Patriots finish in scoreless tie with Marion (09/21/07)

MARION - Ties aren't exactly what the Patriots are looking for. But this was one they could be proud of.

The Jay County High School boys soccer team finishing in a scoreless tie Thursday with the Marion Giants.

"They are the best team I've seen in a long time," said JCHS coach Alan Bailey of the Marion squad. "The kids probably played their best game all year."

Jay County (5-3-4) used a purely defensive game plan to combat the Giants, finishing with just two shots on goal. Trey Dunn took one on a free kick that deflected off the post, and Derek Bartlett had the other.

Marion (8-2-1) got off 17 shots in the game, but all were denied as Kevin Dirksen notched 12 saves and the Patriot defenders picked up another five.

Fort defeats Chiefs

FORT RECOVERY - The East Jay and Fort Recovery middle school volleyball teams traded big wins in the first two games Thursday before slugging it out in the third with the Indians pulling out a 13-25, 25-5, 25-21 victory. The Tribe also took the seventh grade match, 25-22, 25-15.

Kara Faller powered Fort Recovery's eighth graders (5-4) to victory with nine points, four kills, four digs and a block. Kylie Kahlig added nine points, three kills and a block, Mikayla Westgerdes scored 10 points and Olivia Schwieterman had four assists.

Kassi Hemmelgarn led East Jay (5-3) with 11 assists and six points. Megan May added 10 points, and Danielle Wellman and Maria Murphy had three kills apiece.

Amy Link scored eight points to lead the Indian seventh graders, who are now 6-3. Elizabeth Wendel added seven points.

Hannah Ainsworth put up nine assists for the Chiefs (5-3), and Jill Dirksen had three aces and three digs. Samantha Homan had four kills, and Rachelle Jackson came up with three digs.

EJ runners crush Richmond

East Jay Middle School's cross country teams clobbered Richmond Dennis Tuesday. The eighth grade boys won 18-41, while Dennis did not have enough runners for a teams score in the girls or seventh grade boys competitions.

Austin Bentz led the Chief eighth grade boys, winning the race in 11-minutes, 17 seconds, with Bradley Leuthold as the runner-up in 12:01. Edward Muhlenkamp was fourth in 12:38, Colby Cline took fifth in 12:56 and Jordan McBride finished sixth at 13:07.

East Jay's girls posted a sweep of the top five slots, led by sixth grader Amber Huelskamp in 13 minutes flat. Trailing her were Katie Simmons (13:28), Tiffany Huelskamp (13:39), Abigail Johnson (14:07) and Laura Bowen (14:09).

Kyle Scott had the top time for the seventh grade boys, who were uncontested, finishing in 12:41. Behind him were Chaz Carroll (13:24), Zach Fullenkamp (13:29), Austin Muhlenkamp (13:30) and Zane Shreve (13:40).

Tribe 7th tops Anna

ANNA, Ohio - A pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns lifted the Fort Recovery seventh grade football team to a 20-8 victory Thursday over the Anna Rockets. The Tribe eighth grade team fell 36-16.

Fort Recovery's seventh graders (2-1) trailed 8-6 heading into the final period, but Trent Kaiser gave them the lead with a 1-yard touchdown run. Keith Fortkamp added another 1-yard TD run, and Kaiser, who had a 12-yard TD dash in the first quarter, added the two-point conversion.

The eighth grade game was tied at 16 at the end of the opening quarter, but the Indians (0-3) never scored again. Kenny Wenning accounted for both Fort Recovery touchdowns with a 16-yard run and a 45-yard pass to Aaron Vagedes.[[In-content Ad]]