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Page 2 • ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL
Palmer returns to young and talented Lady Hounds Manchester girls have new coach, new style
BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
It’s been four years since Shawn Palmer roamed the sidelines as the head coach of the Manchester Lady Greyhounds, but now he is back as the top man, inheriting a team that finished 13-8 last season and is loaded with young talent, ready to make a run in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference and beyond. With five seniors on the roster, the Hounds will still rely heavily on underclassmen to navigate their way through the rigors of the 2018-19 season. The senior class for the Lady Hounds is a group that will provide two things for Palmer, solid
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play and solid leadership. Manchester has two juniors, four sophomores, and two freshmen on their preseason roster, giving the coach numerous options on both ends of the court. The senior class for the 2018-19 Lady Hounds consists of Kaitlyn Palmer, Darrington White, McKenzie Smith, Josie Campbell, and Abby McFarland, all who have their own way of contributing to the team’s success. “I have a great senior class,” says Coach Palmer. “I’m counting on them to be the leaders and set the example for our young kids. The junior class is made
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up of Taylor Morrison and Madison Jones, while a talented sophomore group includes Brooke Kennedy, Karigan Turner, Emily Sweeney, Abby Young, and Yasmin Lucas. The key returnee for the Lady Hounds will be sophomore Kennedy, who seems to nightly put up double-double numbers and will likely rack up numerous postseason accolades as she did her freshman season when she averaged 12 points and 12 rebounds per game. The squad gets even younger when two freshmen join
the starting lineup in guard slots, McKenzie Morrison and Hannah Hobbs. Morrison fired in 15 points in the Lady Hounds’ season opening win over Whiteoak and Hobbs is one of the most athletic girls in the Manchester program. “McKenzie has played a lot of basketball and Hannah is such a gifted athlete, and so smooth, especially on defense,” said Palmer. “If McKenzie can have some big nights for us, we will really be in good shape.” “Offensively we have to
be a team that attacks the basket,” says Coach Palmer. “We’ve relied on the three-pointer a little too much in the preseason. We will try to get up and down the floor a lot and you will now see us playing a lot of man to man defense. It’s going to be a different style of basketball and I think that will give a lot of teams trouble and be a fun team to watch.” The Lady Hounds were picked by the SHAC coaches to finish third in the small school division, behind Peebles and Fairfield and will face a non-conference schedule that will feature the likes
of Portsmouth Clay, Portsmouth City, New Boston, Southeastern, Lucasville Valley, South Webster, Western Latham, and Adena. “I know that North Adams, Eastern, and Lynchburg should be our toughest competition,” added Palmer. “I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t beat everyone else and if we come out ready to play every night, we can compete with anyone. I’ve been preaching that to these girls from day one.” The 2018-19 Lady Hounds’ schedule can be found at http://www.mlsd.us/Athleti csDept.aspx.
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ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL • Page 11
Ready for another exciting winter on the hardwood
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The 2018-19 Manchester Lady Greyhounds. Front row, from left, Abby McFarland, Darrington White, McKenzie Smith, Kaitlyn Palmer, and Josie Campbell; Back row, from left, Madison Jones, Karigan Turner, Brooke Kennedy, Taylor Morrison, Yasmin Lucas, Emily Sweeney, and McKenzie Morrison. Absent from the phto was Hannah Hobbs. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
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ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL • Page 3
Page 10 • ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL
Dragons From page 9
O D D P A G E S
step in as a freshman and give us good varsity minutes, � said the WUHS head man. “Every time he is on the floor he will handle the ball and get us up and down and I think he is going to surprise a lot of people and I don’t think being a freshman will phase him at all. Tanner Neal might be under-sized but he will outwork anybody and is not afraid to guard anyone. Brycen might be the strongest player on the team, setting screens and I know he will give us solid minutes. If Jordan Lamphier can just make some plays when he is in there, it can be nothing but a plus for us.� This year the SHAC coach’s poll has the
Green Devils From page 7
can have some bad possessions now and then, but we have to find a way to overcome them and get back into our rhythm. Just play with some energy and have some fun out there.�
Dragons picked fourth in the big school division, falling behind Ripley, Eastern Brown, and North Adams, again providing bulletin board material and motivation for the West Union troops. “I look for Eastern Brown to be very solid and I really think Fairfield will be the surprise in the small school division,� says Kingsolver. “Peebles will be young but they have Josh Arey on the sidelines and North Adams will be a really good team by the end of the year. I still think we might have the most athletic team in the conference so we will see how it all plays out.� The 2018-19 nonc0nference schedule for West Union will include contests with Piketon, Dayton Northridge in a
In an odd scheduling quirk, the Green Devils open the 2018-19 season with three non-conference clashes before playing their first conference game on Dec. 11 at Fayetteville. The nonconference schedule for the Green Devils includes Minford (who they defeated 49-47 on a late basket by McCormick),
game played at Rio Grande on Dec. 8, Western Latham, Augusta, Fairland in the Coach Young Classic, Portsmouth West, Northwest, and a change for a little revenge on Feb. 9 when they travel to Southeastern. The entire 2018-19 schedule can be found on the school’s website at https://wuhs.ovsd.us/. “All of those non-conference games will be a challenge for us,� said Kingsolver. “We gave up a home game to play on the college floor at Rio Grande. It won’t be easy and any wins will help up in the tournament draw.� “For us to be successful this year, we have to work hard and not take any days off, practice or games. We have to be consistent from start to finish.�
South Gallia at Rio Grande on Dec. 8, Batavia, Portsmouth Clay, Chesapeake, Racine Southern, Lucasville Valley, and Northwest. The complete 2018-19 North Adams schedule can be found on the school’s website at https://nahs.ovsd.us/Athle tics.
Indians From page 8
Tuesday, Dec. 4 trip to Eastern Brown, the team picked second in the big school division. No matter whether his team is young or loaded
Lady Devils From page 3
hardware collection. To repeat, the Lady Devils face an uphill climb in the big school division which includes favorites Eastern Brown and Lynchburg. Every season, Coach Davis chooses to play a tough non-conference schedule, which usually pays off for his teams
Lady Dragons From page 5 said Kirker. “We to be disciplined and take care of the ball, we can’t make stupid passes and we have to be smart. I think we will be better at it this year with the seniors that we will have on the floor.� “On defense, we will probably pressure the ball more than in the past, full court and half court pressure.� The Southern Hills
with seniors like last year, Coach Arey will play a challenging nonconference schedule. This year those out-ofconference affairs will include match ups with Felicity, New Boston, Clermont Northeastern, Western Latham,
Chesapeake, Portsmouth Clay, Portsmouth Notre Dame, and Federal Hocking. The complete 2018-19 Peebles schedule can be found on the school’s website at http://www.peebles.scoc a-k12.org/.
when tournament time rolls around. This year’s non-conference battles will include Paint Valley, Southeastern, Oak Hill, Northwest, Chesapeake, Blanchester, Huntington, and a regular season finale at Miami Trace. “We have to shoot the ball well to be successful. We seem to do that in practice but then lose that touch come game time. I think our defense
will be okay and we will be a team that applies pressure, which is no big secret. We have to get in better shape, but overall, I think we will be fun to watch. Our youth will show at times but we will be alright.� The entire 2018-19 Lady Devils schedule can be found on the school’s website at https://nahs.ovsd.us/Athl etics/Schedules.
