by Gary Andrews

The Southwood boys varsity basketball team did the same thing to Southern Wells in their opening game that the football team did in the sectional, DOMINATE.

Southwood jumped on the Raiders in the first quarter and never let up, winning on opening night 70-42.

After Southern Wells got the first bucket of the game, senior Jackson Blair said that's enough. Blair would hit a bucket and three free throws to give the Knights a 5-2 lead. The Raiders would answer with three points to take a 5-4 lead and the game was tied at 7 when the Knights took over. Blair and Noah Kirk would drain back to back three's to go up 13-7 and was followed by two Corey Phillipy free throws for a 15-7 lead. The Knights led 15-9 after one.

The Knights would start the second quarter with a 12-0 run to open things up. Blair connected on his second three pointer, then stole the ball, feeding Ross Phillipy for a deuce. Corey Phillipy would then hit two free throws and a bucket around a Blair bucket to make it 26-9. Alex Harmon ended the run with a free throw and the Knights were in control. A bucket and a free throw from Harmon built the lead to 32-13 when the Knights went cold and the Raiders got hot. Southern Wells would score 9 straight points to close the gap to 32-22 at the half.

by Gary Andrews

The Northfield wrestling team lost to Western in their first match of the season by a score of 12-70. Drew Clark won by pin  in 2:27 and Adam Smalley won by forfeit.  Also wrestling for the Norse were Logan Carey, Matthew Carey, Drake Heitz, Dayon Waldron, Jake Stephen, Jensen Frieden, Cole Persinger, Josh Smalley, Zach Shadden and Sean Griffith.

Coach Norman said "This first match showed us where we stand as a young team.  We still have many things to work on and perfect this season."

by Gary Andrews

Saturday was Manchester's annual four-game clash with Oak Hill, as the host Squires went 2-2 on the day, winning both boys games while falling in the girls’ games.

The junior varsity girls got things going first with the Lady Squires trailing 16-10 at the half before falling 29-20.

Leading  Manchester was Emily Haecker with 4 points. Hanna Olk, and Bailey Sewell added 3 points each.  Bethany Collett, Rae Bedke, Kaitlyn Andritsch, Brooklyn Howard and Tiffany Johnson had 2 points each. Haecker would add 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Sewell had 3 rebounds and 1 steal. Thompson added 1 assist.

Next up was the junior varsity boys who dominated the first half, leading 22-12.  The Squires went on to handle the Eagles 47-28.

Leading the Squires was Bailey Ness with 10 points. David McAtee and Austin Brewer added 9 points each. Zach Hill had 6, Keelan Norwood 5, Matthew Pegg 4, Kane Gable 2, Levi Hicks 2.

In the girls varsity game, the Lady Squires jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a bucket from Cierra Carter and again had the lead 4-2 on two free throws from Tabby DeWitt and 6-4 on a bucket from DeWitt. Oak Hill would then go on a 7-0 run to go up 11-6 when Sydney Snep hit. Manchester trailed 12-8 at the first stop.

Oak Hill would extend their lead to 14-8 to start the second quarter before DeWitt hit to make it 14-10. The Eagles would increase their lead to 18-10 when DeWitt hit again. Down 20-12 Kaitlyn Parrett would find the bottom of the bucket, followed by a free throw from Emily Haecker to make it 20-15. Oak Hill would get the final bucket of the half and led 22-15.

by Gary Andrews

The Southwood Lady Knight basketball team suffered their first loss of the season Tuesday in a 51-39 loss to Oak Hill on the road.

Southwood led at the first two stops before a turnover plagued second half did them in.

Amy Bowman got the scoring started with two free throws and with the Knights leading 8-4 after buckets from Brooke Elliott and Katie Stouffer, Oak Hill would hit five straight free throws to take an 11-10 lead. Trailing 13-10 after two more Eagle free throws and two Knights on the bench with foul trouble, Abby Houlihan would come off the bench to hit two straight buckets and give Southwood a 14-13 lead. After an Oak Hill bucket, Elliott would connect with 15 seconds remaining and the Knights led 16-15 after one.

by Gary Andrews

The Wabash Apache boys’ varsity basketball team did something Wednesday they hadn't done since 1972; they won at Oak Hill. The Apaches used a balanced scoring attack with 10 players scoring in a 68-55 opening night win.

