2009 PDT Hoops Preview

Page 1

Portsmouth Daily Times • Sunday, November 29, 2009

HOOPS ‘09 CONTENTS Portsmouth Wheelerburg Portsmouth West Minford Valley South Webster

2 3 4 5 6 7

Waverly Oak Hill Northwest New Boston East Notre Dame

8 9 10 11 12 13

Clay Green Eastern/Western Symmes Valley/Ironton Piketon Greenup County

14 15 16 17 18 19


2

Portsmouth Hoops 2009-2010

Portsmouth Trojans No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

3 12 14 15 21 22 23 33 34 55

Forrest Johnson Alex Coakley Wayne Evans Patrick Underwood London Malone Isaiah Reeves Adam Bray Dion McKinley Tre Underwood Casey Sanders

6-1 5-10 6-1 6-3 5-9 5-10 6-3 6-5 6-5 6-5

12 11 10 12 12 12 11 10 11 11

Coach: Gene Collins

New look Trojans look to play up tempo By JOHN STEGEMAN PDT Sports Editor

The Portsmouth boys basketball program will have a little bit different look this season. The Trojans sport a new coach and will have a starting lineup with some different faces. The only player returning for Portsmouth this year with significant varsity experience is Forrest Johnson and the 61 guard will be expected to lead a team that will be relying on its speed and athleticism. "I think our trademark is going to be we're quick and athletic," first-year head coach Gene Collins said. "We're going to be somewhat lacking in size in the post and we're going to have to make

With a new coach comes a new system. "The biggest change we'll have is our style of play and how we go about playing," Collins said. "We want to play fast and put a lot of pressure on our opponents and defensively we want our opponents to know they're in for a battle." While Johnson is expected to be among the team leaders, Collins said a pair of other seniors will need to step up as well. London Malone, a 5-9 guard, and Patrick Underwood, a 6-3 forward, both played primarily on the junior varsity team last season but are expected to make big contributions this season. Underwood is one of five players on the Trojans roster 6-foot-3 or taller. No player

up for that with effort and quickness." Collins, a varsity assistant last year, takes over a team that went 10-12 last season under former coach Josh Shoemaker. Collins’ coaching experience includes last year as a PHS assistant coach and 18 years as an assistant coach at Shawnee State University. Being a part of the Portsmouth program last year has helped in Collins' transition. "I think that familiarity is huge," Collins said. "At this point we've had huge buy in from the kids. The kids like what we're doing. It's been tough. We've done a lot of running, a lot more than they've probably been accustomed too."

though stands taller than 6foot-5. With a roster that will look much different from last season and a new coach, how Portsmouth will fare in the always tough SEOAL South will be a matter much speculation. After a losing season the year before though, Collins finds comfort in the unknown. "That's kind of an unknown at this point," he said. "With the staff being new and most of our players being new that's something I really can't tell you. The good thing is the staff is new and the players are new so the unknown is a good thing for us.” JOHN STEGEMAN can be reached at jstegeman02@hotmail.com

Schedule Date

Location

Dec. 1 ................................................Notre Dame Dec. 8 ............................................South Webster Dec. 11 ..........................................at South Point Dec. 15 ......................................at Wheelersburg Dec. 18 ..................................................at Warren Dec. 22 ....................................................Jackson Dec. 29 ....................................................Marietta Jan. 5 ......................................................at Logan Jan. 8 ..........................................Gallia Academy Jan. 16 ..............................................at Northwest Jan. 19 ..................................................at Ironton Jan. 22 ......................................................Warren Jan. 29 ................................................at Jackson Feb. 2 ..............................................at Chillicothe Feb. 5 ..................................................at Marietta Feb. 6....................................................Northwest Feb. 9 ........................................................Ironton Feb. 12 ....................................at Gallia Academy Feb. 13 ..............................................Chesapeake Feb. 19 ........................................................Logan

Lady Trojans No.

Name

3 Tyler Mallory 5 Maggie Sturgill 10 Ashleigh Link 11 Lizzie Sturgill 12 Hannah Foster 15 Cailyn Rodriguez 20 Dasia Kennedy 21 Brianna Webb 22 Ri-chiel McGraw 23 Kimia Ruffin 24 Lataysha McGinnis 44 Ruthie Stanley Coach: Bob Boldman

Ht.

Gr.

5-4 5-4 5-8 5-4 5-6 5-8 5-8 5-6 5-9 5-7 5-10 5-9

9 9 12 9 11 11 9 9 10 10 11 12

Schedule Date

Location

Nov. 28 ................................................at Waverly Dec. 3 ..........................................at Chesapeake Dec. 5 ....................................................at Warren Dec. 9........................................................at West Dec. 12 ....................................................Jackson Dec. 16 ......................................................Ironton Dec. 19 ....................................................Marietta Dec. 23 ................................................Chillicothe Dec. 30 ........................................Gallia Academy Jan. 9 ......................................................at Logan Jan. 13 ..................................................at Ironton Jan. 16 ......................................................Warren Jan. 23 ................................................at Jackson Jan. 25 ............................................Wheelersburg Jan. 27..............................................at Chillicothe Jan. 30 ................................................at Marietta Feb. 6 ......................................at Gallia Academy Feb. 8 ............................................South Webster Feb. 13 ........................................................Logan

Boldman, Lady Trojans ready for new year By JOHN STEGEMAN PDT Sports Editor

Portsmouth struggled through last season, winning just two games. With a new coach and a handful of players taking on new roles, this season should be better. Bob Boldman, a coaching veteran who led the Northwest Lady Mohawks to a 61-61 record over six seasons, including a share of the 2006 SOC II title and a sectional championship the same year, takes over a program with potential. Leading the way for Portsmouth this season will likely be the team's two seniors — Ashleigh Link and Ruthie

Stanley. Stanley will step into a larger role this season as a starting power forward. Link will be expected to score from the 2spot this season as the point guard duties have been taken over by Hannah Foster, a new arrival to the program. "(The seniors) are the two we're going to be counting on all year for leadership," Boldman said. "They have great attitudes and they are great role models for our younger kids coming up... (Foster) is going to be a tremendous point guard for us. We're very excited about her being there." Cailyn Rodriguez will start at small forward and Lataysha McGinnis will start at center for

Portsmouth this season. With players taking on some different roles this season, Boldman has implemented a different system that will be more methodical than what the Lady Trojans used last season. "I would say we're going to play a less up tempo game with more of a pattern offense," Boldman said. "We want to control the tempo of the game. We're probably going to rely a lot on defense." After the starting lineup, Portsmouth hopes for contributions from its five freshmen as well as Kimia Ruffin and RiChiel McGraw, who Boldman refers to as "Bean." "Bean is probably the most athletic girl we have on the bas-

ketball team as far as running and jumping," Boldman said. "She's a slasher type basketball player." Portsmouth's conference schedule as a member of the SEOAL is always tough and several teams are expected to be strong again. The Lady Trojans won't get any breaks in the non-conference schedule either though with opponents like Waverly and South Webster. "We can't take a break any night and expect to win any games," Boldman said. JOHN STEGEMAN can be reached at jstegeman02@hotmail.com

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3

Wheelersburg Hoops 2009-2010

Wheelersburg Pirates No. Name 11 Tom Graf 12 Aaron Parker 13 Coley Warner 14 Andrew Bendolph 15 Brandon Schankweiler 21 Webb Ballard 22 Cole Miller 23 Tyler Lang 24 Shane Ward 32 Andy Stegman 33 Isaac Duduit 35 Andy Sloan Coach: Tom Barrick

Challenges face ’Burg in 2009-10 By JOHN STEGEMAN PDT Sports Editor

WHEELERSBURG — Wheelersburg basketball will have some challenges to overcome to win an SOC II title this season — but that's no excuse according to coach Tom Barrick. The Pirates have a couple of players still hurting from football season and face the challenge of integrating new players into the system with limited practice time. "Game one will not wait on our players to get healthy," Barrick said. "We tell our kids we can't use this as an excuse. We still have high expectations. We still expect to compete and be successful. You can't let adversity give you an excuse not to be successful." Last season with a young team the Pirates still went 166, losing in the sectional final. While it was a winning sea-

son, the Pirates got away from their traditional style of play to better suit their personnel. With leading scorer Andy Stegman back, the return to the program of Tyler Lang and the new addition of Andrew Bendolph, Barrick hopes to get back to the style of play that won Wheelersburg an SOC II title in 2008 — once the players are healthy that is. Currently Bendolph is recovering from a broken foot and returning starter Brandon Schankweiler has been out with a separated shoulder — both injuries coming in football season. Once the injuries heal though, Wheelersburg will sport an experienced team with adequate depth. "We've got some experience," Barrick said. "We have some kids who had an opportunity to play varsity basket-

ball last year... We've got some guys we believe will fill the roles that we need. Your sixth man doesn't need to be a leading scorer... We've got guys we really think will be able to fill the roles we need in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth spots." Filling a major role again on offense will be Stegman. The 6-foot-6 junior averaged 17 points per game last season. "We're going to have to be a more balanced offensive team than what we were last year," Barrick said. "Andy kind of carried the load for us last year. Some of those players are going to have to step up." Lang, who started as a sophomore but missed last season because of an ACL injury, will provide more help on offense as will Schankweiler and Shane Ward. Bendolph, who started for Portsmouth last season, could

Ht. 5-7 5-9 5-11 5-10 5-11 6-1 5-11 6-0 6-2 6-6 6-2 6-3

Gr. 11 11 12 11 11 11 12 12 11 11 12 11

Schedule Date Location Dec. 5 ..........................................at Chesapeake Dec. 8..........................................Federal Hocking Dec. 11 ................................................Northwest Dec. 15 ..............................................Portsmouth Dec. 18 ................................................at Waverly Dec. 29 ................................................at Fairland Jan. 5 ............................................................West Jan. 8 ......................................................at Valley Jan. 12 ......................................at South Webster Jan. 15 ......................................................Minford Jan. 19......................................................Oak Hill Jan. 22 ..............................................at Northwest Jan. 26......................................................Waverly Jan. 29 ......................................................at West Feb. 2 ..........................................................Valley Feb. 5 ............................................South Webster Feb. 6 ................................................at Gallipolis Feb. 12 ..................................................at Minford Feb. 16 ......................................................Ironton Feb. 19 ................................................at Oak Hill

bring added athleticism and ball handling. "It's a different year and everyone is going to have different roles," Barrick said. "We don't want the same guys playing the same roles this year that they had last year. It's important that they develop into a new team and a new identity and a new team with different roles." With new players playing in new roles, Wheelersburg would like to get back to the business of winning championships. "We were a lot slower last year than we've been in the past...," Barrick said. "We'd like to get back to the style that we were playing before last year. We've got to get experience playing at the level we were before." JOHN STEGEMAN can be reached at jstegeman02@hotmail.com

Lady Pirates No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

11 12 13 15 21 22 23 24 25 31

Sadie Ruby Kalyn Baily Molly Knapp Brittany Prater Katie Knapp Corey Turner Loran Spradlin Logan Barrick Erica Schmidt Katherine MacDonald

5-2 5-5 5-7 5-6 5-8 5-3 5-7 5-7 5-6 5-3

10 11 11 12 12 11 10 12 10 11

Coach: Dusty Spradlin

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The Lady Pirates return three starters from their 11win team of 2008-2009 while losing three seniors to graduation. The Wheelersburg girls' hope to build off a sectional title win and re-establish themselves in SOC II basketball. "We lost three seniors from last year's team — Sarah Schmidt, Lainee Clay and Jamie Clevenger," Wheelersburg coach Dusty Spradlin said. "And we have back Logan Barrick, Katie Knapp and Brittany Prater as seniors... who have played significant minutes on varsity the

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affect the starting lineup as well as the rotation off the bench. The key in the early season will be developing allimportant team chemistry between veterans and newcomers. "We will really have to work to blend together the returning varsity players with those who played junior varsity last season," Spradlin said. "Especially with how banged up we are right now." Wheelersburg's conference will be as competitive this season as it has been in seasons past. The Lady Oaks have a target on their backs while teams among the top of the

last two seasons." Sophomore Erica Schmidt, a 5-foot-5 ball handler, will be a player to watch this season as the underclassman is coming off a successful first year. "Erica Schmidt played in every varsity game last season as a freshman," Spradlin said. "We expect her to start as our point guard this year and make a difference." Sisters Katie and Molly Knapp, both upperclassmen, will be given significant minutes and could be impact players this season as well. The Lady Pirates however have suffered from costly injuries this preseason that will

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division lurk in the shadows. The experienced coach believes his team is average within a league of improving ball clubs. "The SOC II is tough with Oak Hill, Valley and South Webster," Spradlin said. "Right now we look to be at the middle of the pack." The next six games for the Lady Pirates will give them good measure of their standing in the SOC II as each opponent is a league rival. Wheelersburg kicks off its conference schedule tomorrow night as the Lady Pirates travel to McDermott to face Northwest.

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Date Location Nov. 28 ............................................at Chillicothe Nov. 30..............................................at Northwest Dec. 3 ......................................................Waverly Dec. 7........................................................at West Dec. 10 ....................................................at Valley Dec. 14 ..........................................South Webster Dec. 17..................................................at Minford Dec. 21 ..........................................at Manchester Dec. 30................................................Zane Trace Jan. 7 ..................................................at Oak Hill Jan. 11 ..................................................Northwest Jan. 14..................................................at Waverly Jan. 16 ....................................................Fairland Jan. 18 ..........................................................West Jan. 21 ........................................................Valley Jan. 25 ......................................................at West Jan. 28 ......................................at South Webster Feb. 4 ........................................................Minford Feb. 8 ....................................................Raceland Feb. 11 ....................................................Oak Hill

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4

West Hoops 2009-2010

Portsmouth West Senators No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

2 3 4 5 10 11 15 21 22 32 34 44

Tanner Journey Tyler Austin Cody Adkins Bradley Garrett Zach Frye Levi Ratliff Kyle Locher Garrett Arthur Adam Bricker Trevon Pendleton JB Travis Cody Groves

5-10 5-11 5-9 6-1 6-2 6-3 6-0 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-0 6-2

11 12 12 12 9 10 11 12 10 11 9 12

Coach: Travis Bradford

Bradford returns home to West By CHRIS DUNHAM PDT Sports Writer

WEST PORTSMOUTH — When West takes the floor for its Dec. 4 opener, it will do so with its fourth head coach in three years. Travis Bradford, a 1993 graduate of West, who had most recently been the head coach at East returns to his alma mater to change then stabilize the Senators program. "We're doing a lot of things differently than what they've done in the past," Bradford said. "I'm not saying it's better or worse, but it's 100 percent different in what we're emphasizing and not emphasizing a whole lot. We're in a big transition right now... One thing I let them know is it's not going

to be a quick fix project. We're trying to build the foundation right now and get the fundamentals solid first." Those fundamentals come at both ends of the floor with defense being a major focus of the team in its preseason practices. "We're going to try to establish solid, half court man defense before we focus on anything else," Bradford said. "I don't think that's a big secret to anybody. That's what I've always done as a coach... We're not going to get too fancy or do a lot of trapping or anything at that. We're going to try to be solid, keep the ball out of the paint and block out." On the offensive end, the Senators will rely on their

depth and athleticism to take advantage, even without a true post presence. "One thing we're not blessed with is a lot of size," Bradford said. "We're not going to have a lot of guys in the post that we're going to be able to throw the ball into and let them dominate inside. We're going to have to use our quickness and athleticism on the perimeter and take advantage of that both offensively and defensively." The Senators boast some experience this season with five seniors, led by returning starter Tyler Austin. Also returning for West are junior Trevon Pendleton and sophomore Levi Ratliff who saw a lot of varsity action a year ago.

In returning to his alma mater, Bradford would like to teach this group about playing with pride. "Coming back to the school you graduated from, you've got that sense of pride in the school," Bradford said. "That's something I'm trying to instill into the players." That sense of pride is something that will treat the Senators well as they continue to build on the West side. "Right now, I want us to be competitive," Bradford said. "I don't want a situation where we lose enthusiasm because we're not competitive in games. I'm not going to pick a number of wins and losses or anything like that. First you have to get competitive, then you start to win."

