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By John Lefforge
The Oakwood Lumberjacks traveled to Park Avenue Field in Eaton on Friday for a match up with the Eagles. The Jacks, 4 – 0 on the season and ranked 10th in the state, needed a win to keep pace in the SWBL with Milton-Union.
Greg Ambrose and Aaron Sparks celebrate after the close win.
Oakwood’s David Miller kicked off to begin the game. Eaton returned the ball to the Oakwood 40. Chris Hardy crashed in from the right side and sacked the QB for a 10 yard loss. A run for no gain and an incomplete pass forced a punt. The punt landed inside the 10 and rolled to the one. AJ Lewis carried for a first down, but a fumble gave the ball back to the Eagles on the Oakwood 26. The Eagles scored 3 plays later and with 7:43 left in the first quarter, the Eagles were in front 7 – 0.
Chris Hardy returned the kick to the 35. Lewis tossed a screen to Robby Sherk and he slashed to the 50. The drive stalled and Oakwood turned the ball over on downs. The Eagles, helped by an interference call, moved the ball to the 10. Defensive plays by Barrett Doty, Sherk and Matt Money thwarted the Eagles. Eaton kicked a 20 yard field goal and led 10 – 0.
The kick off went out of bounds and Oakwood had the ball on their 35. Lewis found Hardy and Sherk for big gains, moving the ball to the 12 as the first quarter ended. After a quick break, Sherk found pay dirt on the first play of the second quarter. David Miller kicked the PAT and Oakwood closed the gap to 10-7.
The Eagles returned Miller’s kick to their 40. Plays by Doty, Joe Lefforge and Ben Scott forced a punt. Sherk, behind a block from Doty returned the ball to the Eaton 35. The Jacks moved the ball six yards in three plays, bringing up a fourth and 4. The jacks faked a punt and JT Allen slammed for the first down. Hardy scampered 28 yards to the Eaton 26. Lewis broke free to the 15. The Eagles held and Milled was forced to boot a 29 yard field goal, tying the game 10 – 10 late in the first half. Ben Scott intercepted a long pass to end the half.
The third quarter was uneventful, as both teams were jockeying for field position. The Jacks forced a punt and as the quarter ended, the Jacks were in business mid field. Oakwood lined up and went to the smash mouth game. Hardy ran for 10, the Sherk for five more. Hardy went behind Brian Beck, Money and Lefforge for a 28 yard scamper and a 17 – 10 lead. The Eagles, handled the pressure well and drove the length of the field to tie the score 17–17 with 6:47 left in the contest. The Jacks stayed with the heavy formation and drove to the 20. Sherk bounced free again and went 20 yards for the score with 2:49 left in the game. The Eagles drove to the Jack 15 due to another big pass play. The Eagles seemed to be finding mismatches all night, but challenged Sherk. Robby came up big and intercepted in the end zone, killing Eaton’s chances. Oakwood went into victory formation and killed the clock to come away with a hard fought 24–17 win.
The offensive line of Greg Ambrose, Brian Beck, Barrett Doty, Tommy Lambert, Joe Lefforge, Matt Money and JT Allen sealed the victory by controlling the line of scrimmage in the 4th quarter. Scott Feldmiller, Nolan Kronbergs, Brad Achtermann, Connor Charbat, Justin Macaulay, Alex Byrd, John Whalen, Aaron Sparks and Jonathan Shine all made outstanding contributions in the key win. Damian Rudy punted great.
The Jacks, now 5–0, face Brookville next at Mack Hummon Stadium on Friday. Oakwood will be celebrating Homecoming and hope for another big win. GO Jacks!
By H.W. Sizek
 On Saturday the Oakwood Cross Country Team traveled up I-75 to run along the Great Miami River at the Troy Invitational. Oakwood runners turned in some outstanding performances and season’s best times in spite of the warm temperatures at race time. In races dominated by Division I Schools both the girls and boys finished seventh in the team scoring.
