 230 OL-DL
61 Ryan Kinniard* So 5-10 240 OL-DL
62 Nate Barth Fr 6-0 210 OL-DL
63 Jesse Gleason* Jr 6-0 247 OL-DL
64 Dalton Halfhill* So 5-10 230 OL-DL
65 Zach Wamsley* Sr 5-11 220 OL-DL
66 Cameron McCarty Fr 6-2 240 OL-DL
67 Alexis Abrams Fr 5-6 170 OL-DL
68 Alex Gibbs* Jr 6-2 275 OL-DL
69 Gage Gibson* Sr 6-1 225 OL-DL
70 Caleb Higginbotham Fr 6-3 287
OL-DL
71 Juan Marquez Fr 6-0 245 OL-DL
72 Brian Gillispie* Jr 5-10 245 OL-DL
74 Kameron Weaver Fr 6-0 155 OL-DE
75 Thomas Jeffrey* Jr 6-2 280 OL-DL
76 Joe Clark* Sr 6-2 240 OL-DL
77 Trevon Franklin* So 6-3 285 OL-DL
78 Devin Burris* So 6-2 245 OL-DL
79 Bradley Koons Jr 6-0 230 OL-DL
80 Logan Cochran Fr 6-3 155 WR-DB
83 Ryan Oliver* Jr 6-0 170 WR-DB
86 Nick Parsons Fr 6-2 232 RB-DE
88 Clayton Hill Jr 6-2 187 WR-DE
Head Coach
David Darst (10th season)
GAHS football roster
1 Logan Bluir Fr. 5-10 160 WR-CB
3 Garrett Burns* Jr. 5-10 165 WR-CB
4 Clay Plymale* Jr. 6-1 195 RB-SS
6 John Stout Jr. 5-11 180 WR-FS
7 Justin McClelland* So. 6-0 185 QB-SS
9 Luke Saunders Fr. 5-11 165 WR-CB
10 Cory Call* So. 5-11 170 WR-CB
11 Colton Campbell* Sr. 6-1 170 WR-FS
13 Dalton Rose Jr. 5-9 165 WR-CB
14 Cade Roberts Fr. 5-8 160 RB-LB
15 Evan Rodgers Fr. 6-1 150 WR-CB
16 Justin Wilcoxon Fr. 5-7 140 WR-CB
17 Ryan Donovsky Fr. 5-8 145 QB-CB
20 Jason Stroud* So. 5-0 85 WR-CB
21 Chris Valentine Fr. 5-7 140 WR-CB
22 Tanner Allen Jr. 5-10 170 RB-CB
23 Matthew Moreaux* Jr. 5-9 165 TE
25 Colton Caldwell Fr. 5-10 165 RB-LB
28 Boo Pullins* So. 5-10 175 RB-LB
29 Trenton Meadows Fr. 5-9 160 TE-DE
32 Quinton Yarger* Sr. 5-10 190 TE-DE
33 Wyatt Sipple* So. 5-10 160 WR-CB
44 Cole Davis* So. 5-10 165 WR-SS
50 Derek Johnson* So. 5-8 175 G-LB
51 Andrew Mullins Jr. 5-9 175 G-DE
52 Nathan Mitchell* Jr. 5-11 195 T-DE
53 Garrett McGuire Jr. 6-0 215 T-DT
54 Nick Hufford* Jr. 5-11 175 G-DE
55 Ty Howell* Sr. 6-1 200 G-DE
56 Cole Rose Fr. 5-10 180 G-LB
58 Brody Thomas* Sr. 5-10 190 G-LB
59 Carter Campbell* So. 5-9 175 C-DT
60 Tyjae Jones Sr. 6-0 290 T-DT
61 Dakota Beaver* Jr. 5-9 160 G-DE
63 Zach Newell* So. 5-7 160 G-DE
64 Tanner Few So. 6-1 240 G-DE
65 Ethan Mayes Jr. 6-0 200 G-DE
67 Colton Russell* So. 5-10 260 C-DT
69 Mason Angel Fr. 5-10 220 G-DT
70 Logan Rose* So. 5-10 210 T-DE
73 Zach Canaday Fr. 5-10 240 T-DT
74 Garrett Rogers* Sr. 6-0 180 G-DE
76 Jonas McCreedy* Jr. 6-0 220 G-DT
81 Isaiah Stinson Fr. 5-10 160 WR-CB
Head Coach: Josh Riffe (3rd season)
GAHS football schedule
August
26 vs. Meigs, 7 p.m.
September
3 vs. River Valley, 7:30 p.m.
9 at Point Pleasant, 7 p.m.
16 at Chesapeake, 7 p.m.
23 at Portsmouth, 7 p.m.
30 vs. Fairland, 7 p.m.
October
7 at Coal Grove, 7 p.m.
14 vs. Rock Hill, 7 p.m.
21 at Ironton, 7 p.m.
28 vs. South Point, 7 p.m.
Paul Boggs/OVP Sports
Youth movement continues for Blue Devils
By Paul Boggs
[email protected]
GALLIPOLIS, Ohio — As the
youthful Blue Devils aim to step up
their play, don’t tell them that the
Ohio Valley Conference is a step
down.
That’s because, after 91 seasons
as a member of the Southeastern
Ohio Athletic League, the Gallia
Academy High School football
team begins play as a member of
the now eight-team OVC.
For third-year head coach Josh
Riffe, and his rebuilding Blue Devils, playing similar-size schools
from neighboring Lawrence County will produce its benefits.
“The best thing with the transition (to the OVC) is the schedule
part,” said Riffe. “In scheduling for
last year, we were looking for seven
games, which is difficult to do especially if you want to stay close by.
Now with the OVC, it’s good travel
and a competitive league. I think
some people have the mindset of
us going from the SEOAL to the
OVC as a step down. I always point
out that there were three playoff
teams in the OVC last year (Chesapeake, Rock Hill and Ironton) and
one in the SEOAL (Jackson). That’s
not a step down. I think it will be
great competition and it will be
good for our kids and our fans to
see similar people on our schedule
year in and year out.”
And, this group of Blue Devils
will be seeing the same OVC players for a few years to come.
Despite an increase to 42 players
on the Gallia Academy roster, most
of the Blue Devils are either freshmen or sophomores.
Gallia Academy is coming off
a struggling 1-9 campaign — its
worst season since a winless year
in 1983.
The Blue Devils went 4-6 in
Riffe’s first season.
With a youth movement underway at historic Memorial Field, the
Blue Devils don’t have a plethora
of varsity experience — so there is
nowhere to go but up.
“We’re going to be young. We’re
going to play a lot of young guys.
We have seven seniors, so a lot of
guys that play will have limited
experience or no varsity experience,” said Riffe. “Our biggest
concern right now is how much
varsity game time, or lack thereof,
a lot of these guys have seen. You
can’t really simulate varsity game
time in practice. We expect to
improve in that area as the season
goes on, because of young guys
getting more games in and getting
better because they will get more
games in.”
Gallia Academy only returns
four starters on defense and
offense, as seniors Ty Howell
(linebacker/offensive tackle),
Colton Campbell (defensive back/
wide receiver) and Quinton Yarger
(defensive end/tight end) return
on both sides of the ball.
Garrett Burns comes back in the
secondary, while Justin McClelland — who played the final few
games at quarterback — returns
under center.
A dozen Blue Devils graduated
last season, as Kole Carter captured
first-team Division III all-Southeast
District accolades.
Carter — on offense — passed
for 931 yards and 12 touchdowns,
while rushing for 900 yards and
nine TDs.
As a linebacker on defense,
Carter made 94 tackles, including
12 for loss.
“Kole (Carter) is one of those
guys that you can’t really replace
because of everything he did as a
leader on and off the field,” said
Riffe. “We’re still looking for that
guy to take his role. We’re really
encouraging these guys to step
up and take that leadership role.
Nobody really knows their role yet
in that regard because he was such
a good leader.”
Anthony Sipple, a two-time
all-district honoree, was regarded
as the Blue Devils’ top two-way
lineman.
Riffe said the Blue Devils’
defense will be a 4-3, while he
expects several skilled players
to record pass catches or rush
attempts.
“We’re not real big up front,
so we’re going to be spread out
on offense, trying to be multipleformation and thin the box out,”
he said. “We feel like where we’re
young, there will probably be six to
eight guys that get touches at some
point during the game. Their skill
sets are very similar. We want to
develop them for the future too.”
Among those skilled players are
Burns, Wyatt Sipple, John Stout,
Cole Davis, Boo Pullins, Tanner
Allen and Clay Plymale.
Several players are also battling
for spots on the lines, including
Garrett McGuire, Brody Thomas,
Tyjae Jones, Tanner Few, Colton
Russell, Mason Angel, Garrett Rod-
See blue football | 59
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6
White Falcons battling numbers, youth in 2016
By Bryan Walters
[email protected]
MASON, W.Va. — Looks can be deceiving.
The Wahama football team heads into the 2016
football campaign battling a bit of a numbers crunch
as the White Falcons have only two seniors and 27
total players on the roster.
The Red and White, however, are far from a bare
cupboard as WHS returns 18 players from last year’s
squad that stumbled through a disappointing 4-6
campaign in which the White Falcons saw their sixyear postseason streak come to an end.
The White Falcons also suffered significant losses
to graduation with the departures of Jared Nutter,
Nolan Pierce, Noah Davis, Ryan Thomas, Wesley
Jones, Ricky Kearns, Ian Hook, Billy Joe McDermitt,
Austin Juelfs, Jesse Hesson and Clayton Sines — all
significant contributors to last year’s team.
WHS finished the 2015 campaign with its worst
finish since joining the Tri-Valley Conference Hocking Division in 2010 after going 3-5 and tying with
Southern for sixth place in the league standings.
On paper, Wahama may not appear to be its traditional self — but fourth-year head coach Dave Barr
notes that there is a little bit more to his troops than
meets the eye.
“Our numbers aren’t the biggest, but I do feel that
Dailey Tire
an overall strength for us is team intelligence. All of
these guys know multiple positions, which should
allow us some options with the numbers we do have,”
Barr said. “We feel that quickness is going to be one
of our team strengths, so we are doing some things a
bit differently with our offense to try and take advantage of that.
“We also feel like that if we can avoid the injury
bug, we can have a very competitive and very good
season. It will come down to staying healthy and the
kids stepping up to make plays when they are needed.
Those will be two big keys to our season.”
Besides the two seniors on the team — Wyatt
Edwards and Tanner Nutter — the White Falcons are
glad to welcome back the experience of juniors Colton
Hendrick, Bryton Grate, Johnnie Board, Garrett
Snouffer, Dalton Kearns, Colton Arrington, Christian
Thomas and Christopher Hesson to the squad.
Also returning from a year ago are sophomores
Brady Bumgarner, Ronin Madill, Trey Peters, Antonio
Serevicz, Brycen Patrick, Braden Weaver, Jacob Fisher
and Kyle Marr.
That core nucleus of veteran players will be called
upon to serve not only as leaders, but also as mentors
to the newcomers as they gain their varsity experience throughout the course of the season.
See White football | 59
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WHS football schedule
August
26 at Ravenswood, 7:30
September
2 at Waterford, 7:30
9 vs. Southern, 7:30
16 vs. Belpre, 7:30
23 at Federal Hocking, 7 p.m.
30 at Trimble, 7:30
October
7 vs. Eastern, 7:30
14 vs. South Gallia, 7:30
21 at Miller, 7:30
November
4 vs. Buffalo, 7:30
Bryan Walters/OVP Sports
60672729
WHS football roster
2 Colton Hendrick* Jr 5-8 150 WR-DB
3 Bryton Grate* Jr 5-7 155 QB-DB
4 Brady Bumgarner* So 5-10 155 QB-LB
9 Ronin Madill* So 5-8 150 RB-LB
11 Brayden Davenport Fr 5-6 130 QB-DB
12 Trey Peters* So 5-7 105 WR-DB
13 Shawn Taylor So TE-LB
15 Johnnie Board* Jr 5-5 135 RB-DB
19 Garrett Snouffer* Jr 5-7 140 E-DL
21 Kody Hollis Fr 5-6 120 WR-DB
23 Dalton Kearns* Jr 5-6 140 B-LB
24 Wyatt Edwards* Sr 6-2 183 FB-LB
28 Colton Arrington* Jr 5-9 145 B-LB
35 Andrew Grimm So 5-10 200 TE-LB
50 Isaiah Reitmire Fr 5-9 180 OL-DL
55 Antonio Serevicz* So 5-10 195 OL-DL
56 Wesley Peters Fr 5-7 150 OL-DL
57 Christian Thomas* Jr 5-9 16 C-LB
58 Carson Eades Jr 6-0 200 OL-DL
59 Dustin Lane
60 Brycen Patrick* So 5-9 210 OL-DE
61 Braden Weaver* So 5-9 220 OL-DL
62 Dakota Bender Jr 6-1 200 OL-DL
64 Jacob Fisher* So 6-1 190 OL-DL
67 Christopher Hesson* Jr 6-1 225
OL-DL
71 Tanner Nutter* Sr 6-2 235 OL-DL
72 Kyle Marr* So 6-1 200 OL-DL
Head Coach
Dave Barr (4th season)
7
Raiders reload after historic season
By Paul Boggs
[email protected]
BIDWELL, Ohio — River Valley went for broke, and
it paid off.
But, now, it’s time to reload.
That’s because after the Raiders’ historic season, in
which they qualified for their first-ever state playoffs,
the River Valley High School football program — in its
own view — isn’t about rebuilding anymore.
Rather, these Raiders intend to reload.
Just ask sixth-year head coach Jerrod Sparling, who
spoke highly of this year’s veteran squad.
“We have an older group for the most part and these
guys know how to handle their business,” said Sparling. “I feel really good about this group. They’ve been
through the highs and lows and I hope they understand what it takes to be a top-flight program and a
consistent winner. The experiences from last year were
a high, but we don’t them to be a peak. Regardless of
the talent level, there’s a standard of expectations that
we hold these kids to.”
The bar that last season’s senior class of 15 set is
indeed high.
The Raiders recorded a school-best 7-3 regularseason record, and advanced to the state playoffs for
the first time.
The same six players earned postseason honors —
as Kirk Morrow, Mark Wray, Dayton Hardway, Justin
Arrowood, Ty Smittle and Mike Williams all made
all-Southeast District Division V AND all-Tri-Valley
Conference Ohio Division.
Morrow was a two-time all-district first-team wide
receiver, while Wray was an all-purpose player —
along with fellow first-teamers Hardway (quarterback)
and Arrowood (linebacker).
Morrow and Hardway were repeat selections to the
all-TVC-Ohio squad.
In finishing 4-2 in the league, the Raiders lost those
two league bouts by a combined 14 points.
“Last year was the culmination of a lot of hard work
by a lot of people. The seniors we had last year were
eighth graders when we (River Valley coaching staff)
got here and the juniors were seventh graders. That
was really the first full class that we had through our
program,” said Sparling. “We had a ton of kids back, we
had a lot of playmakers back, we had a lot of kids with
8
ability that came back. Six players off that solid senior
class signed to play in college (football). We knew we
were talented, but it was something that had never
been done down here. The ride was stressful, but we
had some highs that are experiences that this place has
never had before and that was so exciting. It’s done
a world of help for our program and we really look to
build off that.”
For starters, the Raiders return seven on defense
and six on offense, part of 47 on the entire RVHS
roster.
Sparling said there are a dozen seniors, a lot of
freshmen out, and although “the juniors and sophomores are not as number-loaded as we like, there is
talent there.”
“We have a nice group back. Last year’s juniors
complemented our senior class very well. But it’s their
(2016 seniors) time now,” said the coach. “Last year,
our seniors were heavy in the skill department and a
lot of our younger guys were on the first and second
levels. This year, it’s flipped. We have some new guys
at the skill positions, but we return a lot of older guys
on the offensive and defensive lines and linebacker
levels.”
The Raiders relied heavily on a base 4-3 defense —
one that averaged allowing only 10.6 points per game.
Brody Moles and Devon McDonald are three-year
lettermen which return along the line, while Jaykob
Mabe and Dylan Brown are two-year lettermen which
return at linebacker.
“They (Moles and McDonald) have a sense of toughness and they know what our flavor is and they know
how to get things done. They’ve been through a number of battles up front,” said Sparling.
Tre Craycraft, a two-year letterwinner, comes back
in the secondary along with Patrick Brown — but
Brown will be taking over at quarterback.
Another two-year letterman, Jacob Dovenbarger,
returns at wide receiver and defensive end.
There are also four or five defensive linemen returning from last season’s regular rotation.
“We expect a lot out of our defensive group. There’s
a big nucleus there and those guys know what the
standard around here is,” said Sparling. “We had a
very good defense last year and this group wants to be
See RAIDERS | 59
RVHS football roster
1 Jordan Burns Fr. QB-DB
2 Layne Fitch* So. WR-DB
3 Tyler Blackburn* So. QB-DB
5 Jared Reese Fr. WR-DB
6 Jeremiah Dobbins Jr. RB-DB
7 Jarrett McCarley* Jr. WR-DB
8 Caleb Blankenship Fr. WR-DB
9 Chase Caldwell Fr. WR-DB
10 Dustin Barber* Jr. WR-DB
11 Brandon Call Fr. WR-DL
12 Patrick Brown* Jr. QB-DB
15 Joseph Marcum So. RB-DB
16 Andrew Eleam Jr. K
21 Jacob Campbell* So. RB-LB
22 Joseph Dale So. WR-DB
23 Chris Parsons* Sr. WR-LB
24 Cole Young Fr. RB-LB
25 Dylan Brown* Sr. H-LB
27 Dylan Lemley* So. H-LB
32 Reece Thomas So. H-DL
33 Jacob Dovenbarger* Sr. WR-DL
34 Colton Gilmore Fr. H-DL
35 Jaykob Mabe* Sr. H-LB
40 John Colwell Fr. WR-DB
42 Tre Craycraft* Sr. WR-DB
44 Gabe Stapleton* Jr. RB-LB
45 Jeffrey Fitzwater Fr. WR-DB
51 Alex Stapleton Fr. OL-DL
52 Brody Moles* Sr. OL-DL
53 Derek Reese Fr. OL-DL
54 Jerry Brammer Sr. OL-DL
57 Zach Long Jr. OL-DL
58 Gary Spencer Sr. OL-DL
62 Jacob McGhee Fr. OL-DL
63 Caiden Young Fr. OL-DL
65 K.C. Collins Jr. OL-DL
66 Darian Peck Fr. OL-DL
70 Robert Drummond* Sr. OL-DL
71 Ben Arrowood* Jr. OL-DL
72 Cole Thaxton Fr. OL-LB
73 Brandon Barker* Sr. OL-DL
74 Devin McDonald* Sr. OL-DL
75 Ty Van Sickle* So. OL-DL
77 Cameron Hess Fr. OL-DL
78 Josh Marcum* Sr. OL-DL
82 Colton Provens* Sr. RB-LB
84 Cameron Salyers* Sr. H-DL
Head Coach: Jerrod Sparling (6th
season)
RVHS football schedule
August
26 vs. Eastern, 7:30
September
3 at Gallia Academy, 7:30
9 at South Point, 7 p.m.
16 vs. Nelsonville-York, 7:30
23 at Meigs, 7:30
October
14 vs. Vinton County, 7:30
21 at Athens, 7:30
28 vs. Waverly, 7:30
Chancey-led Tornadoes well prepared
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
RACINE, Ohio — The Southern
varsity football team is under new
guidance in 2016, and will try to get
back to a winning mark after back-toback 4-6 campaigns.
The Tornadoes — who’ve only had
two winning seasons in the past 20
years (2013: 8-3) (2006: 6-4) — will
be led by former Meigs Marauders
head coach Mike Chancey, who in 19
seasons at MHS coached the Maroon
and Gold to 11 winning campaigns,
two conference titles and the school’s
only playoff berth in 2008.
“It feels great to be back,” Chancey
said. “When I got out of coaching four years ago, I thought that I
would probably be done. Every year
that’s gone by, I’ve missed it a little
bit more and last fall I decided that
I was going to coach football somewhere. This job became available and
I thought it was a great opportunity
for me.”
Chancey — who holds a coaching
record of 103-87 — was hired to
replace six-year Tornadoes skipper
and 2013 AP Southeast District
Coach of the Year Kyle Wickline, who
was non-renewed by the Southern
Local Schools Board of Education
in December. Wickline coached the
Purple and Gold to a 24-37 record
and the program’s only postseason
appearance in 2013.
Nine of Southern’s 11 seniors
were freshmen on the 2013 playoff
team, they are Blake Johnson, Jaylen
Blanks, Crenson Rogers, Clayton
Wood, Colten Holbrook, Kody
Greene, Trey Pickens, Jordan Fisher
and Brody Richards.
SHS seniors Ike Akers and Curtis
Counts are both newcomers to the
school district, and are expected to
contribute to the Tornadoes right
away.
“They lost some good football
players from last year, but we also
have some good football players
back,” said Chancey. “What that will
translate to in terms of wins and
losses, I don’t know, but I’m optimistic and I think we can be competitive.
