Tree of Life keeper Adam Pugsley (1) goes up for a save Wednesday evening. Fairbanks’ Cade Ziegler (2) and Cade Feller (background) crash toward the goal. The Panthers beat TOL, 3-2, in sudden victory overtime. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) It was like an old Johnny Carson gag from the Tonight Show years ago … it was so crowded around the net. How crowded was it? It was so crowded Fairbanks High School boys soccer coach Matt Humphrey couldn’t really tell at first who scored the winning goal during Wednesday’s Division III district semifinal match. The answer was Josh Underhill.…
Author: Tim Miller
Who ever said soccer wasn’t a contact sport? The players from Fairbanks and Columbus School for Girls would have disagreed Tuesday evening. In the above photo, FHS’ Elaina Lahmers (5) falls to the ground after colliding with Unicorn keeper Emma Spangler. In the bottom photo, Lahmers does a face plant after Spangler makes a save. Pictured in the background of the bottom photo is Rebecca Dean of Fairbanks, who was also involved in the collision. Dean was credited with the eventual winning goal with 30 seconds left in sudden victory overtime. (Journal-Tribune photos by Tim Miller) Fairbanks High School girls…
Wyatt Kaizer of Jonathan Alder leaps to catch a ball behind his head at the Springfield Shawnee one-yard-line. The Pioneers will play at Columbus Eastmoor Academy on Friday during the first round of the Division III playoffs. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) After a very slow start to the 2021 season, the Jonathan Alder football team will continue the program’s history of post-season appearances. The Pioneers (6-4) won six of their final seven games of the regular season and qualified for the Division III playoffs. Alder earned the No. 10 seed in Region 11 and will travel on Friday to…
The high school football playoffs mark an extremely exciting time of year. It’s a reward for the hard work that successful teams have put in since practice began in late July. The Journal-Tribune’s coverage area has been fortunate to have playoff teams nearly each season for the better part of the past three decades. As a matter of fact, it was 30 years ago when the 1991 Marysville Monarchs became the first team in our coverage area to earn a playoff berth. Since that time, we’ve had very few seasons in which at least one of our teams hasn’t been…
A block by Gavin Rohrs, right, springs Colton Powers (32) for yardage against Olentangy on Friday. The Monarchs will open the Division I playoffs at home this Friday against Delaware Hayes. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) The Marysville Monarchs, as expected, have secured the No. 1 seed in their region (Region 2-Division I) for the upcoming Ohio High School Athletic Association state playoffs. MHS (9-0) remained in the same spot it has held for a number of weeks when the final OHSAA computer ratings were released Sunday afternoon. The Monarchs finished with 38.271 computer points, the highest among any team…
First-round state playoff opponents have been announced for regions involving Union County-area football teams. Games for Division I (Marysville) and Division III (Jonathan Alder) will be played on Friday evenings. Divisions V (North Union) and VI (Fairbanks) will be played on Saturdays. Regional matchups are as follows: Division 1, Region 2 16 Delaware Hayes (3-7) at 1 Marysville (9-0) 15 Clayton Northmont (3-6) at 2 Springfield (8-1) 14 Dublin Coffman (3-7) at 3 Huber Heights Wayne (8-2) 13 Toledo Start (5-5) at 4 Toledo Whitmer (8-2) 12 Springboro (5-4) at 5 Centerville (7-3) 11 Miamisburg (6-4) at 6 Findlay (7-3)…
Kaelynn Sphapmixay (20) of Fairbanks sets the ball for Caydee Breneman’s (17) kill Saturday afternoon. The Lady Panthers won the Division III sectional title with a three-set sweep over Africentric. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) A slow start did not translate into a prolonged problem Saturday for Fairbanks’ volleyball squad. “We were a little low on our energy at the start of the match,” said coach Ryanne Ufferman. She had to remind her No. 7-seeded team to pick up some steam during the Division III sectional championship match against No. 18 Columbus Africentric. The Lady Panthers listened as they kicked…
Elaina Lahmers (5) of Fairbanks controls the ball against a Tree of Life opponent. FHS won the tournament match, 4-0. (Photo submitted) The second-seeded Fairbanks girls soccer team opened Division III tournament action with a victory on Saturday. The Lady Panthers (11-6) scored a 4-0 sectional championship triumph over No. 8 Tree of Life Christian. Elaina Lahmers of FHS scored 12 minutes into the match. Fairbanks carried that 1-0 margin into the halftime break. Addie Thrush upped the Lady Panthers’ margin to 2-0 when she took the ball to the net during the second minute of the ensuing half. A…