Schedule Date

Location

Dec. 4 ................................................Notre Dame Dec. 5 ............................................at Coal Grove Dec. 8 ........................................................at East Dec. 11 ......................................at South Webster Dec. 15 ..........................................at New Boston Dec. 18 ....................................................Oak Hill Jan. 5 ..........................................at Wheelersburg Jan. 8........................................................Waverly Jan. 12 ....................................................at Valley Jan. 15 ..................................................Northwest Jan. 19 ..................................................at Minford Jan. 22 ..........................................South Webster Jan. 26 ................................................at Oak Hill Jan. 29 ............................................Wheelersburg Feb. 2 ..................................................at Waverly Feb. 3 ........................................at Ironton St. Joe Feb. 5 ..........................................................Valley Feb. 12..............................................at Northwest Feb. 16 ..............................................West Union Feb. 19 ......................................................Minford

Three seniors lead Senators into 2009 By CHRIS DUNHAM PDT Sports Writer

WEST PORTSMOUTH — This year, the Lady Senators take the floor with more experience than the squad of a year ago. "Last year we only had one senior," West coach Greg Maynard said. "We've got three this year and all three are starters. That really brings us a lot of help through senior leadership." That trio — Christin Graf, Becca Mosley and Tesa Conley boast a wealth of varsity basketball experience and will be the keys to West improving on its 2-19 mark from a year ago. "Christin Graf is just a phenomenal basketball player," Maynard said. "Her leadership has been tremendous. She's all over the court. No

matter (what school she went to), she'd be starting somewhere for them. Rebecca Mosley is the same way. Anything I ask of her she does." He also talked about Conley's work to improve in the offseason and said he expects some big things from her. Joining the seniors will be junior Taylor Newman and a wealth of underclassmen. "We've got just one junior in Taylor Newman," Maynard said. "She really helps us a bunch. Our three sophomores are Cheyanne White, McKenzie Irwin and Lexey Kegley. Then we have an extremely talented freshman group that went undefeated as 7th graders and 8th graders. They've brought a little spark

See WEST, pg. 20

See page 20 for schedule

West Lady Senators No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

00 1 2 3 10 11

Becca Mosley McKenzie Irwin Andrea Frump Tesa Conley Tara Journey Christin Graf

5-5 5-5 5-4 5-10 5-3 5-3

12 10 9 12 9 12

13 20 22 23 24 32

Angel Trapp Taylor Newman Tori Leader Lexey Kegley Alex Weghorst Cheyanne White

5-6 6-0 5-8 5-3 5-8 5-7

9 11 9 10 9 10

Coach: Greg Maynard

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5 Minford Hoops 2009-2010

5 seniors lead Falcon roster By CHRIS DUNHAM PDT Sports Writer

MINFORD — Coach Josh Shoemaker returns to the SOC and his home at Minford this year. The Falcons, hit hard by graduation, prepare to navigate a schedule in a very tough SOC II. "The league's as competitive this year as it has been in a long time," Shoemaker said. "If you don't bring your A-

game every night, you won't do too well. We've got to be prepared and ready to play every night." Five seniors and five juniors make up the Falcon roster. Players like Aaron Oesch, Caleb Cowgill and Cory McKnight saw significant action last year and will be leaned on even more this season.

See FALCONS, pg. 20

See page 20 for roster and schedule

Lady Falcons No. 00 11 12 15 21 23 24 25 32 34 35 44

Name Lora Fuhrmann Courney Spriggs Devin Jenkins Abby Donahoe Courtney Sexton Kendra Justice Mariah Butcher Emma Shoemaker Laiken Gamble Ali Shepherd Becca Bryan MacKenzie Williams

Ht. -------------

Gr. 11 11 10 11 10 11 11 11 11 11 10 11

Coach: Mark Chaney

See page 20 for story and schedule

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Valley Hoops 2009-2010

Valley Indians No.

Name

Ht.

1 3 4 11 13 21 23 25 31 32 33 34

Johnathan Webb Blake Yates Tyler Keller Robbie Dwyer Tyler Rowe Luke Keller Jose Reyes Jason Chaffin Zach Utley Alex Hartley BJ Coleman Curtis Crabtree

5-10 6-2 5-10 6-5 5-8 6-1 5-7 6-2 6-3 6-1 6-4 6-2

Gr. 12 10 12 10 10 10 11 11 12 10 12 10

Coach: Mark Villinger

Valley looks to continue winning By ALI KEATON PDT Sports Writer

LUCASVILLE — Pressure defense and fast-paced offense helped Valley to a second-place league finish in 2008-2009. The Indians tallied 17 wins to just five losses a season ago and tied for second with Wheelersburg in the SOC II. Quite an accomplishment considering the 7-14 record of 2007-2008. "We really turned things around,” Valley coach Mark Villinger said. “We had a great group of seniors. Three of the four started for us. We had a great chemistry and great bench play. It was just one of those seasons that was very, very fun to live through." The three starters lost to graduation were Treg

Cunningham, Cameron Arbaugh and Zach Gibson. Cunningham and Arbaugh were both team captains and the leaders of a season ago. Fortunately for Valley the leaders in the score book are back in the starting lineup. Senior Zach Utley, who last season earned an All-State Honorable Mention nod, is returning as leading scorer from 2008-2009. While second-leading scorer and the team's top rebounder, Blake Yates, is just in his second year, along with five of his sophomore classmates. "We have a very unique mix on our varsity this year, to where we have four seniors, two juniors and six sophomores," Villinger said. "That will play into a very unique rotation for us. Early on we

will be working on blending those two classes (seniors and sophomores). We have a lot of new faces that we'll be blending in, obviously three new starters." Joining Utley and Yates on the floor for the jump ball will be senior point guard Tyler Keller and returning varsity player Johnny Webb. For the final starting position, the Indians' two tallest will share time. "Either B.J. Coleman or Robbie Dwyer will start at the post position for us," Villinger said. "Basically, both will see the same amount of playing time. It just depends on who's doing what during the evening." The remaining roster will be well-used as coach Villinger plans on rotating 10 players on

a nightly basis. Similar to last season, the Indians prepare to attack with run-and-gun offense and full-court, pressure defense. "We hope to maintain our same style of play, pressure basketball, running up and down the floor and putting it up," Villinger said. "We like to play that way and we like to rotate a lot of guys. We really want to pick up where we left off last year. I feel like we have a lot more size (this season)... That is probably our biggest difference." Valley opens the season Friday night when the Indians host the South Point Pointers on Dec. 4th. ALI KEATON can be reached at alikeaton_pdt@hotmail.com

Schedule Date

Location

Dec. 4 ................................................South Point Dec. 5 ..............Washington C.H. (at Zane Trace) Dec. 11 ................................................at Waverly Dec. 18......................................................Minford Dec. 19 ....................................................Western Dec. 30 ....Huntington (at Quicken Loans Arena) Jan. 5 ................................................at Northwest Jan. 8 ..............................................Wheelersburg Jan. 12 ..........................................................West Jan. 15 ................................................at Oak HIll Jan. 19 ......................................at South Webster Jan. 22......................................................Waverly Jan. 26 ..................................................at Minford Jan. 29 ..................................................Northwest Feb. 2..........................................at Wheelersburg Feb. 5 ........................................................at West Feb. 12 ....................................................Oak Hill Feb. 13 ..........................................................Clay Feb. 16....................................at Greenup County Feb. 19 ..........................................South Webster

Lady Indians No.

Name

Ht.

11 12 13 15 20 24 33 34 35 40 42 43

Michelle Mains Breonna Baldridge Courtney Crabtree Whitney Bear McKenzie Coriell Kassie Cox Shelby Ellis Carrie Coriell Jordan Arbaugh Kaitlyn Patrick Miranda Cunningham Mahaliah Taylor

5-4 5-4 5-1 5-9 5-5 6-0 5-8 5-6 5-10 5-8 5-8 5-8

Gr. 12 11 10 10 9 12 11 10 12 11 12 11

Coach: Mark Merritt

Schedule Date

Lot of talent returning for Lady Indians

Location

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LUCASVILLE — Returning every player from the 2008-2009 roster is a great start to what the Lady Indians want to accomplish this basketball season — an SOC II title. "We've got everybody coming back this year and our strength this year is definitely the seniors," Valley coach Mark Merritt said. "(They) are three- and four-year starters and know our program inside and out. They know what it takes to be successful at places like Minford, Wheelersburg and Oak Hill... We took care of home court last year, we won nine and lost one. But with Oak Hill • www.realestategallery.com •

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Nov. 28 ................................................at Fairland Nov. 30 ....................................................Waverly Dec. 3....................................................at Minford Dec. 5 ............................................................Clay Dec. 7 ..................................................Northwest Dec. 10 ..........................................Wheelersburg Dec. 14......................................................at West Dec. 17 ....................................................Oak HIll Jan. 7 ............................................South Webster Jan. 11..................................................at Waverly Jan. 14 ......................................................Minford Jan. 18 ..............................................at Northwest Jan. 21 ........................................at Wheelersburg Jan. 23 ........................................................Adena Jan. 28 ..........................................................West Feb. 4 ..................................................at Oak Hill Feb. 6 ........................................Huntington Ross Feb. 11 ......................................at South Webster Feb. 13..........................................at Chesapeake Feb. 15........................................Greenup County

being so dominant last year, the championship was just out of reach." Leading the way for Valley will be starting seniors Michelle Mains, Kassie Cox and Jordan Arbaugh. "Jordan is our center and pretty much our leader," Merritt said. "Michelle plays point guard and off guard, she leads by example. She just does her job night in and night out. Kassie Cox does a great job in the paint, intimidates some people and she changes a lot of shots." Significant time will also be played by junior defensivespecialist Shelby Ellis and a pair of sophomores, Whitney Bear and Carrie Coriell. "Shelby draws the player on the opposing team who is the

best offensive threat, she works hard on defense," Merritt said. "We're looking for her to score a little bit more this year. For Whitney, we hope with that one year's experience as a freshman that she can put some more points on the board. (Coriell), who got some playing time last year, we look for her to score a little bit this year." Also returning is senior Miranda Cunningham, who will see playing time along with juniors Mahaliah Taylor, Kaitlyn Patrick and Breonna Baldridge. Courtney Crabtree and McKenzie Coriell fill out the varsity roster. "Our expectation this year, as always, is to compete for the SOC championship," Merritt said. "Oak Hill was

pretty dominant last year... But we gave them a good game at the end of the season, I think we improved toward the end of the season." With such a veteran team, the Lady Indians will take their shot in the competitive SOC II. Valley will have to go through the defending Mighty Oaks, who have sat atop the league for most of the decade, and the Lady Jeeps of South Webster, who have possessed the trophy as recently as 2007-2008. "I think that will be our goal, to improve every game and at the end have chance to compete for the SOC championship," Merritt said. ALI KEATON can be reached at alikeaton_pdt@hotmail.com

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7 South Webster Hoops 2009-2010

South Webster Jeeps No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

4 5 10 13 20 21 22 33 42 44

Ashton Miller Conner Scott Austin Loop Trevor Queen Josh Wright Brandon Malone Nate Allard Greg Pearson David Sutton Wes Loop

5-6 6-1 6-2 6-3 6-0 5-11 6-1 6-2 6-3 6-0

11 11 10 12 11 11 10 10 10 12

Coach: Steve Ater

Schedule

Webster will follow its seniors By ALI KEATON PDT SportsWriter

SOUTH WEBSTER — A young South Webster team hopes to re-establish itself in the SOC II behind the leadership of its two seniors and the offense provided by the Jeeps' returning starters. "We lost a lot of seniors from last year's team but we have two (seniors) this year, Wes Loop and Trevor Queen," South Webster coach Steven Ater said. "I expect them to provide a lot of leadership for us and be the go-to guys." Also returning to the Jeeps' starting lineup is point guard Connor Scott. Loop, a shooting guard, and Scott were South Webster's leading scorers of 0809. The first-year head coach is

optimistic about his squad of only six upperclassmen. "We have a lot of new guys, new faces," Ater said. "Some young kids are going to be playing... But we think we’ll be pretty deep and be able to rotate a lot of guys in." Of those young players, two sophomores have impressed the coaching staff. Austin Loop, Wes' younger brother, and David Sutton are playing well this preseason and will see their share of game time. "(Austin) is a guy we are excited about. We'll see how he grows the next three years," Ater said. "David Sutton is another sophomore that will play a lot and is going to factor into (the rotation). We also have some juniors who will play a prominent role in Josh Wright,

Brandon Malone and Ashton Miller, as well as another skilled sophomore Greg Pearson." South Webster, the smallest school in the SOC II, will face tough league opponents throughout the regular season. As the only D-IV squad in the division, the Jeeps hope to keep up with their D-II and D-III rivals. "We feel confident that we're going to be competitive at least from the stand point that we are going to fight every night just to try and be with those teams at the end of the season," Ater said. "At the end of the year we want to make a nice run in the Division IV tournament and see how far we can go." The head coach joins South Webster after assisting at

Chesapeake for the past six seasons. Although his alma mater Panthers have strung together many successful seasons, the opportunity at South Webster was one Ater could not pass up. "I got the opportunity here and it is a great place to be,"Ater said. "I love the people here, the kids have been great to work with and I'm really excited about the opportunity." South Webster travels to Rosemount for its opening night contest against the Panthers of Clay High School on Dec. 5. The night begins with a 6 p.m. junior varsity game followed by the varsity contest at approximately 7:30 p.m. ALI KEATON can be reached at alikeaton_pdt@hotmail.com

Date Location Dec. 5 ........................................................at Clay Dec. 8 ............................................at Portsmouth Dec. 11..........................................................West Dec. 18 ................................................Northwest Dec. 19 ......................................at Ironton St. Joe Jan. 5 ..................................................at Oak Hill Jan. 8 ....................................................at Minford Jan. 9 ............................................................East Jan. 12 ............................................Wheelersburg Jan. 15..................................................at Waverly Jan. 19 ........................................................Valley Jan. 22 ......................................................at West Jan. 26 ..............................................at Northwest Jan. 29......................................................Oak Hill Feb. 2 ........................................................Minford Feb. 5..........................................at Wheelersburg Feb. 6 ............................................................Clay Feb. 9 ..........................................................Green Feb. 12 ....................................................Waverly Feb. 19 ....................................................at Valley

Cook, 6 seniors return to lead South Webster Lady Jeeps No. 2 10 12 15 20 21 23 30 32 33

Name Tosha Blanton Kaci Messer Ali Hadsell Kendra Clark Taylor Queen Katie Hanes Briana Rawlins Kayla Cook Kayla Gee Hannah Montgomery

Ht. 5-9 5-6 5-9 5-5 5-8 6-0 5-10 5-10 5-5 5-5

Gr. 12 9 12 12 12 9 12 12 11 12

Coach: Kristie Johnson

Schedule Date Location Nov. 30 ..........................................................West Dec. 3 ..............................................at Northwest Dec. 7 ......................................................Oak Hill Dec. 10......................................................Minford Dec. 14 ......................................at Wheelersburg Dec. 17 ....................................................Waverly Dec. 21 ............................................Chesapeake Dec. 28 ............Braggin Rights Classic vs. Carroll Dec. 29 ......................................................at Clay Jan. 7 ......................................................at Valley Jan. 11 ..................................at Portsmouth West Jan. 14 ..................................................Northwest Jan. 18 ................................................at Oak Hill Jan. 21 ..................................................at Minford Jan. 25 ....................................................at Green Jan. 28 ............................................Wheelersburg Feb. 1 ............................................................East Feb. 4 ..................................................at Waverly Feb. 8..............................................at Portsmouth Feb. 11 ........................................................Valley

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By ALI KEATON PDT Sports Writer

SOUTH WEBSTER — Coming off a 17-7 season as the runner-up in SOC II, behind the Mighty Oaks, South Webster has much to look forward to in 2009-2010. The Lady Jeeps' are admittedly small and might have a disadvantage in the post but they hope to push the ball with their guard-heavy lineup. With pressure defense, South Webster will look to convert opponent turnovers into points. A unique spread of players and classes makes up the Lady Jeeps' program. Seven seniors, one junior, two sophomores and seven freshmen fill the

South Webster varsity and JV rosters. This after losing both Erin Sherman and Erin Moore to graduation last year. "We have a good, solid base with our seniors,” South Webster coach Kristie Johnson said. “We have a lot of varsity experience there. We're looking forward to a good season." The unquestioned standout of the Lady Jeeps is University of Cincinnati signee Kayla Cook. The 5foot-10 guard signed with the Bearcats earlier this month and, as a sophomore, earned SOC II player of the year honors. "Kayla is a major part of this whole program," Johnson said. "We try to get the high school girls involved as much

as we can with biddy ball and the little kids just look up to all the them, especially ‘Cookie’. That's what builds a program... So she is not just huge to this team, she is huge to the whole program." Cook, as well as the other six seniors —Briana Rawlins, Taylor Queen, Tosha Blanton, Kendra Clark, Hannah Montgomery and Ali Hadsell, all have varsity experience. "I expect a lot out of Briana Rawlins this year. She is really starting to step up," Johnson said. "She can score from the outside and she can post up. So I'm looking for her to be a big factor this year. Also Taylor Queen... I look for her to be a big factor, especially defensively."

