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Champion 2006 Oakwood Jr. High field hockey team.
The Oakwood Junior High field hockey team finished an exceptional regular season with an undefeated record.With the new coaching lineup and the normal flow of new players coming into the Junior High program it is always difficult to discern how a team will develop. This team developed into a dominant force with the best record in over 17 years. Finishing the season plus a playoff win with 7 wins, 2 ties and no losses, they outscored their competition 29 to 4.
After a slow start in their first game, a 0 to 0 tie at Summit Country Day, first year coaches Jonell Haupt, and Morgan Miller along with head coach Mitch Miller, righted the ship with a win over a strong Dublin Shamrocks squad in Columbus. The supremacy over Columbus schools continued later that week with a win
over Bexley 5 to 1. A solid test at Kettering Middle School ended with the girls’ second tie of the year 1 to 1. This was the last game that Oakwood would be challenged. By stressing teamwork and fundamentals, the mixed squad of seventh and eighth graders had by this time developed into their roles. Successive wins over KMS (4-1), Van Buren (5-0), Summit (5-1), and again Van Buren (4-0), completed their outstanding regular season. Due to this regular season record, they garnered the number one seed for the league tournament.
The tournament began on a beautiful fall day with Oakwood shutting out Summit Country Day (4-0). Van Buren Middle School won the right to play Oakwood in the Championship game by beating Kettering Middle School in a thrilling overtime contest. Due to inclement weather the final game has been postponed.
While the team is sending quality players into the High School program they have also developed a solid core for next year. By adhering to a merit based system, many “rookie” seventh graders developed quickly and saw significant playing time during the year. The coaches are looking forward to a strong influx of new seventh graders to challenge next year’s “veteran” eight grade girls in 2007. For more information on how your current sixth grader can participate and prepare for the 2007 season contact Mitch Miller via the Oakwood High School faculty website. Congratulations to the Oakwood Junior High Field Hockey team and their coaches on their fabulous season!
Last Thursday, fighting a thunderstorm with dangerous lightening followed by freezing rain, The Oakwood Varsity and JV Field Hockey teams managed to squeeze in the much anticipated games against the only other teams in Dayton – Fairmont’s. With a long and storied history, these local rivals squared off under the lights at Kettering’s Roush Stadium with possibly more Oakwood fans filling the bleachers, including several members of other varsity sports teams, administrators, faculty, and junior high hockey players. As radar screens were consulted and the clouds momentarily parted, the JV game, originally scheduled first, was flipped and Varsity took the field instead. Players and fans alike scrambled because the in-league Varsity game took precedence.
The Firebirds and Jills wowed the crowd with an intense game that featured both strong offensive and defensive play and forced the tie (0-0) game into sudden death overtime. The seven-a-side overtime was played by goalie Stefanie Wagner (18 saves), Sarah Maher, Mary Tellers, Caroline Hartel, Laura German and Captains Colleen Judge and Gracie Sherk. With minutes left, senior Alex Couch also subbed in to help spark the Jills and end the game scoreless.
“I’m thrilled with the effort of my seniors tonight,” said Coach Schafer after the game. “And I really have to hand it to my forwards and midfielders who pushed through Fairmont’s solid defense. I am also proud of my defense which shut down Fairmont’s many offensive weapons. It was really a total team effort tonight,” she added. Much of the crowd and the Varsity team remained to cheer on the JV team as they had to battle dropping temperatures, freezing rain, and Fairmont’s strong defense, suffering a 2-1 loss.
On Saturday afternoon, the Varsity Jills proved themselves once again with a win (2-1) over Mercy Academy that had traveled from Louisville, Kentucky. After Mercy scored first, Senior Gracie Sherk had an amazing run and unassisted goal to tie the game. “All season it has been a pleasure to watch Gracie just carry the ball dodging defender after defender. Today, she carried the ball all the way down the field and put one past the goalie right when we needed it most,” said Schafer. Then, junior Sarah Maher scored in the last minute off a corner shot to seal the win. Schafer informed, “We have been involved in so many close games this season and it gives me so much confidence to see my team come from behind to win.”
