Jay wins thriller

Jay wins thriller

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  Little Salamonia Cemetery Ameeting will be held on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Little Salamonia Christian Church Boundry Pike & 300S, to form a Board of Directors for the Little Salamonia Cemetery. Those eligible are persons owning lots or who have family members buried at Little Salamonia Cemetery. For more information: Rachel Stahl 229-938-7419 www.thecr.com The Commercial ReviewPage 12 Sports Wednesday, October 8, 2014 Jay Co. football to host Leo Lions on Friday, see Sports on tap Follow us on Twitter, @commreview By CHRIS SCHANZ The Commercial Review YORKTOWN — To send Jay County back to the sectional championship, all Lilly Rogers had to do was make a stop. The sophomore goalkeeper had already made one save in the overtime penalty kicks, and making another on Delta’s Bailee Allen would give the Patriots a chance to defend their title. With her heels on the goal line, Rogers jumped to deny Allen’s attempt, sealing a 2-1 (4-3 PKs) victory over the Eagles for Jay County on Tuesday at Yorktown Sports Park. The win set up a rematch with Yorktown at 7 p.m. Satur- day for the sectional title. The Class 2A Sectional 15 tournament host Tigers defeated Muncie Central earli- er in the evening, 5-1, with the game delayed for 30 minutes because of lightning with 8:49 left in the first half. Yorktown beat Jay County, the defending sectional cham- pion, during the regular sea- son, 3-1 on Sept. 25. “It feels absolutely amaz- ing,” said Rogers, who was mugged by her teammates after making the game-win- ning save shortly before 10:30 p.m. “I don’t know how I did it, but I’m really glad I did.” Rogers knew what Allen was going to do all along — it was just a matter of executing. “The first one I was just thinking I was going to have to watch her hips to know where she goes,” Rogers said of her first save on Angie Naaman. “The second one gave it away with her eyes which way she was going. I just had to jump to get it.” Catherine Dunn scored the Patriots’ first penalty-kick goal and had to watch the rest unfold from midfield. But as Allen approached her shot, the senior captain knew Rogers would come through. “Honestly, there is no feeling that can describe how … all of us were feeling,” she said of Rogers’ save. “That is just one of those times where every- thing going on is just inde- scribable, and then as soon as (Allen) took the shot everyone just hoped for the best. “We all believe in Lilly though, and we knew that if we needed her to really come through then she would do it for us. “It was an adrenaline rush at its finest.” Jay County (8-5) and the Eagles (6-8-1) traded scores through the first two rounds of penalty kicks, with Dunn and Mariah Bailey scoring for the Patriots, and Kyndall Pursley and Delaney McCaslin notching goals for Delta. Alli Ruiz beat Delta goal- keeper McCaslin in the third round, and Rogers made the stop on Naaman to give the Patriots a 3-2 advantage. JCHS senior Carmen Lopez had her shot stopped by McCaslin, and Morgan Size- more beat Rogers to tie it at 3- 3 after four rounds. Gabbie Mann, who scored the lone goal in regulation for Jay County just 30 seconds into the contest, went to the right side of the net to beat McCaslin, setting the stage for the final save by Rogers. “I (said) at the beginning of the year she’s one of the best,” JCHS coach Giles Laux said of his goalkeeper, who gave the Patriot shooters words of encouragement before going out for the free kicks. “Every game she gets better and bet- ter. She made two tremendous stops.” But it wasn’t just overtime when Rogers came up with big saves. See WWiinnss page 11 Jay wins thriller TThe Commercial Review/Chris Schanz Jay County High School sophomore goalkeeper Lilly Rogers makes the game-winning save against Delta’s Bailee Allen during penalty kicks of the second Class 2A Sectional 15 semifinal game Tuesday night at Yorktown Sports Park. Rogers had 14 saves on the night, including two on penalty kicks, as the Patriots defeated the Eagles 2-1 (4-3 PKs) to advance to the sectional championship. Jay County will defend