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By John Lefforge
The Oakwood Lumberjacks traveled to Brookville on Friday for a meeting with The Blue Devils. Brookville came into the contest with a solid 4 – 1 record. Oakwood knew they had a major challenge, especially since the injury bug has hit. The Jacks were missing quarterback AJ Lewis (bruised sternum), Tackle Sam Payne (bruised shoulder) and Michael Cobb (knee). Cobb was able to play, but not at full strength. Robby Sherk, Mitch Jones, Chris Hardy and John Diefenderfer and the rest of the Jacks were up to the challenge. Jones ran for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns. Hardy added 110 yards and Dief handled the return game.
Brookville took the kick off to begin the game. Zach Smith intercepted on the Devil’s second play and the Jacks had the ball on the Devil 45. Runs by Hardy and Sherk moved the ball to the 30. A quick pass to Will Merritt went for 5 more. Jones shot 25 yards into the end zone, giving the Jacks a 6 – 0 lead. The point was missed, but the tone was set.
The Devils returned the kick into Jacks territory. The defense stepped up again. JT Allen and Evan Murphy made solid hits. Joe Lefforge sacked the Devil QB, forcing a punt. Oakwood took possession on their 25. A fumble gave the ball back to the Devils deep in Lumberjack territory. Plays by Tony Lamb, Sherk and a QB sack by Bob Holmes gave the ball back to the Jacks as the 1st quarter came to an end.
The Jacks continued to pound the Devils with the ground game. Running mostly out of the T formation, Evan Murphy, Jones, Hardy and Sherk moved the ball to the one. Sherk followed the line push of Matt Money and Brian Beck into the end zone for the score. Scott Casebere converted the point and the Jacks went up 13 – 0 with 6:04 left in the half.
The defense continued to dominate and forced a fumble. Bob Holmes recovered on the Jack 23. The Jacks couldn’t move the ball and were forced to punt. Will Merritt, the areas leading punter, picked up a short snap and booted the ball to the Brookville 39. The Devils went 3 and out, thanks to plays by Ben Scott, Jones and Allen. John
Diefenderfer fielded the punt on the Jacks 18 and returned it down the sideline 82 yards for the score. Casebere kicked the point and the Lumberjacks were in control, 20 – 0 with 1:31 left in the half.
The Jacks took the kick to begin the 2nd half, but went 3 and out. The Devils went 3 and out, as Dief returned the punt 9 yards to the Jack 40. The Jacks drove to the Brookville one with big runs by Jones and Hardy. The Jacks were turned away 4 times, giving the ball to the Devils on their one. The Devils fumbled again and the Jacks recovered on the Brookville 9. Jones went up the middle for the score. Casebere converted and the Lumberjack lead was now 27 – 0 with 3:47 left in the 3rd quarter.
The Devils returned the kick to their 39. Defensive stops by Lefforge, Lamb and Holmes forced another punt. The Jacks took over on their 35 as the quarter came to an end. The Lumberjacks continued to grind it out. Murphy, Jones and Hardy moved the ball behind the line push of Beck, Matt Money, Bill Dresher, Cobb and Ely. Jones broke free and scored from 50 yards out, giving the Jacks a 34 – 0 lead with 9:43 left in the contest.
Brookville finally scored late in the game, ending the shut out bid. The Lumberjacks out hit the Devils all night and controlled both lines of scrimmage. Now 4 – 2, the Lumberjacks host Waynesville at Mack Hummon Stadium on Friday.
The Oakwood Golf Team won their twenty-eighth SWBL title last week and this past Wednesday earned a trip to the Southwest District Tournament . The Jacks fired a 306, posting the best team score of the season. Alter won the event with a 304, Bishop Fenwick had a 307 and Valley View took the last qualifying spot with a 319.
“I am really proud of the way the boys played”, said Jen Lohmeyer, Oakwood’s varsity golf coach. “Each of them kept their head in the game and kept fighting the entire 18 holes.” Pacing the Jacks was senior Andy Yeoman who carded a one over par 73.
