Fulton County Ohio Media

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When one team defeats another twice in the regular season then meets them again in the playoffs, it is often said, “It’s hard to beat a team that third time.”  The Delta Lady Panthers had swept the season series from the Swanton Lady Bulldogs, winning that second game at home by two points after a fourth quarter rally.  After Swanton beat Northwood in the Sectional Semi-Final game, the Panthers and the Bulldogs would meet again for the title at Otsego High School.  For Delta, they knew that third win would not be easy.  And, to their credit, Swanton made it hard, very hard in fact.  Tied at 24 all entering the final frame, Delta responded by outscoring Swanton 16-7 to capture the Dlll Sectional Championship 40-31.   “We always seem to do well in the fourth quarter against this team.  Just like the last time we played them,” said Delta Head Coach Kelsey Gillen. 

It was a very low scoring game in the early going with Swanton holding a slim 5-4 lead after the first quarter with senior guard Alaina Pelland scoring all of the Bulldog’s points.  However, after being held scoreless in the first, Delta’s leading scorer, Grace Munger, hit two three pointers and had eight points in the quarter as the Panthers took a 17-12 lead at the half. 

The Bulldogs stormed back in the third, going on an 8-0 run to regain the lead at 20-17 and then watched the Panthers rally to go on top 24-21 late in the quarter.  With time winding down, Pelland, who led all players with 17 points, sank a three-point shot from the corner for the 24-24 tie.  Munger stepped up again, scoring five of her team high 16 points and freshman Abbey Todd hit a big shot late from behind the arc to help seal the win.

It was the first opportunity to cut down the net for second-year Coach Gillen.  “We have an incredible group here,” said Gillen.  They are always willing to scrap and they never give up.  They continue to work hard for me and that’s all I can ask.”

For Swanton Coach Eric Oakes and the Lady Bulldogs, their season comes to an end with an overall record of 11-13.  Coach Gillen and the Lady Panthers improve to 11-12 on the season and will now face the 20-3 Liberty Center Lady Tigers in the Dlll District Semi-Finals on Wednesday, 2/22. At 7:30 PM at Lake High School.

Swanton: 5-7-12-7 = 31 Alaina Pelland (17), Miranda Yeager (4), Jessica Finfera (3), Katlyn Floyd (3), Olivia Gowing (2), Peighton Manning (2)

Delta: 4-13-7-16 = 40 Grace Munger (16), Kendall Sprow (8), Khloe Weber (6), Abbey Todd (5), Ashlyn Lamb (3), Kate Friess (2)

Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Delta Lady Panthers OHSAA Dlll Girls Basketball Sectional Champions

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No one saw this coming.  Literally, no one in attendance in Swanton’s Kevin J. McQuade Gymnasium to watch the hometown 16-5 Bulldogs take on the 12-9 Evergreen Vikings in the last game of the regular season would have predicted a full-blown lopsided 34-point Swanton halftime lead on the way to a 67-29 victory over a talented and well-coached Evergreen team.  This was the same Viking squad that held the visiting Bulldogs to zero points in the third quarter and forged a tie game in the fourth before falling 52-44 in a non-league game earlier this season.  It does happen on occasion in all sports, where one team will do virtually everything right while the other team, despite being close in ability, cannot execute any part of their game plan no matter how hard they play.  Last night in Swanton was a text book example of that and it began almost immediately.

Swanton’s Luc Borojevich scored on a breakaway layup and Hayden Callicotte swished a three-pointer from the corner for a 5-0 lead in what was essentially a preview of how the first half was about to unfold.  The Bulldogs ran the score up to 12-0 before the Vikings were finally able to get on the board, but in no way did it slow down the Swanton juggernaut offense.   They went on a 15-0 run to make the score 27-2 and finished the first quarter ahead 29-4. 

Evergreen finally began to hit some of their shots in the second.  Leading scorer Eli Kiefer, who had no points in the first, broke loose for eight and the Vikings scored 15 in the quarter.  However, Callicotte and Borojevich, who had combined for 25 points in the first, stayed hot and finished the half with 20 points each, staking Swanton to a 53-19 lead at the buzzer.  For the half, the Bulldogs made 19 out of 24 shots from the field for 79.1% and went 6/7 from the line for 85.7%.

If there was any hope Evergreen would come back in the second half to make the score more respectable, that hope was quickly dashed when Borojevich fed Callicotte on a break who tossed up an alley-oop to a streaking Cole Mitchey who slammed it home for a 36-point Swanton advantage.  By reaching a lead of 35 points or more, a running clock was implemented and it remained in effect for the rest of the contest.