Athletic Conference coach’s poll tabbed the Lady Dragons for fourth place in the loaded big school division, behind Eastern Brown, North Adams, and Lynchburg. “Eastern is really strong and you have to put Lynchburg right up there just because they have the best player in the conference in Peyton Scott,� says Coach Kirker. “Don’t ever discount North Adams because they have Rob Davis on the sideline, he can always get his girls
to play.� The non-conference slate includes Northwest, Huntington, Bethel-Tate, Augusta, Piketon, Georgetown, St. Patrick, and Felicity. The complete schedule can be found on the school’s website at https://wuhs.ovsd.us/. “I think we can upset some teams,� says Kirker. “But we just have to come out and be ready to play every night. We’ll just have to see what happens.�
From seniors to sophomores, Lady Devils go ‘young’ North Adams replaces departed seniors with youth BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
A pair of 1,000 point scores and five more girls who all contributed in various ways. That is what North Adams Lady Devils head coach Rob Davis was facing when he gathered his 2018-19 squad together for their first practice. No longer on the court for Coach Davis were 1,000 point scorers Avery Harper and Lakyn Hupp, plus a quartet of other graduatesMadee Shipley, Taylor Hesler, Brooklyn Wylie, Brooklyn Stout, Jordan Slack, and McKayla Raines. That’s a big task for any coach to handle, but for the Lady Devils those
who departed will be replaced with an influx of youth. Last year’s Lady Devils put together one of the most memorable seasons in school history, finishing 204 and advancing to the Division III district championship game, where they fell to Fairland. To repeat that this winter, the reins have been handed over to the “young�. This year’s North Adams roster will only boast a single senior, Grace McDowell, who averaged over 9 points a game last season and will be counted on to provide much more than that this winter, and to provide leadership for the nine underclassmen who
join her in the locker room. There are two juniors returning for the Lady Devils in Mary Sonner and Carolyn Shupert, and the remainder of the roster is a talented sophomore class, made up of Wylie Shipley, Karissa Buttelwerth, Braylie Jones, Marah Call, Brianna Robinson, DeLaney Harper, and Faith Howell. No one doubts that Davis, is his 19th season at the helm of the Lady Devils, will mold his young group into a very competitive team that will win many more games than they lose. Their abilities were showcased in their season opener when they raced to a 20-point halftime
Best of luck t o to area all the area teams! teams!
advantage over favored Lynchburg, and even though the Lady Mustangs eventually pulled that game out in overtime, the North Adams potential was on full display. “We are going to be athletic, just we have to keep our effort at 100% all the time we are on the floor,� says Coach Davis. “They are young and they are learning and there are going to be rough spots for them.� The shooting of McDowell will be one of the big keys to the success of this year’s Lady Devils as she brings the most varsity experience to the table. Sonner will be splitting point guard duties and also be one of the most tena-
cious North Adams defenders, while Shupert provides another three-point shooting threat. “Grace isn’t real vocal, but we need her to be more vocal for us this year with this young bunch, and we need her to defend and rebound,� said Davis. “Mary and Carolyn will both play hard and they both practice hard.� The two sophomores projected to be two of the team’s top scorers are Shipley and Harper. Shipley may be the most athletic player on the roster and besides her ability to score, her length will make her a defender that opponents will have to deal with. Harper will hope to fill the shoes of her graduated sister and provide a consistent scoring threat in the paint to allow the Lady
Devils to play an inside-out game in the half court. Buttelwerth brings even more athletic ability and her left-handed hot while Jones will be one of the toughest, hard-nosed players whenever she is on the court. Call, Robinson, and Howell will all come off the bench and be expected to give those valuable minutes, along with bringing some size to the lineup at any given time. “DeLaney doesn’t have to be Avery, we just need her to be herself and go out there and play hard and give us all she has,� says Davis. Last season’s squad finished 12-1 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, adding yet another conference title trophy to their
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The 2018-19 North Adams Lady Devils. Front row, from left, Faith Howell, DeLaney Harper, Grace McDowell, Wylie Shipley, and Brianna Robinson; Back row, from left, Carolyn Shupert, Mary Sonner, Marah Call, Karissa Buttelwerth, and Braylie Jones. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
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Lady Indians are young, athletic, and hungry
Don’t Blink! You might miss the Dragons
BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
Page 4 • ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL
Sophomore-laden Peebles squad favored in SHAC There’s nothing wrong with being young, we’d all like another dose of youth somewhere in those sweet teas we but at McDonald’s every day. For a high school girls basketball team, being young is not a bad thing wither, especially if that youth is also quite talented. That is the situation facing third-year Peebles Lady Indians head coach Billie Jo Justice as she leads her team into the 2018-19 season. With only two seniors on the roster, the Lady Indians are young and hungry, coming off a solid 17-7 2017-18 season that saw them advance to the Division IV District
championship game, as well as a tie for second place in the small school division of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. The Lady Indians lost four seniors to graduationMcKinlee Ryan, Matti Nichols, Baylee Justice, and Kaitlin Willey. This year’s roster has just the two seniors, Jerilin Toller and Kylie Sims. At press time, Toller’s status was still up in the air after suffering a hand injury. Four juniors are part of the 2018-19 Lady IndiansHarlee Wilkinson, Madison Beekman, Tatum Arey, and Hope Brown, while the sophomore class consists of Jacey Justice, Kyndell Lloyd, Taylor Cluxton, and Lilly Gray.
“A lot of our kids don’t have experience at the varsity level, and someone like Kylie Sims who was JV last year is now going to be running the point for us on offense,” said Coach Justice. “It’s still a different mentality for these girls moving to the varsity level.” Justice returns to the hardwood after an outstanding freshman season, where she collected numerous postseason awards after averaging nearly 20 points a game. This season she will again be
counted on to provide the scoring punch, which she did with 33 points in the team’s opening win over Fayetteville. Other teams will obviously arrange their defensive plan around stopping the 5’7” sophomore and Coach Justice needs the surrounding cast to step up. “We know that teams are going to look to stop Jacey,” says the Peebles head coach. “What we then need is all of our other girls to score and do all the other little things well that will make us a
complete team.” “I like our team, they’re athletic and can get up and down the floor,” says Coach Justice. “We’re definitely going to be a fun team to watch, though we still have things to work on. Hopefully we can take all our strengths and turn them into positives for us.” The coaches in the SHAC have high regard for the Peebles squad, picking them to win the small school division. “When you look all the way across the board in the SHAC, they’re really aren’t too many givens,” says
Justice. “You better be ready to play every time out, there’s good players on every team, and every coach is pushing their kids. It’s a very competitive conference.” On the non-conference side, the Lady Indians will battle Felicity, Reedsville Eastern, Southeastern, New Boston, Western Latham, Miami Trace, Clermont Northeastern, and a team they knocked off in last year’s district semi-finals, Federal Hocking. The entire schedule can be found at http://www.peebles.scocak12.org/.
Good Luck Area Teams!
ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL • Page 9
Kingsolver inherits up-tempo, athletic squad Have the seat belts ready. If you are in attendance this winter at a West Union High School boys varsity basketball game, you better strap in or you will either get blown away or blink and miss a whole lot of action in a short period of time. First-year head coach Austin Kingsolver inherits a squad that is athletic, fast, and talented, and they make no bones about the fact the fact they will try to score as many points as they can in their up-tempo style and basically dare teams to try and score more. For the first time in 29 seasons, the
Dragons are coming off a championship year, one in which they were picked to finish dead last in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, but instead put together a 10-3 conference mark (16-6 overall), good enough to capture a big school division championship, their first SHAC title since 1979, but it was a season that ended in major disappointment when the Dragons were ousted by Southeastern in their first sectional tournament game. Last season they Dragons were led by Coach Greg Himes, who only stayed for one season, being replaced by Kingsolver, who had been leading the West
GO DRAGONS!