In the girl’s varsity race, Julia Sizek and Elizabeth Connelly were the top finishers for the Jills at eighth and eleventh respectively. Rounding out the scoring for the girls were Natalie Denka (45th), Hilary Beyer (46th) and Ericha Griep (47th). Sarah Dietz and Alex Conniff were the other varsity runners for Oakwood.
Shannon Hallinan sets the pace at Troy Invitational.
Both reserve runs were shortened to three kilometers due to high race-time temperatures. Rachel Conniff was the first Oakwood runner to cross the line in the three kilometer reserve race finishing third. Hannah McCarthy (5th), Shannon Hallinan (8th), Taylor Shade (9th) and Alexandra Harmony (10th) were the other runners scoring for the Jills. Autumn Bruno and Ginny Beth Fulford finished twelfth and thirteenth for the reserve girls.
Peter Hix led the Jacks varsity team finishing the five kilometer course in fourth. Teammate Jon Taylor finished soon after in fifteenth. Tory Tomlinson (48th), Marc Skill (49th) and Joey Neff (55th) were the other scorers for the boys. Philip Sizek and Chris Wolcott also ran in the varsity race.
Keith Mueller and Andy Lamb led the Jacks reserve run finishing thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh. Michael Wuebker finished six seconds later in forty-fourth. Will Reese and Noah Berry were Oakwood’s final two scorers. Andy Myers, Ethan Kissock and Evan Duffley also finished the course for the Jacks.
The Cross Country Team will travel next to Indian Ripple Park for the Fairmont Invitational.
Scott Harman had 13 big saves against the Waynesville Spartans, preserving the Jacks’ win.
The latest Coaches’ Poll ranks Oakwood sixth in the Miami Valley area in Division II. On Sept. 17, the Jacks traveled to Franklin to face the Wildcats. At 16 minutes Kyle Kissock rattled the bar with a powerful shot from 10 yards. A corner kick from Tristan Schnader found Philip Wille whose shot rebounded to Zach Rodabaugh, who headed the ball into the net. Phil Wille rattled the post from 25 yards. Addison Wille blasted a shot, just wide of the right post. A 30 yard shot from Rodabaugh skimmed the top of the bar but missed. In the first half, Oakwood outshot its opponent 21-5 with 85 percent possession. The second half began with midfield passing from Schnader to Andrew Morris to Addison Wille to Schnader again, who shot at 10 yards, grazing the right post as it missed. Franklin countered, but Scott Harman saved big at six yards to deny the Wildcats. Morris threaded a pass to Zach Hood who weaved through two defenders to score the ball on the ground to the corner netting. One minute later, a free kick at the top of the box by Phil Wille screamed into the netting for Oakwood’s third score. Kyle Kissock made a sliding tackle steal in front of the Oakwood goal at 8 yards, preventing a point blank shot. Oakwood won 3-0, outshooting Franklin 32-10. Harman had six saves.
On Sept. 18, Brookville came to play the Jacks. Oakwood dominated possession, but Brookville had three dangerous throws in a row, forcing keeper Harman to come out of goal and punch the ball away three times.
Rodabaugh headed a defensive clear. Gifford ran 35 yards up the middle to find Addison Wille at the two yard line, who punched the ball into the netting. One minute into the second half, Philip Wille rattled the bar with a blast. The rebound fell to Addison Wille, six yards from goal, and he slotted the ball into the corner netting. Minutes later, Schnader pounced on a Brookville clearance to intercept and back-flick a pass to Addison Wille, who drove across field to the top of the box for the left footed score to the left corner netting, completing his hat trick. Oakwood out shot Brookville 35-7 and Scott Harman had five saves. The Brookville coach sustained a yellow card.
