January 2, 2021 at 2:35 p.m.
A season gone
Loss of spring sports top story of 2020
A season gone
By Chris Schanz and Ray Cooney-
It’s been a roller coaster of a year when it comes to sports.
There were the highs of record-breaking or breakout performances. A conference championship and the return of a legend.
But it also included the downs, too, with coaches being charged with murder, the death of Portland’s native son and a worldwide pandemic nixing an entire season and perhaps forever changing the landscape of athletics at every level.
In spite of the coronavirus, there were still reasons to celebrate the achievements of local athletes.
But those kids not getting to compete, as they didn’t in the spring, is the top story of 2020 as COVID-19 forced the entirety of the spring season to be canceled.
The rest of the 2020 list is as follows:
2. Fort Recovery softball coaches arrested and charged with murder
3. Former NFL player and coach Pete Brewster, a Portland native, dies at age 89
4. Casey Kenney paving his way as a UFC fighter
5. Indian girls cross country team advances to state meet
6. Mason Winner rewrites wrestling record book at Jay County
7. Freshman Renna Schwieterman has phenomenal first year for JCHS girls hoops
8. Legendary coach Jerry Bomholt returns to Jay County, where his career began four decades earlier
9. Fort Recovery girls basketball wins first conference championship in almost three decades
10. Jay County boys tennis claims first sectional title since 2014
1. COVID-19 cancels spring season
It all began March 12 when the NBA announcing it would “pause” the remainder of the season.
The COVID-19 pandemic started to have local implications shortly thereafter as, most notably, the spring sports seasons in Indiana and Ohio were canceled. The IHSAA officially canceled its season on April 2.
The OHSAA, which was holding out hope to have a season, followed suit 18 days later by ending any chance of having spring sports.
In Indiana, gymnastics state finals went on without fans. The state’s boys basketball tournament was halted before the regional round, and the OHSAA canceled its boys basketball, girls basketball and hockey postseason tournaments.
2. Coaches charged
Esther J. “EJ” Stephen, who had coached the Indians since 2018, and her assistant coach Shelby N. Hiestand were arrested Jan. 15, two days after Shea Briar died after being shot and left on a bridge in northern Jay County. According to police, they admitted to plotting to kill Briar over a custody dispute. (Stephen and Briar shared a child).
The incident occurred just hours after Stephen and Hiestand had worked at the concession stand at an FRHS boys basketball game.
Two weeks later, one of Stephens’ former players, Hannah Knapke, was also arrested and charged with murder.
3. Pete’s passing
Portland’s native son, Darrel “Pete” Brewster, passed away Jan. 3 at the age of 89.
Brewster was a Portland High School graduate, and played football and basketball for the Panthers. He later attended Purdue University on a basketball scholarship while also playing football.
He was a second-round NFL Draft pick in 1952, and played for the Cleveland Browns (1952-58) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (1959-60), during which he was a two-time Pro Bowl selection.
As a receivers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Brewster helped coach Hank Stram and the Chiefs win Super Bowl IV.
4. Rising in UFC
Casey Kenney’s year didn’t start the way he would have liked, but it finished with a flourish.
The 2009 Jay County High School graduate lost for the first time in UFC by unanimous decision Feb. 15 to Merab Dvalishvili. But he bounced back to submit Louis Smolka in the first round three months later. Then he went on an October tear on UFC’s Fight Island in the United Arab Emirates, beating Heili Alateng and Nathaniel Wood in a span of three weeks.
He is now booked to fight former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz on March 6 in Las Vegas.
5. Girls make state
Led by freshman Ellie Will and three other underclassmen, Fort Recovery’s girls cross country team qualified for the state meet for the first time since 1999.
Will, who was 12th as an individual in the regional meet, and fellow freshmen Henna Hart and Brynn Stammen worked their way to be among the squad’s best runners. Then Megan Diller, a sophomore, and senior Hanna Metzger rounded out the team’s top five.
The Indians, who were ranked 11th heading into the meet, finished 13th overall, which was one spot lower than the 1999 team’s best finish in program history.
6. School’s best Winner
Prior to his freshman season, Mason Winner set a handful of goals.
He wanted to be a state champion. He wanted to be a four-time state medalist. He wanted to be the best wrestler in school history.
Two out of three ain’t bad.
