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Ansonia coach Adam Hall was named the Southwest District DVII Coach of the Year.(Dale Barger Photo)

The Western Ohio Athletic Conference had several football players honored by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association for All-Southwest District honors.

Highlighting the way was Preble Shawnee Linebacker Brody Lynch who was named the DV Defensive Player of the Year.  In 12 games Brody Lynch had 133 tackles, 71 solo and 18 tackles for loss.

Tri-Village Quarterback Trey Sagester was the DVII Southwest District Offensive Player of the Year. In 12 games Sagester completed 253 of 378 passes and threw for 3242 and 38 TDs.

Ansonia’s Adam Hall who won his 3^rd straight WOAC league championship was named the DVII Coach of the Year.

Here is the list of all the WOAC Football Players earning All-Southwest District Honors as selected by a panel of Ohio Prep Sports Media Association.

DV

First Team Offense
Brody Morton, Camden Preble Shawnee, 6-3, 170, jr., QB
Cooper Shrout, Camden Preble Shawnee, 6-4, 280, jr., OL

First Team Defense
Brody Lynch, Camden Preble Shawnee, 6-0, 225, sr., LB
Reece Smith, Camden Preble Shawnee, 5-11, 175, sr., DB
Lucas Miller, Arcanum, 6-0, 170, so., DB


DV Defensive player of the year: Brody Lynch, Preble Shawnee (Dale Barger Photo)

Second Team Offense
MJ Macy, Arcanum, 5-9, 170, so., RB
Isaac Blankenship, Camden Preble Shawnee, 6-3, 185, sr., WR
Marcus Rayburn, Arcanum, 6-0 275, jr., OL

Second Team Defense
Truman Knaus, Arcanum, 6-4 220, sr., DL

Honorable Mention
Lane Lovely, Camden Preble Shawnee; Brayden Freeman, Arcanum; Lucas Midlam, Arcanum.

DIVISION VI
First Team Offense
James Baker, New Paris National Trail, 6-1, 270 sr., OL 

First Team Defense
Brady Thompson, New Paris National Trail, 6-7, 215 sr., DL

Second Team Offense
Zack Creager, New Paris National Trail, 5-3, 145, sr., RB

Second Team Defense
Jonah Brinkley, New Paris National Trail, 6-2, 190, so., LB
Talon Bousman, New Paris National Trail, 5-8, 150, fr., DB

DIVISION VII
First Team Offense
Trey Sagester; New Madison Tri-Village, 6-3, 160, jr., QB 
Zane Henderson, Ansonia, 5-11,190, sr., RB
Griffin Richards, New Madison Tri-Village, 6-1, 150, so., WR
Dom Black, New Madison Tri-Village, 6-5, 280, so., OL
Asher Shives, Ansonia, 5-11, 205, sr., OL

First Team Defense
Peyton Kelch, Ansonia, 6-1, 230, sr., DL Dillon
Kaeden Lipps, New Madison Tri-Village, 6-3, 185, sr., LB
Lane Bierly, New Madison Tri-Village, 6-2, 165, sr., DB
Owen Canan, Bradford, 5-8, 160, sr., DB

Punter: Griff Roell, West Alexandria Twin Valley South, 6-5, 195, sr. 

VII Offensive players of the year: Trey Sagester, Tri–Village (Dale Barger Photo)

Coach of the year: Adam Hall, Ansonia

Second Team Offense
Caleb Spradling, Union City Mississinawa Valley, 5-8, 155, fr., QB
Zeke Hopkins, New Madison Tri-Village, 5-9, 150, sr., WR
Levi Farmer; New Madison Tri-Village, 5-11, 220, jr., OL
Ty Houser, Union City Mississinawa Valley, 6-3, 235, so., OL
Levi Staver, Union City Mississinawa Valley, 5-10, 235, sr., OL

Second Team Defense
Owen McKee, West Alexandria Twin Valley South, 6-1, 190, so., LB
Bryce Watson, Union City Mississinawa Valley, 5-11, 165, jr., LB
Colt Camacho, New Madison Tri-Village: 6-2, 160, fr., DB
Mason Weathington, New Madison Tri-Village, 5-9, 160, sr., DB

Congratulations to all the WOAC Football players earning All-Southwest District Honors.

