July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Teams seeking tourney success
Rays of Insight
With the girls golf, boys tennis and boys and girls soccer campaigns all complete, the fall prep sports season is winding down.
The final tournaments are just a week away, with volleyball beginning Wednesday in Ohio and Thursday in Indiana. The Jay County and South Adams football teams will kick off their tournaments at home Oct. 21.
After the sectional pairings were announced earlier this week, it’s time to take a look at what the tournament prospects are for several of our local teams.
Fort Recovery’s …
… volleyball team went through a tough stretch during the middle of the season.
Following a 4-4 start, the Indians suffered losses in 11 straight matches. But they’ve gotten back on track this week with consecutive victories over Ansonia and St. John’s.
The Tribe faces a tall task in its season finale tonight in Maria Stein against Division IV No. 5 Marion Local. But the match will be good preparation for what it may have to deal with in the sectional.
The prospects look good for Fort Recovery in Wednesday’s opening round of the Division IV tournament at Coldwater, where they will open against Spencerville (4-18). A victory there would send the Indians to Saturday’s sectional championship game against top-ranked St. Henry (20-1), which suffered its only loss against Division III No. 1 Miami East.
Even discounting …
… the Jay County football team’s forfeit win over Delta, the squad is having its best season since going 9-4 and winning the 2007 sectional title.
Success, tournament or otherwise, has been limited in the three seasons since then. The Patriots went a combined 7-23 overall and 0-3 in the sectional, including a 73-14 loss to New Haven in the 2010 opening round.
Jay County (5-3) drew a tournament-opening home game against the Marion Giants (3-5), the team with the second-worst record in Class 4A Sectional 12 field that includes No. 5 Leo (8-0), No. 9 Bishop Dwenger (5-3) and No. 10 New Haven (7-1).
The only team with a worse record in the group is winless Norwell.
The Patriots lost their last game against Marion 47-33 in the opening round of the 2008 tournament.
Injuries to key players have hurt JCHS over the last few weeks. And while two-way starter Blake Crouch is out for the year, coach Steve Boozier is hoping a few other players will be able to return and help the team earn its first sectional victory since their 34-21 sectional championship win over Muncie Southside.
Jay County’s volleyball …
… team set some impressive goals before the season.
The Patriots wanted to claim a few invitational championships, win 20 matches and pick up their first sectional title in nine years.
Like Fort Recovery, JCHS had a bit of a bumpy road in the middle of the season. But it picked up its first invitational win at home Sept. 21 with victories over Connersville, Muncie Southside and Frankton in the Patriot Invitational and has now strung together seven straight victories.
At 16-12, it is on the way to its first winning season since going 19-15 in 2002.
The Patriots will open the sectional tournament against a team they have already beaten this season, but their road to the title will be anything but easy. If they are able to beat New Haven (10-18) in the first round, they would advance to play either Huntington North or Homestead in the semifinals.
Huntington North edged JCHS 17-25, 25-23, 16-14 this season at the Norwell Invitational. Homestead topped the Patriots in last season’s sectional championship match.
The area squad …
… that is likely most looking forward to tournament play is the South Adams football team.
After rallying in the second half of the 2010 season and reaching the sectional championship game, the Starfires had high hopes for this season. They have fulfilled those expectations, racking up a 7-1 record with the lone loss coming against Class 4A No. 5 Leo.
South Adams has won 13 of its last 15 games, and will be heavily favored in its opening-round tournament game against a Monroe Central program in just its second full season. It would then likely have to play Union City, also 7-1, in the semifinal round.
The Starfires have already locked up their first winning season since going 7-4 in 2001, but given their preseason goals and regular-season success they will likely not be satisfied with anything less than a sectional championship. Their last title came by way of a 12-0 victory over LaVille in 1996.
