The Maumee Panthers rallied from a 7-point halftime deficit to defeat the Swanton Bulldogs 47-40 in the Junior Varsity portion of the Bob Fisher Holiday Basketball Classic.
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 and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Dylan Smigelski shoots a free throw in the third quarter
Tied 31-31 heading into the fourth quarter, the Maumee Panthers outscored the Swanton Bulldogs 15-13 to win the semi-final game of the Bob Fisher Holiday Basketball Classic at Swanton High School this past Monday night. The Bulldogs rebounded the next day to defeat the Delta Panthers 41-37 in the consolation game.
Swanton enters 2026 with a 4-5 record and returns to action on Tuesday, on the road against the Genoa Comets. They begin the NWOAL season on Thursday, at home against the (3-6) Wauseon Indians.
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 and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
In their first game of the Bob Fisher Holiday Basketball Classic, the Swanton Lady Bulldogs blew out the Springfield Lady Blue Devils 53-35 on Monday afternoon in the eponymous Robert L. Fisher Gymnasium and advanced to Tuesday’s championship contest.
Led by seniors Lauren Bettinger with 17 points and Carli LaGrange with 16 points, Swanton jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and never truly looked back. The Lady Bulldogs kept piling on the points and were on top by as many as 24 in the fourth quarter before Springfield rallied to cut the deficit to 18 at the end of the game.
Swanton then lost to an undefeated (7-0) Delta Lady Panthers team in the title game to finish as the tournament runners-up and run their record on the season to 1-8 for the year. They will play again tonight at home against the (6-2) Patrick Henry Lady Patriots to begin the NWOAL season.
Springfield Lady Blue Devils: 7-6-9-13 = 35 Ella Jordan (9), Avery Blazsik (7), Lauren Iserman (7), Kamiyak Rosemond (6), Tessa Geiner (6)
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 and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Carli LaGrange controls the tip for Swanton
It was a packed house, mostly large families with friends, at the Swanton Sports Center as revelers of all ages welcomed in 2026 with bowling and shooting pool all night while pigging out on their favorite food items brought from home and drinks served up by the friendly Sports Center staff.
Click on the link above to access photos from the evening. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the SWANTON SPORTS CENTER.
For the second consecutive year, the Delta Lady Panthers showed no mercy to their opponents as they put on a repeat performance in winning the Bob Fisher Holiday Classic Championship held at Swanton High School this past Monday and Tuesday. In taking the 2024 title, Delta outscored its two challengers by a combined 53 points. They won this year’s title by a an even larger combined margin of 72 points.
The Lady Panthers first met and defeated the Maumee Valley Country Day School Lady Hawks 73-38. Abby Todd led Delta in a balanced scoring effort with 17 points. Anna Lohnman added 15 points, Keagyn Gillen had 12 and Addison Wyse scored 10. I’yanna Sawyer led Maumee valley with 13 points. Nora Angel had 11 points and Elaine Shen dropped in 10.
In the championship contest, Delta went up against the host and fellow NWOAL member, Swanton Lady Bulldogs who had reached the finals with a 53-35 dismantling of the Springfield Lady Blue Devils. Swanton was able to slow down the Lady Panthers’ juggernaut offense just a bit, but were unable to generate nearly enough offense against Delta’s full court trapping defense. After taking a 30-11 advantage into halftime, the Panthers outscored the Bulldogs 18-5 and went on to win 55-18. Keagyn Gillen scored a game-high total of 13 points for Delta and Anna Lohnman had 11. Laura Bettinger led Swanton with seven points.
Swanton Lady Bulldogs: 3-8-5-2 = 18 Laura Bettinger (7), Madelyn Pelland (3), Carli Lagrange (3), Katherine LaPoint (2), Evelyn Ventimiglia (2), McKenzie Cooper (1)
With the wins, Delta moves their record on the season, again, to 8-0. They return to action at home this Friday, taking on the Otsego Lady Knights in a non-league game. Swanton drops to 1-8 on the year and will stay at home to face the Patrick Henry Lady Patriots to open the NWOAL season.
Click on the link above to access photos from the Championship game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Bob Fisher Holiday Classic Girls Champions – Delta Lady Panthers
This past Friday night, the Swanton Bulldogs boys ran into Miller City Wildcats basketball team that could not seem to miss and dealt the hometown Bulldogs a 56-28 loss in a non-league game.
The Wildcats scored most of their points in the first half with shots inside off the glass and took a 25-12 lead into halftime as the Bulldogs struggled with their shooting. In the second half, the Miller City offense began firing from long range, hitting seven of their nine three-pointers, including six in the fourth quarter as they pulled away to a 28-point victory.
Brady O’Shea led the Bulldogs with 10 points and Evan Reinhard scored six. Henry Rump scored 26 points for the Wildcats. Grady Troyer added 11 points while Wes Tobe had eight.