Just like everybody, we don’t have a
lot of depth, so it will be key that we
stay healthy.”
Along with Johnson, Rogers,
Wood and Blanks, SHS is expecting
juniors Dylan Smith and Riley Roush
to be key returnees at the skill positions.
Johnson — who is entering his
third season as the SHS starting
quarterback — completed 130-of229 passes last fall, totaling 1,701
yards and 19 touchdowns against
only five interceptions. For his
efforts last fall, Johnson was selected
to the Tri-Valley Conference Hocking
Division first team and earned an alldistrict special mention nod.
SHS will be without one of Johnson’s favorite targets from 2015,
however, as Tommy Ramthun —
who posted 552 yards and eight
scores on 30 receptions — was one
of six players Southern lost to graduation. Ramthun was an all-league
first team selection and an all-district
first team defensive back as a senior.
Luckily for the Purple and Gold,
Rogers, Smith and Wood each proved
more than capable at the receiver
position last fall. Rogers pulled in a
team-best 34 passes for 544 yards
and seven scores as a junior, Smith
caught 33 passes for 330 yards and
two scores, while Wood had 23
receptions for 180 yards and three
touchdowns. Rogers was an All-TVC
Hocking first team selection in 2015,
while Smith was an all-district special mention.
As a team in 2015, the Tornadoes
ran for 841 yards and 10 touchdowns. All three of Southern’s leading rushers from last year are back
this fall. Greene — who suffered an
off-season ATV accident and will
miss a part of the 2016 season — led
Southern’s ground attack last year
with 394 yards and five scores on 86
carries. Smith was Southern’s second
leading rusher in 2015 with 234
yards and two scores on 67 attempts,
while Roush was next with 192 yards
and two scores on 40 carries.
Blanks was an all-district special
mention selection as a sophomore,
but suffered a season-ending injury
before Southern’s first offensive
snap last fall. Blanks — who made
the state track and field meet in the
200m dash as a sophomore — will
likely take on a major role in the
2016 SHS backfield.
Graduation took its biggest toll on
the Tornadoes’ offensive and defensive lines, as standout linemen Joe
Beegle, Dalton Patterson, Kris Shortridge, Jeremy Dutton and Theron
Johnson were all seniors last year.
Beegle was a first team selection on
the all-district and all-league team.
Pickens is the only two-way starting lineman returning for SHS, while
Richards started on the defensive
line last fall and is expected to play
on both sides of the ball this year.
Multiple Tornadoes are expected
to contend for the final spots on the
line, including Andrew Evans, Alex
VanMeter, Austin Arnold, Connor
Thomas, Dameson Jenkins and Jordan Fisher.
In 2015, Southern’s defense
allowed 26.3 points per game, 213
rushing yards per game and 68.7
passing yards per game.
“My expectations for us are to
simply be the best football team that
we can be,” Chancey said. “What
we’ve emphasized is simply give
SHS football roster
1 Brody Dutton*, So. 5-9 130 E-DB
3 Clayton Wood*, Sr. 5-8 160 E-DB
4 Blake Johnson*, Sr. 6-2 175 QB-DB
5 Jaylen Blanks*, Sr. 6-1 190 RB-DB
7 Dylan Smith*, Jr. 5-10 160 RB-QB-DB
8 Riley Roush*, Jr. 5-10 190 RB-OLB
9 Ryan McCabe, Jr. 6-1 165 E-DB
10 Ike Akers, Sr. 6-0 210 RB-ILB
11 Logan Drummer*, So. 5-9 130 QB-DB
12 Weston Thorla*, So. 6-2 160 E-DB
14 Connor Yost, Jr. 5-9 140 RB-DB
15 Andrew Evans*, Jr. 5-10 190 RB-OLB
18 Crenson Rogers*, Sr. 6-3 210 E-DE
21 Austin Baker*, So. 6-2 150 E-DE
22 Kody Greene*, Sr. 6-0 200 RB-ILB
24 Garrett Wolfe*, Jr. 6-3 175 E-DB
25 Reece Reuter*, So. 5-8 180 RB-OLB
34 Colten Holbrook, Sr. 5-11 175 RB-OLB
44 Gage Barrett, Fr. 5-10 150 RB-QB-ILB
50 Alex VanMeter*, So. 6-0 185 OL-ILB
52 Trey Pickens*, Sr. 6-3 220 OL-DL
55 Ryan Mills*, So. 5-9 175 OL-DL
56 Dameson Jenkins, Jr. 6-2 295 OL-DL
57 Matthios Stansberry, Fr. 5-8 200 OL-DL
60 Sean Myers, So. 5-8 190 OL-ILB
62 Connor Thomas*, Jr. 5-9 210 OL-DL
64 Curtis Counts, Sr. 6-1 185 OL-DL
65 Spencer Harrison*, Jr. 5-9 170 OL-OLB
66 Jordan Fisher*, Sr. 6-0 210 OL-DE
67 Auston Colburn*, So. 5-9 180 OL-ILB
70 Jackson Circle, Jr. 5-10 180 OL-DE
74 Brody Richards*, Sr. 5-10 230 OL-DL
77 Austin Arnold*, So. 6-2 195 OL-DL
88 Mark Eblin, Fr. 6-3 195 E-DE
Head Coach: Mike Chancey (1st season)
SHS football schedule
August
26 vs. Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
September
2 at Frontier, 7 p.m.
9 at Wahama, 7:30
16 vs. Miller, 7:30
23 at Belpre, 7:30
30 vs. Federal Hocking, 7 p.m.
October
7 vs. Trimble, 7:30
29 at Eastern, 7:30
great effort, work hard and develop
into a team. The more we truly
become a team, and put the team
first, I think we will get better and
better.”
The Purple and Gold finished tied
for sixth in the TVC Hocking last fall,
with a 3-5 record in the nine-team
league. Southern’s 2015 league wins
over Wahama, Federal Hocking and
Eastern.
For the third straight year, Southern will play Portsmouth Notre
Dame and Frontier in non-league
tilts. In both 2014 and 2015, SHS
defeated the Titans, but lost to the
Cougars.
Alex Hawley can be reached at 740446-2342, ext. 2100.
9
Young Rebels to change pace
By Paul Boggs
[email protected]
MERCERVILLE, Ohio — Simply
put, the Rebels are switching gears
— and dramatically changing pace.
In fact, seventh-year South Gallia head football coach Jason Peck
admitted as much.
“This year, we’re going to a
double-wing offense and so it’s
going to look completely different
than in years past. We haven’t even
broke double-tight (end) formation
this whole offseason,” said Peck. “It
will look different and we will play
a different type of ball, but with
that being said, I truly believe in my
heart that we have the boys to do it
and compete in every game if not
win them.”
Indeed, with a new-look offense
and defense — and all but two twoway starters graduated — it’s a new
era of football in Mercerville.
However, the 35 Rebels aren’t
lacking in confidence for the new
styles — and are eager about taking
the field to prove themselves.
“Other than four total starters,
everyone else is pretty much a
fresh face and new to our program
completely. Most of everybody
had junior varsity experience or
are incoming freshmen. But we’re
excited about that and our new
brand of football,” said Peck. “To get
that mentality back is something
very special in itself. We’re happy to
do this, the kids are buying into it,
and they are doing a fabulous job of
playing power football.”
Why the switch you ask?
Especially when the Rebels have
had so much success in Peck’s first
six seasons running the wide-open
spread-the-field formation?
10
Consider over 3,000 yards of
offense graduated last year — in the
form of first-team all-Southeast District Division VII offensive players
Landon Hutchinson (quarterback),
Kane Hutchinson (wide receiver)
and Isaiah Geiger (running back).
Landon Hutchinson was a twotime first-team all-district quarterback, and a two-time all-Tri-Valley
Conference Hocking Division selection.
The Rebels, which went 5-3 in the
TVC-Hocking, went 6-4 in the regular season — and qualified for the
state playoffs for the fourth time in
school history (2005, 2006, 2011
and 2015).
“Landon Hutchinson, Kane
Hutchinson and Isaiah Geiger were
pretty much most of the offense last
year. Johnny Sheets did a lot for us
with 10 touchdowns, but we had
4,000 total yards of offense last year
and over 3,000 of them has graduated. That includes the offensive line
that helped produce those yards as
well,” said Peck.
In addition, South Gallia graduated first-team all-district defensive lineman Ty Carpenter, as the
Hutchinsons, Geiger, Carpenter
and Jake Saunders were all-TVCHocking.
The only returning starters are
Colton Bowers and Johnny Sheets,
as Bowers is a guard and defensive
end.
Sheets, starting at halfback and
defensive back, rushed for 674 yards
and 10 touchdowns on 67 carries
last season — along with making
28 tackles including 10 for loss with
four sacks.
Another senior, Josh Henry, has
the task of stepping in at quarterback.
“Johnny Sheets will be the feature
back, but we have a lot of weapons
to go with Johnny,” said Peck. “Our
offensive line is huge and very
strong. Playing power is going to be
a strength.”
The Rebels are also altering their
defense from a 5-2 formation to a
4-3 — to “fit the kids better”, Peck
said.
“It’s a new defense for us, but we
are getting better at it as we go,”
said the coach. “Speed is a weakness
right now for us, but we’re doing
some things to accommodate that
speed with scheme and technique.”
The Rebel roster features seven
seniors, while the majority consists
of sophomores and freshmen.
“The freshmen and sophomores
make up most of our roster, but
those kids have been working since
January and they are truly not
freshmen and sophomores. They are
different and I mean that. They are a
great group of kids,” said Peck.
And, those freshmen and sophomores will be tested quickly —
against a stacked and experienced
TVC-Hocking Division.
Trimble is the defending division champion — and prohibitive
favorite to claim the league title yet
again.
“Nothing comes easy in our
league. Even the teams that are
down are so well coached in this
league. It’s just amazing,” said Peck.
But first game first, the Rebels
traveled to Sciotoville East for their
first of two non-league tilts on Friday night.
Peck said that while South Gallia may lack overall experience, he
praised his young club for welcoming change that could pay off in the
form of some wins.
SGHS football roster
1 Kyle Northup Fr. 5-4 130 HB-DB
2 Colten Coughenour* Sr. 5-7 155 QB-DB
3 Caleb Henry So. 5-11 191 HB-LB
7 Johnny Sheets* Sr. 6-2 242 HB-DE
10 Jeremy Johnson Jr. 6-0 177 HB-DB
11 William Orsborn Fr. 5-0 100 HB-DB
12 Jacob Birtcher Fr. 5-6 151 HB-DB
14 Josh Henry Sr. 6-1 170 QB-LB
16 Tristan Fox Fr. 5-11 160 TE-DE
17 Gavin Bevan* So. 5-10 155 TE-DE
19 Chase Kemper So. 6-1 171 QB-LB
20 Tyler Bryan* Jr. 5-10 144 HB-DB
21 Cory Bryan* Sr. 6-3 155 TE-DB
24 David Kuhn Sr. 5-5 248 FB-DT
29 Alex Blake Fr. 5-6 145 TE-DB
32 Chayce Pearson* Jr. 5-9 213 TE-LB
34 Bryceton Folden* So. 5-8 145 QB-DB
40 Jeffery Sheets Fr. 5-11 235 TE-LB
46 A.J. Woodall* So. 5-6 213 FB-LB
50 Damon Hill Sr. 5-11 287 C-DT
52 Justin Butler Fr. 5-9 150 G-DE
53 Joey Woodall Sr. 5-9 210 G-DT
54 Chad Bostic* So. 5-9 170 C-LB
55 Dakota Bettis* Jr. 5-8 174 G-LB
57 Brody Baily Jr. 6-1 235 T-LB
61 A.J. Addis So. 5-11 235 T-DT
62 Jacob Neil Fr. 5-8 274 G-DT
64 Nolan Stanley Fr. 5-8 148 G-DE
66 Austin Day Fr. 6-4 287 T-DT
71 Tanner Dennison* So. 6-3 318 T-DT
73 Caleb Neil Fr. 5-8 280 T-DT
75 Wyatt Rapp* So. 5-6 268 T-DT
77 Coleton Bowers* Jr. 6-2 262 G-DE
87 Sam Cudd Fr. 5-11 150 TE-DE
Head Coach: Jason Peck (7th season)
SGHS football schedule
August
26 vs. Sciotoville East, 7:30
September
9 vs. Trimble, 7:30
16 at Manchester, 7:30
23 at Eastern, 7:30
30 vs. Belpre, 7:30
October
7 vs. Waterford, 7:30
14 at Wahama, 7:30
21 at Southern, 7:30
28 vs. Miller, 7:30
“I don’t want to say we’re going
to surprise some people, because
I don’t know what people think
we are going to be. I’m sure we are
circled on everybody’s calendar
where we lost so many people,” he
said. “But I can say that with the
way this team works, with the way
they accept coaching, we’re going
to be in every game I believe. We’re
going to compete and come out with
some wins that maybe people think
we shouldn’t have. I enjoy coming
to work everyday with this group
and I can’t say enough about them.
They are go-getters, they are here,
they are consistent and they try to
improve every day.”
Paul Boggs can be reached at 740446-2342, ext. 2106
Wildcats aiming for improvement in 2016
By Bryan Walters
[email protected]
ASHTON, W.Va. — The foundation has settled … so let the
building process begin.
After struggling to an 0-8
record during his first season
with Hannan, second-year football coach Brian Scott believes
that the 2016 campaign can be
one of growth and expansion.
The Wildcats — who have
dropped 17 consecutive gridiron decisions over the last two
seasons — have 21 players out
for this fall, with roughly half of
those serving as varsity returnees to the program.
With a full season of familiarity between the coaches and
players, Scott believes that the
Good Luck Teams!!
Wildcats will be better prepared
headed into their Friday night
matchups this year — especially
following a full year of work
under his tutelage.
“Last year was all about building a foundation for this program. As we moved into our first
full offseason, the guys knew
See Wildcats | 59
HHS football roster
1 Matt Qualls So QB-DB
2 Aaron Turner Jr WR-DB
8 Tyler Cochran* Jr WR-DB
13 Dominic Burris* So WR-DB
14 Michael Lowe* Jr RB-LB
15 Logan Nibert* Jr QB-DB
22 Jordan Fitzwater Fr RB-DL-LB
24 Derrick Burris Fr WR-DB
34 Stephan Berry* So RB-CB
35 Dakota Powell Fr RB-LB
44 Kyle Fielder Fr TE-LB
55 Johnny Graley* Jr OL-DL
58 Zach Plants Fr OL-DL
62 Nathan McQueen* Jr OL-LB
66 Isiah White Sr OL-DL
70 Nick Hughes* Sr OL-DL
71 James Edmonds* Jr OL-DL
72 Riley Griffith Jr OL-DL
79 Richard Parsons Fr OL-DL
80 Charles Wallace* Jr TE-LB
84 Chandler Starkey Fr K-TE
Head Coach
Brian Scott (2nd season)
HHS football schedule
August
26 at Montcalm, 7:30
September
2 vs. Green, 7:30
9 at Bishop Donahue, 7:30
16 vs. Hundred, 7:30
23 at River View, 7:30
October
7 vs. Phelps, 7:30
14 at Paden City, 7:30
21 vs. Gilmer County, 7:30
28 vs. Beallsville, 7:30
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11
Eagles hope for continued improvement in 2016
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
TUPPERS PLAINS, Ohio — 2016 could be a bounce
back year for the Eastern football team.
EHS was just 2-8 on the gridiron last fall, but has 24
returning players for head coach Pat Newland’s third
season. Eastern’s roster of 35 players features five
seniors, 12 juniors, 12 sophomores and six freshmen.
“We have a pretty good senior class,” Newland said.
“We only have five, but the five that we have are pretty
good.”
EHS seniors entering their fourth varsity seasons
are Jett Facemyer, Corbett Catlett and Mac Browning,
while seniors enterning their second varsity campaigns are Jon Wolfe and Jeremiah Martindale.
In 2015, EHS finished eighth in the nine-team TriValley Conference Hocking Division, finishing with
a 2-6 league mark. In its eight league games, Eastern
allowed 194 rushing yards and 147.5 passing yards per
game.
The Eagles have won 11 league titles in school history, including two TVC Hocking titles (1995 and 2000).
After three consecutive losses to begin 2015, Eastern defeated visiting Federal Hocking by a 39-8 count.
The Eagles stunned 2015 playoff qualifer South Gallia
by a 26-21 count in Mercerville in the following week,
but then dropped their final five games.
In those two wins, EHS signal caller Jett Facemyer
threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns, while running for 153 yards and one touchdown. Josh Brewer
also stepped up in the wins, rusing for 178 yards and
two scores.
Brewer, who is now a junior, and Jett Facemyer are
two of the top returnees for EHS offense this fall, and
they will be looking for help to replace Cameron Rich-
mond, Reagan Rucker, Chase Curtis and Jesse Morris,
who were all skill players lost to graduation.
The 2015 Eagles were outscored by an average of
30.2 points per game, falling victim to two shutouts.
“When you lose guys that go hard all the time, it’s
hard to replace them,” Newland said. “We’re switching
around our defense a little. We have a little bit more
speed in our back seven, with Jon Wolfe and Jeremiah
Martindale playing corners, Jett Facemyer, Trenton
Delacruz and Brayden Holter at linebacker, and our
safties being Nate Durst and Blaise Facemyer. We’re
pretty fast back there, it may not be the size we had,
but we’re pretty fast.”
Eastern’s defense allowed 41.3 points per game last
fall, the most of any EHS team in the past 20 seasons.
Graduation also took a major toll on the Eagles’ line,
as Ross Keller, Austin Life and Chase Williams will all
need to be replaced. Keller — who is currently playing
for Marietta College — was a two time all-district first
team selection, a one-time all-district special mention,
and a one-time all-league selection.
“Whenever you lose size like we lost, it’s hard,” Newland said. “We have some guys with size coming back
that are going to play a lot more, in Ryan Kennedy,
Wyatt Bissell, Mac Browning and Tyler Davis. We have
some size up front, but right now what we have to
work on is doing things right and knowing what we’re
supposed to do.”
Eastern’s last winning season was 2012, but the
Eagles haven’t had a losing season on an even number
year since 2008.
“We’ve looked really good out of pads and we’ve
worked really hard this summer,” Newland said. “We
just have to get used to playing in our pads and playing
fast. We’ve been working really hard, it’s just going to
EHS football roster
2 Jett Facemyer*, Sr. 6-0, 180 QB-LB
3 Nick Browning, So. 6-2 167 WR-LB
5 Owen Arix*, Jr. 5-8 130 WR-DB
6 Brent Johnson*, Jr. 5-11 160 TE-LB
7 Jeremiah Martindale*, Sr. 5-8 150 WR-DB
9 Josh Brewer*, Jr. 5-5 152 RB-DB
11 Corbett Catlett*, Sr. 6-1 200 WR-LB
12 Blaise Facemyer*, So. 5-8 180 TE-DB
14 Dylan Creath*, So. 5-3 110 WR-DB
15 Noah Browning, So. 6-0 139 WR-DB
16 Nate Durst*, So. 5-11 170 RB-DB
18 Sharp Facemyer*, So. 5-4 130 WR-DB
20 Jon Wolfe*, Sr. 6-1 160 WR-DB
22 Wyatt Carter*, Jr. 5-10 163 WR-LB
24 Mollie Maxon, So. 5-7 165 K
25 Austin Combs, So. 5-7 146 WR-LB
26 Daniel Harris, Fr. 5-6 140 WR-LB
30 Brayden Holter*, Jr. 5-11 155 TE-LB
31 Michael Letzon, Fr. 5-8 141 WR-DB
45 Trenton Delacruz*, Jr. 5-10 228 TE-LB
50 Mac Browning*, Sr. 6-4 200 OL-DL
51 Ryan Kennedy*, Jr. 5-9 289 OL-DL
54 Wyatt Bissell*, Jr. 6-4 260 OL-DL
55 Tyler Davis*, Jr. 6-0 270 OL-DL
56 Nick Little, Fr. 5-6 175 OL-DL
58 Brayden Arix, Fr. 5-7 200 OL-DL
62 Scott Dalton, Fr. 5-11 202 OL-DL
63 Ryan Parsons*, So. 5-8 185 OL-DL
66 Colten Rayburn*, So. 5-9 245 OL-DL
68 Gavin Mullen*, Jr. 5-8 200 OL-DL
71 Nick Edwards*, So. 5-5 250 OL-DL
72 Nathan Litchfield, Fr. 5-7 222 OL-DL
77 Andrew Tuttle, Jr. 5-9 210 OL-DL
78 Brandon Colburn*, Jr. 6-3 290 OL-DL
87 Dillon Aeiker*, So. 5-6 130 WR-DB
Head Coach: Pat Newland (3rd season)
EHS football schedule
August
26 at River Valley, 7:30
September
2 vs. Miller, 7:30
9 vs. Green, 7:30
October
7 at Wahama, 7:30
14 vs. Trimble, 7:30
21 at Belpre, 7 p.m.
