O D D P A G E S
A Special Supplement to The Clermont Sun
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Walnut Hills, Turpin named ECC favorites BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
Last season, the Walnut Hills High School girls basketball team rolled to a league title and a spot in the regional semifinals. They’re projected to do at least one of those two things again this year. The Lady Eagles earned all but one first-place vote in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference coaches poll, finishing with a total of 47 points. The lone first-place vote that didn’t go to Walnut Hills went to Loveland. The lady Tigers earned 41 points and placed second. West Clermont drew third place, finishing with 35 points. Anderson (32 points) placed fourth in the poll. Milford and Kings tied for fifth with 19 points each.
Turpin (15) and Withrow (8) rounded out the standings. Coaches in the league called it ‘competitive’ with one coach saying, ‘The league runs through Walnut Hills, as they have proven themselves to be one of the top teams in the state.’ The boys poll did not see a repeat champion. Turpin drew three of the five firstplace votes, tallying 38 points to take first place. Walnut Hills earned one first-place vote and 34 points, good for second. The defending champion West Clermont Wolves didn’t earn a first-place vote, but they were picked third with 30 points. Withrow (21) and Milford (20) were chosen to place fourth and fifth, respectively. Kings tallied 15 points to place sixth. Loveland (14) drew seventh place, with
Anderson (8) in eighth place. There’s a noticeable dropoff after the top three teams in the poll, and one coach explained why each of those top three squads is difficult to face. “Turpin brings back a lot of talent and probably the best scorer in the conference. Turpin is very wellcoached as well. Walnut Hills is always loaded with talent and will give you a good battle every night. West Clermont has a dominant post player that will force teams to have a good game plan. After those three teams I think it is pretty wide open.” Votes and comments were collected until Friday, November 15. First-place votes were worth eight points. Second-place votes earned six points, and so on.
BT, Wilmington unanimous girls champs BY GARTH SHANKLIN
2019-2020 Eastern Cincinnati Conference Clermont Sun Coaches Poll Results
GIRLS 1. Walnut Hills (5) 2. Loveland (1) 3. West Clermont 4. Anderson T5. Milford T5. Kings 7. Turpin 8. Withrow
BOYS 47 41 35 32 19 19 15 8
1. Turpin (3) 2. Walnut Hills (1) 3. West Clermont 4. Withrow (1) 5. Milford 6. Kings 7. Loveland 8. Anderson
Results of the SBAAC Coaches Polls are on pages 22-23
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Sports Editor
The Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers and Wilmington Lady Hurricane are the teams to beat in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference this season, according to the league’s coaches. Both teams were unanimous selections to win the league crown. In the American Division, Wilmington finished with 30 points and all five firstplace votes. Western Brown was chosen to place second. The Lady Broncos collected 24 total points, earning all but one second-place vote. New Richmond (15 points) placed third, with Goshen (14) right behind. Batavia (13) placed fifth in the poll, followed by Clinton-Massie. One coach called the league ‘wide open,’ with another praising fellow coaches in the league. “The coaches in the league are outstanding,” one SBAAC American Division coach said. “Your
team will have to be prepared every night to have a chance to win.” Wilmington won the league title in 2018-2019, finishing 10-0 in league play and 19-5 overall. Goshen and Western Brown both went 7-3. Clinton-Massie, New Richmond and Batavia rounded out the final three spots. In the National Division, the Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers were chosen as the unanimous league favorites to win the school’s first outright league crown since at least 2008. The team shared the title with Williamsburg in 2017. The Lady Tigers earned 49 points to finish first. Georgetown finished second with 38 points, edging out Williamsburg by one point. CNE was chosen fourth with 26 points. East Clinton tallied 19 points to slot in fifth place. Felicity (15) placed sixth, with Blanchester (12) in seventh. One coach said the 20192020 season could be the
most competitive season in the last decade, while another went into a bit more detail explaining the thought process behind their votes. “I feel it will be a battle between Bethel Tate, Williamsburg, and Georgetown. I give the slight edge to Bethel over the other two because of their size and returning everybody from last year. CNE will continue to get better with their coach being in his second year. I think the league will be very competitive and fun to watch this year.” Williamsburg won the SBAAC National Division title in 2018-2019, finishing 12-0 overall. Georgetown and BethelTate both went 9-3 to tie for second. Votes and comments were collected until Friday, November 15. First-place votes were worth seven points in the National Division and six in the American. Second-place votes were worth six (five in the American Division) and so on.
2019-2020 SBAAC Girls Basketball Clermont Sun Coaches Poll Results
NATIONAL 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Bethel-Tate (7) Georgetown Williamsburg CNE East Clinton Felicity Blanchester
AMERICAN 49 38 37 26 19 15 12
1. Wilmington (5) 2. Western Brown 3. New Richmond 4. Goshen 5. Batavia 6. Clinton-Massie
30 24 15 14 13 9
open
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
Head coach Bernie Cropper and the Bethel-Tate High School girls basketball team earned all seven first-place votes in the National Division coaches poll.
E V E N P A G E S
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WB, Blanchester earn preseason SBAAC nods BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
O D D P A G E S
A total of six votes separated the two champions from the two runner-up boys basketball squads in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference. In the American Division, Western Brown tallied 26 points to edge New Richmond for first place. The Lions totaled 22 points, four ahead of the third-place Goshen Warriors. Goshen’s 18 points were one better than the fourthplace squad, Wilmington. Clinton-Massie (13) and Batavia (9) were voted into fifth and sixth, respectively. Four different teams received at least one firstplace vote in the league. One coach said he could see any of five schools winning the league title. “[It’s] completely wide open. Every team graduates major pieces and brings
back good players. [Zyon] Tull is my preseason pick for player of the year.” Tull, a junior for Western Brown, only started eight games last season. He averaged 14 points and 3.4 rebounds as a sophomore. Clinton-Massie won the league title in 2018-2019, finishing 8-2 overall. Western Brown and Goshen tied for second at 6-4. Over in the National Division, things were even closer. Blanchester earned three of the five first-place votes to slip past Clermont Northeastern for first place with 33 points. The Rockets came in second with 31. While the Wildcats earned the preseason nod, one coach gave the edge to the Rockets due to the overall talent on the team’s roster. “It looks like a two-team battle between CNE and Blanchester. Both have very good star players leading the way. I think CNE may have a little better supporting cast and depth.”
The teams in third through seventh place were separated by just five votes. Williamsburg (18 points) placed third, just ahead of Felicity (17). East Clinton and Georgetown tied for fifth with 14 points. Bethel-Tate totaled 13 points and placed seventh. Last season, Georgetown went undefeated in the league, posting a perfect 12-0 mark under Doug Williams. Williams is now the head coach at Western High School in Latham, Ohio. CNE placed second last season at 9-3, with Blanchester and Williamsburg tying for third at 7-5. Votes and comments were collected until Friday, November 15. First-place votes were worth seven points in the National Division and six in the American. Second-place votes were worth six (five in the American Division) and so on.
Receiv Months Receivee 66 Months
1. Blanchester (3) 2. CNE (2) 3. Williamsburg 4. Felicity T5. East Clinton T5. Georgetown 7. Bethel-Tate
1. Western Brown (2) 2. New Richmond (1) 3. Goshen (1) 4. Wilmington (1) 5. Clinton-Massie 6. Batavia
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Bulldogs looking to gain experience in ‘19-20
Lady Wildcats looking to continue strong run 2019-2020 Williamsburg Lady Wildcats Schedule
2019-2020 Batavia Bulldogs Schedule NOV DEC
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PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Batavia Bulldogs enter the 2019-2020 season with four seniors on the roster. Batavia finished last season 716 overall, 1-9 in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conferenceʼs American Division.
2019-2020 Batavia Bulldogs Roster 2 3 5 10 11 12 20 21 23 25 30 40
Shane Kongo Caleb Stewart Max Applegate Mick Heckard Robert Lisk Austin Hart Owen Wiscombe Aaron Stepp Mason Weisbrodt Kyle Gibbs Jeff Shepherd John Witt
Guard Forward Guard Guard Forward Guard Guard Guard Forward Forward Forward Forward
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The Batavia Bulldogs boys’ basketball team faced a ton of adversity last season. From senior Nate Watson’s battle with cancer to late-season injuries, the Bulldogs were forced to overcome several obstacles during the 2018-2019 season. “We had a lot of adversity last year,” head coach Aaron Brose said. “I thought we
battled. I don’t think we played as well as we expected to going into the year, but I thought the effort was there the whole time. We just didn’t finish the way we were capable of.” Batavia lost several seniors from last season’s team. In addition to Watson, the Bulldogs lost Corbin Richardson, Kaleb Moell, Bryce Zenni, Jason Griffin, Adams Evans, and Ethan Berger.
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batavia
30 3 6 10 13 14 17 19 27 3 6 10 14 17 24 28 31 1 4 7 11
at Taylor 7:30 PM at Williamsburg 7:30 PM at Wilmington 7:30 PM at Eastern Brown 7:30 PM New Richmond 7:30 PM at Madeira 7:30 PM North Adams 7:30 PM at Felicity-Franklin 7:30 PM CNE 5:30 PM Goshen 7:30 PM Mount Healthy 7:30 PM at Western Brown 7:30 PM Blanchester 7:30 PM at Clinton Massie 7:30 PM Wilmington 7:30 PM Williamsburg 7:30 PM at New Richmond 7:30 PM at Blanchester 7:30 PM at Goshen 7:30 PM Western Brown 7:30 PM Clinton Massie 7:30 PM
“Those are all tough losses,” Brose said. “Our seniors that are coming back haven’t played a ton of minutes as far as those four. Hart’s done a great job picking up the leadership role.” This year’s Bulldogs have a balanced roster, with four seniors, juniors and sophomores on the roster. ”We’re going to have some growing pains, but I like where we’re at right now,” Brose said. “We’re challenging each other, which is good.” Of the 12 players on the roster, two will miss a bit of time. Junior Caleb Stewart is out until January, while Mick Heckard is expected to return sometime in December. Heckard and Stewart are both juniors, and any growth from them and their teammates this season would be contingent on them putting the work in during the offseason. “If they don’t work, you’re not getting better,” Brose said. “Our sophomores, as
well as our juniors and seniors, have been here. They get it and they’re working hard.” In terms of the team’s strength, Brose said the team’s shooting is one of the team’s strengths. “I’d say we can shoot it well. I think our guard play is going to be pretty good,” Brose said. “Our weakness will be our experience, but that’ll come. We’ve got a lot of guys who want to get better and they’ve worked really hard. Hopefully we can get that to carry over.” Brose said the team is going to have to hit the ground running this season, and so far, so good. “They’re going to have to play well early, and I think they will,” Brose said. “I think they’re ready for it. They’ve looked good at times during scrimmages, and they’ve looked bad at times. They’re sophomores and juniors, you’re going to have those things. They’re learning from it.”
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PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Williamsburg Lady Wildcats won a third straight SBAAC National Division title last season. Williamsburg returns all but three players off of last yearʼs team.
2019-2020 Williamsburg Lady Wildcats Roster
2 5 10 12 14 15 20 23 30 32 35
Emily Hart Kirstyn Thomas Bri Knox Camille McManus Lindsey Arwine Madi Ogden Paige Fisher Trinity Wainscott Whitney Connor Kiana Dauwe Katie Ervin
Senior Junior Sophomore Senior Sophomore Junior Junior Sophomore Freshman Junior Junior
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BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The Williamsburg Lady Wildcats posted a third consecutive 20-win season last year en route to a third straight league title, and if they have their way this year, they’ll make it four in a row. Williamsburg’s 2018-2019 campaign was a solid one, as the team advanced to the district final before falling to Versailles. Gone from that team are Jessica and Alexis Chase, two players who finished with over 1,000 points in their career. The team also said goodbye to Laurin Ellis. “She was such a good-hearted kid,” head coach Mike Madsen said. “She gave everything she ever had, and the kids respected her. To lose three players like that, it’s tough at a small school to find replacements. I think we found
some.” This year’s Williamsburg team is anchored by a strong junior class and a pair of talented seniors in Emily Hart and Camille McManus. The experience those players have is one of the Lady Wildcat’s strengths this season. “A lot of people look at, ‘Oh, this is a junior team, this is their first year of varsity experience’ and that’s not the case,” Madsen said. “[Paige] Fisher, [Madi] Ogden, [Kiana] Dauwe, [Katie] Ervin, [Kirstyn] Thomas…all of them have some level of varsity experience. They’re all capable players who I really enjoy coaching.” Madsen continued, saying the team’s camaraderie makes them enjoyable to coach. “This team plays so well together,” Madsen said. “They feed off of one another so well, it’s fun to coach this team.” One of the team’s two
williamsburg
22 25 2 9 12 16 27 30 2 6 9 13 18 20 22 23 25 27 30 3 6
at Batavia at Blanchester at Bethel-Tate at Western Brown Felicity at CNE Leesburg Fairfield Goshen at East Clinton Georgetown Blanchester Bethel-Tate at North Adams at Eastern Brown Batavia Felicity Greenfield McClain CNE at East Clinton at Georgetown Cincy Trailblazers
seniors, McManus, said she’s looking forward to spending time with her teammates during her senior season. “I want to have fun with the season, don’t worry about wins or losses and have fun with everybody,” McManus said. Hart’s goals were similar, though she noted she would also like to add a second league title this year to the school’s trophy case. “I’d like to get another league title for my senior year. it’d be fun,” Hart said. “We did it in soccer, I’d like to do it in basketball.” In terms of expectations for the season, the Lady Wildcats’
7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 6:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 3:15 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 1:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
head coach expects the entire division to be tough this season. “I think the National Division this year could take the crown in the crossover game,” Madsen said. That lofty praise for the National Division as a whole would signify a difficult task ahead of Williamsburg this winter, but Fisher said the Lady Wildcats are up to the task. “We have a lot of high expectations,” Fisher said. “We’re going to meet them again this year.”
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E V E N P A G E S
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Williamsburg boys shooting for SBAAC crown
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New coach, same goals for Lady Bulldogs
2019-2020 Williamsburg Wildcats Schedule DEC 3 6 10 17 19 21 28 JAN 3 7 10 11 14 17 18 21 28 31 FEB 4 7 11 15
O D D P A G E S
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Williamsburg Wildcats finished last season tied for third in the league at 7-5 overall. Williamsburg has six seniors on the roster this season.
2019-2020 Williamsburg Wildcats Roster 2 4 10 12 14 20 22 24 30 32 34 40 42
Loghan Kelley Kaidon Whisman Cameron Vaughn Carter Sunderman Austin Rapp Trent Kreimer Zach Earley Dyllan West Justyn Fuller Brayden Cummins Nick Boland Chris Selm Collin Klopfstein
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The 2018-2019 season wasn’t one for the record books at Williamsburg High School, but the Wildcats hope that experience makes
Senior Freshman Senior Freshman Senior Senior Freshman Senior Freshman Senior Junior Sophomore Freshman
this season a special one. Head coach Dan McKibben said last season was frustrating at times due to a lack of experience at the varsity level. “We were very inexperienced,’ McKibben said.
“We only had one senior with any kind of varsity experience. It was a learning process. I think we won a couple games early, kind of surprised some people. We had some injuries down the stretch, little tougher schedule and didn’t play as well.” Several players return from last year’s team, starting with first-team allleague honoree Trent Kreimer, who enters his senior season off a year in which he averaged 8.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Nick Boland, a junior, is the team’s returning leading scorer at 9.3 points. Senior Dyllan West hauled in 4.1 rebounds per game, tied with Boland for tops amongst returning Wildcats. “I’ve got six seniors back that all got significant experience last year,” McKibben said. “Hopefully that pays
some dividends now.” In addition to West and Kreimer, Loghan Kelley, Cameron Vaughn, Brayden Cummins and Austin Rapp enter their final season on the court for the Wildcats. They’re part of a roster that has shown growth since the end of last season, “We’ve gotten stronger,” McKibben said. “Lot of guys in the weight room in the offseason. All six of the seniors and the one junior, all seven of those guys got considerably stronger. We’ve got a couple guys that shoot it well, decent size, but so does everybody else.” Those seven upperclassmen are going to be the mainstays on the court for the Wildcats this winter, according to McKibben.