“It’s really great when your four man can put up that kind of score”, Lohmeyer said. “Andy’s been playing really good golf the past couple weeks.” Senior Ben Boyer carded a four over par 76; juniors Peter Martin, Ty Kern and Kevin Hanes scored 78, 79 and 80 respectively.
The Jacks tee it up at 9:50 Thursday on the 6700 yard par 72 course.
Oakwood will be one of 12 teams competing for two spots in the Division II State Championships on Oct. 13 and 14 in Columbus.
On Saturday morning the rain stopped and the clouds broke letting the sun shine on all the runners at the Fairmont Cross Country Invitational at Indian Riffle Park in Kettering.
In the first race of the day, the Oakwood Jills took advantage of the great conditions and finished first out of eight Division II/III teams. Senior Dani Reese and sophomore Julia Sizek led the field over the last mile finishing six-tenths of a second apart in first and second places respectively. Freshman Elizabeth Connelly finished less than 11 seconds later in fourth. Seniors Liz Whalen and Kara Hamilton finished twenty-third and thirtieth overall. Juniors Natalie Denka (31st) and Sarah Deitz (38th) were the final two runners for the varsity Jills.
In the reserve race, which included all three divisions, Shannon Hallinan was the top Oakwood runner finishing twenty third. Nicole Bacas (50th), Hannah McCarthy
(67th), Autumn Bruno (84th) and Davina McCarthy (112th) were the other scorers for the Jills who finished eighth out of 12 teams. Brittany White also completed the reserve run for the Jills.
The Jacks finished sixth out of eleven teams. Gabe Svobodny led Oakwood runners finishing in twelfth place overall. Peter Hix finished 16 seconds later in 18th. Chris Wolcott improved his season’s best time by more than half a minute and finished 50th. Marc Skill and Jason Hewer 55th and 56th respectively. Michael Wuebker rounded out the varsity finishers from Oakwood.
Running in the reserve race for the Jacks were Tory Tomlinson, Andy Myers, Will Reese, Ben Rodabaugh and Evan Duffley.
On Sept. 26, Division II Milton Union, ranked ninth in the Miami Valley, came to Oakwood. After three minutes, Milton had a breakaway, with a cross to the far post to their leading scorer Kyle Rhodes, now with 16 goals on the campaign, who netted the header. Aside from this one play, Milton had little quality in their attack for the rest of the game. Oakwood sparkled from the start, culminating in a long throw by John Harman to the head of Scott Casebere for Oakwood’s first goal. The first half ended with Oakwood outshooting Milton 14-7 with superior quality of shots. Milton played its trademark game of heavy professional fouling, attempting to interrupt Oakwood’s midfield penetration. But Milton’s strategy did not work, and Oakwood retained 75 percent possession in its offensive half, controlling the game’s tempo and pressuring Milton into boom-ball and an uncoordinated attack. After 15 minutes into the second half, Casebere scored again with the assist from Jesse Sellers. At 30 minutes, Simon Gifford drove deep into the Milton half to deliver a threaded pass to Addison Wille, who scored from inside the box. It was a beautiful run by Gifford exhibiting control and precision. On the day, Oakwood outshot Milton 30-13 for the 3-1 win. Goalkeeper Colin Pierce had six saves.
On Sept. 28, Division II Bellbrook, ranked third in the Miami Valley, visited the Jacks. Oakwood, undefeated, was looking to rock the statistics and set historical precedent. The style of the two teams has always differed: Bellbrook counterattacks, capitalizes on free kicks and throw-ins to score while the Jacks play a skilled game, dominating midfield, keeping possession, probing the opposing defense to score. Last year saw Oakwood squander a 2-0 lead as Bellbrook outmuscled the Jacks to win on 3 second half goals, all from free kicks or loose balls bouncing around the penalty box-ugly but effective. Harman, generally assigned to mark all the league’s leading scorers, was placed on Matt Bly, SWBL’s 3rd leading scorer with 13 goals. Bellbrook’s other scorer, David Garrigan, came to Oakwood with 10 goals and 6 assists; but he was shut down with only one shot the entire game due to the smothering defense of the Jacks’ faster John Loftus.