its sectional title against Yorktown at 7 p.m. Saturday. Rogers makes two saves in PKs to seal win MONROEVILLE — After a close first game, the Jay County High School volleyball team pulled away in the second against Southern Wells. The Patriots defeated the Raiders 25-21, 25-14 in the opening round of the Allen County Ath- letic Conference tourna- ment at Heritage. Jay County (23-5) advances to the semifinal at 6 p.m. Thursday against the Leo Lions, who beat South Adams in two games. The Patriots will look to avenge their three- game loss to the Lions on Sept. 18. Abby Barcus had 11 kills to lead the JCHS offense Tuesday, while also adding a pair of digs and aces. Kylie Osborne tallied six kills and a pair of digs, and Emily Westgerdes notched three kills. Abby Wendel totaled a team-high 10 digs to go with her two kills, and Lizzy Schoenlein had 21 assists. Jay falls to Delta MARION — Following the school’s first sectional title in seven years, Jay County High School boys tennis team ran into a hot Delta squad in the regional semifinal Tuesday, falling 5-0 to the ninth-ranked Eagles. Garrett Rodgers and Sok Vormohr lost 6-0, 6-2 to Matt Hapner and Jacob Brewer at No. 2 doubles. Jay Robillard and Nick Wilson defeated the JCHS No. 1 doubles team of Jay Houck and Adam Jutte, 6- 0, 6-1. Delta won all three sin- gles matches 6-0, 6-0, with Joe Wegener and Jason Wegener beating Zach Pryor and Alex Krieg at No. 1 and No. 2 singles respectively. JCHS senior Alex Clark lost to Alec Robillard at No. 3 singles. Lions top Starfires MONROEVILLE — South Adams’ volleyball team played well in its opening set against the Lions. See LLooccaall page 11 ADVANCE Patriot spikers advance Local roundup The only thing that could stop the East Jay Middle School eighth grade football team Tuesday was the weather. East Jay raced out to a 28-0 lead after two quarters against the South Adams Starfires before the game was halted because of inclement weather. Michael and Ryan Schlechty had touchdown runs of 4 and 50 yards respectively. Daniel Ostrowski and Parker Grimes each added TD runs of 5 yards. The South Adams seventh graders defeated East Jay, 13-8. Collin Shafer found the end zone from 11 yards out with 1:01 left in the game to give the Starfires the victory. He also added a 12-yard touchdown pass to Colin Alberson in the first quarter. East Jay stats were not available. EJ spikers beat Starfires BERNE — After dropping the first game to South Adams, the East Jay eighth grade volleyball team rallied to take the next two in a 16-25, 25-19, 15-6 victory Tuesday over the host Starfires. The seventh grade Chiefs also won, 25-24, 25-11. Hanna Dillon and Olivia Kunkler had six kills each to lead the Chief eighth graders, and Sara Walter had four kills to go with her four service points. Kailee Denney tallied seven points and four aces, and Maggie Pryor had a half dozen digs. For the seventh grade Chiefs, Macey Weitzel tallied 11 points and seven aces while going a perfect 14- for-14 from the service line. Sarah Hemmelgarn and Elyse Bost both had six points, and Logan Poore notched four. Britney Mullins added four digs. Eagles sweep Bruins DUNKIRK — The West Jay sev- enth and eighth grade volleyball teams swept the Blackford Bruins on Tuesday. The eighth grade Eagles won 25-4, 25-12, and the seventh graders picked up a 25-24, 25-5 victory. Randi Ferguson and Rhegan Shimp both had 19 points from the service line for the WJMS eighth graders. Shimp tallied eight aces, and Ferguson had two along with a pair of kills. Kendal Garringer also recorded two kills. Allison Jobe led the seventh graders with 16 points and five aces. Kymia Hankins tallied nine points, and Halle Hill added five. Chiefs, weather top Stars Middle school roundup By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS — When the Colts’ offensive linemen walked into the team complex Monday, they already knew this week’s challenge. Keep Andrew Luck clean and on his feet. Sure, the linemen hear that message on a regular basis, but it takes on greater significance this week with J.J. Watt and the Texans on deck. “He (Watt) makes the tough grinding plays, and he’s always going