2019-2020 Batavia Lady Bulldogs Schedule
Batavia 7:30 PM at Blanchester 7:30 PM at Bethel-Tate 7:30 PM at Western Brown 7:30 PM Riverview East 7:30 PM Bracken County 7:30 PM Madeira 7:30 PM Felicity 7:30 PM at CNE 7:30 PM at East Clinton 7:30 PM at MVCA 7:30 PM Georgetown 7:30 PM Blanchester 7:30 PM at Lynchburg 10:00 AM Bethel-Tate 7:30 PM at Batavia 7:30 PM at Felicity 7:30 PM CNE 7:30 PM East Clinton 7:30 PM at Georgetown 7:30 PM at CCD 8:00 PM
“They’re going to have to carry a lot of load,” McKibben said. “That’s going to have to be most of our scoring. Hopefully we get some contributions from a couple freshman.” Williamsburg has five freshman listed on the varsity roster, an amount dictated by necessity, as the sophomore and junior classes are lacking in numbers. “We’ve only got one junior playing varsity, we only have one sophomore playing varsity,” McKibben said. “Both of those classes are down in numbers, that’s going to give an opportunity for the freshman.” The Clermont Sun’s preseason coaches poll ranked the Wildcats third in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference’s National Division, one point ahead of Felicity. Williamsburg trailed Blanchester and Clermont
Northeastern in that poll, but McKibben believes the Wildcats can compete with anyone in the league as long as the effort is there. “We’re not going to be the most talented team in the league,” McKibben said. “We’re going to have to outrebound some people, outhustle some people to be competitive in games. That’s something we’ve talked about a lot, giving good effort on both ends of the floor.” The Wildcats are scheduled to open the regular-season on Tuesday, December 3 with a home game against the Batavia Bulldogs. Later in the season, Williamsburg is scheduled to compete in the Coach Young Classic at North Adams High School. The Wildcats are slated to face Lynchburg-Clay at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 18.
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NOV 22 25 DEC 3 5 7 9 12 16 18 27 JAN 9 13 16 22 23 25 27 29 30 FEB 3 6
Williamsburg 7:30 PM at Wilmington 7:30 PM at Fayetteville 7:30 PM New Richmond 7:30 PM at Hillsboro 12:30 PM at Woodward 7:30 PM Goshen 7:30 PM at Western Brown 7:30 PM Felicity 7:30 PM CNE 4:00 PM at Clinton Massie 7:30 PM at Mariemont 7:30 PM Wilmington 7:30 PM at Williamsburg 7:30 PM at New Richmond 7:30 PM at Bethel-Tate 7:30 PM at Goshen 7:30 PM Gamble Montessori 7:30 PM Western Brown 7:30 PM Clinton Massie 7:30 PM at Blanchester 7:30 PM
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Batavia Lady Bulldogs enter the 2019-2020 season with a new head coach, Chris Scott (pictured, far left, second row). Batavia enters this season with three seniors on the roster.
2019-2020 Batavia Lady Bulldogs Roster 2 3 10 12 20 23 31 35 40 50
Taylor Myers Summer Stith Macie Mehlman Mia Wright Olivia Patel Maurincia Demmings Ladesha Hobbs Marianna Marcelli Madison Coyle Kennedy Williams
Senior Junior Senior Senior Sophomore Junior Junior Junior Sophomore Sophomore
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The start of the 20192020 season for the Batavia Lady Bulldogs’ basketball team is much different than the start of last season. In 2018, the squad saw a coaching change just before the start of workouts, as interim head coach Eric Brown replaced Jon Nau. This year, new head coach Chris Scott was
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brought in well before workouts began, allowing the transition to be as smooth as possible. “It’s going great,” Scott said. “The girls have bought into the system. We’re a happy bunch..I can see the bonding.” This year’s team is heavy on upperclassmen, with three seniors and four juniors on the roster. Of those seven players, two were named to all-conference teams last year. Senior Taylor Myers was a second-team selection as a junior, while junior Summer Stith was an honorable mention as a sophomore. Taylor and fellow senior Macie Mehlman are expected to be key in conference play this season, according to Scott. That duo, along with senior Mia Wright, bring a key aspect to the
team this season. “Leadership,” Scott said. “They’re leading practice, leading the drills. They’re there for anything I ask them to do.” Another key returner is an underclassmen. Olivia Patel was a first-team allconference selection last season, having averaged a team-best 12.2 points over 22 games last season. Myers is the team’s leading returning rebounder at 5.4 boards per game last year. She also led the team in assists per game (2.6). This year’s Batavia team won’t look like past squads, according to Scott. “They’re going to see these girls moving around a lot,” Scott said. “They’re going to be pushing the ball up and down the court. We’re not going to let teams beat us in transition. We’re going to beat them in transition and cause turnovers after that.”
Four of the 10 players that earned first-team allleague spots in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference graduated in the spring. Additionally, two secondteam performers and two honorable mentions also graduated. With so many players at other schools in the SBAAC graduating after last season, the league is wide open. Scott has a firm belief in how the Lady Bulldogs will finish this season. “We’re going to have a winning season,” Scott said. “I’m not shy to say it.” Batavia is scheduled to open the regular-season on Friday, November 22 at home against Williamsburg in a nonleague matchup. The game is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.
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Lady Tigers poised for strong 2019 campaign
West Clermont on the prowl for ECC championship 2019-2020 West Clermont Lady Wolves Schedule
2019-2020 Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers Schedule NOV DEC
JAN
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers return every player from a squad that finished last season as Southwest District runners-up.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The 2018-2019 BethelTate girl’s basketball team was good. Very good. The squad finished the year with 17 wins, earning a spot in the district finals under head coach Bernie Cropper. In Cropper’s first year as the Lady Tiger’s head coach, the team finished 9-3 in league play, tying with Georgetown for second place behind Williamsburg. This year’s team? The sky is the limit. Bethel-Tate returns every single key
player from last season, and they’re even better than they were last year, according to Cropper. “I think they’ve all improved,” Cropper said. “They worked hard in the offseason, they’ve all gotten better. We’re optimistic about having a solid season at Bethel.” It’s easy to understand why. The Lady Tigers bring back Taylor Bee and Grace White, a duo that combined to average 19 points per game last season. Madison Burton anchored
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the post for the Lady Tigers last year, averaging 7.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest. Another post player, Alli Stolz, finished with 3.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last year. “We have some good size with those two girls,” Cropper said. “They’re good rebounders and both can score.” Hailey Sandker (5.1 points, 3.9 rebounds) and
Jenna Carter (3.6 points, 3.2 assists per game) also return, along with Abbie Wheeler, who finished last season with the second-best shooting percentage from behind the three-point line (37 percent). Sarah Gardner, the eighth player who saw significant time at the varsity level last season, is also back, having posted 4.5 points, two rebounds and two assists per game last year.
2019-2020 Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers Roster 0 11 12 20 21 30 31 32 33 41 42
Jordan Hollifield Taylor Bee Hailey Sampson Abbie Wheeler Sarah Gardner Jenna Carter Hailey Sandker Madison Burton Grace White Alli Stolz Abby Bingamon
BETHEL
Sophomore Senior Sophomore Senior Senior Senior Senior Senior Senior Junior Sophomore
FEB
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at New Richmond 7:30 PM at East Clinton 7:30 PM Williamsburg 7:30 PM at Georgetown 7:30 PM West Union 1:30 PM at Felicity 7:30 PM CNE 7:30 PM Blanchester 7:30 PM at CCD 1:00 PM Reading 12:00 PM at TBD (Pepsi Classic) TBD Western Brown 7:30 PM Turpin 1:30 PM East Clinton 7:30 PM at Williamsburg 7:30 PM Georgetown 7:30 PM Felicity-Franklin 7:30 PM Batavia 7:30 PM at Cincinnati Trailblazers 7:30 PM at CNE 7:30 PM at Blanchester 7:30 PM
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PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The West Clermont Lady Wolves finished the 2018-2019 season 16-8 overall, 10-4 in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Of those eight players, seven are seniors. Only Stolz is a junior. The Lady Tigers have three underclassmen on the roster this year, as sophomores Jordan Hollifield, Hailey Sampson and Abby Bingamon will fill yet-tobe-determined roles, according to Cropper. “We’re looking at some of our sophomores and freshman, but they’ve got their work cut out,” Cropper said. “I wouldn’t rule it out, we have younger kids who can step in and play some minutes for us.” ‘Us’ now includes Cropper’s son, Jake, who will serve as the team’s assistant coach this season. He’ll also coach the junior varsity team. Having his son on his staff is something Bernie Cropper is excited about, and understandably so. “I’m really happy about that,” Bernie Cropper said. “Jake was with me all the
time, since he could walk. He was always in the gym with me. He grew up in the gym bouncing the ball, going to all the games and practices. He’s my assistant, I couldn’t be more happier.” Jake Cropper wrapped up a four-year career at Mount St. Joes last year, finishing his senior year with an average of 15.5 points per game. He also has a sharp mind for the game, according to his father. “He’s got a good basketball mind,” Bernie Cropper said. “It’s going to be a big asset having him on the staff.” The Lady Tigers open the 2019-2020 season on the road in New Richmond on Friday, November 22. The team also is scheduled to compete in the Ripley Pepsi Classic December 27 and 28 at Ripley-Union-LewisHuntington High School.
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Sports Editor
The West Clermont Lady Wolves finished second in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference last year, and head coach Jeff Click thinks the team can battle for another title this season. It’ll be difficult, as if the league itself isn’t already. West Clermont lost several players from last season’s team, which will force the returners into bigger roles. “I think we’ve got some good pieces,” Click said. “It’s just a matter of they’ve never been the main focal point. That’s one of the things you have to get used to, you go from playing 12-15 minutes a game to now you have to play 26-30.” The team’s practices and scrimmages to this point have been helpful in preparing those players for their increased roles. “It’s been a good learning experience,” Click said. “We want to find out about ourselves as individuals and as a team. Each time we’ve gone
out, we’ve learned...I think we see glimpses of what we’re capable of doing but it’s a matter of everyone becoming more comfortable.” Click didn’t mince words with his team’s performance defensively thus far this preseason. “We’re atrocious,” Click said. “We do not have a clue how to guard people on the varsity level. That's going to take a little bit of time.” Click said the team the Lady Wolves put on the court in the season opener won’t resemble the one that takes the floor a month later. “What this team looks like right now and the first game of the year to by the end of December, they’re not going to look the same,” Click said. “They’re going to be a lot better as long as we stay healthy. It’s like that for any high school, you’ve got to stay healthy.” Two of the team’s key returners, juniors Kendall Hale and Marissa Jenike, are expected to have big roles on the team this season. They’ll be complimented by several
other players who fit together well, according to Click. “I like the way our pieces go together,” Click said. “We’ve got two, maybe three first-team all league. We just have to figure out depth.” The team also has to rethink their approach to games, as Click and company have switched things up this season. “It’s a different philosophy, totally different from the way we played last year,” Click said. “We’re just kind of going back to some things we’ve done in the past, and adding stuff that’s totally new.”
Click hopes the team is able to handle the physical play they’ll encounter in the ECC this season. “If we can be tough, I think we’ll be pretty good,” Click said. “That’s the test. If you want to be a good team, how tough are you? I think that’s what we’re learning to experience in scrimmages.” The Lady Wolves open the 2019-2020 season on Tuesday, November 26 at Oak Hills. The team starts league play over a week later, on December 4 against Turpin.
2019-2020 West Clermont Lady Wolves Roster
1 2 10 12 20 21 22 24 44 52
Alli Stahl Kaila Nutter Alexis Lovejoy Alissa White Amanda Lovejoy Marissa Jenike Kendall Hale Kaitlin Howe Courtney Stewart Willa Davis
Junior Senior Freshman Sophomore Senior Junior Junior Sophomore Senior Sophomore
WEST CLERMONT
26 4 7 9 11 14 18 19 21 28 3 6 8 11 13 15 18 20 25 1 5 8
at Oak Hills Turpin Milford Walnut Hills Withrow at Kings at Anderson Western Brown Loveland at Lebanon Springboro Little Miami at Ursuline Academy at Walnut Hills Wilmington at Turpin at Milford at Winton Woods at Withrow Kings Anderson at Loveland
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E V E N P A G E S
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Wolves prepping to defend 2018-2019 ECC title
Wolf, Tigers readying for National Division push
2019-2020 West Clermont Wolves Schedule NOV DEC
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FEB PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The West Clermont Wolves finished last season 12-2 in Eastern Cincinnati Conference play, good for the programʼs first ECC title.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN
P A G E S
Sports Editor
The proverbial switch flipped for the West Clermont boys’ basketball
team early in the 2018-2019 season. The team sat at 1-2 overall in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference following a 5746 loss to Milford on
Friday, December 14, but from that point on, the Wolves went on a roll. West Clermont finished league play 11-1 overall en route to the school’s first Eastern Cincinnati Conference championship. Head coach Craig Mazzaro said the team was able to come together at the right time. “Everybody fell into their roles and we just had an out-
standing group,” Mazzaro said. “We really kind of ran away with the league. Just one of those outstanding years that you're pretty grateful for.” As grateful as the Wolves were for last season, by no means are they dwelling on the past. “No one really cares what you did last year when you start a new season,” Mazzaro said. “They’re
29 3 6 10 13 17 20 21 27 4 7 10 14 17 21 24 28 31 3 7 11 14
at Little Miami at Winton Woods at Walnut Hills at Turpin Milford at Withrow Kings St. Xavier at Fairfield Indian Hill Anderson at Loveland at Springboro Walnut Hills Turpin at Milford Hughes Withrow at Shroder at Kings at Anderson Loveland
working extremely hard. Everybody’s going to be in different roles and the quicker they pick that up the better we’ll be. We’re not going to just start off where we finished last year.” The Wolves have a handful of players returning this season, though the team did lose six seniors from last year’s team. Jackson Ames is the biggest returner the Wolves have this season, literally. Ames is listed at 6-feet, 11inches, and the Miami (Ohio) commit is expected to team up with fellow seniors D.J. Vianello and Alex Wilzbach, the latter of whom had some rough luck with injuries last season. “He played last year, was ready to start and everything, and got hurt,” Mazzaro said. “When he came back, he played two or three games and got hurt again. He’s back returning, he would have been a big help for us last year.” The Wolves are hoping to emphasize playing as one
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unit this year, according to Mazzaro. “We’re learning,” Mazzaro said. “We’re learning how to play good defense and play team basketball. That’s what we’re stressing right now. The quicker we get there, the better off we’ll be.” The Wolves have a tough start to league play in their quest for a repeat title. The team is slated to begin the year with four straight road games, including back-toback trips to Turpin and Walnut Hills, two teams Mazzaro said could compete for a league title. “Turpin will be real good,” Mazzaro said. “Withrow will be real good. I think everybody’s going to pretty much be there. We’ve really got to hit the ground running to get through that period. Following the four road games, the Wolves play at home for the first time in the 2019-2020 season on Friday, December 13 against Milford.
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2019-2020 Bethel-Tate Tigers Roster 0 2 5 10 11 12 15 21 22 23 33 54
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
Steve Wolf enters his second season at the helm of the Bethel-Tate program in 2019. A team photo of the Tigers was not available by press time.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
As the Bethel-Tate Tigers prepare to start season number two under the tutelage of head coach Steve Wolf, they’ll have to replace the team’s top two scorers from a year ago. Griffin Reinert (12 points per game) and Cody Johnson (8.9) both graduated after last season, leaving now-junior Kyle Smith as the leading scorer on this year’s team. Smith averaged 8.6 points per game last season. He also led the Tigers in rebounds, pulling in an average of 7.5 boards per game. The team’s fourth and fifth highest scorers also return. Senior Cooper Reinert totaled 4.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game last season, while Alex Manz chipped in 3.2 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Even with three returning players at the varsity level, Wolf said the Tigers need experience this season, and it’s easy to see why. BethelTate’s roster is loaded with underclassmen, as the Tigers have six sophomores and a freshman playing at the varsity level this season. With so many younger faces on the roster, an oncourt strength can be difficult to gauge early on. Wolf believes the team’s attitude has been the biggest bright spot thus far. “Our attitude has been good in the first week,” Wolf said. “If we continue to have fun and believe in each other, this will be a good season.” Bethel-Tate is scheduled to start the season with three straight road games. The Tigers’ home opener for the 2019-2020 season isn’t until Tuesday, December 10 against Williamsburg.