The JV tournament ended Saturday with two wins and one loss placing the team fifth in tournament play. The first round of Varsity tournament begins this Thursday where the Jills will take on Indian Hill in Cincinnati.
By John Lefforge
Photo by Leon Chuck
Jacks run out onto field for last game of regular season.
The Milton-Union Bulldogs met the Oakwood Lumberjacks at Mack Hummon Stadium on Friday. The Bulldogs came to town boasting a 7 – 0 record, while the Jacks were a respectable 5 – 2.
The Bulldogs received the kick to begin the SWBL heavyweight tussle. They marched down the field, but were unable to score. John Diefenderfer returned the kick to the Jack 20. Runs by Diefenderfer and Chris Hardy brought up a 3rd and short. A sweep by Mitch Jones came up short and the Jacks were forced to punt. Will Merritt’s punt went to the Bulldog 42. Milton-Union went 3 and out. Diefenderfer returned the punt to the Jack 27. The Jacks went 3 and out. Merritt’s
40 yard punt went to the Bulldog 30 and Nathan Thomas made a nice coverage tackle.
The Bulldogs drive seemed to be stopped, but a fake punt resulted in a first down and changed the game. They scored 3 plays later, but missed the extra point. The score stood 6 – 0 in favor of the Dogs with 3:00 left in the first quarter.
The Jacks went 3 and out again. Merritt fielded a short hop snap and punted under great pressure. Milton-Union started another drive, fumbled, and Robby Sherk recovered as the quarter ended.
The Jacks took over at mid-field. The running of AJ Lewis, Hardy and Jones moved the ball to the Dog 30. Lewis found Jones with a quick pass and the Jacks had a first and ten inside the 10. The Jacks couldn’t punch it in and settled for a 27 yard field goal by David Miller. The Jacks were on the board, down 6 – 3.
Milton-Union covered a squib kickoff on their 36. The Bulldogs made it look easy this possession. The Jacks had the Dog quarterback wrapped up, but he broke free for a 62 yard TD gallop. Oakwood now trailed 12 – 3 with 6:00 left in the half. Lewis hit Hardy with a short pass and he turned it into 50 yard completion. The Jacks were knocking at the door again. Mitch Jones blasted up the middle for 12 yards to the Bulldog 10. Once again, the Jacks could not cross the goal line. David Miller converted a 22 yard field goal and the Jacks trailed 12 – 6.
The Bulldogs returned the kick to their 45. Plays by Evan Murphy and Joe Lefforge seemed to bottle up the Dogs. Oops, fooled again. The quarterback broke contain and went 43 yards for the score. Then he converted the extra points and Oakwood was in a huge hole, 20 – 6.
Hardy returned the kickoff to the Jack 35. The Jacks moved the ball to the Bulldog 25, thanks to a pass interference call and an unsportsmanship call. Oakwood had used up their time outs and a mishandled snap brought the half to a close.
The Jacks kickoff went out of bounds and Milton-Union began the 2nd half on their 35. The Bulldogs drove down and scored again. The got the ball back again and scored again, making the score 32 – 6. The Jacks scored in the 4th quarter, as AJ Lewis hooked up with John Diefenderfer for a 48 yard TD. The extra point was blocked, making the final score Milton-Union 32, Oakwood 12.
The Jacks are still in the hunt for a playoff spot. The will need victories over rival Bellbrook and Franklin. The Bellbrook game is scheduled for Friday at Bellbrook.
By H.W. Sizek
On Saturday morning the Oakwood Cross Country Team traveled down I-75 to Monroe for the Southwest Buckeye League Conference meet.