This Springfield Shawnee player breaks up a pass in the end zone to Jonathan Alder’s Gibby Wilson. The Braves, though, were called for pass interference. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) Springfield Shawnee staged a fierce fourth-quarter rally, but still fell to Jonathan Alder, 36-28, on Friday. The Pioneers (6-4) held a comfortable 36-7 lead with 8:56 left in the fourth quarter. The Braves (6-4), however, refused to wave the white flag of surrender. They scored three touchdowns within five minutes to make it a contest. The victory though, enabled the Pioneers – after an 0-3 start to the season –…
Hayden Simpson (27) of Triad picks up yardage against Fairbanks. Also pictured are Joe Graham (68) of Triad and Brice Phelps (12), Ethan Hoffman (66) and Mason Eagon (21) of FHS. The Cardinals will conclude the regular season tonight at West Liberty-Salem. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) While the Triad Cardinals have suffered through a difficult football season, there is something for which to play tonight when they travel to West Liberty-Salem. Whichever team comes out on top will capture its only Ohio Heritage Conference victory of the campaign. Both Triad (2-7 overall) and the Tigers (1-7) are 0-4 in…
Marysville defensive lineman Ben Bickerstaff takes care of two Olentangy Berlin players in making this tackle. Bickerstaff helped lead the unbeaten Monarchs to a huge victory over the Bears. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) Marysville High School football coach Brent Johnson checked off one season goal last Friday evening when the Monarchs clubbed Olentangy Berlin on Senior Night. The victory assured the team of defending its Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division championship. A win at Olentangy this Friday would add another milestone. MHS (8-0) would finish the regular season unbeaten with a triumph. “We haven’t had too many of those…
Brogan Green (8) of Fairbanks attempts to avoid a tackle by Triad’s Luke Reveal during a game from earlier this season. The Panthers will close out the regular campaign at Northeastern on Friday. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) The Fairbanks Panthers are itching to get back on the winning track. FHS put together a four-game winning streak during the middle portion of the season. The Panthers (5-4), however, have dropped their last two games to state-ranked Mechanicsburg and West Jefferson. Fairbanks will close out the regular season on Friday with a game at Springfield Northeastern (6-3). FHS and the Jets…
Dylan Tobe (11) of Fairbanks moves the ball past a leaping Delaware Christian opponent Wednesday evening. The Panthers advanced in the Division III tournament with a 5-0 victory. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) Cade Ziegler and Cade Feller both tallied a pair of goals Wednesday evening for the Fairbanks High School boys soccer squad. They helped lead the No. 5-seeded Panthers (12-5-1) to a 5-0 opening-round Division III tournament victory over No. 23 Delaware Christian. The contest marked the first post-season contest for the school under the new lights on the soccer pitch. Fairbanks tallied its initial goal nearly nine…
Claudia Mueller of Fairbanks (right) goes up for a block against Centerburg Tuesday evening. The Lady Panthers advanced in the Division III tournament with a five-set triumph over the Trojans. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller) Volleyball matches that go a full five sets are awfully tough on the nerves. The battle is tied two games apiece and someone is going to go home unhappy after a time-consuming and agonizing fight. When that type of match happens during tournament play, it means the end of the season for someone. Fairbanks fans were left drained, but happy Tuesday evening when their favorite…
The Ohio High School Athletic Association state football playoffs could very well see four Union County-area teams in its field next week. That would be the most local teams in the post-season in a non-COVID 19 campaign in history. Every team had the opportunity to see action in the playoffs last year during a coronavirus-shortened (six games) regular season. This year, there were no virus restrictions on the 10-game season, even though some teams did not play a full slate of contests. Marysville, for example, has played only eight games during the past nine weeks as Cleveland Collinwood canceled its…