Two freshman have caught the eye of their coach as well, Kaci Messer and Katie Hanes. Johnson is expecting good things from her rookies in the Lady Jeeps' quest to dethrone Oak Hill as league champs. "Oak Hill of course is going to have an incredible team, also Valley has everyone back and is going to be good," Johnson said. "We can't ever leave out Wheelersburg, Minford and all of the (teams). They are solid programs and every year they're going to have good players... It's going to be tough in the SOC but it gives us an advantage during tournaments." ALI KEATON can be reached at alikeaton_pdt@hotmail.com

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8

Waverly Hoops 2009-2010

Waverly Tigers No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

2 3 5 10 12 15 22 24 25 30 32

Devin Kelly Derek Roback Sam Johnston Rheadon Remy Jake Hensley Jake Kretzer Allen Leatherwood Davis Remy Harrison Martin David Holt Kevin Malone

5-11 6-4 5-10 5-11 6-3 6-6 5-11 5-11 6-4 6-1 6-0

10 12 12 12 11 10 11 11 11 11 12

Coach: Travis Robertson

Schedule Date

With core returning, Waverly will be tough By JOHN STEGEMAN PDT Sports Editor

WAVERLY — Waverly's boys basketball will look to continue improving in 200910. After improving from five wins in 2007 to 13 wins last season and with the core of last year's team back, Waverly is hoping to compete for a conference title. Leading the way for Waverly once again will be Harrison Martin. The 6-foot4 junior led the team in scoring and rebounding last season, averaging about 20 points and 10 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Martin will be joined again by Jake Kretzer, a sophomore who spent his freshman season showing his skill from behind the arc, hitting more than 50 3-pointers. Waverly coach Travis Robertson said Kretzer has improved and could be a big part of the offense this year.

Last season Kretzer averaged 13 points per game. New to the team this season will be Sam Johnston, a 5-10 point guard from Australia. Robertson said Johnston is a talented player with solid fundamentals but added that he is still adjusting to Waverly's style of play. Whether Johnston is ready to go for game one or not isn't of terrible importance however, as last year's starting point guard Rheadon Remy is back for another season. Devan Kelly is also expected to contribute and Derek Roback, who averaged around 10 points per game last season, is back for his senior campaign as well. "We have pretty much our main players back and we've got some kids to surround them," Robertson said. "Our biggest downfall this year is going to be depth. As long as we can play hard and play defense and guard people

without fouling I think we'll be O.K... We had, from the year before, won five games. From five to 13 wins the next season I think we're heading in the right direction. We got a good core of kids coming back." Robertson said the TIgers are capable of competing for a league championship this season. To win it they will need to unseat defending SOC II and defending state champions Oak Hill, and an improved Wheelersburg team and the rest of an always tough conference. "If we take care of business here early and improve our weaknesses I think we have a chance to compete at the top of the league...," Robertson said. "If you're not ready to lace'em up tight every night you step on the floor you can get beat. We have to be ready and prepared everyday... With our athletic ability and speed I think we'll be able to get up

“We have pretty much our main players back and we’ve got some kids to surround them. Our biggest downfall this year is going to be depth.” Travis Robertson Waverly head coach

and down the floor a little bit this year and it should be fun to watch." JOHN STEGEMAN can be reached at jstegeman02@hotmail.com

Location

Dec. 5 ..........................Logan Elm at Zane Trace Dec. 11 ........................................................Valley Dec. 12 ........................Chesapeake at the Convo Dec. 18 ..........................................Wheelersburg Dec. 28 ................................Pike Holiday Classic Dec. 30 ................................Pike Holiday Classic Jan. 5 ....................................................at Minford Jan. 8 ............................................................West Jan. 12 ................................................at Oak Hill Jan. 15 ..........................................South Webster Jan. 19 ..................................................Northwest Jan. 22 ....................................................at Valley Jan. 26 ........................................at Wheelersburg Jan. 29 ......................................................Minford Feb. 2 ............................................................West Feb. 5 ......................................................Oak Hill Feb. 9 ..................................................Huntington Feb. 12 ......................................at South Webster Feb. 16 ............................................at Chillicothe Feb. 19..............................................at Northwest

Coaches, We wish we could cover every game, but we can’t. Get your kids recognized by calling in the results after every game. Call us at (740) 353-3101 ext. 242 by 10:30 p.m. every time you play.

Lady Tigers No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

10 12 14 20 22 24 30 32 34 44

Audra Williamson Hannah Brewster Darian Harris Bailey Diener Ali Walls Alex Roback Taylor Casey Catlin Shilling Brooke Corcoran Paige Cisco

-----------

12 10 11 11 11 10 11 12 11 11

Coach: John Bonifield

Schedule Date

Location

Nov. 28................................................Portsmouth Nov. 30 ....................................................at Valley Dec. 3 ........................................at Wheelersburg Dec. 7........................................................Minford Dec. 10..........................................................West Dec. 14 ....................................................Oak Hill Dec. 17 ..........................................South Webster Dec. 21 ................................Pike Holiday Classic Dec. 22 ................................Pike Holiday Classic Jan. 7 ....................................................Northwest Jan. 11 ........................................................Valley Jan. 14 ............................................Wheelersburg Jan. 18 ..................................................at Minford Jan. 21 ......................................................at West Jan. 23 ............................................Southeastern Jan. 25 ..........................................................Clay Jan. 28 ................................................at Oak Hill Feb. 1 ..................................................at Jackson Feb. 4 ............................................South Webster Feb. 11..............................................at Northwest

Waverly young but experienced for 2009-10 By JOHN STEGEMAN PDT Sports Editor

WAVERLY — A four-win season doesn't often lead to an optimistic outlook the following year but some of the changes that have taken place at Waverly have things looking up. Head coach John Bonifield is among a host of new coaches in the area this season. The first-year coach was Waverly's junior varsity coach last season. Before that, he spent four years as a volunteer assistant coach and six years running Waverly's Biddy Ball programs. Bonifield takes over from former coach Nikki McGinnis

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who went 4-18 in 2008-09. Not only does Waverly have a new coach, they will also have some new young faces stepping into bigger roles with just two seniors on the roster. "We're a young team," Bonifield said. "A lot of sophomores played last year but we're still young... I'm actually expecting good things from them." Waverly's top returning scorer is the 5-foot-10 Ali Walls who scored roughly seven points per game last season. Bonifield is also expecting big things from guards Hanna Brewster and Audra Williamson. Manning the post positions

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will be Walls and Catlin Shilling. Paige Cisco and Darian Harris are both 5-foot10 or taller as well. Alex Roback, who joined the varsity midway through last season, and Bailey Diener are both back, bringing defensive toughness. Taylor Casey and Brooke Corcoran round out the varsity roster. While the Lady Tigers are young, several players have varsity experience. That combined with a strong off-season program have Bonifield thinking Waverly can make some noise in the Southern Ohio Conference.

"There's no easy day off in the SOC," Bonifield acknowledged. "I've heard we're (projected) to finish down at the bottom of the pack. We finished ahead of Portsmouth West but I hear they have some good freshmen this year... I think we'll be really competitive." Bonifield said the Lady Tigers will be a man-to-man defensive team and will run more of a motion offense this season than they did last year. If that translates into an early win or two to help the players' confidence, there's no telling how well Waverly could do in 2009-10.

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9 Oak Hill Hoops 2009-2010

Oak Hill Oaks No. 00 4 10 11 13 14 21 23 44 50 55

Name Drew Cannon Chris Fairchild Jesse Slone Kyle Ondera Westen Hale Nick Gaines Dirk Dempsey Travis Blevins Wade Howard Austin Brown Joshua Kisor

Ht. 6-3 6-2 6-3 6-1 6-0 6-4 6-2 5-9 6-3 6-3 6-3

Gr. 11 10 11 12 11 11 10 11 12 11 10

Coach: Norm Persin

Oaks not just one-year wonders going for the Oaks is the state tournament's most outstanding player Kyle Ondera. "Kyle's going to be Kyle," Persin said. "He's going to fuel our offense and generate our defense off his athleticism. He's going to make a lot of things happen and he always does." Also returning for the Oaks are juniors Jesse Slone and Westen Hale. The duo started for the Oaks last season and will be expected to take on expanding roles with the graduations of JD Hale and Ryan Borden, two of the team's top three scorers from a year ago. "Now I've already talked to Westen and Jesse and said 'You guys are a year older'," Persin said. "In the past, those guys were kind of like 'We'll play our role and get it to Ryan and JD and Kyle' but now the situation is, you guys have got to step up. It was kind of like what they did in football this year. They

By CHRIS DUNHAM PDT Sports Writer

OAK HILL — Oak Hill believed in March when it went to Columbus and returned home with a Division IV state title. Less than a year later, the Oaks return to the court as a DIII team with three of the starters from the state championship team back and their sites set on another successful season. "Well you'd like to duplicate it, that's for sure," Oak Hill head coach Norm Persin said with a smile. "We already talked to our kids saying 'Don't let down your guard, we just want to continue. Don't reflect on what we did last year because last year is gone but don't give up the hope and the dream. You want to continue to be a great basketball team.'" Returning to keep things

need to step up and make the plays instead of watching the other guys make plays." Those two made a number of big plays for the Oaks this football season, carrying the team to a 10-0 regular season and regional semifinal appearance. They now return to the court, where they are also familiar with success. "We're getting off to a late start, we know, because of football," Persin said. "At the same point in time, we have to be patient. We've got enough veterans here who know what they're doing in the three starters we've got back. They know how to win. They know what it takes to win so we're putting a lot of leadership into their hands and hopefully we can just pull together and be a real nice basketball team again." Persin has coached his share of nice teams. Last year's Oaks

were the ninth team to make regionals under Persin's guidance. With the state championship banner now hanging in Oak Hill, he knows the bullseye on his team's back will be even bigger. "That just comes with the program," Persin said. "Personally, myself, I'm used to it. It was the same way when I was at Chesapeake all those years. I keep warning our kids (the bullseye is) going to be a bigger one now that we've won the state championship." But the coach wouldn't have it any other way. "I'd rather it be this way than not because if it's not this way, what would you have?" Persin said. "People wouldn't care and now they want us to win and that's part of building a successful program so that's what we want."

Schedule Date

Location

Dec. 4 ......................................at Symmes Valley Dec. 11..................................................at Minford Dec. 12 ..................St. Joseph CC (W. Va) at Rio Dec. 18 ....................................................at West Dec. 19..........................................at South Gallia Dec. 22 ............................................at Alexander Dec. 29 ..................................................Rock Hill Jan. 5 ............................................South Webster Jan. 8 ................................................at Northwest Jan. 12......................................................Waverly Jan. 15 ........................................................Valley Jan. 17 ..North Canton Hoover (at Canton South) Jan. 19 ........................................at Wheelersburg Jan. 22 ......................................................Minford Jan. 26 ..........................................................West Jan. 29 ......................................at South Webster Feb. 2....................................................Northwest Feb. 5 ..................................................at Waverly Feb. 12 ....................................................at Valley Feb. 19............................................Wheelersburg

CHRIS DUNHAM can be reached at chrisdunhamjr@aol.com.

Lady Oaks ready for more successes in 2009 Lady Oaks No. Name 3 Kelsey Burton 10 Taylor Hale 11 Breanna Butler 13 Jessica Humphreys 15 Kyla Adkins 20 Jessica Taylor 21 Taylor Butler 22 Kristiannia Johnson 23 Rebecca Puckett 24 Miquel Strite 32 Karlee Metzler 33 Karissa Adkins 40 Lakin Caudill 00 Tiffani Hale Coach: Doug Hale

Ht. 5-11 5-10 5-7 5-5 5-6 5-10 5-9 5-9 5-10 56 5-7 5-9 5-10 5-6

Gr. 10 10 10 11 11 10 12 11 12 11 11 12 10 11

Schedule Date Location Nov. 30 ..................................................at Minford Dec. 3............................................................West Dec. 7 ........................................at South Webster Dec. 10 ................................................Northwest Dec. 12................Federal Hocking (at the Convo) Dec. 14 ................................................at Waverly Dec. 17 ....................................................at Valley Dec. 21 ..........................................at South Point Dec. 28 ..................................................at Adena Jan. 1 ....................................................at Ironton Jan. 7 ..............................................Wheelersburg Jan. 11 ......................................................Minford Jan. 14 ......................................................at West Jan. 16 ........Huntington St. Joe (at Pickerington) Jan. 18 ..........................................South Webster Jan. 21 ..............................................at Northwest Jan. 28......................................................Waverly Feb. 1 ................................................Chesapeake Feb. 4 ..........................................................Valley Feb. 11........................................at Wheelersburg

By CHRIS DUNHAM PDT Sports Writer

OAK HILL — Oak Hill’s Lady Oaks have all the tools they need to defend last season’s SOC II title and repeat its run to the state tournament. More specifically, they return all five starters and their major bench contributors from a year ago. "The kids are just great kids," Lady Oaks' head coach Doug Hale said. "They made a great run last year and we've been telling them every new season you've got to reset. We've got to get together, realize what was successful for us and build on that, work hard and enjoy each other's company for three-to-four months." The Lady Oaks return a trio of seniors who played large

roles on last year's squad in Taylor Butler, Rebecca Puckett and Karissa Adkins. Thus far, they have stepped into their roles as seniors and done well. "That's something we've done in our program for years," Hale said. "We always have high expectations for our seniors. They set the pace as far as leadership goes in practice and being timely to all events. Karissa Adkins, Rebecca Puckett and Taylor Butler have challenges they didn't have last year and have filled in very well. We look forward to an exciting year from them." Joining those three seniors are five juniors and sophomores who saw significant time as underclassmen last year in the Lady Oaks' eight-

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player rotation. "Last year we had three strong freshmen — Lakin Caudill, Breanna Butler and Taylor Hale," Coach Hale said. "They came in, played and paid huge dividends for us last season. This year, they're more confident and understand the program better... Our junior class is also very strong with Mikie Strite and Kelsey Burton who both played big roles as sophomores." With everyone back after such a successful season, Hale believes his team knows everyone on their schedule will be looking to knock off the defending SOC, sectional, district and regional champs. "I think they realize that," Hale said. "Having gone 25-2 last year and making it to the state title game and having our

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key components back... we've gone out in our preseason practicing like there's a bullseye on our backs. Our scrimmage schedule has been as strong as it's ever been." That scrimmage schedule included games against D-IV power Waterford, as well as larger schools like Olentangy Liberty and Greenfield McClain. The hope now is that the team carries what it learned from last year's run and this preseason into regular season play. "We need to play our best each game," Hale said, "because we're going to get everyone else's best game this year." CHRIS DUNHAM can be reached at chrisdunhamjr@aol.com.