Bellbrook came out strong with several free kicks, culminating in a free kick goal by Bly at 25 yards, his only contribution the entire game as Harman totally silenced him thereafter. A 45 yard free kick by Bob Fecher went through the hands of Bellbrook’s goalie as he attempted to nudge the ball over the goalframe, making the score 1-1, the first goal against Bellbrook in seven games. A midfield battle ensued for the rest of the half. At 14 minutes, Loftus volleyed off his left foot, a brilliant strike from the edge of the box, missing the far post by a yard. Then Wille shot a dangerous header, just missing the post. Oakwood’s midfield then exerted its trademark control by Casebere, Loftus, Sellers, Tristan Schnader and Michael Neal. Gifford again played brilliantly on defense, stealing the ball and feeding the midfield. The Jacks were mounting the pressure with successive throw-ins and free kicks until, at 33 minutes, the ball was careening around the inside of Bellbrook’s penalty box. Several shots were blocked or whiffed, when Schnader made a turning left footed shot at the top of the box to the top left corner of the goal, deflected onto the goalframe by the Bellbrook goalie’s fingertips on the leaping save. Minutes later, an Oakwood free kick left the ball bouncing around the box until it fell to the feet of Casebere who thumped a blast from the edge of the box into the netting. At halftime, Oakwood had outshot Bellbrook 16-9, had greater possession 60-40 percent, and was winning 2-1.
The second half saw the Jacks possess for the first 10 minutes, but at 13 minutes, the referee called a penalty kick, entirely changing the course of the game and possibly the seasonal standings. But the call stood, and Bly stepped up and shot hard, but Pierce made the diving brilliant save. The rebound came off Pierce, sprawled lengthwise on the ground, it fell to the feet of an oncharging Bellbrook player, who scored into the open net.
Thereafter, both teams went at each other hard. Josh Curley made a goal line save, blocking a Bellbrook shot. Whenever Oakwood had the ball, Bellbrook resorted to professional fouling with shirt pulling, tripping and shoving from behind to impede the Oakwood attack and break up the tempo of their game. Interruptions for free kicks came every 30-60 seconds, and the referee tolerated the fouling. This disrupted the Jacks, forcing them to change their tactics from midfield passing to a long ball game, which was ineffective. Sadly, a late Oakwood defensive miscommunication resulted in a breakaway by a nameless Bellbrook player who managed to score against the stranded goalkeeper. Shooting was dominated by Oakwood 26-21. But Oakwood’s loss 3-2 seemed an eerie replay of last year with the same final score, with the Jacks falling, once again, to the perennial Bellbrook jinx.
The Oakwood girls varsity soccer team wasted little time in taking control at Milton Union last Tuesday night. Just 21 seconds into the game Brooke Klopsch took a pass from Molly Breidenbach, turned, and fired one into the goal for a quick 1-0 Oakwood lead. The Oakwood offense continued to apply pressure, and at the 7:03 mark Klopsch struck again, making it 2-0 Jills. Just two minutes later Tory Danis made a run down the right hand side and crossed the ball to a sprinting Molly Breidenbach, who tapped it in for a 3-0 halftime lead.
The offense quieted in the second half, but the defense, led by stopper Hayley Ward, sweeper Liz Garner, and defenders Rachel Warwar, Jilian Ellis, and Jenny Runkle kept the Lady Bulldogs under control. With 6:13 left in the game the Milton goalie was able to block a hard blast by Klopsch, but a hard-charging Molly Breidenbach put in the rebound, and Oakwood then led by the final score, 4-0. Lauren Luther and Sarah Finley shared the goaltending duties for the Jills.
Thursday night an undefeated Bellbrook team came to town for a first place showdown in the SWBL Southwestern division. It was a night where Bellbrook was able to convert their opportunities into goals, and where Oakwood had numerous “near misses.”
Bellbrook got on the board first just four minutes into the game when senior midfielder Alison Condra broke free and knocked one in. Oakwood answered just a minute later, as Brooke Klopsch, flying down the right side, blasted one off the diving Bellbrook keeper’s hands and into the net. The two teams battled evenly for the next 24 minutes, but then Bellbrook freshman Kaitlin Weaver, showing excellent speed and ball-handling, managed to weave in and out of several Oakwood defenders to notch the Eagles second goal and send the teams to halftime with Bellbrook leading 2-1.