hard. So it’s always a challenge to go up against him,” Luck said of Thursday night’s game. “But it makes it fun to go up against great play- ers — and a great defense.” While Luck embraces the chess match, Watt’s versatility and game- changing ability are a major concern, especially for an offensive line in flux. Undrafted rookie Jonot- than Harrison made his first career start at center Sunday against Baltimore and is expected to play the same role this week. Left guard Jack Mewhort (ankle) and right guard Hugh Thornton (back) have missed two straight days of practice with injuries. If they can’t play, the Colts likely would move Lance Louis back to left guard where he started two weeks ago, and go with either backup center A.Q. Shipley or veteran Joe Reitz at right guard. Coach Chuck Pagano isn’t saying yet who will start or how Indy will con- tend with the menacing Watt, all complicated by the short week. Pagano just knows that if the Colts can’t protect Luck, things could get ugly fast. See CCoollttss page 11 Colts stress importance of Watt
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  The Commercial Review Wednesday,October 8, 2014 Sports Page 11 Scoreboard MMaajjoorr LLeeaagguuee BBaasseebbaallll San Francisco 3, Washington 2 St. Louis 3, L.A. Dodgers 2 Local schedule TThhuurrssddaayy Jay County — Volleyball vs. Leo in ACAC tournament semifinal at Heritage – 6 p.m.; Volleyball ACAC tournament final vs. TBA – 7:15 p.m. Fort Recovery — Cross country in Mid- west Athletic Conference meet at Coldwa- ter – 5 p.m.; Volleyball at New Knoxville – 5:30 p.m.; FRMS football vs. Minster – 5 p.m. South Adams — Girls soccer section- al semifinal vs. Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian at Bishop Luers – 5 p.m. FFrriiddaayy Jay County — Football vs. Leo – 7 p.m. Fort Recovery — Football at Minster – 7:30 p.m. South Adams — Football vs. Woodlan – 7 p.m. SSaattuurrddaayy Jay County — Cross country sectional at Delta – 10 a.m.; Boys soccer sectional final vs. Yorktown – 2 p.m.; Girls soccer sectional final vs. Yorktown – 7 p.m Fort Recovery — JV football at vs. Min- ster – 10 a.m. South Adams — Cross country sec- tional at Bellmont – 10:30 a.m.; Volleyball at Norse Classic – 9 a.m.; SAMS in coun- ty tournament at St. Joseph Catholic – 9 a.m. TV schedule TTooddaayy 9 p.m. — Boxing: Sam Soliman vs. Jermain Taylor (ESPN2) TThhuurrssddaayy 2:30 p.m. — Soccer: UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifier – Slovakia vs. Spain (ESPN2) 5:30 p.m. — NASCAR Racing: Nation- wide Series – October Charlotte Race, Practice (ESPN2) 7 p.m. — NASCAR Racing: Sprint Cup – Bank of America qualifying (ESPN2) 7:30 p.m. — College Football: BYU at Central Florida (ESPN) 8:25 p.m. — NFL Football: Indianapo- lis Colts at Houston Texans (CBS-7,8,15) 9:25 p.m. — Soccer: International friendly (ESPN2) FFrriiddaayy 3 p.m. — NASCAR Racing: Sprint Cup – Bank of America 500 practice (ESPN2) 5:30 p.m. — NASCAR Racing: Sprint Cup – Bank of America 500 practice (ESPN2) 6:40 p.m. — Soccer: International friendly – United States vs. Ecuador (ESPN) 7:30 p.m. — NASCAR Racing: Nation- wide Series – October Charlotte Race (ESPN2) 8 p.m. — MLB Playoffs: American League Championship Series – Kansas City Royals at Baltimore Orioles, Game 1 (TBS) 9 p.m. — College Football: Washing- ton State at Stanford (ESPN) Local notes AAddaammss CCoouunnttyy CChhaalllleennggee ccoonnttiinnuueess The 2014 Adams County 5K Run/Walk Challenge will continue Oct. 26. The next race in the series is the Cal- lithumpian Canter 5K and 1-mile Fun Run. The race will be held at 2 p.m. on Oct. 26 at Bellmont High School, 1000 N. Adams Drive, Decatur. For more information, contact Linda Morris at (260) 724-2604. RReeggiisstteerr nnooww ffoorr TTuurrkkeeyy TTrroott Registration is now open for the eighth-annual Cooper Farms Turkey Trot 5K Walk/Run. The race is set for 10 a.m. Nov. 1 at Cooper Farm’s processing plant in St. Henry, Ohio. Awards will be given for the overall top finishers and the top finishers in each category. All proceeds will benefit the State of the Heart Hospice. Go to www.speedy-feet.com to regis- ter. GGeett yyoouurr qquueessttiioonnss