With the win, Swanton finishes the regular season with a 17-5 overall record and 4-3 in the NWOAL, tied for third place with Liberty Center. The Bulldogs begin the OHSAA Dlll tournament on Friday, 2/24, at 8:00 PM at Wauseon High School and will face the winner of the Hicksville/Liberty Center game. Evergreen ends the regular season with a 12-10 record and 2-5 in the league in seventh place. The Vikings begin tournament play on Tuesday, 2/21, at Springfield High School and will take on the Fairview Apaches. at 6:00 PM.

Evergreen:  4-15-4-6 = 29   Eli Kiefer (9), Riley Dunbar (6), Walker Lumbrezer (3), Will Ruetz (3), Tyson Woodring (2), Ryder Hudik (2) Ben Ruetz (2), Drew Gillen (2)

Swanton:  29-24-11-3 = 67   Luc Borojevich (25), Hayden Callicotte (20), Cole Mitchey (9), Kayden Davis (5), Charlie Wood (5), Jake Robinson (3)

Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Luc Borojevich shoots for three.

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In a State Sectional Semi-Final game at Otsego High School, the Swanton Lady Bulldogs went to the foul line 11 times in the fourth quarter and hit nine of those attempts to seal a 40-29 win over the Northwood Lady Rangers. Swanton took no free throws in the first three quarters and made no shots from the field in the final frame in the victory that sends them to the Sectional Final against fellow NWOAL foe the fifth-seeded Delta Lady Panthers.

The eight-seeded Lady Bulldogs led the entire way, by as many as 14 points in the second half over the seventh-seeded Lady Rangers, but saw that lead trimmed to just five points before the late clutch free throws were made by Alaina Pelland (5/7), Katie Floyd (2/2) and Miranda Yeager (2/2) to shut down the Northwood rally.

The Sectional Championship, also at Otsego High School, will tip off at 6:00 PM on Saturday.

Swanton: 10-6-15-9 = 40 Alaina Pelland (14), Miranda Yeager (12), Emma Crow (5), Olivia Gowing (5), Jessica Finfera (2), Katie Floyd (2)

Northwood: 3-7-10-9 = 29 Autumn Schroeder (12), EB Wauford (7(, Carissa Davies ((5), Natalie Thompson (3), Zoe Turner (3)

Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Alaina Pelland at the line

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Down by double digits early in the game to visiting Cardinal Stritch on Tuesday night, Swanton slowly chipped away at the deficit and finally took a brief 46-45 lead with 5:32 left in the fourth quarter. However, the Cardinals regained control down the stretch, finishing the game on a 9-2 run and defeated the Bulldogs 54-48 in a non-league contest. Swanton wraps up the regular season on Friday night at home against the Evergreen Vikings. Tip off is at 7:30 PM.

Cardinal Stritch: 16-10-16-12 = 54 Owen Carter (14), Tommie Taylor (11), Christian Burton (11), Breon Hicks (9), Kam Hughes (8), Christian Swilling (1)

Swanton: 7-15-18-8 = 48 Luc Borojevich (20), Hayden Callicotte (14), Charlie Wood (10), Cole Mitchey (4)

Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Charlie Wood scores underneath

At the Swanton Village Council meeting of February 13^th, Mayor Neil Toeppe recommended to Council that it accept the proposal from the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association to conduct an organizational assessment of the Swanton Fire and Rescue Department (SFRD) to find ways to improve the department for the benefit of the citizens of the Swanton community.  Mayor Toeppe cited a study that showed the negative impact of poor leadership, low morale and poor communication, inadequate compensation and other factors can lead to high turnover.  Exacerbating the problem, he said, is the labor shortage in this career field in Ohio and across the nation, which makes it easy for someone to leave and immediately find another job.  According to the Mayor, a similar assessment was completed on the Swanton Police Department a number of years ago and improvements were recommended and implemented.

“That tells me that we really need to address the issues I mentioned earlier, the leadership, morale, communication and bring in some professional help for us and help the department navigate those things so we can mitigate those concerns,” said the Mayor.  “It would look at all aspects of the area that we serve, the number of employees we have in each discipline, the equipment that we have, do we have enough, do we have too much, do we have the right equipment.  All of those things.”

The cost of the assessment would be $20,600.  After a brief discussion, Council members all agreed to the assessment and tasked Village Administrator Shannon Shulters to draft a Resolution to be voted on next meeting.   In 2021, Mayor Toeppe made a similar proposal to the then sitting Council, headed by Craig Rose.  The cost at that time was approximately $15,000 and was deemed unnecessary and summarily rejected. 