2019-2020 Bethel-Tate Tigers Schedule DEC
JAN
FEB
3 6 7 10 13 17 20 27 30 3 7 10 11 14 21 25 28 31 7 11 14 15
at Riverview East at East Clinton at MVCA Williamsburg at Georgetown at Felicity Western Brown at Finneytown at St. Bernard CNE Norwood Blanchester at Whiteoak East Clinton at Williamsburg at New Richmond Felicity Georgetown at CNE at Blanchester SBAAC Crossover at Alter
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Follow us on Twitter !@ClerSunSports
Kyle Smith Seth Vining Blake Stiles Cooper Reinert Noah Weis Devonte Williams Jaxson Little Ashton Wolfe Austin Brookenthal Alex Manz Wendell Ward Luke Frondorf
Junior Sophomore Sophomore Senior Junior Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Freshman Senior Sophomore Junior
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Depth the key for CNE boys basketball in 2019
Lady Lions hoping to build on past success 2019-2020 New Richmond Lady Lions Schedule
2019-2020 CNE Rockets Schedule DEC 3 6 10 13 14 17 20 27 28 JAN 3 7 11 14 17 21 24 28 FEB 4 7 8 11
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
Clermont Northeastern posted a 9-3 record in the SBAAC National Division last season, but a rough non-conference slate left the team with 10 wins overall.
2019-2020 CNE Rockets Roster 3 5 11 12 20 22 23 24 32 33 34 44
Jerryd Burns Logan Pottorf Jared Decatur Austin Yeager Skyler Schmidt Owen Fishback Bryce Reece Keegan Hopkins Mason Martin Blake King Trevor House Angus Krug
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
Inconsistency and a lack of non-conference wins plagued the Clermont Northeastern boys’ basketball team in 2018-2019.
Senior Junior Senior Sophomore Junior Junior Sophomore Sophomore Junior Senior Junior Junior The squad finished 9-3 in the league, good for second place behind a Georgetown team that finished 12-0 in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference’s National Division.
Outside the SBAAC, however, CNE struggled to a 1-10 record, something that head coach Jim Jones wished the team had been able to improve. “We were better, but still inconsistent,” Jones said. “I didn’t like our 1-10 nonleague schedule. We were pretty good in the league, but we lost too many nonleague games.” This year’s team is looking to improve in nonleague play. CNE facess out-of-conference foes from Reading, St. Bernard, Fayetteville and Little Miami, among others. If the team wants to bump up the non-league win total, they’re going to have to improve at both ends of the court, and Jones said the team is doing that so far. “We’re playing hard.” Jones said. “We’re getting
CNE
after it. The offense is a little bit behind, but that’ll come. I’m pretty pleased with what we’ve got coming back. We’ve got four of our top five coming back.” Jones continued, saying he feels like the Rockets are primed for a big year due to several players with varsity experience. “I’ve got three kids that this will be their third year being starters,” Jones said. “Expectations are high, I’m not going to sugar coat anything.” CNE’s returning core starts with junior Skyler Schmidt, a 6-foot, 7-inch forward who received a visit from current West Virginia head coach and former UC head coach Bob Huggins during the offsea-
at Western Brown at Georgetown Felicity East Clinton Little Miami Blanchester at Hillsboro at Batavia Mariemont at Bethel-Tate Williamsburg Fayetteville at New Richmond Georgetown at Felicity East Clinton at Blanchester at Williamsburg Bethel-Tate St. Bernard Reading
son. Schmidt was a first-team all-conference performer last season, finishing the year with an average of just under 23 points per game. He also hauled in over 16 rebounds per contest, a number that led the entire SBAAC. Jerryd Burns joined Schmidt on the first-team all-league squad in 20182019. The then-junior finished the year an average of 9.5 points per game while shooting over 40 percent from behind the three-point line. Several other players move up to the varsity level for CNE this year. That new-found depth is one of the team’s strengths this season, according to Jones. “They’ve added depth for us,” Jones said. “They played hard over the summer, did a lot of good for
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us over the summer. We’re a lot deeper than we were last year.” CNE’s schedule has a neat twist this season. On January 11, the Rockets are slated to take on Fayetteville, a team 15 minutes east on US-50. Instead, both schools will head northwest to Knightstown, Indiana for the game, which is scheduled to be played in the same gym the movie ‘Hoosiers” was filmed in. CNE’s regular-season opener is a bit closer to home. The Rockets open the season on the road at Western Brown on Tuesday, December 3. After a road trip to Georgetown Friday, December 6, CNE welcomes Felicity to campus for the Rockets’ 20192020 home opener on Tuesday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m.
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NOV 22 25 DEC 2 5 9 12 16 18 19 JAN 2 4 6 9 13 16 23 27 30 FEB 3 6
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
New Richmondʼs girls basketball team started the 2018-2019 season strong but faded in the second half of the year en route to a 10-13 record.
2019-2020 New Richmond Lady Lions Roster
2 5 11 15 21 23 24 30
Allie Bird Addie Fagan Cortney Smith Julia Keith Kayla Patterson Abby Maness Jaira Stamper Carley Clift
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The 2018-2019 New Richmond girls’ basketball team had an up-anddown year. The ups came early, as the squad shook off a season-opening loss to Mariemont by winning five of their next six games, entering Christmas break with an overall record of 6-2 on the sea-
Senior Senior Sophomore Sophomore Freshman Junior Junior Senior son. Things went downhill from there. The Lady Lions finished the year with just four wins over the last 15 games of the season, including an eightgame losing streak to end the year. “[We] started off real strong,” head coach Tom Wessner said. “We hit Christmas break and just couldn’t put it together. We had some good games,
played some good teams really well, but we just couldn’t get any wins after Christmas break.” Heading into this season, Wessner said the team adjusted how they approach their preparation for the year and for games to help combat that issue. “We took a little bit out, simplified it,” Wessner said. “Practices are a little bit shorter. We’re just being really good at a few things instead of having a lot of stuff in.” The results so far would seem to be positive, according to Wessner. “So far, so good,” Wessner said. “We’re learning. The first scrimmage, we did real well. The next two, we threw in some new things. We got it on film, we’ll make some adjustments. We’ve done alright so far.” The team enters play in
2019-2020 with a total of three seniors: Allie Bird, Addie Fagan and Carley Clift. Clift was a firstteam all-conference performer last season, while Bird earned an honorable mention. All three of them are expected to perform at a high level this season, according to Wessner. “They’ve been around, this’ll be their fourth year of varsity,” Wessner said. “The expectations are really high. They’ve been great leaders since their sophomore year. They’ve been great so far, hopefully they can end it on a high note.” They’ll be aided by a talented group of underclassmen, led by sophomore Julia Keith. “She had a great freshman year on the JV, her summer was really good,” Wessner said. “She’ll be starting and hopefully
NEW RICHMOND
Bethel-Tate at Goshen at Mariemont at Batavia at Reading Clinton Massie Wilmington at Taylor CNE at Ripley at CHCA St. Bernard at Western Brown Wyoming at Goshen Batavia at Clinton Massie at Wilmington Western Brown Georgetown
she’ll be able to give us whatever we need.” Keith is joined at the varsity level by another sophomore, Cortney Smith. Freshman Kayla Patterson is also on the varsity roster, along with juniors Abby Maness and Jaira Stamper. In terms of the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference’s American Division this season, Wessner said he fully expects his conference foes to provide a tough challenge, even as some teams in the division adjust to losing key
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players from 2018-2019 teams. “They all have very good coaches,” Wessner said. “The Wilmingtons that lose a lot, they do such a good job getting them ready that there’s not going to be a night off.” New Richmond is slated to open the season on Friday, November 22 with a non-league home match against Bethel-Tate. The Lady Lions open SBAAC American Division play at Goshen on Monday, November 25. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
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E V E N P A G E S
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P A G E S
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Lions hoping to build on breakthrough season
Lady Rockets preparing for battle in SBAAC
BY GARTH SHANKLIN
BY GARTH SHANKLIN
Sports Editor
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New Richmond finally broke through last season, according to head coach Brian McMonigle. After three seasons with a record below .500, the Lions picked up 15 wins last season, finishing the year 15-9 overall. “We had kind of gone a few seasons prior where we felt like we were trying to get over the hump and rebuild,” McMonigle said. “Last year was a big step for us to get through that rebuild phase we had been
going through.” Even with 15 wins on the season, McMonigle and the team weren’t happy with how they performed in Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference American Division play. “We were a little disappointed with how we finished in the league,” McMonigle said. “The league was so close there in the middle, we were like a game from being in second place. Finishing where we finished, we weren’t very happy with that.”
McMonigle continued, saying the team’s returning players got some time on the court last season, and they’re using that experience as motivation for this year. “Our seniors last year gave us a good season, but toward the end of the year some of the younger guys were doing a really good job pushing them,” McMonigle said. “They were able to get some time on varsity leading into this year, and our hope is that’s going to pay off.” McMonigle said the Lions are starting to come together, which is what he hopes the returning players are able to do. “Right now, we’re getting these guys to gel,” McMonigle said. “Our expectations for returning players are to not necessarily worry about improving on last year’s stats or wins and losses, but focus on gelling with the guys that will be on varsity with them.” The Lions return a hand-
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
New Richmond won 15 games last season, but only four of those wins came in league play.
ful of players from last season. This year’s team consists of five juniors, two sophomores and a freshman. McMonigle thinks the Lions can compete in the league this season, especially given the lack of a clear favorite in 2019.
2019-2020 New Richmond Lions Schedule DEC
JAN
FEB
3 6 13 14 17 20 21 28 3 7 10 14 17 21 24 25 31 1 4 7 11
2019-2020 CNE Lady Rockets Schedule
Sports Editor
Villa Madonna Goshen at Batavia at Newport Finneytown Georgetown at Madeira at Anderson Clinton Massie Taylor Wilmington CNE at Western Brown at Mariemont at Goshen Bethel-Tate Batavia St. Bernard at Clinton Massie at Wilmington Western Brown
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“It’s really open again. Goshen returns a lot of those sophomore kids that are now juniors,” McMonigle said. “Western Brown was playing younger kids. Wilmington returns two kids that were solid for them last year. I would think there’s no team out there that’s a dominant team and ready to go 10-0. Anybody could win it.” If the Lions are to earn the American Division crown, McMonigle said the team has to do one key thing. “We need to rebound,” McMonigle said. “Simply
put. That’s going to be a key for us. I think the offense will come. We have some kids that can score the ball, we have some kids that can guard. That’s what it’s going to come down to for us. If we rebound well this year, I think we have a good chance.” New Richmond opens the season with back-toback home games. The team is scheduled to host Villa Madonna on Tuesday, December 3 at 7:30 p.m. The team then opens SBAAC play on Friday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Will Hess Tyler Sininger John Ipsaro Kadin Pollard Evan Ipsaro Isaiah Bowman Shep Lansaw Justin Ackerman
Nov 22 25 Dec 2 5 9 12 16 19 27 Jan 2 6 9 11 13 16 20 22 27 30 Feb 3 6
Junior Sophomore Junior Junior Freshman Junior Junior Sophomore
Deer Park at Georgetown Felicity at East Clinton Blanchester at Bethel-Tate Williamsburg at New Richmond at Batavia Reading Western Brown Georgetown Fayetteville Felicity East Clinton at Blanchester Mariemont at Williamsburg Bethel-Tate at CHCA Beechwood
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PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
Clermont Northeastern won nine games last season under first-year head coach Doug Portmann.
Rockets were able to put in work during the summer to bond. That kind of dedication is one of the team’s strengths, according to Portmann. “They come to practice
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2019-2020 New Richmond Lions Roster 2 3 4 5 10 22 23 40
Doug Portmann’s first year at the helm of the Clermont Northeastern girls basketball team was a solid first step. CNE finished 9-15 overall last season, but the experience gained in those 24 games was crucial, according to Portmann. “It was a big learning year for us,” Portmann said. “I think it was a good year for us to set the tone as to what to expect for years to come. We lost a senior who was our returning leading scorer at the beginning of the year last year, but the girls worked hard to overcome the adversity “ CNE has several key players back from last season’s team, starting with five seniors: Mackenzie Reece, Makayla Drewry, Taylor Shumard, Alyssa Williams and Natalie Bockman return for the Lady Rockets. That kind of returning expertise has made this offseason much easier. “We’re not rehashing things, we’re working on new things, and that’s helped us out quite a bit,” Portmann said. Additionally, the Lady
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every day and they come to work,” Portmann said. “They don’t come in and loaf, they cheer each other on. I’m practicing the JV and the varsity together so they can see what they’re coming up to next year, and I think that’s going to be very important to the growth of this program.” In terms of expectations, Portmann said he thinks the team should be able to hang
with any opponent on the schedule this season. “I expect us to compete in every game,” Portmann said. “We’re obviously not going to win every game, but I expect to be a tough out for everyone we face this year. We have a lot of senior leadership, there’s no real reason they won’t give 100 percent when they step on the court.”
2019-2020 CNE Lady Rockets Roster 3 5 10 11 15 22 23 24 25 30
Promise Shircliff Hollie Daniel Mackenzie Reese Dana Evans Piper Ritter Makayla Drewry Raegan Beverly Taylor Shumard Alyssa Williams Natalie Bockman
Junior Junior Senior Sophomore Sophomore Senior Sophomore Senior Senior Senior
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Experienced Cardinals ready to soar in ‘19-’20
Balanced Lady Eagles prepping for ECC foes
2019-2020 Felicity Cardinals Schedule DEC
JAN
FEB PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Felicity-Franklin Cardinals have a new motto for the 2019-2020 basketball season: Apply pressure. Head coach Jason Thompson said the team will look to push the pace with a very athletic group of players.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The team’s win-loss record may not show it at a glance, but the FelicityFranklin boys’ basketball team grew quite a bit during the 2018-2019 season. Head coach Jason Thompson started three underclassmen last season, and he could tell the difference in play from the beginning of the year to the end. “We ended the season kind of experiencing some success,” Thompson said. “We started two freshman and
two sophomores a lot last season, so I think we're in a position were we had room to grow and I'm starting to see some of that growth.” Thompson said it was difficult to judge just how much the team had grown since last season due to a lack of scrimmages at the time, but he feels the team is progressing at an appropriate rate. “We look good at times and we look bad at times,” Thompson said. “I think that every team that follows the rules and doesn’t practice year round has ups and
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downs. Nobody should be in midseason form right now, but we’re probably where we should be.” Even with the limited time early, Thompson was able to pick out something he believes is one of the team’s strengths. “We’re a lot more athletic than we have been in years past,” Thompson said. “We’re going to push the pace a little bit. Our motto
for this season is to apply pressure, and that’s probably what our go-to is going to be.” The team returns several key players from last season and adds a transfer from Western Brown. Carson Crozier is back, having averaged 13 points per game last season as a freshman. Steven Jones joins the team this year, having played junior varsity
2019-2020 Felicity Cardinals Roster 1 2 5 12 20 23 24 25 30 32 33 35
Dylan Kidd Carson Crozier Nathan Baker Steven Jones Riley Pinger Colton Stamper Bryce Reeves Logan Moore Braiden Blackburn Nick Violette Tate Liming Garrett Taulbee
Senior Sophomore Sophomore Senior Senior Junior Senior Senior Junior Senior Sophomore Sophomore
FELICITY
3 6 10 13 17 19 21 3 7 10 14 17 18 21 24 28 31 1 4 7 11
at Whiteoak Fayetteville at CNE at Blanchester Bethel-Tate Batavia North Adams at Williamsburg East Clinton at Georgetown at West Union Eastern at Peebles CNE Blanchester Bethel-Tate Williamsburg Manchester at East Clinton Georgetown at MVCA
2019-2020 Milford Lady Eagles Schedule
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FEB PHOTO / PROVIDED (MILFORD ATHLETICS)
last season. “I’m not a big proponent of putting kids on the junior varsity unless they can benefit from it, but he benefitted from it,” Thompson said. “He and Nick Violette both played JV as juniors and they came back bigger and faster.” Dylan Kidd, the transfer from the Broncos, is expected to make an impact defensively for the Cardinals, while Thompson hopes Bryce Reeves can continue his three-point prowess.
With so many options on the bench, Thompson said the key for Felicity this season lies in his ability to figure out what group of five players should be on the court at any given time. “I’ve got nine guys that can all play a little bit,” Thompson said. “It’s going to be different than past years. The key is going to be finding the right five on the right night, and that’s going to be hard but I’ll figure it out.”
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The Milford Lady Eagles enter year two under head coach Dave Fallis this winter. Fallis and the Lady Eagles finished last season 10-14 overall but just 3-11 in a tough Eastern Cincinnati Conference.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
One year ago, Milford head coach Dave Fallis was prepping the Lady Eagles for his first season at the helm. The team would finish that season with 10 wins, and the experience Fallis gained as a first-time Division I coach is crucial to the team’s preparation this season. “We got the lay of the land,” Fallis said. “I got to really have an opportunity to know the kids and to really get to know our league.
