Category Archives: Sports

Sports

Lady Bulldogs to advance to semifinals

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By Bayley Patterson

Playoffs have begun, and the Lady Bulldogs start off with a strong win in the Division 1 girls basketball sectional finals against Akron East.

The Bulldogs started off strong in the first quarter with a lead immediately at the start of the game. Freshman Lexi Petit took the first turnover of the game, and as the team held a strong offense, the quarter ended with a score 24-6 Stow.

As the second quarters began, Theresa Parr is crossed by Akron East but comes back to shoot and now has six points, and Stow’s lead improved to 26­-6. A timeout by Akron East gave them time to talk about their far stretch loss. To end the first half, the girls remained on top with a 44-­18 lead on the Dragons.

The Bulldogs started off with the ball in the third quarter, and senior Jessie Stout is fouled and made both of her two free throws making Stow’s lead increasing on Akron East 52-­20.

The girls’ offense slowed down but maintained a strong lead. With three minutes left, the Bulldogs call a timeout. The timeout inspired the team to get back in the game and then end the third quarter with a score of 62-­20 Stow.

The defense at the beginning of the fourth quarter slowed down, but another time out from the Bulldogs brought the intensity back up, and the JV players took the lead. Sophomore Maddie Merlene entered the quarter with a layup making the score 71-­28, and as the game ended, the final score was 82­-30 Stow.

The Lady Bulldogs will play Kent Roosevelt Mon., Feb. 22 in the Division 1 district semifinals.

Sports

Lady Bulldogs set to play Youngstown in playoffs

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Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl seem to control the major chunk of attention for the month of February, but when that is all said and done, all eyes will be focused in on the Lady Bulldogs basketball team as they steamroll into the playoffs.

The Bulldogs held on to a 7-10 record going into the official drawing for playoff seeds and scheduling. With a substantial record, Stow was able to grab a fourth seed in the OHSAA Division I bracket. Canfield clinched the first seed, followed by Austintown Fitch and Boardman with the second and third seeds respectively.

Bracket play filled out to have the Bulldogs square up against Youngstown East at home on Feb. 13. If all goes as planned, and they come out with a victory, Akron East will be next in line, also at home on Feb. 18.

Stow’s season has been highlighted with wins over Twinsburg and Hudson, along with leadership and strength on the court from captains senior Jessie Stout and juniors Kelly Fenwick and Chrissy DeMarino.

With a seemingly easy path to the championship due to a fortunate draw, it is a very real possibility for the Bulldogs to seize a district title. With that said, all pistons must be firing, and the discipline to take the path one game at a time must be strong.

Front/Home, Sports

Girls Swim and Dive vs. Hudson

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The swim and dive team opened up the year with a hard-fought loss to rival Hudson.

Coming out of a grueling two weeks of two-a-days and lifting over winter break, the Bulldogs had some amazing swims to kick off the new year.

The meet was Friday, Jan. 8, and the Bulldogs faced a well-known opponent: Hudson. Although the two teams did not face each other in a dual meet last season, they have in previous years. The swim and dive team faces Hudson in a number of invitational meets as well throughout the season.

To begin the meet, the 200 medley relay of junior Sam Houk, and sophomores Kayla Engle, Amy Vober, and Sam Huddleston took 4th place with a time of 2:03.10. The relay finished with one of their best times this season.

The second medley relay of sophomore Lorna Vizmeg, juniors Kaleigh Dye and Madison DeCheco and junior Julia Fuller stole 5th with a time of 2:19.57. The girls also grabbed a season best.

The 200 freestyle was a strong event for the girls. Juniors Lizzie Cole and Dye swam all-time bests; 2:11.97 and 2:19.20 respectively with drops of 1 second or more. The girls took 2nd and 3rd, beating out two Hudson swimmers to win the event.

In the 200 IM, DeCheco and Engle both saw strong swims. DeCheco pulled a season best by nine seconds, and Engle stayed strong and held her personal best in the event. Their times were 2:39.64 and 2:42.51 respectively.

In the 50 free, the girls took 1st, 3rd and 6th. Huddleston won the event with a time of 26.23, just off of a personal best by under half a second. Vober placed 3rd with a time of 27.09, consistent with her personal best by just under a second. Fuller stole 6th with a time of 31.01.