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The Ansonia Offensive Line overpowered Lehman leading the way for 500 rushing yards and scoring 44 unanswered points for a 60-20 2nd round football playoff win. (All feature photos by Gaylen Blosser)

ANSONIA – The Ansonia Tigers used a 4^th quarter running clock, 508 total offensive yards, and 44 unanswered points to defeat the Sidney Lehman Catholic Cavaliers 60-20 in second-round DVII Region 28 OHSAA football playoff action, giving Ansonia head coach Adam Hall a perfect 21-0 record at Eugene Hoening Football Stadium in his first three years at the helm of the Tigers football program.

“The guys are cognitive of that,” Coach Hall said of the 21-0 record. “Since we named it after Coach Hoening we haven’t lost here. The guys like to keep that steak going and worked for it tonight. They did a great job.”

The Tigers received the opening kickoff and marched 73 yards to take an 8-0 lead at 8:31 in the first period, with Zane Henderson getting his first of five touchdowns on the night with a one-yard plunge and making good on the two-point conversion.

The Cavaliers came right back with a 51-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage and made good on the PAT kick for an 8-7 score at 8:31 in the first.

Ansonia covered a Lehman onside kick and drove downfield for a Henderson two-yard TD run at 4:48 in the first. Jacob Schmitmeyer made good on the two-point conversion run and a 16-7 Tigers lead.

Once again, Lehman struck with a 36-yard touchdown pass and a PAT kick splitting the uprights for a 16-14 score at 3:13 in the opening quarter.

Ansonia was forced to punt on its next set of downs, setting up a Sidney Lehman 35-yard touchdown through the air to get its first and only lead of the night with 10:29 showing on the second quarter clock. A missed Lehman PAT attempt held the Cavaliers’ lead at 20-16.

“Our guys start fast; they are very athletic,” Hall stated. “It took us a little bit to catch up to that, but once we started doing what we’re supposed to do, we played good defense.

“Offensively, I felt we could move the ball all night. When we were executing and doing it the way we wanted, we showed that we were in good shape.”

Sidney Lehman Catholic’s scoring was done for the night as the Ansonia defense and offense dominated the remainder of the game.

Zane Henderson scores one of his a five touchdowns on the night.

A two-yard Henderson TD run and two-point conversion at 8:35 in the second gave the lead back to Ansonia at 24-20.

With Lehman facing a third and 36, Schmitmeyer intercepted a Cavaliers pass at the Tigers’ 35-yard line and returned it to Lehman’s 46-yard marker, setting up a Henderson one-yard touchdown run and giving Ansonia a 30-20 advantage and at 4:18 in the second.

The Ansonia defense stopped the Cavaliers on their end of the field on a fourth-down attempt to keep its first-half drive alive. Ansonia took over with Layne Bowman stepping up under center with 0:03.1 on the first half clock, hit Schmitmeyer in stride on a perfectly placed pass completion for a touchdown in the endzone with 0:00 showing on the first half clock. Schmitmeyer made good on the two-point conversion run, giving the Tigers a healthy 38-20 halftime lead.

Jacob Schmitmeyer gets a big interception and then turned around a scored a TD on offense.  He had several big plays in the game.

The halftime break did little to help Lehman get their wind back as the Tigers took advantage of their excellent conditioning program to up the score to 46-20 with a Henderson TD run and Schmitmeyer two-point conversion at 1:55 in the third.

“The amount of effort they put in, you can see it on the field,” said Hall. “Early in the games, we’re in many close ones. As the game continues, our guys can keep going at a high level, and not everyone else can.”

