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Local Sports from The CourierTuesday, October 02, 2012Prep notebook: Crunch time starts now for area teamsStaff Writer The regular seasons for area prep teams are beginning to wind down. Golf teams are already, or soon will be, participating in postseason tournaments and the sectional tournament draws in soccer and volleyball will take place on Sunday. League championships are on the line this week and next and several area volleyball and soccer teams have a shot at winning some conference hardware. One girls soccer team has already clinched a league crown. Van Buren's girls soccer team wrapped up at least a share of the girls North Central Ohio Soccer Association title last week. The Black Knights (10-3) can win it outright on Oct. 10 with a win over Cory-Rawson. Findlay High School's boys soccer team, 3-0-2 in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference, travels to rival Toledo St. John's (5-0 TRAC) in a key match today. A win could put the Trojans in position to possibly earn a share of the title. Liberty-Benton's boys soccer team can earn at least a share of the Midland Suburban Soccer League championship with a victory tonight at winless Tiffin Calvert. In volleyball, Liberty-Benton appears to be in the driver's seat in the Blanchard Valley Conference. The Eagles can earn a share of their first BVC title since 2007 with a win Wednesday at Pandora-Gilboa. FRIDAY VOLLEY BATTLE: Continental and Miller City won't be playing for the Putnam County League championship, but it should be an interesting Friday night volleyball match nonetheless. Neither school has enough girls to field a junior varsity team and both teams are winless with Miller City at 0-15 and Continental entering the week with an 0-16 record. The Pirates have also had the tough task of playing their entire schedule on the road as summer storms destroyed part of the gym roof resulting in damage to the floor. BOOSTER INVITE: One of the area's longest running cross country meets will take place Saturday when Fostoria High School hosts the Booster Invitational. The Red Division races kick things off at 9 a.m. followed by the junior high and Black Division races. Bluffton, Carey, Hopewell-Loudon, New Riegel, North Baltimore, Fostoria St. Wendelin and Van Buren will be among the schools competing in the Black Division. Elmwood, Fostoria, Upper Sandusky will run in the Red Division. FAB FIVE: Five area teams are ranked in the latest Associated Press state football poll. Ottawa-Glandorf is ranked fourth in Division IV with two first-place votes and Patrick Henry is fourth in Division V with one first-place nod. In Division VI McComb, Ada and Leipsic are ranked second, third and fourth respectively. The Panthers and Vikings each got two first-place votes and the Bulldogs got one vote. Writer Dave Hanneman, who votes in the AP poll for The Courier, ranked Cleveland St. Ignatius, Toledo Central Catholic, West Holmes, Columbus Hartley, Coldwater and Mogadore as his top choices in each division. OTHER PREP POLLS: Four teams are ranked in the latest state volleyball coaches poll. Findlay is ranked fifth in Division I, while New Riegel (9th), Leipsic (14th) and McComb (17th) are all ranked in Division IV. In cross country, Liberty-Benton's girls are 10th, and Columbus Grove's boys are ranked sixth in Division III. Both polls can be found in today's scoreboard section. SECTIONAL TENNIS: OHSAA sectional tennis tournaments get under way beginning Thursday across Northwest Ohio. Findlay will compete in the Division I sectional at Ohio Northern. The area's four Division II tennis programs will compete at four different sites. Ottawa-Glandorf plays at Defiance College, Fostoria at Clyde, Upper Sandusky travels to Shelby and Bluffton plays its sectional tournament at the University of Northwestern Ohio. Tournaments will wrap up Saturday with the semifinals and finals matches. Baker, 419-427-8409 jamiebaker@thecourier.com Subscribe to The Courier. |
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