Miller City Wildcats: 16-9-10-21 = 56 Henry Rump (26), Grady Troyer (11), Wes Tobe (8), Jonny Pester (4), Caiden Palte (3), Jack Wenzinger (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 and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
The Swanton Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs defeated the Delta Panthers and Lady Panthers Friday afternoon at the Swanton Sports Center. The Bulldog boys got a 386 two-game series score from Conor Yates, including a match-high game of 217 to lead Swanton over Delta 1945-1700. Marcello Miracola rolled a 358 two-games series for the Panthers, including a 209 game. The Bulldog girls got a 417 two-game series score from Emma Leonard, including a 235 game to help Swanton beat a short-handed Delta team 1525-1274. Cadence Barkhimer shot a two-game series score of 278 for the Lady Panthers.
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 and shared for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.
Photo: Top Swanton Bowlers – Conor yates and Emma Leonard
Teaching by example is always the best way show anyone or any team how to achieve success. On Thursday night in the Swanton Sports Center Mixed League, Jerry Donaldson, long-time coach in the Delta Panthers Bowling Program, held the ultimate teaching lesson by rolling 12 consecutive strikes in his second game of the evening for a perfect score of 300. The perfecto was sandwiched in between a game #1 score of 217 and a game #3 score of 224 for a very impressive 744 series.
For Jerry, a resident of Delta, it was his eight career 300 game and the third one he has rolled at the Swanton Sports Center, which serves as the Panthers home bowling center and where he owns and operates Jerry’s Pro Shop.
On Monday night, at the final Swanton Village Council meeting of 2025, controversial Ordinance 2025-XX, Establishing Chapter 112 of the Codified Ordinances of the Village of Swanton, Ohio Regulating Food Trucks, Mobile Food Vending, Permitting, and Inspections, was on the agenda to be discussed as a Second Reading.
A few days prior to the meeting, Mayor Neil Toeppe posted on his Facebook page several important points that the Council would be taking into consideration before making a decision.
“It’s also worth noting that our brick-and-mortar food businesses pay significant property taxes. Those dollars help plow our roads, maintain our parks, fix potholes, and pay village employees. Many of these businesses also generously support local and school events through donations and sponsorships. Food trucks play an important role, too. They bring variety, introduce new offerings, and give residents and visitors options that may not otherwise be available locally. Their presence can also encourage established restaurants to innovate and improve. That’s a good thing. However, food trucks do not pay property taxes, which lowers their cost of entry into the market. While they benefit from village services, they are not contributing to them in the same way our permanent businesses do. So, the real question isn’t food trucks versus restaurants—it’s how do we continue to encourage food trucks while also finding a fair way for them to contribute to the village they operate in? That’s a conversation worth having,” he said.
The motion was first presented to Council President Derek Kania. “I would like to do a motion to push this into the new fiscal year. It’s not fair for the three outgoing (council members) to make a second reading call,” said Mr. Kania who will also be one of the outgoing members. He went on to explain what the Council’s intent was in considering the legislation and that oversight on food trucks operation in Swanton would be similar to what is practiced in towns like Delta, Holland and Perrysburg. “We’re not out here trying to make it difficult for everyone in the food truck world. Operating a food truck within the Village of Swanton doesn’t omit you from being inspected by certain entities, with or without an ordinance. It’s the Villages job to protect its citizens. We’re not trying to complicate matters. I, personally feel food trucks are a huge benefit to a town like Swanton. We do have some good restaurants, but we don’t have unique restaurants. Allowing a food truck to come in that offers a unique food style is a benefit. Once you start hammering fees on top of it, you lower the opportunity for that food truck to make it profitable to come out here.”
Following Mr. Kania’s remarks, a motion was put forward to withdraw the legislation. The motion was seconded and passed by a vote of 6-0. When the time came for public remarks, Dave Mills, owner of Birchwood Meadow Wedding and Event venue, cautioned the incoming Council to be sure to place Swanton in a positive light in which to do business. Swanton resident Tara Shaver, owner of the Hot Dogs 2 Go food truck spoke next and suggested if the Village decides to address this issue in the future, that they form a committee and look at the ordinance closely as it includes requirements food trucks already have to meet.
The next meeting will take place on January 12, 2026 at 6:00 pm in the Village Council room located at 219 Chestnut Street. All new Council members will be officially sworn in before proceeding with any Village business.
Photo: David Mills, owner of Birchwood Meadow, addresses Council regarding food truck legislation
Both the Delta Boys and Girls bowling teams were defeated by Liberty Center on Monday afternoon at the Swanton Sports Center. The Tigers outscored the Panthers 2356-1837 and the Lady Tigers beat the short-handed Lady Panthers 2010-1138.
Wesley Wilhelm shot a two-game series score of 419, including a 231 game to lead the Tigers. His teammate Maddox Oyer matched that 419 total and had a game-high score of 247. Luca Miracola rolled a two-game series score of 372 including a 201 game for the Panthers.
The Lady Tigers got a 382 series from Cheyenne Miller including a 202 game. Kenasyn Meyer added a game-high 204 for Liberty Center. Marcella Morris bowled a two-game series 237 for the Lady Panthers.
Liberty Center Tigers: Wesley Wilhelm (188 + 231 = 419), Maddox Oyer (172 + 247 = 419), Owen Gebers (190 + 189 = 379), Stone Roth (198 + 158 = 356), Takoda Hopkins (138), Tyler McDougle (135), Baker Games (203 + 191 + 116 = 510) Total = 2356
Fulton County Ohio Media 