aannsswweerreedd Do you have a question about local college or pro sports? Email your question to cr.sports@com- cast.net with “Ask Ray” in the subject line for a chance to have it answered in an upcoming column. •••••••••• To have an event listed in “Sports on tap”, email details to cr.sports@com- cast.net. Continued from page 12 Errors ultimately led to its demise in a 25-13, 25-12 loss to the Lions in the opening round of the ACAC tournament at Her- itage. Morgan Alberson led the Starfires with four kills, and Addie Wanner added two. Emma Ross- wurm tallied four assists and four digs, and Kylea Pierce notched three digs. Julia Grabau totaled three assists, and Lauren Smith also had four digs. Cavs beat Tribe FORT RECOVERY — The Tribe volleyball team hung with the sixth- ranked Cavaliers for two games, but weren’t able to come away with a victory in 25-21, 28-26, 25-17 loss to Coldwater. Kendra Siefring posted team highs in kills (10), digs (16) and blocks (four) to lead Fort Recovery (8-12, 1-7 Midwest Athletic Con- ference). Cassidy Rammel had 17 assists to go with her three kills and pair of blocks. Tori and Morgan Lennartz each added four kills and two blocks, and Tori notched seven digs. Madi Grover and Caley Schoenherr tallied 11 and 10 digs respectively. Continued from page 12 Delta didn’t let the early deficit get its spirits down, as the Eagles peppered Rogers with scoring chances the entire game. Nearly 12 minutes after Mann notched her team-leading 29th goal of the season, Jay County and Delta traded chances that went unfinished. On multiple occasions, cross- ing attempts into the box from the wings were just out of the reach of players crashing the net. Delta finally broke through about four minutes into the sec- ond half, when Allen took a right-footed shot from the top of the 18-yard box to the left of the net. Rogers, who had 14 saves on the night, was slightly out of position and wasn’t able to make the stop. Even after Allen’s equalizer, both teams pushed to get the game-winning goal. Jay County, which beat the Eagles 5-0 Sept. 23, poured on the chances in the final 20 minutes of the game, spraying McCaslin with shots from all angles, but none of them were able to find the back of the net. “I can’t say anything bad about that kid,” Delta coach Jacci Glan- cy said of her senior goalkeeper. “That kid is one of the best peo- ple I’ve ever met. Just her char- acter is phenomenal. “She played her heart out there. As a senior she came up big.” Even in the two, seven-minute periods of extra time, Jay Coun- ty still held the offensive advan- tage. The Eagles were without a scoring opportunity in the extra 14 minutes, compared to the Patriots’ seven chances. Laux, Jay County’s first-year coach, praised the defense for keeping the Eagles at bay in extra time. “(They) played with a lot of heart,” Laux said of his back line, led by seniors Lexie Myers and Sarah Newton. “I can’t say enough about them.” It was Rogers who gave the 10 players in front of her the most credit. “The team did absolutely amazing,” she said. “I don’t think I got a workout compared to what I could have had. “I wouldn’t be able to do any- thing without the defense, the midfield and the offense keeping the ball up.” Continued from page 12 “He’s relentless. He’s got size, he’s got length, he’s got a motor, he knows the game inside and out,” coach Chuck Pagano said Tues- day. “Whether you put a tight end over there, a back, chip, help, slide the line, you’ve got to do whatever you can to take care of this guy. He’s a high energy guy with a ton of talent. He’s long, lengthy, twitchy, fast, competitive. He’s a freak.” Watt has more sacks (33) than in anybody in the league since 2012, when he was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Although he has only two sacks through five games this season, Watt is still making an impact. He has scored two touchdowns, one on offense and another on an interception return, while helping the Texans rebound from their dismal 2013 season to a tie atop the AFC South with the Colts. Opponents have attempt- ed to slow down Watt with some exotic blocking schemes, but somehow the defensive