On Sept. 20, the Jacks were away to the Waynesville Spartans, who have a strong winning record against tough teams. The field, very narrow and short, had a major impact, causing dense midfield congestion, impeding the Jacks’ short passing type of game. The Spartans played long balls downfield to their forwards with great success. Also, the Spartans wore all black and the Jacks all navy, a problem in the darkness which the officials failed to correct. Waynesville dominated possession in the first half. Still, a counterattack by Oakwood saw Morris passing to Addison Wille, who streamed down the right wing to place a perfect finish past the onrushing goalie to the left ground corner netting. Waynesville roared back, and Scott Harman saved five great Spartan shots. John Harman had a crunching tackle and steal. After 35 minutes, Phil Wille found Kissock who was in space inside the box, but his blast hit the woodwork. In the first half, the Spartans had outshot Oakwood 15-8, but the Jacks led 1-0.
Two minutes into the second half, Addison Wille crossed to Schnader at the top of the box, who volleyed a bicycle, saved by the Waynesville goalie. Minutes later, Hood threaded a ball to an oncharging Philip Willie, streaking one on one against the lone Spartan keeper, but the shot was blocked at point blank. Addison Wille crossed to the box twice, but the Spartan keeper plucked the ball off Schnader’s head both times. At 20 minutes, the crowd held its breath as a Spartan striker, in the center of the box, fired a hard volley to the upper left corner. But keeper Harman leapt for the fingertip save. At 25 minutes, a Spartan striker was upended in the box for a PK. Spartan Ben Liles equalized from the spot.
With the score 1-1, the Spartans pressured Oakwood with long, booming balls. However, at 32 minutes, Oakwood countered. Addison Wille crossed from right wing to Schnader at the top of the box, who threaded the ball to an onrushing Morris, who shot on goal. The ball rolled slowly to goalline, but Addison Wille, free at the far post, blasted the ball at from one yard for the finish, completing his brace. At the game’s death, Scott Harman leapt to save a savage blast from the Spartan midfield, preserving the Jacks’ win 2-1. Harman had 13 big saves, his best and most outstanding game. Waynesville outshot Oakwood 29-18, but it was not enough.
The Dayton A’s 13-and-under select baseball team will hold workouts for interested players three consecutive Sunday afternoons on Sept. 23, and 30. The sessions will start at 3 p.m. and last approximately two hours. Players should bring their gloves, bats, helmets and water, and wear baseball pants and cup. The workouts will be at Kennedy Park.. Players born after April 30, 1994 are eligible. For further information, contact Kevin Canfield at 623-8486 or coachkevin7@gmail.com.
The Oakwood Jacks Select Basketball program will hold tryouts Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 from 4-6 p.m. at the Bergamo Center. The program will field fourth, fifth and sixth grade level teams for boys enrolled in the Oakwood School District.
There will be a one-time registration fee of $15 for both tryouts. Interested boys should plan to attend both tryout dates. For more information, contact Leigh French at 396-0379 or Anne Thompson Pepper at 294-7360.
Looking for girls from grades fourth through eighth to teach fast pitch lessons. This is a great time to start learning how to pitch. I want to work with the younger girls and get them ready for middle school and high school. For more information, please call Scott Herman 673-0944.
Last week was a busy and successful one for the Oakwood girls soccer team, playing three games in four days and winning them all.
Monday night Oakwood hosted the Franklin Lady Wildcats. The Jills dominated the first half, outshooting their opponents 9 to 0, but were unable to score. Tory Danis solved that problem at the 32:18 mark of the second half when she received a nice assist from Olivia Reasoner, popped one over the charging goalie’s head and into the net for a 1-0 lead. Less than a minute later the Jills struck again, this time Molly Breidenbach launching a strong throw-in to the foot of Reasoner who put the ball in, making it 2-0. The two teams battled evenly for the next 28 minutes. With 3:38 left in the match, Tory Danis scored her second goal of the night, dribbling the ball right down the middle of the field from the 50 yard line, fighting off the last defender, and beating the Franklin keeper, making the final Oakwood 3, Franklin 0.