Hopefully that experience will suit us well for this year.” Fallis has made some adjustments, specifically to how he’s preparing his team for league games. “We really have to simulate all the ball pressure,” Fallis said. “You have some of the top teams in the city in our league and the pressure they apply defensively, it’s really important that we’re able to simulate that to the best of our ability in practices.” The Lady Eagles that take the court in those practices
look a little different this season. For starters, the team lost four seniors: Ali Kirk, Emily Bientz, Morgan Hills and Caitlin Wiscombe. Additionally, Azyiah Williams, who led the team last season in both points (12.3) and assists (2.8), transferred to Ripley during the offseason. Even with those changes, Fallis said the team’s expectations haven’t changed. “We’ve got a great core of players, a great group,” Fallis
said. “They understand what it takes to win. It may take some of our girls doing a little extra than they did last year, but they’re up for the challenge.” Fallis believes one of the team’s strengths is balance, as the squad doesn’t have one single dominant player. “It’s always best when the pressures of the game are spread amongst a group and not put on one or two people,” Fallis said. “Last year, not many people handled the
2019-2020 Milford Lady Eagles Roster 5 10 11 14 21 22 23 33 35 42
Devin Morris Kaitlyn Geis Katie Tatum Madalyn Hills Kaylie McKenney Abby Thierauf Olivia Thierauf Carlie Duesing Paige Ayler Olivia Gentry
Junior Senior Freshman Sophomore Sophomore Senior Sophomore Junior Sophomore Sophomore
MILFORD
23 26 30 4 7 11 14 18 21 28 3 8 11 13 15 18 22 25 29 1 2 8
at McNicholas Winton Woods at Kings at Withrow at West Clermont at Anderson Loveland Walnut Hills at Turpin Oak Hills at Purcell Marian at Taft Kings
2:00 PM 7:30 PM 2:00 PM 7:30 PM 2:00 PM 7:30 PM 2:00 PM 7:30 PM 2:00 PM 2:00 PM 6:00 PM 7:30 PM 2:00 PM Summit Country Day 7:30 PM Withrow 7:30 PM West Clermont 2:00 PM at Indian Hill 7:30 PM Anderson 2:00 PM at Little Miami 7:30 PM at Loveland 2:00 PM at Walnut Hills 7:30 PM Turpin 2:00 PM
ball. This year, our offense is going to be a little bit different. We’re going to share the ball better.” Still, the defense will be the Lady Eagles’ calling card, at least, Fallis hopes it will be. “We’re trying to make that our strong suit this year,” Fallis said. “We still have
some things to work on, but we’ve made great strides.” Milford opens the 20192020 season with a road game at McNick High School on Saturday, November 23 at 2 p.m. Fallis is a McNick alum, and the contest will be the first game he has coached at the school.
Trester Auto Parts 995 Highway 28 (1 mile north of 275) Milford, Ohio
Good Luck To All Teams! PHONE:
(513) 831-9141
E V E N P A G E S
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TIP-OFF ‘19 - ‘20 BASKETBALL SECTION •
TIP-OFF ‘19 - ‘20 BASKETBALL SECTION
New faces abound for Milford boys basketball
Chase takes over youthful Lady Cardinals squad
2019-2020 Milford Eagles Schedule NOV DEC
JAN
O D D
FEB PHOTO / PROVIDED (MILFORD ATHLETICS)
The Milford Eagles return just one player with significant varsity experience this season. Jack Liles averaged 8.6 points per game during the 2018-2019 campaign.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN
P A G E S
Sports Editor
The 2018-2019 Milford Eagles basketball season is probably best remembered
for the team’s revenge tour. After the first 12 games last season, the Eagles sat at 4-8 overall. The team then finished the season with nine wins in the remaining 13
games, earning a spot in the sectional championship match. This year’s team looks nothing like that squad. The team’s lone returner, senior
Jack Liles, averaged 8.6 points per game last season. He’s the only player on the roster who saw significant time at the varsity level last year. “There are a lot of unknowns at this point,” Head coach Joe Cambron said. “I would say our defense is pretty good right now. We seem to have a good commitment to getting stops and rebounding, though we don’t appear to be especially quick or especially tall. We just seem to be committed to getting stops.” Liles has a chance to make waves this season, according to Cambron. “He’s a pretty good player. he’s got a chance to score the ball in a lot of different ways,” Cambron said. “He’s probably our top scorer, potentially.” Teammate Joey Round dominated the soccer field in the fall, and he’ll take his dribbling talents to the court this winter. “He’s coming off a very successful soccer season, and
27 30 3 6 10 13 17 20 30 3 4 7 10 14 17 21 24 28 4 7 11 14
at Goshen at Sycamore at Harrison Kings Withrow at West Clermont at Anderson at Loveland Winton Woods Anderson at Little Miami at Walnut Hills Turpin at Lebanon at Kings at Withrow West Clermont Western Hills Taft Loveland Walnut Hills at Turpin
7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
2019-2020 Milford Eagles Roster 0 1 3 4 5 10 11 15 20 22 23 33 35
Joey Round Jack Liles Austin Bodly Eli Dickerson Ethan Owens Isaiah Ketchum Alex Hannah Adam Harris Kenneth Watkins Parker Davis Ibrahim Niang Grant Whitaker Jack Ackerman
he’s had good scrimmages so far,” Cambron said. Looking at the ECC as a whole, there are a handful of teams with different strengths, according to Cambron. “Turpin has the most returning,” Cambron said. “West Clermont has a big kid that nobody else has. You never know about Walnut Hills, they’ve got a couple good players.”
Senior Senior Junior Junior Junior Senior Junior Senior Junior Junior Junior Senior Junior
Milford opens the season on the road on Wednesday, November 27 at Goshen. That game pitts Cambron against a former player, Goshen head coach Brandon Baker. “That should be pretty cool,” Cambron said. “He’s done a phenomenal job at Goshen. He’s a really good coach, and he gets the most out of his kids, without a doubt.”
Page 11
2019-2020 Felicity Lady Cardinals Schedule NOV DEC
JAN
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
FEB
The Felicity-Franklin Lady Cardinals have two seniors on the roster for the 2019-2020 season: Madison Baird (14, not pictured) and Madi Moore (21).
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
There’s a new face on the sideline this season leading the Felicity-Franklin Lady Cardinals, but it’s a familiar one to Clermont County basketball fans. Rebecca Chase will coach the Lady Cardinals this season. The 2013 Williamsburg High School grad said the transition into the coaching roll has been smooth thus far. “It’s been going well. I was at the middle school last year, so the girls that are now freshmen, I worked with them last year,” Chase said. “The girls are kind of taking it by the horns, they’re putting in the work that they know they need to. We’re just starting to build a culture.” Chase inherits a team this season with just two seniors and no other upperclassmen. “We’re really young,” Chase said. “We’ve got two seniors, no juniors and the rest are all sophomores and
freshmen. We’re really strong. The freshmen that are coming up are talented. We didn’t lose anybody, which is good for us. They’re starting to build that chemistry.” Repetitions help build that chemistry, and Chase said the team has players anxious to get into the gyms. “I’ve got kids wanting to get in the gym on the weekends, I’m up there on Sundays making sure the kids that want to get up shots can,” Chase said. “That work ethic is not something they’re lacking at all.” As a matter of fact, Chase considers the team’s work ethic one of the squad’s stronger points heading into the regular season. “I have kids that are getting to practice early, I’ve got kids who are wanting to stay after,” Chase said. “Their biggest strength right now is how much work they’re willing to put in and how far they’re willing to go with it.” Chase continued, saying the senior class can have a
difficult time adjusting to helping the younger players find roles on the team, but that was not the case with Baird and Moore. “I expected them to struggle because it’s really hard as a senior knowing that the team you’re with is really young,” Chase said. “When you’ve got young talent coming up, it’s something that’s normally hard to grasp. They’ve done a great job knowing what their role is and understanding the roles that we have coming up and feeding into that understanding.” With so many young players and a new coach, there will be a bit of a change to the on-court product this year. Chase said she’d like to push the tempo as often as possible, but injuries could play a role in how the team executes that strategy. “I’m trying to play a fasttempo game,” Chase said. “I’ve got some really athletic girls, and they’re young, so they’re not burnt out yet. My
goal is to play fast-paced. I think we’re still struggling with numbers, but we’re doing better than in previous years. If we can keep injuries to the minimum, we’re going to push the pace.” Last season, Felicity didn’t have a junior varsity team. Chase said that won’t be the case this year, as she and the Lady Cardinals count down the days until tipoff. “We’re excited,” Chase said. “We’re ready to go. We’re kind of hoping to shock the league, so we’ll see if we’re able to put the work in and get there this season.” The Lady Cardinals start the 2019-2020 season at the Tip-Off Classic in Manchester, Ohio. The team is scheduled to face Glenwood High School at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 23 at Manchester High School.
23 2 5 9 10 12 16 21 2 6 8 8 13 16 18 20 23 27 30 1 3
at Tip-Off Classic CNE at Blanchester Bethel-Tate at Batavia at Williamsburg East Clinton North Adams at Georgetown at West Union Fayetteville MVCA CNE Blanchester at Peebles at Bethel-Tate Williamsburg at East Clinton Georgetown Manchester St. Patrick
1:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 6:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 6:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 3:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 6:00 PM 7:30 PM
2019-2020 Felicity Lady Cardinals Roster 10 11 14 15 20 21 23 24 32 33
Hailey Stamm Angela Jones Madison Baird Brooklynn Wehrum Anna Swisshelm Madi Moore Shelby Rohrbacher Jordan Lowe Alexis Egner Taylor McElfresh
Sophomore Freshman Senior Freshman Freshman Senior Freshman Sophomore Freshman Sophomore
Charles McIntyre Funeral Home GO 323 Union Street s l Gir NALS Felicity, OH 45120 I D R A 513-876-2831 C
Page 12 •
TIP-OFF ‘19 - ‘20 BASKETBALL SECTION •
TIP-OFF ‘19 - ‘20 BASKETBALL SECTION
Experienced Warriors ready to leave a mark
Youthful Lady Warriors seeking growth in ‘19-20 2019-2020 Goshen Lady Warriors Schedule
2019-2020 Goshen Warriors Schedule NOV DEC
JAN
FEB PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
27 30 6 13 14 17 28 3 7 10 11 14 17 18 21 28 31 4 7 11
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The Goshen Warriors dealt with a lot of adversity last season, but that may have set the team up for success this season. Injuries plagued the Warriors last season, but the spots on the roster that opened allowed younger players to get valuable minutes, according to head coach Brandon Baker. “The injuries were difficult to overcome, but I was really proud with how our guys handled it,” Baker said. “The guys stepped up and made
plays when we needed it, which was huge for our season.” One of the injuries last season forced Christian Kollmorgan to miss time, which opened opportunities for other players. “If last year had gone perfectly, I think Christian would have had a great season and our offense would have relied on him all year long,” Baker said. “Because of the injury, we had to figure out our offense without him on the floor, which will help out this year.” Baker said the returning players are all going to take
Evans Funeral Home John H. Evans • Charles E. Evans • Andrew W. Evans James F. Regenhold • Lewis E. Frith • Mary Lu Roby Jamie Gier • Brian Wikoff Traditional Funeral & Cremation Services Pre-Planning Available
741 Center Street Milford, Ohio 45150 513-831-3172 www.evansfuneralhome.com
1944 State Route 28 Goshen, Ohio 45122 513-722-3272 Fax: (513) 831-3179
on larger roles this season, though what they’re actually doing on the court won’t change. “Almost all of them are going to have increases in their roles,” Baker said. “I’m going to expect more out of them. The role won’t change, I’m just going to expect more. Dylan Ashcraft was one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, if not the best. He’s going to have to do that, but we’re just going to expect more.” Ashton Harris is another player expected to take on a larger role. “We call him our Swiss Army knife,” Baker said. “Last year he was our backup center, third-string small forward, and fourth-string point guard. This year is going to be more of the same. He’s going to be somebody who has a really good season.” Bradley Moore is another player the Warriors will be relying on in 2019. “He had a few stretches where he was unconscious last year. Western Brown at
home, he had like 28 and went on an 8-0 run by himself. As a sophomore, you can have a few games where you don’t score as much. Now, he’s going to be a consistent part of our offense.” Goshen moves up to Division I this season, and they’ll be tested out of the gate in an intriguing matchup. The Warriors are slated to host Milford on Wednesday, November 27, a game that pits Baker against his former coach, Milford’s Joe Cambron. “I’m excited about that game,” Baker said. “He was a mentor of mine. He was my coach. I’ve leaned on him for a lot. It’s going to be a little different coaching against him on the sideline.” Baker thinks the Eagles will provide a tough test for Goshen to start, as the Warriors prepare to adjust to life in Division I. “I think we’re one of the
7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM at Gamble Montessori 7:30 PM at Western Brown 7:15 PM Batavia 7:30 PM at Clinton-Massie 7:30 PM at Wilmington 7:15 PM
GOSHEN
DEC
JAN
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Goshen Lady Warriors enter the 2019-2020 season with several new players, as this year’s squad has just two juniors and no seniors.
2019-2020 Goshen Warriors Roster 1 2 3 4 5 10 11 20 22 23 24
Dylan Ashcraft Hunter Slusher Clayton Jones Josh Hice Jack Webster Chris Bradley Jacob McDaniel Bradley Moore Trey Wilson Ashton Harris Trevor Adams
six smallest DI schools in the state, but we’re DI,” Baker said. “We’ve got to start measuring ourselves by that. I think Milford’s a good place to start.” The Warriors, and all the other boys’ basketball teams in the state, had an interesting start to the preseason, as the first day of practice fell on the final day of the football
Senior Senior Senior Senior Junior Senior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior
season. “Preseason has been a little bit insane,” Baker said. “The first day of basketball was the same day as week 10 in football this year, and our first game is the day before Thanksgiving. Typically, we’re a week after it. That shrinks our preseason. Luckily, we have a bunch of guys returning.”
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Character & Excellence in Funeral Service
NOV
Milford at Madeira at New Richmond Western Brown Blanchester at Reading at Waynesville at Batavia at Indian Hill Clinton-Massie Mariemont Legacy Christian Wilmington at Shroder Hillsboro
Goshen High School brings back several players from last season, including second-team all-conference performer Josh Hice and honorable mention Hunter Slusher.
Page 13
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The 2018-2019 Goshen High School girls’ basketball team posted one of the most successful years in program history, finishing 17-7 overall and 7-3 in Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference American Division play. The team used a buzzer-beating three-point shot to win a tournament game before falling to Northwest. Head coach Mark Short said last season’s seniors helped set the foundation for future success. “I thought last year was very successful,” Short said. “That was a great group of seniors that were very mature. They were so good that we reference them a lot to this group about how you want to conduct yourself throughout the season. On the court, off the court, preparing, workouts, everything. If you follow that, you’ll have success.” That group of seniors
included seven players, including Paige Garr. Garr, a first-team all-SBAAC player as a senior, along with Whitney Turner, Kaitlin Pfau and Goshen’s other seniors, left a mark on the program. “They’re hard to replace,” Short said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but they’ve been very energetic and listening to what we have to say. It’s going to take us a while, we’re going to hit roadblocks
this year, but we’re going to get better over time.” One of the things Goshen has in spades this season is inexperience, but Short said the players may use that to their advantage. “Youthful exuberance,” Short said. “Whatever you ask them, ‘OK, we’ll try it.’ They haven’t figured things out yet. That’s what we’re hoping to be able to do.” In terms of on-court
strengths, the Lady Warriors are still working to find an identity on the court. “I don’t know if we have any right now,” Short said. “We’re hoping to, at some point along the way. You hope to find something that’s your calling card, something you do well that people know you for. We’re starting over, and
2019-2020 Goshen Lady Warriors Roster Gaby Maco Ali Stouder Amy Myers Abby Strunk Megan Hoffrogge Madison Hornsby Katrina Hopper Hailey Kilgore Julia Matthewson Makayla Warren Gracie Hampton Brooke Noland Tristyn Smiley
Junior Junior Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Freshman Freshman Freshman
A numerical roster for Goshen was not available before our print deadline.
GOSHEN
FEB
22 25 2 5 9 12 16 19 23 30 2 6 9 13 16 20 23 27 30 3 6
Ross New Richmond at Little Miami Western Brown Talawanda at Batavia Clinton-Massie at Madeira Alter at Williamsburg at Blanchester Hillsboro Wilmington at Eastern Brown New Richmond at Lynchburg-Clay at Western Brown Batavia at Clinton-Massie at Wilmington
7:30 PM 7:30 PM 6:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 6:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM Middletown Madison 7:15 PM
we’re going to have to find that.” In his 40-year coaching career, Short has found himself in this situation several times. He said the goal is to help the players put their best foot forward. “You always want to put your kids in the best light possible,” Short said. “Getting
them prepared in the best offense, best defense is good for them. We’ll see what happens.” Goshen’s season opener against Ross on Friday, November 22 will not be played at the high school. The Lady Warriors are scheduled to host that game at Goshen Middle School.