end always seems to come up with a solution. “That’s part of the chal- lenge,” said Watt, who has sacked Luck four times in four career games. Defending division champion Indianapolis (3- 2) heads to Houston on a three-game winning streak. A win would not only give the Colts sole possession of the division lead for the first time this season, but it also would give Indianapo- lis a 3-0 record in division play, with two of those wins on the road. A win for Houston would give the Texans an early edge in the tiebreakers before December’s rematch in Indianapolis. Keeping track of Watt is only part of the problem for the Colts. While Indianapolis isn’t expected to see No. 1 draft pick Jadeveon Clowney (knee) this week, the Tex- ans still have plenty of play- makers such as linebackers Brian Cushing and Brooks Reed and cornerbacks Johnathan Joseph and Kareem Jackson. Sports on tap Wins ... The Commercial Review/Chris Schanz Jay County High School junior Sophie Bader (8) sends a ball upfield in front of a Delta forward during the first half of the Class 2A Sectional 15 semifinal Tuesday at Yorktown Sports Park. The Patriots beat the Eagles in penalty kicks to advance to Saturday’s sectional final. Local ... Has risen NEW YORK — The price of qualifying offers for eligible free agents has risen to $15.3 million from $14.1 million. The 8.5 percent increase was finalized by Major League Base- ball and the players’ association. It is up from $13.3 million after the 2012 season, the first of the new system. Baseball’s labor con- tract sets the price at the average of the 125 highest contracts by average annual value. A club has until 5 p.m. Eastern time on the fifth day following the World Series to make a qualifying offer and a player has until 5 p.m. EST on the 12th day after the World Series to accept it. An offer can only be made to a free agent who was with the team for the entire season. Have signed DETROIT — The Detroit Lions have signed Matt Prater to a one-year deal in their latest effort to fix their early kicking woes. The Lions con- firmed the agreement Tuesday night. The Broncos cut ties with Prater last week, when the 30-year-old kicker was about to come off a four-game suspen- sion for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Prater made 25 of 26 field goals last season, including a record-set- ting 64-yarder against Tennessee. The Lions have grown increas- ingly desperate for kicking help after rookie Nate Freese went 3 of 7 on field goals and Alex Henery went 1 of 5. Prater has been in the NFL’s substance- abuse program, which includes alcohol, since a DUI arrest on Aug. 12, 2011. He was origi- nally facing a ban for a full season but his lawyer negotiated a four-game ban instead. —Associated Press In review Colts ... By DAN KILBRIDGE Associated Press EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michi- gan State coach Mark Dantonio believes his eighth-ranked Spartans deserve to be in the inaugural Col- lege Football Playoff if they win the rest of their games. It was almost a moot point. Michigan State (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) beat No. 19 Nebraska 27-22 in its con- ference opener, nearly blowing a 24- point lead. The Spartans were up 27-3 early in the fourth quarter, but Corn- huskers tailback Ameer Abdullah had two touchdowns rushing and wideout De’Mornay El-Pierson scored on a 62-yard punt return with 3:22 remaining to pull within one score. “Did we coach correctly? No,” Dan- tonio said of the fourth quarter. “Did we play correctly? No. There were things that we needed to do better on both ends, so we are all in it togeth- er.” Michigan State kicker Michael Geiger missed a 36-yard field goal attempt with 1:07 remaining and Nebraska was driving for the poten- tial win, but Spartans cornerback Trae Waynes intercepted Tommy Armstrong Jr. with 30 seconds remaining to seal the victory. “We just thought we had it in the bag,” wide receiver Macgarrett Kings Jr. said. “We didn’t move the ball as well as we would like to (in the second half). ... It was just little things we need to fix to finish out the game like we usually finish.” Offensive coordinator Dave