Cainan Robinson intercepted a Cavaliers pass with 1:03 on the third-quarter board. The Tigers turned the theft into a 25-yard Schmitmeyer touchdown run, a 52-20 Ansonia lead, putting a running clock in play. Schmitmeyer carried the two-point conversion, good for a 54-20 Tigers lead with 5:25 remaining in the game.

If you forget about Quarterback Layne Bowman he can hurt you with his feet and he's off to the races with a big gain.

Nate Good raced 10 yards for the final Ansonia TD of the night with 1:12 on the clock. Lehman was flagged on the play, and with time running out on the clock, the Tigers did not attempt the two-point conversion, giving Ansonia a 60-20 second-round tournament victory.

“I am very proud of the guys,” Coach Hall said. “Playing football is not easy. These guys work extremely hard. We start working in January and they have been going since January, two-a-days all through the season. The amount of effort they put in, you can see it on the field.”

Ansonia will face the Marion Local Flyers, 56-14 second-round winners over Tri-Village.

The Flyers will bring a 60-game OHSAA record-setting win streak into the third-round playoff game with the Tigers at a neutral site in Lima on Friday November 15th at 7pm.

#1 Maria Stein Marion Local (12-0) vs. $4 Ansonia (11-1) at Lima Spartan Stadium.

“We know Marion Local is as good a football team as anyone could be there is no doubt about that,” Coach Hall stated. “We just have to focus on being the best team we can be, giving our best effort and playing every play with 100 percent effort, and then we’ll see how it shakes out for us.”

Ansonia ran the ball 68 times, good for 493 rushing yards. Henderson rushed for 222 yards on 37 carries and five touchdowns. Schmitmeyer carried 20 times for 189 yards.

Bowman was 1-2 passing, with his lone completion a 15-yard touchdown strike to Schmitmeyer.

Ansonia accounted for 13 first-half first downs, 301 yards rushing, and 15 yards passing for 316 yards. Second half Ansonia’s stats included ten first downs and 192 yards rushing for a game total of 23 first downs for 508 offensive yards. The Tigers were 6-7 on two-point conversions and were flagged for two penalties for 25 yards.

Ben Zerkle had a fumble recovery, and Schmitmeyer and Cainan Robinson had an interception for the Tigers. Peyton Kelch and Lander Shives each accounted for an Ansonia sack.

Coach Adam Hall and the Tigers win their 21st straight game since naming the field after their long-time coach Eugene Hoening.  The Tigers are the only remaining WOAC football team in the playoffs.

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Tri-Village gave their best in the 2nd round of the OHSAA DVII, Region 28 football playoffs. The Flyers won the game 56-14.  (All Feature Photos by Don Selanders)

Photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=61566740975576&set=a.122117848766558032

MARIA STEIN – The Tri-Village football team met up with Marion Local in the 2^nd round of the OHSAA DVII Region 28 football playoff game.  Although the Patriots fell 56-14 to the Flyers it was a welcomed opportunity to see and play the best and will benefit the program in the future.

Marion Local came in riding a 59-game winning streak the longest streak in Ohio football history and currently the longest in the nation as they rolled to their 60^th straight victory.

The Flyers rolled through the regular season scoring 50+ points per game and yielded just 22 points all season long with wins again Coldwater, Minster, Anna, St. Henry and wins against DIII Franklin and Indiana's defending DII State Champion Linton-Stockton.

The Patriots went toe-to-toe with the Flyers in biggest game yet in the 10th year of the football program.

The Patriots knew it was going to be a challenge as the Flyers rolled out to a 21-0 lead in the 1^st quarter.

Their offense continued to roll in the 2^nd quarter three more scores going up 42-0 before the Patriots finally responded.

Tri-Village began to have success opening up their offense and using a hurry up junior quarterback Trey Sagester navigated the team down field spreading the ball around.

Trey Sagester & the Patriots took a while to get going but started to have success moving the ball through the air and scored 14 points in the game.  Marion had only given up 22 points in the previous 11 games.