Union JV squad for the past three years. Despite the loss seven seniors from last year’s title team, the cupboard was not bare for the Dragons, who will this winter be anchored by a solid group of six seniors: Ryan Rothwell, Jordan Lamphier, Tanner Neal, Clayton Madden, Bowan Tomlin, and Conner Campbell. “We lost a lot of seniors but we have a good group of seniors returning, most of whom have seen a good bit of varsity time,” says Kingsolver. “We hopefully can build off of last year and keep the ball rolling here and it helps to have a hard-working group of kids who know my system. We need our seniors to be
vocal leaders on and off the floor, lift up our younger players. They have to mentor our younger kids and push they to be better every day and then we don’t have a falling off next season.” “Ryan Rothwell is one of the most athletic kids I’ve ever seen and he will work hard for all his points and has to be the life of our defense, I’m glad he is on my side, just a gritty, athletic, work your butt off kind of player. Bowan has spent a lot of time in the gym working on his game and I would argue that he might be the most improved player in the conference this year. He is a complete player. Conner may be the fastest kid in the area and
he will be the guy who creates the fast break opportunities for us and he will likely defend the opposition’s fastest, most athletic player. “Clayton Madden works hard every day,” continued Kingsolver. “He’s not our biggest offensive threat and defense may be his strong suit and he is going to hustle and pick up all of those garbage buckets off of loose balls and such.” The juniors on the roster will include Brycen Staten, Dakota Jarvis, and Zane Kingsolver, along with sophomores Braxton Blanton and Clayton Jones, and freshman Cameron Campbell, who will likely see significant minutes off the bench or even in a starting role. Taking over the Dragons, Kingsolver will have the
unique distinction of coaching his younger brother Zane, who came on strong at the end of last season. “At the end of last year, he was a completely different,” said the West Union coach of his younger sibling. “He had 21 rebounds in that tournament loss and his length will give teams problems and the outside jump shot that he has developed will only make him better. I think he will be a big piece of our success this year.” The Dragons will not be as deep as they were last season, but Kingsolver will still need contributions off of the reserve players that he has available on any given night. “I think Cameron will
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The 2018-19 Peebles Lady Indians. Front row, from left, Jacey Justice, Jerilyn Toller, Kylie Sims, and Christian Reed; Back row, from left, Lily Gray, Madison Beekman, Hope Brown, Tatum Arey. (Photo by Carla Wesley)
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The 2018-19 West Union Dragons. Front row, from left, Clayton Madden, Tanner Neal, Conner Campbell, Bowan Tomlin, Ryan Rothwell, and Jordan Lamphier; Back row, from left, Manager Connor Grooms, Brycen Staten, Clayton Jones, Braxton Blanton, Zane Kingsolver, Dakota Jarvis, Cameron Campbell, Head Coach Austin Kingsolver, and Manager T.J. Liston. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
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Page 8 • ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL
Transition year ahead for Arey and the Indians Eight seniors leave, no seniors left for Peebles BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
O D D P A G E S
It seems to be a common theme with this season’s Adams County basketball squads, girls or boys- there were a lot of losses to graduation and a lot of holes to fill to
replace those departed seniors. Nowhere may that have more impact than in Peebles, where Coach Josh Arey and the Indians are coming off one of the most memorable season in school history. Last year’s Indians made a remark-
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able run to the Elite Eight in Division IV, before being downed by Berlin Hiland, finishing with an overall record of 21-6, but saying farewell to eight seniors, including the dynamic duo of Tanner Arey and Bostin Robinson, who combined to average over 40 points a game in their final seasons in the read and white, while being named First and Second Team All-District respectively. Also gone are Conner Browning, Wade Shiveley, Colten Ball, Blake Hawes, Blake Smalley, and Andrew Shannon, so not only did the Indians lose nearly all of their scoring but they also lost nearly all of their size, leaving Coach Arey and his staff with the job of transitioning their 2018-19 squad from
an experienced group to a team that has not a single senior on the roster. Peebles lost 80% of its starting lineup and the only returning starter is a good one, junior point guard Weston Browning, who logged more minutes last season on the floor than any other Indians and came on strong during the team’s big tourney run. Browning averaged over seven assists a game last season, slowly creeping up the school’s alltime assist list,but this year his role will change as he will be counted on to pick up some of the scoring that was lost to graduation. “We’ve got to keep getting better and overcome all those things, but I like the direction we’re headed,” says Coach Arey. “I think we may have the
best point guard around in Weston Browning and yes, we are young, but I think we’ll get to the point where we need to be.” In preseason action, though certainly subject to change, the Peebles starting lineup has consisted of Browning plus juniors Dylan Shulaw, Alex Camp, and Kyle Lightner, and sophomore Hunter White. Somewhere in that group must come some scoring punch, and the reserves who will be coming off the bench are a young group, other than junior Gage Crothers. The rest of the bench will be made up of sophomoresDawson Mills, Oakley Burba, Bryce Willoughby, Brock Johnson, Franklin Myers, and Easton Wesley, who at 6’4” is the tallest player on the Indians’ roster. “I think we’ve done
more teaching in our practices thus far than we have in years past because we have so many guys without varsity experience,” said Coach Arey. “But it’s been fun to get back in there a little bit, roll up the sleeves, and get back to basics. Hopefully by January we’ll start showing that all the hard work pays off.” Last season, the Indians finished 11-2 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, winning the small school division by five games over secondplace Fayetteville. This year the SHAC coaches picked the Indians to finish third, behind Fairfield and Whiteoak, both of whom had already suffered conference losses at press time, with the Indians opening their conference slate with a
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ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL • Page 5
It’s ‘Senior’ Year for the Lady Dragons Healthy group of five will lead Kirker’s West Union squad BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
You can forgive West Union Lady Dragons head coach J.R. Kirker is his smile is a little bigger right now than in years past. After seasons of seeing his starters sitting on the sidelines with crutches and knee braces in a string of injury bad luck, Kirker’s 2018-19 squad of Lady Dragons is a full speed as the season begins and with a starting lineup of five seniors, it’s the time for the West Union girls to put that senior leadership to the test. Seniors Mackenzie
Bickett, Jaycee Baldwin, and Harley Silvia all return from knee injuries and surgeries to rejoin classmates McKenzie Kirker and Kiersten Rowe to form a very solid starting group, one that Kirker has been waiting for as he enters his third year at the helm of the Lady Dragons. Last year’s team, racked by injuries, finished at 4-17, but health brings optimism for the 2018-19 campaign. “This group played well in junior high and won a bunch of games and have had a tough high school career,” said Coach Kirker. “Now it’s
Here’s to a Slam-Dunk Season
time to do the job, just cross your fingers that we don’t go through another season like last year. They did make it through their sophomore year together but that’s the only time they all stayed together a whole season.” “McKenzie Kirker will handle most of our point guard duties and I’ve told her that she doesn’t have to take every shot but she has to take the open shots to keep the defense honest. Bickett will have to give us an outside threat once she gets past the nerves of coming back with her knee, but I think she will score for us. Jaycee and Kiersten will do a lot of inside-outside as Rowe might have been our best outside shooter
last year. Harley was having a great season last year until she went down with her knee, so we will expect big things from her coming back.” After the senior group, the Lady Dragons become a very young team, as Kirker expects freshman Lexie Rowe to be the sixth man and maybe even start at some point during the season. “Lexie has to take care of the ball and not try to do too much but I think she will be a big role player for us and she could conceivably start some games,” says Kirker. “She can give us some intensity on the defensive end which will pass on to the other girls and I look for her to have
a big season.” There is only one junior on the roster, Abbey Carroll, and one sophomore, Kendra Grooms, plus four more freshmenKaitlyn Davis, Maddie Taylor, Molly Purcell, and Christian Shivener. At press time, the Lady Dragons were planning on playing JV games, something they have struggled with in recent seasons because of low numbers. “I think the freshman group will surprise some people and give us some quality varsity minutes,” says Kirker. “With that, we will go deeper than we have in recent years.” “We will have to mix it up a lot on offense,” says the WUHS head coach. “We can’t run for 32 minutes so we’ll have to slow the pace down against