After interviewing four potential candidates for the Fiscal Director position, Holden Benfield was recommended to fill the job left vacant by the recent resignation of Jason Vasko.  Council members discussed the recommendation during an executive session and voted unanimously to accept it after reconvening in Council chambers.  Mr. Benfield resides outside the Village but within the Swanton Postal Code.  He received an undergrad degree and a Master’s of Science in Managerial Accounting from the University of Toledo. 

Mayor Toeppe announced that the first meeting of the Swanton Economic Development Commission (SEDC) was held last week to establish management criteria.  There will be six members on the committee including Swanton High School alumnus Mick Bryan, retired businessman and former president of an international company, Swanton resident and Swanton High School alumnus Eric Butler, currently serving as a vice-president for Key Bank, Chris Lake, Swanton resident and Superintendent of Swanton Schools, Councilman Mikey Disbrow, Administrator Shulters and Mayor Toeppe.  The SEDC will meet on the second Wednesday every other month.  The next meeting will be held on April 12, 2023.

Signage for the DORA (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area) have been arrived and will be installed by the Village maintenance crew in the near future.  The next Council meeting will take place on February 27, 2023 at 6:00 PM.

Photo: New Swanton Finance Director Holden Benfield

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As they did during the regular season, the Wauseon Lady Indians dominated the rest of the field in walking away with the NWOAL Girls Bowling Tournament Championship held at the Swanton Sports Center this past Saturday.  Wauseon racked up 3745 pins to easily out distance runner-up Liberty Center Lady Tigers with a score of 3216.  The Bryan Golden Bears finished third with 3113, the Delta Lady Panthers were fourth at 2751 and the Patrick Henry Lady Patriots came in fifth with a 2709.  Evergreen and Swanton high schools did not field a girls team this season.

The five points Wauseon earned for the tournament victory, combined with the six points they earned during the regular season, gave the Lady Indians 11.0 total points and the 2022-2023 NWOAL Girls Bowling Title.  Liberty Center was second with 9.0 points, Bryan had 6.0, Patrick Henry had 5.0 and Delta had 4.0 points.

The Lady Indians took the first three spots in the tournament individual round with Kymberlee Yocom leading the way with a three-game series score of 655 followed by Jayde Ramos with a 617 and Kendall Horner with a 597.  Haylie Federspiel of Bryan was fourth with a 545 and AJ Seedorf of Liberty Center was fifth with a 511 total.  Wauseon also placed the first four bowlers on the five-spot First Team All-NWOAL.  Again, it was Kymberlee Yocom who led the league with a 198.37 average, followed by teammates Jayde Ramos with a 193.30, Kendall Horner with a 187.60 and Danielle Carr with a 181.30 season’s average.  Arianna Smith of Liberty Center was the other First-Team placer with a 178.19.

On the boys side of the alley, the Liberty Center Tigers and the Wauseon Indians entered the tournament tied with 6.5 points, having split their two regular season matches.  This day, however, it was the Tigers who were the better team, out rolling the Indians 4202 to 3770 for the NWOAL Boys Tournament Championship.  The Bryan Golden Bears finished third with 3649 pins, the Delta Panthers were fourth with a 3559 score, the Patrick Henry Patriots took fifth with a 3465, the Swanton Bulldogs were sixth with a 3225 and host school, the Evergreen Vikings came in seventh at 2913.

The Liberty Center tournament victory gave them 13.5 overall points, one point ahead of Wauseon’s 12.5, and the 2022-2023 NWOAL Boys Bowling Title.  Delta and Bryan tied for the third spot with 9.0 points each, Patrick Henry had 6.0, and Evergreen and Swanton tied at 3.0 points for sixth place.

The individual round for the boys saw a very tight race for the top spot.  When the final pin fell, Josh Hoops of Patrick Henry and Ryan Marks of Wauseon had both shot a three-game 656 series for first place.  Brody Waugh of Delta finished in third place, a mere two pins behind with a 654.  Land Amstutz of Liberty Center was next at 645 and Isaac Stoy of Bryan was fifth with a 643.  As you would expect, the Tigers had a very heavy presence on the First Team All-NWOAL with Landon Amstutz bowling a league-best 215.50 season’s average, Tim Blanton right behind with a 214.19 and Jacob Sexton in fourth with a 206.52.   Dakota Brandenberry of Bryan had the third highest average at 208.50 and Ryan Marks had a 204.96 to earn the fifth best spot.

After all the hardware was given out, Evergreen Athletic Director Dylan Henricks, announced that Delta Girls Coach Jerry Donaldson and Liberty Center Boys Coach Bruce Engler had been chosen Coaches of the Year by their peers.