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10

Northwest Hoops 2009-2010

Northwest Mohawks No. Name 4 Collin LaJoye 10 Jerod Miller 12 Eric Frantz 14 Jeremy Blankenship 20 Dylan Brown 22 Mark Moore 23 Kreig Crabtree 24 Hank Leslie 32 Kenny Crabtree 33 Luke Brown 34 Chaise Hall 42 Kyle Simon 44 Caleb Brown 45 Tyler Vastine Coach: Rick Scarberry

Mohawks to be more consistent By JOHN STEGEMAN PDT Sports Editor

M c D E R M O T T — Northwest, in 2008-09, was a team that could wow on a Tuesday and struggle on a Friday. The ups and downs of last season led to a .500 finish but coach Rick Scarberry said this season's Mohawks will be of a different mold. With 6-foot-5 Hank Leslie and his 21 points and 10 rebounds a game returning as the core of Northwest's offense, the Mohawks could be a sleeper pick to make a lot of noise in the SOC II. Also returning from last season's team is second-leading scorer Kreig Crabtree, who averaged roughly 15 points per game last season, as well as

Chaise Hall, Kenny Crabtree, Eric Frantz and Mark Moore. On Northwest's media day, a week before the season tip-off, Scarberry said the starting lineup wasn't set in stone but that Leslie, Hall, Kenny and Kreig Crabtree were likely starters with four or five players battling for the final spot. Among those players were junior Dylan Brown, a transfer from Peebles who played well during that program's successful run last season. The addition of Brown will also change the Mohawks' style of play. "We feel like we're going to run the ball up and down a little more this year," Scarberry said. "We've always played a little bit more possession basketball with Hank in there because we

know we could always go in there and he can get you two or a free throw. I feel like with Dylan Brown moving in and the improvements some of our other kids have made that we're going to be able to run eight or nine kids and push it up and down a little bit more." That depth will be critical to Northwest's goals this season. Among the varsity returners the Mohawks will also have Jeremy Blankenship on the varsity squad after a successful JV season last year. Jerod Miller and Luke Brown should also see varsity time for the Mohawks as will Collin LaJoye. Caleb Brown, Kyle Simon and Tyler Vastine round out a varsity roster that has optimism running high in McDermott.

"We're looking forward to the season," Scarberry said. "Our kids are very excited. We have a very tough schedule this year. We feel like our league is going to be very good." The league, as is often the case, looks stacked for 2009-10 but the Mohawks have every intention of trying to win it. "Our goal is always to win our league but we're also realistic," Scarberry said. "Wheelersburg also has everybody back plus a pretty good point guard moving in. Oak Hill has a lot of kids back too and they're still young but we think we can play with those teams and beat them. Our kids have to come to play every night." It all starts for Northwest on Dec. 4 on the road against Clay.

Ht. 5-9 5-11 5-8 5-11 6-0 6-0 6-0 6-5 6-1 5-10 5-8 6-1 5-10 6-0

Gr. 11 11 12 11 11 12 12 12 11 10 12 10 11 10

Schedule Date Location Dec.4 ........................................................at Clay Dec. 11 ......................................at Wheelersburg Dec. 15 ............................................North Adams Dec. 18 ....................................at South Webster Dec. 30 ........................Washington Court House Jan. 5 ..........................................................Valley Jan. 8........................................................Oak Hill Jan. 12 ......................................................Minford Jan. 15 ......................................................at West Jan. 16 ................................................Portsmouth Jan. 19..................................................at Waverly Jan. 22 ............................................Wheelersburg Jan. 26 ..........................................South Webster Jan. 29 ....................................................at Valley Feb. 2 ..................................................at Oak Hill Feb. 5 ....................................................at Minford Feb. 6..............................................at Portsmouth Feb. 12 ..........................................................West Feb. 16 ................................................at Eastern Feb. 19 ....................................................Waverly

Northwest returns all 5 starters from 08-09 Lady Mohawks No. Name 4 Ashley Gilley 5 Katie Malone 10 Jenna Euton 12 Madison Spears 14 Kaylee Ross 21 Kayla Clark 23 Devan Scarberry 24 Rachael Shumway 25 Payton Gubernath 32 Brooke Smith 33 Chelsi Wilson 34 Brittany Williams Coach: Mark Spears

Ht. -------------

Gr. 12 12 11 12 12 10 11 11 10 12 12 11

Schedule Date Location Nov. 27 ..........Westfall (Paint Valley Tournament) Nov. 30............................................Wheelersburg Dec. 3 ............................................South Webster Dec. 7 ......................................................at Valley Dec. 10 ................................................at Oak Hill Dec. 14..................................................at Minford Dec. 17..........................................................West Dec. 21 ..............................................at Rock Hill Dec. 28 ..................................................Whiteoak Jan. 7....................................................at Waverly Jan. 11 ......................................at Wheelersburg Jan. 14 ......................................at South Webster Jan. 18 ........................................................Valley Jan. 21......................................................Oak Hill Jan. 28 ......................................................Minford Feb. 1......................................................Rock Hill Feb. 4 ........................................................at West Feb. 6 ..........................................at North Adams Feb. 8 ............................................................Clay Feb. 11 ....................................................Waverly

By JOHN STEGEMAN PDT Sports Editor

McDERMOTT — It wasn't the best of seasons for the Lady Mohawks last year with the team falling in the sectional final with an 8-13 record. Last year's team though was going through some of the growing pains typical of a young team. The advantage of a young team one year however, is an experienced one the next. With coach Mark Spears entering his second season at the helm, the Lady Mohawks return their entire starting lineup from last season. Last year's starters, who are projected to start this season as well, are Katie Malone, Devan Scarberry, Brooke Smith, Chelsi Wilson and Brittany Williams.

Scarberry led the team in scoring last season at 11 points per game with Williams right behind. Kaylee Ross also returns to the varsity squad this season with Ashley Gilley, Jenna Euton, Kayla Clark and Rachael Shumway coming up from the JV team. Payton Gubernath joins the program after moving in from Minnesota and Madison Spears returns to the program after not playing since her freshman year. With the whole starting lineup back, and the new additions, expectations are higher this season. "Expectations are a lot higher," Spears said. "We felt like we gave a couple ball games away last year, that happens to everybody. The kids had a good sum-

mer. Things are a little bit rusty but the kids are working hard. With the work habits we have right now if we continue that we hope to see more success than what we saw last year." While the team is more experienced, the Lady Mohawks still lack height inside. The team’s top two rebounders last season were Williams and Smith. Both players were listed as 5-foot-8 last season. With the lack of size the Lady Mohawks will look to cause turnovers on defense and turn those into quick points. "We're going to have to be a hustling, hard-nosed team because we don't have a lot of size," Spears said. "We're going to have to get after it. The defense is going to have to put a lot of pressure on the basketball.

We're going to have to make some turnovers to generate our offense a little bit." With the up tempo style of defense, Spears said plenty of players will get court time. "If they play defense like I want them to then a lot of people are going to play," Spears said. "So if they're sitting there worrying about starting — that's one thing I wouldn't worry a whole lot about." Spears acknowledged that Oak Hill is the likely favorite to repeat as SOC II champions and said that many are picking Northwest to battle around the bottom of the league. "We'll find out about that," Spears said. "They got a lot of experience last year and hopefully that will pay off for us as the season starts."

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11

New Boston Hoops 2009-2010

New Boston Tigers No. Name 50 Thomas Branham 4 Shane Buckley 5 Tyler Messer 10 Steven Russell 13 Drew Delotell 21 Josh Spears 23 Levi Horsley 24 Nathan Miller 32 Zac Wolfe 34 Bentley Bledsoe 44 Nathaniel Henson 3 Matt Mohr Coach: Don Stapleton

Ht. 6-1 5-7 6-1 6-2 6-1 6-1 6-4 5-6 6-1 6-1 6-3 5-10

Gr. 10 9 12 12 12 11 10 10 12 10 12 9

Schedule

New faces to lead at New Boston Horsley will be main offensive threat for SOC I Tigers By JOHN STEGEMAN PDT Sports Editor

NEW BOSTON — Last season wasn't the most memorable for the New Boston boys basketball program. The team finished 7-15 and lost in the sectional finals. Only one regular starter returns from that squad however, giving the Tigers a chance for a fresh start. Leading the way for New Boston this season will likely be sophomore Levi Horsley. The 6-foot-4 forward averaged just under seven points per game last season as a

starter but will be expected to carry a bigger load this year. Helping the cause will be three other players who started intermittently throughout the year in Drew Delotell, Nate Henson and Zac Wolfe. The Tigers also expect contributions from Tyler Messer, a senior transfer, and freshman point guard Shane Buckley. Coach Don Stapleton said Buckley will be a big part of the offense. "I met the kid in seventh grade and he's been playing everyday and he's always started," Stapleton said. "He's

Lady Tigers No. 15 14 32 23 11 22 12 24 42 10 35

Name Missy Buckley Shawna Buckley Courtney Delotell Mychael Hamilton Mychael Harding Miranda Litz Christian Lykins Katie Malone Kaci McNutt Jennifer Miller Alyssa Raines

Ht. 5-7 5-4 5-5 5-5 5-5 5-5 5-7 5-5 5-10 5-5 5-9

Gr. 12 9 9 12 11 10 12 11 11 12 12

Coach: Jon Estep

Schedule Date Location Nov. 28 ..........................Hillsboro at PV Shootout Nov. 30 ..........................................................Clay Dec. 3......................................................at Green Dec. 7 ......................................................Eastern Dec. 10 ..............................................Notre Dame Dec. 14 ................................................at Western Dec. 17 ........................................Symmes Valley Dec. 19 ..............................................West Union Jan. 4 ..................................................at Wellston Jan. 7 ............................................................East Jan. 11 ......................................................at Clay Jan. 14 ........................................................Green Jan. 16 ..........................................at Georgetown Jan. 18..................................................at Eastern Jan. 21 ..........................................at Notre Dame Jan. 23 ..........................................at South Gallia Jan. 28 ....................................................Western Jan. 30..........................................................Miller Feb. 4........................................at Symmes Valley Feb. 11 ......................................................at East

GO

not real big but he's going to be the (point) guard and we're hoping he can distribute." For opening night, Stapleton said the starting lineup would likely be Buckley, Horsley, Henson, Messer and Delotell with Wolfe coming off the bench as sixth man. The whole new lineup will lead to a new style of play. "We'll be a little more structured and methodical than we've been in the past," Stapleton said. "We probably won't try to run as much." Stapleton said Symmes Valley is a likely favorite in

the SOC I but said the Tigers can compete. "As long as we play together as a team we could finish in the top third and make some noise maybe," Stapleton said. "A lot of it is going to come down to whether or not we have team cohesiveness." Stapleton will be entering his seventh season as coach, making him one of the most tenured coaches in the SOC I. JOHN STEGEMAN can be reached at jstegeman02@hotmail.com

Lady Tigers want fourth title By JOHN STEGEMAN PDT Sports Editor

NEW BOSTON — After winning three-straight SOC I championships it would be be reasonable to expect the Lady Tigers to take a year or so to reload. Nothing could be further from the plan. The Lady Tigers may have lost their leading scorer from last season's 18-4 campaign to graduation but they return three senior starters who have never known what it's like to not win a conference title — and they're not eager to find out. "We know there are some teams that have gotten better...," New Boston coach Jon Estep said. "But we feel the road to the championship still goes through here. That's the mentality we're taking into this. We're not relinquishing it until somebody comes in and takes it from us." Standing in the way of any other team taking that title will be Missy Buckley, Alyssa Raines and Mychael Hamilton. The trio served as a supporting cast to some degree in past years but this year will bear the spotlight themselves. Buckley is the top returning scorer and one of the teams top defenders, averaging 13 points and four steals a game last year. Raines scored around eight

points per game last season with 11 rebounds and Hamilton made contributions both offensively and defensively. The biggest loss to graduation last season for New Boston was Kayla Wiley. The SOC I all-star is playing this season for Shawnee State. "It will be a different style of play because Kayla did so much," Estep said. "I don't think the style is going to change dramatically. I think it's just the roles. The three of them combined in Missy, Alyssa and Mychael will step in and kind of be the leaders

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Date Location Dec. 5 ..................................................at Wellston Dec. 11 ......................................................at Clay Dec. 12 ..........................................Ironton St. Joe Dec. 15..........................................................West Dec. 18........................................................Green Jan. 5........................................................Eastern Jan. 8 ............................................at Notre Dame Jan. 9 ..............................................South Gallia Jan. 12 ................................................at Western Jan. 15......................................at Symmes Valley Jan. 19 ..........................................................East Jan. 22 ..........................................................Clay Jan. 26 ....................................................at Green Jan. 29..................................................at Eastern Feb. 2 ................................................Notre Dame Feb. 5 ......................................................Western Feb. 9 ........................................at Ironton St. Joe Feb. 12..........................................Symmes Valley Feb. 16 ..............................................South Gallia Feb. 19 ......................................................at East

out there in their own little way." After the top three, New Boston should also get contributions from Christian Lykins, Mychael Harding and Kaci McNutt, though McNutt will be out early on with an ankle injury. Even the freshmen will make an impact for the Lady Tigers this season with Shawna Buckley and Courtney Delotell likely to see a good deal of playing time. "We know we're going to have some doubters," Estep said. "People will say 'They

lost Wiley, so they don't have anything coming back.' I feel my three seniors who have started the last two years — I'll put them out there alongside any other team's top three players. The role players we have to play alongside those girls have gained a lot of experience practicing and playing over the summer and I think we have the nucleus to make the run for that fourth straight. I know it's not going to be easy." JOHN STEGEMAN can be reached at jstegeman02@hotmail.com

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12

East Hoops 2009-2010

Garrett brothers return to lead East By ALI KEATON PDT Sports Writer

SCIOTOVILLE — Uncertainty surrounds the East Tartans this preseason as three starters from last year's 16-8 team were lost to graduation. A total of six graduated seniors, all of which stood at least 5foot-11 inches tall, leave East undersized and unsure of how this year might play out. The misfortune continues as senior offensive threat Zach Rawlins will miss his final basketball campaign, sidelined by a knee injury. "We lost Zach Rawlins who was a starter and is a senior this year," East coach Adam Bailey said. "He tore his ACL in the first football scrimmage this year. I think Zach averaged about 15 points a game last year, so I'd say we lost probably 75 to 80 percent of our offense this year with him being hurt and the seniors that we lost." A first-year head coach, Bailey now leads the Tartans as former East coach Travis Bradford has relocated to West to take over the Senators. Bailey, athletic director of five years in Sciotoville, has nine years of basketball coaching experience as a varsity assistant, junior varsity and junior high coach. The new head coach explained how his undersized team will operate offensively this season. "We want to get out and push the tempo, we were bigger (in past seasons) but right now we

East Tartans No.

Name

Ht.

3 4 5 10 12 14 15 21 22 23 32 42 Coach:

Jordan Garrett Zach Rawlins Justin Crager Justin Phillips Jayvon Wright Nathan Toller Nathan King Jon Garrett T.J. Taylor Devin Briggs Corey Haywood J.C. Evans Adam Bailey

5-10 5-11 5-10 5-10 6-0 6-1 5-7 5-10 5-11 5-10 6-3 5-10

Schedule Date

only have one kid that is over 6-foot-1 on our whole roster," Bailey said. "We are definitely small, but we're athletic. Hopefully we can push the ball and run an up-tempo style offense." Two seniors returning to the Tartans are brothers Jon and Jordan Garrett. Jon is a twoyear starter while twin Jordan has started on and off since his sophomore season. Both have earned varsity basketball letters each year since becoming freshmen. "We look for (Jon) to do a lot of our scoring and I'm hoping that Jordan has a break out year," Bailey said.