The Jills powered up the hills and past Milton Union and Brookville to capture the 2006 Varsity SWBL Conference Title. The top seven runners for the girls had personal bests to finish ten points ahead of Milton Union. Julia Sizek and Dani Reese took control of the race on an uphill climb near the 1.5 mile mark and never relinquished the lead. Sizek crossed the line first in 19:30.7 and Reese second in 19:37.4. Elizabeth Connelly overcame a slow start and sped to a seventh place finish in 20: 11.4. Senior Liz Whalen shaved nearly a minute off of her season’s best to finish fourteenth in 21:11.2. Natalie Denka and Kara Hamilton battled the final hundred meters for twenty-first and twenty-second, with Denka finishing three-tenths of a second ahead of Hamilton. Shannon Hallinan was the seventh finisher for the Jills in thirty-second place.
Other runners for Oakwood were Sarah Dietz (39th), Nicole Baca (46th) Davina McCarthy (48th) Brittany White (56th) and Hannah McCarthy (58th).
The Jacks finished fourth overall with Bellbrook taking the team title on the tie breaker with Milton Union. Dixie finished third. The top runner for Oakwood was junior Jon Taylor, who finished in a season’s best 17:18.42. Gabe Svobodny finished seventh overall in 17:41.17. Peter Hix finished in eleventh place with a time of 17:48.29. Marc Skill completed the course in 18:39.07 and finished twenty-fifth. Chris Wolcott (40th) and Jason Hewer (42nd) clocked in at 19:22.92 and 19:26.99 respectively. Michael Wuebker was the seventh finisher for Oakwood in fifty-second place.
In the reserve run Tory Tomlinson and Will Reese finished sixth and seventh respectively. Ben Rodabaugh finished twenty-fifth and Evan Duffley thirty-second.
This Saturday the Oakwood Varsity Cross Country Team travels to districts which are being held at the Miami Valley Career Technology Center in Clayton.
The Oakwood Junior High Team also ran at the SWBL meet on Saturday. For the girls, Alex Conniff was the fourth finisher overall. Rachel Conniff (18th), Erin Taylor (22nd) and Dani Carlson(37th) also completed the 3200 meter course.
The top finisher for the Oakwood boys was Joey Neff in ninth. Keith Mueller (21st), Casey Linzmeier (24th), Andy Lamb (29th), Andrew Redden (33rd), Noah Berry (49th) and Nick Grilliot (43rd) rounded out the top seven for the fifth place boys. Other runners for the junior high Jacks included Matt Harlan (82nd), Thomas McCready (83rd) and Josh Kolar (84th).
The Oakwood girls varsity soccer team’s regular season came to a close last week, as the Jills took to the road for two SWBL league games.
Tuesday night Oakwood traveled to Eaton to take on the Lady Fighting Eagles. The Jills struck early, scoring less than five minutes into the game. Sweeper Liz Garner booted one from midfield into the box, where Molly Breidenbach trapped the ball and got it to Brooke Klopsch, who made a quick move and scored for a 1-0 lead. Oakwood controlled the ball the remainder of the half, but was unable to score, the half ending 1-0.
The second half was all Oakwood, as the Jills had the ball on their offensive half of the field the first 13 minutes, but were unable to find the net. Finally, at the 26:02 mark, Olivia Reasoner ran the ball down in the corner and fired a crossing shot in front of the goal. The ball struck an Eaton defender and caromed into the net, resulting in an “own goal” and a 2-0 Oakwood lead. Tory Danis scored with 13:27 left in the game when she banged a shot from the right hand side, which deflected off the goalie’s hands and in for a 3-0 lead. Eaton did score with two minutes to go, making the final score 3-1 Oakwood.
That victory set the stage for a showdown on Thursday night with Bellbrook. Oakwood entered the game needing a win to share the league title. Bellbrook needed a win or tie to claim the crown outright.
It was a cold, windy night. Winter coats, gloves, stocking caps, and blankets were in order, but the action on the field was hot from the start, both teams clearly giving it all they had. Bellbrook had the upper hand early, narrowly missing a couple early chances to score. Oakwood then settled down, and the battle was on. Ten minutes into the game Molly Breidenbach dished to Brooke Klopsch who tapped the ball past the last defender, beat the goalie to the ball, and left-footed one in for a 1-0 Oakwood lead. The two teams played evenly for the rest of the period, and Oakwood led by one at intermission.