E V E N P A G E S
Page 12 •
TIP-OFF ‘19 - ‘20 BASKETBALL SECTION •
TIP-OFF ‘19 - ‘20 BASKETBALL SECTION
Experienced Warriors ready to leave a mark
Youthful Lady Warriors seeking growth in ‘19-20 2019-2020 Goshen Lady Warriors Schedule
2019-2020 Goshen Warriors Schedule NOV DEC
JAN
FEB PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
27 30 6 13 14 17 28 3 7 10 11 14 17 18 21 28 31 4 7 11
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The Goshen Warriors dealt with a lot of adversity last season, but that may have set the team up for success this season. Injuries plagued the Warriors last season, but the spots on the roster that opened allowed younger players to get valuable minutes, according to head coach Brandon Baker. “The injuries were difficult to overcome, but I was really proud with how our guys handled it,” Baker said. “The guys stepped up and made
plays when we needed it, which was huge for our season.” One of the injuries last season forced Christian Kollmorgan to miss time, which opened opportunities for other players. “If last year had gone perfectly, I think Christian would have had a great season and our offense would have relied on him all year long,” Baker said. “Because of the injury, we had to figure out our offense without him on the floor, which will help out this year.” Baker said the returning players are all going to take
Evans Funeral Home John H. Evans • Charles E. Evans • Andrew W. Evans James F. Regenhold • Lewis E. Frith • Mary Lu Roby Jamie Gier • Brian Wikoff Traditional Funeral & Cremation Services Pre-Planning Available
741 Center Street Milford, Ohio 45150 513-831-3172 www.evansfuneralhome.com
1944 State Route 28 Goshen, Ohio 45122 513-722-3272 Fax: (513) 831-3179
on larger roles this season, though what they’re actually doing on the court won’t change. “Almost all of them are going to have increases in their roles,” Baker said. “I’m going to expect more out of them. The role won’t change, I’m just going to expect more. Dylan Ashcraft was one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, if not the best. He’s going to have to do that, but we’re just going to expect more.” Ashton Harris is another player expected to take on a larger role. “We call him our Swiss Army knife,” Baker said. “Last year he was our backup center, third-string small forward, and fourth-string point guard. This year is going to be more of the same. He’s going to be somebody who has a really good season.” Bradley Moore is another player the Warriors will be relying on in 2019. “He had a few stretches where he was unconscious last year. Western Brown at
home, he had like 28 and went on an 8-0 run by himself. As a sophomore, you can have a few games where you don’t score as much. Now, he’s going to be a consistent part of our offense.” Goshen moves up to Division I this season, and they’ll be tested out of the gate in an intriguing matchup. The Warriors are slated to host Milford on Wednesday, November 27, a game that pits Baker against his former coach, Milford’s Joe Cambron. “I’m excited about that game,” Baker said. “He was a mentor of mine. He was my coach. I’ve leaned on him for a lot. It’s going to be a little different coaching against him on the sideline.” Baker thinks the Eagles will provide a tough test for Goshen to start, as the Warriors prepare to adjust to life in Division I. “I think we’re one of the
7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM at Gamble Montessori 7:30 PM at Western Brown 7:15 PM Batavia 7:30 PM at Clinton-Massie 7:30 PM at Wilmington 7:15 PM
GOSHEN
DEC
JAN
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Goshen Lady Warriors enter the 2019-2020 season with several new players, as this year’s squad has just two juniors and no seniors.
2019-2020 Goshen Warriors Roster 1 2 3 4 5 10 11 20 22 23 24
Dylan Ashcraft Hunter Slusher Clayton Jones Josh Hice Jack Webster Chris Bradley Jacob McDaniel Bradley Moore Trey Wilson Ashton Harris Trevor Adams
six smallest DI schools in the state, but we’re DI,” Baker said. “We’ve got to start measuring ourselves by that. I think Milford’s a good place to start.” The Warriors, and all the other boys’ basketball teams in the state, had an interesting start to the preseason, as the first day of practice fell on the final day of the football
Senior Senior Senior Senior Junior Senior Junior Junior Junior Junior Junior
season. “Preseason has been a little bit insane,” Baker said. “The first day of basketball was the same day as week 10 in football this year, and our first game is the day before Thanksgiving. Typically, we’re a week after it. That shrinks our preseason. Luckily, we have a bunch of guys returning.”
www.facebook.com/ClerSunSports
Character & Excellence in Funeral Service
NOV
Milford at Madeira at New Richmond Western Brown Blanchester at Reading at Waynesville at Batavia at Indian Hill Clinton-Massie Mariemont Legacy Christian Wilmington at Shroder Hillsboro
Goshen High School brings back several players from last season, including second-team all-conference performer Josh Hice and honorable mention Hunter Slusher.
Page 13
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The 2018-2019 Goshen High School girls’ basketball team posted one of the most successful years in program history, finishing 17-7 overall and 7-3 in Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference American Division play. The team used a buzzer-beating three-point shot to win a tournament game before falling to Northwest. Head coach Mark Short said last season’s seniors helped set the foundation for future success. “I thought last year was very successful,” Short said. “That was a great group of seniors that were very mature. They were so good that we reference them a lot to this group about how you want to conduct yourself throughout the season. On the court, off the court, preparing, workouts, everything. If you follow that, you’ll have success.” That group of seniors
included seven players, including Paige Garr. Garr, a first-team all-SBAAC player as a senior, along with Whitney Turner, Kaitlin Pfau and Goshen’s other seniors, left a mark on the program. “They’re hard to replace,” Short said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but they’ve been very energetic and listening to what we have to say. It’s going to take us a while, we’re going to hit roadblocks
this year, but we’re going to get better over time.” One of the things Goshen has in spades this season is inexperience, but Short said the players may use that to their advantage. “Youthful exuberance,” Short said. “Whatever you ask them, ‘OK, we’ll try it.’ They haven’t figured things out yet. That’s what we’re hoping to be able to do.” In terms of on-court
strengths, the Lady Warriors are still working to find an identity on the court. “I don’t know if we have any right now,” Short said. “We’re hoping to, at some point along the way. You hope to find something that’s your calling card, something you do well that people know you for. We’re starting over, and
2019-2020 Goshen Lady Warriors Roster Gaby Maco Ali Stouder Amy Myers Abby Strunk Megan Hoffrogge Madison Hornsby Katrina Hopper Hailey Kilgore Julia Matthewson Makayla Warren Gracie Hampton Brooke Noland Tristyn Smiley
Junior Junior Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Freshman Freshman Freshman
A numerical roster for Goshen was not available before our print deadline.
GOSHEN
FEB
22 25 2 5 9 12 16 19 23 30 2 6 9 13 16 20 23 27 30 3 6
Ross New Richmond at Little Miami Western Brown Talawanda at Batavia Clinton-Massie at Madeira Alter at Williamsburg at Blanchester Hillsboro Wilmington at Eastern Brown New Richmond at Lynchburg-Clay at Western Brown Batavia at Clinton-Massie at Wilmington
7:30 PM 7:30 PM 6:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 6:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM Middletown Madison 7:15 PM
we’re going to have to find that.” In his 40-year coaching career, Short has found himself in this situation several times. He said the goal is to help the players put their best foot forward. “You always want to put your kids in the best light possible,” Short said. “Getting
them prepared in the best offense, best defense is good for them. We’ll see what happens.” Goshen’s season opener against Ross on Friday, November 22 will not be played at the high school. The Lady Warriors are scheduled to host that game at Goshen Middle School.
E V E N P A G E S
Page 14 •
TIP-OFF ‘19 - ‘20 BASKETBALL SECTION •
TIP-OFF ‘19 - ‘20 BASKETBALL SECTION
New faces abound for Milford boys basketball
Chase takes over youthful Lady Cardinals squad
2019-2020 Milford Eagles Schedule NOV DEC
JAN
O D D
FEB PHOTO / PROVIDED (MILFORD ATHLETICS)
The Milford Eagles return just one player with significant varsity experience this season. Jack Liles averaged 8.6 points per game during the 2018-2019 campaign.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN
P A G E S
Sports Editor
The 2018-2019 Milford Eagles basketball season is probably best remembered
for the team’s revenge tour. After the first 12 games last season, the Eagles sat at 4-8 overall. The team then finished the season with nine wins in the remaining 13
games, earning a spot in the sectional championship match. This year’s team looks nothing like that squad. The team’s lone returner, senior
Jack Liles, averaged 8.6 points per game last season. He’s the only player on the roster who saw significant time at the varsity level last year. “There are a lot of unknowns at this point,” Head coach Joe Cambron said. “I would say our defense is pretty good right now. We seem to have a good commitment to getting stops and rebounding, though we don’t appear to be especially quick or especially tall. We just seem to be committed to getting stops.” Liles has a chance to make waves this season, according to Cambron. “He’s a pretty good player. he’s got a chance to score the ball in a lot of different ways,” Cambron said. “He’s probably our top scorer, potentially.” Teammate Joey Round dominated the soccer field in the fall, and he’ll take his dribbling talents to the court this winter. “He’s coming off a very successful soccer season, and
27 30 3 6 10 13 17 20 30 3 4 7 10 14 17 21 24 28 4 7 11 14
at Goshen at Sycamore at Harrison Kings Withrow at West Clermont at Anderson at Loveland Winton Woods Anderson at Little Miami at Walnut Hills Turpin at Lebanon at Kings at Withrow West Clermont Western Hills Taft Loveland Walnut Hills at Turpin
7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
2019-2020 Milford Eagles Roster 0 1 3 4 5 10 11 15 20 22 23 33 35
Joey Round Jack Liles Austin Bodly Eli Dickerson Ethan Owens Isaiah Ketchum Alex Hannah Adam Harris Kenneth Watkins Parker Davis Ibrahim Niang Grant Whitaker Jack Ackerman
he’s had good scrimmages so far,” Cambron said. Looking at the ECC as a whole, there are a handful of teams with different strengths, according to Cambron. “Turpin has the most returning,” Cambron said. “West Clermont has a big kid that nobody else has. You never know about Walnut Hills, they’ve got a couple good players.”
Senior Senior Junior Junior Junior Senior Junior Senior Junior Junior Junior Senior Junior
Milford opens the season on the road on Wednesday, November 27 at Goshen. That game pitts Cambron against a former player, Goshen head coach Brandon Baker. “That should be pretty cool,” Cambron said. “He’s done a phenomenal job at Goshen. He’s a really good coach, and he gets the most out of his kids, without a doubt.”
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2019-2020 Felicity Lady Cardinals Schedule NOV DEC
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PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
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The Felicity-Franklin Lady Cardinals have two seniors on the roster for the 2019-2020 season: Madison Baird (14, not pictured) and Madi Moore (21).
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
There’s a new face on the sideline this season leading the Felicity-Franklin Lady Cardinals, but it’s a familiar one to Clermont County basketball fans. Rebecca Chase will coach the Lady Cardinals this season. The 2013 Williamsburg High School grad said the transition into the coaching roll has been smooth thus far. “It’s been going well. I was at the middle school last year, so the girls that are now freshmen, I worked with them last year,” Chase said. “The girls are kind of taking it by the horns, they’re putting in the work that they know they need to. We’re just starting to build a culture.” Chase inherits a team this season with just two seniors and no other upperclassmen. “We’re really young,” Chase said. “We’ve got two seniors, no juniors and the rest are all sophomores and
freshmen. We’re really strong. The freshmen that are coming up are talented. We didn’t lose anybody, which is good for us. They’re starting to build that chemistry.” Repetitions help build that chemistry, and Chase said the team has players anxious to get into the gyms. “I’ve got kids wanting to get in the gym on the weekends, I’m up there on Sundays making sure the kids that want to get up shots can,” Chase said. “That work ethic is not something they’re lacking at all.” As a matter of fact, Chase considers the team’s work ethic one of the squad’s stronger points heading into the regular season. “I have kids that are getting to practice early, I’ve got kids who are wanting to stay after,” Chase said. “Their biggest strength right now is how much work they’re willing to put in and how far they’re willing to go with it.” Chase continued, saying the senior class can have a
difficult time adjusting to helping the younger players find roles on the team, but that was not the case with Baird and Moore. “I expected them to struggle because it’s really hard as a senior knowing that the team you’re with is really young,” Chase said. “When you’ve got young talent coming up, it’s something that’s normally hard to grasp. They’ve done a great job knowing what their role is and understanding the roles that we have coming up and feeding into that understanding.” With so many young players and a new coach, there will be a bit of a change to the on-court product this year. Chase said she’d like to push the tempo as often as possible, but injuries could play a role in how the team executes that strategy. “I’m trying to play a fasttempo game,” Chase said. “I’ve got some really athletic girls, and they’re young, so they’re not burnt out yet. My
goal is to play fast-paced. I think we’re still struggling with numbers, but we’re doing better than in previous years. If we can keep injuries to the minimum, we’re going to push the pace.” Last season, Felicity didn’t have a junior varsity team. Chase said that won’t be the case this year, as she and the Lady Cardinals count down the days until tipoff. “We’re excited,” Chase said. “We’re ready to go. We’re kind of hoping to shock the league, so we’ll see if we’re able to put the work in and get there this season.” The Lady Cardinals start the 2019-2020 season at the Tip-Off Classic in Manchester, Ohio. The team is scheduled to face Glenwood High School at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 23 at Manchester High School.
23 2 5 9 10 12 16 21 2 6 8 8 13 16 18 20 23 27 30 1 3
at Tip-Off Classic CNE at Blanchester Bethel-Tate at Batavia at Williamsburg East Clinton North Adams at Georgetown at West Union Fayetteville MVCA CNE Blanchester at Peebles at Bethel-Tate Williamsburg at East Clinton Georgetown Manchester St. Patrick
1:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 6:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 6:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 3:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 6:00 PM 7:30 PM
2019-2020 Felicity Lady Cardinals Roster 10 11 14 15 20 21 23 24 32 33
Hailey Stamm Angela Jones Madison Baird Brooklynn Wehrum Anna Swisshelm Madi Moore Shelby Rohrbacher Jordan Lowe Alexis Egner Taylor McElfresh
Sophomore Freshman Senior Freshman Freshman Senior Freshman Sophomore Freshman Sophomore
Charles McIntyre Funeral Home GO 323 Union Street s l Gir NALS Felicity, OH 45120 I D R A 513-876-2831 C
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Experienced Cardinals ready to soar in ‘19-’20
Balanced Lady Eagles prepping for ECC foes
2019-2020 Felicity Cardinals Schedule DEC
JAN
FEB PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Felicity-Franklin Cardinals have a new motto for the 2019-2020 basketball season: Apply pressure. Head coach Jason Thompson said the team will look to push the pace with a very athletic group of players.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The team’s win-loss record may not show it at a glance, but the FelicityFranklin boys’ basketball team grew quite a bit during the 2018-2019 season. Head coach Jason Thompson started three underclassmen last season, and he could tell the difference in play from the beginning of the year to the end. “We ended the season kind of experiencing some success,” Thompson said. “We started two freshman and
two sophomores a lot last season, so I think we're in a position were we had room to grow and I'm starting to see some of that growth.” Thompson said it was difficult to judge just how much the team had grown since last season due to a lack of scrimmages at the time, but he feels the team is progressing at an appropriate rate. “We look good at times and we look bad at times,” Thompson said. “I think that every team that follows the rules and doesn’t practice year round has ups and
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downs. Nobody should be in midseason form right now, but we’re probably where we should be.” Even with the limited time early, Thompson was able to pick out something he believes is one of the team’s strengths. “We’re a lot more athletic than we have been in years past,” Thompson said. “We’re going to push the pace a little bit. Our motto
for this season is to apply pressure, and that’s probably what our go-to is going to be.” The team returns several key players from last season and adds a transfer from Western Brown. Carson Crozier is back, having averaged 13 points per game last season as a freshman. Steven Jones joins the team this year, having played junior varsity
2019-2020 Felicity Cardinals Roster 1 2 5 12 20 23 24 25 30 32 33 35
Dylan Kidd Carson Crozier Nathan Baker Steven Jones Riley Pinger Colton Stamper Bryce Reeves Logan Moore Braiden Blackburn Nick Violette Tate Liming Garrett Taulbee
Senior Sophomore Sophomore Senior Senior Junior Senior Senior Junior Senior Sophomore Sophomore
FELICITY
3 6 10 13 17 19 21 3 7 10 14 17 18 21 24 28 31 1 4 7 11
at Whiteoak Fayetteville at CNE at Blanchester Bethel-Tate Batavia North Adams at Williamsburg East Clinton at Georgetown at West Union Eastern at Peebles CNE Blanchester Bethel-Tate Williamsburg Manchester at East Clinton Georgetown at MVCA
2019-2020 Milford Lady Eagles Schedule
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last season. “I’m not a big proponent of putting kids on the junior varsity unless they can benefit from it, but he benefitted from it,” Thompson said. “He and Nick Violette both played JV as juniors and they came back bigger and faster.” Dylan Kidd, the transfer from the Broncos, is expected to make an impact defensively for the Cardinals, while Thompson hopes Bryce Reeves can continue his three-point prowess.