Facing a 4^th down and 5 with the ball at the 13-yard line and 6 seconds left in the first half, Sagester rolled left with a Marion Local blitz in hot pursuit.  Sagester was able to get rid of the ball right before taking a hit and senior Lane Bierly hauled in the toss to get the Patriots on the score board trailing 42-6 at the half.

Senior Lane Bierly would catch a 13-yard pass for a TD to end 1st half.

“Once our kids settled down and realized we could play with them, we competed. That’s what we wanted to do. Super proud of our guys. Those guys (Marion Local) have more state titles than we have years playing football,” Tri-Village coach Matthew Hopkins said.

Sophomore Hayden Hunt hauls in this pass on the sideline.

It would be a running clock to start the second half and Marion Local would add a couple more scores, but the Patriots would strike one more time in the 4^th quarter this time Sagester connected with Griffin Richards on a 5-yard pass and added a two-point conversion to make the score 56-14.

The Patriots were on the move one more time looking to add another score ... but time ran out.

Griffin Richards had 10 catches for 85 yards including TD.

Trey Sagester was 33-for-48 throwing for 230 yards and 2 TD in the game and Griffin Richards was the leading receiver with 10 grabs for 85-yards and a TD.  Teddy Miller had 7 catches for 43 yards, Noah Finkbine 7 catches for 30 yards and Lane Bierly had 4 catches for 47 yards including the 1 TD.

Trey Sagester had to scramble at times to buy more time to throw the ball.  
He completed 33-of-48 passes for 230 yards and 2 TDs.

Sometimes you have to tip your hat to the better team and there is no shame in doing that.  Marion clearly looks like they are destined to win their 4^th state championship in a row and will face off against another WOAC opponent Ansonia this Friday at Lima Spartan stadium.

Given that Marion had yielded just 22 points the Patriots can build off the fact they were able to score 14 points and gain valuable experience playing a next level opponent.

Kaeden Lipps along with 5 other Patriots will graduate this year.  Lipps led the Patriots & the WOAC in tackles & will be a tough linebacker to replace.

Coach Hopkins noted that his team got better week by week after graduating a strong class last year guys were gaining experience as the season went along and fortunately they will have good nucleus of those guys coming back next year.

Tri-Village will graduate 6 seniors Lane Bierly, Jaden Sears, Zeke Hopkins, Mason Weathington, Kaeden Lipps and Grant Howell.

The Patriots complete their season with a 9-3 overall record, 7-2 and 3^rd in the WOAC.

The entire defensive front for Tri-Village returns in 2025 along with other key players.

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Cooper Shrout wraps up an Indian Lake runner and gets assistance from a teammate on the tackle.  The Arrows defense played well much of the game but turnovers and injuries took a toll in their 28-14 loss. (All Feature Photos by Dale Barger)

CAMDEN – Key injuries and turnovers would tilt to the favor of Indian Lake in the 2^nd round of the OHSAA DV, Regional 20 game with the Lakers who took advantage for a 28-14 win over Preble Shawnee.

The Arrows struck first in this one on a magnificent 15 play drive that ran most of the time off the clock in the first quarter. It was eerily similar to the drives of WOAC league rival Ansonia.

Brody Morton did most of the damage with his feet and he would cap the 93-yard drive on a 2-yard run up the middle to take a 7-0 lead at the end of the 1^st quarter.


Brody Morton behind solid blocking from his offensive line scored the first TD of the game on a 15 play drive.

However early in the drive Shawnee lost senior Isaac Blankenship to injury.  It was a big blow as he is a big part of the offense out of wildcat where he can hurt you with his feet or in the air as a receiver.

Preble Shawnee would hold Indian Lake on three consecutive possessions but was pinned down deep in their own territory on a good punt. The Arrows were unable to gain a 1^st down and forced to punt that was shanked and the Lakers took over at the 18-yard line.

Three plays later Indian Lake was on the board on a 5-yard run with a good second effort from Drake Cosby and the game was tied at 7 midways through the 2^nd quarter.