Tuesday night the Jills traveled to Brookville. Oakwood was fighting the injury bug, as four players ( Brooke Klopsch, Rachel Warwar, Elizabeth Dickerson, and Colleen Hallinan) were unable to play. Molly Breidenbach got the Jills off to a good start, taking an assist from Olivia Reasoner down the middle and sliding it past the Brookville goalkeeper just a minute and five seconds into the game for a quick 1-0 lead. At the 27:12 mark midfielder Maeve Harper crossed the ball to Tory Danis who put her left-footed kick off the near post and into the goal for a 2-0 lead, which is where the score stood at the half.
Twelve minutes into the second half striker Rachel Eviston, playing a strong game off the bench, fed a crossing assist to Danis, who put it by the goalie for her second goal of the game and a 3-0 Oakwood lead. Danis completed her hat trick at the 16:57 mark when she received a long throw-in from Breidenbach and took it home for a final score of Oakwood 4, Brookville 0. The defense was strong as stopper Hayley Ward, defenders Taylor Garrity and Erin Riley, and sweeper Rachel Huber protected goalkeeper Lauren Luther well. Senior Emily Steiner and junior Sarah Shewell played strong games in the victory. Freshman sweeper Briana McConnell played well in her first varsity appearance.
Junior Midfielder 15 Liz Daganhardt & Junior Midfielder Maeve Harper double.
Last week was a busy and successful one for the Oakwood girls soccer team, playing three games in four days and winning them all.
Monday night Oakwood hosted the Franklin Lady Wildcats. The Jills dominated the first half, outshooting their opponents 9 to 0, but were unable to score. Tory Danis solved that problem at the 32:18 mark of the second half when she received a nice assist from Olivia Reasoner, popped one over the charging goalie’s head and into the net for a 1-0 lead. Less than a minute later the Jills struck again, this time Molly Breidenbach launching a strong throw-in to the foot of Reasoner who put the ball in, making it 2-0. The two teams battled evenly for the next 28 minutes. With 3:38 left in the match, Tory Danis scored her second goal of the night, dribbling the ball right down the middle of the field from the 50 yard line, fighting off the last defender, and beating the Franklin keeper, making the final Oakwood 3, Franklin 0.
Tuesday night the Jills traveled to Brookville. Oakwood was fighting the injury bug, as four players ( Brooke Klopsch, Rachel Warwar, Elizabeth Dickerson, and Colleen Hallinan) were unable to play. Molly Breidenbach got the Jills off to a good start, taking an assist from Olivia Reasoner down the middle and sliding it past the Brookville goalkeeper just a minute and five seconds into the game for a quick 1-0 lead. At the 27:12 mark midfielder Maeve Harper crossed the ball to Tory Danis who put her left-footed kick off the near post and into the goal for a 2-0 lead, which is where the score stood at the half.
Twelve minutes into the second half striker Rachel Eviston, playing a strong game off the bench, fed a crossing assist to Danis, who put it by the goalie for her second goal of the game and a 3-0 Oakwood lead. Danis completed her hat trick at the 16:57 mark when she received a long throw-in from Breidenbach and took it home for a final score of Oakwood 4, Brookville 0. The defense was strong as stopper Hayley Ward, defenders Taylor Garrity and Erin Riley, and sweeper Rachel Huber protected goalkeeper Lauren Luther well. Senior Emily Steiner and junior Sarah Shewell played strong games in the victory. Freshman sweeper Briana McConnell played well in her first varsity appearance.
Junior Midfielder/Striker 22 Tory Danis slips a shot passed the goalie for the first score.
Thursday night the Lady Spartans of Waynesville came to town sporting a 7 win, 2 loss record, and averaging over seven goals per game. They wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as with just over 5 minutes gone in the game forward Farran Eide blasted a high shot from the sideline to just inside the far post for a quick 1-0 Waynesville lead. The rest of the half was evenly played, with neither team able to score. Waynesville had three shots, all on goal, Oakwood had three shots, none on goal. Halftime score: Waynesville 1, Oakwood 0.