See eagles | 61
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60673523
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Fax: 304-882-3813
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740-992-7713
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EHS volleyball roster
1 Alexus Metheney, So.
2 Katlyn Barber*, Sr.
3 Elayna Bissell*, Jr.
7 Abbie Hawley*, Sr.
8 Allison Barber, So.
10 Kelsey Casto, So.
11 Mackenzie Brooks*, Jr.
12 Morgain Little*, Jr.
13 Abby Litchfield, Jr.
15 Morgan Baer*, Jr.
Head Coach: Katie Williams (4th season)
The goal remains the
same for EHS volleyball
[email protected]
TUPPERS PLAINS, Ohio — A
mix of youth and experience for
the 2016 Lady Eagles.
The Eastern volleyball team,
which is made up of two seniors,
five juniors and three sophomores
have six players with at least two
years of varsity experience, but
four players who are entering their
first varsity campaign.
Leading the Lady Eagles for the
fourth year is 2015 district Coach
of the Year and 2015 Tri-Valley
Conference Hocking Division coCoach of the Year Katie Williams,
who holds a 35-29 overall record
at EHS, including 30-18 in TVC
Hocking matches.
Among top returnees for the
Green, White and Gold are twotime all-league selection and 2015
all-district second team selection
J
Katlyn Barber, who enters her
fourth varsity season.
“We’re expecting Katlyn Barber
to really be our leader,” Williams
said. “Abbie Hawley, who is our
other senior, will also be expected
to be a leader this year. As always,
the expectation for the seniors is
to lead. We’re also looking for some
of the juniors to step up and take a
bigger role.”
Hawley is entering her third varsity campaign, as are juniors Morgan Baer, Elayna Bissell, Morgain
Little and Mackenzie Brooks.
EHS junior Abby Litchfield is
a newcomer to the Lady Eagles
varsity squad, as are sophomores
Allison Barber, Kelsey Casto and
Alexus Metheney.
“We always talk about having a
growth mindset and taking every
game as a learning opportunity,
win or lose,” Williams said. “We’re
going to go out and play our hardest, we’re going to play fundamen-
"Good Luck Teams!!"
ohn JS Sang
See EHS volley | 61
Good luck this Fall Season!
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“We’re going to have two new
lefts this year, but they’re not
new to the front row,” said Williams. “We’ll be replacing (Kelsey
Johnson and Boano) with two of
my juniors that have had plenty
of varsity experience. We’re going
to move Allison Barber up as our
other middle, and we expect a lot
60675048
60645876
By Alex Hawley
tally and hope for the best.”
In 2015, Eastern was just 11-10
in the regular season, but won four
straight postseason games to claim
the program’s first district title
since 2012.
Four members of the 2015 district champion Lady Eagles graduated last spring, they are Kelsey
Johnson, Holly Johnson, Emily
Sinclair and Brittney Leach. Kelsey
Johnson was an all-district first
team selection and a two-time allleague honoree.
Along with having to replace
four seniors, Eastern will have to
replace one of its top attackers
from last year in exchange student
Annalisa Boano. Boano was an
all-district second team selection
last fall.
EHS volleyball schedule
August
25 at Meigs, 7:15
27 at Athens Invitational, 10 a.m.
September
8 at Trimble, 7:15
13 vs. Belpre, 7:15
19 at Miller, 7:15
22 vs. Wahama, 6 p.m.
27 at South Gallia, 7:15
29 vs. Trimble, 7:15
October
3 vs. Meigs, 7:15
4 at Belpre, 7:15
6 at Southern, 7:15
10 vs. Miller, 7:15
11 vs. Federal Hocking, 7:15
13 at Wahama, 6 p.m.
(740)-446-0351
13
Lady Knights aiming for
bigger things in 2016
By Bryan Walters
[email protected]
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — In
moving down, the Lady Knights
are hoping for a big move up.
Point Pleasant volleyball made
a few nice strides during its fouryear run in Class AAA, which
included a pair of triple-A sectional tournament wins over each
of the last two seasons — the only
two for the program at the Class
AAA level.
The Lady Knights — who enter
their ninth full season as a varsity
sport — put together a 9-18 overall record during their final year at
the Class AAA level. Graduation
also claimed multi-letterwinners
Becca Musgrave and Charli Leach,
as well as Alexis Runion and Kait-
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As PPHS returns to the Class
AA level entering the 2016 campaign, things look promising as
the Red and Black have 10 players
back from last year to go along
with a roster that goes 15 strong.
More importantly — from a
sustainability point for the program — the roster is filled with
PPHS volleyball schedule
September
8 vs. Parkersburg Catholic, 6 p.m.
13 at Teays Valley Christian, 6 p.m.
15 at Lincoln County, 6 p.m.
19 at Ohio Valley Christian, 6 p.m.
20 vs. Hannan, 6 p.m.
22 vs. Huntington, 6 p.m.
27 at Winfield, 6 p.m.
29 at Ravenswood, 6 p.m.
October
3 at Huntington, 6 p.m.
4 vs. Warren, 6 p.m.
5 at Wahama, 6 p.m.
6 vs. Teays Valley Christian, 6 p.m.
11 vs. Ravenswood, OVCS, 6 p.m.
18 at Parkersburg Catholic, 6 p.m.
20 vs. Winfield, 6 p.m.
27 at Hannan, 6 p.m.
upperclassmen from the top two
grades and at least two players
from each of the four grades.
With experience, depth, and
most importantly, talented play-
See Lady Knights | 61
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PPHS volleyball roster
Michaela Cottrill* Sr
Karlee Edmonds* Sr
Luiza Da Costa Sr
Gracie Cottrill* Jr
Cierra Porter* Jr
MacKenzie Freeman* Jr
Brenna Dotson* Jr
Hannah Holcomb* Jr
Gracie Sexton* Jr
Madison Hatfield* So
Lanea Cochran* So
Sami Saunders Fr
Hayley Milhoan Fr
Peyton Jordan Fr
Olivia Dotson Fr
Head Coach
Marla Cottrill (2nd season)
Law Offces of
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TRENTON J. CLELAND
116 Mulberry Ave., Pomeroy, Ohio 45769
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 740-992-7101
Fax: 740-992-2428
60673262
By Paul Boggs
[email protected]
BIDWELL, Ohio — An optimistic Megan Elliott implied that her
Raiders are capable.
With four returning seniors, six
juniors and a pair of sophomores,
the first-year River Valley volleyball
coach believes her program can
compete with some of the tops in
the Tri-Valley Conference Ohio
Division.
“We do have quite a bit of varsity
experience. Just about everybody
back played some varsity last year,”
said Elliott. “Between everybody, I
think we have a good system going
that is going to work really well
together.”
Elliott, a former player at Vinton
County, was promoted to varsity
head coach — after guiding the
Raider middle school program last
season.
The Lady Raiders endured a 5-18
campaign, including a 2-10 mark
in the TVC-Ohio — thanks to a
sweep of Vinton County.
Courtney Smith, who graduated,
was the Raiders’ only all-TVCOhio selection — and was named
second-team all-Southeast District
in Division III.
Elliott’s experience of coaching
volleyball expands to six years,
having also coached the reserve
program for her native VCHS.
She is implementing a new
defense, as well as a 6-2 offense.
“We are working on a new
defense this year, trying to transition into a perimeter defense.
We’ve been working on that, but
they have adapted to it really well,”
said Elliott. “The last couple of
years, the biggest thing has been
communication. I’ve been working on them with that. They have
improved some, but I think that
is going to be a constant battle to
keep communicating with each
other on the floor.”
And, the communication aspect
See lady raiders | 61
Lady Raiders ready to
challenge in TVC-Ohio
RVHS volleyball roster
1 Destiny Williams Sr. L 5-4
3 Carly Gilmore Jr. MH-DS 5-8
5 Rachel Horner So. MH-DS 5-6
7 Angel Toler* Sr. S 5-4
8 Jessica Roush Jr. DS 5-2
9 Jaden Neal Jr. MH 5-8
10 Cierra Roberts So. DS 5-0
RVHS volleyball schedule
August
22 at Eastern, 7:15
24 at Federal Hocking, 7:15
25 vs. Belpre, 7:15
30 at Wellston, 7:15
September
3 vs. Gallia Academy, 2 p.m.
8 vs. Athens, 7:15
11 Isabella Mershon Jr. S 5-5
13 Lynsey Saber Jr. DS 5-3
16 Rayanna Adkins Jr. OH-DS 5-6
29 Emily Adkins* Sr. OH 5-6
30 Jessica Steele* Sr. OH 5-9
33 Brianna McGuire* Sr. OH 5-9
Head coach: Megan Elliott (1st season)
15 vs. Alexander, 7:15
20 at Meigs, 7:15
29 vs. Jackson, 6:45
October
4 at Athens, 7:15
13 vs. Meigs, 7:15
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Wahama volleyball looking
for continued growth
By Bryan Walters
[email protected]
MASON, W.Va. — The Lady Falcons have some big shoes to fill, but
there are also plenty of people this
year wearing sneakers.
The Wahama volleyball team
posted a program-best dozen wins
last year during a 12-20 overall
campaign, one that was spearheaded by four senior starters and a
multitude of underclassmen.
The Lady Falcons — who also
tied for eighth in Tri-Valley Confer-
ence Hocking Division play with a
1-15 mark — lost the leadership
and experience of Olivia Hill, Taylor Warden, Emmalee Broyles and
Molly Fisher to graduation, but the
Red and White still have plenty of
firepower left in the cupboard.
With two regular starters and 10
varsity returnees back to guide a
13-person roster through the 2016
campaign, eighth-year WHS coach
Matt VanMeter believes that this
fall can be another step in the right
direction for the program — given a
little bit of time.
WHS volleyball roster
1 Grace Hill* Sr
3 Emily VanMatre* So
4 Alexis Mick* So
6 Hannah Wren* Jr
8 Gracie VanMatre Fr
10 Madison VanMeter* Jr
11 Hannah Billups* So
12 Maddy VanMatre* So
14 Rebekah Roach* Sr
16 Lexi Layne So
18 Emily Gerlach Sr
24 Makinley Bumgarner* So
25 Elizabeth Mullins* Jr
Head Coach
Matt VanMeter (7th season)
* — indicates varsity returnee.
“We lost four seniors that played
a lot for us, so we do have some
spots to fill as far as experience goes
on the court,” VanMeter said. “At
the same time, we have a handful
starters back and some girls that
split time between the varsity and
junior varsity squads. As the season
goes along, the newcomers will
WHS volleyball schedule
August
September
8 vs. Miller, 6 p.m.
13 vs. Waterford, 6 p.m.
15 at South Gallia, 6 p.m.
19 vs. Trimble, 6 p.m.
20 vs. Southern, 6 p.m.
22 at Eastern, 6 p.m.
26 vs. Ohio Valley Christian, 7 p.m.
29 at Miller, 6 p.m.
October
3 vs. Belpre, 6 p.m.
4 at Waterford, 6 p.m..
6 vs. South Gallia, 6 p.m.
10 at Trimble, 6 p.m.
11 at Southern, 6 p.m.
13 vs. Eastern, 6 p.m.
17 vs. Point Pleasant, Williamstown,
6 p.m.
20 at Hannan, 6 p.m.
29 at Ravenswood, noon
See wahama volley | 61
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18
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
CENTENARY, Ohio —
Another chance to rewrite
history.
In 2015, the Gallia Academy
volleyball team set a school
record for wins, won two conference titles and won the sectional crown for the first time
since 2004. With only two
players graduating off of that
team, it’s fair to say that expectations are through the roof
for this year’s Blue Angels.
Entering her third season of
GAHS head coach is two-time
Southeastern Ohio Athletic
League Coach of the Year and
2015 Ohio Valley Conference
Coach of the Year Janice Rosier, who holds a 39-8 overall
record at Gallia Academy.
“We’re going to take it one
game at a time and one day
at a time,” Rosier said. “We’re
going to set our own goals
and as we reach each one of
those, we will set new ones
and we’ll see how the season
progresses.”
Back for their fourth varsity
seasons are GAHS seniors
Jenna Meadows, Carly Shriver
and Brooke Pasquale, while
seniors Hannah McCormick
and Ryleigh Caldwell are each
back for their third varsity
season.
“I have five seniors returning
and any of those girls can step
up and lead, not to mention I
have Grace Martin as a junior
and Ashton Webb as a sophomore,” said Rosier. “They’re so
GAHS volleyball schedule
August
25 vs. Chesapeake, 7 p.m.
27 at Athens Invitational, 10 a.m.
September
1 at Rock Hill, 7 p.m.
3 at River Valley, 2 p.m.
6 vs. Coal Grove, 7 p.m.
8 at Portsmouth, 7 p.m.
13 vs. Ironton, 7 p.m.
17 at Circleville Tournament, 10 a.m.
27 at Fairland, 7 p.m.
October
4 at Coal Grove, 7 p.m.
5 at Jackson, 7 p.m.
6 vs. Portsmouth, 7 p.m.
11 at Ironton, 7 p.m.
Blue Angels try to follow historic season
good at leading this team and
representing what we stand by
that any of them can step up
and lead at anytime. They have
great knowledge of the game
and great court awareness.”
Meadows — a defensive
specialist and outside hitter
— was a first team all-district
selection as a junior and a second team all-district selection
as a sophomore. Shriver was
the main setter for GAHS last
fall, earning an all-district second team nod. Pasquale served
as libero for Gallia Academy
last year, while Caldwell played
multiple roles on the team and
McCormick served as a second
setter.
Grace Martin returns as the
2015 Southeastern Ohio Athletic League Player of the Year,
and an all-district first team
GAHS volleyball roster
1 Ryleigh Caldwell*, Sr.
2 Hannah McCormick*, Sr.
5 Alex Barnes, Fr.
7 Grace Martin*, Jr.
10 Brooke Pasquale*, Sr.
11 Ashton Webb*, So.
14 Hunter Copley*, So.
17 Jenna Wood*, So.
20 Carly Shriver*, Sr.
21 Peri Martin, Fr.
24 Jenna Meadows*, Sr.
Head Coach: Janice Rosier (3rd season)
selection. Webb was named alldistrict honorable mention last
year and had quite a successful
off-season as well, earning AllAmerican honors at the USA
Volleyball Nationals for the
Zenith 15U Apex team.
GAHS will have to replace
two seniors off of last year’s
team in Hanna Johnson and
University of Rio Grande signee Jordan Walker.
“Anytime you lose that kind
of size and stamina at the
net, with all the blocks they
provided, it’s tough,” Rosier
of her two seniors from a year
ago. “We have speed and agility
coming up that I’m real pleased
with, but we won’t be able to
replace them. We’re just going
to do the best that we can.”
Also back from last year’s
tournament run are sophomores Hunter Copley and
Jenna Wood, while two newcomers to the program are
freshman outside hitter Alex
Barnes and freshman setter
Peri Martin.
“We hope to see them some,
but we have such a full roster
from upper classmen that it’s a
little hard to get everybody in,”
Rosier said of her under classmen. “We’re always looking for
next year and we have an eye
on what’s coming. We have to
get these girls out there and
get them some playing time.”
An advantage this year’s
squad has over the 2015 team,
is that this year GAHS will
only be in one league, the Ohio
Valley Conference. Portsmouth
was the only OVC team to
defeat GAHS last year.
“We really needed to back off
of having so many games in a
week, it was pretty rough last
year,” said Rosier. “We get to
go to some Saturday tournaments that have high-quality
teams and a high caliber of
athletes playing.”
The scheduling freedom
allowed GAHS to enter the
Athens Invitational and a tournament at Circleville this year,
a luxury last year’s team didn’t
have. The Blue Angels will also
face River Valley and Jackson
in non-league tilts.
Circleville ended the Blue
Angels’ historic 2015 season in
the district semifinal.
With the final chapter written in the Blue Angels’ SEOAL
book, Gallia Academy finished
with league titles in 1987,
2007, 2009, 2013, 2014 and
2015.
Alex Hawley can be reached
at 740-446-2342, ext. 2100.
19
A new look for the Lady
Tornadoes in 2016
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
RACINE, Ohio — The Lady Tornadoes have a Tri-Valley Conference Hocking Division championship to defend, but the majority of
the team that won it is gone.
Southern graduated nine players
off of last year’s team and will have
a new head coach in Kim Hupp.
Hupp — a 1999 graduate of
Southern High School and daughter of former six-year SHS head
coach Roma Sayre— replaces
Chris Carroll, who led the Lady
Tornadoes to a 32-11 record in two
seasons at the helm. During Carroll’s tenure, Southern was 24-8
in league play, and ended decadelong sectional title and league title
droughts.
Hupp last coached at Eastern
High School, where she served as
the junior varsity coach for six seasons under Howie Caldwell.
“I’ve always enjoyed coaching,”
Hupp said. “It was just a great
opportunity that came up, I’m an
alumni here, I love the game and
I love watching the girls grow into
the players they become.”
SHS volleyball roster
1 Marissa Johnson, Sr.
3 Kamryn Smith*, Sr.
4 Amanda Cole*, Sr.
8 Marlee Maynard*, Sr.
9 Jane Roush, Jr.
12 Sara Schenkelberg, Sr.
13 Haley Musser, Sr.
17 Katie Barton, Sr.
21 Faith Teaford*, Sr.
23 Sierra Cleland*, Sr.
33 Macie Michael, Sr.
37 Talon Drummer*, Sr.
Head Coach: Kim Hupp (1st season)
Southern was 17-5 last fall, but
had it’s season come to an abrupt
end in the sectional final, where
visiting Pike Eastern upset the
Purple and Gold.
Six players return to the Purple
and Gold from last season, they
are Faith Teaford, Marlee Maynard,
Amanda Cole, Talon Dummer,
Kamryn Smith and Sierra Cleland.
Marlee Maynard — who enters
her fourth season as starting setter — was an all-league first team
selection and an all-district honor-
SHS volleyball schedule
August
23 vs. Meigs, 7:15
September
1 vs. Trimble, 7:15
6 at Miller, 7:15
8 vs. Belpre, 7:15
10 vs. Meigs,Belpre 1 p.m.
15 at Eastern, 7:15
22 vs. Williamstown, 7:15
26 at Trimble, 7:15
27 vs. Miller, 7:15
29 at Belpre, 7:15
October
6 vs. Eastern, 7:15
able mention last fall, while earning an all-district second team nod
as a sophomore. Cole was a 2014
See lady tornadoes | 62
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volleyball program
By Bryan Walters
[email protected]
GALLIPOLIS, Ohio — The Lady
Defenders have their eyes on a
prize.
After missing out on a trip to
Circleville last fall, the Ohio Valley
Christian volleyball team has its
sights set on a return trip to the
OCSAA state tournament at the
end of the 2016 campaign.
With only eight players and a
new head coach, however, it’s going
to take a lot of hard work and dedication if the Lady Defenders hope
to achieve their ultimate goal.
It will also help that the new
OVCS coach knows a thing or two
about achieving success.
Heather Priddy — who spent
nearly two decades as a coach at
levels of the River Valley program
before winning the program’s final
Ohio Valley Conference title — will
be making a return to the coaching
ranks as she inherits a program
with five varsity returnees.
Having been involved in Gallia
County volleyball for close to three
decades, Priddy is aware of Ohio
Valley Christian’s history at the
state tournament. Actually, what
she is finding more unfamiliar
right now are both the limited
numbers and the players she will
be leading.
“Honestly, there are a lot of new
faces for me because I’ve only been
See Priddy | 62
OVCS volleyball roster
14 Chasity Deckard So
16 Destiny Gray Fr
18 Katlyn Bradley* Sr
24 Makala Sizemore* So
25 Marcie Kessinger Fr
26 Cori Hutchison* Jr
30 Emily Childers* So
36 Katie Westfall* Jr
Head Coach
Heather Priddy (1st season)
* — indicates varsity returnees
OVCS volleyball schedule
August
23 at Cross Lanes Christian, 6 p.m.
26 vs. Wood County, 6 p.m.
29 at Covenant Christian, 6 p.m.
September
1 vs. Wahama, 6:30
2 at Calvary, 6 p.m.
6 vs. Grace, 6 p.m.
8 at Hannan, 6 p.m.
12 at Team Ignite, 6 p.m.
16 vs. Calvary, 6 p.m.
19 vs. Point Pleasant, 6 p.m.
23 vs. Teays Valley Christian, 6 p.m.
30 at Teays Valley Christian, 6 p.m.
October
10 vs. Team Ignite, 6 p.m.
14 at Grace, 6 p.m.
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MHS volleyball roster
1 Devyn Oliver*, Sr.
2 Maddie Fields*, So.
3 Kassidy Betzing*, So.
4 Paige Denney*, Jr.
7/17 Maddie Hendricks*, Jr.
9 Allie Hanstine*, So.
10 McKenzie Ohlinger, Jr.
11 Morgan Lodwick*, Sr.
12 Alliyah Pullins*, Sr.
13 Devin Humphreys*, Jr.
14/18 Jordan Roush*, Sr.
Head Coach: Lori Carter (4th season)
Meigs volleyball looks to bounce back
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
ROCKSPRINGS, Ohio — The
2015 campaign may not have
gone the way that Meigs wanted
it to, but with no seniors on that
team, the highly experienced
Lady Marauders have high hopes
for 2016.