some teams and try to push it against teams that can’t run with us. We might be one of the quicker teams around when everyone is full-go. I would prefer to get it up and down the floor though and we have to get touches in the paint and play an inside-outside game.” In the past, the downfall of the Lady Dragons in many games has been their propensity to turn the ball over and Kirker knows that for the team to have any level of success, those numbers have to drastically fall. “Our first practice of the season I told the girls that if we turn the ball over 600 times like we did last year, we’re not going to win ball games,”
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Good luck to all of the High School Basketball Team players. We hope this season is a winner, all the way to the finals! The 2018-19 Peebles Indians. Front row, from left, Head Coach Josh Arey, Gage Crothers, Dylan Shulaw, Weston Browning, Alex Camp, Kyle Lightner, and Assistant Coach Michael Walls; Back row, from left, Assistant Coach Dayne Puckett, Assistant Coach Tim Grooms, Bryce Willoughby, Brock Johnson, Oakley Burba, Easton Wesley, Dawson Mills, Franklin Myers, Hunter White, and JV Coach Chris Reed. (Photo by Carla Wesley)
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The 2018-19 West Union Lady Dragons. Front row, from left, Kendra Grooms, McKenzie Kirker, Kiersten Rowe, Harley SIlvia, Mackenzie Bickett, Jaycee Baldwin, and Molly Purcell; Middle row, from left, Abby Carroll, Christian Shivener, Maddie Taylor, Lexie Rowe, Cayden Francis, Kaitlyn Davis, and Manager T.J. Liston; Back row, from left, Assistant Coach Frankie Rowe and Head Coach J.R. Kirker. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
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Page 6 • ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL
Inexperienced Greyhounds looking for fresh start Greg Scott takes over the reins of the MHS boys program BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
With the tumultuous 617 2017-18 season behind them, the Manchester Greyhound boys basketball program is looking for a new start, with a new head coach, and a lot of new faces as the 2018-19 campaign begins. The school’s all-time leading scorer, Greg Scott, was hired as the new varsity boys coach and he inherits a team that is short on experience and looking to fill numerous holes left by graduation. Gone fro m last year’s squad are Gage Lucas, Ethan Pennywitt, Jamie Combs, and Tanner Utterback, 80% of last season’s starting lineup plus the majority of the team’s offensive output. This year’s Greyhounds will have seven seniors on the roster, but only one with
any extensive varsity experience, that being Jacob Calvert. After coaching in the junior high program last season, Scott begins his first varsity job with help on the sidelines from Jeff Stricklett, a familiar face in the Manchester area. “With his 18 years of coaching experience, Jeff will be a valuable addition as our varsity assistant,” says Scott. “We’re following a lot of his experience and I’m comfortable with that and we will work great together.” “We are leaning on a lot of juniors and sophomores this season and we have freshmen who will see a lot of court t ime. We’re young as far as our depth but they have to learn sometime. This year has been a big learning curve for even the older players, learning a different style with a lot more structure
which we will have to be to compete. We need our older boys to give the younger players some stability.” After Calvert, the Hounds will rely on senior Brody Francis to handle some of the point guard duties with classmate Isa iah Redmon picking up the scoring slack. The other seniors on the roster who will fill various roles for Coach Scott will be Dylan Colvin, Cody Thatcher, Ty Adkins, and Brady Flack. After that group of seniors, the Manchester roster then becomes a “young” one. The only sophomore on the roster at
press time is Kyle Reaves, who will be part of the starting lineup and be relied on to add some scoring punch, especi ally with his outside shooting. The only junior on the roster who will likely be one of the first players off the bench is Carl Ricketts, and then a trio of freshmen fill out the remainder of the spots. Isaiah Scott has been part of the starting lineup early in the season, while Ryland Wikoff and Logan Bell may split time between JV and varsity, but may also be full-time varsity before all is said and done. “We w ill be limited in our choices offensively,
but we do feel that the halfcourt game can be one of our strengths,” said Scott. “Defensively, we will play a lot of man to man defense and try to get after people.” Besides the always tough Southern Hills Athletic Conference schedule, the Greyhounds have a non-conference slate that will include Felicity, Portsmouth Clay, Green, Western Latham, Sciotoville East, Piketo n, and Portsmouth West. In the annual preseason poll of SHAC coaches, the Greyhounds were picked to finish fifth in the small school division so the expectations aren’t high for the Manchester squad. “We have to just stay focused,” says Coach Scott. “When you come
out on the floor, you have to believe that you can do the job so we have worked hard physically and mentally to prepare these kids better than they have been in the past. We realize that we are going to be challenged in some areas but I think that we will play hard and give a lot of teams a run for the money that probably didn’t expect it.” “The expectations make things easier because there isn’t any pressure. The only way we can go is up.” The complete 2018-19 Manchester boys basketball schedule can be found at http://www.mlsd.us/Athleti csDept.aspx.
The 2018-19 Manchester Greyhounds. Front row, from left, Ryland Wikoff, Kyle Reaves, Carl Ricketts, Brody Francis, and Logan Bell; Back row, from left, Assistant Coach Shane Fultz, Brady Flack, Ty Adkins, Isaiah Redmon, Jacob Calvert, Isaiah Scott, Assistant Coach Jason Lucas, Cody Thatcher, and Head Coach Greg Scott. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
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ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL • Page 7
Green Devils are big and ready to make some noise Copas takes talented roster into 2018-19 campaign BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
Top to bottom, North Adams Green Devils head coach Nathan Copas may have one of the more talented rosters in his eightyear tenure as the top man at NAHS. This year’s Green Devils boast the perfect combination of size, speed, and athletic ability and are looking to make some big noise in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference and beyond.
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Last year’s Green Devils finished a disappointing 10-12, losing to Portsmouth West in their opening round sectional game, and like the other teams in the area, lost a number of key pieces to graduation, including Bryant Lung, Jacob Call, Ryan Shupert, Dylan Ison, James Reeves, Colt Shumaker, and Michael Gill. The difference may be that Coach Copas has plenty of bodies to fill those departed shoes,
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beginning on the front line with the tall timbers trio of junior Austin McCormick and the Meade twins, Seth and Cade, all three players hovering in the 6’4” range, which will provide quite an imposing sight for opponents. McCormick averaged 14 points and six rebounds per game last season and the sophomore Meade boys move up to full-time at the varsity level, giving Copas a nice mix of pieces to fit into the puzzle on both ends of the court. The Green Devils also have a trio of seniors who should all be solid contributors, including Cody Rothwell who led the team in scoring in their Foundation Game at Georgetown, the hustling Ethan Campbell, and athletic guard Elijah Young. If he does not eventually
earn a starting role, Copas has the luxury of bringing 6’3” junior guard Cameron Young and his outside shooting ability off of the bench along with another junior, Dalton Gardner, who can provide a quick spark on both ends of the floor. Yet another offensive threat who will be part of the starting lineup will be quick as lightning sophomore guard Jayden Hesler, who can be an outside threat or penetrate the paint to draw the defenses away from the big men inside. Rounding out the North Adams roster are sophomores Seth Vogel and Jentry Crawford along with enthusiastic junior Isaac Young. Top to bottom it is a roster of talent that most coaches would be licking their chops over. “We have a mixture of
young guys, quite a few sophomores and juniors,” says Coach Copas. “It’s just a little different look, we have some inside presence and some outside presence and we just have to put that together on a nightly basis.” “We’d like to run with the ball little more this season, under control, and not get in too big hurry. We have to make our kids understand also that we can slow it down, run our offense, and make people guard us more than they want to. I stress to them every day that the shot will be there after the third or fourth pass, we don’t just have to fire it up after the first pass.” “One of the things I like about our team is that when we share the ball and look to make that extra pass, that puts us in a better position and we tend to shoot the ball better, and it’s a good way to play basketball,” Copas continued. “Getting the