Devan Briggs, a junior point guard, could be an impact player for the Tartans along with fellow classmate Justin Phillips. Meanwhile, sophomores Nathan Toller and Jayvon Wright are battling for a spot in the post and into the starting lineup. The SOC I squad will look to its defense to carry them. East plans to frustrate opponents into costly turnovers and convert the miscues into points. "We are small so we're going to have to make teams turn it over, so we can get out and run," Bailey said. "I think the league is probably as competitive as it has been in the last

couple of years, especially in the top half... A lot of teams are returning lots of starters and offense." To round out an eight-man rotation, minutes off the bench will be given to sophomore Nathan King and freshman Justin Crager as the banged-up Tartans find their way in SOC I play. "Before injuries happened I would have thought we could have competed for the league," Bailey said. "But right now were just looking to get better and compete in every game." ALI KEATON can be reached at alikeaton_pdtathotmail.com

Location

Dec. 4 ............................................Ironton St. Joe Dec. 8............................................................West Dec. 11........................................................Green Dec. 18 ....................................at Symmes Valley Dec. 22 ..........................................at Coal Grove Dec. 29 ..............................................South Gallia Jan. 5 ................................................Notre Dame Jan. 8 ......................................................Western Jan. 9 ........................................at South Webster Jan. 12 ......................................................at Clay Jan. 15......................................................Eastern Jan. 19 ..........................................at New Boston Jan. 22 ....................................................at Green Jan. 26 ..........................................Symmes Valley Jan. 29 ..........................................at Notre Dame Feb. 2 ..................................................at Western Feb. 5 ............................................................Clay Feb. 12 ................................................at Eastern Feb. 16 ......................................at Ironton St. Joe Feb. 19 ..............................................New Boston

Lady Tartans return trio of starters

Lady Tartans No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

1 4 10 12 14 15 20 22 24 25 32 33 35 40 43 Coach:

Sierra Dingess Tiffany Craft Meghan Williams Brittany Swords Tiffani Wollard Amanda Smith Emily Howard Katie Bennet Katie Jewell Torri Kelley Haley Fisher Jessica McCallister Toni Lang Jessie Monroe Brookelyn Newell Jack Branon

5-3 5-11 5-7 5-9 5-11 5-7 5-6 5-7 4-11 5-10 5-7 5-5 5-11 5-6 5-2

11 9 11 11 10 9 10 12 10 10 10 12 11 9 9

Schedule Date Location Nov. 30 ....................................................at Green Dec. 3 ......................................at Symmes Valley Dec. 7 ............................................at Notre Dame Dec. 10 ....................................................Western Dec. 14 ..........................................................Clay Dec. 17 ................................................at Eastern Dec. 28..........................................at South Gallia Jan. 4 ........................................................at West Jan. 7 ............................................at New Boston Jan. 11 ........................................................Green Jan. 14 ..........................................Symmes Valley Jan. 16................................................West Union Jan. 18 ..............................................Notre Dame Jan. 21 ................................................at Western Jan. 23 ..................................at Harvest Christian Jan. 25 ..............................................South Gallia Jan. 28 ......................................................at Clay Feb. 1 ........................................at South Webster Feb. 4........................................................Eastern Feb. 11 ..............................................New Boston

By ALI KEATON PDT Sports Writer

SCIOTOVILLE — The girls team from Sciotoville takes pride in its ability to shoot the three-ball, and the Lady Tartans are returning their best at it. Meghan Williams was one of the best in the state a year ago, as a sophomore. "Meghan Williams finished fourth in the state in three point percentage," East coach Jack Branon said. "She shot over 40 percent from three last year. She was our leading scorer and is a junior this year." Just as any team, the Lady Tartans cannot live and die along three-point arc. Branon explained the improvements necessary to go from the 8-14 record of last season to becoming a league contender. "We have to value our possessions," Branon said. "We have to cut down our turnovers and we have to keep people from coming inside and we have to rebound. If we do those things, we've got a shot (in the SOC I)... And we have to shoot free throws better." Two starters were lost to graduation, Brittany Caudill, a top-rebounder, and Cierra Wright, who along with Caudill was a scorer and threeyear starter. Point guard Jessica McCallister and post player Katie Bennett return to the starting lineup this year as seniors. "Jessica McCallister is a three-year starter, really runs

our offense and makes things go for us," Branon said. "She is an outstanding defensive player out front, as well. "Katie Bennett is an inside player, kind of undersized, she is a 5-foot-7," Branon said. "She has nice inside offensive moves, rebounds well and plays good inside defense for us." A 5-foot-11 junior Toni Lang will be another strong presence in the post, especially as a rebounder and defender. Sierra Dingess and Brittany Swords will see significant playing time at the varsity level, just as they did a year ago. "Brittany Swords will see significant amount of playing

time as the sixth-man. She is a spark-plug, defensive type player," Branon said. "Most everybody that will play, (received) significant minutes last year. We are relatively experienced. We have two seniors and four juniors back. And we have some freshmen and sophomores that are going to get some playing time too." Area coaches have agreed that the SOC I will be as tight a race as any, with New Boston as the defending champs and the rest of the division closing the gap this off-season. "I honestly think everybody has a chance to be playing meaningful games clear up to the end of the season," Branon said. "Eastern is going to be

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tough to beat, and obviously New Boston is the champ until somebody dethrones them. Notre Dame has a couple big girls inside... Green's Adrianne Blankenship might be the best player in the league, and they will be pretty solid. "I'm hard pressed to say that anybody is really the favorite. I wouldn't be surprised if the (SOC I winner) had three or four losses." The Lady Tartans begin their quest for the top-spot in the league when East travels to Franklin Furnace tomorrow night to face the Green Lady Cats. ALI KEATON can be reached at alikeaton_pdt@hotmail.com

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13

Notre Dame Hoops 2009-2010

Notre Dame Titans No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

22 20 41 43 23 24 12 11 34 40

Jeffrey Emnett Alex Glockner Greg July Mark Evans Blake Glockner Jeff July Carlos Perez Tyler noel Brad Pierron Kevin Lewis

6-0 5-9 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-2 5-8 6-1 6-1 5-10

12 12 12 11 11 11 11 10 10 9

Coach: Matt Mader

Titans competing now to win later By CHRIS DUNHAM PDT Sports Writer

In a school with less than 40 boys, having a good turnout for teams can be an issue. Not this year for Notre Dame basketball. With 23 players in the basketball program, the Titans feature the first freshman team in school history and battles across the board on the varsity team. "We're still evaluating and looking at kids in different spots," first-year head coach Matt Mader said. "We don't have a lot of experience back and are looking to fill our starting positions through the scrimmages." The Titans do have some experience in their upperclassmen. Alex Glockner has been playing varsity basketball since his freshman year and is establishing him-

self as a leader for this year's team. "We have to start with our seniors," Mader said. "We have Alex Glockner, a fouryear player who has been in the program. Alex is going to be our leader. He, Jeffrey (Emnett) and Greg (July) are the kids our younger guys are looking up to for leadership. They've done good thus far to provide that." Four juniors and some underclassmen make up the rest of the roster and give the Titans even more competition as they approach the new season. "That's what we talked to the kids about," Mader said. "We want to create a situation where we're competing in practice. We want to have guys competing for spots, not just during the season, but in the offseason. That's no secret that we need to be competing in the offseason

to get better." This season, Mader wants to see that in-practice competition make the team good enough to compete on the court each night. While the SOC I returns a lot of its talent from a year ago, Mader expects his team to be up to the challenge and fare well. "We want to compete every night," Mader said. "I know that Clay and Eastern and Symmes and East return a lot of their core players, so night in and night out it seems the league will be very balanced. We're just hoping that we can compete. We talked to our kids about taking it one game at a time one practice at at time. That's what we're trying to focus on. We're hoping to come out and compete, play hard and hustle night in and night out." The focus early has been to get the team ready for bas-

ketball season while they compete with one another for playing position. With the majority of the players coming in from a fall sport, Mader has been working on the transition from the field or course to the court. "We've really been focusing on conditioning and getting our bodies acclimated to basketball," Mader said. "We've got a lot of kids that play multiple sports. The transition for most from football to basketball involves trying to get basketball legs. We have athletes who ran cross country and played golf who have worked hard in the gym also." The transition ends and season tips off Dec. 4 when the Titans travel to West. CHRIS DUNHAM can be reached at chrisdunhamjr@aol.com

Schedule Date

Location

Dec. 4........................................................at West Dec. 11 ....................................at Symmes Valley Dec. 18 ....................................................Eastern Dec. 28 ................at Dawson-Bryant Tournament Dec. 29 ................at Dawson Bryant Tournament Jan. 5 ........................................................at East Jan. 8 ................................................New Boston Jan. 9 ........................................at Ironton St. Joe Jan. 12 ....................................................at Green Jan. 15 ....................................................Western Jan. 19 ......................................................at Clay Jan. 20 ..........................................Ironton St. Joe Jan. 22 ..........................................Symmes Valley Jan. 26..................................................at Eastern Jan. 29 ..........................................................East Jan. 30 ............................................at Coal Grove Feb. 2 ............................................at New Boston Feb. 5 ..........................................................Green Feb. 12 ................................................at Western Feb. 19 ..........................................................Clay

Lady Titans No. 20 4 13 10 12 5 50 14 34 22 30 15 2 11

Name Catie Delabar Hannah Shupert Katie Kayser Erin Monroe Leighann Morgan Young Bin Hong Jen Arnzen Sammie Marting Olivia Nelson Katie O'Neill Miranda Pauley Stacie Ramey Raigan Sammons Libby Welsh

Ht. ---------------

Gr. 12 12 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

Coach: Walt Monroe

Schedule Date Location Nov. 30..........................................Symmes Valley Dec. 3 ......................................................Eastern Dec. 7 ............................................................East Dec. 10 ..........................................at New Boston Dec. 12 ..............................................at Rock Hill Dec. 14....................................................at Green Dec. 16 ....................................................Western Dec. 17 ....................at Spring Valley Tournament Dec. 19 ....................at Spring Valley Tournament Jan. 4 ........................................Harvest Christian Jan. 7 ............................................................Clay Jan. 11......................................at Symmes Valley Jan. 14..................................................at Eastern Jan. 18 ......................................................at East Jan. 21 ..............................................New Boston Jan. 28 ........................................................Green Feb. 1 ....................................at Harvest Christian Jan. 3 ............................................................West Jan. 4 ..................................................at Western Jan. 11 ......................................................at Clay

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Shupert, Delabar lead young team By CHRIS DUNHAM PDT Sports Writer

Notre Dame's Lady Titans feature one of the SOC's youngest rosters this season with two seniors and no juniors. Those seniors, Catie Delabar and Hannah Shupert, have been in the program and both saw a significant amount of starts last season. "Hannah Shupert and Catie Delabar are our seniors and they are more excited this year than ever before," Notre Dame coach Walt Monroe said. "They have shown lots of leadership and were voted as the captains by the team."

Joining the two seniors in the starting lineup will be sophomores Erin Monroe and Katie Kayser, as well as freshman Jen Arnzen. "Erin Monroe is a sophomore will provide lots of scoring and defense for us," Monroe said. "Jen Arnzen is six feet tall and has improved a lot over the summer. She will start as a freshman." Arnzen steps into the center position vacated by Jeanne Estep's graduation. A year ago, the Lady Titans also had two seniors (Estep and Kaitlyn Canter), but had a three-person junior class which featured Shupert and

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Delabar. This year, however, the Lady Titans' roster features no juniors, four sophomores and eight freshmen. "We are a very, very young team," Monroe said. "We are excited because we did well in previews and in scrimmages and we expect to improve all year." Coming off the bench will be freshmen Regan Fannin and Libby Welch. Both are expected to see significant playing time in the sevenplayer rotation. The young squad hopes to out-do the 614 record from a season ago by getting better with each game.

"We expect to improve all year and, by halfway through the season, we hope to be a real good team," Monroe said. The team will see plenty of opportunities for challenge and improvement early in the season. The team's first three games are home contests against SOC I foes. Following that opening sequence, the Lady Titans play six games in a 10-day stretch from Dec. 10-19, giving them a total of nine contests before the Christmas break. CHRIS DUNHAM can be reached at chrisdunhamjr@aol.com.

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14

Clay Hoops 2009-2010

Clay will be a “tall order” for foes No. 5 11 15 21 22 25 31 32 33 35 41

Panthers look to improve their SOC I standing By ALI KEATON PDT Sports Writer

A disappointing 6-14 regular season and 6-8 conference record in 2008-2009 leaves much to be desired for the Panthers class of 2010. The good news is that Clay returns most of its height for the new season. Varsity returners Chaz Lawson, Max Graham, Nathan Burchett and Gabe Duduit all range from 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-4 while guards Jon Valentine and Cameron Caseman each stand at least 5foot-11. As a sophomore, Valentine was an impact player in the Panthers' front court. Now a junior, Valentine will be part of a balanced offensive attack. "We're going to be really, balanced. In our scrimmages, we had five or six guys do well so we are going to be really balanced," Clay coach Jack Trainer said. "We want to be able to score from inside and outside." Of the Panthers four seniors

Clay Panthers Name Chaz Lawson Jacob Nolan Cody Delotell Chandler King Jon Valentine Cody Bussler Cameron Caseman Gabe Duduit Nathan Burchett Josh Porter Max Graham

Ht. 6-5 6-2 5-11 5-10 6-0 5-10 5-11 6-2 6-2 6-3 6-6

Gr. 12 12 11 10 11 11 12 12 11 11 11

Coach: Jack Trainer (Lawson, Caseman, Cody Delotell and Jacob Nolan), the most varsity experience has been acquired by Lawson, followed by Caseman with the second most minutes of the class. Lawson, a center, will be counted on for rebounding as well as scoring during his senior season. Clay will look to pressure teams on defense and create scoring opportunities as the Panthers lack a standout offensively. The SOC I squad begins its season with four strong SOC II opponents followed by four straight division games. The opening week could give the Panthers the needed time to build team chemistry.

“We have a long, long way to go. We don’t really have that guy that can score 25 points every night. We’re not that kind of team.” Jack Trainer, Clay Panthers head coach

"We have a long, long way to go," Trainer said. "We don't really have that guy that will go out and score 25 points every night. We're not that kind of team." With league opponent and defending SOC I champ Western losing key players from its roster, a favorite in the SOC I is tough to determine. The Panthers are excited about the chance to improve

from a season ago. "We're looking forward to the opportunity to see what we can do this season," Trainer said. On Friday, Dec. 4, Clay will host the Mohawks of Northwest High School for the season tip-off in Rosemount. ALI KEATON can be reached at alikeaton_pdt@hotmail.com

Hey parents and players! Do you want to see your team’s scores reported in the Portsmouth Daily Times? We can’t cover every game, so we rely on coaches to call in the results. Tell your coach to call us at (740) 351-3101 ext. 242 by 10:30 p.m. every night they play.

Schedule Date Location Dec. 4 ..................................................Northwest Dec. 5 ............................................South Webster Dec. 8....................................................at Minford Dec. 10 ......................................at Wheelersburg Dec. 11 ..............................................New Boston Dec. 18 ................................................at Western Jan. 5 ............................................Symmes Valley Jan. 8....................................................at Eastern Jan. 11 ......................................................Minford Jan. 12 ..........................................................East Jan. 15 ....................................................at Green Jan. 19 ..............................................Notre Dame Jan. 22 ..........................................at New Boston Jan. 23 ....................................................Rock Hill Jan. 26 ....................................................Western Jan. 29......................................at Symmes Valley Feb. 2........................................................Eastern Feb. 5 ........................................................at East Feb. 6 ........................................at South Webster Feb. 12 ........................................................Green Feb. 13 ....................................................at Valley Feb. 19 ..........................................at Notre Dame

Clay has work cut out for it in SOC I Lady Panthers young but talented going into 2009-10

Lady Panthers No. 3 5 11 12 13 21 22 23 24 30 32 33 40 41 44

Name Katherine Bauer Alison Castle Tayler Carter Chelsea Beegan Emily Spriggs Madison Whitley Julie Williams Brittany Miller Sarah Pelfrey Anna Valentine Holly Hempill Jordan Stewart Allie Guthman Sarah Sexton Keely Craft

Ht. 5-7 5-1 5-6 5-5 5-4 5-8 5-5 5-4 5-10 5-8 5-8 5-5 5-9 5-3 5-6

Gr. 11 9 10 11 10 9 11 11 9 9 11 10 9 11 11

By ALI KEATON PDT Sports Writer

A young Lady Panther team hopes to continue the success of the 16-6 record and second place league finish from a season past. This year, however, experience is not a strong suit. "We lost three seniors off the group and we have no seniors this year," Clay coach Kevin Castle said. "We aren't returning a lot of experience." The only full-time varsity players returning to this year's roster are juniors Katherine Bauer and Holly Hempill. Fellow classmate Keely Craft split time between junior varsity and varsity a year ago. Junior Chelsea Beegan and sophomores Emily Spriggs and Julie Williams move up to the varsity roster of only six upperclassmen, while five freshmen hope to earn a basketball letter in 20092010. "We are looking for minutes out of all of them," Castle said. "Madison Whitley is a freshman com-

Coach: Kevin Castle

Schedule Date Location Nov. 30 ..........................................at New Boston Dec. 3 ......................................................Western Dec. 5 ......................................................at Valley Dec. 7 ......................................at Symmes Valley Dec. 10 ....................................................Eastern Dec. 14 ......................................................at East Dec. 17....................................................at Green Dec. 29 ..........................................South Webster Jan. 7 ................................................Notre Dame Jan. 11 ..............................................New Boston Jan. 14 ................................................at Western Jan. 16 ..........................................................West Jan. 18 ..........................................Symmes Valley Jan. 21..................................................at Eastern Jan. 25..................................................at Waverly Jan. 28 ..........................................................East Jan. 30 ..............................................South Gallia Feb. 4 ..........................................................Green Feb. 8................................................at Northwest Feb. 11 ..........................................at Notre Dame

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have its work cut out for it as each league opponent will be faced within the first nine games. Not to mention, the other two December contests will pit the Lady Panthers against strong SOC II opponents South Webster and Valley. All in all, Clay looks forward to the year ahead as the Lady Panthers begin regular season play Nov. 30.