Click on the link above to access photos from the tournament including all team and individual scores and standings as well as All-NWOAL award winners. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Wauseon Girls and Liberty Center Boys

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Tyson Rodriguez drained seven shots from behind the arc for all of his game-high 21 points in leading the Wauseon Indians to a 54-31 blowout victory over the Delta Panthers in a game that pitted two of the four teams tied atop the boys NWOAL basketball standings with a 3-1 record. Landon Hines controlled the boards on both ends of the court, scoring 14 points, blocking shots and pulling down rebounds as the Indians scored in double figures in all four quarters while holding the Panthers’ offense to single digits in each frame.

The Wauseon victory kept them in a tie for the league lead with Patrick Henry at 4-1. The Delta loss slips the Panthers into a tie for third place at 3-2 with Archbold who suffered a 52-44 loss to Swanton on the same night. The Indians will try to remain in first place when they host the Archbold Blue Streaks on Friday night at 7:30 PM. Delta travels to Patrick Henry to face the league-leading Patriots on Friday at 7:15 PM, looking for a win to get back in the race for the top spot.

Wauseon: 12-13-16-13 = 54 Tyson Rodriguez (21), Landon Hines (14), Jace Leatherman (12), Jude Armstrong (4), Elijah McLoed (3)

Delta: 7-7-9-8 = 32 Bryce Gillen (11), Bryar Knapp (7), Nolan Risner (6), Justin Ruple (4), Brayden Ruffer (3)

Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Landon Hines (24) jumps ball with Bryce Gillen

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The Delta Panthers took a 145 pin lead over the Bryan Golden Bears after the two rounds of individual bowling then almost doubled that advantage in the three Baker games to handily win the match at the Swanton Sports Center 2330-2044. In a closer match, the Delta Lady Panthers lost to the Bryan Lady Golden Bears 1937-1785.

Bryan Boys: Issac Stoy (175+188 = 363), Dakota Brandenberry (146+209 = 355), Aaryan Singh (155+155 = 310), Alexander Douglas (159), Skyler Crooks (139), Noah Mills (138), Trevor Graig (131), Baker Games (170+118+161 = 449) Total = 2044

Delta Boys: Konrad Hawkins (229+200 = 429), Brody Waugh (196+170 = 366), Dylan Stricker (170+163 = 333), Brenden Pribe (156+162 = 318), Paul McQueen (151+143 + 294), Baker Games n(238+186+166 = 590) Total = 2330

Bryan Girls: Jessica Federspiel (158+187 = 345), Ashley Grymonprez (155+169 = 324), Haylie Federspiel (125+168 = 293), Polly Sleesman (156+115 = 271), Kyah Davis (113+128 = 241), Baker Games (153+164+146 = 463) Total = 1837

Delta Girls: Lexi Brown (179+192 = 371), Ciarra Flickinger (164+178 = 342), Alana Hoyt (112+140 = 252), Olivia Tipton (106+106 = 212), Serena Shelhart (108+87 = 195), Baker Games (132+136+145 = 413 Total = 1785

Click on the link above to access photos from the match. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Top Delta Bowlers Lexi Brown and Konrad Hawkins

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This past Friday, prior to a match against the Bryan Golden Bears, the Delta Panthers bowling team recognized their seniors for their efforts and contributions to the program during their careers. Representing the Class of 2023 were Ciarra Flickinger, Lexi Brown, Alana Hoyt, Camden Leonard, Paul McQueen, Brenden Pribe, Dylan Stricker.

Click on the link above to access photos from the event. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo L to R: Ciarra Flickinger, Lexi Brown, Alana Hoyt, Paul McQueen, Brenden Pribe, Dylan Stricker, Camden Leonard

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The Archbold Lady Blue Streaks bolted to a 20-7 opening period lead and never let off the gas until the fourth quarter as they cruised to a 52-17 victory over the Swanton Lady Bulldogs on the road. Carly Grime led a balanced Streak scoring attack with 12 points and Archbold shot 75% (12/16) from the free throw line in the easy win. Alaina Pelland had five points to lead Swanton.

Archbold: 20-17-14-1 = 52 Carly Grime (12), Sophia Rupp (10), Alayna Perez (8), Leah McQuade (7), Grace Meyer (7), Alanna Pedraza (5), Alivia Rodriguez (2), Nyah Grime (1)

Swanton: 7-2-6-2 = 17 Alaina Pelland (5), Emma Crow (4), Olivia Gowing (4), Jessica Finfera (2), Katie Floyd (2)

Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Carly Grime lays one in for two of her game-high 12 points