Brooke Klopsch, back after missing the previous two games due to injury, got the Jills going at the 35:46 mark, taking a long throw-in from Molly Breidenbach, breaking away from the defense, and beating the keeper to tie it at 1-1. Waynesville struck back just six minutes later, stealing an Oakwood throw-in and getting the ball to forward Lauren Price who, back to the goal, spun and fired one past a diving Lauren Luther to make it 2 to 1 Spartans. The Jills didn’t quit, and with 16 minutes to go Sophomore Ellen Viereckl made the first of two outstanding plays. With the ball heading out of bounds near the Oakwood bench, a sprinting Viereckl managed to get a foot on the ball and tap it forward to Molly Breidenbach. Breidenbach kept the ball wide, and with perfect timing crossed the ball to a flying Tory Danis who knocked it in to tie the score at 2 all (Danis’ sixth goal of the week). At this point the game got very physical, neither team backing off, the referees letting them play. With 10:50 to go, a penalty was called on Waynesville in their offensive end. Tory Danis was down with a knee injury, and needed to be helped off the field. Tory’s teammates responded just 24 seconds later when a Breidenbach kick glanced off a Spartan defender to Ellen Viereckl who crushed a line drive kick over the keeper for a 3 to 2 lead. The final 10 minutes had the fans on the edge of their seats, as Waynesville exerted great pressure, but the Oakwood defense held. Defenders Warwar, Garrity, and Riley marked the Waynesville stars well, stopper Ward and sweeper Huber were all over the field, and aggressive play by goalkeeper Lauren Luther kept the score at 3-2. Liz Daganhardt, moved to an outside midfield position, had an excellent all-around game against the Spartans.
Oakwood stays busy this week, hosting Milton Union tonight, traveling to Bellbrook Thursday, and returning home to play Fairmont next Monday. The Jills record is now six wins, three losses, and one tie, 5-1-1 in the SWBL. The junior varsity continues to roll, sporting a record of 7-1-1.
Sarah Oda attempts an interception.
The Jills visited Fairmont’s Roush Stadium on Wednesday night for the first of their home and away series of the year. It was Senior night at Kettering as they showed the strength of their roster introducing 13 experienced seniors who see the bulk of the playing time. They entered the game with six wins and two losses while Oakwood entered the game with a three win and four loss record. When these two teams meet, however, you can throw out the records and expect a well played competitive game. This night lived up to this billing as both teams played a fast, full field, aggressive game. Fairmont showed the speed of their front line as their Forwards consistently tested the Oakwood defense. This caused multiple penalty corner opportunities and shots on the Jills goal but the Oakwood defense rose to the test and killed all attempts in the first half. Sarah Maher anchored this dynamic defense and Goalie Amy Beck had multiple saves in the half. The half ended deadlocked with no score.
The first ten minutes of the second half had the teams playing the same intense back and forth action until a Kettering forward weaved her way up from the left wing toward the middle and put her team on the board. This seemed to spark the Jills to an even higher level as they took control of the field and spent much of the next 15 minutes in Fairmont territory. Unfortunately many penalty corners and shots on goal went unrewarded as the Kettering defense turned back all their efforts to score. With seconds remaining and Oakwood pressing their attack Kettering slipped behind the Jills defense on a fast break for their second and the game’s decisive score. In the losing effort the Jills played with fantastic teamwork and intensity and the crowd was left with high expectations for the remainder of the year. “This game was intense, aggressive and an all out battle. Fairmont has a phenomenal team this year, and we will anxiously prepare for our next meeting. Prior to the game, I challenged our girls to play a total team game, and they really did come through, I’m proud to say. We’ll work on our offense in practice and look forward to our next league game against Indian Hill,” said head coach Lindsay Schafer.
The JV hockey team opened the evening with a close 1-0 loss. Oakwood’s defense remained strong throughout the game. Sophomore Lauren Werst stepped up her game and fellow sophomore goalie Taylor Matejovsky had many excellent saves. Freshmen Anna McGovern and Tori Hutten had a few fast breaks, yet the Jills could not get past the Fairmont JV defense.