"We're excited about the group of kids that came out to play and we're having a good time working with them," Castle said. "We are going to enjoy this season and do the best we can." New Boston hosts Clay on Monday night as SOC girls basketball gets underway. ALI KEATON can be reached at alikeaton_pdt@hotmail.com

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ing in there, (we look for her) to get quite a bit of minutes." In his second year as head coach of the Lady Panthers, Castle is hesitant to predict how the competitive SOC I might go. A year ago New Boston was the one league foe that Clay could not overcome. The Lady Tigers now have the rest of the league tracking them. "We just want to go out and play, and where we fall is where we fall," Castle said. "We have a good group of kids... They work very hard. We'll see where we end up." The young squad will

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Green Hoops 2009-2010

Green Bobcats No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

4 35 32 21 24 42 11 31 10 33 22 23 3 12

Trenton Otworth Dustin Stapleton Nate Pinkerton Kyle Whitt Matt Ratcliff Zane Poe Patrick Pierce TJ McCloud Tyler Hughes Chad Lewis Cody Bruce Tyler Crace Steven Blanton Rob Applegate

6-1 6-1 6-1 5-9 6-5 6-5 6-0 6-3 5-10 5-9 6-0 5-9 5-11 5-7

12 12 12 12 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 9 9 9

Coach: Bobby Blanton

New coach, high hopes for Green By JOHN STEGEMAN PDT Sports Editor

FRANKLIN FURNACE — A sense of normalcy has come over the Green boys basketball program after a stormy 2008-09 season. Last season’s Bobcats went 4-17 in a season that saw three different men as head coach. Charlie Kitchen started the season as head coach but resigned before the season ended. Jeff Fraley finished out the year as interim coach, leading the Cats to several late season wins. In the one game between Kitchen’s resignation and Fraley’s hiring, long-time junior high coach Bobby Blanton coached the team to a 68-37 loss against East. Despite the loss, Blanton must have liked something he saw in the young team — taking the head coaching job for 2009-10 and returning a sense

of stability. "I think the kids, just knowing that there is going to be some stability this year has really taken a load off their shoulders," Blanton said. "I told them I’m not going anywhere no matter what happens, at least this year. I think they realize they’ve got people who want them to succeed." Blanton coached junior high ball at Green for the last seven years and has worked with the varsity the last two seasons. He graduated from Green in 1998. Last year’s record notwithstanding, Blanton has plenty of talent to work with. Leading scorer Dustin Stapleton, a senior, returns as does big man Matt Ratcliff, a 6-foot-5 junior. Both players are expected to start along with Nate Pinkerton and 6-0 Patrick Pierce. Blanton said the last starting spot could go to several play-

ers on a team that can go nine or 10 deep into its bench. Among the players shooting for the last starting spot are Trenton Otworth, Tyler Hughes, Chad Lewis, TJ McCloud and Zane Poe. Along with depth, Green has height. Ratcliff and Poe each stand 6-foot-5. McCloud stands 6-foot-3 while Otworth, Stapleton and Pinkerton are each 6-1. In fact only five of the varsity’s 14 players are less than 6-foot. "We’re hoping that we’re going to be bigger than most teams and that’s going to be to our advantage," Blanton said. "This year, the other thing that is going to help is that we’ve got more depth hopefully. We’re eight deep or nine deep. Maybe even 10 deep." The Green gameplan will utilize that height. "We’re going to protect the inside of the paint and make the other teams play an outside

game," Blanton said. "Playing with effort and intensity is what we’re looking to do right now. Every loose ball is going to be ours. That’s our goal." For this team that lost just one senior to graduation and showed improvement late last season, Blanton is confident. On top of the optimism for this season, Blanton said he hopes to re-establish Green as the power it once was in the SOC I. "I think (the SOC I) is going to be pretty even all the way around and hopefully we’ll be a surprise," he said. "We have a good record here as far as basketball goes the last 20 years. They just have to understand that and want to be a part of it... We’ve always been a factor in the SOC as long as I can remember." JOHN STEGEMAN can be reached at jstegeman02@hotmail.com

Schedule Date

Location

Dec. 4 ..................................................at Fairland Dec. 5....................................................at Minford Dec. 11 ......................................................at East Dec. 18 ..........................................at New Boston Jan. 5 ......................................................Western Jan. 8........................................at Symmes Valley Jan. 9........................................................Peebles Jan. 12 ..............................................Notre Dame Jan. 15 ..........................................................Clay Jan. 19..................................................at Eastern Jan. 22 ..........................................................East Jan. 23 ......................................at Ironton St. Joe Jan. 26 ..............................................New Boston Jan. 29 ................................................at Western Feb. 2............................................Symmes Valley Feb. 5 ............................................at Notre Dame Feb. 9 ........................................at South Webster Feb. 12 ......................................................at Clay Feb. 16....................................................Rock Hill Feb. 19......................................................Eastern

Lady Cats No. Name 44 Adrianne Blankenship 55 Lauren Jones 33 Brianna Johnson 24 Sam Norwood 21 Ali Suttles 30 Dinah McCloud 10 Gidget Timberman 5 Hannah Collett 45 Hannah LeMaster 32 Carlee Pollard 34 Jenna Crawford 23 Abbey Cline 13 Jessica Maynard -Erin Imes -Sammi Crisp Coach: Bucky Bridges

Ht. 5-9 5-9 5-7 5-7 5-9 5-11 5-7 5-4 5-7 5-9 5-6 5-7 5-5 5-3 5-4

Gr. 12 12 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 10

Schedule Date Location Nov. 30..................................................Northwest Dec. 3 ................................................New Boston Dec. 7 ..................................................at Western Dec. 10 ........................................Symmes Valley Dec. 14 ..............................................Notre Dame Dec. 17 ..........................................................Clay Dec. 19 ..............................................South Gallia Dec. 28 ....................................................Fairland Jan. 4 ................................................Chesapeake Jan. 7........................................................Eastern Jan. 11 ......................................................at East Jan. 14 ..........................................at New Boston Jan. 21......................................at Symmes Valley Jan. 25 ..........................................South Webster Jan. 28 ..........................................at Notre Dame Feb. 1 ..........................................at Greenup Co. Feb. 4 ........................................................at Clay Feb. 8 ......................................................Western Feb. 11 ................................................at Eastern

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Blankenship returns to lead Cats By JOHN STEGEMAN PDT Sports Editor

FRANKLIN FURNACE — Green girls basketball has a new coach but the plan is to continue a winning tradition. Bucky Bridges takes over a program that had a winning record last season and brought home a sectional championship. The first-year head coach has a background coaching Pee Wee and junior high and has worked with the varsity the last three seasons. Coming off a good year though, don't look for wholesale changes. "For lack of a better word (former head coach Dale) Royse is a mentor to me," Bridges said.

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Johnson, who started, and Lauren Jones, who was second on the team in scoring and rebounding. Hannah Collett returns as does defensive stopper Gidget Timberman. With such a strong group of returning players, Bridges thinks an SOC title is a possibility — though certainly not a guarantee. "I really think we ought to do well," Bridges said. "I think we'll be competitive in our conference. I think our conference is pretty even. I think we've got a shot to beat anybody on any given night, especially in our conference. "New Boston and Clay have pretty well dominated for the past eight to 10 years...," Bridges

added. "I believe there are probably five teams who have a legit chance of winning it. I'm glad we're one of those teams." On offense Green will try to play an up tempo, aggressive style and will sport primarily zone defense. The up tempo style will be easier to maintain this season because of the team's depth. "This is probably the deepest year we've had in five or six years player-wise," Bridges said. "We can actually go eight or nine deep and be pretty comfortable with that. There were a lot of games last year when we didn't even sub... (The depth) will really make a big difference."

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"He took me under his wing. The guy knows basketball. I'm not going to say we think exactly the same but for the most part and the way we treat the kids I think it's basically the same. "We had some success last year and we've got the core people back with some minor changes," he added. "For the most part we're going to try and keep things the same and build on what we did last year." Leading the way for Green again this season will be Adrianne Blankenship. The 5foot-9 senior averaged 16 points and 13 rebounds a game last season, firmly establishing herself as one of the SOC I's top players. Also back this year is Brianna

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Western/Eastern Pike Hoops 2009-2010

Western Pike Indians No.

Name

0 Cody Cooper 3 Aaron Satterfield 4 Dillon Guilkey 5 Colton Ross 10 Bruce Knauff 11 Klay Park 12 Ryan Smithson 15 Sean Flint 21 Dustin Gragg 22 Jimmy Frazier 25 Stefan Stojanovic 33 Tyler McMahon 34 Kory Bakenhaster 42 Coty Williams 50 Cody Conners Coach: David Kight

Ht.

Gr.

6-5 6-0 5-8 5-6 5-10 5-10 5-7 5-9 6-2 5-10 6-1 6-1 6-7 6-1 6-8

12 10 10 10 10 11 12 12 11 12 12 11 12 11 11

Western Pike Lady Indians No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

10 11 13 20 21 22 23 24 31 32 34 41 55

Arica Gragg Louisa Nygaard Tessa Gragg Lacey Jenkins Morgan Ross Abbey Henderson Kelcie Hawk Brittany Reader Hannah Fraley Sydney Thompson Shelly Russell Tabby Riley Sharon Kerns

5-1 5-6 5-5 5-5 5-5 5-4 5-10 5-8 5-3 5-5 5-9 5-7 5-8

10 10 12 10 11 10 11 9 11 10 10 12 12

Coach: Darren Lightle

739 Fifth Street Portsmouth

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GO INDIANS Eastern Pike Eagles No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

3 5 10 12 15 20 22 23 30 33 42 44 50

Caleb Watkins Dakota Hawks Chad Lands Morgan Cisco Jordan Thornsberry Derek Lawhorn Tavares Pickett Jordan Selbee Billy Lykins Kole Wheeler Doug McVey Kevin Montgomery Michael Kozjak

6-1 5-11 5-9 6-1 5-11 6-0 6-2 5-10 6-3 6-3 6-1 6-5 6-3

10 11 9 11 11 12 9 12 10 12 12 12 12

Coach: P.J. Fitch

Eastern Pike Lady Eagles No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

10 11 12 13 20 22 23 25

Rhyanna Day Brittany Mounts Mariah Fitch Chandler Brown Ashley Howell Courtney Rowe Rachel Staker Anna Mills

---------

9 9 11 9 12 11 11 11

Coach: Rob Day

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GO EAGLES!


17 Lawrence County Hoops 2009-2010

Ironton Fighting Tigers No. Name 4 Charles Stewart 10 Malcolm Morton 12 Tommy Waginger 13 Michael Turner 20 Michael Lawless 21 Travis Elliott 22 Tim Kochendoerfer 23 Jason Taylor 24 Jonathan Norris 30 Zac Carter 32 Josh Murphy 34 Erin Edens 42 Robbie Webb 50 Casey Jones Coach: Mark Lafon

Ht. 6-2 5-10 6-0 6-1 5-10 6-2 6-3 6-3 6-2 5-8 6-3 6-0 6-4 6-4

Gr. 11 11 11 12 10 11 12 12 12 9 11 12 11 12

Visit us online www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com

Ironton Lady Tigers No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

22 23 33 34 14 21 2 4 10 14 24 42 5 10 11 22 32 33

Brea Tackett Emily Lilly Janie Morris Lorna Ceaser Alex Taylor Nikki Elswick Torie Klaiber Taylor Lilly Colleen Walker Shannon Walker Emily Davis Sarah Linn Katelyn Adkins Rebekkah Potter Tessa Wilks Ariel Schweickart Karlee McMackin Alicia Murphy

5-4 5-7 5-10 5-10 5-8 5-11 5-9 5-7 5-6 5-6 5-3 5-8 5-8 5-5 5-4 5-6 5-8 5-9

12 12 12 12 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 9

Coach: Doug Graham

I R O N T O N F IG H T I N G T IG ER S! ! ! GOOD LUCK FIGHTING TIGERS! VOTE Ron Hadsell for State Representative Creating good jobs. Building a stronger future

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Good Luck!!!!

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Symmes Valley Vikings No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

3 4 10 12 15 20 23 23 32 33 44 55

Drew Brock Bad Lemaster Justin Payne Kris Tibbs Corey Brown Luke Taylor Hunter Johnson Josh Craft Brandon Bowling Michael Ferris Jacob Patterson Ryan Stanley

5-10 5-8 5-10 6-3 5-10 6-0 6-1 6-2 6-0 5-11 6-0 6-7

12 11 12 12 11 11 12 11 12 12 11 11

Coach: Jerome Fuller

Visit us online www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com

Lady Vikings No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

3 4 5 10 12 13 14 15 32 42

Nikki Nance Brooke Skinner Maleena Davis Chelsea Wall Jessie Morris Kayla Hayes Tazie Ferguson Erica Corn Ada Humphrey Caitie Bloomfield

5-6 5-6 5-0 5-8 5-2 5-6 5-0 5-4 5-8 5-9

12 12 9 12 11 9 9 12 11 12

Coach: Lisa Bryant

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18

Piketon Hoops 2009-2010

Piketon Redstreaks No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

-------------

Caleb Southworth Garrett Barker Jordan Miller Jordan Buckler James Lewis Trent Williams Keenan Brush Jacob Braniff Jamie Helton Jared Vulgamore Evan Legg Craigen Moore

