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Zane Henderson #21 scores final TD of game, celebrates with Jacob Schmitmeyer #6 and Ben Zerkle #12 who defeated Preble Shawnee 24-13 in WOAC showdown.
(All Feature Photos by Dale Barger Photo)

ANSONIA – It was a Saturday night special between the top two undefeated football teams in the WOAC featuring the ground and pound Ansonia offense vs a wide-open Preble Shawnee offense.

Both teams were putting up over 40 points a game, but the Tigers physicality and ball control offense got the upper hand with Ansonia clinching at least a share of the conference championship with a 24-13 win over the Arrows.

The Tigers would rush for 317 yards in the game with Zane Henderson going for 120 yards and Jacob Schmitmeyer 119.

Ansonia was aided on their opening kickoff drive by two offside penalties by Preble Shawnee to keep the drive going scored and they would score on a four-yard TD run by Zane Henderson to go up 6-0 after failing on the two-point conversion at 5:26 of the first quarter.

Zane Henderson works through a hole opened up by his line as the Tigers scored on their opening drive.  

The Tigers stopped Preble Shawnee on their first possession but coughed up the ball on a mis-handled hand-off in their own territory that was recovered by Brody Lynch.

It took the Arrows five plays scoring at 11:56 of the 2^nd quarter on TD run by Isaac Blankenship to go up 7-6 with the extra point kick.


Preble Shawnee's Isaac Blankenship tries to shake a defender.  He scored the a rushing TD in game with Ansonia. 

Ansonia went back to work with their ground game scoring at 9:07 of the 2^nd quarter when quarterback Layne Bowman faked everybody out on the hand-off up the middle then ran around the end and up the sidelines for a 32-yard touchdown.  Preble Shawnee again held off the Tigers two-point conversion something they would be successful at all night but trailed 12-7.

The Arrows were stopped on their 3^rd possession by Ansonia giving them one more opportunity to score before the end of the first half.   

The Tigers had advanced the ball down to the five-yard line and with the Arrows back against the wall they stuffed a 4^th down Tiger run denying a score with 46 seconds left in the half.

The good news for Preble Shawnee, who had only four possessions in the 1^st half  and the last with 95 yards to go and just 46 seconds, basically didn’t count … is that they would
receive the ball to start the 2^ndhalf.

Preble Shawnee would get in their own way on their first possession of the 2^nd half again plagued by penalties and forced to punt.

The Tigers knew what to do orchestrating a long 70-yard clock eating drive converting on fourth down twice along the way and Jacob Schmitmeyer hit paydirt from five yards out to go up 18-7 after the third failed two-point conversion.

Ansonia sophomore running back Jacob Schmitmeyer cuts back behind the kick-out block by Zane Henderson for a 5-yard TD.

With 3:29 left in the 3^rd quarter Preble Shawnee knew they had to respond and moved the ball out to midfield on a few quick plays setting up a Brody Morton pass that saw Reece Smith go up an over the defender and tip the ball back to himself with a spectacular catch and strolled into the endzone for a much-needed 60-yard score.  Their two-point conversion attempt failed … but they had narrowed the lead to 18-13.

Preble Shawnee Reece Smith gave the Arrows a shot in the arm with a great catch for a quick 60-yard score to close the gap to 18-13.

In classic Ansonia style they would break the arrows in more ways than one with a time-consuming drive that included two, fourth down conversions … but on the third 4^th down attempt Shawnee held taking over on downs at their own 9-yard line with about 5 minutes left to play.

If anyone questioned Ansonia’s defense, they gave answers with Preble Shawnee facing a 4^th and 1 on their own 24-yard line and the Arrows, not sure if they would get the ball back if they punted, decided to go for it.

Preble Shawnee Lane Lovey had success on the ground in the first half but the Arrows possessions were limited by the ball control offense of Ansonia.  

The Tigers stopped them short of the first down and a few plays later Zane Henderson scored his 2^nd TD of the night from five yards to go up 24-13 with a few minutes left in the contest.

Preble tried to work quickly to respond and a pass from Morton to Blankenship near the five-yard line was tipped by the Tigers Cade Shellhaas and Jacob Schmitmeyer was able to snag the carom for his 2nd interception allowing the Tigers to do what they did all game long and run out the clock for a victory.

