October 13, 2005

sports

Bulldog sports roundup

Compiled by Lauren Heaton

Boys soccer wins two
The YSHS boys soccer team picked up two 1–0 victories last week against the Xenia Christian Ambassadors on Tuesday, Oct. 4, and the West Liberty-Salem Tigers on Saturday, Oct. 1. The wins helped the Bulldogs improve their season record to 8–4–2.

The ’Dogs held the edge in ball possession against the Ambassadors, who beat YSHS, 2–1, earlier in the season. Pressure up top by David Suzel and Abeo Miller set up many scoring opportunities for the Bulldogs, one of which Brandon Carver-Halley headed in midway through the game. Defenders Kevin Sikes-Gilbert, Carver-Halley, Carey Dixon, Brock GunderKline and Zeke Hardman and goalie John Pamplin sustained the 1-goal margin until the final whistle.

“This time around we held our own and never allowed [Xenia] to mount a serious threat on our goal,” coach Jim Hardman said, praising his team’s effort.

West Liberty-Salem, the No. 3 seed in the coming Div. III district tournament, fell behind midway through the game when Bulldog senior Ryan Silvert lobbed the ball over the Tiger defense for Suzel to chase down and head over the hands of the Tiger goalkeeper. Both teams spent the rest of the game getting some good looks at the goal but never finding the net.

“Some players have stepped up recently…and this past week David Suzel has been a real impact player, giving us some quality minutes, and playing a direct role in both game-winning goals,” Hardman said. “Our goal now as a team is to build on this momentum and ride it into the postseason tournament and see how deep it will take us.”

The Bulldogs open tournament play in the Dayton 2 district at home against Southeastern on Tuesday, Oct. 18, starting at 7 p.m. If they win, the Bulldogs travel to Greeneview, the top ranked team in the district, on Thursday, Oct. 20, for a 7 p.m match.

Girls soccer seeded 4th
The Yellow Springs girls soccer team beat Troy Christian, 2–0, on Saturday, Oct. 8. The girls then came back two days later to beat Xenia Christian, 2–1, for the second time this season.

The Lady Bulldogs are 10–3–1 overall and 8–1 in the Metro Buckeye Conference.

Megan Burrick scored the first Lady Bulldogs’ goal against Troy on an assist by Erin Silvert-Noftle. Laura Garcia got the second with help from Burrick.

Against Xenia, the Lady Bulldogs scored both their goals in the first half. Burrick got the first score and Ryder Comstock scored the second. Both were assisted by Silvert-Noftle.

The Lady Bulldogs, seeded fourth in the Div. II Dayton 2 district tournament, will begin postseason play when they host National Trail on Monday, Oct. 17, at 5 p.m. Win that match, and the Lady ’Dogs will play on the road on Thursday, against the winner of the Brookville/Franklin Monroe game.

Football team drops 5th game
The YSHS football team lost, 40–14, to Riverside on Friday, Oct. 7. The team is 2–5 for the season.

The game was clinched early in the first half when the Bulldogs let Riverside take a 33–0 lead.

Then in the second half, as if a new team were born, the Bulldogs came alive to score twice and hold Riverside to just one more TD.

Antonio Woodard set up the Bulldogs’ first score when he blocked a punt by the Pirates. In the ensuing drive, Anthony Carter threw a 5-yard pass to Woodard for the score. Andrew Ferguson kicked the extra point.

Woodard scored again on a 27-yard pass from Carter, and Ferguson again got the extra point.

Woodard also led the defense with 12 tackles and 2 sacks. Joey Bailey had 15 tackles, John Haller grabbed an interception and Aaron Turner picked up a fumble.

Harriers finish 9th at Anna
Short-handed at the Anna Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 8, Yellow Springs surprised the field by finishing 9th out of 28 schools with 266 points. Anna won its own invitational with 76 points, followed by Lima Central Catholic (105) and Sidney Lehman Catholic (134).