6-6 6-2 6-2 6-1 5-10 6-3 6-6 6-3 6-1 5-9 6-2 6-1

12 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 11 11 11 9

Coach: Jeff Lisath

Schedule Date

After last year, Piketon wants more By ALI KEATON PDT Sports Writer

PIKETON — The Redstreaks are coming off the most successful season in Piketon basketball history, a regional championship and state tournament appearance. The goal this season — accomplish more. "The sequel to a successful season is always tough," Piketon coach Jeff Lisath said. "Naturally it could go either way. We are hoping to build off that success and continue to try to play at that level." From the final-four squad, Piketon lost its two leading scorers, Jordan Brabson and Cody Smith. Both 2009 graduates were named to the AllOhio team as seniors while helping the Redstreaks compile a 24-3 record. "Cody and Jordan were our leaders last year. They were the guys we looked to down the stretch when we needed baskets," Lisath said. "They made a lot of clutch shots for

us, so definitely someone is going to have to step up and fill that void." With two one-thousand point scorers missing from the score book, the Redstreaks will need points from returning starters as well as some new faces. The three upperclassmen returning to the starting lineup are 6-foot6 forwards Keenan Brush and Caleb Southworth and twoyear starter Evan Legg at guard. "We have a lot of kids back and (we have) high expectations of course," Lisath said. "We are expecting Legg to come in and do more scoring this year. (We also expect) our two inside guys, Southworth and Brush, to pick up the scoring a little bit. The kids are really putting in the work because they want to stay at that level." This preseason has given the coaching staff some pleasant surprises. Senior James Lewis and juniors Jamie Helton and Jared Vulgamore have improved their offensive

skill sets this offseason and will be among a handful of players Coach Lisath will call-on and give significant minutes. "We have four or five guys that are basically even right now, and if each of them can give us six or eight points we'll be right there," Lisath said. "That is kind of what we're hoping for, that guys come in and contribute." This offseason, while his players prepared for another tournament run, Lisath had a big decision to make concerning the 2009-2010 basketball season. Lisath had the opportunity to become the head coach at his alma mater, Portsmouth High School, where in 1978 he led the Trojans to the school's third state title and in 1988 was an assistant coach for a fourth state championship team. "It was a very tough decision. The only thing I can say you know is my spiritual life, through my prayers and seeking the Lord through the deci-

sion, the Lord just told me it wasn't time yet," Lisath said. "Portsmouth was, when I got into coaching, that was my dream job... Before I retire, which could be a while, the opportunity may present itself again, I don't know. But right now this is home and I believe that what we have in the system right now, we should have a long line of success here at Piketon." For Piketon, last year's unfinished business is fuel for the fire this basketball season. The Redstreaks begin their year against Hillsboro on Dec. 4, the starting point of a season with high expectations. "I told them, getting to the state tournament for most people is a once and a lifetime thing," Lisath said. "It has always been a goal to get there, so now our goal has to be to get back there... We have some unfinished business. I look forward to some great things this season." ALI KEATON can be reached at alikeaton_pdt@hotmail.com

Location

Dec. 4 ........................at Zane Trace vs. Hillsboro Dec. 8..................................................Zane Trace Dec. 11 ............................................at Huntington Dec. 15 ................................................at Westfall Dec. 16........................................Columbus Miffin Dec. 18 ..............................................Paint Valley Dec. 22 ......................................................Adena Dec. 28 ......................at Waverly vs. Eastern Pike Dec. 30....................................at Waverly vs. TBA Jan. 5 ..........................................at Southeastern Jan. 12....................................................at Unioto Jan. 15 ............................................at Zane Trace Jan. 19 ................................................Huntington Jan. 22......................................................Westfall Jan. 29............................................at Paint Valley Jan. 30 ..............................................at Zanesville Feb. 5......................................................at Adena Feb. 12 ............................................Southeastern Feb. 13................at OU-Chillicothe vs. Vinton Co. Feb. 19........................................................Unioto

Coaches, We wish we could cover every game, but we can’t. Get your kids recognized by calling in the results after every game. Call us at (740) 353-3101 ext. 242 by 10:30 p.m. every time you play.

Lady Streaks No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

11 4 24 12 10 23 20 22 14 00 2 25

Marissa Hill Holly Brabson Tori Pelphrey Elissa Robinson Brandi Brackett Chelsea Adams Ashley Smith Corey Grooms Jackey Mowery Elisha Manley Alexandria Southworth Kayla Robinson

5-6 5-8 5-11 5-9 5-7 5-10 5-6 5-6 5-7 5-6 6-0 5-5

12 12 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10

Coach: Brett Coreno

Schedule Date

Location

Dec. 4 ............................Hillsboro (at Zane Trace) Dec. 8..................................................Zane Trace Dec. 11 ............................................at Huntington Dec. 15 ................................................at Westfall Dec. 16........................................Columbus Miffin Dec. 18 ..............................................Paint Valley Dec. 22 ......................................................Adena Dec. 28 ......................at Waverly vs. Eastern Pike Dec. 30....................................at Waverly vs. TBA Jan. 5 ..........................................at Southeastern Jan. 12....................................................at Unioto Jan. 15 ............................................at Zane Trace Jan. 19 ................................................Huntington Jan. 22......................................................Westfall Jan. 29............................................at Paint Valley Jan. 30 ..............................................at Zanesville Feb. 5......................................................at Adena Feb. 12 ............................................Southeastern Feb. 13................at OU-Chillicothe vs. Vinton Co. Feb. 19........................................................Unioto

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Piketon looking to rebound from graduation By ALI KEATON PDT Sports Writer

PIKETON —The Lady 'Streaks will have no easy wins in league play as they hope to rebound from losing five seniors from last year's team. The most notable loss to graduation was one-thousand point scorer Heather Burns. "(Burns) was our point guard who did a lot of things for us," Piketon coach Brett Coreno said. "The other four (who graduated) contributed in many other ways, (including) rebounding and leadership. So the girls now are going to have to play new roles, they're going to have to either score more points or grab

more rebounds... it's got to be split up now between the five that I play this year. They have to pick up their end of the bargain." Coreno was happy with his team's preseason improvements thus far and will count on the leadership of seniors Marissa Hill and Holly Brabson as the team continues its preparation and begins the season. "Marissa Hill is a good three point shooter and has expanded her game by taking the ball to the basket more," Coreno said. "Holly Brabson is very, very athletic and one of our best rebounders. She can defend as well." Alex Southworth, a sopho-

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more standing six-feet tall, will return to the starting lineup for the Lady Streaks while 5-foot11 center Tori Pelphrey will get significant minutes as a junior. "Alex Southworth got 21 games under her belt last year and we're looking for bigger and better things out of her this year," Coreno said. "Tori Pelphrey, who was my back up center last year, will get significant playing time... we look for good things from her." With SVC league play beginning less than a week into the season, Piketon travels to Huntington on Dec. 1. The young Redstreaks will have little time to adjust to the new season.

"Our conference is pretty tough, Unioto, Zane Trace, Adena..." Coreno said. "It just depends how our kids gel. Their chemistry, with the new kids of the floor and (it depends on) how they accept their roles. If those things can come together then I think good things can happen. It just depends how long it takes us to get to that point. "Every night is going to be a struggle because there will be no easy wins," Coreno said. "Usually you have one team you can count on but you can't count on any team in our league for a win." ALI KEATON can be reached at alikeaton_pdt@hotmail.com

R ED S T R E A K P R I DE ! ! ! 739 Fifth Street Portsmouth

353-3259


19

Greenup Hoops 2009-2010

Greenup Musketeers No. 3 10 13 20 21 24 25 30 31 32 33 34 44 55

Name Jacob Prater Craig Tackett Dane Hunter Dalton Bentley Michael Gullett Matt Riffe Chris Nichols Andrew Thompson Trey Williams Dustin Linthicum Rees Justice Austin Stringfellow Michael Hampton Hayden Stephenson

Ht. 6-0 6-1 6-0 6-0 6-3 6-0 6-3 6-2 6-7 6-5 6-4 6-3 6-5 6-7

Gr. 12 11 12 10 12 10 10 10 11 10 11 11 11 10

Coach: Tim Fraley

Lady Musketeers No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

3 11 13 15 20 21 24 35 40 42 45

Destiny Jones Amber Grooms Emily Brown Chelsea Fox Courtney Stevens Kayleigh White Brooke Bentley Erica Pope Ashley Grizzle Ashley Barlow Ariel Williams

5-3 5-6 6-0 5-6 5-5 5-10 5-10 5-5 5-7 5-7 5-6

9 12 12 12 12 9 10 12 11 11 11

Coach: Eric Keeton

OHSAA Records

COACHING WINS BOYS

Coaching Wins, All-Time (minimum 500) 1. 785 Richard Kortokrax, Kalida (785-315) 2. 772 Joe Petrocelli, Kettering Archbishop Alter (772-270) 3. 695 Paul Walker, Hardinsburg, KY (19351937), 54-12; Anchorage, KY (1939-1944), 67-10; Portsmouth, OH (1944-1945), 12-11; Middletown, OH (1946-1976) 562-136; 695169 total 4. 676 Bob Arnzen, Delphos St. John's (676291) 5. 643 Bob Walsh, Elyria (643-301) 6. 636 Charles "Red" Ash, Canton South (636202) 7. 625 Fran Guilbault, St. Henry (625-217) 8. 597 Harold 'Doc' Daugherty, Euclid (597284) 9. 589 Richard Potts, Hannibal River (589-286) 10.584 Gary Shaffer, Washington C.H. Washington (584-253) 11.573 Norm Persin, Chesapeake and Oak Hill (573-151) 12. 572 Mike Mueller, Lakota West (19712008) (572-301) 13. 571 Charles McAfee, The Plains Athens (571-196) 571 Rick Brook, Sebring McKinley (571200) 15. 568 Dick Berning, Cincinnati St. Xavier (568-300) 16. 565 Larry Jordan, Chillicothe Southeastern (565-258) 17. 551 Tom Eibel, Wellington (551-436) 18. 549 Jack Greynolds, Barberton (549-121) 19. 548 Will Collins, Bellefontaine (548-263) 20. 540 Al Welch, Haviland Wayne Trace (540-

208) 21. 535 Ed Heintschel, Toledo St. John's Jesuit (535-171) 22. 534 James Cappelletti, Cleveland Heights (534-261) 23. 532 Arch Justus, Portsmouth Clay (532220) 24. 527 Lee Himmeger, Defiance Ayersville (527-224) 527 Ken Newlon, Canton McKinley (527227) 26. 522 Bob Haas, Willard (522-114) 27. 518 Jerry Doerger, Batavia Clermont Northeastern (518-320) 28. 517 Jim Osborne, Gallipolis Gallia Academy (517-320) 30. 516 Jim Lawhead, Lorain Catholic (516289) 29. 516 Roger Zornes, Ironton (516-184) 516 Walter Harrop Sr., Shawnee Perry Co. (516-342) 33. 513 Steve Smith, Orrville (513-168) 34. 515 Ray Zawadzki, Vandalia Butler (515260) 35. 506 Richard Meyer, Delaware Buckeye Valley (506-229) 506 Bob MIller, Thomas Worthington (506258) 37. 504 Martin Hill, Windham (504-246) 38.501 Vern Hoffman, Mansfield Senior (501242)

GIRLS Wins, All-time (minimum 375) 1.648 Karen Wittrock, Rocky River Lutheran West (648-186) 2. 614 Ed Zink, Beavercreek (614-162) 3. 604 Dave Butcher, Pickerington/North (60468) 604 Jerry Sigler, Sylvania Northview (604158) 5. 596 Tom Davis, East Canton (596-213)

739 Fifth Street Portsmouth

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6. 572 Richard Kiser, Sardinia Eastern (572154) 7. 561 Mary Jo Huismann, Cincinnati Mother of Mercy (561-203) 8. 548 Pat Diulus, South Euclid Regina (54882) 9. 529 Ron Moschella, Youngstown Boardman (529-130) 10. 521 Andra Bell, Upper Sandusky (521-211) 11. 502 Bob Beutel, Eastlake North (502-160) 12. 485 Gretchen Prichard, Lima Bath (485154) 13. 478 Denny Schrock, Doylestown Chippewa (478-92) 14. 477 Tim Tucker, Castalia Margaretta (477150) 15. 473 Deb Gentile, Cincinnati Wyoming (473134) 16. 464 Tim Barga, Versailles and Sidney Fairlawn (464-122) 17. 458 Jack Van Reeth, Zanesville West Muskingum (458-95) 18. 457 Ed Foulk, Springfield Kenton Ridge (457-134) 19. 449 Charles Maier, Coldwater (449-199) 20. 445 Paul Highman, Mount Vernon (445116) 21. 441 Dennis Oversake, Greenfield McClain (441-182) 22. 428 Reggie Lee, Columbus Brookhaven (428-139) 23. 416 Dennis Rissler, Findlay Liberty-Benton (416-149) 24. 413 Gary R. Geller, Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic (413-200) 25. 412 Charles Maier, St. Henry (412-158) 412 Tim Gabbard, Waynesville (412-253) 27. 405 Steve Lucius, New Riegel (405-114) 405 John Hritz, YoungstownLiberty (405265)

29. 404 Sue Davis, Danville (404-147) 30. 402 Del Barr, Baltimore Liberty Union (402233) 31. 400 Mike Gallagher, Wooster (400-120) 32. 396 Rod Holmes, Jefferson Area (396-144) 33. 380 Joe Lang, Columbus Bishop Ready (380-228) 34. 379 Geoff Stevanus, Magnolia Sandy Valley (379-134) 35. 376 Ron Bowman, Watkins Memorial (376195) 36. 375 Tom Rettig, Greenville (375-215)

WINNINGEST TEAMS BOYS

Wins, All-Time (minimum 1 1,747 2 1,436 3 1,418 4 1,372 5 1,365 6 1,363 7 1,354 8 1,351 9 1,349 10 1,327 11 1,266 12 1,244 13 1,239 14 1,235 15 1,233 16 1,232 17 1,223 18 1,200 19 1,194 20 1,181 21 1,161 22 1,151

1100) Canton McKinley Archbold Newark Mansfield Senior Middletown Canal Winchester Delphos St. John's East Liverpool Barberton Strasburg Steubenville Dover Zanesville Racine Southern Portsmouth Findlay Marietta Cincinnati Elder Ottoville MassillonWashington Bellevue Canton South

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23 24 25 26 27

1,143 1,138 1,135 1,127 1,118

Bellaire Ashland Cambridge New Philadelphia St. Henry

GIRLS Wins, All-Time (minimum 350) 1 665 Lima Bath 2 657 Toledo Central Catholic 3 648 Rocky River Lutheran West 4 618 Warsaw River View 5 616 Fort Loramie 6 609 Sylvania Northview 7 606 Pickerington Central 8 597 Bellbrook 9 596 East Canton 10 589 Tipp City Tippecanoe 11 586 Millersburg West Holmes 12 582 Springboro 13 581 Delphos St. John's 14 580 Youngstown Boardman 15 573 Zanesville Bishop Rosecrans 16 572 Canfield 572 Bellaire 18 564 Berlin Hiland 19 563 Sardinia Eastern 20 561 Cincinnati Mercy 561 Convoy Crestview 22 553 Pemberville Eastwood 23 547 Perrysburg 24 541 New Riegel 25 536 Heath 536 Dresden Tri-Valley 27 522 Willard 28 517 Buckeye Central 29 514 Copley 30 512 Upper Sandusky 31 505 Chagrin Falls

32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 45 46 47 48 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 61 62 63 64 66 67 68 69

503 Greenfield McClain 497 Orrville 496 Wooster 487 Findlay 483 Mansfield St. Peter's 477 Mt. Orab Western Brown 473 Ashville Teays Valley 471 Beloit West Branch 468 Avon Lake 465 Archbold 464 Jefferson Area 463 Danville 463 Springfield Kenton Ridge 457 Barberton 449 Canton McKinley 448 Doylestown Chippewa 447 Fremont St. Joseph Catholic 447 Hamler Patrick Henry 444 Bexley 439 Versailles 436 Jackson Center 424 Richwood North Union 421 Frankfort Adena 410 Dover 407 Warren Howland 395 Waynesville 389 Newark 385 Olmsted Falls 385 Swanton 379 Canton Central Catholic 378 Arcadia 376 Lorain Admiral King 372 Avon 372 Salem 370 Urbana 363 West Unity Hilltop 362 Thornville Sheridan 356 Baltimore Liberty Union

GO MUSKETEERS!

Hunter-Williams

The Portsmouth Daily Times wishes all our area schools the best of luck this season! Good Luck!!!!

