Fulton County Ohio Media

The sixth-seeded Fayette Eagles fought their way into the DIV District Basketball finals with wins over the eighth-seeded Montpelier Locomotives and the fourth-seeded Ayersville Pilots but were unable to advance any further, losing 58-28 to the first-seeded Antwerp Archers.  The Eagles entered the game with a decided height disadvantage and had no answer for the Archers’ 6’7” Jagger Landers who dominated both the offensive and defensive boards.

Antwerp opened the game by scoring the first seven points before Fayette’s Tanner Wagner scored from behind the arc to put the Eagles on the board at the 4:40 mark.  Later in the quarter, a basket by Elijah Larma and another triple from Wagner would pull Fayette within two points at 10-8 with 2:25 remaining in the period, but they would never get any closer for the rest of the contest.  The Archers scored the last six points of the quarter and led 16-8 after one.

The Antwerp run continued into the second quarter, reaching 18 straight points to give the Archers a 20-point advantage at the halfway point of the second.  A Larma bucket inside would stop the streak but Antwerp was ahead 36-14 went the teams headed for the locker room at halftime.

The pace of the game slowed considerably in the second half as Antwerp began to shuffle multiple players from the bench into the game.  The Archers outscored the Eagles 22-14 in the second for the 30-point victory and moved on to face second-seeded Toledo Christian Eagles, a 37-36 overtime winner over Hicksville, for the District Championship.

Wagner led Fayette with 10 points in the game while Phillip Whiteside scored seven and Larma added five.  Landers topped all scorers with 23 points.  Austin Litchy and Landon Brewer had 11 points each and Owen Sheedy added seven for Antwerp.

Pictured:  Fayette’s Elijah Larma puts up a shot over the Antwerp defense.

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Responding to a resident’s inquiry regarding the raising of chickens within Village limits, the Public Service Committee (PSC) of the Swanton Village Council decided not to amend the current local ordinance that prohibits that practice.  Swanton Village Codified Ordinance 90.06 – FARM ANIMALS PROHIBITED, states “No person shall keep or harbor any horses, cows, steer, fowl or swine within the Village.”  Speaking for the Committee after a brief discussion, Councilman Dave Pilliod said he did not see any reason to amend the ordinance that was enacted several years ago.

Also discussed by the PSC were the upcoming Crestwood and Woodside Street Projects.  The updated quote for Crestwood is now at $736,000 which include the construction costs at $638,000 and engineering costs at $98,000.  The Village will be looking for loan and grant funding through the Ohio Public Works Commission Round 36 funding application.  The updated Woodside quote is $108,000 with construction costs at $97,900 and engineering costs at $10,100.  Money allocated in the Street Construction, Maintenance and Repair Fund can be used towards this project which is scheduled to begin sometime in 2021.  Village Administrator Rosanna Hoelzle acknowledged that the two projects will be “messy” and be an inconvenience for residents and motorists but will benefit all once completed.

The absence of policies and procedures for non-school related baseball tournaments at Memorial Park was brought up with the warm weather approaching.  Although there have been no issues with the tournaments in the past, it was decided to more formal process/procedure was needed to ensure all tournament organizers were aware of all regulations including insurance, fees and park maintenance.

The Public Safety Committee discussed the possibility of ordering an Organizational Study of the Swanton Fire & Rescue Division (SFRD) which has been proposed by Mayor Neil Toeppe and would be conducted by the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association (OFCA)  The study will review all facets to determine operational and administrative efficiencies, internal division and community communication effectiveness, personnel development, compliance with local, state and federal law and industry best practices.  It will also determine the current level of service and future response needs of the community.  All areas of review will include a focus on employee safety, safety of the public and risk management for the SFRD and the Village.  The cost of study is $15,000.  After a brief debate on the issue, it was decided to table it for now.

In New Business, two Emergency Ordinances and three Emergency Resolutions were approved. 

Ordinance 2021-XX, Authorizing the Village Administrator and/or the Mayor to apply for, accept, and enter into a Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA) Agreement on behalf of the Village of Swanton for planning, design, and/or construction of Water Treatment Plant Membrane Softening Improvements and designating a dedicated repayment source for the loan.

Ordinance 2021-XX, Vacating an alley in the Village of Swanton.

Resolution 2021-XX, Authorizing the submission and support of an application to FEMA for the Assistance for Firefighters Grant for a vehicle exhaust system.

Resolution 2021-XX, Authorizing the submission and support of an application to the Division of State Fire Marshall for the Fire Department Equipment Grant for hoses and turnout gear.

Resolution 2021-XX, Authorizing the submission and support of an application to FEMA for the Assistance for Firefighters Regional Grant for two-way radios.

The Village is working on an “Open House” to inform residents of the upcoming Phase 2 Water Meter Project.  A virtual option will be recorded.

The next Village Council meeting will be March 8, 2021 at a time and location yet to be determined.

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The Delta Lady Panthers are headed to the OHSAA Girls DIII Regional Tournament for the second time in three years after beating the Elmwood Lady Royals in a heart-stopping, nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat District Championship game that was not decided until a long and improbable shot fell short as the final buzzer sounded.  For the five seniors in the Class of 2021 that took the court to start the game, Ella Ford, Brooklyn Green, Reagan Rouleau, Braelyn Wymer and Brooklyn Wymer, it cemented their legacy as one of the most successful classes of girls’ basketball in the history of the Lady Panthers program.