great shot instead of the good shot, trusting your teammates, and finding the hot guy.” Last season the Green Devils finished just 4-9 in the SHAC and will definitely be looking to improve on that mark and the coaches have tabbed them as the third place finisher in the big school division behind Ripley and Eastern Brown, but don’t be surprised if the Green Devils pull off some upsets, if a win by their roster can be considered an upset, and challenge those top two. “We’re a young team and with each practice we’re learning and we’ll be there before the season is over,”says Copas. “We just have to be consistent. We do a lot of good things, but we have to do them consistently. We have to be a team that plays great minutes, you
See Green Devils / 10
The 2018-19 North Adams Green Devils. Front row, from left, JV Coach Rob Meade, Cameron Young, Ethan Campbell, Ryan Rothwell, Isaac Young, and Head Coach Nathan Copas; Back row, from left, Assistant Coach Eric Toole, Assistant Coach Ryan Unger, Jentry Crawford, Dalton Gardner, Cade Meade, Austin McCormick, Seth Meade, Jayden Hesler, Seth Vogel, Assistant Coach Joey Darnell, and Manager A.J. Guttrung. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
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Page 6 • ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL
Inexperienced Greyhounds looking for fresh start Greg Scott takes over the reins of the MHS boys program BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
With the tumultuous 617 2017-18 season behind them, the Manchester Greyhound boys basketball program is looking for a new start, with a new head coach, and a lot of new faces as the 2018-19 campaign begins. The school’s all-time leading scorer, Greg Scott, was hired as the new varsity boys coach and he inherits a team that is short on experience and looking to fill numerous holes left by graduation. Gone fro m last year’s squad are Gage Lucas, Ethan Pennywitt, Jamie Combs, and Tanner Utterback, 80% of last season’s starting lineup plus the majority of the team’s offensive output. This year’s Greyhounds will have seven seniors on the roster, but only one with
any extensive varsity experience, that being Jacob Calvert. After coaching in the junior high program last season, Scott begins his first varsity job with help on the sidelines from Jeff Stricklett, a familiar face in the Manchester area. “With his 18 years of coaching experience, Jeff will be a valuable addition as our varsity assistant,” says Scott. “We’re following a lot of his experience and I’m comfortable with that and we will work great together.” “We are leaning on a lot of juniors and sophomores this season and we have freshmen who will see a lot of court t ime. We’re young as far as our depth but they have to learn sometime. This year has been a big learning curve for even the older players, learning a different style with a lot more structure
which we will have to be to compete. We need our older boys to give the younger players some stability.” After Calvert, the Hounds will rely on senior Brody Francis to handle some of the point guard duties with classmate Isa iah Redmon picking up the scoring slack. The other seniors on the roster who will fill various roles for Coach Scott will be Dylan Colvin, Cody Thatcher, Ty Adkins, and Brady Flack. After that group of seniors, the Manchester roster then becomes a “young” one. The only sophomore on the roster at
press time is Kyle Reaves, who will be part of the starting lineup and be relied on to add some scoring punch, especi ally with his outside shooting. The only junior on the roster who will likely be one of the first players off the bench is Carl Ricketts, and then a trio of freshmen fill out the remainder of the spots. Isaiah Scott has been part of the starting lineup early in the season, while Ryland Wikoff and Logan Bell may split time between JV and varsity, but may also be full-time varsity before all is said and done. “We w ill be limited in our choices offensively,
but we do feel that the halfcourt game can be one of our strengths,” said Scott. “Defensively, we will play a lot of man to man defense and try to get after people.” Besides the always tough Southern Hills Athletic Conference schedule, the Greyhounds have a non-conference slate that will include Felicity, Portsmouth Clay, Green, Western Latham, Sciotoville East, Piketo n, and Portsmouth West. In the annual preseason poll of SHAC coaches, the Greyhounds were picked to finish fifth in the small school division so the expectations aren’t high for the Manchester squad. “We have to just stay focused,” says Coach Scott. “When you come
out on the floor, you have to believe that you can do the job so we have worked hard physically and mentally to prepare these kids better than they have been in the past. We realize that we are going to be challenged in some areas but I think that we will play hard and give a lot of teams a run for the money that probably didn’t expect it.” “The expectations make things easier because there isn’t any pressure. The only way we can go is up.” The complete 2018-19 Manchester boys basketball schedule can be found at http://www.mlsd.us/Athleti csDept.aspx.
The 2018-19 Manchester Greyhounds. Front row, from left, Ryland Wikoff, Kyle Reaves, Carl Ricketts, Brody Francis, and Logan Bell; Back row, from left, Assistant Coach Shane Fultz, Brady Flack, Ty Adkins, Isaiah Redmon, Jacob Calvert, Isaiah Scott, Assistant Coach Jason Lucas, Cody Thatcher, and Head Coach Greg Scott. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
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ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL • Page 7
Green Devils are big and ready to make some noise Copas takes talented roster into 2018-19 campaign BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
Top to bottom, North Adams Green Devils head coach Nathan Copas may have one of the more talented rosters in his eightyear tenure as the top man at NAHS. This year’s Green Devils boast the perfect combination of size, speed, and athletic ability and are looking to make some big noise in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference and beyond.
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Last year’s Green Devils finished a disappointing 10-12, losing to Portsmouth West in their opening round sectional game, and like the other teams in the area, lost a number of key pieces to graduation, including Bryant Lung, Jacob Call, Ryan Shupert, Dylan Ison, James Reeves, Colt Shumaker, and Michael Gill. The difference may be that Coach Copas has plenty of bodies to fill those departed shoes,
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* + , ) , ' -(# # )# # . # ," ,* , // , (& , #'0 )
! '(
beginning on the front line with the tall timbers trio of junior Austin McCormick and the Meade twins, Seth and Cade, all three players hovering in the 6’4” range, which will provide quite an imposing sight for opponents. McCormick averaged 14 points and six rebounds per game last season and the sophomore Meade boys move up to full-time at the varsity level, giving Copas a nice mix of pieces to fit into the puzzle on both ends of the court. The Green Devils also have a trio of seniors who should all be solid contributors, including Cody Rothwell who led the team in scoring in their Foundation Game at Georgetown, the hustling Ethan Campbell, and athletic guard Elijah Young. If he does not eventually
earn a starting role, Copas has the luxury of bringing 6’3” junior guard Cameron Young and his outside shooting ability off of the bench along with another junior, Dalton Gardner, who can provide a quick spark on both ends of the floor. Yet another offensive threat who will be part of the starting lineup will be quick as lightning sophomore guard Jayden Hesler, who can be an outside threat or penetrate the paint to draw the defenses away from the big men inside. Rounding out the North Adams roster are sophomores Seth Vogel and Jentry Crawford along with enthusiastic junior Isaac Young. Top to bottom it is a roster of talent that most coaches would be licking their chops over. “We have a mixture of
young guys, quite a few sophomores and juniors,” says Coach Copas. “It’s just a little different look, we have some inside presence and some outside presence and we just have to put that together on a nightly basis.” “We’d like to run with the ball little more this season, under control, and not get in too big hurry. We have to make our kids understand also that we can slow it down, run our offense, and make people guard us more than they want to. I stress to them every day that the shot will be there after the third or fourth pass, we don’t just have to fire it up after the first pass.” “One of the things I like about our team is that when we share the ball and look to make that extra pass, that puts us in a better position and we tend to shoot the ball better, and it’s a good way to play basketball,” Copas continued. “Getting the
great shot instead of the good shot, trusting your teammates, and finding the hot guy.” Last season the Green Devils finished just 4-9 in the SHAC and will definitely be looking to improve on that mark and the coaches have tabbed them as the third place finisher in the big school division behind Ripley and Eastern Brown, but don’t be surprised if the Green Devils pull off some upsets, if a win by their roster can be considered an upset, and challenge those top two. “We’re a young team and with each practice we’re learning and we’ll be there before the season is over,”says Copas. “We just have to be consistent. We do a lot of good things, but we have to do them consistently. We have to be a team that plays great minutes, you
See Green Devils / 10
The 2018-19 North Adams Green Devils. Front row, from left, JV Coach Rob Meade, Cameron Young, Ethan Campbell, Ryan Rothwell, Isaac Young, and Head Coach Nathan Copas; Back row, from left, Assistant Coach Eric Toole, Assistant Coach Ryan Unger, Jentry Crawford, Dalton Gardner, Cade Meade, Austin McCormick, Seth Meade, Jayden Hesler, Seth Vogel, Assistant Coach Joey Darnell, and Manager A.J. Guttrung. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