Winner solidified his legacy in February by winning his school-record fourth medal as he placed fifth in the state. That accomplishment came two weeks after he surpassed 2014 Patriot graduate Eric Hemmelgarn as the program’s all-time wins leader.
Winner ended his JCHS career with 170 wins, eight more than Hemmelgarn.
7. Fantastic freshman
The Jay County High School girls basketball team lost its 2019-20 season opener. But in that defeat, a new star emerged.
Renna Schwieterman burst onto the scene in her first varsity game, scoring a team-high 23 points. It was a pattern that would continue throughout the year.
Schwieterman would clear the 20-point mark eight times as a freshman, including a 28-point effort in a win over Adams Central. She racked up 365 points in her first season, setting her up to have a shot at the program record of 1,458 held by Shannon Freeman.
8. Bomholt’s back
More than four decades after it began, legendary coach Jerry Bomholt returned to the Jay County boys basketball team as he was hired in April to replace Chris Krieg, who retired a month earlier.
Bomholt, whose first victory this season was the 550th of his career, started as a head coach with the Patriots in 1980. He spent four years in Portland, and said leaving was the biggest mistake of his career.
The start of his second stint leading the Patriots was delayed, however, as he battled the coronavirus. After he recovered, though, the team still had to cancel or reschedule the first five games of its season.
9. MAC title
Under first-year coach Holly Gann, the pieces finally came together for the Fort Recovery girls basketball team as it returned to conference dominance in winning the Midwest Athletic Conference title.
After losing the first MAC game of the season, the Indians rattled off eight straight wins, including one against two-time defending state champion Minster.
Fort Recovery finished 8-1 in conference play, sharing the championship with Marion Local (although the Indians beat the Flyers).
It marked the Tribe’s first conference title since 1991.
10. Champs again
After watching another team host the sectional championship trophy on its home court for the last five years, Jay County’s boys tennis team kept the hardware this time by topping Union City 4-1.
It was the team’s first sectional championship since 2014.
Junior Crosby Heniser avenged an earlier loss at No. 1 singles. At No. 3 singles, Abraham Dirksen got a victory as well.
The Patriots’ doubles team — Frankie Crump and Gavin Myers at No. 1 and Darius Esparza and Sam Myers at No. 2 — also had wins.
Jay County then fell to Lapel in the regional semifinal.
There were the highs of record-breaking or breakout performances. A conference championship and the return of a legend.
But it also included the downs, too, with coaches being charged with murder, the death of Portland’s native son and a worldwide pandemic nixing an entire season and perhaps forever changing the landscape of athletics at every level.
In spite of the coronavirus, there were still reasons to celebrate the achievements of local athletes.
But those kids not getting to compete, as they didn’t in the spring, is the top story of 2020 as COVID-19 forced the entirety of the spring season to be canceled.
The rest of the 2020 list is as follows:
2. Fort Recovery softball coaches arrested and charged with murder
3. Former NFL player and coach Pete Brewster, a Portland native, dies at age 89
4. Casey Kenney paving his way as a UFC fighter
5. Indian girls cross country team advances to state meet
6. Mason Winner rewrites wrestling record book at Jay County
7. Freshman Renna Schwieterman has phenomenal first year for JCHS girls hoops
8. Legendary coach Jerry Bomholt returns to Jay County, where his career began four decades earlier
9. Fort Recovery girls basketball wins first conference championship in almost three decades
10. Jay County boys tennis claims first sectional title since 2014
1. COVID-19 cancels spring season
It all began March 12 when the NBA announcing it would “pause” the remainder of the season.
The COVID-19 pandemic started to have local implications shortly thereafter as, most notably, the spring sports seasons in Indiana and Ohio were canceled. The IHSAA officially canceled its season on April 2.
The OHSAA, which was holding out hope to have a season, followed suit 18 days later by ending any chance of having spring sports.
In Indiana, gymnastics state finals went on without fans. The state’s boys basketball tournament was halted before the regional round, and the OHSAA canceled its boys basketball, girls basketball and hockey postseason tournaments.
2. Coaches charged
Esther J. “EJ” Stephen, who had coached the Indians since 2018, and her assistant coach Shelby N. Hiestand were arrested Jan. 15, two days after Shea Briar died after being shot and left on a bridge in northern Jay County. According to police, they admitted to plotting to kill Briar over a custody dispute. (Stephen and Briar shared a child).