Warn- er said he didn’t believe Michigan State players let up at the end. Mis- takes simply piled up and the Spar- tans were not able to run out the clock. Warner said he’s partly responsible, and there were play calls he would like to have back. “There’s a lot of things,” Warner said. “I think we did a very poor job, and I’m including myself, as far as clock management.” Michigan State held its usual film review Sunday to begin preparation for this week’s game at Purdue (3-3, 1- 1) and took a hard look at what went wrong during the final minutes. “It wasn’t fun,” offensive lineman Connor Kruse said. “A lot of mis- takes.” The fact that players and coaches were disappointed with a win over a top-20 team shows just how high expectations are in East Lansing. Dantonio was still able to enjoy the win, especially considering five of the top eight teams in the AP poll lost in Week 6. “You can look around the country and ask four or five other teams how they feel this week,” Dantonio said. “In the big picture of things, if you win, you’re going to advance. If you lose by a couple, chances are you don’t.” The Spartans ultimately emerged unscathed in the conference stand- ings and still harbor legitimate play- off aspirations. Now they must win out in order to keep those hopes alive considering a Week 2 loss at Oregon and the Big Ten’s weak national rep- utation. If MSU takes care of busi- ness the rest of the way, however, Dantonio believes the Spartans will be in. That would mean winning the Big Ten championship game for the second straight year. “There’s enough football teams in this conference that are winning games,” Dantonio said. “So if we do what we’re supposed to do, or what we’re attempting to do, and get in the (Big Ten championship game) and win that game, then I think good things are possible.” Next up is a Boilermakers team that won 38-27 at Illinois last Satur- day their its first conference victory under second-year coach Darrell Hazell. The Spartans eked out a 14-0 win over Purdue last season to remain unbeaten in the conference and are looking to avoid another let- down after their shaky finish against the Cornhuskers. “We look at every game as a cham- pionship game since the Big Ten started,” quarterback Connor Cook said. “If you play Purdue and you lose, you’re completely out of the hunt for the Big Ten championship game.” Spartans looking to finish games SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — After their summer slide and a September stumble, the San Francisco Giants have that old October swag- ger back. Every other year, it sure seems to work for manager Bruce Bochy’s boys. Joe Panik scored the go- ahead run in the seventh inning on Aaron Barrett’s bases-loaded wild pitch, as the Giants edged the Wash- ington Nationals 3-2 Tues- day night to return to the NL Championship Series. The wild-card Giants, with their cast of rookies and homegrown stars, won 3-1 in the best-of-five Divi- sion Series by also scoring on a walk and a groundout. Hunter Pence turned in a defensive gem in right field that helped hold the Nation- als at bay as San Francisco won for the 11th time in its last 12 postseason games. “It’s been a remarkable journey. I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” Pence said. “If it was easy, it wouldn’t be as fun.” San Francisco travels to St. Louis for Game 1 on Sat- urday night. It’s a rematch of the 2012 NLCS, when the Giants ral- lied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Cardinals on the way to their second World Series championship in three years. Santiago Casilla walked Bryce Harper with two outs in the ninth, then retired Wilson Ramos on a grounder to end it. Casilla was mobbed on the mound as fireworks shot off from the center- field scoreboard. “I just talked about their will. These guys, they’re relentless,” Bochy said. “They were warriors on the road. We had to win at Pitts- burgh, we got two in Wash- ington.” Harper splashed a tying home run into McCovey Cove in the seventh, but Washington’s season ended with three one-run losses, including that excruciating 2-1 defeat in 18 innings Sat- urday in Game 2. San Francisco returns to NLDS