A total of nine varsity players
are back for Meigs, which will be
led by fourth-year head coach
Lori Carter, who holds a 30-41
overall record at MHS, incuding
a 13-21 record Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division contests.
“We’ve changed a few things
up in our defense, and offensively, we’re running a couple more
plays,” Carter said. “We’re just
bringing it up to the next level
this year. Having everybody
back in a God-send, because
they already know the routines
and they have another year of
experience.”
The 2016 Lady Marauders are
made up of four seniors, four
juniors and three sophomores.
Of the four MHS seniors, only
Devyn Oliver — a two time allleague selection — has three
22
years of previour varsity experience. Oliver was an all-district
honorable mention selection as
both a freshman and a junior.
Seniors Morgan Lodwick, Alliyah Pullins and Jordan Roush
each have two previous years of
varsity time.
“All of my seniors will be the
team leaders,” Carter said. “They
each play an intricate role in
their own way. One of them may
be the one talking more, one of
them may be the one running
the drills or running the team,
but they all bring that leadership
role to the team.”
All four Meigs seniors have
tasted postseason success, as
they were all a part of the Lady
Marauders’ 2014 district finalist
team.
Back for their second varsity
campaigns are juniors Paige
Denney, Maddie Hendricks and
Devin Humphreys, as well as
sophomores Kassidy Betzing
and Allie Hanstine. Betzing was
Meigs’ top hitter last year and
earned all-league honors.
Two newcomers to the MHS
varsity team are McKenzie
Ohlinger and Maddie Fields,
who enter their junior and sophomore seasons respectively.
“I feel comfortable with any of
the girls being my go to player,”
Carter said. “They all bring different key points and different
key plays. They all have a different set of skills. Our saying
this year is organized chaos.
We’re a very scrappy team, but
we bring it back and we’re more
organized.”
Meigs was 6-18 in 2015,
including 4-8 in the TVC Ohio.
Meigs swept both River Valley
and Vinton County in league
play, while claiming a non-conference victory over Belpre and
a sectional quarterfinal victory
over Vinton County. However,
the Lady Marauders were ousted
from the 2015 postseason by
top-seeded Gallia Academy in
the sectional semifinal.
“It will be interesting this
year, there are a couple of new
coaches in the league,” Carter
said. “We didn’t lose any seniors,
where other teams lost threefour-or-five seniors. It will be
interesting where we fit with
them. Last year was a rebuilding year and we’ve been excited
MHS volleyball schedule
August
September
6 at Athens, 7:15
19 at Jackson, 7:15
21 at Logan, 7:15
26 at Warren, 7:15
29 vs. Alexander, 7:15
October
3 at Eastern, 7:15
6 vs. Athens, 7:15
for this year, because I do have
everybody back and we can take
up where we left off last year.”
Meigs has won eight league
titles in school history, with the
last coming in 2002. In order
to claim the TVC Ohio title, the
Lady Marauders will need to
knock off back-to-back-to-back
champion Athens, which has
gone a combined 34-0 in league
play over the last three years.
Along with its 12 league contests, Meigs will face Southern,
Eastern and Federal Hocking
twice each. The Lady Marauders will have one non-league tilt
against each Belpre, Jackson and
Warren.
Carter has guided the Maroon
and Gold to a 4-3 postseason
record in her three seasons, winning two sectional titles.
Alex Hawley can be reached at
740-446-2342, ext. 2100.
Lady Rebels mix
experience and youth
SGHS volleyball schedule
August
29 vs. Symmes Valley, 7 p.m.
September
6 at Eastern, 7:15
13 at Trimble, 7:15
17 at Fairland, noon
19 at Belpre, 7:15
20 vs. Miller, 7:15
October
3 at Southern, 7:15
4 vs. Trimble, 7:15
10 vs. Belpre, 7:15
11 at Miller, 7:15
12 at Symmes Valley, 6:30
By Paul Boggs
[email protected]
MERCERVILLE, Ohio — Six
returnees — and a plethora of
youth — highlight this season’s
South Gallia High School volleyball
team, which is coached by first-year
mentor Sarah Wright.
The Rebels sport three seniors,
five juniors, three sophomores and
a bevy of freshman — coming off
a 13-11 campaign in which they
went 7-9 in the Tri-Valley Conference Hocking Division.
South Gallia graduated five
seniors, including all-TVC-Hocking
selections Kirstin Burnette and
Mariah Hineman.
Wright, however, has the luxury
of familiarity with the Rebels —
having coached the junior varsity
club last season.
Several reserves from last year
are moving up to the varsity level
this fall.
GOOD LUCK
ATHLETES!
“I was the JV coach last year, and
I either coached all of these girls in
junior high, JV and now varsity,”
said Wright. “Being familiar with
them will help. We are a young
team, and we need to work on getting everyone working together.
We have a lot of players moving up
from junior varsity and by losing
five seniors from last year, we have
to get them all on the same team
and working as one cohesive unit.”
Wright said the key impact players are junior Erin Evans and sophomore Taylor Burnette, as Burnette
can play “all the way around.”
Evans is a strong side and/
See rebels | 62
SGHS volleyball roster
1 Alyssa Cremeens Fr.
2 Amaya Howell Fr.
3 Katie Bowling Fr.
4 Kylie Stapleton Fr.
5 Olivia Hornsby* Jr.
6 Rachal Colburn* So.
7 Nanako Yoshino Sr.
8 Haley Johnson Sr.
10 Aaliyah Howell Jr.
11 Erin Evans* Jr.
13 Kara McCormick Fr.
14 Mackenzie Martin Fr.
16 Taylor Burnette* So.
17 Hannah Shafer* Jr.
21 Maddie Simpson* Sr.
24 Allie Sweeney Jr.
25 Christine Griffith Fr.
33 Jessica Luther So.
Head Coach: Sarah Wright (1st season)
* — indictes varsity returnee
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23
Meigs golf aiming for successful 2016
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
POMEROY, Ohio — The
Marauders look to regain the top
spot in the Tri-Valley Conference
Ohio Division, while the MHS
girls will be hoping senior leadership translates into postseason
success in 2016.
The Marauders fell short in
their bid for a fourth straight
league title in 2015, but with
eight golfers returning, eighth
year MHS boys’ head coach Tom
Cremeans has a reason to be optiMHS golf roster
Boys
Chase Whitlatch*, Sr.
Levi Chapman*, Jr.
Theo McElroy*, Jr.
Caleb Stanley*, Jr.
Bryce Swatzel*, Jr.
Brody Dellavalle*, So.
Wyatt Nicholson*, So.
Brody Reynolds*, So.
Brayden Ervin, Fr.
Dawson Justice, Fr.
Gus Kennedy, Fr.
Bobby Musser, Fr.
Head Coach: Tom Cremeans (8th
season)
Girls
Sarah Curl*, Sr.
Dannett Davis*, Sr.
Mersadies Markins*, Sr.
Kendra Robie*, Sr.
Lydia Edwards, So.
Shalynn Mitchell*, So.
Caroline Roush*, So.
Mikayla Radcliffe, Fr.
Head Coach: B.J. Nicholson (3rd
season)
24
mistic.
“Ultimately, we want to win
the league,” Cremeans said. “One
of the things we’ve been working
really hard on in the offseason is
that we don’t want to go out and
have a mediocre performance, we
want to go out and preform at
our highest level.”
The lone Meigs boys senior
is Chase Whitlatch, who is a
two-time all-league selection
and entering his fourth varsity
campaign.
Meigs juniors Levi Chapman,
Bryce Swatzel and Caleb Stanley
are back in the Maroon and Gold
for their third seasons. Chapman
was a all-league selection and an
all-district honorable mention
last fall.
“Our team leaders are of course
Chase Whitlatch and Levi Chapman,” Cremeans said. “I think
both of those individuals have
chance to make it out of sectional
and into district, but our goal is
to make it out as a team.”
In 2015, Chapman qualified
for the district tournament,
where he finished 34th with a
score of 89.
Meigs graduated two members
off of the boys team last season,
in Evan George and Jaxon Meadows. Expected to fill the void
that graduation left are junior
Theo McElroy, sophomore Wyatt
Nicholson, and freshman Bobby
Musser.
“I try not to measure success
on wins and losses,” Cremeans
See MHS golf | 62
MHS golf schedule
August
22 at Athens, 4:30
September
7 TVC Ohio at Meigs County Golf
Course, 4:30
60674357
Wahama golf has
2 teams for 2016
By Bryan Walters
[email protected]
MASON, W.Va. — A year ago,
the Wahama golf program had just
enough athletes for a team.
This season, second-year coach
John Arnott has double-vision …
and he’s not worried about having
WHS golf roster
BOYS
Anthony Ortiz* Jr
Ethan Herdman Jr
Jace Heckaman Jr
Gage Smith* So
Carl Sayre So
Walker Stanhope So
GIRLS
Destiny Sayre Sr
Kaleigh Stewart Jr
Lexi Roush Jr
Tori Robinson Jr
Megan Roush Jr
Caitlyn Harrison Jr
Head Coach
John Arnott (2nd season)
his eye-sight checked.
Wahama will have two full golf
squads this fall — one boys team
and one girls team — as the Red
and White have made a resurgence
on the links.
The White Falcons and Lady
Falcons, however, will have only
one senior and a grand total of two
players with varsity experience —
making this 2016 campaign one
more of growth and less about
wins and losses.
And as Arnott was quick to
point out, most of this fall will be
considered a success just based on
the current level of interest.
“It’s rewarding to know that we
have enough kids with interest
in the sport, particularly on the
girls side of this,” Arnott said. “It’s
a positive step forward for the
program, because you can’t build a
program without having the interest of kids. It also helps that all but
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one are underclassmen, meaning
we could be in an even better situation next year because we have a
lot of junior high golfers already.
“Despite being young, this year
is definitely going to be a positive
for the program … and we are all
very excited about it.”
The White Falcons lost four
players to graduation in Nathan
Redman, Mason Hicks and Logan
Bissell, with Redman twice serving
WHS golf schedule
August
8 vs. Federal Hocking, Miller, 4 p.m.
11 at Waterford, 4 p.m.
15 vs. Southern, Waterford, 4 p.m.
18 at Miller, Trimble, 4 p.m.
29 vs. Eastern, South Gallia, 4 p.m.
September
1 at Belpre, Federal Hocking, 4 p.m.
12 vs. Trimble, Belpre, 4 p.m.
See wahama golf | 57
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25
Eastern golf sets goals high for 2016
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
POMEROY, Ohio — New leadership, but the same expectations for
the Eastern golf teams.
After three successful seasons,
Nick Dettwiller stepped down as
Eastern golf coach to pursue a career
elsewhere, but his successor, Jeremy
Hill, looks to keep the Eagles on the
right path.
“I have some big shoes to fill,” Hill
said. “Coach Dettwiller did an excellent job getting the golf program
where it is today, so I’m just hoping
to continue on with the program
that he’s built and keep the success.”
The Eastern boys team is quite
young, with just one senior, John
Little, and one junior, Kaleb Honaker. Both Little and Honaker have
three years of varsity golf experience, with Little playing his sophomore season at Meigs.
Five sophomores — three of
which have previous varsity experience — and three freshmen round
out the EHS boys roster. Sophomores John Harris, Ryan Harbour
and Garrett Rees each golfed for
EHS golf roster
Boys
John Little*, Sr.
Kaleb Honaker*, Jr.
Primo Averion, So.
Jacob Barret, So.
Ryan Harbour*, So.
John Harris*, So.
Garrett Rees*, So.
Breyden Bush, Fr.
26
EHS last year as well as Honaker
and Little. Harbour was an allleague golfer last season.
“I believe that leadership comes
from your seniors,” Hill said. “John
Little is our only senior on the boys
side, and on the girls side we have
two seniors in Ashley Tolliver and
Katelyn Edwards. Your seniors lay
the ground work for leadership, and
so we’re going to be leaning heavily
on them.”
Four of the five EHS girls golfers
EHS golf schedule
August
10 at Waterford Invitational, 8 a.m.
15 vs. Miller, Trimble, 4:30
29 at Wahama, 4:30
*29 at Gallia Academy, 4:30
September
1 at Federal Hocking, Belpre, 4:30
8 vs. Southern, Belpre, 4:30
*12 at Gallia Academy
15 vs. Waterford, Federal Hocking,
4:30
19 at Miller, Trimble, 4:30
22 vs. Wahama, South Gallia, 4:30
* — denotes girls only match
Nick Durst, Fr.
Nathan Hensley, Fr.
Girls
Katelyn Edwards*, Sr.
Ashley Tolliver, Sr.
Sarah Bunce*, Jr.
Kaitlyn Hawk*, Jr.
Kylee Tolliver*, So.
Head Coach: Jeremy Hill (1st season)
have previous varsity experience,
including senior Katelyn Edwards,
who enters her fourth varsity campaign. Junior Kaitlyn Hawk is enter-
ing her third varsity season, while
junior Sarah Bunce and sophomore
Kylee Tolliver both have one season
See eastern golf | 62
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Reedsville, OH 45772
Phone: 740-378-6293
Fax: 740-378-6251
Email: [email protected]
David Weber
Owner
60673256
GAHS fields two
golf teams this fall
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
GALLIPOLIS, Ohio — Not
only do the Gallia Academy boys
golfers have their sights set on
a ninth straight trip to the Division II golf tournament, but this
year the Blue Angels are looking
forward to the postseason as
well.
For the first time, Gallia
Academy will have a full girls
golf team with six members,
including two seniors, one
junior, two sophomores and one
freshman.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils
have a roster that’s 11-deep,
including three seniors, three
juniors, a pair of sophomores
and three freshmen.
Gallia Academy — which will
defend its 2015 Ohio Valley
Conference title on September
23 at the Shawnee State Park
Golf Course — has 10 total
returnees from last season
including six Blue Devils and
four Blue Angels.
The Blue Devils will have a lot
to replace off of last years team,
as Dares Hamid, Marcus Moore
and Zach Graham all graduated last spring. Dares Hamid
was a second-team all-district
performer and the Blue Devils’
low-scorer at the district tournament.
Even with the void left by
graduation, fourth-year Gallia
Academy head coach Mark Allen
is confident in his team’s ability
to repeat as OVC champions.
“I like to think that if we play
like we can, then we’ll be on top
again,” said Allen of his OVC
expectations. “This year I think
we’ll be pretty balanced. There’s
nobody that has the players
1-to-5 that we do. On a particular day — because we play
the one-day tournament — I’ve
seen strange things happen, but
I think we have the best 1-to-5,
at least on paper.”
Chesapeake and Ironton are
expected to be the top-contenders to dethrone GAHS, with
Coal Grove also showing up as a
potential dark horse.
The top returnee from last
season is GAHS junior Taae
Hamid, who is a two-time honorable mention selection on
the Division II all-district team.
Hamid — who was a two-time
All-Southeastern Ohio Athletic
League honoree — is beginning
his third season as a member
of the Gallia Academy varsity
squad.
Gallia Academy seniors Jeremy Brumfield, Miles Cornwell
and Josh Davis are all entering
their fourth varsity campaigns
and will be heavily relied upon
this fall.
“They all have significant
varsity experience and they’re a
great group of kids,” fourth-year
GAHS head coach Mark Allen
said of his seniors. “They’re
good hard workers, they have
great attitudes and they’ll be
the core of our team.”
GAHS junior Kaden Thomas
will be relied upon to be another
leader, as he is entering his
third season in the program.
The sixth spot in the GAHS
boys rotation will be up for
grabs between returning
sophomore Ian Evans, newcoming junior Braden Simms
and incoming freshman Reese
Thomas.
On the girls side, Kimberly
Edelmann will lead the way as a
fourth-year senior, while senior
Breanna Justice is starting her
third golf campaign. Sophomores Molly Fitzwater and Sydney Crothers are both returning
for their second season, while
junior Katie Fraley and freshman Carley Johnson are newcomers to the GAHS program.
“I feel like I have a pretty
good group of six girls,” Allen
GAHS golf roster
Boys
Jeremy Brumfield*, Sr.
Miles Cornwell*, Sr.
Josh Davis*, Sr.
Taae Hamid*, Jr.
Braden Simms, Jr.
Kaden Thomas*, Jr.
Elijah Baird, So.
Ian Evans*, So.
Elijah Blazer, Fr.
Hobie Graham, Fr.
Reece Thomas, Fr.
Girls
Kimberly Edelmann*, Sr.
Breanna Justice*, Sr.
Katie Fraley, Jr.
Sydney Crothers*, So.
Molly Fitzwater*, So.
Carley Johnson, Fr.
Head Coach Mark Allen (4th season)
* —indicates varsity returnee
said. “I’d like to have a few more
in the future, but we have a
pretty good six. This is the first
time we’re having a full girls
schedule and the first time
we’ve had a full girls six, so
we’re happy.”
This is the first year GAHS
will not compete for the SEOAL
championship. Gallia Academy
won SEOAL titles in 1962,
1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968,
1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1975,
1977, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
and 2011.
740-446-2342, ext. 2100.
GAHS golf schedule
August
5 at Vinton County, 9 a.m.
8 at Ironton, 9 a.m.
9 vs. Portsmouth, 2 p.m.
10 at Waterford, 8 a.m.
11 at Portsmouth, 9 a.m.
*17 at Westfall, 1:30
18 vs. River Valley and South Gallia,
4 p.m.
*18 vs. Waterford, 10 a.m.
*25 at Logan, 4 p.m.
*29 vs. Eastern, 4 p.m.
September
3 at Westfall, 9 a.m.
*12 vs. Westfall, 4 p.m.
19 at Vinton County, 4 p.m.
23 at Portsmouth Elks (OVC
tournament), 9 a.m.
24 at Zane Trace, 2 p.m.
* — Denotes girls only matches
27
Experienced Tornadoes
raising expectations
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
RAVENSWOOD, W.Va. — With
all eight of the members of the
2015 team returning, the Southern
golf team hopes that experience
will count.
The 2016 Tornadoes feature a
trio of seniors, one junior, four
sophomores and three freshmen, making for the largest roster in fifth-year head coach Jeff
Caldwell’s tenure.
“We’ve got some young kids
just starting out, but then we have
some players with a lot of experience,” Caldwell said. “It’s good
to have three freshmen playing,
because we have three seniors and
in the future they will have to take
their places. It’s a good group of
kids, all together.”
Of the three SHS senior golfers, both Ashley Acree and Tanner
Thorla are entering their fourth
season of varsity golf, while Eli
Hunter is beginning his second
season. Ashley Acree has been
named to the all-district team as
an honorable mention as both a
sophomore and a junior.
Back for his third campaign
with the Purple and Gold is junior
Jonah Hoback, who was an allleague honoree last fall.
Along with Hoback, sophomore
Jensen Anderson is returning
as Southern’s 2015 top scorers.
Anderson was an all-league selection and an all-district honorable
mention golfer as a freshman.
Jarrett Hupp, Ryan Acree and
Trey Wood are each returning from
last season and will look to make
SHS golf schedule
August
23 at Belpre, Federal Hocking, 4
p.m.
25 vs. Eastern, Wahama, 4 p.m.
September
1 vs. Waterford, South Gallia, 4 p.m.
19 vs. Wahama, Belpre, 4 p.m.
22 vs. Trimble, Federal Hocking, 4
p.m.
See tornadoes | 57
SHS golf roster
Seniors
Ashley Acree*
Tanner Thorla*
Eli Hunter*
Juniors
Jonah Hoback*
Sophomores
Ryan Acree*
Jensen Anderson*
Jarrett Hupp*
Trey Wood*
Freshmen
Landen Hill
Clay Wamsley
Joey Weaver
Head Coach: Jeff Caldwell (5th season)
60674679
28
By Paul Boggs
[email protected]
MASON, W.Va. — Welcome back
everybody.
That’s because the Point Pleasant
High School golf team returns half
of its 11-person squad, and did not
lose a single senior to graduation.
The Black Knights return a halfdozen individuals to the links,
and as second-year head coach
Stacey Walton believes — with the
assistance of the program dropping down in classification to Class
AA — the team will tremendously
improve.
“It’s definitely a huge advantage
to have six returning players, which
is half our team,” said Walton. “A lot
of teams had a lot of turnover from
last year, but to not lose anybody to
graduation and have half of everybody back, that’s a big plus for us.
Most of our five seniors have experience, or least played two or three
years now. I think if we just pull
it together and work on our short
game, we’ll be okay.”
The Black Knights are led by a
pair of senior co-captains — Doug
Workman and Matt Martin.
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Martin is in his fourth year of
golf, while Workman returns for his
second campaign.
“My two senior co-captains, I
expect great things out of both of
them. They are all-around great
kids,” said Walton.
The other seniors are returnee
Dalton Dangerfield, Wahama transfer Spencer Pyles, and newcomer
Dawson Anthony.
The other returnees are junior
Bryce Tayengco and sophomores
Colton Fridley and Haley Pierson.
The other newcomers are junior
Logan Hill — and freshmen Dylan
Tayengco and Colby Martin.