The second half began with a bang, as the freshman Weaver again broke away and scored just 32 seconds in. Forty seconds later the Jills answered, Tory Danis scoring the goal on a beautiful crossing pass from Rachel Huber, making it Bellbrook 3, Oakwood 2. The next fifteen minutes saw a flurry of aggressive play from both teams, the Jills narrowly missing on several scoring chances. At the 24:12 mark Condra again scored for Bellbrook, this time making a nifty move to elude the Oakwood defense and blast one into the corner of the net. The Lady Eagles added one more goal eight minutes later, defeating the Jills 5-2.
While the loss to rival Bellbrook is certainly disappointing, all is not lost. The Jills must now focus on winning their next three games, which would enable them to go into a season-ending battle at Bellbrook with a chance to tie for the league crown. That journey begins tonight (Tuesday) as Oakwood hosts Franklin in the final home game of the season. The seven seniors will be honored in pre game ceremonies. Thursday night the Jills travel to Valley View. Oakwood’s record is now 7 wins, 4 losses, and 1 tie, 7-1 in league play.
Sophomore forward Caroline Hartel #6, receives ball from senior Mary Tellers.
Coming off one loss and two wins, the Oakwood Jills field hockey team were geared up for the next series of games that were all canceled due to weather and poor field conditions. Previously, the team proved themselves in Columbus at a double header against Lancaster and Dublin-Jerome. Two goals by junior Sarah Maher, with assists by Colleen Judge and Caroline Hartel, shut out Jerome in the afternoon (2-0) following a morning loss to Lancaster where Gracie Sherk put in the only goal (2-1). The Junior Varsity tied their game with Lancaster (1-1) with a goal by Maddie Shearer.
“I’m so proud of both the varsity and JV to come through with two big wins. We had a tough morning against Lancaster, but in the afternoon we made the right adjustments. I was happy to see us play with a sense of urgency and aggression. It was so fun to see both teams play because it was truly a team effort with great work on defense, in the midfield and also on the forward line,” said coach Schafer.
The Jills travel to Cincinnati to face St. Ursula this week.
The Oakwood varsity girls tennis team – 2006 SWBL champions.
Four years in a row for seniors Kristin Cobb, Cara Wald and Oakwood tennis! The girls Oakwood tennis team won the Southwestern Buckeye League championship again! Congratulations to Cara Wald who won first singles for the fourth time and was voted first team SWBL along with her teammate, Krsitin Cobb, second singles champion. Cobb has also placed first every year since she was a freshman. The all SWBL second doubles team of Lauren Tramontano and Kaylah Dempsey finished first in the top doubles spot defeating Milton Union for the second time this season 6-4, 6-2. Oakwood’s second doubles team, Ellie Rodebeck and Kate Berthy, also won their sport earning them an honorable mention place on the all SWBL team. Congratulations to freshman Hilary Paisley who placed fifth.
To celebrate the SWBL championship, members of the community along with Oakwood’s very own Mary Jo Scalzo practiced last week playing some hard-core doubles. A huge thanks to Oakwood’s community member Kathy Lutz, Lisa Corbean, and Molly MacDonald for taking on the 2006 SWBL champions as well. The team would also like to thank Kelsey Haviland, Oakwood’s 2004 singles state champion, for practicing too. Currently training in Florida, Haviland has taken off a year to play tournaments all over the United States but plans to return to Oakwood as a senior. The girls Oakwood tennis would also like to thank Dr. Scalzo for taking the time to play tennis. Congratulations again to the Oakwood girls’ tennis team. Good luck in the sectional tournament this week!
Katie Fritz sets up a for a serve.
It was a roller coaster week for the Jills volleyball team. They began the week playing the role of road warriors with two road wins over two consecutive nights, only to end the week with a loss to arch rival Bellbrook and a loss of one of its key players.