Divers Amanda Kimble and Houk had strong meets as well, scoring 175 and 144 respectively. Kimble took 2nd and Houk took 4th, scoring six points total for the team.

After the senior night traditions, the girls came back strong in the 100 butterfly. Vober and DeCheco swam strong. Vober was half a second from a personal best and DeCheco was a second from a personal best, dropping four from a seasonal best. The girls won 3rd and 4th in the event.

In the 100 freestyle, Huddleston came in strong and swam a race fairly consistent with a personal best as well. Senior Josie Cremer performed well with a 1:29.81.

In the 500, the girls fought hard for placing 4th, 5th and 6th. Dye saw a 14-second drop in the event from her personal best, with a time of 6:08.14. Fuller and Vizmeg both had strong, consistent swims.

The 200 freestyle relay carried strong with a time of 1:49.29, a season best. The two relays took 2nd and 5th places.

Going into the last events of the meets, Houk and Vizmeg had strong races in the 100 backstroke. Both girls were around two seconds from personal bests. Their times were 1:08.53 and 1:18.11, respectively.

Cole and Engle saw fast races in the 100 breaststroke. Cole dropped one second off of her personal best with a time of 1:19.01 and stole 3rd place. Engle snuck past and won 2nd, with a time of 1:18.22, consistent with her personal bests.

To end the meet, the 400 freestyle relay took 3rd place with a time of 4:15.86. Lead-off swimmer Kaleigh Dye swam a strong race, with a time of 1:05.28.

The Lady Bulldogs ended the meet with a hard-fought loss; although, the meet was one of their best this season individually. Most of the team saw time drops at a crucial point in the season. The Bulldogs face yet another rival Friday, Jan. 15 against the Cuyahoga Falls Black Tigers at the Natatorium in Cuyahoga Falls.

Sports Opinion

Ohio State to face Notre Dame

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By Anthony Chmielewski

Bowl season has arrived in college football and that means throughout late December there will be a full slate of games to watch. Ohio State, who is ranked 7th, will face off against one of the most prestigious football programs, Notre Dame, on Jan. 1 in the Battlefrog Fiesta Bowl.

While Ohio State certainly had its sights set on the crashing the college football playoff two years in a row, playing in the Fiesta Bowl is not too much of a letdown. Although the Buckeyes wanted to make the playoff, they only have themselves to blame as they lost their biggest game of the year against Michigan State with a lackluster performance.

“We did this to ourselves type of deal. We beat Michigan State, then the Team Up North, we’re not even having this conversation, you know what I’m saying?” Quarterback J.T. Barrett said according to Cleveland.com.

Ohio State has a tough task trying to defeat Notre Dame who currently sits one spot behind the Buckeyes in the rankings. Head coach Urban Meyer seems to always prepare his teams for the big games as he did last year in the playoff when the underdog Buckeyes knocked off both Alabama and Oregon.

One of the toughest things for the Buckeyes to do is stay focused while preparing for the game as it seems half the team is ready to go to the NFL. The players already have a national championship on their resume, and may have their focus on preparing for the draft rather than the Fiesta Bowl.

Ohio State will have a very good chance of winning if they fall back on what they do best which is running the ball with one of the best NFL prospects, Ezekiel Elliott. The one game the Buckeyes lost was in large due to the fact Elliott only had twelve carries which is unacceptable for someone so talented. Elliott and his teammates believed he was snubbed from the Heisman trophy won by Alabama running back Derrick Henry. One should expect a big game from Elliott as he tries to prove the doubters wrong in what will be his last game in a Buckeye uniform.

The Buckeyes’ defense will also have to step it up a notch against the very good offensive line from Notre Dame. Ohio State defensive lineman Adolphus Washington has been suspended for the bowl game meaning players like star defensive back Joey Bosa will need to have a big game.

Overall, one can expect an enjoyable, hard fought game as both teams will try to prove the playoff committee made a mistake not picking them. It will likely be an emotional game for some players from both teams will be headed to the draft or graduating after their last game with their respective teams.

On New Year’s day and throughout late December and early January, there will be many fun and enjoyable matchups to watch this year as bowl season is finally here.