Individually for the Bulldogs, junior Sam Borchers won his seventh straight race as he dipped under 16 minutes for the second straight meet. In doing so he established a new course record of 15:59.2, despite windy conditions on a soft, wet course. Borchers won by nearly a minute over Anna’s Dan McCracken, who finished second in 16:51. YSHS sophomore Andy Peters, who acted as Sam’s pace-setting rabbit for the first mile, finished sixth out of the 248 boys with his fastest time of the year, 17:00.

With just five boys running, the Bulldogs were depending on freshman Earnest Johnson to score points for the team. The youngster delivered, improving by over a minute for a lifetime best of 22:20 to place 209th. Evan Firestone and Ben Adams also ran lifetime bests to place 25th and 94th, respectively.

For the Lady Bulldogs, Tina Peters finished 14th overall out of 190 girls with a time of 21:11.

Volleyball team splits 4
The YSHS volleyball team got a good workout last week in the final days before the tournament starts.

The Lady Bulldogs easily beat Dunbar, 25–5, 25–17, 25–14, on Tuesday, Oct. 4. High scorers were Olivia Dixon and Ashlee Jackson.

On Thursday, Oct. 6, despite hard work at the net from Niquelle Orr, Bailey Linse and Kristen Foster, the Lady Bulldogs lost to Xenia Christian, 24–26, 22–25, 18–25.

The Lady Bulldogs had more trouble against Troy Christian on Saturday, Oct. 8, losing 5–25, 21–25, 11–25.

But the girls began the new week with a strong 25–21, 25–21, 25–16 win against Middletown on Monday, Oct. 10. The high scorers that day were Orr and Dixon.

The team is 11–7 for the season and will open play in the Div. IV sectional tournament on Saturday, Oct. 15, against Covington. This match will be played at Newton High school at 3 p.m. If the Lady Bulldogs win, they play the winner of the Ft. Loramie/Mechanicsburg match on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at 6 p.m.

Sports schedule clarification
The YSHS football team will play Dayton Christian in Monroe on Friday, Oct. 14. Directions to the field are available at Yellow Springs High School, 767-7224.

Contact: lheaton@ysnews.com

Youth swim club offering fall clinic

The Yellow Springs Aquatic Club Fall Swim Clinic will be held Mondays and Wednesdays, Oct. 17 to Dec. 14, 3:15–4:15, at the Antioch pool. Clinics will not be held the week of Thanksgiving.

Children 12 and younger who can swim a full length of the pool without assistance may participate. A parent must attend the first session to complete and sign a registration form.

The program costs $60 for one child and $50 for the second child in a family. Scholarships are available for those who can demonstrate need. Up to 40 swimmers may participate in the clinics. To reserve a place, call Cheryl Meyer at 767-7574.

Parents are asked to help for at least two sessions during the eight-week clinic. Parent volunteers are asked to come 10 minutes early and be ready to assist as needed.

Girls hoops clinics held Wednesdays

Basketball clinics for girls in 4th–6th grades are held Wednesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Bryan Community Center gym.

The program is designed to provide instruction and improve skills for girls new to basketball and those already participating in the program. Each clinic consists of fundamentals instruction and drills, dribbling and shooting games, and scrimmage.

The clinics complement the KTC (Kenton Trace Conference) traveling team program that includes four Yellow Springs teams of girls and boys from the fifth and sixth grades. Fourth graders are eligible to play on the fifth-grade teams. Teams form in November and the season starts in January.

Interested players may register at a clinic. For more information, call Rich Miller at 767-2049.

Miami Valley Track Club to start fall practices

The Miami Valley Track Club will begin holding practices for its fall cross country season starting Thursday, Oct. 13, at the Yellow Springs High School track. Practices will continue Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 6 p.m.

This program is open to elementary and middle school athletes 8 and older. For more information, call coach Vince Peters at 767-7424.