August 12, 2015 at 4:53 p.m.
Summer is over, left fall sports begin
Rays of Insight
It’s almost time.
For someone who loves local sports, it’s way beyond time.
Even though, as students at Jay County High School will no doubt agree, summer has gotten shorter, it still seems too long a break from the athletics scene.
After spring sports end in early June, there is generally about a two-week period of relief. Another long year has been complete, and it’s time for a break.
Then the Jay County Fair fills the void for a week — FFA mud volleyball anyone? — but shortly after that I start to get antsy, ready for football, volleyball, soccer, cross country, golf and track to reclaim the local sports landscape. And while the golf teams have each gotten a few tournaments under their belts, the fall season begins in earnest next week.
The Patriot and Starfire volleyball teams get their seasons started Monday, and the schedule explodes after that. JCHS girls soccer opens at home Tuesday against Richmond, and two days later the boys tennis, volleyball and boys soccer teams all have home events. Football follows Aug. 21, traveling to Delta for its first game of the year.
As with every year, there are some key story lines to watch.
New coaches
Most of the talk this summer, or at least since Craig Teagle made his move to Huntington North in early July, has surrounded basketball coaches.
First there was the question of who would replace Teagle. Now that Chris Krieg has been selected to fill that role, we await a decision on who will take his place as the new Patriot girls basketball coach.
But there will also be a couple of new coaches leading teams this fall, and both are former Patriot athletes.
Adam Daniels has taken over leadership of the boys soccer program, with another former Patriot, Brad Horn, as his assistant. As the team’s goalie, Daniels helped JCHS to a sectional title in 2008 and played the best game of his life in the regional semifinal, a 1-0 overtime loss to Muncie Central.
The girls cross country team will have a new coach for the second straight year as Leah Wellman takes the reigns. The 2011 graduate was one of the key athletes in the Patriots’ run of three straight regional championships from 2008 through 2010.
It’s always interesting to see how programs evolve under new coaches.
Week 11 again?
For the Fort Recovery football team, 2014 was a dream.
The Indians posted victories in six games during the regular season to earn their first playoff berth in school history. They went on to win their first playoff game 28-7 over the Fort Loramie Redskins before falling to eventual Division VII state champion Marion Local in the regional semifinal.
It was a long, hard climb for the Indians, who started their football program in 1992. They regularly struggled, winning two or fewer games nine times since joining the Midwest Athletic Conference in 1995.
The goal now is for FRHS to make the success of 2014 the rule rather than the exception.
Fort Recovery clearly lost some key players from last season.
Gone are the Schoen twins — Evan and Alex — who were key to the offensive and defensive lines, Cole Hull, who set the school’s single-season rushing, touchdown and scoring records and Seth Riegle, another key up front and one of the team’s emotional leaders. But there’s also a lot of talent coming back, especially with Caleb Martin firing passes to Wes Wenning.
The question this year for the Indians: Can they do it again?
Seeking repeats
That’s also a good question for several Jay County teams.
Both soccer programs and the Patriot boys tennis team are defending sectional champions. The goal, as always, will be to bring home those titles again.
For the boys tennis team, which had not won a sectional since 2007, success will depend on some new faces. It graduated four seniors after edging Winchester 3-2 for the 2014 title.
The same can be said for the boys soccer team, which lost both seniors — Alex Abbott and Jared Schlosser — who scored in the 2-1 sectional championship victory over Yorktown last year. Abbott was the team’s best offensive weapon throughout his career, so the Patriots will need to find production elsewhere in order to earn another crown.
Jay County’s girls soccer team is actually looking for more than a repeat. For that squad, another title would be their third in a row.
That’s a pretty impressive statement for a team that was shut out 10 times in 2010 and had never won a sectional before breaking through two years ago. The Patriots bring back their top scorer — senior Gabbie Mann, who put the ball in the net 30 times in 2014 — and veteran junior goalkeeper Lilly Rogers as they strive for the three-peat.
Those are just a few of the story lines to watch this year. Many more will play out on the football and soccer fields, volleyball and tennis courts, and golf and cross country courses.
I’m beyond ready for the seasons to get underway and for another year of local sports stories to be written.