Riverside Golf Course in Mason
is the Black Knights’ home course,
as the team entertains Winfield,
Ripley, Ravenswood, Wahama,
Southern and Clay County for
matches.
The coach expressed concern for
the group’s play around the greens,
which needs to improve prior to the
postseason.
“We definitely have to work on
our short game (chipping and put-
ting). And a little bit of the mental
game, too. We have to tackle that
part when we have a bad hole, they
can’t get down themselves to where
they have a hard time recovering,”
said Walton.
Walton also explained that her
primary goal for the Black Knights
this fall is to simply improve.
“Hopefully, we will get better as
the season goes on and we should
finish strong,” she said.
PPHS golf roster
Dawson Anthony Sr.
Dalton Dangerfield* Sr.
Matt Martin* Sr.
Spencer Pyles Sr.
Doug Workman* Sr.
Logan Hill Jr.
Bryce Tayengco* Jr.
Colton Fridley* So.
Haley Pierson* So.
Colby Martin Fr.
Dylan Tayengco Fr.
Head coach: Stacey Walton (2nd
season)
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29
5 golfers hit
links for Rebels
By Paul Boggs
[email protected]
GALLIPOLIS, Ohio — Low
on numbers, but high on the
building process.
That’s the conundrum facing
the South Gallia High School
golf team, as three underclassmen boys and two freshmen
girls make up this season’s
squad.
With no seniors, and four
first-year players, second-year
head coach Jeff Fowler said
simply “it’s a building year.”
“This year is a completely
new squad except for Curtis
Hanner, who has played for
three years now,” said Fowler.
“The other four are first-year
brand-new players. It’s a building year.”
Fowler, who coached SGHS
for four years prior to an eight-
year hiatus, is back for his second season in his second stint.
The Rebels graduated two
seniors — Tristan Davis and
Cuyler Mills.
This year, the only returnee is
junior Curtis Hanner, who has
played for three years now —
and is the first Rebel golfer in
school history to have recorded
a hole-in-one.
It happened last season on
the Rebels’ home course of
Cliffside Golf Club in Gallipolis.
The four newcomers are
sophomore boys Bryce Nolan
and Ethan Smith — and freshmen girls Mackenzie Martin
and Aaliyah Howell.
The Rebels are once again
competing in Tri-Valley Conference Hocking Division trimatches, as Fowler is assisted
by Jason Stout.
Fowler thanked the program’s
past players and coaches, and
believes this season sets the
foundation for future golf at
SGHS.
“This year is a building process and getting better as the
year goes on,” said Fowler. “The
four new players we have do
have good basic foundations
now. And all four of them are
very dedicated to this new sport
they’ve taken up. They are having fun and are enjoying it.”
Paul Boggs can be reached at
740-446-2342, ext. 2106
SGHS golf schedule
August
12 vs. Eastern, Waterford, 4 p.m.
16 vs. Belpre, Miller, 4 p.m.
22 vs. Southern, Federal Hocking, 4 p.m.
29 at Wahama, Eastern 4 p.m.
30 vs. Wahama, Trimble, 4 p.m.
September
1 at Southern, Waterford, 4 p.m.
6 at Belpre, Federal Hocking, 4 p.m.
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Only 2 golfers for
Raiders this fall
By Paul Boggs
[email protected]
GALLIPOLIS, Ohio — Golf is indeed an individual sport, and for River Valley
High School this season, it will be contested as such.
The Raider program, after fielding five players last season, consists of only
two individuals this fall for sixth-year head coach Dewey Smith.
Unable to post team scores in Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division matches,
senior Grant Gilmore and sophomore Aaron Burke will compete on an individual basis for the school.
Gilmore played last season and is in his fourth year of the sport, while Burke
hits the links for his first year.
“Both boys work very hard at the game
of golf. They wanted to play and are willRVHS golf schedule
ing to put in the work, so we aren’t going
August
to take that away from them just because
11 TVC-Ohio at Cliffside, 4:30
they are the only two,” said Smith. “I
18 vs. Gallia Academy and South
expect both to improve a lot this year.”
Gallia, 4 p.m.
The Raiders graduated Cliff Chapman
22 TVC-Ohio at Athens, 4:30
29 TVC-Ohio at Vinton County, 4:30
and Logan Sheets, and Chance Gillman
September
elected to focus exclusively on cross coun7 TVC-Ohio at Meigs, 4:30
try this year.
12 TVC-Ohio at Wellston, 4:30
Paul Boggs can be reached at 740-44615 TVC-Ohio at Alexander, 4:30
2342, ext. 2106
21 TVC-Ohio at Nelsonville-York, 4:30
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PPHS boys soccer roster
2 Brandon Bryant* Sr
15 Austin Adams* Jr
14 Jacob Bryant* Jr
11 Austin Nott* Jr
6 Justin Staats* Jr
10 Alex Lenkov* Jr
12 Chase Walker* Jr
9 Alex Carlisle* Jr
1 Cole Walker* Jr
3 Jacob Hussell* Jr
4 Chance Martin* So
Wood returns to lead Point boys soccer
By Bryan Walters
[email protected]
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — He’s back …
and hopefully the program will be too.
After a three-year hiatus, Chip Wood
returns as the head coach of the Point Pleasant boys soccer program this fall.
And following three straight losing seasons
— including a 10-14-1 mark last fall — Wood
is aiming to get the boys program back to
where it was before he left … deep into a postseason run.
Wood inherits a team that goes 19-strong
and has a dozen varsity returnees back from
a season ago, all while losing only two seniors
— Jason Sayre and Daniel Depres — to
graduation.
But, for all of the returning experience on
the 2016 roster, the Black Knights will still be
somewhat of a young group. There will again
be only two seniors for this year to go along
with seven freshmen newcomers.
Wood admits that it may take some time
to get familiar with his players, but he is still
expecting his same old traditional outcomes
— the kind that leads to banners on the wall.
“Since this is my first year back and have
been completely away from the program
for three years, I wasn’t really sure what to
expect,” Wood said. “I do think that this team
is very skilled and if we can learn to be aggres-
PPHS boys soccer
schedule
August
23 vs. Lincoln County, 7 p.m.
25 vs. Poca, 7 p.m.
27 at Ripley, 10 a.m.
30 at Lincoln County, 10
a.m.
31 at Hurricane, 10 a.m.
September
1 at Williamstown, 5 p.m.
6 at Belpre, 6 p.m.
8 vs. Nitro, 7 p.m.
10 at St. Albans, 10 a.m.
20 Zach Rediger Fr
5 Cohen Yates Fr
17 Garrett Hatten Fr
13 Justin Cornell Fr
18 Peyton Hughes Fr
7 Kaydean Eta Fr
16 Isaiah Snyder Fr
Head Coach
Chip Wood (1st season)
* — indicates varsity
returnee
17 vs. Princeton, 3 p.m.
20 at Parkersburg South,
6 p.m.
24 at Warren, 1 p.m.
27 vs. Winfield, 7 p.m.
October
1 at St. Mary’s, 2 p.m.
4 vs. Belpre, 4 p.m.
8 vs. Cross Lanes Christian,
1 p.m.
11 at Cabell Midland, 5:30
13 at Poca, 7:30
15 vs. Spring Valley, 1 p.m.
sive, play smart and be organized, I don’t see why
we shouldn’t be competing for a sectional title at a
minimum. I’ve told the guys that we want to get to
regionals because once you get there … anything can
happen.”
See wood | 56
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Blue Devils aim to build off sectional title
By Paul Boggs
[email protected]
CENTENARY, Ohio — This season, it’s
about adding on to history — and being better at the same time.
That’s because the Gallia Academy High
School soccer squad — after winning its first
sectional championship in program history
— aims to improve its record, while building
from an absolute bright spot.
Despite the graduation of six seniors,
including three all-Southeast District Division II honorees, the Blue Devils do return
seven starters — and make the transition to
the Ohio Valley Conference for the first full
season of soccer in that league.
Second-year head coach Richard Isberner
said the season sets up nicely for his Blue
Devils to improve.
But, keep in mind, the bench boss wants
the club to have fun first.
“My main goal is for the kids to have fun. I
don’t try to coach just to teach about soccer,”
said Isberner. “As the season goes on, even
though we lose three or four key players, I
GAHS soccer roster
00/21 Andrew Toler Fr.
1 Caden Wilt* Sr.
2 Tristan Polsley* So.
3 Madi Oiler* Sr.
4 Trinity Eggers* So.
5 Evan Lincoln Jr.
6 Ben Riddle Jr.
7 Nathan Russell Jr.
8 Gretchen McConnell* So.
9 Thomas Hamilton* So.
10 Colton Fallon* Sr.
11 Ben Rutherford* Sr.
12 Tristan Eggers Jr.
13 Brycen Caudill* Sr.
14 Isaiah Lester* Sr.
GAHS soccer
schedule
August
23 at Alexander, 7 p.m.
30 vs. Athens, 7 p.m.
September
6 at Warren, 7 p.m.
10 vs. Ohio Valley
Christian, 11 a.m.
15 Jacob Ratliff* Sr.
16 Erin Lincoln* So.
18 Nathanael Riddle Sr.
19 Drew Hall Sr.
20 Pierce Wilcoxon Jr.
22 Corbin Walker Fr.
23 Obie Reeves* Jr.
27 Justin Day* So.
28 Caleb Danford So.
29 Seth Flinner So.
30 Morgan Stanley* So.
Emannual Valadez Fr.
Head Coach: Richard
Isberner (2nd season)
returnee
20 at Jackson, 7 p.m.
24 at Ohio Valley
Christian, 3 p.m.
27 at Athens, 7 p.m.
October
8 vs. Jackson, noon
13 at Chesapeake, 7
p.m.
15 vs. Circleville, 2 p.m.
See blue devils | 56
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PPHS girls soccer roster
1 Monica Cook Fr
2 Ashley Staats Fr
3 Lacie Mullins Fr
4 Cammy Hesson Sr
5 Alex Warden* Jr
6 Morgan Miller Fr
8 Lexi Watkins-Lovejoy* So
9 Teagan Hay* So
11 Blake Hesson* Sr
13 Caitlin Peal* Jr
14 Faith Cook* Jr
Lady Knights have high hopes for 2016
By Bryan Walters
[email protected]
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. —Last year’s learning curve is
now knowledge.
After putting together a disappointing 4-15-1
overall record with a bunch of young and inexperienced players at the triple-A level, the Point
Pleasant girls soccer program has higher hopes
G o o d
for the 2016 campaign as it makes its return to
the Class AA ranks this fall.
The Lady Knights lost four players to graduation in Brandi Stroup, Alexis Meadows, Carlee
Dabney and Torrie Epling, with Meadows, Dabney and Epling all serving as four-year starters
with the program.
PPHS, however, returns 11 players from last
year’s squad, and that experience — along with
PPHS girls soccer
schedule
August
20 at Grafton, 1 p.m.
22 at Huntington, 6 p.m.
23 at Nitro, 6 p.m.
27 at Ripley, noon
29 at Nitro, 6 p.m.
September
1 at Hurricane, 6 p.m.
3 at Williamstown, noon
6 at Huntington St.
Joseph, 5:30
7 at Shady Spring, 7 p.m.
15 Penelope Haught Fr
16 Emma Rice* Sr
17 Michaela Rimmey* Sr
19 Emilee Hitt* Sr
21 Chelsea Black* Sr
23 Ashley Smith* Jr
24 Grace Lee Jr
Head Coach
Chris Errett (4th season)
returnee
10 at St. Albans, 10 a.m.
14 vs. Nitro, 7 p.m.
17 vs. Princeton, 1 p.m.
20 vs. Poca, 7 p.m.
24 at Warren, 11 a.m.
October
1 vs. Shady Spring, 1 p.m.
8 vs. Cross Lanes
Christian, 11 a.m.
12 vs. Lincoln County,
7 p.m.
13 at Poca, 6 p.m.
15 vs. Spring Valley, 11
a.m.
some capable newcomers — should pay huge
dividends for a program hoping to make a triumphant return to the Class AA level.
“We have high expectations for the season
See Knights Volley | 52
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OVCS soccer roster
Michael Gruber* Sr
Elijah Warner* Sr
Micah Sanders* Sr
Noah Jenkins Sr
Trevor Blank* So
Justin Beaver* So
Colton Cox* So
Camron Tyree So
Christian Tolliver So
Levi Anderson* Fr
Alex McGinness Fr
Beaver takes over young OVCS soccer
By Bryan Walters
[email protected]
GALLIPOLIS, Ohio — Some big shoes to
fill … all the way around.
The Ohio Valley Christian soccer program isn’t in a complete rebuilding mode,
but the program has endured some significant changes since the Defenders finished
their 4-9-2 season last fall.
Besides the losses of multi-year starters
Marshall Hood, Eric Blevins and Justin
Sizemore to graduation, OVCS was also
left with the task of replacing head coach
Jeff Patrick — who retired after 13 seasons
while producing numerous state appearances and one state championship (2003)
during his tenure.
New OVCS head coach Jason Beaver
begins the post-Jeff Patrick era by inheriting a team that will have seven returnees
on a squad that goes 17-strong, but six of
those players are members of the junior
high and there are also zero juniors on the
squad.
Needless to say, the Defenders will be
quite young — but Beaver won’t allow that
to be an excuse. He still thinks that this
David K
Smith
Bryce Grube 8th
Kristen Clark 8th
Wyatt Rucker 8th
Christian Higginbotham
8th
Gabe Tolliver 7th
Conner Walter 7th
Head Coach
Jason Beaver (1st
season)
returnee
OVCS soccer schedule
August
26 vs. Wood County,
5:30
September
1 vs. Belpre, 5:30
2 at Calvary, 5:30
6 vs. Grace, 5 p.m.
10 at Gallia Academy,
11 a.m.
16 vs. Calvary, 5 p.m.
20 at Pike Christian,
5:30
24 vs. Gallia Academy,
3 p.m.
October
6 at Teays Valley
Christian, 4:30
14 at Grace, 5 p.m.
17 vs. Teays Valley
Christian, 5 p.m.
20 vs. Pike Christian,
5 p.m.
2016 club can once again be in contention
for the traditional postseason run.
“We lost a lot of good seniors to graduation, but this program has always lost good
See beaver | 52
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Photos by Alex Hawley/OVP Sports
GAHS CC hoping for successful season
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
CENTENARY, Ohio — Gallia Academy’s top
runners will undoubtedly be among the top in the
area, the question for the Blue and White, and
ninth-year head coach Todd May remains what
will they get from the rest of the team.
The Blue Devils — who had no seniors in 2015
— return 13 runners, including All-Ohio Valley
Conference first team selections Kaleb Crisenbery,
Kyle Greenlee and Caleb Greenlee. Crisenbery
was 42nd at the regional meet in 2015, while Kyle
Greenlee finished 44th.
Boys
Devon Barnes*, Sr.
Mitchell Bolin*, Sr.
Kaleb Crisenbery*, Sr.
Cade Mason*, Sr.
Ezra Blain*, Jr.
Kobe Cochran*, Jr.
Oliver Davies*, Jr.
Caleb Greenlee*, Jr.
Kyle Greenlee*, Jr.
Colin Little*, Jr.
Ethan Rider*, Jr.
Cody Rogers*, Jr.
Derek Henry, So.
Nicholas Sheets*, So.
Ryan Armstrong, Fr.
Chris Dennison, Fr.
Grant Smith, Fr.
“On the boys side our top-three are some of the
best around in Kaleb Crisenbery and the Greenlees,” May said. “Our whole team moving forward
will be about who can step up to be our four and
five.”
May will look for familiar faces to fill those
roles, as he expects returnees Devon Barnes,
Kobe Cochran, Cade Mason and Mitchell Bolin to
be among the top contenders for the final spots.
Barnes and Cochran were both honorable mention nods on the All-OVC team in 2015.
The Blue Angels lost two runners to graduation
last spring in Hayley Petrie and Sydney Rose.
Fortunately, the Blue Angels have six returnees
Girls
Caitlin Caldwell*, Sr.
Sabrina Manygoats*, Sr.
Mesa Polcyn*, Sr.
Mary Watts*, Sr.
Cassidy Starnes*, Jr.
Abby Cremeans*, So.
Eliza Davies, So.
Alyssa Marxen, So.
Carlin Short, So.
Abby Johnson, Fr.
Brook Johnson, Fr.
Karsyn Shamblin, Fr.
Head Coach: Todd May
(9th season)
returnee
GAHS cross country schedule
August
27 at Pickerington North, 10 a.m.
September
6 home Skyline Bowling Invitational, 4:30
10 at Fairland, 9 a.m.
17 at Southeastern, 9 a.m.
24 at Rio Grande, 10 a.m.
28 at Meigs, 4:30
October
8 at Unioto, 9:30
18 at Marietta, 4 p.m.
See gahs cc | 51
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Experienced runners to lead Meigs CC
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
ROCKSPRINGS, Ohio — When
you’re looking for leaders, you look for
the runners that are well practiced.
The 2016 Meigs cross country team
has a total of 12 runners — seven boys
and five girls — returning from last season, and that experience will be key for
24th-year head coach Mike Kennedy’s
squads.
Meigs is fortunate to have one boy
and one girl with three previous years of
varsity experience in Dillon Mahr and
Gracie Hoffman.
To go along with Mahr, MHS seniors
Nate Hoover and James Parsons, as well
as junior Cole Hoffman each bring two
years of previous cross country experience to the Maroon and Gold.
Going by last season’s results, Parsons is the Meigs boys’ top returnee,
as he finished 11th in the Tri-Valley
Conference Ohio Division with a time of
18:01.6. Hoover and Mahr placed 21st
and 22nd respectively in the league last
season.
“We’re mostly relying on the boys
with experience,” said Kennedy. “I think
that Dillon Mahr and James Parsons
will be our top-two leaders, and Nate
Hoover will also be a strong top-five for
us. Cole Betzing will probably be our
one-man, he’s looking really strong. He
ran the two-mile well in track season
and he’s tearing everybody up in 400s
at practice.”
Betzing was 20th in the TVC Ohio as
a freshman, posting a time of 19:06.7.
The Marauders will have their hands
full replacing key runners from last year,
as five seniors were lost to graduation.
The most notable loss is Jake Swindell,
who qualified for the regional tournament last fall, turning in a time of
17:20.4 at the district meet.
“We’re going to have to wait and see
how this group runs,” said Kennedy of
his team expectations. “This is a different team than last year. We lost Jake
Swindell as well as Jared Kennedy, who
isn’t running this year because he’s
focused on football. We’re different, so
we don’t know where we’ll be come time
for the postseason.”
On the girls side, Gracie Hoffman is
joined by three juniors that bring two
previous years of varsity experience to
the table in Carmen Doherty, Caitlyn
Rest and Ariann Sizemore. Returning
for her second cross country season is
sophomore Taylor Swartz.
“Gracie Hoffman is going to lead this
team,” said Kennedy. “We’re glad to have
sophomore Taylor Swartz back, she had
a great track season and a strong freshman year. Caitlyn Rest has really come
in to her own as a junior, as well.”
Gracie Hoffman was sixth in the
TVC Ohio last year, posting a time of
21:25.1. Swartz claimed 18th in the
league, Rest was 20th, while Sizemore
placed 37th.
The Meigs girls lost both Sadie Fox
and Lara Perrin to graduation, but firstyear sophomores Marissa Noble and
Madison Cremeans are expected to help
fill their shoes.
In 2015, the Lady Marauders finished third in the TVC Ohio, with the
Meigs boys taking third as well.
“The league is so good anymore that
it’s hard to tell,” Kennedy said when
asked about expectations within the
TVC Ohio. “You want to be top-three
and you want to say that’s where you’re
going to be, but sometimes you run a
great race and you’re fourth or fifth.
Athens is always strong and River Valley had a great year last year. Just when
you think you’ve got it, somebody else
comes along and puts a great team
together. Top-four would be satisfying
on both sides.”
The Meigs boys have won five TVC
MHS cross county schedule
August
27 at Wellston, 10 a.m.
September
10 at Fairland, 9 a.m.
22 at Jackson Invitational, 4:45
28 home invitational, 4:30
October
15 TVC Meet at Vinton County, 10
a.m.
championships (1992, 1996, 1997,
1998, 1999), while the girls have six
league titles on the resume (1983, 1993,
2000, 2003, 2004, 2006).
Meigs’ home invitational will be on
September 28, the TVC Ohio meet is
scheduled for October 15, while MHS
will begin the postseason on October
22.
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MHS cross county roster
Boys
Jesse Conley, Sr.
Nate Hoover*, Sr.
Dillon Mahr*, Sr.
James Parsons*, Sr.
Jake Roush, Sr.
Cole Hoffman*, Jr.
Brady Smith*, Jr.
Cole Betzing*, So.
Joesph Cotterill*, So.
Andrew Monroe, So.
Landon Davis, Fr.
Colton Heater, Fr.
Elijah Leigh, Fr.
Girls
Gracie Hoffman*, Sr.
Carmen Doherty*, Jr.
Caitlyn Rest*, Jr.
Ariann Sizemore*, Jr.