The incident occurred just hours after Stephen and Hiestand had worked at the concession stand at an FRHS boys basketball game.
Two weeks later, one of Stephens’ former players, Hannah Knapke, was also arrested and charged with murder.
3. Pete’s passing
Portland’s native son, Darrel “Pete” Brewster, passed away Jan. 3 at the age of 89.
Brewster was a Portland High School graduate, and played football and basketball for the Panthers. He later attended Purdue University on a basketball scholarship while also playing football.
He was a second-round NFL Draft pick in 1952, and played for the Cleveland Browns (1952-58) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (1959-60), during which he was a two-time Pro Bowl selection.
As a receivers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Brewster helped coach Hank Stram and the Chiefs win Super Bowl IV.
4. Rising in UFC
Casey Kenney’s year didn’t start the way he would have liked, but it finished with a flourish.
The 2009 Jay County High School graduate lost for the first time in UFC by unanimous decision Feb. 15 to Merab Dvalishvili. But he bounced back to submit Louis Smolka in the first round three months later. Then he went on an October tear on UFC’s Fight Island in the United Arab Emirates, beating Heili Alateng and Nathaniel Wood in a span of three weeks.
He is now booked to fight former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz on March 6 in Las Vegas.
5. Girls make state
Led by freshman Ellie Will and three other underclassmen, Fort Recovery’s girls cross country team qualified for the state meet for the first time since 1999.
Will, who was 12th as an individual in the regional meet, and fellow freshmen Henna Hart and Brynn Stammen worked their way to be among the squad’s best runners. Then Megan Diller, a sophomore, and senior Hanna Metzger rounded out the team’s top five.
The Indians, who were ranked 11th heading into the meet, finished 13th overall, which was one spot lower than the 1999 team’s best finish in program history.
6. School’s best Winner
Prior to his freshman season, Mason Winner set a handful of goals.
He wanted to be a state champion. He wanted to be a four-time state medalist. He wanted to be the best wrestler in school history.
Two out of three ain’t bad.
Winner solidified his legacy in February by winning his school-record fourth medal as he placed fifth in the state. That accomplishment came two weeks after he surpassed 2014 Patriot graduate Eric Hemmelgarn as the program’s all-time wins leader.
Winner ended his JCHS career with 170 wins, eight more than Hemmelgarn.
7. Fantastic freshman
The Jay County High School girls basketball team lost its 2019-20 season opener. But in that defeat, a new star emerged.
Renna Schwieterman burst onto the scene in her first varsity game, scoring a team-high 23 points. It was a pattern that would continue throughout the year.
Schwieterman would clear the 20-point mark eight times as a freshman, including a 28-point effort in a win over Adams Central. She racked up 365 points in her first season, setting her up to have a shot at the program record of 1,458 held by Shannon Freeman.
8. Bomholt’s back
More than four decades after it began, legendary coach Jerry Bomholt returned to the Jay County boys basketball team as he was hired in April to replace Chris Krieg, who retired a month earlier.
Bomholt, whose first victory this season was the 550th of his career, started as a head coach with the Patriots in 1980. He spent four years in Portland, and said leaving was the biggest mistake of his career.
The start of his second stint leading the Patriots was delayed, however, as he battled the coronavirus. After he recovered, though, the team still had to cancel or reschedule the first five games of its season.
9. MAC title
Under first-year coach Holly Gann, the pieces finally came together for the Fort Recovery girls basketball team as it returned to conference dominance in winning the Midwest Athletic Conference title.
After losing the first MAC game of the season, the Indians rattled off eight straight wins, including one against two-time defending state champion Minster.
Fort Recovery finished 8-1 in conference play, sharing the championship with Marion Local (although the Indians beat the Flyers).
It marked the Tribe’s first conference title since 1991.
10. Champs again
After watching another team host the sectional championship trophy on its home court for the last five years, Jay County’s boys tennis team kept the hardware this time by topping Union City 4-1.
It was the team’s first sectional championship since 2014.
Junior Crosby Heniser avenged an earlier loss at No. 1 singles. At No. 3 singles, Abraham Dirksen got a victory as well.
The Patriots’ doubles team — Frankie Crump and Gavin Myers at No. 1 and Darius Esparza and Sam Myers at No. 2 — also had wins.
Jay County then fell to Lapel in the regional semifinal.
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