Monroe’s Frame & Collision

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1162 10th Street Portsmouth, Ohio 45662

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Good Luck To All Area Schools

visit any of our four locations: Lucasville, Gallia St., Waverly & New Boston Wal-Mart

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20

Portsmouth Daily Times Hoops 2009-2010

Use the fire inside to stay warm this winter John Stegeman PDT Sports Editor

"Later on, we'll conspire, As we dream, by the fire. To face unafraid, The plans that we made. Walkin' in in Winter Wonderland." Ah, the winter sports season is finally here and that means

basketball fever is sweeping the region. Though some schools have only recently put away the football pads, all the attention is now on the roundball. We're glad to bring you yet another basketball season preview section and this year's theme steals a line from a classic Christmas song, Winter Wonderland —"Dream by the Fire." Our area athletes have a passionate fire within them that drives them to be among the best in the state and the beauty

West Girls Schedule Date

Location

Dec. 2...................................................Minford Dec. 4.......................................South Webster Dec. 8..................................................Oak Hill Dec. 13..........................at Fairfield (Leesburg) Dec. 15................................................Waverly Dec. 17......................................at Portsmouth Dec. 18...............................................at Valley Dec. 20.................................................at East Jan. 5...............................................Northwest Jan. 10...................................at Wheelersburg Jan. 12..................................at South Webster Jan. 15.............................................at Oak Hill Jan. 22.......................................Wheelersburg Jan. 26.............................................at Minford Feb. 2......................................Symmes Valley Feb. 5......................................................Valley Feb. 7..............................................at Waverly Feb. 9............................................Coal Grove Feb. 11......................................Ironton St. Joe Feb. 12.........................................at Northwest

West From Page 4 to this team." With the balance of experienced seniors and talented youth, Maynard hopes to compete even though his overall numbers are down. "We've got less girls than last year, but we have more speed and athletic ability this year," he said. "You'll see we want to be a pressing team. That's where we want to be to create turnovers and that's where we're striving to be." Combine the players the Lady Senators have in place with a good offsea-

son, and West is looking good to improve in 2009. "We've seen a whole lot of progress," Maynard said. "The girls worked hard in the offseason and it looks like it's really paid off. It should be an exciting season for us. I look for us to be a lot stronger than we were last year." The Lady Senators will be tested early when they host three of the SOC II's top teams from a year ago in their first three games (Minford, South Webster, Oak Hill). From there, West hits the road for four of its last five games before it breaks for the winter.

Postseason information PDT Sports Report

The following is a list of dates for the 2009-2010 postseason sectional and district tournaments for the southeast districts. Boys

Division I, Sectional Tournament Schools: Logan. (Central) (1) Division II, Sectional Tournaments Two (2) winners from each Sectional advances to District Tournament. 2-22 ( 7:00) – 2-23 (6:15; 8:00) – 2-24 (6:15; 8:00) - 2-26 (7:00) 2-27 ( 7:00) Southeastern High School, Chillicothe. Schools: Chillicothe, Circleville, Hillsboro, Jackson, McClain, Miami Trace, Unioto, Waverly, Washington (Washington C.H.). (9) 2-22 ( 7:00) – 2-23 (6:15; 8:15) – 2-24 (6:15; 8:00) - 2-26 (7:00) - 2-27 ( 7:00) Logan High School Schools: Athens, Fairfield Union, Gallia Academy, Logan Elm, Marietta, New Lexington, Sheridan, Vinton County, Warren. (9) Division II, District Tournament – 3-5 (6:15; 8:00) – 3-13 (Noon) Ohio University Convocation Center, Athens. One (1) winner advances to regional tournament. Division III, Sectional Tournaments – Four winners from each Sectional Tournament advances to District Tournament. 2-22 (7:00) – 2-23 (6:15; 8:00) – 2-26 (6:00; 8:30) --2-27 (5:00; 8:00) Waverly High School, Waverly. Schools: Adena, Eastern (Sardinia), Huntington, Lynchburg-Clay, North Adams, Northwest, Paint Valley, Peebles, Piketon, West Union, Westfall,. (11) 2-22 (7:00)—2-23 (6:15; 8:00) -- 2-26 (6:00; 8:30) – 2-27 (5:00; 8:00) Jackson High School Schools: Chesapeake, Dawson Bryant, Ironton, Minford, Oak Hill, Portsmouth, Portsmouth West, Rock Hill, South Point, Valley, Wheelersburg. (11) 2-22 (7:00) – 2-23 (6:15; 8:00) – 2-26 (6:00; 8:30) – 2-27 (3:00; 7:00) Athens High School Schools: Alexander, Belpre, Crooksville, Fairland, Federal Hocking, Meigs, Nelsonville-York, River Valley, Southeastern, Wellston, Zane Trace. (11) Division III, District Tournament – 3-7 (2:00; 3:45; 5:30; 7:15) – 3-8 (6:15; 8:00) 3-13 (4:00; 6:00; 8:00) Ohio University Convocation Center, Athens. Two (2) winners advance to regional tournament. Division IV Sectional Tournaments – Two (2) winners from each Sectional Tournament advances to District Tournament. 2-22 (6:15; 8:00) –2-23 (6:15; 8:00) – 2-24 (6:15; 8:00) – 3-2 (6:15; 8:00) Valley High School Schools: Clay (Portsmouth), Fairfield (Leesburg), Glenwood, Green (Franklin Furnace), Manchester, Notre Dame (Portsmouth), Scioto Community, South Webster, Western, Whiteoak. (10) 2-22 (7:00) – 2-23 (6:15; 8:00) – 2-24 (6:15; 8:00) – 3-2 (6:15; 8:00) Wellston High School Schools: Eastern (Reedsville), Eastern (Beaver), Miller, St. Joseph Central (Ironton), South Gallia, Southern (Racine), Symmes Valley, Trimble, Waterford. (9) Division IV, District Tournament – 3-9

(6:15; 8:00) -- 3-13 (12:00) Ohio University Convocation Center One (1) winner advances to regional tournament.

Girls Division I, Sectional Tournament – Assigned to other districts. Schools: Chillicothe, Logan (Central) Division II, Sectional Tournaments – Two (2) winners from each Sectional advances to District Tournament. 2-15 (7:00) – 2-17 (6:15; 8:00) –2-18 (6:15; 8:00) -- 2-20 (1:00; 2:45) Adena High School, Frankfort. Schools: Circleville, Hillsboro, Jackson, Logan Elm, McClain, Miami Trace,Unioto, Washington (Washington C.H.), Waverly. (9) 2-15 (6:15; 8:00) – 2-17 (6:15; 8:00) – 2-18 (6:15; 8:00)-- 2-20 (1:00; 2:45) Alexander High School Schools: Athens, Gallia Academy, Fairfield Union, Marietta, Meigs, New Lexington, Sheridan, South Point, Vinton County, Warren. (10) Division II, District Tournament – 2-25 (6:15; 8:00) – 3-6 (3:00) – One(1) winner to regional Southeastern High School Division III Sectional Tournaments – Four (4) winners from each Sectional tournament will advance to the District Tournament. 2-17 (6:15; 8:00), --2-20 (1:00; 2:45; 4:30; 6:15) Wellston High School Schools: Alexander, Crooksville, Minford, Nelsonville-York, River Valley, Rock Hill, Southeastern, Trimble, Valley, Zane Trace (10) 2-17 (6:15; 8:00) --2-20 (1:00; 2:45; 4:30; 6:15) Valley High School Schools : Adena, Eastern (Sardinia), Huntington, Lynchburg Clay, North Adams, Northwest, Peebles, Piketon, West Union, Westfall. (10) 2-17 (7:00) – 2-20 (1:00; 2:45; 4:30; 6:15) Rock Hill High School Schools: Chesapeake, Dawson Bryant, Fairland, Ironton, Oak Hill, Portsmouth, Portsmouth West, Wheelersburg, Wellston. (9) Division III, District Tournament – 2-25 (6:15; 8:00) – 2-27 (12:00; 1:45), 3-1 (6:15; 8:00) 3-6 (3:00; 5:00; 7:00) Waverly High School Division IV Sectional tournaments – Four winners (4) from each Sectional advances to District Tournament. 2-15 (7:00) -- 2-17 (6:15; 8:00), -- 2-18 (6:15; 8:00), -- 2-20 (1:00; 2:45) Northwest High School Schools: Clay (Portsmouth), Fairfield (Leesburg), Glenwood, Green (Franklin Furnace), Manchester, Notre Dame (Portsmouth), Paint Valley, Scioto Community, Western (Latham), Whiteoak. (10) 2-15 (6:15; 8:00) – 2-18 (6:15; 8:00) - 2-20 (1:00; 2:45) Athens High School Schools: Belpre, Eastern (Reedsville), Eastern (Beaver), Federal Hocking, Miller, South Gallia, South Webster, Southern (Racine), Symmes Valley, Waterford. (10) Division IV, District Tournament – 2-25 (6:15; 8:00) – 2-27 (12:00; 1:45) – 3-6 (11:00; 1:00) Jackson High School Two winners advance to Regional.

of every new season is the dreams that come with it. At the start of a season, everyone is 0-0. The teams that will win state championships this season and the teams that will go 0-21 are all dead even today. So as a fan of sports in general I'd like to encourage all of our athletes and coaches to follow that dream fueled by their own internal fire. Whether that dream is to end the season in Columbus as the last team standing, to raise a conference title banner, to finish with a winning season or even just to keep improving and

have fun playing the game of basketball — go after it. As is often the case, there have been some changes at the PDT since last basketball season. We've a new talented writer, Ali Keaton, to the sports staff for one thing. Chris Dunham and I are still here as well. Some things to know. Because of circumstances beyond our control, no games played on Monday can be reported in Tuesday's edition. There is an early deadline on Monday nights that makes

coverage impossible. Any Monday games that are called in will be reported in Wednesday's editions. We've made some changes in the way we put the paper together as well which will allow us to cover roughly 20 more games than we did last year. While we won't be at every game, every coach in the area has our contact information and they've always been great about reporting their scores. Another feature some of you may have become familiar

with during football season is our video highlights. We had a football game up as “Game of the Week” each week this season and we intend to run basketball highlights. We may even expand it to include coach or player interviews as well. We're excited about this season and we hope you are too. We know the student-athletes have been working hard and the coaches have been staying late and it's finally time to start seeing all that work pay off. See you at the games.

From page 5

Juniors to lead young Falcons By CHRIS DUNHAM PDT SportsWriter

MINFORD — Though the Lady Falcons are the only SOC II team without a senior on the roster, they are not without experience. Mark Chaney's squad returns a trio of juniors who saw a lot of playing time a year ago and will provide leadership for the otherwise inexperienced team. "Kendra Justice has stepped up and is someone we'll be looking to as a leader offensively," Chaney said. "I think she's one of the better guards in the league. (Abby) Donahoe, defensively, was a really good ball player. With Kendra on the offensive side and Donahoe on the defensive side, they've really helped the new kids coming in... (Laiken) Gambill plays a lot of AAU ball with Kendra. She's been doing a lot to help the post players coming out." Those players will be expected to shoulder the load left behind by Minford's graduating class, which included 1,000-point scorers Whitney McManus and Breslyn Harris. "We lost six seniors and all of them contributed," Chaney said. "Five of them were either starters or right off the bench and that's a hard thing to adjust to. It was a good group of girls and they will be missed. Hopefully those coming in can fill their shoes."

To make up for the scoring the Lady Falcons lost, Chaney is focusing on his team's defense more this season. "We lost a good bit of firepower last year and will try to make up for it with speed and defense," he said. "We have some good shooters. But we're just going to try to get our defense up to where we think it needs to be and I think the offense will come." Also coming returning to action for Minford is junior Courtney Spriggs, who missed much of last season with an injury. "Spriggs is just Spriggs," Chaney said. "She tore her ACL last year and is back for us. She missed softball but played some volleyball. With her speed offensively and 3-point shot she'll help us out as well." A quartet of other juniors (Ali Shepherd, Mariah Butcher, Lora Fuhrmann and MacKenzie Williams) who have been away from the court for a few years, return to the Lady Falcons and are expected to contribute. "The girls we have coming back have stepped up and helped the others who will be playing a lot," Chaney said. "We have girls who haven't played varsity ball who will be playing a lot of minutes this year. There are going to be some nerves as they get out and see the varsity pace. Those four have never played in a varsi-

ty game before." Chaney noted that he expected his team to get better as the year went on, helping them in a deep, tough SOC II. "Our league it so tough with a lot of good coaches and players," Chaney said. "Of course Oak

Hill will be one of the teams to beat. But you also have Valley and ’Burg and other younger teams. Everyone's improving from top to bottom." CHRIS DUNHAM can be reached at chrisdunhamjr@aol.com.

MInford Girls Schedule Date

Location

Nov. 28 ........North Adams (Paint Valley Tourney) Nov. 30 ....................................................Oak Hill Dec. 3 ..........................................................Valley Dec. 7 ..................................................at Waverly Dec. 10 ......................................at South Webster Dec. 14 ................................................Northwest Dec. 17 ..........................................Wheelersburg Dec. 21 ....................................................Fairland Dec. 28 ..................................................at Ironton Jan. 4..................................................Paint Valley Jan. 7 ........................................................at West Jan. 11 ................................................at Oak HIll Jan 14......................................................at Valley Jan. 18......................................................Waverly Jan. 21 ..........................................South Webster Jan. 23 ..............................................at Alexander Jan. 28 ..............................................at Northwest Feb. 4..........................................at Wheelersburg Feb. 8 ............................................at South Point Feb. 11 ..........................................................West

Minford Roster

Falcons From Page B5 "Aaron Oesch is a good senior leader who does all the small things it takes to help a team out," Shoemaker said. "Caleb Cowgill also started most of the year and we're expecting some good things from him. Cory McKnight is one of the most athletic play- “We’re mostly trying to fit ers in the league and we look our personnel. We don’t for him to have another good have anyone over 6-2, so year." The other two seniors on we’re going to have a very the Falcon roster also figure guard-oriented offense.” to see a lot of playing time. "Duncan Jordan was first team all-state in soccer and gives us a good post presence," Shoemaker said. Josh Shoemaker "Brock Partlow has really Minford head coach impressed us. He worked really hard in the offseason have a very guard-oriented and we expect him to see offense." A 1999 graduate of some minutes this year... I High School think they've all stepped up Minford and are all taking on a little Shoemaker has a good supporting crew with a pair of bit a of a leadership role. " The junior class is high- former Minford basketball coaches (John lighted by Mark Slone, who head saw varsity time last year, but Strickland and Kyle Copley) moves into the 1-position this on board as assistants, as well as Scott Caudill, who year. "Mark Slone will be our played high school basketpoint guard this year," ball with Shoemaker. "It helps me out getting Shoemaker said. He's just a hard-nosed kid. He plays bas- back into the Minford sysketball like he does football. tem," Shoemaker said. "Our He'll do a good job running time together is very enjoythe point for us. The rest of able. We get along great and the kids are guys who played hopefully it benefits the kids... I get a chance to JV last year." With the lineup the Falcons coach with John Strickland, feature this season, Minford who I played for and Kyle will be spreading the floor Copley, who is still helping and having a lot of motion in out. It's a neat situation to coach with a guy you played its offensive sets. "We're mostly trying to fit for." our personnel," Shoemaker said. "We don't have anyone CHRIS DUNHAM can be reached over 6-2, so we're going to at chrisdunhamjr@aol.com.

No.

Name

Ht.

Gr.

2 3 5 10 11 21 23 30 32 40

Brett Taylor Cory McKnight Ehan Butcher Aaron Oesch Brock Partlow Duncan Jordan Mark Slone Seth Lloyd Caleb Cowgill Craig Miller

6-0 6-2 6-1 6-2 6-0 6-2 5-10 5-11 6-1 6-1

11 12 11 12 12 12 11 11 12 11

Coach: Josh Shoemaker

Minford Boys Schedule Date

Location

Dec. 4 ..................................................at Jackson Dec. 5..........................................................Green Dec. 8 ............................................................Clay Dec. 11 ....................................................Oak Hill Dec. 15 ....................................................Eastern Dec. 18 ....................................................at Valley Dec. 19 ..................................................at Adena Jan. 5........................................................Waverly Jan. 8 ............................................South Webster Jan. 12 ..............................................at Northwest Jan. 15 ........................................at Wheelersburg Jan. 19 ......................................................at West Jan. 22......................................................Oak Hill Jan. 26 ........................................................Valley Jan. 29..................................................at Waverly Feb. 2 ........................................at South Webster Feb. 5....................................................Northwest Feb. 9..................................................at Rock Hill Feb. 12............................................Wheelersburg Feb. 20 ..........................................................West

Special Thanks

Cover Art

The PDT Sports Staff would like to thank The Scioto Voice, Ironton Tribune, Ashland Independent, Pike County News Watchmen and the all the our area schools for their help in compiling this special section.

Design by: Kristin Humble


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