The second half was one of great effort by both teams, with neither finding the net. Finally, with 13:22 to go in the game, Bellbrook scored the tieing goal. The last 13 minutes were tense and exciting, with neither team scoring, the game ending in a 1-1 tie. Seniors Liz Garner, Megan Breidenbach, and Jenny Runkle led a great defensive effort for the Jills, who had lost to Bellbrook 5-2 earlier in the season. Oakwood had 10 shots in the game, 6 on goal. Bellbrook had 9 shots, 6 on goal. Bellbrook wins the league championship with an 11-0-1 league record, Oakwood fell just short at 10-1-1, 10-4-2 overall.
There was little time to rest, however, as fourth-seeded Oakwood started tournament play last night (Monday) at home against Northridge. A victory would send the Jills into the sec ond round against the winner of Valley View vs. Carlisle. That game would be played Thursday night at home as part of a doubleheader with the boys team.
The Oakwood Junior High Boys Soccer Team took second place at the Skyhawks Soccer Invitational held on Saturday, Oct 14. Front Row: Jimmie Buehler, Harrison Davis, Javan Austin, Shayan Zoghi, Ethan Kissock, Patrick Debrosse, Tim Judge. Back Row: Coach Geoff Stoltz, Coach Joey Good, Marcus Viereckl, Alex Kooser, David Neufang, Nathan Rickard, Philip Sizek, Ryan McFarland, Shervin Zoghi, Head Coach Jordan Gaus.
On Oct. 10 the Division II Eaton Eagles came to Oakwood. After only 15 seconds, Michael Neal, playing striker, drew a heavy foul in the box for a penalty kick. Bob Fecher went to the line and scored for Oakwood. Most of the rest of the game was one-way traffic as the Jacks dominated. A Jesse Sellers throw in lead to a header shot by Addison Wille, just off the mark. John Loftus, Matt Vail and Fecher made beautiful crisscrossing passing plays ending in Sellers threading a ball to Loftus for the hard shot at the 18, just wide to the left. Strong defense by Simon Gifford, Josh Curley, Vail and John Harman, who made a crunching slide tackle to break up Eaton’s counter-attack, also fueled the offense with passing. After 11 minutes Wille turned for the hard shot at the 18, but it missed high. At mid-field a seesaw battle ensued as the Oakwood attack continued. Several Eaton offensives ended when Loftus stole the ball on the right wing from an Eaton counterattacker. At 20 minutes Colin Pierce came off his line to defend, but Eaton countered with a shot, which was saved on the goal line by Tristan Schnader. Then Oakwood attacked with a long Harman throw to Scott Casebere, who headed the shot just over the bar. Sellers chipped a quality pass to Wille, who headed on goal, but it was blocked by the keeper. Jordan Lee then had a thundering header which missed the frame by two yards. Eaton countered with several hard shots, one blocked by Pierce at close range, and another saved off the goal line by Curley. Then, a free kick by Sellers, 35 yards out, found the head of Casebere who missed goal by a yard.
Finally, in the 40th minute, Schnader grappled and stole the ball from two Eaton players, drove to the 18, and threaded a pass to Neal who, 15 yards out, pounded a high curling shot, grazing the underside of the bar, out of reach of the leaping keeper. The half ended with Oakwood leading 2-0 and outshooting Eaton 18-5.