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Page 8 • ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL
Transition year ahead for Arey and the Indians Eight seniors leave, no seniors left for Peebles BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
O D D P A G E S
It seems to be a common theme with this season’s Adams County basketball squads, girls or boys- there were a lot of losses to graduation and a lot of holes to fill to
replace those departed seniors. Nowhere may that have more impact than in Peebles, where Coach Josh Arey and the Indians are coming off one of the most memorable season in school history. Last year’s Indians made a remark-
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able run to the Elite Eight in Division IV, before being downed by Berlin Hiland, finishing with an overall record of 21-6, but saying farewell to eight seniors, including the dynamic duo of Tanner Arey and Bostin Robinson, who combined to average over 40 points a game in their final seasons in the read and white, while being named First and Second Team All-District respectively. Also gone are Conner Browning, Wade Shiveley, Colten Ball, Blake Hawes, Blake Smalley, and Andrew Shannon, so not only did the Indians lose nearly all of their scoring but they also lost nearly all of their size, leaving Coach Arey and his staff with the job of transitioning their 2018-19 squad from
an experienced group to a team that has not a single senior on the roster. Peebles lost 80% of its starting lineup and the only returning starter is a good one, junior point guard Weston Browning, who logged more minutes last season on the floor than any other Indians and came on strong during the team’s big tourney run. Browning averaged over seven assists a game last season, slowly creeping up the school’s alltime assist list,but this year his role will change as he will be counted on to pick up some of the scoring that was lost to graduation. “We’ve got to keep getting better and overcome all those things, but I like the direction we’re headed,” says Coach Arey. “I think we may have the
best point guard around in Weston Browning and yes, we are young, but I think we’ll get to the point where we need to be.” In preseason action, though certainly subject to change, the Peebles starting lineup has consisted of Browning plus juniors Dylan Shulaw, Alex Camp, and Kyle Lightner, and sophomore Hunter White. Somewhere in that group must come some scoring punch, and the reserves who will be coming off the bench are a young group, other than junior Gage Crothers. The rest of the bench will be made up of sophomoresDawson Mills, Oakley Burba, Bryce Willoughby, Brock Johnson, Franklin Myers, and Easton Wesley, who at 6’4” is the tallest player on the Indians’ roster. “I think we’ve done
more teaching in our practices thus far than we have in years past because we have so many guys without varsity experience,” said Coach Arey. “But it’s been fun to get back in there a little bit, roll up the sleeves, and get back to basics. Hopefully by January we’ll start showing that all the hard work pays off.” Last season, the Indians finished 11-2 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, winning the small school division by five games over secondplace Fayetteville. This year the SHAC coaches picked the Indians to finish third, behind Fairfield and Whiteoak, both of whom had already suffered conference losses at press time, with the Indians opening their conference slate with a
See Indians / 10
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ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL • Page 5
It’s ‘Senior’ Year for the Lady Dragons Healthy group of five will lead Kirker’s West Union squad BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
You can forgive West Union Lady Dragons head coach J.R. Kirker is his smile is a little bigger right now than in years past. After seasons of seeing his starters sitting on the sidelines with crutches and knee braces in a string of injury bad luck, Kirker’s 2018-19 squad of Lady Dragons is a full speed as the season begins and with a starting lineup of five seniors, it’s the time for the West Union girls to put that senior leadership to the test. Seniors Mackenzie
Bickett, Jaycee Baldwin, and Harley Silvia all return from knee injuries and surgeries to rejoin classmates McKenzie Kirker and Kiersten Rowe to form a very solid starting group, one that Kirker has been waiting for as he enters his third year at the helm of the Lady Dragons. Last year’s team, racked by injuries, finished at 4-17, but health brings optimism for the 2018-19 campaign. “This group played well in junior high and won a bunch of games and have had a tough high school career,” said Coach Kirker. “Now it’s
Here’s to a Slam-Dunk Season
time to do the job, just cross your fingers that we don’t go through another season like last year. They did make it through their sophomore year together but that’s the only time they all stayed together a whole season.” “McKenzie Kirker will handle most of our point guard duties and I’ve told her that she doesn’t have to take every shot but she has to take the open shots to keep the defense honest. Bickett will have to give us an outside threat once she gets past the nerves of coming back with her knee, but I think she will score for us. Jaycee and Kiersten will do a lot of inside-outside as Rowe might have been our best outside shooter
last year. Harley was having a great season last year until she went down with her knee, so we will expect big things from her coming back.” After the senior group, the Lady Dragons become a very young team, as Kirker expects freshman Lexie Rowe to be the sixth man and maybe even start at some point during the season. “Lexie has to take care of the ball and not try to do too much but I think she will be a big role player for us and she could conceivably start some games,” says Kirker. “She can give us some intensity on the defensive end which will pass on to the other girls and I look for her to have
a big season.” There is only one junior on the roster, Abbey Carroll, and one sophomore, Kendra Grooms, plus four more freshmenKaitlyn Davis, Maddie Taylor, Molly Purcell, and Christian Shivener. At press time, the Lady Dragons were planning on playing JV games, something they have struggled with in recent seasons because of low numbers. “I think the freshman group will surprise some people and give us some quality varsity minutes,” says Kirker. “With that, we will go deeper than we have in recent years.” “We will have to mix it up a lot on offense,” says the WUHS head coach. “We can’t run for 32 minutes so we’ll have to slow the pace down against
some teams and try to push it against teams that can’t run with us. We might be one of the quicker teams around when everyone is full-go. I would prefer to get it up and down the floor though and we have to get touches in the paint and play an inside-outside game.” In the past, the downfall of the Lady Dragons in many games has been their propensity to turn the ball over and Kirker knows that for the team to have any level of success, those numbers have to drastically fall. “Our first practice of the season I told the girls that if we turn the ball over 600 times like we did last year, we’re not going to win ball games,”
See Lady Dragons / 10
Good luck to all of the High School Basketball Team players. We hope this season is a winner, all the way to the finals! The 2018-19 Peebles Indians. Front row, from left, Head Coach Josh Arey, Gage Crothers, Dylan Shulaw, Weston Browning, Alex Camp, Kyle Lightner, and Assistant Coach Michael Walls; Back row, from left, Assistant Coach Dayne Puckett, Assistant Coach Tim Grooms, Bryce Willoughby, Brock Johnson, Oakley Burba, Easton Wesley, Dawson Mills, Franklin Myers, Hunter White, and JV Coach Chris Reed. (Photo by Carla Wesley)
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The 2018-19 West Union Lady Dragons. Front row, from left, Kendra Grooms, McKenzie Kirker, Kiersten Rowe, Harley SIlvia, Mackenzie Bickett, Jaycee Baldwin, and Molly Purcell; Middle row, from left, Abby Carroll, Christian Shivener, Maddie Taylor, Lexie Rowe, Cayden Francis, Kaitlyn Davis, and Manager T.J. Liston; Back row, from left, Assistant Coach Frankie Rowe and Head Coach J.R. Kirker. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
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Lady Indians are young, athletic, and hungry
Don’t Blink! You might miss the Dragons
BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
Page 4 • ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL
Sophomore-laden Peebles squad favored in SHAC There’s nothing wrong with being young, we’d all like another dose of youth somewhere in those sweet teas we but at McDonald’s every day. For a high school girls basketball team, being young is not a bad thing wither, especially if that youth is also quite talented. That is the situation facing third-year Peebles Lady Indians head coach Billie Jo Justice as she leads her team into the 2018-19 season. With only two seniors on the roster, the Lady Indians are young and hungry, coming off a solid 17-7 2017-18 season that saw them advance to the Division IV District
championship game, as well as a tie for second place in the small school division of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. The Lady Indians lost four seniors to graduationMcKinlee Ryan, Matti Nichols, Baylee Justice, and Kaitlin Willey. This year’s roster has just the two seniors, Jerilin Toller and Kylie Sims. At press time, Toller’s status was still up in the air after suffering a hand injury. Four juniors are part of the 2018-19 Lady IndiansHarlee Wilkinson, Madison Beekman, Tatum Arey, and Hope Brown, while the sophomore class consists of Jacey Justice, Kyndell Lloyd, Taylor Cluxton, and Lilly Gray.