Indian Lake’s Damian Lillard would strip a Preble Shawnee runner on their next possession as he was stood upright and fighting for extra yards and Lillard took advantage taking the ball away advancing to the 5-yard line before being tackled.

Drake Cosby then scored his second TD to go in front of Shawnee 14-7

Indian Lake intercepted Preble Shawnee's next possession at midfield and went back to work this time striking on a long 40-yard pass to jump in front 21-7 and it was a seismic momentum shift in just a matter of minutes.

When things start to go bad sometimes they just keep going that way and it would be another turnover with about a minute left in the half and the Lakers were going for the jugular.

A Reece Smith interception in the end zone with a minute left in 1st half helped stem the Laker momentum trailing 21-7.

Fortunately, Reece Smith was able to negate another score by intercepting a pass in the corner of the endzone as Shawnee trailed 21-7 at the break.

Preble Shawnee received to start the 2^nd half but the team that moved the ball at will in the 1^st quarter was having trouble generating offense and punted away.

Lane Lovey's interception at the goal line and 95-yard return was a boost the Arrows needed.

Indian Lake advanced to the 5-yard line and the Arrows needed a big play and it was senior Lane Lovey delivering picking off a Laker pass at the 2-yard line and returning it all the way to their own 3-yard line for a 95-yard return. 

Two plays later Brody Morton went up the middle again for the score and the Arrows were back in it trailing 21-14 at 5:43 of the 3^rd quarter.

Preble Shawnee used the element of surprise with an onside kick they successfully recovered … but the offense struggled to run or pass after sustaining another injury to receiver Reece Smith.

They turned the ball over on downs in Laker territory … but the defense did their job and got the ball back just past midfield.


Bryson Doran got a big stop to help get the ball back for Shawnee.

Preble Shawnee had another opportunity but wasn’t able to convert the big play.  Facing 4^th down with Morton and the team going left and the running back sneaking out on the of the backfield on the backside, Morton turned right, throwing back across his body, but the receiver slipped, and the ball fell to the ground just past his reach and Shawnee again turned it over on downs.

The Lakers scored one more touchdown with 30 seconds left in the game to make the final score 28-14.

It was type of game where you will look back knowing you had opportunities to win because the kids didn’t quit, rather they persevered with the injuries and miscues and still gave themselves a chance to tie or win when it easily could have slipped away.

Preble Shawnee will lose ten seniors: Lane Lovey, Isaac Blankenship, Kaden Taylor, Tyler McKee, Kolden Ratliff, Reece Smith, Nolan Earles, Gillian Mathes, Landen Lovely and Brody Lynch.

Lane Lovey, Spencer Lovey, Isaac Blankenship, Reece Smith and Brody Lynch all 1^st teamers in the league and Lynch was the WOAC Defensive Player of the Year will be big holes to fill for next year.

Senior Brody Lynch played lights out and was all over the field making stops.  It would be his last game along with nine other seniors as an Arrow.

The Arrows can be proud of another good season as they finish 10-2 overall, and 8-1 for 2^nd place in the WOAC.

The Shawnee Clarinet section of the band performs at halftime.
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Ansonia's Bennett Lehman approaches the finish line with photographers in the shadows capturing the moment. (Submitted Photo)

It was a good day for Ansonia sophomore runner Bennett Lehman as he finished atop the Podium at the OHSAA DIII Cross Country State Championships.  

Bennett ran a 15:30.32 5k time good enough for 6th place.

Tucker Denlinger of National Trail and Collin Day of Dixie finished side by side at the state meet. Denlinger ran a 17:04.89 and Day a 17:05.12.

Newton’s Michaela Flora was the only female WOAC competitor and the freshman came in 42nd place running a time of 19:15.09. 

Congratulations to our State Cross Country runners on a fantastic year.

Bennett Lehman with his 6th place medal in the OHSAAA DIII Boys Cross Country State Championships. (Submitted Photo)

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