Preble Shawnee coach Dave Maddox was disappointed that his team didn’t play their best in what likely determined the league championship. 

“We just made way too many mistakes. I don't know how many penalties we had, there's absolutely no way you can win, beat any team if you have that many penalties. We didn't show up ready to go, not focused and they punched us in the mouth. We waited too long to respond, and we still had opportunities throughout  the game but didn't take advantage and put ourselves in too big of a hole,” Maddox stated.

The Arrows won the first league championship back in 2021 and had hopes for a 2^nd title but now needs help from Mississinawa Valley next week, while they play Dixie.

Coach Hall knew his team was in for a good one with Preble Shawnee and saw his team steadily improved over the course of the year with many questioning if they would be up for the challenge.


Ansonia coach Adam Hall has got his Tigers poised for post season after winning a big game against DV Preble Shawnee to claim at least a share of the WOAC Football Title.

“We know that Preble Shawnee is a good football team. We've seen the scores, we've seen them on film. We've seen them play in person. They're good every year. They're a physical football team. They're an athletic football team and we knew we'd have our hands full coming in tonight. I think that they deserve a lot of credit for how they play, how they prepare, but our guys made plays tonight. And, you know, I think that our defense played as good as you could play, as good as we could ask them to play tonight, and offensively, holding onto the ball, doing what we do, it works out for us,” Hall said after the game.

It was a formula that has worked well for Ansonia over the years, and they have the results to prove it.

Hall who is in his 3^rd year at the helm for the Tigers saw his team clinch at least a share of the League Title and with a win at Mississinawa Valley next week will earn an outright championship and the third straight WOAC football championship for the Tigers who shared it with Tri-Village in 2022.

When push came to shove it was the Tigers winning most of the battles.  Here they were able to stop the Arrows on a fourth down and one late in the game.
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Girls Volleyball All-Conference Selections have been made for 2024. (Dale Barger Photo)

The Western Ohio Athletic Conference final season record and All-Conference selections for Volleyball in 2024.

The Arcanum girls’ volleyball team made it back-to-back championships and won the league title outright in 2024 going undefeated in the WOAC.  

Final League Standings
Arcanum  11-0
Mississinawa Valley  9-2
Newton   8-3
Tri-Village  8-3
Ansonia  7-4
Franklin Monroe 7-4
Dixie   5-6
Twin Valley South 4-7
Preble Shawnee 3-8
National Trail  2-9
Bradford  2-9
Tri-County North 0-11

All Conference First Team
Gabriella Leeper  Ansonia
Mackenzie Byrne  Arcanum
Grace Fry   Arcanum
Lexy Gibbons   Arcanum
Addie Bauman  Franklin Monroe
Allie Muhlenkamp  Franklin Monroe
Cora Hoggatt   Mississinawa Valley
Sienna Montgomery  Newton
Ava Rapp   Newton
Sallie Montgomery  Preble Shawnee
Mylee Bierly   Tri-Village
Lilly Camacho  Tri-Village

All Conference Second Team
Lydia Hahn   Ansonia
Kamryn Beisner  Arcanum
Caroline Long   Arcanum
Chloe Hocker   Bradford
Kendyl Hypes   Dixie
Ava Simon   Dixie
Danika Neargarder  Mississinawa Valley
Allyson Waymire  Mississinawa Valley
Haydn Davies   National Trail
Estie Rapp   Newton
Paityn Davidson  Tri-County North
Clara Meyers   Twin Valley South

All Conference Special Mention
Aleah Shilt   Ansonia
Cameron Garbig  Arcanum
Addysen Mills   Bradford
Teegan Miller   Dixie
Layni Ressler   Franklin Monroe
Makenna Hoggatt  Mississinawa Valley
Evie Hoffman   National Trail
Makenna Kesling  Newton
Macy Price   Preble Shawnee
Kiley Adkins   Tri-County North
Ava Pipenger   Tri-Village
Danika Caldwell  Twin Valley South

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Sienna Montgomery – Newton
Sienna Montgomery puts down one of her 346 Kills this year.  (Dale Barger Photo)

Sienna Montgomery led the league this with 346 kills and has 850 career kills as well.  She was 2nd in blocks with 45 for the Lady Indians and was named the WOAC Volleyball Player of the Year in 2024.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Jacie Holman – Arcanum
Jacie Holman looks on as her team competes in big game at Mississinawa Valley.  Holman won back-to-back Coach of the Year awards.  (Dale Barger Photo)

Jacie Holman’s team went undefeated in the conference this year and is currently 18-3 overall with the number one seed going into the post season.  Her team won back-to-back WOAC volleyball championships, and she also can claim back-to-back WOAC Coach of the Year awards winning in 2023 and now 2024. 

