Kick returns lift EJMS

RICHMOND — Kickoff returns were the key for the Chiefs.
The East Jay Middle School eighth grade football team returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns Tuesday on the way to a 20-14 victory over the host Dennis Bulldogs. The seventh grade squad lost 26-8.
The Chief eighth graders (3-1) got going quickly as Blackford returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown in the opening quarter, and then caught the two-point conversion pass from Levi Hummel. Michael Vanover added a 70-yard kickoff return for a TD to open the second half, and Blackford scored again on a 45-yard run on the way to the win.
Jason Schlosser had the lone touchdown for the Chief seventh graders (2-2). Jay Houck and Caleb Kunkle each came up with interceptions.

WJ defeats Raiders
DUNKIRK — The West Jay eighth grade volleyball team eked out a 25-15, 24-25, 15-14 victory Tuesday over the visiting Southern Wells Raiders while the seventh grade team earned a 25-12, 25-16 win.
Emily Jobe led the eighth grade Eagles to victory with 21 service points, including eight in the opening game, and five aces. Emilie Walter had seven service points, four kills and three aces.
Lily Rogers finished with eight service points, including five aces, and three kills to lead the seventh graders. Kaity Grady has six service points and five aces.

Chief runners roll
WINCHESTER — East Jay’s girls cross country team swept the top 13 positions Tuesday as it earned a 15-50 victory over the host Driver Hawks. The boys team won 23-36.
Emi Minnich led the Chiefs as she won the girls race in 12 minutes, 6 seconds. Megan Wellman was the runner-up in 12:13 followed by Sydney Mathias (12:43), Sophie Bader (12:55) and Kelly Fortkamp (12:56).
Michael Denney finished in second place to lead the EJMS boys team with a time of 11:48. Tim Hein was third in 12:09 ahead of Matthew Cox (fourth), Ethan Wendel (sixth) and Grant Keihn (eighth).

Kunkler leads EJ
Ava Kunkler had more than twice as many points as any other player Tuesday as she led the host East Jay eighth grade volleyball team to a 25-9, 25-14 victory over Union City West Side.
Kunkler racked up 15 service points, six of which came by way of aces. She also had two kills for the Chiefs (8-7).
Abby Reier added six service points and four aces. Kylie Osborne totaled five kills, and Sierra Trobridge had five assists.

Stigleman scores two
Cole Stigleman, Noah Hummel and Jordan Key each finished with two touchdowns to finish as the top performers Saturday in Jay County Pee Wee Football.
Stigleman scored the only touchdowns for the Giants in a 16-0 victory over the Bears. Hummel’s two TDs came in the Colts’ 28-0 shutout of the Bengals, and Key scored twice in the Hawks’ 20-0 win over the Falcons.
Cameron Henry was responsible for the only score in the Steelers’ 7-0 win over the Chiefs, and Caleb Grigbsy and Gabe Link each had TDs as the Vikings beat the Dolphins 14-6.

Teams qualify
KOKOMO — Two duos from the Jay County Special Olympics golf team qualified for the state tournament earlier this month.
Darrin Martin and Bill Schaffer earned a gold medal in the regional tournament Sept. 9 at Chippendales Golf Course. Troy Atkinson and Kurtis Atkinson teamed to win a bronze medal.
Both teams qualified for the state tournament in Indianapolis.[[In-content Ad]]