“A lot of our kids don’t have experience at the varsity level, and someone like Kylie Sims who was JV last year is now going to be running the point for us on offense,” said Coach Justice. “It’s still a different mentality for these girls moving to the varsity level.” Justice returns to the hardwood after an outstanding freshman season, where she collected numerous postseason awards after averaging nearly 20 points a game. This season she will again be
counted on to provide the scoring punch, which she did with 33 points in the team’s opening win over Fayetteville. Other teams will obviously arrange their defensive plan around stopping the 5’7” sophomore and Coach Justice needs the surrounding cast to step up. “We know that teams are going to look to stop Jacey,” says the Peebles head coach. “What we then need is all of our other girls to score and do all the other little things well that will make us a
complete team.” “I like our team, they’re athletic and can get up and down the floor,” says Coach Justice. “We’re definitely going to be a fun team to watch, though we still have things to work on. Hopefully we can take all our strengths and turn them into positives for us.” The coaches in the SHAC have high regard for the Peebles squad, picking them to win the small school division. “When you look all the way across the board in the SHAC, they’re really aren’t too many givens,” says
Justice. “You better be ready to play every time out, there’s good players on every team, and every coach is pushing their kids. It’s a very competitive conference.” On the non-conference side, the Lady Indians will battle Felicity, Reedsville Eastern, Southeastern, New Boston, Western Latham, Miami Trace, Clermont Northeastern, and a team they knocked off in last year’s district semi-finals, Federal Hocking. The entire schedule can be found at http://www.peebles.scocak12.org/.
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ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL • Page 9
Kingsolver inherits up-tempo, athletic squad Have the seat belts ready. If you are in attendance this winter at a West Union High School boys varsity basketball game, you better strap in or you will either get blown away or blink and miss a whole lot of action in a short period of time. First-year head coach Austin Kingsolver inherits a squad that is athletic, fast, and talented, and they make no bones about the fact the fact they will try to score as many points as they can in their up-tempo style and basically dare teams to try and score more. For the first time in 29 seasons, the
Dragons are coming off a championship year, one in which they were picked to finish dead last in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, but instead put together a 10-3 conference mark (16-6 overall), good enough to capture a big school division championship, their first SHAC title since 1979, but it was a season that ended in major disappointment when the Dragons were ousted by Southeastern in their first sectional tournament game. Last season they Dragons were led by Coach Greg Himes, who only stayed for one season, being replaced by Kingsolver, who had been leading the West
GO DRAGONS!
Union JV squad for the past three years. Despite the loss seven seniors from last year’s title team, the cupboard was not bare for the Dragons, who will this winter be anchored by a solid group of six seniors: Ryan Rothwell, Jordan Lamphier, Tanner Neal, Clayton Madden, Bowan Tomlin, and Conner Campbell. “We lost a lot of seniors but we have a good group of seniors returning, most of whom have seen a good bit of varsity time,” says Kingsolver. “We hopefully can build off of last year and keep the ball rolling here and it helps to have a hard-working group of kids who know my system. We need our seniors to be
vocal leaders on and off the floor, lift up our younger players. They have to mentor our younger kids and push they to be better every day and then we don’t have a falling off next season.” “Ryan Rothwell is one of the most athletic kids I’ve ever seen and he will work hard for all his points and has to be the life of our defense, I’m glad he is on my side, just a gritty, athletic, work your butt off kind of player. Bowan has spent a lot of time in the gym working on his game and I would argue that he might be the most improved player in the conference this year. He is a complete player. Conner may be the fastest kid in the area and
he will be the guy who creates the fast break opportunities for us and he will likely defend the opposition’s fastest, most athletic player. “Clayton Madden works hard every day,” continued Kingsolver. “He’s not our biggest offensive threat and defense may be his strong suit and he is going to hustle and pick up all of those garbage buckets off of loose balls and such.” The juniors on the roster will include Brycen Staten, Dakota Jarvis, and Zane Kingsolver, along with sophomores Braxton Blanton and Clayton Jones, and freshman Cameron Campbell, who will likely see significant minutes off the bench or even in a starting role. Taking over the Dragons, Kingsolver will have the
unique distinction of coaching his younger brother Zane, who came on strong at the end of last season. “At the end of last year, he was a completely different,” said the West Union coach of his younger sibling. “He had 21 rebounds in that tournament loss and his length will give teams problems and the outside jump shot that he has developed will only make him better. I think he will be a big piece of our success this year.” The Dragons will not be as deep as they were last season, but Kingsolver will still need contributions off of the reserve players that he has available on any given night. “I think Cameron will
See Dragons / 10
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The 2018-19 Peebles Lady Indians. Front row, from left, Jacey Justice, Jerilyn Toller, Kylie Sims, and Christian Reed; Back row, from left, Lily Gray, Madison Beekman, Hope Brown, Tatum Arey. (Photo by Carla Wesley)
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The 2018-19 West Union Dragons. Front row, from left, Clayton Madden, Tanner Neal, Conner Campbell, Bowan Tomlin, Ryan Rothwell, and Jordan Lamphier; Back row, from left, Manager Connor Grooms, Brycen Staten, Clayton Jones, Braxton Blanton, Zane Kingsolver, Dakota Jarvis, Cameron Campbell, Head Coach Austin Kingsolver, and Manager T.J. Liston. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
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ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL • Page 3
Page 10 • ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL
Dragons From page 9
O D D P A G E S
step in as a freshman and give us good varsity minutes, � said the WUHS head man. “Every time he is on the floor he will handle the ball and get us up and down and I think he is going to surprise a lot of people and I don’t think being a freshman will phase him at all. Tanner Neal might be under-sized but he will outwork anybody and is not afraid to guard anyone. Brycen might be the strongest player on the team, setting screens and I know he will give us solid minutes. If Jordan Lamphier can just make some plays when he is in there, it can be nothing but a plus for us.� This year the SHAC coach’s poll has the
Green Devils From page 7
can have some bad possessions now and then, but we have to find a way to overcome them and get back into our rhythm. Just play with some energy and have some fun out there.�
Dragons picked fourth in the big school division, falling behind Ripley, Eastern Brown, and North Adams, again providing bulletin board material and motivation for the West Union troops. “I look for Eastern Brown to be very solid and I really think Fairfield will be the surprise in the small school division,� says Kingsolver. “Peebles will be young but they have Josh Arey on the sidelines and North Adams will be a really good team by the end of the year. I still think we might have the most athletic team in the conference so we will see how it all plays out.� The 2018-19 nonc0nference schedule for West Union will include contests with Piketon, Dayton Northridge in a
In an odd scheduling quirk, the Green Devils open the 2018-19 season with three non-conference clashes before playing their first conference game on Dec. 11 at Fayetteville. The nonconference schedule for the Green Devils includes Minford (who they defeated 49-47 on a late basket by McCormick),
game played at Rio Grande on Dec. 8, Western Latham, Augusta, Fairland in the Coach Young Classic, Portsmouth West, Northwest, and a change for a little revenge on Feb. 9 when they travel to Southeastern. The entire 2018-19 schedule can be found on the school’s website at https://wuhs.ovsd.us/. “All of those non-conference games will be a challenge for us,� said Kingsolver. “We gave up a home game to play on the college floor at Rio Grande. It won’t be easy and any wins will help up in the tournament draw.� “For us to be successful this year, we have to work hard and not take any days off, practice or games. We have to be consistent from start to finish.�
South Gallia at Rio Grande on Dec. 8, Batavia, Portsmouth Clay, Chesapeake, Racine Southern, Lucasville Valley, and Northwest. The complete 2018-19 North Adams schedule can be found on the school’s website at https://nahs.ovsd.us/Athle tics.
Indians From page 8
Tuesday, Dec. 4 trip to Eastern Brown, the team picked second in the big school division. No matter whether his team is young or loaded
Lady Devils From page 3
hardware collection. To repeat, the Lady Devils face an uphill climb in the big school division which includes favorites Eastern Brown and Lynchburg. Every season, Coach Davis chooses to play a tough non-conference schedule, which usually pays off for his teams
Lady Dragons From page 5 said Kirker. “We to be disciplined and take care of the ball, we can’t make stupid passes and we have to be smart. I think we will be better at it this year with the seniors that we will have on the floor.� “On defense, we will probably pressure the ball more than in the past, full court and half court pressure.� The Southern Hills
with seniors like last year, Coach Arey will play a challenging nonconference schedule. This year those out-ofconference affairs will include match ups with Felicity, New Boston, Clermont Northeastern, Western Latham,
Chesapeake, Portsmouth Clay, Portsmouth Notre Dame, and Federal Hocking. The complete 2018-19 Peebles schedule can be found on the school’s website at http://www.peebles.scoc a-k12.org/.
when tournament time rolls around. This year’s non-conference battles will include Paint Valley, Southeastern, Oak Hill, Northwest, Chesapeake, Blanchester, Huntington, and a regular season finale at Miami Trace. “We have to shoot the ball well to be successful. We seem to do that in practice but then lose that touch come game time. I think our defense
will be okay and we will be a team that applies pressure, which is no big secret. We have to get in better shape, but overall, I think we will be fun to watch. Our youth will show at times but we will be alright.� The entire 2018-19 Lady Devils schedule can be found on the school’s website at https://nahs.ovsd.us/Athl etics/Schedules.