Congratulations to everyone who earned all-league honors and good luck in post season.
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Girls Soccer All-Conference Selections have been made for 2024. (Dale Barger Photo)

The Western Ohio Athletic Conference final season record and All-Conference selections for Girls Soccer in 2024.

The Preble Shawnee Arrows won the WOAC soccer title going undefeated with an 8-0-2 league record this season.  Twin Valley South and Newton tied for 2nd place at 6-2-2, 
Tri-County North was 4th, National Trail was 5th and Dixie was 7th.

Final League Standings
Preble Shawnee 8-0-2 
Twin Valley South 6-2-2   
Newton  6-2-2      
Tri-County North 4-6-0   
National Trail  3-7-0   
Dixie   0-10-0   

All Conference First Team
Ally Loggins    Dixie 
Hannah Henderson   National Trail
Josie Stiner    National Trail
Brilie Hines    Newton 
Gwen Holbrook   Newton 
Breanna Ingle   Newton
Nora Feck    Preble Shawnee
Lyla Ford    Preble Shawnee
Gracie Leach   Preble Shawnee
Reese Myers    Tri-County North
Rylie Myers    Tri-County North
Maci Arndts    Twin Valley South
Kelsie Maggard  Twin Valley South

All Conference Special Mention
Abbey Boehringer  Dixie
Taylor Reynolds  National Trail
Rylee Hess    Newton
Jose Mondello-Garrett Preble Shawnee
Kasidi Daugherty  Tri-County North
Lexi Thompson  Twin Valley South

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Aubrey Unger – Preble Shawnee

Preble Shawnee junior Aubrey Unger led the league this year with 68 points and 27 goals, she also was 2nd in assist with 14 and was named the WOAC Girls Soccer Player of the Year for 2024.  Unger was also the Co-Player of the Year as in 2023 as well make it back-to-back awards.

(Dale Barger Photo)

COACH OF THE YEAR
Donnie Hatton – Preble Shawnee

Coach Donnie Hatton’s team went undefeated to win the 2024 WOAC Girls Soccer League title.  The WOAC is now in its 4th year and Hatton’s team has won two conference championships having also won 2022.  Hatton was named the WOAC Girls Soccer Coach of the Year in 2024.  He also won the same award in 2022.

(Dale Barger Photo)

Congratulations to everyone who earned all-league honors and good luck in post season.
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Boys Soccer All-Conference Selections have been made for 2024.
(Dale Barger Photo)

The Western Ohio Athletic Conference final season record and All-Conference selections for Boys Soccer in 2024.

The Dixie Greyhounds won the league a 3rd straight year with a 7-0-1 record this season. Newton was 2nd at 6-1-2, Tri-County North 3rd at 3-4-1, Preble Shawnee 5th and Franklin Monroe 6th.

All Conference First Team
Nate Emrick    Dixie 
Braden Hall    Dixie 
Evan Marker    Dixie 
Evan Addis    Franklin Monroe 
Isaac Beidelman   Newton 
Evanston Hemphill   Newton
Sawyer Renner   Newton
Ethan Fields    Preble Shawnee
Jayden Forrer    Preble Shawnee
Colton Schroeder   Preble Shawnee
Wesley Boyd    Tri-County North
Nick Meyer    Tri-County North
Travis Williamson   Tri-County North

All Conference Special Mention
Aiden Hammond   Dixie
David Reed    Franklin Monroe
Bronson VanCulin   Newton
Alex Schatzle    Preble Shawnee
Chase Harry    Tri-County North

PLAYER OF THE YEAR 

Nate Emrick    Dixie

Dixie senior Nate Emrick led the league with 87 points, 39 goals and 3rd in assists with 9 was name the WOAC Boys Soccer Player of the Year.  