Kacie Ballard, So.
Madison Cremeans, So.
Marissa Noble, So.
Taylor Swartz*, So.
Katilyn Brinker, Fr.
Head Coach: Mike Kennedy (24th season)
304-675-8888
60602717
60674037
[email protected]
39
By Bryan Walters
[email protected]
POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. —
Another season with full squads.
For the second consecutive fall,
the Point Pleasant cross country
program will have enough athletes
for both a boys team and a girls
team.
More importantly, seven of the
dozen members of the 2016 PPHS
cross country program were on the
squad a year ago — which at the
very least should make for an interesting return to the Class AA level.
Sixth-year Point Pleasant cross
country coach Jessica Porter is not
only excited about having two full
teams to compete with at meets
this fall, but she is also thrilled to
have experienced runners to help
guide the newcomers into varsity
competition.
“We are really looking forward
to having two teams again this year
as we move back to the double-A
level,” Porter said. “We have some
good leadership from our returnees and some real potential in our
newcomers, so I think this year can
be a solid one for the program.”
Starting with the boys squad,
the Black Knights will have seven
runners on the 2016 squad — with
four of those returning from a
season ago.
The Black Knights will have to
replace graduated senior Hunter
White — the school’s recordholder (18:00.54) — but the boys
will also have plenty of experienced
PPHS cross country roster
BOYS
Byron Fisher* Sr
Wyatt Dean* Jr
Tanner Durst* So
Luke Wilson* So
Ethan Scott Fr
Isaac Daniels Fr
Casey Lowery Fr
GIRLS
Karson Bonecutter* Sr
Allison Henderson* So
Cierra Beatty* So
Tanner King So
Tayllor King Fr
Head Coach
Jessica Porter (6th season)
40
veterans to help pick up those
responsibilities.
The team’s lone senior will be
returnee Byron Fisher, while junior
Wyatt Dean and the sophomore
duo of Tanner Durst and Luke Wilson also return from a season ago.
The newcomers to the boys team
are Ethan Scott, Isaac Daniels and
Casey Lowery, a trio of freshman
that Porter admits will make a significant impact.
“The returning athletes have
made real strides from a year ago
and the freshmen are going to be a
real asset to the team,” Porter said.
“I really have some high hopes for
the boys team this year because of
their potential.”
The Lady Knights have the
minimal total of five athletes on
their team, with three of those participants running in the program
last fall.
Back from a year ago are senior
Karson Bonecutter, as well as
sophomores Allison Henderson
and Cierra Beatty. The newcomers
to the team are sophomore Tanner
King and freshman Tayllor King.
“We are really excited about
having a girls team for a second
straight year,” Porter said. “The
returnees work hard and give it all
that they have, which should serve
as good leadership to the new girls
that are coming into the program.”
Point Pleasant will not have a
home meet this season, but it will
be making trips to some of the
larger invitationals being held in
West Virginia and Ohio.
PPHS will begin its 2016 season
at Huntington on August 27.
Bryan Walters can be reached at
740-446-2342, ext. 2101.
PPHS cross country schedule
August
27 at Huntington, 10:30
September
3 at Cabell Midland, 9 a.m.
10 at Chick-Fil-A Invitational, 9 a.m.
October
1 at Ritchie County, 11 a.m.
8 at Ripley, TBA
Point CC teams
eager for 2016
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60673259
RV runners have
high hopes for 2016
By Paul Boggs
[email protected]
BIDWELL, Ohio — For the boys,
the sights are set on state.
For the girls, it’s all about
improvement.
That’s the honest outlook, according to second-year head coach Darin
Smith, regarding River Valley’s cross
country squads this season.
“We’ve got the numbers with 16
boys and 12 girls. We’re going to
be deep. And last year, both teams
(boys and girls) were the best teams
ever in school history time-wise and
trophy-wise,” said Smith. “These two
teams (2016), there is no reason
that they won’t be even better than
those teams.”
And, those clubs were pretty darn
good.
The Raider men — which graduated just three seniors including
Shawnee State University signee
and top runner Jacob Kemper —
captured not only the Tri-Valley
Conference Ohio Division championship, but was one of four
teams to qualify for the Division II
regional meet.
The Lady Raiders, meanwhile,
lost only Hannah Nutter to graduation — and finished fourth in the
TVC-Ohio race as a team.
Kenzie Baker, by the way, became
just the second River Valley female
runner in school history to advance
to the regional meet.
With 16 runners on the boys
side, Smith said the top foursome
of junior Nathaniel Abbott, seniors
Chance Gillman and Garrett Young
and junior George Rickett return
to the level of where Kemper competed last year.
All four return, along with juniors
Chase Johnson and Wyatt Bragg.
Caleb McKnight, a returning
sophomore, is the likely fifth score
— followed by newcomers Kyle
Coen and Rory Twyman battling
for the important sixth and seventh
score spots.
Coen and newcomer Devan
McGhee are both juniors, while
Twyman is a sophomore along with
returnees Andrew Tucker, Cole
Franklin and Ian Eblin.
Rounding out the Raiders are
sophomores Ethan Browning and
Andrew McClaskey, along with lone
freshman Austin Livingston.
“We have every chance to be
better than we were last year,” said
Smith. “My top three or four guys
are probably going to be as good as
Jacob (Kemper) was. In fact, I really
think we have a chance at state. We
are already way better this year than
what we were at this point in time
last year. I see no reason that we’re
not going to be even better at that
time (postseason). And I think they
(boys) are a little more motivated
this year. Last year, we got to the
regionals and we were scared. They
didn’t run their best race and they
peaked at the league meet. I really
want to go to state, so that’s what
we’re going to concentrate more on.
Peak for regionals and go to state.”
This season, the top five teams
and individuals which place in the
top 20 qualify for the state meet
— along with from the Division II
district meet to the regional.
Besides the junior Baker being
one of the top runners in the league
and even the entire district, Smith
said sole senior Leanne Hively has
had her best start to a season since
her freshman campaign.
Baker and Hively are two of
six returnees, which also include
juniors Sharla Moody and Natosha
Rankin.
Smith said Sophie Branham —
another junior — should compete
for one of the top-five spots, as
two sophomore returnees — Julia
Nutter and Josie Jones — are
improved.
Smith also had high praise for
newcomers Beth Gillman and
Kaylee Gillman, whose brother is
Chance Gillman.
Beth Gillman is a sophomore,
while Kaylee Gillman is the ladies’
lone freshman.
Rounding out the Lady Raider
runners are juniors Yolanda Teca
Andre, Jessi Hurtado Vargas and
Kaylee Schultz.
“I can definitely see our girls
being second or third in the league
and last year they ended up fourth,”
said Smith. “They are definitely
stronger this year than they were
last year. They are going to improve
and going to be good.”
The TVC-Ohio meet is at Vinton
County this season, while the district races — as usual — are held at
the University of Rio Grande.
The Raiders’ road meets include
at Pickerington North (Aug. 27),
Vinton County (Sept. 3), Zane Trace
(Sept. 10), Ironton (Sept. 17), Federal Hocking (Sept. 20), Rio Grande
(Sept. 24), Meigs (Sept. 28), Piketon
(Oct. 1) and Unioto (Oct. 8).
River Valley will host a meet on
its Bidwell campus on Wednesday,
Sept. 7.
RVHS cross country
roster
BOYS
Chance Gillman* Sr.
Garrett Young* Sr.
Nathaniel Abbott* Jr.
Wyatt Bragg* Jr.
Kyle Coen Jr.
Chase Johnson* Jr.
Devan McGhee Jr.
George Rickett* Jr.
Ethan Browning So.
RVHS cross country schedule
August
27 at Pickerington North, 10 a.m.
September
7 home meet, 4:30
10 at Zane Trace, 10 a.m.
28 at Meigs, 4:30
October
1 at Piketon, 10 a.m.
8 at Unioto, 10 a.m.
15 TVC Meet at Nelsonville-York,
10 a.m.
Ian Eblin* So.
Cole Franklin* So.
Andrew McClaskey So.
Caleb McKnight* So.
Andrew Tucker* So.
Rory Twyman So.
Austin Livingston Fr.
GIRLS
Leanne Hively* Sr.
Kenzie Baker* Jr.
Sophie Branham Jr.
Jessi Hurtado Vargas Jr.
Sharla Moody* Jr.
Natosha Rankin* Jr.
Kaylee Schultz Jr.
Yolana Teca Andre Jr.
Beth Gillman So.
Josie Jones* So.
Julia Nutter* So.
Kaylee Gillman Fr.
Head Coach: Darin Smith
(2nd season)
— indicates varsity
returnee
41
Eastern CC sets sights
on the state meet
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
EHS courtesy photo
EHS cross country roster
Boys
Matt Clingenpeel, Fr.
Colton Reynolds, Fr.
Eion Marcinko, Fr.
Girls
Laura Pullins*, Sr.
Taylor Parker*, Sr.
Jessica Cook*, Jr.
Kaitlyn Hawk*, Jr.
Ally Durst*, So.
Rhiannon Morris*, So.
Lexa Hayes, Fr.
Head Coach: Josh Fogle (12th
season)
TUPPERS PLAINS, Ohio — It’s pretty easy to see why the expectations are so high for the Eastern girls cross country team.
Due to a tie-breaker, the 2015 Lady Eagles missed out on a second-straight trip to the OHSAA state meet as a team, but with allsix runners back from last year, 12th-year head coach Josh Fogle
has his sights set on Hebron yet again.
“We have everyone back from last year’s team and we really have
the same goal, which is qualify for the state meet,” Fogle said. “We
had some unfortunate things happen last year at regionals, stuff
you can’t control, but they’re all learning experiences. We’ll figure
out what we did wrong and go from
there.”
EHS cross country schedule
Had this year’s postseason forAugust
mat — which sends five teams and
27 at Marietta, 10 a.m.
20 individuals out of regionals to
September
the state meet — been in place last
season, EHS would have made been
17 at Meadowbrook, 10 a.m.
at the National Trail Raceway for a
24 at Lancaster, 10 a.m.
second straight year.
October
Instead, Jessica Cook became just
1 at Pickerington North, 10
the second Lady Eagle to reach the
a.m.
state meet as an individual, where
8 at Unioto, 10 a.m.
she placed 43rd with a time 19:55.5.
15 at TVC Meet at NelsonvilleYork, 10 a.m.
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60673242
EASTMAN's
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
“I’m expecting Conner Wolfe to really step up
this year, he’s an upper-classman and a skilled
runner,” said Ginther. “Conner is defiantly one of
our leaders, he leads the team in warm-ups and
stretches, and he’s a good model athlete. Also
Lucas Hunter and Mallory Johnson really encourage the new runners.”
Hunter, who is the lone senior runner for Purple and Gold, is also their most veteran runner,
entering his fourth varsity season. Hunter posted
the 11th fastest time at the TVC Hocking meet
last fall with 20:13.8 mark.
Larry Dunn is a junior entering his third varsity
campaign and was third in the TVC Hocking last
year with a time of 18:03. Dunn finished 37th at
the Pickerington High School North regional as
a sophomore, bettering his time from the league
meet by 13 seconds.
Johnson was the fastest Lady Tornado as a
freshman, placing 13th in the TVC Hocking with a
time of 25:33.4. Sailor Warden — who is a junior
entering her third varsity season — was 16th in
the conference last fall, while Kathryn Matson
was 17th at the league meet.
All four new runners for SHS are on the girls
squad, with one sophomore, Madison Lisle and
RACINE, Ohio — Talk about a change in fortunes.
For the first time since 2005, the Southern
cross country team will have enough girls to post
a team score. However, the SHS boys team —
which has made back-to-back regionals and are
the reigning Tri-Valley Conference Hocking Division champion — currently have just three members, two shy of the requirement for a team score.
Six of the 10 members of the 2016 SHS cross
country team are returning from last year, including three boys and three girls. Along with four
new runners, the Tornadoes will also have head
coach in 2008 SHS graduate Courtney Ginther,
who has taken over for Joe Cornell. Cornell
coached the Tornadoes for three seasons.
“It’s been pretty good so far, this is a really great
group of kids, so they’ve made it easy,” Ginther
said. “Joe Cornell has been working with me and
he’s given me a lot of information. I’m also familiar with the kids, just from working at the school.”
Southern’s top returnee is Conner Wolfe, who,
as a sophomore, became just the second Tornado
to qualify for the OHSAA state
meet, joining his oldest brother
SHS cross country schedule
August
Kody. Wolfe — who finished
27 at Wellston, 10 a.m.
second in the TVC Hocking
September
at last year’s meet — ran a
16:55.2 at the National Trail
Raceway last November, plac10 at Fairland, 10 a.m.
ing him 52nd in the state.
28 at Meigs, 4:30
October
Southern CC aiming for more success
three freshmen, Addalynne Matson, Sydney
Roush and Baylee Wolfe.
“I’m looking forward to it, I think we’re going
to have a successful season,” said Ginther. “For the
first time in a long time we have a girls team, so
I’m really looking forward to that. We have some
skilled returning runners and I’m curious to see
what they’ll push themselves to do this season.”
Southern will be looking forward to the TVC
meet at Vinton County High School on October
15. The 2016 postseason will begin on October
22.
Alex Hawley can be reached at 740-446-2342,
ext. 2100.
SHS cross country roster
Boys
Lucas Hunter*, Sr.
Conner Wolfe*, Jr.
Larry Dunn*, Jr.
Girls
Sailor Warden*, Jr.
Mallory Johnson*, So.
Kathryn Matson*, So.
Madison Lisle, So.
Sydney Roush, Fr.
Baylee Wolfe, Fr.
Addalynne Matson, Fr.
Head Coach: Courtney Ginther
(1st season)
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2 varsity runners
for Rebels this year
By Paul Boggs
[email protected]
MERCERVILLE, Ohio — Exactly three individuals make up the
2016 South Gallia girls and boys cross country program, which is
coached by Marcus Myers.
For the girls, senior Autumn Norris is in her fourth year of running.
For the boys, sophomore Tristan Janey is in his first season.
At the junior high level, eighthgrader Griffin Davis also ran in the
SGHS cross country
seventh grade.
schedule
Norris, Janey and Davis will be
August
competing this season on an indi27 at Wellston, 9 a.m.
vidual basis only.
September
3 at Green, 9 a.m.
The Rebels’ meets include invita10 at Zane Trace, 9 a.m.
tionals at Wellston (Aug. 27), Green
(Sept. 3), Zane Trace (Sept. 10),
Nelsonville-York (Sept. 13), Ironton
(Sept. 17), Federal Hocking (Sept.
20), Rio Grande (Sept. 24), Alexander
October
(Oct. 5) and Unioto (Oct. 8).
Paul Boggs can be reached at 7408 at Unioto, 9 a.m.
446-2342, ext. 2106
15 at TVC Meet at Vinton
County, 10 a.m.
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49
Meigs picked to win TVC-Ohio football
By Paul Boggs
[email protected]
GALLIPOLIS, Ohio —After a
hot summer, and if you agree with
the league’s media, then this is
finally the year that the Meigs High
School football team ends its TriValley Conference Ohio Division
championship drought.
That’s because, in a poll of seven
media members which cover the
TVC-Ohio, Meigs has been picked
to capture this year’s division
football title — as the poll was
conducted by the Ohio Valley Publishing sports department.
The Marauders last won the
TVC-Ohio in 1996 and 1998 —
following the split of the TVC into
two divisions beginning with the
1993 campaign.
The Ohio Valley Publishing
sports department had three
votes in the poll, while two votes
belonged to The Athens Messenger — and the other two to The
Telegram.
On five ballots, the Marauders
were chosen to finish first — part
of a total of 46 points.
Meigs was second on one ballot
and third on another.
Athens was selected to finish
second on five ballots, and third on
the other two for 40 points.
Nelsonville-York tallied 34
points with two first-place votes,
as the Buckeyes also had a pair
of thirds, two fifths and finally a
fourth.
Vinton County collected 24
points for fourth-place, finishing
second on one ballot, third on
another and also a fourth.
Alexander, the defending divi-
sion champion, totaled 20 points
— placing third on one ballot and
fourth on another.
Wellston was right behind with
19 total points, notching three
fourth-place votes.
River Valley ended up with 13
points, as one pollster predicted
the Raiders would finish fourth.
Points were awarded in the poll
on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point-basis.
After Athens amassed four consecutive league championships,
Alexander amounted its first TVCOhio title last season — having
moved over from the TVC-Hocking
Division in 1997.
The Spartans posted a perfect
6-0 record, followed by Athens,
Meigs and River Valley all going
4-2.
Vinton County went 2-4, followed by Wellston at 1-5 and
Nelsonville-York at 0-6.
Although, in the past two
decades, Nelsonville-York has
won outright titles in 1997, 2000,
2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and
2010 — while sharing with Athens
in 2009.
Vinton County claimed its last
league title in 1999, while Wellston
won its only TVC titles in 2001
and 2002.
Belpre, before leaving the Ohio
Division in favor of the Hocking
six years ago, won the division in
2007.
Meigs entered the TVC in 1983,
while River Valley is beginning its
third academic year in the conference.
Tomcats picked to repeat
as TVC Hocking champs
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
Ironton picked as gridiron favorite in OVC
By Alex Hawley
[email protected]
In its first season in the Ohio Valley
Conference, the Ironton football team
went 6-0 and earned the league title. A preseason media poll, conducted by the Ohio
Valley Publishing sports department, indicates the Fighting Tigers are the favorite to
repeat as OVC champions.
Ironton received five of the six first place
votes, and had one third place vote, giving
the Fighting Tigers 46 points in the poll.
Chesapeake — which finished tied for
second with Coal Grove and Rock Hill with
a 4-2 league record in 2015 — finished second in the poll, earning 41 points and one
first place vote.
The Hornets were picked third with 36
50
points, while Portsmouth was fourth in the
poll with 28 points. The Trojans finished
fifth in the OVC last season, posting a 2-4
record in their first season in the conference.
Rock Hill, a 2015 playoff qualifier, was
picked fifth in the poll with 23 points,
while Gallia Academy was had 21 points
to place it sixth in the poll. The Blue Devils
were 1-9 overall last fall and are entering
their first season in the OVC.
Rounding out the 2016 OVC poll are
South Point with 11 points, and Fairland
with 10. The Pointers were sixth in the
league last year with a 1-5 record, while the
Dragons went winless in 2015.
To be the man, you have to beat the man, and for the
past three season in the Tri-Valley Conference Hocking
Division, Trimble has been the man.
The Tomcats — who enter this season with a 31-game
league winning streak and three consecutive TVC Hocking titles — were chosen as the unanimous favorite
to win the nine-team league yet again, in a preseason
media poll conducted by the Ohio Valley Publishing
sports department.
THS received all six of the first place votes, finishing
with a point total of 54. Waterford — which had a 4-4
league record in 2015 and finished tied for fourth with
Miller — was a unanimous second place pick, finishing
with 48 points in the poll.
Third in the poll was Belpre, which went 7-1 in the
league last year, for the Golden Eagles’ best-ever TVC
Hocking record. Belpre received four third place votes
and two fourth place votes, making the Golden Eagles’
total 40.
Southern — which went 3-5 in the league in 2015,
tying Wahama for sixth place — was picked to finish
fourth in the conference with 38 points, getting two
third place votes and four fourth place votes.
Miller came in fifth in the poll with 29 points, while
Wahama was next with 23.
Eastern — which went 2-6 in the league in 2015 to
finish eighth — was picked to finish seventh in 2016,
receiving 17 points.
South Gallia — which, in 2015, was third in the TVC
Hocking at 5-3 and found its way into the postseason —
finished eighth in the poll with 15 points.
Federal Hocking went winless in 2015 and was picked
to finish at the bottom of the league again in 2016, garnering just six points.
Alex Hawley can be reached at 740-446-2342, ext.
2100.
it’d be a pretty big upset for us
if we did actually lose the TVC,”
Fogle said. “Our goals are to win
the TVC and the district, to place
top-five in the regionals and to
move on to the state meet.”
EHS has one newcomer on the
girls side in freshman Lexa Hayes.
The EHS boys team features just
three freshmen, but you have to
start somewhere.
“I’m excited to have three
boys,” Fogle said. “It’s actually the
most boys we’ve ever had come
out for high school cross country.
We’ll see where they’re at in their
freshmen year, all three of them
are pretty competitive. We’ll
see how they can run, hopefully
they’ll stick it out and here in a
few years, maybe we can actually
have a full boys team.”
The three Eagles running this
fall are Matt Clingenpeel, Colton
Reynolds and Eion Marcinko.
Eastern’s lone boys runner last
year was Caden Goff, who finished 16th in the TVC Hocking.
Eastern has been represented
at the state meet in three consecutive years, as Asia Michael made
it individually in 2013.
Eastern cc | From 42
gahs cc | From 38
Cook — who was the TVC Hocking champion last fall — was also
a part of the 2014 EHS team that
qualified for the state meet.
Entering her fourth varsity season is EHS senior Laura Pullins,
who finished second in the league
and 19th in the regional as a
junior. Pullins is yet another case
where, had this year’s postseason
format been in place last fall, she
would have qualified for the state
meet.