The week began with a non-conference match up at Tri-County North. The Lady Panthers came out hot and opened Game 1 with a 6-0 run. However, the Jills found a hot streak of their own to tie the score at 6 all. After falling behind 9 to 6, the Jills reeled off 10 unanswered points, thanks to the consistent service of Jen Wuebker. From there, the Jills went on to take a 25-16 win. In Game 2, the Jills jumped out to a 6 to 1 lead and maintained a comfortable 7 to 8 point cushion throughout the contest until the Lady Panthers made a late surge to pull within 4 points of the Jills at 24 to 20. The next point and the game went to the Jills for a 25-20 win. Game 3 saw the teams knotted at 10 points apiece until the Jills took control to finish on a 15 to 3 run to win the game by a score of 25-13, and sweep the match. The Jills were lead by Katie Fritz with 10 kills, 14 digs; Jen Wuebker with 7 aces, 10 digs; Lauren Enns with 14 assists, 9 digs, and 4 blocks; and Alissa Kessler with 3 blocks.
The very next night, the Jills traveled to SWBL foe Milton Union to take on the Lady Bulldogs. The Jills easily took Games 1 and 2 by scores of 25-19 and 25-9. In Game 3, the Lady Bulldogs were leading by a score of 7-6 when Katie Frits went up for a kill to knot the game at 7 all. As she came back down onto the court, her knee gave way and she suffered a season ending ACL injury. When play resumed, the Jills fell behind but managed to close the deficit to within one point, only to see the Lady Bulldogs pull away late to take Game 3 by a score of 25-17. In Game 4, the Jills came out with determination and put forth a total team effort for an emotional 25-10 win to take the match 3 games to 1 and avenge last year’s loss on the Lady Bulldog’s home court. The Jills were lead by Katie Fritz with 15 kills, 9 digs; Lauren Enns with 21 assists, 8 digs, 4 aces; Lili Hartzell with 8 digs; and Jen Wuebker and Brittany Kalbfleisch with 4 aces each.
Later in the week the Jills hosted SWBL rival Bellbrook in The Pit. Although the Jills gave a valiant effort, they fell to the Lady Eagles in three games with scores of 25-16, 25-15, and 25-15. The Jills were lead in this match by Lauren Enns with 9 assists, 4 kills, 4 digs; Anne Murphy and Lili Hartzell with 4 kills each; and Alisa Kessler with 4 blocks.
The Jills currently sport an overall record of 11-6 and currently stand alone in second place in SWBL with a 6-2 record. Up next, the Jills host SWBL foe Franklin on Tuesday, at The Pit, followed by road trips at SWBL rival Valley View on Thursday and a non-conference match up at Versailles on Saturday. Versailles is currently ranked 2nd in the State in Division III.
As previously mentioned, the Oakwood volleyball team suffered a devastating loss when senior sensation, and team co-captain, Katie Fritz went down to a season and career ending ACL injury on the road at Milton Union. Katie has been a four year starter on the volleyball team where she has deeply enriched the competitiveness of the Oakwood volleyball program with her outstanding level of play. For the year, Katie has registered 181 kills and 169 digs and leads the team in both categories. Although Katie’s athletic talent on the volleyball court is certainly evident in the numbers and statistics that she has amassed, the numbers fall well short of expressing Katie’s true sportsmanship and character on the court; her love and respect of the game; and her ability to go out on the volleyball court and simply have fun. Win or lose, Katie’s actions and presence on the volleyball court are nothing less than a class act where she has always represented Oakwood athletics at its highest standards. She undoubtedly leaves a legacy as one of the top volleyball players to play the game at Oakwood as well as the entire Miami Valley.
Assistant Volleyball Coach, Julie Thompson echoes the same by stating, “Katie is a phenomenal athlete with such a love for the game and it hurts to play without her. Our team has so much heart, and she is a huge part of that. She will continue to cheer us on and she’ll work incredibly hard to get back to where she needs to be. It’ll be a long stretch for her, but Katie will come back stronger than before. That’s the way she is. She is and will continue to be a joy to coach and a thrill to watch”.
The entire Oakwood community is proud of Katie’s accomplishments and wishes her a full and speedy recovery so that she can once again enrich others with the love and fun of volleyball.
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