Athletic Conference coach’s poll tabbed the Lady Dragons for fourth place in the loaded big school division, behind Eastern Brown, North Adams, and Lynchburg. “Eastern is really strong and you have to put Lynchburg right up there just because they have the best player in the conference in Peyton Scott,� says Coach Kirker. “Don’t ever discount North Adams because they have Rob Davis on the sideline, he can always get his girls
to play.� The non-conference slate includes Northwest, Huntington, Bethel-Tate, Augusta, Piketon, Georgetown, St. Patrick, and Felicity. The complete schedule can be found on the school’s website at https://wuhs.ovsd.us/. “I think we can upset some teams,� says Kirker. “But we just have to come out and be ready to play every night. We’ll just have to see what happens.�
From seniors to sophomores, Lady Devils go ‘young’ North Adams replaces departed seniors with youth BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
A pair of 1,000 point scores and five more girls who all contributed in various ways. That is what North Adams Lady Devils head coach Rob Davis was facing when he gathered his 2018-19 squad together for their first practice. No longer on the court for Coach Davis were 1,000 point scorers Avery Harper and Lakyn Hupp, plus a quartet of other graduatesMadee Shipley, Taylor Hesler, Brooklyn Wylie, Brooklyn Stout, Jordan Slack, and McKayla Raines. That’s a big task for any coach to handle, but for the Lady Devils those
who departed will be replaced with an influx of youth. Last year’s Lady Devils put together one of the most memorable seasons in school history, finishing 204 and advancing to the Division III district championship game, where they fell to Fairland. To repeat that this winter, the reins have been handed over to the “young�. This year’s North Adams roster will only boast a single senior, Grace McDowell, who averaged over 9 points a game last season and will be counted on to provide much more than that this winter, and to provide leadership for the nine underclassmen who
join her in the locker room. There are two juniors returning for the Lady Devils in Mary Sonner and Carolyn Shupert, and the remainder of the roster is a talented sophomore class, made up of Wylie Shipley, Karissa Buttelwerth, Braylie Jones, Marah Call, Brianna Robinson, DeLaney Harper, and Faith Howell. No one doubts that Davis, is his 19th season at the helm of the Lady Devils, will mold his young group into a very competitive team that will win many more games than they lose. Their abilities were showcased in their season opener when they raced to a 20-point halftime
Best of luck t o to area all the area teams! teams!
advantage over favored Lynchburg, and even though the Lady Mustangs eventually pulled that game out in overtime, the North Adams potential was on full display. “We are going to be athletic, just we have to keep our effort at 100% all the time we are on the floor,� says Coach Davis. “They are young and they are learning and there are going to be rough spots for them.� The shooting of McDowell will be one of the big keys to the success of this year’s Lady Devils as she brings the most varsity experience to the table. Sonner will be splitting point guard duties and also be one of the most tena-
cious North Adams defenders, while Shupert provides another three-point shooting threat. “Grace isn’t real vocal, but we need her to be more vocal for us this year with this young bunch, and we need her to defend and rebound,� said Davis. “Mary and Carolyn will both play hard and they both practice hard.� The two sophomores projected to be two of the team’s top scorers are Shipley and Harper. Shipley may be the most athletic player on the roster and besides her ability to score, her length will make her a defender that opponents will have to deal with. Harper will hope to fill the shoes of her graduated sister and provide a consistent scoring threat in the paint to allow the Lady
Devils to play an inside-out game in the half court. Buttelwerth brings even more athletic ability and her left-handed hot while Jones will be one of the toughest, hard-nosed players whenever she is on the court. Call, Robinson, and Howell will all come off the bench and be expected to give those valuable minutes, along with bringing some size to the lineup at any given time. “DeLaney doesn’t have to be Avery, we just need her to be herself and go out there and play hard and give us all she has,� says Davis. Last season’s squad finished 12-1 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, adding yet another conference title trophy to their
See Lady Devils / 10
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The 2018-19 North Adams Lady Devils. Front row, from left, Faith Howell, DeLaney Harper, Grace McDowell, Wylie Shipley, and Brianna Robinson; Back row, from left, Carolyn Shupert, Mary Sonner, Marah Call, Karissa Buttelwerth, and Braylie Jones. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
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Page 2 • ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL
Palmer returns to young and talented Lady Hounds Manchester girls have new coach, new style
BY MARK CARPENTER PEOPLE’S DEFENDER
It’s been four years since Shawn Palmer roamed the sidelines as the head coach of the Manchester Lady Greyhounds, but now he is back as the top man, inheriting a team that finished 13-8 last season and is loaded with young talent, ready to make a run in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference and beyond. With five seniors on the roster, the Hounds will still rely heavily on underclassmen to navigate their way through the rigors of the 2018-19 season. The senior class for the Lady Hounds is a group that will provide two things for Palmer, solid
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play and solid leadership. Manchester has two juniors, four sophomores, and two freshmen on their preseason roster, giving the coach numerous options on both ends of the court. The senior class for the 2018-19 Lady Hounds consists of Kaitlyn Palmer, Darrington White, McKenzie Smith, Josie Campbell, and Abby McFarland, all who have their own way of contributing to the team’s success. “I have a great senior class,” says Coach Palmer. “I’m counting on them to be the leaders and set the example for our young kids. The junior class is made
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up of Taylor Morrison and Madison Jones, while a talented sophomore group includes Brooke Kennedy, Karigan Turner, Emily Sweeney, Abby Young, and Yasmin Lucas. The key returnee for the Lady Hounds will be sophomore Kennedy, who seems to nightly put up double-double numbers and will likely rack up numerous postseason accolades as she did her freshman season when she averaged 12 points and 12 rebounds per game. The squad gets even younger when two freshmen join
the starting lineup in guard slots, McKenzie Morrison and Hannah Hobbs. Morrison fired in 15 points in the Lady Hounds’ season opening win over Whiteoak and Hobbs is one of the most athletic girls in the Manchester program. “McKenzie has played a lot of basketball and Hannah is such a gifted athlete, and so smooth, especially on defense,” said Palmer. “If McKenzie can have some big nights for us, we will really be in good shape.” “Offensively we have to
be a team that attacks the basket,” says Coach Palmer. “We’ve relied on the three-pointer a little too much in the preseason. We will try to get up and down the floor a lot and you will now see us playing a lot of man to man defense. It’s going to be a different style of basketball and I think that will give a lot of teams trouble and be a fun team to watch.” The Lady Hounds were picked by the SHAC coaches to finish third in the small school division, behind Peebles and Fairfield and will face a non-conference schedule that will feature the likes
of Portsmouth Clay, Portsmouth City, New Boston, Southeastern, Lucasville Valley, South Webster, Western Latham, and Adena. “I know that North Adams, Eastern, and Lynchburg should be our toughest competition,” added Palmer. “I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t beat everyone else and if we come out ready to play every night, we can compete with anyone. I’ve been preaching that to these girls from day one.” The 2018-19 Lady Hounds’ schedule can be found at http://www.mlsd.us/Athleti csDept.aspx.
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ADAMS COUNTY ‘18 - ‘19 BASKETBALL SPECIAL • Page 11
Ready for another exciting winter on the hardwood
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The 2018-19 Manchester Lady Greyhounds. Front row, from left, Abby McFarland, Darrington White, McKenzie Smith, Kaitlyn Palmer, and Josie Campbell; Back row, from left, Madison Jones, Karigan Turner, Brooke Kennedy, Taylor Morrison, Yasmin Lucas, Emily Sweeney, and McKenzie Morrison. Absent from the phto was Hannah Hobbs. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
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Let’s Hear it for Our Student Athletes!
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