Along with Cook and Pullins,
juniors Taylor Parker and Kaitlyn
Hawk know what it’s like to run
in November at the National Trail
Raceway, as both were members
of the state qualifying team of
2014. Hawk was fourth in the
league last year, while Parker
claimed fifth.
EHS sophomores Ally Durst
and Rhiannon Morris are both
back from last season, when they
finished third and eighth in the
league respectively.
Eastern’s girls won the TVC
Hocking for the fifth consecutive
year last fall, posting a rare perfect score.
“I don’t really know what the
other schools have right now, but
be hard to knock off Fairland,
they’re one of the toughest
teams around. We’re so happy
to be in the OVC, it’s such an
atmosphere of camaraderie
down there and it’s a very
competitive conference.”
Gallia Academy will begin
its postseason on October
22, with the ultimate goal
of making it to the National
Trail Raceway on November
5 for the 88th annual boys
and 39th annual girls OHSAA
state meet.
“As far as postseason
goals, I think realistically
both teams should make it
to regionals,” May said. “It’s a
new format now, you’re taking top-eight in one big district and that really favors our
girls because we have such
strong front runners in Mesa
Polcyn and Mary Watts. On
the boys side it’s not going to
hurt us either, because our
top-three runners can go with
any top-three runners on any
team.”
The Blue and White are
scheduled for eight regular
season meets, including their
home Skyline Bowling Invitational on September 6.
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from last season, including
Mary Watts and Mesa Polcyn,
both of whom are seniors that
earned All-OVC first team
spots in. Both Polcyn and
Watts were regional qualifiers
last fall, finishing 22nd and
29th respectively.
“With the girls team, we
have Mesa Polcyn and Mary
Watts and they’re about as
solid as they come,” said
May.”I really think they both
have a shot at making it to
state. Our whole season will
be on what our support players, our three, four, five and
six can do.”
GAHS will be looking for
returnees Cassidy Starnes
and Abby Cremeans — who
were both All-OVC honorable
mention selections — as well
as freshman Brooke Johnson
to help Polcyn and Watts this
season.
In 2015, the GAHS boys
were third in the OVC, while
the Blue Angels were second
in the eight-team league.
“In terms of the conference, I think the girls have
an excellent shot to win it,”
said May. “If the boys keep
progressing like I think they
will, then there’s no reason we
can’t win both. It’s going to
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Knights Volley | From 36
Beaver | From 37
as we return a lot of people with starting experience,” fourth-year
PPHS girls soccer coach Chris Errett said. “We’ve also added a good
group of players with a lot of soccer experience and athletic ability,
so we should be able to progress quickly.”
The Lady Knights will have a well-balanced roster of 18 players
for the 2016 season, which includes six seniors, five junios, two
sophomores and five freshmen. Three of the seniors — Emma Rice,
Emilee Hitt and Chelsea Black — are also three-year varsity letterwinners.
Besides the leadership and experience that that trio brings, PPHS
also returns seniors Blake Hesson and Michaela Rimmey, juniors
Caitlin Peal, Alex Warden, Faith Cook and Ashley Smith, and sophomores Lexi Watkins-Lovejoy and Teagan Hay from a year ago.
Transitioning to the varsity squad this fall are senior Cammy
Hesson and junior Grace Lee, as well as freshmen Monica Cook,
Ashley Staats, Lacie Mullins, Morgan Miller and Penelope Haught.
With capable players all across the field and a solid nucleus of
veteran leadership to help guide the way — especially early on —
Errett feels that 2016 could be one of the program’s better season
in recent years … perhaps even in school history.
Errett also notes that that his troops not only know that this fall
could be special, but that they are already showing some motivation
in making that goal a reality.
“Our main goal for the season is to continue the growth of the
program and get the maximum out of each individual and the
team,” Errett said. “The girls have already shown a willingness to
put in some tough work, so our potential is pretty high.
“We felt like we gave away a lot of games last year because we
lacked experience against the quality of team on our schedule. This
year we come in knowing what to expect and are working to be prepared for it.”
The Lady Knights will play their first 10 games of the regular season on the road before finishing the year with seven of nine games
at OVB Field. PPHS will face Nitro on September 14 in its home
opener and opened the year on August 20 at Grafton.
players just have another group
step up and become the next good
players at the school,” Beaver
said. “We know we are young and
that we have a lot of work to do,
but these kids are already giving
everything that they have because
they want to succeed and they
want to return to the state tournament.
“I will say that is nice to have a
group of motivated kids that are
willing to work at becoming better. It may take some time to get
familiar with one another, but we
do have some high hopes once the
postseason arrives.”
Returning to the Defenders this
year are seniors Michael Gruber,
Elijah Warner and Micah Sanders,
sophomores Justin Beaver, Colton
Cox and Trevor Blank, and freshmen Levi Anderson.
The newcomers to the varsity
roster include senior Noah Jenkins, sophomores Camron Tyree
and Christian Tolliver, freshman
Alex McGinness, eighth graders
Bryce Gribe, Christian Higginbotham and Kristen Clark, and
seventh graders Gabe Tolliver and
Conner Walter.
Both seventh and eighth graders are allowed to compete at the
varsity level, according to the rules
of the OCSAA.
Beaver is asking for this team to
grow up quick, but he also realizes
that his first season will also be
about making the program better
for a longer haul than just this
year.
The main thing he is asking for,
in his rookie season, is that the
Defenders continue to display the
approach to the game that has
allowed this program to grow over
the last decade-plus.
“I’ve coached at the younger levels, but this will be my first time
coaching at the varsity level. I also
have some really big shoes to fill
after all the work that Jeff Patrick
put in to make this program what
it has been over the last several
years,” Beaver said. “It won’t be
easy to follow his footsteps this
year because we are just so young,
but we want to continue the tradition that he was able to establish
with this program. It may take us
some time this year, but we intend
on doing the same positive things
that have made this a respectable
program.”
OVCS will open the regular
season at Rock Hill, then returns
home for a pair of contests against
Wood County and Belpre.
Bryan Walters can be reached at 740446-2342, ext. 2101.
Bryan Walters can be reached at 740-446-2342, ext. 2101.
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60673189
Pictured are members of the 2016 Point Pleasant varsity cheerleading squad. In the
front row are, from left, Allison Leport, Catherine Payne, Siera Toles and Hayley Logan;
back row, Jenna Snyder, Lexi Landry, Brianna Reymond, Kaylee Hartley, Khloie Billings,
Ariat Rollins, Peyton Taylor, Sydnee Moore and Kauri Porter.
Mason County
Cheerleaders
Submitted Photo
Pictured are members of the 2016 Wahama varsity cheerleading
squad. Kneeling in front, from left, are Natasha Plants and
Marley Young. Kneeling in the second row are Lexi Roush,
Kerigan Blake,Baylee Hoffman and Kenzie Warth. Standing in
third row are Pia Thomanek, Caitlin Harrison and Kaleigh Stewart.
Standing in back row are Chloe Roush, Mariah Young, Mackenzie
Barr, Sydnee Whaley and Adrianna Stewart.
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Pictured (below) are
members of the 2016
Gallia Academy varsity
cheerleading squad. From
left are Jala Williams,
Makena Saunders, Brianna
Saunders, Haley Donovsky,
Sierra Johnson, Tori Church,
Emma Blankenship, Allie
Johnson and Bailey Watson.
Absent when the photo was
taken is Ellie Rose.
Pictured (right) are
members of the 2016
South Gallia varsity
cheerleading squad. In
the front row are, from
left, Olivia Harrison and
Nickole Beaver; back
row, Jaslyn Bowers,
Rachal Colburn, Zoe
Sims and Keirsten
Howell. Absent when
the photo was taken
were Allie Sweeney,
Alison Lockhart and
Emily Riggle.
Gallia
County
Cheerleaders
Pictured (right) are
members of the 2016
River Valley varsity
cheerleading squad.
In the front row are,
from left, Ashley
Morris, Maddie
McClure, Adi Fox,
Gabrielle Gibson,
Ashley Beaver and
Savannah Morrow;
back row, Avery
Barcus, Morgan
Johnson, Katelynn
Dement, Sydney
Little, Bridgett Wray,
Ashleigh McGuire,
Ashley Hatfield and
Hannah Lee.
54
Meigs County
Cheerleaders
Pictured above are members of the
2016 Southern cheerleading squad.
Sitting in the front, from left, are
Larissa Petrie and Abbi Carsey.
Kneeling in the second row are Kita
Wood, Miranda Greenlee and Jolisha
Ervin. Standing in the back row are
Savannah Mills, Tori Chaney, Peyton
Anderson, Mickenzie Ferrell, Sailor
Warden, Hailey Cremeans, Kayla
Boyer and Mattea Deemer.
Pictured above are members of the 2016
Meigs cheerleading squad. Standing from
left to right are Candace Brockert, Manah
Haley, Chelsea Thomas, Hanna Young,
Jana Robinette, Savannah Smith, Bryanna
Hall, Kaleigh Scott, Brittany Gilmore and
Chelsea Pierce.
Pictured above are members of the 2016
Eastern cheerleading squad. Standing in
the front row, from left, are Madison Keney,
Ivy Adams, Gabrielle Beeler, Rylee Haggy
and Tressa Bartimus. Standing in the back
row are Jessica Rees, Ronna Robinson,
Abbie Ridenour and Grace Adams.
55
wood | From 34
blue devils | From 35
The Black Knights will have a plethora of experience all
around the field, which includes the return of starting goalkeeper Cole Walker. Walker, a junior, will be returning for
his third consecutive season in net for PPHS.
Also returning from a season ago are seniors Brandon
Bryant and Jacob Barss, juniors Austin Adams, Jacob Bryant, Austin Nott, Justin Staats, Alex Lenkov, Chase Walker,
Alex Carlisle and Jacob Hussell, and sophomore Chance
Martin.
Both Bryants, Barss, Hussell, Carlisle and Chase Walker
all return to the backside defense, while Adams, Nott, Staats, Lenkov and Martin return to the offensive midfield and
attack positions.
Making their varsity debut this season are freshmen
Zach Rediger, Cohen Yates, Garrett Hatten, Justin Cornell,
Peyton Hughes, Kaydean Eta and Isaiah Snyder. All of the
newcomers will add depth to the midfield and defensive
positions.
Wood has always had high expectations while coaching
the Black Knights, and this being his first year back will
not change anything in regards to what he hopes will be a
return to form in the program.
“I’m really excited to be back in coaching at the high
school level. I’ll admit that we had a little bit of a rough
start with the guys in getting them used to my expectations
and work load and work rate, but they have acclimated very
quickly and are really starting to soak up the information,”
Wood said. “My expectations are to have a winning season,
get better each and every game, and we want to walk away
with a minimum of one plaque this postseason.”
Point Pleasant will start the season with three consecutive home matches before embarking on a tough regular
season stretch of games against some of the better programs in both West Virginia and southeastern Ohio.
The first match of the season is August 23 when the Black
Knights take on Lincoln County at 7 p.m.
Bryan Walters can be reached at 740-446-2342, ext. 2101.
still think we can improve. With the
group we have coming back from last
year, and the kids playing the style now
the way I like to play, I expect us to do
better than we did last season.”
As for last year, the Blue Devils finished 6-11-1, but did pull off a stunner
— and actually tied traditional Southeastern Ohio Athletic League soccer
power Warren.
Gallia Academy also captured its
first sectional title in school history,
advancing to the Division II district
semifinals.
Isberner gave all the credit to his
players.
“I like to be challenged. Whenever I
talked to people in town and said I was
taking over the varsity program, they
said I was crazy because the program
wasn’t good and blah, blah, blah. But I
couldn’t have asked for a better group
of kids,” he said. “They always wanted
to learn, they gave 100-percent every
single day and in games. I love these
kids like my own kids.”
Isberner added that the Blue Devils
adapted to his style, and started believing in themselves.
“We started a little slow last season
because the mentality was different.
I’m from Brazil and I like to play the
game, not just kick the ball and run like
they were used to,” he said. “The second half of the season, things started
to click and get better and we ended up
winning the sectional for the first time.
We also got better with our confidence.
When the kids start to believe they
are better than what they think, they
started to win more.”
The Blue Devils did graduate a halfdozen — Eric Gillespie, Dekota Metzler, Hunter Bennett, Logan Carpenter,
Zach Johnson and Josiah Cox.
Carpenter claimed all-Southeast District first team, Johnson was a secondteamer, and Metzler made Honorable
Mention.
This year, there are nine seniors,
including all-district selections Isaiah
Lester and Madi Oiler.
Lester returns at forward while the
defender Oiler, praised Isberner, is “a
pit bull that protects in the back.”
Oiler, along with the two-time selection Carpenter, made first-team allSoutheastern Ohio Athletic League.
Among the other returning starters are attack midfielder Jacob Ratliff,
right-back defender Ben Rutherford,
and goalkeeper Caden Wilt.
Isberner added that two sophomore
girls — returning starter Trinity Eggers
and midfielder/wing Erin Lincoln —
will make a significant impact.
Lincoln — in fact — is the “most
technical player on my team”, said
Isberner.
Gallia Academy also features three
freshmen, with Andrew Toler expected
to make immediate contributions.
Isberner did express that the Blue
Devils’ physical shape, in the preseason
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wahama golf | From 25
tornadoes | From 28
as a state qualifier during his career.
Though that experience will be the toughest thing
to replace, Arnott will look to his varsity returnees —
junior Anthony Ortiz and sophomore Gage Smith —
to serve as leaders for the incoming newcomers.
Joining Ortiz and Smith on the boys team will be
juniors Ethan Herdman and Jace Heckaman, as well
as sophomores Carl Sayre and Walker Stanhope. There
are no seniors on the White Falcon roster this fall.
On the girls side, all six females are first-timers to
the varsity level — putting all half-dozen competitors
in the same collective boat in regards to expectations.
Destiny Sayre is the lone senior on the Lady
Falcons squad, while juniors Kaleigh Stewart, Lexi
Roush, Tori Robinson, Megan Roush and Caitlyn Harrison wrap up the girls roster.
Arnott doesn’t hide that his kids may hit a few
bumps in the road this season, given that well over
half of the program has never played golf at the varsity level before. He does, however, believe that this
year can be a great learning experience that leads to
an even better future.
“We know that there will probably be some struggles this year given our inexperience, but I also expect
the kids to get better as the season progresses and as
they become more familiar with the courses they are
learning at the varsity level,” Arnott said. “The most
important thing for us this year is to keep getting better and not get too discouraged with a bad day in this
sport. That will be what determines our success level
this year.”
Wahama will play its home matches at Riverside
Golf Course in Mason County.
Bryan Walters can be reached at 740-446-2342, ext.
2101.
a bigger impact as sophomores. The three newcomers to the SHS program are
freshmen Landen Hill, Clay
Wamsley and Joey Weaver.
“The three freshmen are
just starting out, so they’re
our jay-vee players right
now,” Caldwell said. “I’m
kind of impressed by some
of the sophomores, it seems
like Jarrett Hupp is much
improved from last year.”
The 2015 Tornadoes tied
with Eastern for third in the
league with an 11-5 mark.
Defending Tri-Valley Confer-
blue devils | From 56
anyway, is not at all where
it needs to be.
But, along with continued confidence, he expects
his charges to change their
ways.
“Our fitness level right
now is poor and we have
to work a lot on that. And
we still lack some confidence,” said Isberner. “I
try to tell them to just
step on the field and have
fun and be responsible.
But those are areas I
d
o
o
G
!
k
c
Lu
ence Hocking Division champion Waterford went unbeaten in 16 league matches last
fall, while Belpre took second
place in the nine-team league
with a 13-3 record.
This year the Purple and
Gold have their sights set
shaking up the top-half of
the league.
“I’m hoping that we are
competing and that we at
least give ourselves a chance
for the league championship,” Caldwell said. “Waterford lost a lot and Belpre
will still be pretty good, but
outside of that, the two
believe we will improve in
and be fine by the end of
the season.”
One aspect, on the
other hand, that the coach
likes is the team’s togetherness.
“Whenever we work
together, it’s hard for people to beat us. In practice
right now, we communicate very well, we work as
a team, we encourage each
other. If we keep doing
that, it’s going to be hard
for people to come in here
and beat us,” said Isberner.
teams that return the most
players — that did well in the
league last year — are us and
Eastern. I think we should
defiantly be in the top half
and hopefully competing for
a league championship.”
The Tornadoes — who call
Green Hills Country Club
home — have two conference titles in school history,
winning in 1995 and 2006.
SHS was the 1993 sectional
champion and the 2005 district champion.
Alex Hawley can be reached
at 740-446-2342, ext. 2100.
Those people — per the
schedule — include OVC
opponents Chesapeake,
Fairland, Rock Hill and
South Point.
The SEOAL now-turned
non-conference foes are
Athens, Jackson and Warren.
The Blue Devils will also
play Ohio Valley Christian School twice — after
opening at Alexander and
closing against Circleville.
Paul Boggs can be reached at
740-446-2342, ext. 2106
204 Third Street, Point Pleasant, WV
304-857-6531
60674410
57
Meigs football | From 3
Even with the loss of Lilly
and Sheets, perhaps the biggest
holes Meigs will have to fill are
in the trenches. All-District
linemen Colton Atkinson, Nick
Combs and Dalton Clark, as
well as Jake Korn, Alec Bissell,
Levi Ashburn, Coltin Neutzling
and Jeff Teachout are all big
men that graduated last spring.
Clark and Atkinson were also
All-TVC Ohio selections last
fall.
“This year we are going to
a quick offensive line,” said
Coach Bartrum. “There are anywhere from seven-to-nine guys
competing for the five spots,
which is awesome. Competition
makes us better and that’s one
thing we’ve really concentrated
on this year. The best man is
going to get the job, it’s a simple
as that.”
Matthew Jackson, Riley
Ogdin, Trae Hood, Layne Acree,
Andrew Douglas, Tyler Shull
and Claytin Neutzling are
expected to be top contenders
for the offensive line spots this
season. Hood makes the move
to the line from the backfield,
where he was one of Meigs
leading rushers last year, posting 259 yards and five touchdowns on 62 carries, in eight
games.
Last season, Meigs ran for
a total of 1,689 yards and 25
touchdowns. Cullums had just
79 yards and one touchdown
through the first eight weeks
last season, but in the final two
games — when Hood was out
with an injury — he stepped
up, rushing for 165 yards and
three scores on 35 attempts.
The Marauders were 4-2 in
the TVC Ohio last fall, falling to
Athens and league-champion
Alexander. In league play, Meigs
will host River Valley, Athens
and Wellston this fall, while
visiting Vinton County, Nelsonville-York and Alexander.
The Maroon and Gold went
2-2 in non-league contests, topping Gallia Academy and Amanda-Clearcreek before falling to
Logan and Jackson. MHS will
face the same four non-league
opponents this season. Meigs’
four non-league opponents
have combined for 48 playoff
appearances. Meigs will host
the Aces and Chieftains, while
visiting the Blue Devils and
Ironmen.
“We could find games where
we go out and win 50-to-nothing, but what’s that doing for
us,” Coach Bartrum said. “We
want to go out, find the best
and try to beat the best. That’s
the only way you get better and
if we can’t beat them, then at
least we know where we’re at.
You don’t get better going to
the playoffs to get beat by 50.”
In 2015, the Meigs defense
allowed 217.5 rushing yards
per game and 93.5 passing
yards per game. The Marauders’
opponents scored an average of
27 points per game, while the
Maroon and Gold scored 29.5
points per game.
In his four seasons at the
helm, Mike Bartrum holds
21-19 coaching record.
740-446-2342, ext. 2100.
point football | From 4
“We feel that we’ve always done a good job
of blending younger kids into our system. We
lost a lot of seniors from last year, but a lot
of these returning guys played a lot of good
minutes for us,” Darst said. “We have a lot of
people that will be stepping into increased
roles this year and I think as the season goes
along, they will progress into the roles very
nicely.
“At the same time, we have a solid nucleus
of returning starters all around the field.
Having that experience out there should also
help in the transition with the holes we need
to fill.”
The Big Blacks have an even keel of five
home games and five away games this fall,
with their bye week scheduled for Week 8.
PPHS will also host pivotal games against
Gallia Academy, Logan, Bluefield and Parkersburg South throughout the regular season.
Point Pleasant begins the 2016 campaign
with consecutive road games at Lincoln
County and Ripley before making its home
debut in Week 3 against Gallia Academy.
Bryan Walters can be reached at 740-4462342, ext. 2101.
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Isaiah Reitmire and Wesley Peters.
As mentioned, Barr believes in
this group of young men as they
head out to the gridiron. With
any luck in avoiding injuries, Barr
even feels that this group has the
potential to be a playoff qualifier.
However, with 21 of the 27
roster players coming from the
middle two classes — anything
accomplished this year would
seem to be a step in the right
direction.
Barr isn’t throwing in any kind
of towel on the 2016 campaign,
mainly because he knows that
the future is starting to look a bit
brighter.