It’s going to be fun. It always is.
For someone who loves local sports, it’s way beyond time.
Even though, as students at Jay County High School will no doubt agree, summer has gotten shorter, it still seems too long a break from the athletics scene.
After spring sports end in early June, there is generally about a two-week period of relief. Another long year has been complete, and it’s time for a break.
Then the Jay County Fair fills the void for a week — FFA mud volleyball anyone? — but shortly after that I start to get antsy, ready for football, volleyball, soccer, cross country, golf and track to reclaim the local sports landscape. And while the golf teams have each gotten a few tournaments under their belts, the fall season begins in earnest next week.
The Patriot and Starfire volleyball teams get their seasons started Monday, and the schedule explodes after that. JCHS girls soccer opens at home Tuesday against Richmond, and two days later the boys tennis, volleyball and boys soccer teams all have home events. Football follows Aug. 21, traveling to Delta for its first game of the year.
As with every year, there are some key story lines to watch.
New coaches
Most of the talk this summer, or at least since Craig Teagle made his move to Huntington North in early July, has surrounded basketball coaches.
First there was the question of who would replace Teagle. Now that Chris Krieg has been selected to fill that role, we await a decision on who will take his place as the new Patriot girls basketball coach.
But there will also be a couple of new coaches leading teams this fall, and both are former Patriot athletes.
Adam Daniels has taken over leadership of the boys soccer program, with another former Patriot, Brad Horn, as his assistant. As the team’s goalie, Daniels helped JCHS to a sectional title in 2008 and played the best game of his life in the regional semifinal, a 1-0 overtime loss to Muncie Central.
The girls cross country team will have a new coach for the second straight year as Leah Wellman takes the reigns. The 2011 graduate was one of the key athletes in the Patriots’ run of three straight regional championships from 2008 through 2010.
It’s always interesting to see how programs evolve under new coaches.
Week 11 again?
For the Fort Recovery football team, 2014 was a dream.
The Indians posted victories in six games during the regular season to earn their first playoff berth in school history. They went on to win their first playoff game 28-7 over the Fort Loramie Redskins before falling to eventual Division VII state champion Marion Local in the regional semifinal.
It was a long, hard climb for the Indians, who started their football program in 1992. They regularly struggled, winning two or fewer games nine times since joining the Midwest Athletic Conference in 1995.
The goal now is for FRHS to make the success of 2014 the rule rather than the exception.
Fort Recovery clearly lost some key players from last season.
Gone are the Schoen twins — Evan and Alex — who were key to the offensive and defensive lines, Cole Hull, who set the school’s single-season rushing, touchdown and scoring records and Seth Riegle, another key up front and one of the team’s emotional leaders. But there’s also a lot of talent coming back, especially with Caleb Martin firing passes to Wes Wenning.
The question this year for the Indians: Can they do it again?
Seeking repeats
That’s also a good question for several Jay County teams.
Both soccer programs and the Patriot boys tennis team are defending sectional champions. The goal, as always, will be to bring home those titles again.
For the boys tennis team, which had not won a sectional since 2007, success will depend on some new faces. It graduated four seniors after edging Winchester 3-2 for the 2014 title.
The same can be said for the boys soccer team, which lost both seniors — Alex Abbott and Jared Schlosser — who scored in the 2-1 sectional championship victory over Yorktown last year. Abbott was the team’s best offensive weapon throughout his career, so the Patriots will need to find production elsewhere in order to earn another crown.
Jay County’s girls soccer team is actually looking for more than a repeat. For that squad, another title would be their third in a row.
That’s a pretty impressive statement for a team that was shut out 10 times in 2010 and had never won a sectional before breaking through two years ago. The Patriots bring back their top scorer — senior Gabbie Mann, who put the ball in the net 30 times in 2014 — and veteran junior goalkeeper Lilly Rogers as they strive for the three-peat.
Those are just a few of the story lines to watch this year. Many more will play out on the football and soccer fields, volleyball and tennis courts, and golf and cross country courses.
I’m beyond ready for the seasons to get underway and for another year of local sports stories to be written.
It’s going to be fun. It always is.
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