(Dale Barger Photo)

COACHES OF THE YEAR 

Charlie Miller    Dixie

Dixie boys soccer coach Charlie Miller and his team earned their 3rd straight boys soccer championship in the WOAC.  Miller also was named the co-coach of the year with Newton coach Jeff Armentrout.  It's the 3rd straight coach of the year award for Coach Miller.


(Champine Photography Photo)

Jeff Armentrout   Newton

Newton Boys Soccer coach Jeff Armentrout was named co-coach of the year in 2024.

His team tied Dixie in the 2nd to last game of the year with a chance to tie them in the league but Dixie was able to get a win to secure the league.


(Handshoe Photography Photo)

Congratulations to everyone who earned all-league honors and good luck in post season.
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The National Trail Boys Golf team realized a dream by qualifying and golfing in the OHSAA Boys DIII State Golf Tournament. (All feature photos by Dale Barger)

SUNBURY – The National Trail boys golf team competed at the 99^th Annual Boys Golf State Tournament.  It was their first ever appearance at state and they came away with a good first-time experience finishing in 6^th place out of 12 teams in the DIII Tournament held at NorthStar Golf Club.

In the two-day tournament National Trail shot a 333 for 18 on day one and improved to 324 on the second day for a two-day total of 657. 

Senior Nick Brubaker who has been a solid player over the last 4 years, individually would finish in a tie with junior teammate Kellen Laird both in 23^rd place at the state tournament firing 162 each for 36 holes.

Freshman Josh Brubaker shot a 165 for 32^nd place, senior Justin Turner was 39^th with a 168 and senior Aidan Koehl was 66^th with a two-day round of 194.

The state appearance capped a special season full of highlights for the Blazers who broke five school records.  They won the Preble County Tournament for the 4^th straight year breaking the school record shooting a team score of 300.  They won their own Blazer invite for the first time, won the Brookville Invitational, the WOAC Conference tournament, sectional and district tournament.  They also had an individual golfer Josh Brubaker shoot a 66 in the conference tournament to break the school record and their team record at the end of the season was 130-11.

It was quite a season for National Trail and coach Ramon Rutan who was chosen as the WOAC Coach of the Year in 2024.  He noted their success has been a process.

“There has been a lot of work put in over the past four years from this group. Four years ago, this group played on our middle school club team together and we dreamed of making it to state. Accomplishing everything we have this year has really validated the process and work these guys have been willing to do,” Rutan said.

Having a middle school program has helped the Blazers develop and have kids ready to go as soon as they get into high school and was evident by the fact their JV team was also having success.

“We had a match where our entire JV team shot in the 40s. We had a JV player break 40 this year as well,” Rutan commented.

As soon as the season is over Rutan, and his staff get to work to ensure his kids have clear expectations and direction on how to improve with their off-season work.

“We make improvement plans for each player when the season ends that targets areas that we can see the biggest impact on scoring improvements,” Rutan commented.

“For the past four years we’ve looked at scoring goals for postseason tournaments to judge how close we were to being considered contenders for advancing. It’s been great to have a team that buys into the work and process of improving to achieve winning in the postseason,” Rutan explained.

“Being the first team to make state was never really anything that was talked about. We all had knowledge that no golf team from Trail had made state before. The biggest reason for that is the best teams in Trail history from the early 2000s competed in division 2 and we were more fortunate than those guys by being able to compete in division 3 this year,” said a humble Rutan.

One thing is clear, the program Rutan has put into place is yielding positive results and there is talent in the pipeline at the middle school and JV level putting in the work and hoping to step up next year to fill the holes that will be left by quality seniors graduating.

“We’ve seen amazing careers from Nick Brubaker, Justin Turner, and Aidan Koehl that has come to an end. They have been great program guys that worked to see success in the program and losing them will impact us in the future. But, we have some great young players who have been working so hard to continue the run of success we’re experiencing, and I expect to plug in new guys next year and continue to play at a high level.  We’re not backing off the standard the seniors have established,” Rutan concluded.

Congratulations to the Blazers on an outstanding year and representing yourselves, your school, community and the WOAC well.


Members of the National Trail Golf Team prior to teeing off at State Golf Tournament.
L-R: Josh Brubaker, Nick Brubaker, Aidan Koehl, Coach Ramon Rutan, Justin Turner, Kellen Laird and Assistant Coach Loren Brubaker.
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