Coach Conner huddles with team
The Oakwood Jills varsity volleyball team completed their toughest week of the season with six action-packed matches.
Monday the Jills hosted SWBL rival Franklin on the home court and delivered a three game blow to the Lady Wildcats. The match was highlighted by hitters Channon Conner (6 kills) and Lili Hartzell (4 digs, 6 aces) with 20 assists by senior setter Brittany Kalbfleisch. Senior Taylor Roeckner delivered seven aces to secure the win.
Tuesday, the team traveled to Valley View, where senior Middle Hitter Alisa Kessler took a fall on an attempted strike to land on the injured roster and rattle the team’s confidence. Despite great effort by senior defensive specialist Meredith Baer, and outstanding serving, hitting and blocking by freshman Karin Mueller, the Jills fell to the Spartans.
The Thursday game against Waynesville proved to be the match of the week. In a five-game head-to-head showdown, Kalbfleisch delivered 26 assists and senior Lili Hartzell contributed an impressive 15 kills and 15 digs. Outstanding service runs and aggressive hitting by Madeson Thompson and Karin Mueller, dealt the Spartans a one-two punch. Claire Roess added support on the front line, with additional help from Maya Hughes in the back court. Freshman Brooke Trauthwein added kills to solidify her varsity debut, but the team’s efforts were not enough to hold the Spartans down. In a season marked by duals to the end, the Jills have consistently fought to the last match to determine the winner. They could have easily won five or six of the
matches that have gone to tiebreakers, but as Coach Conner says, “If it weren’t for bad luck, we’d have no luck at all.” Nevertheless the Jills are on the right track, and are determined to finish strong.
The team hosts Milton Union on Tuesday in the pit at 6:30 p.m. to settle the score from a previous five game stand-off. On Thursday, the team travels to play archrival Bellbrook, where both teams will host a “Volley For The Cure” to encourage breast cancer awareness. More information can be found at http://www.ohsvca.org/volleyforcure/index.php. All fans are encouraged to attend wearing pink for the match and auction! The event starts at 5:30 p.m. with a JV match, followed by breast awareness events, raffles and auction and ending with the varsity match at 7 p.m.
The OJHS eighth grade volleyball team has yet to lose a game, having completed the first eight matches of the season. Valley View proved to be a tough opponent in the third match of the season, but the Jills managed to win 26-24 and 27-25. They also beat Franklin 25-13 and 25-21; Carlisle 25-6 and 25-20; Eaton 25-3 and 25-13; Milton Union 25-10 and 25-15; Brookville 25-11 and 25-15; Northridge 25-7 and 25-2; and Madison 25-20 and 25-15. Their next home game is against Preble Shawnee on Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. in the Pit.
The Oakwood Junior Jills basketball team announces times for our tryouts for the 2007-2008 season. Tryouts will begin on Saturday, Sept. 29 at Smith Elementary School. Third and fourth grade girls will be at 2 p.m. Fifth grade girls will be at 3:15 p.m. Sixth grade girls at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30 tryouts will be at Christ United Methodist Church. Third and fourth grade girls will be at 3 p.m. Fifth grade girls will be at 4 p.m. Sixth grade girls at 5 p.m. Tryouts will continue on Oct. 3 and 4 at Miami Valley Hospital. Third and fourth grade will be at 6 p.m. Fifth grade will be at 7 p.m. Sixth grade will be at 8 p.m. All girls trying out should plan on attending at least two of the tryout dates. If you would like more information about the program or have any questions about the tryouts please call one of the corresponding coaches: fourth grade-Tony Wooten 293-0561, fifth grade-Bruce Teeters 643-1753 or John Jervis 299-8431, sixth grade-Jeff Snyder 293-9042 or Ted Coyle 293-1935.
Looking for something to do this fall on Friday Nights? Come down to the Old River Complex behind NCR and the Marriott, for open soccer fields. Just want to practice your shot, or have a pick up game with co-workers join us Friday nights 5:30-8:30 p.m. Sept. 25–Oct. 26. Not to be used by teams.
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