With so many options on the bench, Thompson said the key for Felicity this season lies in his ability to figure out what group of five players should be on the court at any given time. “I’ve got nine guys that can all play a little bit,” Thompson said. “It’s going to be different than past years. The key is going to be finding the right five on the right night, and that’s going to be hard but I’ll figure it out.”
Charles McIntyre Funeral Home 323 Union Street O G ALS Felicity, OH 45120 N I D R CA 513-876-2831
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The Milford Lady Eagles enter year two under head coach Dave Fallis this winter. Fallis and the Lady Eagles finished last season 10-14 overall but just 3-11 in a tough Eastern Cincinnati Conference.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
One year ago, Milford head coach Dave Fallis was prepping the Lady Eagles for his first season at the helm. The team would finish that season with 10 wins, and the experience Fallis gained as a first-time Division I coach is crucial to the team’s preparation this season. “We got the lay of the land,” Fallis said. “I got to really have an opportunity to know the kids and to really get to know our league.
Hopefully that experience will suit us well for this year.” Fallis has made some adjustments, specifically to how he’s preparing his team for league games. “We really have to simulate all the ball pressure,” Fallis said. “You have some of the top teams in the city in our league and the pressure they apply defensively, it’s really important that we’re able to simulate that to the best of our ability in practices.” The Lady Eagles that take the court in those practices
look a little different this season. For starters, the team lost four seniors: Ali Kirk, Emily Bientz, Morgan Hills and Caitlin Wiscombe. Additionally, Azyiah Williams, who led the team last season in both points (12.3) and assists (2.8), transferred to Ripley during the offseason. Even with those changes, Fallis said the team’s expectations haven’t changed. “We’ve got a great core of players, a great group,” Fallis
said. “They understand what it takes to win. It may take some of our girls doing a little extra than they did last year, but they’re up for the challenge.” Fallis believes one of the team’s strengths is balance, as the squad doesn’t have one single dominant player. “It’s always best when the pressures of the game are spread amongst a group and not put on one or two people,” Fallis said. “Last year, not many people handled the
2019-2020 Milford Lady Eagles Roster 5 10 11 14 21 22 23 33 35 42
Devin Morris Kaitlyn Geis Katie Tatum Madalyn Hills Kaylie McKenney Abby Thierauf Olivia Thierauf Carlie Duesing Paige Ayler Olivia Gentry
Junior Senior Freshman Sophomore Sophomore Senior Sophomore Junior Sophomore Sophomore
MILFORD
23 26 30 4 7 11 14 18 21 28 3 8 11 13 15 18 22 25 29 1 2 8
at McNicholas Winton Woods at Kings at Withrow at West Clermont at Anderson Loveland Walnut Hills at Turpin Oak Hills at Purcell Marian at Taft Kings
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ball. This year, our offense is going to be a little bit different. We’re going to share the ball better.” Still, the defense will be the Lady Eagles’ calling card, at least, Fallis hopes it will be. “We’re trying to make that our strong suit this year,” Fallis said. “We still have
some things to work on, but we’ve made great strides.” Milford opens the 20192020 season with a road game at McNick High School on Saturday, November 23 at 2 p.m. Fallis is a McNick alum, and the contest will be the first game he has coached at the school.
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Lions hoping to build on breakthrough season
Lady Rockets preparing for battle in SBAAC
BY GARTH SHANKLIN
BY GARTH SHANKLIN
Sports Editor
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New Richmond finally broke through last season, according to head coach Brian McMonigle. After three seasons with a record below .500, the Lions picked up 15 wins last season, finishing the year 15-9 overall. “We had kind of gone a few seasons prior where we felt like we were trying to get over the hump and rebuild,” McMonigle said. “Last year was a big step for us to get through that rebuild phase we had been
going through.” Even with 15 wins on the season, McMonigle and the team weren’t happy with how they performed in Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference American Division play. “We were a little disappointed with how we finished in the league,” McMonigle said. “The league was so close there in the middle, we were like a game from being in second place. Finishing where we finished, we weren’t very happy with that.”
McMonigle continued, saying the team’s returning players got some time on the court last season, and they’re using that experience as motivation for this year. “Our seniors last year gave us a good season, but toward the end of the year some of the younger guys were doing a really good job pushing them,” McMonigle said. “They were able to get some time on varsity leading into this year, and our hope is that’s going to pay off.” McMonigle said the Lions are starting to come together, which is what he hopes the returning players are able to do. “Right now, we’re getting these guys to gel,” McMonigle said. “Our expectations for returning players are to not necessarily worry about improving on last year’s stats or wins and losses, but focus on gelling with the guys that will be on varsity with them.” The Lions return a hand-
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
New Richmond won 15 games last season, but only four of those wins came in league play.
ful of players from last season. This year’s team consists of five juniors, two sophomores and a freshman. McMonigle thinks the Lions can compete in the league this season, especially given the lack of a clear favorite in 2019.
2019-2020 New Richmond Lions Schedule DEC
JAN
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2019-2020 CNE Lady Rockets Schedule
Sports Editor
Villa Madonna Goshen at Batavia at Newport Finneytown Georgetown at Madeira at Anderson Clinton Massie Taylor Wilmington CNE at Western Brown at Mariemont at Goshen Bethel-Tate Batavia St. Bernard at Clinton Massie at Wilmington Western Brown
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“It’s really open again. Goshen returns a lot of those sophomore kids that are now juniors,” McMonigle said. “Western Brown was playing younger kids. Wilmington returns two kids that were solid for them last year. I would think there’s no team out there that’s a dominant team and ready to go 10-0. Anybody could win it.” If the Lions are to earn the American Division crown, McMonigle said the team has to do one key thing. “We need to rebound,” McMonigle said. “Simply
put. That’s going to be a key for us. I think the offense will come. We have some kids that can score the ball, we have some kids that can guard. That’s what it’s going to come down to for us. If we rebound well this year, I think we have a good chance.” New Richmond opens the season with back-toback home games. The team is scheduled to host Villa Madonna on Tuesday, December 3 at 7:30 p.m. The team then opens SBAAC play on Friday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Will Hess Tyler Sininger John Ipsaro Kadin Pollard Evan Ipsaro Isaiah Bowman Shep Lansaw Justin Ackerman
Nov 22 25 Dec 2 5 9 12 16 19 27 Jan 2 6 9 11 13 16 20 22 27 30 Feb 3 6
Junior Sophomore Junior Junior Freshman Junior Junior Sophomore
Deer Park at Georgetown Felicity at East Clinton Blanchester at Bethel-Tate Williamsburg at New Richmond at Batavia Reading Western Brown Georgetown Fayetteville Felicity East Clinton at Blanchester Mariemont at Williamsburg Bethel-Tate at CHCA Beechwood
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PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
Clermont Northeastern won nine games last season under first-year head coach Doug Portmann.
Rockets were able to put in work during the summer to bond. That kind of dedication is one of the team’s strengths, according to Portmann. “They come to practice
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2019-2020 New Richmond Lions Roster 2 3 4 5 10 22 23 40
Doug Portmann’s first year at the helm of the Clermont Northeastern girls basketball team was a solid first step. CNE finished 9-15 overall last season, but the experience gained in those 24 games was crucial, according to Portmann. “It was a big learning year for us,” Portmann said. “I think it was a good year for us to set the tone as to what to expect for years to come. We lost a senior who was our returning leading scorer at the beginning of the year last year, but the girls worked hard to overcome the adversity “ CNE has several key players back from last season’s team, starting with five seniors: Mackenzie Reece, Makayla Drewry, Taylor Shumard, Alyssa Williams and Natalie Bockman return for the Lady Rockets. That kind of returning expertise has made this offseason much easier. “We’re not rehashing things, we’re working on new things, and that’s helped us out quite a bit,” Portmann said. Additionally, the Lady
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every day and they come to work,” Portmann said. “They don’t come in and loaf, they cheer each other on. I’m practicing the JV and the varsity together so they can see what they’re coming up to next year, and I think that’s going to be very important to the growth of this program.” In terms of expectations, Portmann said he thinks the team should be able to hang
with any opponent on the schedule this season. “I expect us to compete in every game,” Portmann said. “We’re obviously not going to win every game, but I expect to be a tough out for everyone we face this year. We have a lot of senior leadership, there’s no real reason they won’t give 100 percent when they step on the court.”
2019-2020 CNE Lady Rockets Roster 3 5 10 11 15 22 23 24 25 30
Promise Shircliff Hollie Daniel Mackenzie Reese Dana Evans Piper Ritter Makayla Drewry Raegan Beverly Taylor Shumard Alyssa Williams Natalie Bockman
Junior Junior Senior Sophomore Sophomore Senior Sophomore Senior Senior Senior
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Depth the key for CNE boys basketball in 2019
Lady Lions hoping to build on past success 2019-2020 New Richmond Lady Lions Schedule
2019-2020 CNE Rockets Schedule DEC 3 6 10 13 14 17 20 27 28 JAN 3 7 11 14 17 21 24 28 FEB 4 7 8 11
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
Clermont Northeastern posted a 9-3 record in the SBAAC National Division last season, but a rough non-conference slate left the team with 10 wins overall.
2019-2020 CNE Rockets Roster 3 5 11 12 20 22 23 24 32 33 34 44
Jerryd Burns Logan Pottorf Jared Decatur Austin Yeager Skyler Schmidt Owen Fishback Bryce Reece Keegan Hopkins Mason Martin Blake King Trevor House Angus Krug
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
Inconsistency and a lack of non-conference wins plagued the Clermont Northeastern boys’ basketball team in 2018-2019.
Senior Junior Senior Sophomore Junior Junior Sophomore Sophomore Junior Senior Junior Junior The squad finished 9-3 in the league, good for second place behind a Georgetown team that finished 12-0 in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference’s National Division.
Outside the SBAAC, however, CNE struggled to a 1-10 record, something that head coach Jim Jones wished the team had been able to improve. “We were better, but still inconsistent,” Jones said. “I didn’t like our 1-10 nonleague schedule. We were pretty good in the league, but we lost too many nonleague games.” This year’s team is looking to improve in nonleague play. CNE facess out-of-conference foes from Reading, St. Bernard, Fayetteville and Little Miami, among others. If the team wants to bump up the non-league win total, they’re going to have to improve at both ends of the court, and Jones said the team is doing that so far. “We’re playing hard.” Jones said. “We’re getting
CNE
after it. The offense is a little bit behind, but that’ll come. I’m pretty pleased with what we’ve got coming back. We’ve got four of our top five coming back.” Jones continued, saying he feels like the Rockets are primed for a big year due to several players with varsity experience. “I’ve got three kids that this will be their third year being starters,” Jones said. “Expectations are high, I’m not going to sugar coat anything.” CNE’s returning core starts with junior Skyler Schmidt, a 6-foot, 7-inch forward who received a visit from current West Virginia head coach and former UC head coach Bob Huggins during the offsea-
at Western Brown at Georgetown Felicity East Clinton Little Miami Blanchester at Hillsboro at Batavia Mariemont at Bethel-Tate Williamsburg Fayetteville at New Richmond Georgetown at Felicity East Clinton at Blanchester at Williamsburg Bethel-Tate St. Bernard Reading
son. Schmidt was a first-team all-conference performer last season, finishing the year with an average of just under 23 points per game. He also hauled in over 16 rebounds per contest, a number that led the entire SBAAC. Jerryd Burns joined Schmidt on the first-team all-league squad in 20182019. The then-junior finished the year an average of 9.5 points per game while shooting over 40 percent from behind the three-point line. Several other players move up to the varsity level for CNE this year. That new-found depth is one of the team’s strengths this season, according to Jones. “They’ve added depth for us,” Jones said. “They played hard over the summer, did a lot of good for
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us over the summer. We’re a lot deeper than we were last year.” CNE’s schedule has a neat twist this season. On January 11, the Rockets are slated to take on Fayetteville, a team 15 minutes east on US-50. Instead, both schools will head northwest to Knightstown, Indiana for the game, which is scheduled to be played in the same gym the movie ‘Hoosiers” was filmed in. CNE’s regular-season opener is a bit closer to home. The Rockets open the season on the road at Western Brown on Tuesday, December 3. After a road trip to Georgetown Friday, December 6, CNE welcomes Felicity to campus for the Rockets’ 20192020 home opener on Tuesday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m.
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PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
New Richmondʼs girls basketball team started the 2018-2019 season strong but faded in the second half of the year en route to a 10-13 record.
2019-2020 New Richmond Lady Lions Roster
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Allie Bird Addie Fagan Cortney Smith Julia Keith Kayla Patterson Abby Maness Jaira Stamper Carley Clift
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The 2018-2019 New Richmond girls’ basketball team had an up-anddown year. The ups came early, as the squad shook off a season-opening loss to Mariemont by winning five of their next six games, entering Christmas break with an overall record of 6-2 on the sea-
Senior Senior Sophomore Sophomore Freshman Junior Junior Senior son. Things went downhill from there. The Lady Lions finished the year with just four wins over the last 15 games of the season, including an eightgame losing streak to end the year. “[We] started off real strong,” head coach Tom Wessner said. “We hit Christmas break and just couldn’t put it together. We had some good games,
played some good teams really well, but we just couldn’t get any wins after Christmas break.” Heading into this season, Wessner said the team adjusted how they approach their preparation for the year and for games to help combat that issue. “We took a little bit out, simplified it,” Wessner said. “Practices are a little bit shorter. We’re just being really good at a few things instead of having a lot of stuff in.” The results so far would seem to be positive, according to Wessner. “So far, so good,” Wessner said. “We’re learning. The first scrimmage, we did real well. The next two, we threw in some new things. We got it on film, we’ll make some adjustments. We’ve done alright so far.” The team enters play in
2019-2020 with a total of three seniors: Allie Bird, Addie Fagan and Carley Clift. Clift was a firstteam all-conference performer last season, while Bird earned an honorable mention. All three of them are expected to perform at a high level this season, according to Wessner. “They’ve been around, this’ll be their fourth year of varsity,” Wessner said. “The expectations are really high. They’ve been great leaders since their sophomore year. They’ve been great so far, hopefully they can end it on a high note.” They’ll be aided by a talented group of underclassmen, led by sophomore Julia Keith. “She had a great freshman year on the JV, her summer was really good,” Wessner said. “She’ll be starting and hopefully
NEW RICHMOND
Bethel-Tate at Goshen at Mariemont at Batavia at Reading Clinton Massie Wilmington at Taylor CNE at Ripley at CHCA St. Bernard at Western Brown Wyoming at Goshen Batavia at Clinton Massie at Wilmington Western Brown Georgetown
she’ll be able to give us whatever we need.” Keith is joined at the varsity level by another sophomore, Cortney Smith. Freshman Kayla Patterson is also on the varsity roster, along with juniors Abby Maness and Jaira Stamper. In terms of the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference’s American Division this season, Wessner said he fully expects his conference foes to provide a tough challenge, even as some teams in the division adjust to losing key
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players from 2018-2019 teams. “They all have very good coaches,” Wessner said. “The Wilmingtons that lose a lot, they do such a good job getting them ready that there’s not going to be a night off.” New Richmond is slated to open the season on Friday, November 22 with a non-league home match against Bethel-Tate. The Lady Lions open SBAAC American Division play at Goshen on Monday, November 25. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
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Wolves prepping to defend 2018-2019 ECC title
Wolf, Tigers readying for National Division push
2019-2020 West Clermont Wolves Schedule NOV DEC
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FEB PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The West Clermont Wolves finished last season 12-2 in Eastern Cincinnati Conference play, good for the programʼs first ECC title.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN
P A G E S
Sports Editor
The proverbial switch flipped for the West Clermont boys’ basketball
team early in the 2018-2019 season. The team sat at 1-2 overall in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference following a 5746 loss to Milford on
Friday, December 14, but from that point on, the Wolves went on a roll. West Clermont finished league play 11-1 overall en route to the school’s first Eastern Cincinnati Conference championship. Head coach Craig Mazzaro said the team was able to come together at the right time. “Everybody fell into their roles and we just had an out-
standing group,” Mazzaro said. “We really kind of ran away with the league. Just one of those outstanding years that you're pretty grateful for.” As grateful as the Wolves were for last season, by no means are they dwelling on the past. “No one really cares what you did last year when you start a new season,” Mazzaro said. “They’re
29 3 6 10 13 17 20 21 27 4 7 10 14 17 21 24 28 31 3 7 11 14
at Little Miami at Winton Woods at Walnut Hills at Turpin Milford at Withrow Kings St. Xavier at Fairfield Indian Hill Anderson at Loveland at Springboro Walnut Hills Turpin at Milford Hughes Withrow at Shroder at Kings at Anderson Loveland
working extremely hard. Everybody’s going to be in different roles and the quicker they pick that up the better we’ll be. We’re not going to just start off where we finished last year.” The Wolves have a handful of players returning this season, though the team did lose six seniors from last year’s team. Jackson Ames is the biggest returner the Wolves have this season, literally. Ames is listed at 6-feet, 11inches, and the Miami (Ohio) commit is expected to team up with fellow seniors D.J. Vianello and Alex Wilzbach, the latter of whom had some rough luck with injuries last season. “He played last year, was ready to start and everything, and got hurt,” Mazzaro said. “When he came back, he played two or three games and got hurt again. He’s back returning, he would have been a big help for us last year.” The Wolves are hoping to emphasize playing as one
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unit this year, according to Mazzaro. “We’re learning,” Mazzaro said. “We’re learning how to play good defense and play team basketball. That’s what we’re stressing right now. The quicker we get there, the better off we’ll be.” The Wolves have a tough start to league play in their quest for a repeat title. The team is slated to begin the year with four straight road games, including back-toback trips to Turpin and Walnut Hills, two teams Mazzaro said could compete for a league title. “Turpin will be real good,” Mazzaro said. “Withrow will be real good. I think everybody’s going to pretty much be there. We’ve really got to hit the ground running to get through that period. Following the four road games, the Wolves play at home for the first time in the 2019-2020 season on Friday, December 13 against Milford.