The second half began as Jonathan Liston tore down the left wing and passed to Wille for the shot just wide to the right. At 6 minutes, Wille backpassed to Liston, making a made a run on the goal, but the chance was missed. Eaton attacked, but Oakwood rapidly countered as Andrew Morris and Schnader volleyed a series of back and forth one touches, ending with Morris shooting low, just wide. The defensive wall of Harman, Curley, Vail and Gifford continued defensive headers from the backfield, distributing to fuel offensives from the backfield. Eaton felt the pressure, and they desperately tried to boom the ball out of their defensive half, but this strategy did not work. Casebere ripped down the middle, passing to Morris, who raced down left wing for the sliding shot, forcing the dramatic save at the near post. At 27 minutes, Harman ran back 25 yards from the Eaton box to steal the ball from Eaton and begin the Oakwood counter. Sellers sent a quality one touch cross to Schnader, who one touched to Neal for the hard shot, but this was saved by the Eaton keeper. Liston then one touched a left footed back-pass to Casebere, who lofted the ball high to Brian Telek who, running onto the ball, drove down right wing 20 yards for the hard low shot into the far post side netting, unstoppable for the Eaton keeper. Next, Telek tore down the right side, crossing the ball in front of goal, but the Oakwood strikers could not get a foot to it. Schnader then threaded a pass to Sellers who drove down right wing to set up a Harman long throw into the box. Liston went for the header, but the goalkeeper snatched the ball out of the air just in time. Overall the Jacks outshot the Eagles 27-11 for a final score of 3-0. Pierce had 4 saves and Scottie Harman had 1 on the day.
On October 12, Oakwood visited Division II Bellbrook for the final game of the SWBL season. The first half saw Oakwood’s Nicolo Vezzoso score with an assist from Casebere after 3 minutes. Bellbrook came back with a controversial goal, during very physical play, by their left winger to tie it 1-1. Another controversy erupted when Addison Wille put the ball in the netting, only to be called offsides on the play. The first half was marked by tremendous tension between the two teams, but some of this was dissipated through sportsman-like conduct on both sides and especially by Casebere.
The second half saw a struggle between two matched teams with an equal number of shots on goal, 7-7, and with much physical play. Outstanding defensive performances were put in by Gifford, Curley, Harman, and Vail who, at stopper, showed fine ball control, excellent touch, and great use of space. Although there were fewer shots than usual for the Jacks, Oakwood had several quality penetrations, notably by Casebere, Schnader and Loftus, setting up many of the chances, but Oakwood could not capitalize on the finish. As in the game earlier this season, it was a ball rebounding off the Oakwood defense that fell to the feet of Bellbrook’s right wing. But unlike the prior game, the finish on this shot was high quality to the far post netting, unstoppable for keeper Colin Pierce, ending the game with a final score of 2-1 for Bellbrook.
Division III Tournament begins for the Jacks, seeded first, home to Miami Valley on Thursday, Oct. 19.
It has been a very exciting season for Oakwood volleyball. Through injuries and bonding together as a solid team, Oakwood volleyball made history once again. Finishing the season in second place in SWBL, the senior girls played one last game in the Pit on Senior Night last Thursday night against Brookville. After an enthralling win in five games with scores 22-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21, and 17-15, the team bene
fited from the Senior Anne Murphy’s nine kills and three aces, Junior Lili Hartzell’s 13 kills, 16 assists and three aces from senior Lauren Enns, and eight aces and three blocks from senior Elysse Carpenter. The team also cheered on senior Katie Fritz as she served a point with her torn ACL during her last volleyball game for Oakwood High School.
Also making history was the fact that this was the first time that the girls have ever beaten Eaton twice in one season. Sadly, the winning streak came to a close when
the team lost in the first round of the Sectional Volleyball Tournament to Little Miami on Saturday. A though way to end a fantastic season, but watch out for next year with four returning juniors from Varsity and a promising team to come.
The Oakwood Mens’ Junior Varsity soccer team returned to top form after lackluster performances last week which included a 0-0 tie against Milton Union and a 0-2 loss to Bellbrook. The offense received a much needed spark with sophomore Andrew Morris’s return to JV as he led the team to a 3-1 victory over Franklin.
Morris scored his first of two goals 15 minutes into the game on a nice pass from freshman Scott Harman. Five minutes later, Morris put another shot into the net with an assist by Tristan Anstadt. Oakwood took a 2-0 lead into half time. With 14 minutes left in the game, Anthony Weckerling was fouled in the box during a breakaway. Jonny Rudwall perfectly placed the penalty kick for the Jacks’ third goal of the evening.
The defense was stellar and Franklin scored their only goal of the game with less than a minute left, on what may have been their only legitimate shot on the Oakwood goal. The JV Lumberjacks record stands at 8-3-2.
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