The game started like a track meet, with high tempo and plenty of shots fired. After the dust settled Oak Hill led 22-20 after the first stop.

Wabash would turn up the heat on defense in the second quarter, holding the Eagles to just 6 points, scoring 12 and leading 32-28 at the half.

The Apaches maintained their lead in the third quarter, winning the quarter 17-15 to lead 49-43 with a quarter to go.

Wabash would build their lead to double digits early in the fourth before Oak Hill chipped away, cutting the lead to four points before Wabash took control. With the Eagles trailing and having to foul, the Apaches would convert at the free throw line to seal the deal in a 68-55 win.

by Gary Andrews

The Wabash girls varsity basketball team raised their season record to 4-1 with a 46-20 road win at Madison Grant Tuesday.

The Lady Apaches wasted no time in setting the tone for the game, putting up 18 points in the first quarter to lead 18-8 after one.

Wabash would increase the defensive pressure in the second quarter, holding Madison Grant to just 4 points, while scoring 12 and led 30-12 at the half.

No matter what team your playing, if you can hold a team to single digit scoring in every quarter your defense has had a great night. The Lady Apaches did just that, holding the Argylls to 3 points in the third and 5 in the fourth on their way to the 46-20 win.

Leading Wabash was Claire Cromer and Lyndsie Thomas with 12 points each. Cromer added 3 assist, while Thomas had 1 rebound, 2 assist, 4 steals. Kyleigh Hampton added 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 assist. Sarah Puckett had 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist. Jaclyn Lewis had 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 4 steals. Sarah Ritter had 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal. Heather Miller had 1 point. Kristin Cromer had 1 rebound, 1 assist. Kristen Ford had 1 steal. Katie McCauley had 1 rebound.

The junior varsity topped Madison Grant 34-15.

Katie McCauley led with 11 points. Sydney Mullett added 7, Jaycee Parrett 6, Kristin Cromer 3, Cailey Beauchamp 2, Caitlyn Mullen 2, Taylor Cain 2, Carli Henderson 1.

by Gary Andrews

The 2013 swim season got underway Tuesday with the Manchester girls hosting Columbia City. With the Eagles winning every race, they would top the Squires 119-50.

For Manchester, the 200-medley relay team of Kacy Sites, Marie Pedersen, Alexis Vernon and Andrea Roesner placed third. Allison Smith, Claire Barnett, Hayleigh Collett and Tahnee Fuentes were 4th.

In the 200 free, Corrie Osborne was fourth, Emma Altimus was fifth, and Hayleigh Collett was sixth.

In the 200IM, Marie Pedersen was third, with Claire Barnett in fourth.

by Gary Andrews

Southwood Knights Wrestling went to battle for the first time this season at the 2013 Bluffton Duals ending up 1-4 as a team. The Knights lost their 145-pound wrestler in the first match, battled sickness, battled in experience, and thus lost some close ones.

Individually three wrestlers were undefeated.  Seniors Colton Dawes 113 pounds, Nick McCown 220 pounds, and Jake Smith 285 pounds were 5-0.  Fellow senior Brandon Simpson 106 pounds finished 4-1.  Juniors Nicholas Rebholz 152 pounds, Tristyn Howell 180 pounds, and Dylin Porter 195 pounds finished 3-2 on the day.  Picking up two wins were Reid Votaw 120 pounds, Zach Ball 125 pounds, and Brenden Schleining 160 pounds.  Chris Adams 170 pounds and Asher Teague 132 pounds each collected a win.

Southwood 40 Wes-Del 41 (by criteria)

Southwood 74 Bluffton 6

Southwood 37 Central Noble 38

Southwood 33 Concordia 46

Southwood 27 Fremont 50