“By no way are we discounting
this season, but we do know that
we have a very young football
team,” Barr said. “The experience for us early on is going to be
important, but we also realize that
whatever we can accomplish this
season is only going to be better
for us when all of these guys come
back next year.”
The White Falcons will get no
breaks this year in the schedule as
four of their first six contests will
be on the road, but the Red and
White will also finish the fall with
three of their final four games at
Bachtel Stadium.
Wahama begins the 2016
campaign on August 26 when it
travels to Ravenswood for a nonconference matchup at 7:30 p.m.
740-446-2342, ext. 2101.
better.”
But both the defensive and
up-tempo offensive units are a bit
inexperienced.
Sparling said inexperience is
a non-issue over the course of a
campaign.
“At a couple of positions here
and there, we may be a little green.
But it’s not that we don’t have
ability,” he said. “We’ve had guys
play good football at the junior
varsity level the last two years. It’s
just varsity inexperience. They’ve
played behind a loaded senior class.
We have to be conscientious at the
beginning of the season just how
much we are exposing these guys
to on Friday nights. We don’t want
to put too much on their plate at
the beginning of the season, knowing they are going to be just fine at
the end.”
But, at the start — and all the
way through — Sparling is counting heavily upon his dozen seniors.
“Senior leadership is absolutely
paramount. We have guys who
have been down the path of success and have two or three letters
to serve as mentors and calming
influences,” he said. “This is a unified group and we’re ready to prove
our worth.”
The Raiders opened their season
against Eastern on Friday night,
and travel to archrival Gallia Academy on Saturday night.
Sparling said that Raider squads
in years past might feel overmatched, but that the program has
evolved into one of no fear.
“We’re happy with the overall
schedule. We have 10 teams on our
schedule that are going to be competitive and we expect to compete
with ourselves,” said the coach.
“The evolution of this place is that
there is no lack of confidence anymore. We expect to go into these
10 games being the aggressor and
competitive, and there is no surrender or retreat in this group.
That’s a good thing because in
years past, we’ve gone into games
knowing we were going to get
blown out. That’s not the case here
anymore. These guys want to meet
this new challenge.”
Thus, these Raiders intend to
reload — and not rebuild.
a little more competitive than
they have been in years past.
“We’ve really emphasized
playing down to down and yard
to yard,” Scott said. “If we want
to be competitive, we can’t
afford to take a play off here or
there. We’ve really stressed the
importance of everyone giving it
all they have on each and every
play.
“We may not have a large roster going by numbers, but each
player on our team will be a contributor to what we do and the
success we have. I feel confident
in being able to put any one of
my guys on the field.”
Back from last year’s squad
are senior Nick Hughes, juniors
Tyler Cochran, Michael Lowe,
Logan Nibert, Johnny Graley,
Nathan McQueen, James
Edmonds and Charles Wallace,
and sophomores Dominic Burris
and Stephan Berry.
Making their varsity debuts
under Coach Scott are senior
Isiah White, juniors Aaron Turner and Riley Griffith, sophomore
Matt Qualls, and freshmen
Jordan Fitzwater, Derrick Burris, Dakota Powell, Kyle Fielder,
Zach Plants, Richard Parsons
and Chandler Starkey.
The Wildcats will have only
two seniors on their entire roster, so the leadership role will
fall just as much on the returning underclassmen as it will
the senior duo of Hughes and
White.
Scott acknowledges that his
team is still growing, but he
also believes that the future of
the program will start taking its
shape this fall.
And despite the lack of
seniors, Scott also believes that
his troops are prepared to win
some of their upcoming battles.
“In a large way, we are still a
very young football program. We
only have a couple of seniors, so
it’s still a little bit of a rebuilding process. We do still feel
like we are headed in a positive
direction,” Scott said. “Honestly,
I think a success for us this
season would be winning some
football games. That would help
the guys see that the hard work
they’ve put in is paying off. I
won’t put a number on how
many wins, but I think that is
a realistic goal for us to have a
successful season.”
Hannan — which has only
nine games scheduled, with
open dates in Week 6 and
Week 11 — begins the season
at Montcalm and will start
its home schedule in Week 2
against Green.
Five of the Wildcats’ nine
gridiron contests will be played
at home at the Craigo Athletic
Complex in Ashton.
Bryan Walters can be reached
at 740-446-2342, ext. 2101.
blue football | From 5
White football | From 7
gers and Jonas McCreedy.
The young Blue Devils opened
the season on Friday night against
Meigs, and will host River Valley
while traveling across the river to
Point Pleasant for their other two
non-league tilts.
Despite the team’s youth and
inexperience, and perception
amongst some observers and
naysayers that the Blue Devils will
struggle again, Riffe believes his
club is bound for a better year.
“We expect to be able to compete in the OVC and we always
want to set a high goal and high
standard for ourselves,” said the
coach. “I think our coaches and
our players take it as a challenge
when you hear people counting
you out and thinking you don’t
have a chance. I told our guys that
it’s okay to play with a chip on your
shoulder. Sometimes, you need
that. We look to improve throughout the season and we believe it’s
going to be a successful season for
us.”
“Our two seniors want to go
out strong and we want to send
them out strong. Our biggest
concern, however, is our overall
team experience with having only
two seniors,” Barr said. “These are
some great kids and we do have
some quickness and intelligence,
so our main goal is just to improve
week to week and see how good of
a football team we can become by
year’s end.”
Making their varsity debuts this
year will be juniors Carson Eades
and Dakota Bender, sophomores
Shawn Taylor, Andrew Grimm
and Dustin Lane, and freshmen
Brayden Davenport, Kody Hollis,
Wildcats | From 11
what was expected of them in
the weight room and in conditioning drills — and I think the
hard work and determination
has paid off,” Scott said. “We’re
hoping that some of that hard
work will start to pay off this
year, but it won’t come easy. We
have to keep working hard to
have that hard work pay off.”
The Wildcats have 10 varsity returnees back to lead the
2016 squad, with most of those
returning players blending
between skill positions and interior linemen.
And with that core nucleus
spread throughout to help the
11 newcomers adjust to varsity
football, Scott believes that his
team won’t have any glaring
weaknesses from an experience standpoint — which in
turn should help the first-time
varsity players grow into their
respective roles.
Scott notes that he had hoped
for more than 21 players this
season, but he is also quick to
point out that he has confidence
in all 21 of those players —
which in turn gives Hannan one
of the deeper squads it’s had in
the past few years.
Scott is also hoping that those
numbers give HHS a shot to be
RAIDERS | From 8
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60
eagles | From 12
EHS volley | From 13
come down to how physical we are
and if we do things right. We have
a shot to win some games, but we
have to do things right.”
In non-league competition this
year, EHS will face River Valley
and Green. This will be the third
consecutive year the Eagles and
Raiders have clashed in non-league
competition. Eastern hasn’t met
the Bobcats on the gridiron since
2005.
“I don’t know if we have the
talent to just go out on the field,
lineup against teams and say here
we come,” said Newland. “We’re
going to have to do things right,
throw the ball a little bit and come
out to play.”
In TVC Hocking play Eastern
will welcome Miller, South Gallia, Trimble and Southern to East
Shade River Stadium, while hosting
Green in non-league play.
Eastern has two postseason
appereances in school history, they
came in 2000 and 2001.
from her as a sophomore.”
EHS has been 8-8 in the league
each of the past two seasons, but
hopes to regain the top spot in the
TVC Hocking this year. The Lady
Eagles have won 14 league titles,
the last of which came in 2012.
In league play last year, Eastern
swept South Gallia, Miller, Belpre
and Wahama, but lost twice each
to Southern, Waterford, Trimble
and Federal Hocking. EHS got
revenge on Federal Hocking, however, upsetting the Lady Lancers
in McInturf Gymnasium in the
sectional final.
Eastern was seeded sixth in the
district, but the Green, White and
Gold captured lightning in a bottle
740-446-2342, ext. 2100.
wahama volley | From 18
gain experience and grow — which
should allow us to get better as the
year progresses.
“We’ve improved our record in
each of the last few seasons and we
want to do that again this season,
but our main goal is to be a better
volleyball program by the end of
the year. It’s going to take everyone
working together and playing hard
to make that happen.”
Returning from a season ago
are seniors Grace Hill and Rebekah
Roach, juniors Hannah Wren,
Madison VanMeter and Elizabeth
Mullins, and sophomores Emily
VanMatre, Alexis Mick, Hannah Billups, Maddy VanMatre and Makinley Bumgarner.
Senior Emily Gerlach isn’t technically a newcomer to the varsity
roster after playing two years ago as
a sophomore, with sophomore Lexi
Layne and freshman Gracie VanMatre rounding out the 2016 roster.
The Lady Falcons are still searching for their first-ever sectional
title, despite improving their record
from the season before in each of
the last five campaigns.
The program’s growth can also be
attributed to a solid small-school
league that has produced a pair of
state qualifiers in Ohio over the last
five seasons.
As VanMeter noted, the competi-
lady raiders | From 15
indeed supplements the skill development.
“We have great hitters and
defensive specialists. I don’t have
a problem with the technical
skills at all, and they’ve picked up
really well on the defense,” said the
coach. “The serve-receive is usually
really good too. As long as I can
keep them talking and communicating with each other, I think they
are going to be good to go.”
Angel Toler, an all-district Honorable Mention choice, will be one
of the setters in her senior season.
The other is Isabella Mershon, a
junior, as Toler is a returnee.
Senior strong-side outside hitters Emily Adkins, Jessica Steele
and Brianna McGuire all return,
along with junior middle hitter
Carly Gilmore.
Rayanna Adkins is another
strong-side hitter and key back
row player, along with senior libero
Destiny Williams.
Besides Gilmore, junior Jaden
Neal and sophomore Rachel Horntion in the TVC Hocking Division
is quite tough — but it is also
something that helps tremendously
when the postseason rolls around.
VanMeter also believes that as
the season progresses, his Lady
Falcons have the potential to leave
quite a mark on the program’s brief
history.
“We play in one of the tougher
leagues you’ll find for small schools,
so the competition leaves us no
room for an easy night on the floor.
We have to be ready to play each
and every time that we step out
there,” VanMeter said. “We have
only three seniors, so we are still
somewhat of a young team. Our
in the post season, something Williams hopes can happen again this
year.
“We like to peak at the end of
the season,” Williams said. “We
have several new girls, but the
team is still the same, the desire is
still the same and the goal is still
the same.”
The Lady Eagles are 6-3 in the
postseason in Williams’ tenure at
EHS.
Along with 16 TVC Hocking
matches, Eastern will face Meigs
twice and River Valley once in nonleague tilts. EHS is also a part of
the Athens Invitational on August
27.
740-446-2342, ext. 2100.
er — also middle hitters opposite
Gilmore — saw some varsity
serves last year.
The defensive specialists are led
by sophomore Cierra Roberts, and
also include juniors Jessica Roush
and Lynsey Saber.
Elliott admits that the TVCOhio is a powerful volleyball league
— with the top three programs of
Athens, Alexander and NelsonvilleYork.
But, she also believes that her
club is capable of cracking into the
top tier — and improving as the
season goes along.
“It’s a very challenging volleyball
conference to be in. But I feel we
have more than enough capability to put up a good fight against
anybody,” said Elliott. “There is a
lot of talent here, and when they
pull together and work together
and communicate well, they can
do awesome things. We definitely
have the capability and we’re looking forward to having a good
season.”
future appears to be on the upside,
but this group really has a chance to
make some strides for the program.
“It’s really up to the girls. If
they are willing to work hard, play
together and do what we ask of
them, then this year could once
again become the best season in the
history of the program — but only
time will tell.”
Wahama opens its 2016 campaign on August 31 when it hosts
Hannan in a non-conference
matchup of Mason County programs.
740-446-2342, ext. 2101.
Lady Knights | From 14
ers for both now and the future,
second-year coach Marla Cottrill
believes that this fall could turn
into something special for her
troops.
“We have some high expectations for this year,” Cottrill
said. “We’ve worked really hard
throughout the summer and we
have a lot of experience coming
back, so we are really excited to
see if we can put it all together as
a group and make this as successful a season as we think it can be.”
Cottrill — who also coached
the very first season of varsity volleyball at PPHS — has reason for
optimism, particularly in the fact
that two-thirds of her full roster
has varsity experience … which
should aid in the transition for the
newcomers.
Back from a year ago are seniors
Michaela Cottrill and Karlee
Edmonds, juniors Gracie Cottrill,
Cierra Porter, MacKenzie Freeman, Brenna Dotson, Hannah
Holcomb and Gracie Sexton, and
sophomores Madison Hatfield and
Lanea Cochran.
There are four talented incoming freshmen — Sami Saunders,
Hayley Milhoan, Peyton Jordan
and Olivia Dotson — that have
been a big part of the junior high
program over the last few years.
Brazilian exchange student Luiza
Da Costa — a senior — has also
participated in the sport for years.
From top to bottom, Cottrill
believes that this team may have
more potential than any other
ever assembled at Point Pleasant.
She also notes that despite
having a pretty talented group of
ladies, there is still a lot of effort
to be made if the Lady Knights
want to reach new heights this
fall.
“There are still a lot of talented
teams at the double-A level, but
I think that us moving down and
playing schools that are a little bit
closer to our size will at least give
our kids a better mentality headed
into matches,” Cottrill said. “We
are all excited about what this
season can be and our ultimate
goal is to have a winning season.
We’re going to have to work extra
hard to reach that goal, but we
all believe that it is possible if we
work together.”
Point Pleasant opens the season
on September 6 when it hosts
Wahama in a non-conference
matchup of Mason County schools
at 6 p.m.
740-446-2342, ext. 2101.
61
lady tornadoes | From 20
Priddy | From 21
all-district honorable mention as a
sophomore at Meigs High School.
“This group of girls all have a
great friendship outside of volleyball, so I think they work well
together,” Hupp said. “I haven’t
yet seen who will step up to be the
leader, but as far as encouraging
each other and helping each other
along the way, I’ve seen them all
participate in that way.”
The seniors that SHS will have to
replace include two-time all-district
first team selection, two-time alldistrict second team selection and
two time all-league first team selection Jansen Wolfe, as well as three
time All-TVC Hocking honoree and
one-time all-district second team
selection Ali Deem. The SHS class
of 2016 also included two-time
all-league selection Brynn Harris
and one-time all-league selection
Madison Maynard.
“We’ve been working hard and
they know that they have to work
hard to replace the graduating
seniors,” Hupp said of filling the
void that graduation left on the
Lady Tornadoes. “They’re a great
group of girls, and I think they’re
doing a great job of stepping up.”
Along with the 16 TVC Hocking
matches, Southern will also face
Meigs, River Valley, NelsonvilleYork and Williamstown in nonleague action. SHS will also host
TVC Hocking member Belpre in a
non-league tri-match with Meigs.
The Lady Marauders are the only
non-league team Southern will play
twice.
After sharing the TVC Hocking
title with Trimble and Waterford
last year, Southern will look to
repeat as league champs for the
first time since 1995-96, when
Hupp was playing for the Purple
and Gold.
“We should do well,” Hupp said
of her expectations within the TVC
Hocking. “I’m just getting back
into coaching volleyball after being
out of it for a few years, so I’m not
familiar with the other teams, but
I have high expectations for this
group of girls. We’ve set some team
goals and plan on achieving those
goals.”
In school history, Southern has
six conference titles (1981, 1982,
1983, 1995, 1996 and 2015) and
seven sectional titles (1982, 1983,
1984, 1988, 1995, 1997, 2004 and
2014).
around two of the girls previously,
so it will take some time for the
girls to get acclimated to me and
vice versa,” Priddy said. “I’m use to
having more players than this during my years at River Valley, but I
can also tell you that the eight girls
I have on the team do have talent.
“I’m looking forward to growing
and building this team as the year
progresses. We are showing growth
every day at practice and that is
something I hope continues. I want
to build this into something more
than the already successful program that it is.”
The Lady Defenders will have
only one senior on the roster in
returning letterwinner Katie Bradley. Also coming back from a year
ago are juniors Cori Hutchison and
Katie Westfall, as well as sopho-
740-446-2342, ext. 2100.
62
rebels | From 23
or middle hitter, while Burnette
anchors the strong side outside.
The coach also expects good seasons from hitters Rachal Colburn
and Maddie Simpson, as Simpson
is the lone returning senior.
Burnette, Evans and the sophomore Colburn also return, along
with juniors Olivia Hornsby and
MHS golf | From 24
said. “Do we build character?
How do our kids preform and
act on and off of the golf course?
Those are the things that will
make this a successful season.”
Meigs was 37-5 in the TVC
Ohio last year, finishing second
to Vinton County.
Six Lady Marauders return
from last season, including four
seniors. Third-year coach B.J.
Nicholson is hoping experience
will count on the course.
“We’re older and we’re hoping
to knock off about 65 strokes
from last season,” said Coach
eastern golf | From 26
of experience. Ashley Tolliver is the
lone Lady Eagles newcomer.
Last season Kylee Tolliver was
named second team all-district,
while Edwards was honorable mention on the all-district list.
The Eastern boys finished tied
with Southern for third place in
the Tri-Valley Conference Hocking
Division with an 11-5 league record.
The Eagles’ lone league title came
in 2004.
“My expectation is for us to go
out and play golf to the best of our
mores Makala Sizemore and Emily
Childers.
The newcomers to the varsity
roster are sophomore Chasity
Deckard and the freshmen duo
of Marcie Kessinger and Destiny
Gray.
Priddy — who is well known
for her business-like approach to
coaching volleyball — says that it
may take a little time for everyone
to get on the same page during the
regular season, but she also knew
from the first day that this was a
team that she’d want to lead.
They say they are willing to work
hard to accomplish a common
goal, and Priddy will likely spend
the next four months testing that
promise.
The one thing that Priddy wants
them to remember, however, is
that with only eight players, it’s
going to take a little bit from every-
one to make their dream a reality.
“My first day in, I explained to
the girls that work ethic is very
important to me in this game. We
are going to work hard every day at
becoming a better volleyball team,”
Priddy said. “The girls followed that
up by telling me that their first goal
was to get back to state, so I think
they were happy to hear that we’re
going to try and become the best
volleyball team that we could be.
“It’s going to take a lot of hard
work and sacrifice by each of them,
but the best way for us to be successful this year is to do what we
have to together.”
OVCS will play two of its first
three games on the road in August
before returning home on September 1 for contest with Wahama.
740-446-2342, ext. 2101.
Hannah Shafer.
Hornsby is the setter, as freshman Alyssa Cremeens is expected
to contribute heavily on the varsity.
Wright said the libero position is
yet to be decided upon.
Rounding out the roster are
seniors Haley Johnson and Nanako
Yoshino, juniors Allie Sweeney and
Aaliyah Howell, sophomore Jessica
Luther, and freshmen Kylie Staple-
ton, Katie Bowling, Mackenzie
Martin, Amaya Howell, Christine
Griffith and Kara McCormick.
“I think we will have a decent
season this year. We’ll improve as
the season progresses and by the
end of the year, I think we’ll be
a strong competitor in the TVCHocking,” said Wright.
Nicholson. “We’re hoping to place
at sectionals and move on to districts, that’s our ultimate goal.”
The Lady Marauders with fifth
in the sectional last season, led
by Shalynn Mitchell with a 116.
Other top returnees for the MHS
girls are Kendra Robie and Dannett Davis. Robie was an all-district honorable mention last fall.
Davis, Robie and Sarah Curl are
each entering their fourth varsity
season for the MHS girls, while
senior Mersadies Markins enters
her second varsity campaign.
“I’m going to rely on my
seniors for sure,” Coach Nicholson said. “One of them is Sarah
Curl, who actually brings the
most leadership to our team. She
might not always have the best
score, but she’s the one with the
best attitude. She keeps the girls
going in the right direction and
that’s what I look for most of all.”
Newcomers expected to help
the Maroon and Gold ladies are
sophomore Lydia Edwards and
freshman Mikayla Radcliffe.
Both Meigs golf teams call the
Meigs County Golf Course home.
abilities,” Hill said. “If we reach our
potential I think good things will
come. Waterford obviously has had
the league tied down for many years
and they’re going to be tough to
beat. I think you can throw Belpre
in there as well, but we’re looking to
finish on top and if we play golf to
our fullest potential we should be
able to accomplish that.”
The Lady Eagles qualified for the
district tournament last fall, finishing second to Waterford in the sectional tournament.
“For the girls, we’re extremely
confident that we can build upon
what they did last year,” Hill said.
“We’re really looking to continue on
with that success. With the boys,
were very confident that we can be
the first team in school history to
win the sectional this year. The boys
are really focused, they’re playing
good golf, striking the ball very well
and if we can carry that on through
the next month we’ll be alright.”
Eastern calls the Meigs County
Golf Course its home.
740-446-2342, ext. 2100.
740-446-2342, ext. 2100.
60673867
GOOD LUCK
TO ALL OUR TEAMS
HERE’S TO A GREAT SEASON!
215 Upper River Road
Gallipolis, Ohio
740-446-7891
390 Silver Bridge Plaza
Gallipolis, Ohio
740-446-2199
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MEIGS GALLIA MASON - Gallipolis Daily Tribune

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