The SAHS team is surely trying to avoid looking ahead, but as fans we’re free to do so. And with their punishing ground game and a defense that has held six of its eight opponents to 14 points or fewer, it’s easy to imagine the Starfires winning sectional and regional titles on the way to a semi-state showdown with two-time state champion Lafayette Central Catholic.[[In-content Ad]]
The final tournaments are just a week away, with volleyball beginning Wednesday in Ohio and Thursday in Indiana. The Jay County and South Adams football teams will kick off their tournaments at home Oct. 21.
After the sectional pairings were announced earlier this week, it’s time to take a look at what the tournament prospects are for several of our local teams.
Fort Recovery’s …
… volleyball team went through a tough stretch during the middle of the season.
Following a 4-4 start, the Indians suffered losses in 11 straight matches. But they’ve gotten back on track this week with consecutive victories over Ansonia and St. John’s.
The Tribe faces a tall task in its season finale tonight in Maria Stein against Division IV No. 5 Marion Local. But the match will be good preparation for what it may have to deal with in the sectional.
The prospects look good for Fort Recovery in Wednesday’s opening round of the Division IV tournament at Coldwater, where they will open against Spencerville (4-18). A victory there would send the Indians to Saturday’s sectional championship game against top-ranked St. Henry (20-1), which suffered its only loss against Division III No. 1 Miami East.
Even discounting …
… the Jay County football team’s forfeit win over Delta, the squad is having its best season since going 9-4 and winning the 2007 sectional title.
Success, tournament or otherwise, has been limited in the three seasons since then. The Patriots went a combined 7-23 overall and 0-3 in the sectional, including a 73-14 loss to New Haven in the 2010 opening round.
Jay County (5-3) drew a tournament-opening home game against the Marion Giants (3-5), the team with the second-worst record in Class 4A Sectional 12 field that includes No. 5 Leo (8-0), No. 9 Bishop Dwenger (5-3) and No. 10 New Haven (7-1).
The only team with a worse record in the group is winless Norwell.
The Patriots lost their last game against Marion 47-33 in the opening round of the 2008 tournament.
Injuries to key players have hurt JCHS over the last few weeks. And while two-way starter Blake Crouch is out for the year, coach Steve Boozier is hoping a few other players will be able to return and help the team earn its first sectional victory since their 34-21 sectional championship win over Muncie Southside.
Jay County’s volleyball …
… team set some impressive goals before the season.
The Patriots wanted to claim a few invitational championships, win 20 matches and pick up their first sectional title in nine years.
Like Fort Recovery, JCHS had a bit of a bumpy road in the middle of the season. But it picked up its first invitational win at home Sept. 21 with victories over Connersville, Muncie Southside and Frankton in the Patriot Invitational and has now strung together seven straight victories.
At 16-12, it is on the way to its first winning season since going 19-15 in 2002.
The Patriots will open the sectional tournament against a team they have already beaten this season, but their road to the title will be anything but easy. If they are able to beat New Haven (10-18) in the first round, they would advance to play either Huntington North or Homestead in the semifinals.
Huntington North edged JCHS 17-25, 25-23, 16-14 this season at the Norwell Invitational. Homestead topped the Patriots in last season’s sectional championship match.
The area squad …
… that is likely most looking forward to tournament play is the South Adams football team.
After rallying in the second half of the 2010 season and reaching the sectional championship game, the Starfires had high hopes for this season. They have fulfilled those expectations, racking up a 7-1 record with the lone loss coming against Class 4A No. 5 Leo.
South Adams has won 13 of its last 15 games, and will be heavily favored in its opening-round tournament game against a Monroe Central program in just its second full season. It would then likely have to play Union City, also 7-1, in the semifinal round.
The Starfires have already locked up their first winning season since going 7-4 in 2001, but given their preseason goals and regular-season success they will likely not be satisfied with anything less than a sectional championship. Their last title came by way of a 12-0 victory over LaVille in 1996.
The SAHS team is surely trying to avoid looking ahead, but as fans we’re free to do so. And with their punishing ground game and a defense that has held six of its eight opponents to 14 points or fewer, it’s easy to imagine the Starfires winning sectional and regional titles on the way to a semi-state showdown with two-time state champion Lafayette Central Catholic.[[In-content Ad]]
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