Page 7
2019-2020 Bethel-Tate Tigers Roster 0 2 5 10 11 12 15 21 22 23 33 54
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
Steve Wolf enters his second season at the helm of the Bethel-Tate program in 2019. A team photo of the Tigers was not available by press time.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
As the Bethel-Tate Tigers prepare to start season number two under the tutelage of head coach Steve Wolf, they’ll have to replace the team’s top two scorers from a year ago. Griffin Reinert (12 points per game) and Cody Johnson (8.9) both graduated after last season, leaving now-junior Kyle Smith as the leading scorer on this year’s team. Smith averaged 8.6 points per game last season. He also led the Tigers in rebounds, pulling in an average of 7.5 boards per game. The team’s fourth and fifth highest scorers also return. Senior Cooper Reinert totaled 4.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game last season, while Alex Manz chipped in 3.2 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Even with three returning players at the varsity level, Wolf said the Tigers need experience this season, and it’s easy to see why. BethelTate’s roster is loaded with underclassmen, as the Tigers have six sophomores and a freshman playing at the varsity level this season. With so many younger faces on the roster, an oncourt strength can be difficult to gauge early on. Wolf believes the team’s attitude has been the biggest bright spot thus far. “Our attitude has been good in the first week,” Wolf said. “If we continue to have fun and believe in each other, this will be a good season.” Bethel-Tate is scheduled to start the season with three straight road games. The Tigers’ home opener for the 2019-2020 season isn’t until Tuesday, December 10 against Williamsburg.
2019-2020 Bethel-Tate Tigers Schedule DEC
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3 6 7 10 13 17 20 27 30 3 7 10 11 14 21 25 28 31 7 11 14 15
at Riverview East at East Clinton at MVCA Williamsburg at Georgetown at Felicity Western Brown at Finneytown at St. Bernard CNE Norwood Blanchester at Whiteoak East Clinton at Williamsburg at New Richmond Felicity Georgetown at CNE at Blanchester SBAAC Crossover at Alter
7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 4:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
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Kyle Smith Seth Vining Blake Stiles Cooper Reinert Noah Weis Devonte Williams Jaxson Little Ashton Wolfe Austin Brookenthal Alex Manz Wendell Ward Luke Frondorf
Junior Sophomore Sophomore Senior Junior Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Freshman Senior Sophomore Junior
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Lady Tigers poised for strong 2019 campaign
West Clermont on the prowl for ECC championship 2019-2020 West Clermont Lady Wolves Schedule
2019-2020 Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers Schedule NOV DEC
JAN
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers return every player from a squad that finished last season as Southwest District runners-up.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The 2018-2019 BethelTate girl’s basketball team was good. Very good. The squad finished the year with 17 wins, earning a spot in the district finals under head coach Bernie Cropper. In Cropper’s first year as the Lady Tiger’s head coach, the team finished 9-3 in league play, tying with Georgetown for second place behind Williamsburg. This year’s team? The sky is the limit. Bethel-Tate returns every single key
player from last season, and they’re even better than they were last year, according to Cropper. “I think they’ve all improved,” Cropper said. “They worked hard in the offseason, they’ve all gotten better. We’re optimistic about having a solid season at Bethel.” It’s easy to understand why. The Lady Tigers bring back Taylor Bee and Grace White, a duo that combined to average 19 points per game last season. Madison Burton anchored
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the post for the Lady Tigers last year, averaging 7.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest. Another post player, Alli Stolz, finished with 3.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last year. “We have some good size with those two girls,” Cropper said. “They’re good rebounders and both can score.” Hailey Sandker (5.1 points, 3.9 rebounds) and
Jenna Carter (3.6 points, 3.2 assists per game) also return, along with Abbie Wheeler, who finished last season with the second-best shooting percentage from behind the three-point line (37 percent). Sarah Gardner, the eighth player who saw significant time at the varsity level last season, is also back, having posted 4.5 points, two rebounds and two assists per game last year.
2019-2020 Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers Roster 0 11 12 20 21 30 31 32 33 41 42
Jordan Hollifield Taylor Bee Hailey Sampson Abbie Wheeler Sarah Gardner Jenna Carter Hailey Sandker Madison Burton Grace White Alli Stolz Abby Bingamon
BETHEL
Sophomore Senior Sophomore Senior Senior Senior Senior Senior Senior Junior Sophomore
FEB
22 25 2 5 7 9 12 16 21 27 28 2 4 6 13 16 20 25 27 30 3
at New Richmond 7:30 PM at East Clinton 7:30 PM Williamsburg 7:30 PM at Georgetown 7:30 PM West Union 1:30 PM at Felicity 7:30 PM CNE 7:30 PM Blanchester 7:30 PM at CCD 1:00 PM Reading 12:00 PM at TBD (Pepsi Classic) TBD Western Brown 7:30 PM Turpin 1:30 PM East Clinton 7:30 PM at Williamsburg 7:30 PM Georgetown 7:30 PM Felicity-Franklin 7:30 PM Batavia 7:30 PM at Cincinnati Trailblazers 7:30 PM at CNE 7:30 PM at Blanchester 7:30 PM
NOV DEC
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PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The West Clermont Lady Wolves finished the 2018-2019 season 16-8 overall, 10-4 in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference.
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Of those eight players, seven are seniors. Only Stolz is a junior. The Lady Tigers have three underclassmen on the roster this year, as sophomores Jordan Hollifield, Hailey Sampson and Abby Bingamon will fill yet-tobe-determined roles, according to Cropper. “We’re looking at some of our sophomores and freshman, but they’ve got their work cut out,” Cropper said. “I wouldn’t rule it out, we have younger kids who can step in and play some minutes for us.” ‘Us’ now includes Cropper’s son, Jake, who will serve as the team’s assistant coach this season. He’ll also coach the junior varsity team. Having his son on his staff is something Bernie Cropper is excited about, and understandably so. “I’m really happy about that,” Bernie Cropper said. “Jake was with me all the
time, since he could walk. He was always in the gym with me. He grew up in the gym bouncing the ball, going to all the games and practices. He’s my assistant, I couldn’t be more happier.” Jake Cropper wrapped up a four-year career at Mount St. Joes last year, finishing his senior year with an average of 15.5 points per game. He also has a sharp mind for the game, according to his father. “He’s got a good basketball mind,” Bernie Cropper said. “It’s going to be a big asset having him on the staff.” The Lady Tigers open the 2019-2020 season on the road in New Richmond on Friday, November 22. The team also is scheduled to compete in the Ripley Pepsi Classic December 27 and 28 at Ripley-Union-LewisHuntington High School.
Page 19
Sports Editor
The West Clermont Lady Wolves finished second in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference last year, and head coach Jeff Click thinks the team can battle for another title this season. It’ll be difficult, as if the league itself isn’t already. West Clermont lost several players from last season’s team, which will force the returners into bigger roles. “I think we’ve got some good pieces,” Click said. “It’s just a matter of they’ve never been the main focal point. That’s one of the things you have to get used to, you go from playing 12-15 minutes a game to now you have to play 26-30.” The team’s practices and scrimmages to this point have been helpful in preparing those players for their increased roles. “It’s been a good learning experience,” Click said. “We want to find out about ourselves as individuals and as a team. Each time we’ve gone
out, we’ve learned...I think we see glimpses of what we’re capable of doing but it’s a matter of everyone becoming more comfortable.” Click didn’t mince words with his team’s performance defensively thus far this preseason. “We’re atrocious,” Click said. “We do not have a clue how to guard people on the varsity level. That's going to take a little bit of time.” Click said the team the Lady Wolves put on the court in the season opener won’t resemble the one that takes the floor a month later. “What this team looks like right now and the first game of the year to by the end of December, they’re not going to look the same,” Click said. “They’re going to be a lot better as long as we stay healthy. It’s like that for any high school, you’ve got to stay healthy.” Two of the team’s key returners, juniors Kendall Hale and Marissa Jenike, are expected to have big roles on the team this season. They’ll be complimented by several
other players who fit together well, according to Click. “I like the way our pieces go together,” Click said. “We’ve got two, maybe three first-team all league. We just have to figure out depth.” The team also has to rethink their approach to games, as Click and company have switched things up this season. “It’s a different philosophy, totally different from the way we played last year,” Click said. “We’re just kind of going back to some things we’ve done in the past, and adding stuff that’s totally new.”
Click hopes the team is able to handle the physical play they’ll encounter in the ECC this season. “If we can be tough, I think we’ll be pretty good,” Click said. “That’s the test. If you want to be a good team, how tough are you? I think that’s what we’re learning to experience in scrimmages.” The Lady Wolves open the 2019-2020 season on Tuesday, November 26 at Oak Hills. The team starts league play over a week later, on December 4 against Turpin.
2019-2020 West Clermont Lady Wolves Roster
1 2 10 12 20 21 22 24 44 52
Alli Stahl Kaila Nutter Alexis Lovejoy Alissa White Amanda Lovejoy Marissa Jenike Kendall Hale Kaitlin Howe Courtney Stewart Willa Davis
Junior Senior Freshman Sophomore Senior Junior Junior Sophomore Senior Sophomore
WEST CLERMONT
26 4 7 9 11 14 18 19 21 28 3 6 8 11 13 15 18 20 25 1 5 8
at Oak Hills Turpin Milford Walnut Hills Withrow at Kings at Anderson Western Brown Loveland at Lebanon Springboro Little Miami at Ursuline Academy at Walnut Hills Wilmington at Turpin at Milford at Winton Woods at Withrow Kings Anderson at Loveland
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E V E N P A G E S
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Williamsburg boys shooting for SBAAC crown
Page 5
New coach, same goals for Lady Bulldogs
2019-2020 Williamsburg Wildcats Schedule DEC 3 6 10 17 19 21 28 JAN 3 7 10 11 14 17 18 21 28 31 FEB 4 7 11 15
O D D P A G E S
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Williamsburg Wildcats finished last season tied for third in the league at 7-5 overall. Williamsburg has six seniors on the roster this season.
2019-2020 Williamsburg Wildcats Roster 2 4 10 12 14 20 22 24 30 32 34 40 42
Loghan Kelley Kaidon Whisman Cameron Vaughn Carter Sunderman Austin Rapp Trent Kreimer Zach Earley Dyllan West Justyn Fuller Brayden Cummins Nick Boland Chris Selm Collin Klopfstein
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The 2018-2019 season wasn’t one for the record books at Williamsburg High School, but the Wildcats hope that experience makes
Senior Freshman Senior Freshman Senior Senior Freshman Senior Freshman Senior Junior Sophomore Freshman
this season a special one. Head coach Dan McKibben said last season was frustrating at times due to a lack of experience at the varsity level. “We were very inexperienced,’ McKibben said.
“We only had one senior with any kind of varsity experience. It was a learning process. I think we won a couple games early, kind of surprised some people. We had some injuries down the stretch, little tougher schedule and didn’t play as well.” Several players return from last year’s team, starting with first-team allleague honoree Trent Kreimer, who enters his senior season off a year in which he averaged 8.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Nick Boland, a junior, is the team’s returning leading scorer at 9.3 points. Senior Dyllan West hauled in 4.1 rebounds per game, tied with Boland for tops amongst returning Wildcats. “I’ve got six seniors back that all got significant experience last year,” McKibben said. “Hopefully that pays
some dividends now.” In addition to West and Kreimer, Loghan Kelley, Cameron Vaughn, Brayden Cummins and Austin Rapp enter their final season on the court for the Wildcats. They’re part of a roster that has shown growth since the end of last season, “We’ve gotten stronger,” McKibben said. “Lot of guys in the weight room in the offseason. All six of the seniors and the one junior, all seven of those guys got considerably stronger. We’ve got a couple guys that shoot it well, decent size, but so does everybody else.” Those seven upperclassmen are going to be the mainstays on the court for the Wildcats this winter, according to McKibben.
2019-2020 Batavia Lady Bulldogs Schedule
Batavia 7:30 PM at Blanchester 7:30 PM at Bethel-Tate 7:30 PM at Western Brown 7:30 PM Riverview East 7:30 PM Bracken County 7:30 PM Madeira 7:30 PM Felicity 7:30 PM at CNE 7:30 PM at East Clinton 7:30 PM at MVCA 7:30 PM Georgetown 7:30 PM Blanchester 7:30 PM at Lynchburg 10:00 AM Bethel-Tate 7:30 PM at Batavia 7:30 PM at Felicity 7:30 PM CNE 7:30 PM East Clinton 7:30 PM at Georgetown 7:30 PM at CCD 8:00 PM
“They’re going to have to carry a lot of load,” McKibben said. “That’s going to have to be most of our scoring. Hopefully we get some contributions from a couple freshman.” Williamsburg has five freshman listed on the varsity roster, an amount dictated by necessity, as the sophomore and junior classes are lacking in numbers. “We’ve only got one junior playing varsity, we only have one sophomore playing varsity,” McKibben said. “Both of those classes are down in numbers, that’s going to give an opportunity for the freshman.” The Clermont Sun’s preseason coaches poll ranked the Wildcats third in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference’s National Division, one point ahead of Felicity. Williamsburg trailed Blanchester and Clermont
Northeastern in that poll, but McKibben believes the Wildcats can compete with anyone in the league as long as the effort is there. “We’re not going to be the most talented team in the league,” McKibben said. “We’re going to have to outrebound some people, outhustle some people to be competitive in games. That’s something we’ve talked about a lot, giving good effort on both ends of the floor.” The Wildcats are scheduled to open the regular-season on Tuesday, December 3 with a home game against the Batavia Bulldogs. Later in the season, Williamsburg is scheduled to compete in the Coach Young Classic at North Adams High School. The Wildcats are slated to face Lynchburg-Clay at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 18.
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NOV 22 25 DEC 3 5 7 9 12 16 18 27 JAN 9 13 16 22 23 25 27 29 30 FEB 3 6
Williamsburg 7:30 PM at Wilmington 7:30 PM at Fayetteville 7:30 PM New Richmond 7:30 PM at Hillsboro 12:30 PM at Woodward 7:30 PM Goshen 7:30 PM at Western Brown 7:30 PM Felicity 7:30 PM CNE 4:00 PM at Clinton Massie 7:30 PM at Mariemont 7:30 PM Wilmington 7:30 PM at Williamsburg 7:30 PM at New Richmond 7:30 PM at Bethel-Tate 7:30 PM at Goshen 7:30 PM Gamble Montessori 7:30 PM Western Brown 7:30 PM Clinton Massie 7:30 PM at Blanchester 7:30 PM
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Batavia Lady Bulldogs enter the 2019-2020 season with a new head coach, Chris Scott (pictured, far left, second row). Batavia enters this season with three seniors on the roster.
2019-2020 Batavia Lady Bulldogs Roster 2 3 10 12 20 23 31 35 40 50
Taylor Myers Summer Stith Macie Mehlman Mia Wright Olivia Patel Maurincia Demmings Ladesha Hobbs Marianna Marcelli Madison Coyle Kennedy Williams
Senior Junior Senior Senior Sophomore Junior Junior Junior Sophomore Sophomore
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The start of the 20192020 season for the Batavia Lady Bulldogs’ basketball team is much different than the start of last season. In 2018, the squad saw a coaching change just before the start of workouts, as interim head coach Eric Brown replaced Jon Nau. This year, new head coach Chris Scott was
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brought in well before workouts began, allowing the transition to be as smooth as possible. “It’s going great,” Scott said. “The girls have bought into the system. We’re a happy bunch..I can see the bonding.” This year’s team is heavy on upperclassmen, with three seniors and four juniors on the roster. Of those seven players, two were named to all-conference teams last year. Senior Taylor Myers was a second-team selection as a junior, while junior Summer Stith was an honorable mention as a sophomore. Taylor and fellow senior Macie Mehlman are expected to be key in conference play this season, according to Scott. That duo, along with senior Mia Wright, bring a key aspect to the
team this season. “Leadership,” Scott said. “They’re leading practice, leading the drills. They’re there for anything I ask them to do.” Another key returner is an underclassmen. Olivia Patel was a first-team allconference selection last season, having averaged a team-best 12.2 points over 22 games last season. Myers is the team’s leading returning rebounder at 5.4 boards per game last year. She also led the team in assists per game (2.6). This year’s Batavia team won’t look like past squads, according to Scott. “They’re going to see these girls moving around a lot,” Scott said. “They’re going to be pushing the ball up and down the court. We’re not going to let teams beat us in transition. We’re going to beat them in transition and cause turnovers after that.”
Four of the 10 players that earned first-team allleague spots in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference graduated in the spring. Additionally, two secondteam performers and two honorable mentions also graduated. With so many players at other schools in the SBAAC graduating after last season, the league is wide open. Scott has a firm belief in how the Lady Bulldogs will finish this season. “We’re going to have a winning season,” Scott said. “I’m not shy to say it.” Batavia is scheduled to open the regular-season on Friday, November 22 at home against Williamsburg in a nonleague matchup. The game is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.
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Bulldogs looking to gain experience in ‘19-20
Lady Wildcats looking to continue strong run 2019-2020 Williamsburg Lady Wildcats Schedule
2019-2020 Batavia Bulldogs Schedule NOV DEC
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PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Batavia Bulldogs enter the 2019-2020 season with four seniors on the roster. Batavia finished last season 716 overall, 1-9 in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conferenceʼs American Division.
2019-2020 Batavia Bulldogs Roster 2 3 5 10 11 12 20 21 23 25 30 40
Shane Kongo Caleb Stewart Max Applegate Mick Heckard Robert Lisk Austin Hart Owen Wiscombe Aaron Stepp Mason Weisbrodt Kyle Gibbs Jeff Shepherd John Witt
Guard Forward Guard Guard Forward Guard Guard Guard Forward Forward Forward Forward
BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The Batavia Bulldogs boys’ basketball team faced a ton of adversity last season. From senior Nate Watson’s battle with cancer to late-season injuries, the Bulldogs were forced to overcome several obstacles during the 2018-2019 season. “We had a lot of adversity last year,” head coach Aaron Brose said. “I thought we
battled. I don’t think we played as well as we expected to going into the year, but I thought the effort was there the whole time. We just didn’t finish the way we were capable of.” Batavia lost several seniors from last season’s team. In addition to Watson, the Bulldogs lost Corbin Richardson, Kaleb Moell, Bryce Zenni, Jason Griffin, Adams Evans, and Ethan Berger.
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batavia
30 3 6 10 13 14 17 19 27 3 6 10 14 17 24 28 31 1 4 7 11
at Taylor 7:30 PM at Williamsburg 7:30 PM at Wilmington 7:30 PM at Eastern Brown 7:30 PM New Richmond 7:30 PM at Madeira 7:30 PM North Adams 7:30 PM at Felicity-Franklin 7:30 PM CNE 5:30 PM Goshen 7:30 PM Mount Healthy 7:30 PM at Western Brown 7:30 PM Blanchester 7:30 PM at Clinton Massie 7:30 PM Wilmington 7:30 PM Williamsburg 7:30 PM at New Richmond 7:30 PM at Blanchester 7:30 PM at Goshen 7:30 PM Western Brown 7:30 PM Clinton Massie 7:30 PM
“Those are all tough losses,” Brose said. “Our seniors that are coming back haven’t played a ton of minutes as far as those four. Hart’s done a great job picking up the leadership role.” This year’s Bulldogs have a balanced roster, with four seniors, juniors and sophomores on the roster. ”We’re going to have some growing pains, but I like where we’re at right now,” Brose said. “We’re challenging each other, which is good.” Of the 12 players on the roster, two will miss a bit of time. Junior Caleb Stewart is out until January, while Mick Heckard is expected to return sometime in December. Heckard and Stewart are both juniors, and any growth from them and their teammates this season would be contingent on them putting the work in during the offseason. “If they don’t work, you’re not getting better,” Brose said. “Our sophomores, as
well as our juniors and seniors, have been here. They get it and they’re working hard.” In terms of the team’s strength, Brose said the team’s shooting is one of the team’s strengths. “I’d say we can shoot it well. I think our guard play is going to be pretty good,” Brose said. “Our weakness will be our experience, but that’ll come. We’ve got a lot of guys who want to get better and they’ve worked really hard. Hopefully we can get that to carry over.” Brose said the team is going to have to hit the ground running this season, and so far, so good. “They’re going to have to play well early, and I think they will,” Brose said. “I think they’re ready for it. They’ve looked good at times during scrimmages, and they’ve looked bad at times. They’re sophomores and juniors, you’re going to have those things. They’re learning from it.”
Page 21
NOV DEC
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PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
The Williamsburg Lady Wildcats won a third straight SBAAC National Division title last season. Williamsburg returns all but three players off of last yearʼs team.
2019-2020 Williamsburg Lady Wildcats Roster
2 5 10 12 14 15 20 23 30 32 35
Emily Hart Kirstyn Thomas Bri Knox Camille McManus Lindsey Arwine Madi Ogden Paige Fisher Trinity Wainscott Whitney Connor Kiana Dauwe Katie Ervin
Senior Junior Sophomore Senior Sophomore Junior Junior Sophomore Freshman Junior Junior
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BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
The Williamsburg Lady Wildcats posted a third consecutive 20-win season last year en route to a third straight league title, and if they have their way this year, they’ll make it four in a row. Williamsburg’s 2018-2019 campaign was a solid one, as the team advanced to the district final before falling to Versailles. Gone from that team are Jessica and Alexis Chase, two players who finished with over 1,000 points in their career. The team also said goodbye to Laurin Ellis. “She was such a good-hearted kid,” head coach Mike Madsen said. “She gave everything she ever had, and the kids respected her. To lose three players like that, it’s tough at a small school to find replacements. I think we found
some.” This year’s Williamsburg team is anchored by a strong junior class and a pair of talented seniors in Emily Hart and Camille McManus. The experience those players have is one of the Lady Wildcat’s strengths this season. “A lot of people look at, ‘Oh, this is a junior team, this is their first year of varsity experience’ and that’s not the case,” Madsen said. “[Paige] Fisher, [Madi] Ogden, [Kiana] Dauwe, [Katie] Ervin, [Kirstyn] Thomas…all of them have some level of varsity experience. They’re all capable players who I really enjoy coaching.” Madsen continued, saying the team’s camaraderie makes them enjoyable to coach. “This team plays so well together,” Madsen said. “They feed off of one another so well, it’s fun to coach this team.” One of the team’s two
williamsburg
22 25 2 9 12 16 27 30 2 6 9 13 18 20 22 23 25 27 30 3 6
at Batavia at Blanchester at Bethel-Tate at Western Brown Felicity at CNE Leesburg Fairfield Goshen at East Clinton Georgetown Blanchester Bethel-Tate at North Adams at Eastern Brown Batavia Felicity Greenfield McClain CNE at East Clinton at Georgetown Cincy Trailblazers
seniors, McManus, said she’s looking forward to spending time with her teammates during her senior season. “I want to have fun with the season, don’t worry about wins or losses and have fun with everybody,” McManus said. Hart’s goals were similar, though she noted she would also like to add a second league title this year to the school’s trophy case. “I’d like to get another league title for my senior year. it’d be fun,” Hart said. “We did it in soccer, I’d like to do it in basketball.” In terms of expectations for the season, the Lady Wildcats’
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head coach expects the entire division to be tough this season. “I think the National Division this year could take the crown in the crossover game,” Madsen said. That lofty praise for the National Division as a whole would signify a difficult task ahead of Williamsburg this winter, but Fisher said the Lady Wildcats are up to the task. “We have a lot of high expectations,” Fisher said. “We’re going to meet them again this year.”
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E V E N P A G E S
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WB, Blanchester earn preseason SBAAC nods BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
O D D P A G E S
A total of six votes separated the two champions from the two runner-up boys basketball squads in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference. In the American Division, Western Brown tallied 26 points to edge New Richmond for first place. The Lions totaled 22 points, four ahead of the third-place Goshen Warriors. Goshen’s 18 points were one better than the fourthplace squad, Wilmington. Clinton-Massie (13) and Batavia (9) were voted into fifth and sixth, respectively. Four different teams received at least one firstplace vote in the league. One coach said he could see any of five schools winning the league title. “[It’s] completely wide open. Every team graduates major pieces and brings
back good players. [Zyon] Tull is my preseason pick for player of the year.” Tull, a junior for Western Brown, only started eight games last season. He averaged 14 points and 3.4 rebounds as a sophomore. Clinton-Massie won the league title in 2018-2019, finishing 8-2 overall. Western Brown and Goshen tied for second at 6-4. Over in the National Division, things were even closer. Blanchester earned three of the five first-place votes to slip past Clermont Northeastern for first place with 33 points. The Rockets came in second with 31. While the Wildcats earned the preseason nod, one coach gave the edge to the Rockets due to the overall talent on the team’s roster. “It looks like a two-team battle between CNE and Blanchester. Both have very good star players leading the way. I think CNE may have a little better supporting cast and depth.”
The teams in third through seventh place were separated by just five votes. Williamsburg (18 points) placed third, just ahead of Felicity (17). East Clinton and Georgetown tied for fifth with 14 points. Bethel-Tate totaled 13 points and placed seventh. Last season, Georgetown went undefeated in the league, posting a perfect 12-0 mark under Doug Williams. Williams is now the head coach at Western High School in Latham, Ohio. CNE placed second last season at 9-3, with Blanchester and Williamsburg tying for third at 7-5. Votes and comments were collected until Friday, November 15. First-place votes were worth seven points in the National Division and six in the American. Second-place votes were worth six (five in the American Division) and so on.
Receiv Months Receivee 66 Months
1. Blanchester (3) 2. CNE (2) 3. Williamsburg 4. Felicity T5. East Clinton T5. Georgetown 7. Bethel-Tate
1. Western Brown (2) 2. New Richmond (1) 3. Goshen (1) 4. Wilmington (1) 5. Clinton-Massie 6. Batavia
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2019-2020 SBAAC Boys Basketball Clermont Sun Coaches Poll Results
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Skyler Schmidt and the Clermont Northeastern Rockets were chosen to finish second in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conferenceʼs National Division.
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TIP-OFF ‘19 - ‘20 BASKETBALL SECTION •
tip-off ‘19 - ‘20 Basketball Section
Walnut Hills, Turpin named ECC favorites BY GARTH SHANKLIN Sports Editor
Last season, the Walnut Hills High School girls basketball team rolled to a league title and a spot in the regional semifinals. They’re projected to do at least one of those two things again this year. The Lady Eagles earned all but one first-place vote in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference coaches poll, finishing with a total of 47 points. The lone first-place vote that didn’t go to Walnut Hills went to Loveland. The lady Tigers earned 41 points and placed second. West Clermont drew third place, finishing with 35 points. Anderson (32 points) placed fourth in the poll. Milford and Kings tied for fifth with 19 points each.
Turpin (15) and Withrow (8) rounded out the standings. Coaches in the league called it ‘competitive’ with one coach saying, ‘The league runs through Walnut Hills, as they have proven themselves to be one of the top teams in the state.’ The boys poll did not see a repeat champion. Turpin drew three of the five firstplace votes, tallying 38 points to take first place. Walnut Hills earned one first-place vote and 34 points, good for second. The defending champion West Clermont Wolves didn’t earn a first-place vote, but they were picked third with 30 points. Withrow (21) and Milford (20) were chosen to place fourth and fifth, respectively. Kings tallied 15 points to place sixth. Loveland (14) drew seventh place, with
Anderson (8) in eighth place. There’s a noticeable dropoff after the top three teams in the poll, and one coach explained why each of those top three squads is difficult to face. “Turpin brings back a lot of talent and probably the best scorer in the conference. Turpin is very wellcoached as well. Walnut Hills is always loaded with talent and will give you a good battle every night. West Clermont has a dominant post player that will force teams to have a good game plan. After those three teams I think it is pretty wide open.” Votes and comments were collected until Friday, November 15. First-place votes were worth eight points. Second-place votes earned six points, and so on.
BT, Wilmington unanimous girls champs BY GARTH SHANKLIN
2019-2020 Eastern Cincinnati Conference Clermont Sun Coaches Poll Results
GIRLS 1. Walnut Hills (5) 2. Loveland (1) 3. West Clermont 4. Anderson T5. Milford T5. Kings 7. Turpin 8. Withrow
BOYS 47 41 35 32 19 19 15 8
1. Turpin (3) 2. Walnut Hills (1) 3. West Clermont 4. Withrow (1) 5. Milford 6. Kings 7. Loveland 8. Anderson
Results of the SBAAC Coaches Polls are on pages 22-23
38 34 30 21 20 15 14 8
Page 23
Sports Editor
The Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers and Wilmington Lady Hurricane are the teams to beat in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference this season, according to the league’s coaches. Both teams were unanimous selections to win the league crown. In the American Division, Wilmington finished with 30 points and all five firstplace votes. Western Brown was chosen to place second. The Lady Broncos collected 24 total points, earning all but one second-place vote. New Richmond (15 points) placed third, with Goshen (14) right behind. Batavia (13) placed fifth in the poll, followed by Clinton-Massie. One coach called the league ‘wide open,’ with another praising fellow coaches in the league. “The coaches in the league are outstanding,” one SBAAC American Division coach said. “Your
team will have to be prepared every night to have a chance to win.” Wilmington won the league title in 2018-2019, finishing 10-0 in league play and 19-5 overall. Goshen and Western Brown both went 7-3. Clinton-Massie, New Richmond and Batavia rounded out the final three spots. In the National Division, the Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers were chosen as the unanimous league favorites to win the school’s first outright league crown since at least 2008. The team shared the title with Williamsburg in 2017. The Lady Tigers earned 49 points to finish first. Georgetown finished second with 38 points, edging out Williamsburg by one point. CNE was chosen fourth with 26 points. East Clinton tallied 19 points to slot in fifth place. Felicity (15) placed sixth, with Blanchester (12) in seventh. One coach said the 20192020 season could be the
most competitive season in the last decade, while another went into a bit more detail explaining the thought process behind their votes. “I feel it will be a battle between Bethel Tate, Williamsburg, and Georgetown. I give the slight edge to Bethel over the other two because of their size and returning everybody from last year. CNE will continue to get better with their coach being in his second year. I think the league will be very competitive and fun to watch this year.” Williamsburg won the SBAAC National Division title in 2018-2019, finishing 12-0 overall. Georgetown and BethelTate both went 9-3 to tie for second. Votes and comments were collected until Friday, November 15. First-place votes were worth seven points in the National Division and six in the American. Second-place votes were worth six (five in the American Division) and so on.
2019-2020 SBAAC Girls Basketball Clermont Sun Coaches Poll Results
NATIONAL 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Bethel-Tate (7) Georgetown Williamsburg CNE East Clinton Felicity Blanchester
AMERICAN 49 38 37 26 19 15 12
1. Wilmington (5) 2. Western Brown 3. New Richmond 4. Goshen 5. Batavia 6. Clinton-Massie
30 24 15 14 13 9
open
PHOTO / GARTH SHANKLIN
Head coach Bernie Cropper and the Bethel-Tate High School girls basketball team earned all seven first-place votes in the National Division coaches poll.
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