There was not one point in the game where the Delta faithful had an opportunity to relax a bit and breathe easy.  The contest had four ties and nine lead changes with the largest Panther lead at three points and the largest Royals lead at six points.  Only after Braelyn Wymer was fouled with 2.9 seconds on the clock and the Panthers holding the thinnest of margins at 35-34, did Delta fans think “We just might win this.” 

Wymer calmly walked up to the line, shooed away teammates who had come over to give her encouragement, and swished both shots to give her team a 37-34 lead which would be the final score.  “I just wanted to pretend it was like any other free throw, it was just like practice,” said Braelyn.  “We actually talked about that in practice on Friday.  The coaches said if it comes down to that, it’s just like any other free throws.  Just put them in.”  Of course, they were not like any other shots she had ever taken in her career with so much on the line and the clutch conversions forced the Royals to heave the ball from so far away it never truly had a chance.

The Lady Panthers did not just defeat an ordinary opponent in the Elmwood Lady Royals.  Elmwood was the #1 seed in this District, were champions of the Northern Buckeye Conference (NBC) and had the best player in the NBC in Brooklyn Thrash, a six-foot junior who had broken the school’s all-time scoring record in the game before against the Swanton Lady Bulldogs.  They also had two front line players that measured out at 6’1” which negated a lot of inside scoring.  Delta, seeded at #3 also had to beat the #2 seeded Eastwood Lady Eagles just to face the Royals.

Elmwood held the lead after each of the first three quarters but the margins were always thin at 6-5, 19-17 and 23-20.  Every time the Royals seemed about to pull away, Braelyn would knock down one of her five three-pointers to keep her team close.  She added four foul shots on five attempts to lead all scorers with 19 points.  Overall, Delta saved their best for last by scoring 17 fourth-quarter points.  Green had four of her eight and Rouleau scored five of her six in the deciding period.  Thrash scored 16 points to lead the Lady Royals and Anna Barber added eight.

“It’s definitely bittersweet since it’s our last year, said Brooklyn Wymer.  This has always been a goal of ours since the beginning of the season and now that it’s come true it’s truly great.”  “Doing it together (seniors), twice now, it’s a great feeling,” added her sister Braelyn.

Obviously, it was a very special win for Delta Coach Ryan Ripke who has won a lot of games at the helm for the Panthers and never tires of cutting down nets.  “It was very special,” said Coach Ripke.  “After the District semi-final I told the girls, ‘You seniors won a District title two years ago and we did it by pressing teams from one end to the other for 32 minutes.  We’re a different team and you’ve made this team your own identity.  Now we’re winning different ways.  And I think that’s just special because these five seniors had a rough ending to last season and it’s just very special to come back this year and win a District Championship.

Delta will be facing a familiar foe at Regionals in the Ottawa-Glandorf Lady Titans who defeated the Lady Panthers earlier in the season and enter the game with a 23-2 record compared to Delta’s 17-6.  But there is no other place else this team would rather be.  “We’re looking forward to a rematch,” said Ripke.

Pictured:  Delta Lady Panthers –  2021 OHSAA Girls Basketball District Champions

Down by two points to the Swanton Bulldogs in the waning moments of the game, Brayden Miller of the Ottawa Hills Green Bears scored on a short jumper and the subsequent foul shot with 2.9 seconds on the clock to stun the Bulldogs 34-33 in the final of OHSAA Boys Sectional Tournament.  The Green Bears win sends them to the District Tournament where they will face the Archbold Blue Streaks at Toledo Central Catholic on Thursday, March 4^th at 7:30 pm.

The game was a defensive battle from the outset with the first points put on the board by way two free throws by Swanton’s Josh Vance at the 4:46 mark of the first quarter.  The Bears responded by scoring the next six points, four from senior center Eli VanSlooten, as the Bulldogs struggled to find the range.  Just before the end of the period, Cole Mitchey picked up a loose ball and streaked to the basket to score just as the buzzer sounded.

Ottawa Hills extended their lead to 10-4 before Trent Weigel drained back-to-back three-pointers to tie the score. The Bears got baskets from four different players in the period and Blake Szalapski battled underneath for two scores and the Bulldogs trailed 17-16 at the half.

Andrew Thorton was able to break into the scoring column in the third quarter with five points, helping Swanton take a 23-19 lead.  Ottawa Hills then scored the last six points on two buckets inside from VanSlooten and one from Caden Coy and led 25-23 going into the fourth quarter.

An inside bank shot by Thornton tied the game early in the fourth and another trey from Weigel put Swanton up 28-25.  There were several lead changes before two foul shots by Mitchey gave the Bulldogs a 32-29 lead with 30.5 seconds remaining.  The Bears cut the lead to one, 32-31 with 12.3 seconds on the clock and then fouled Vance on the inbound pass to send him to the line for the one-and-one opportunity.  He was able to make the first shot but missed the second and the Green Bears made the most of the opening when Miller made the tough inside basket while being fouled.

Weigel led the Bulldogs with 12 points, including three shots from downtown.  Thornton added eight points and Szalapski had four.  VanSlooten scored 12 points for the Green Bears.  Miller added seven and AJ George had six.

It was a heartbreaking season-ending loss for the Bulldogs and basketball career ending for Swanton’s four seniors, Szalapski, Thornton, Vance and Weigel.  The Bulldogs finished the year with a 14-10 record and a third-place finish in the NWOAL.  The defeat also brought an end to the outstanding high school cheerleading careers of seniors Jasmin Kenzie and Macie Rochelle. 

Pictured:  Trent Weigel shoots over Eli VanSlooten of Ottawa Hills

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Rebounding from a somewhat sluggish and uncharacteristically sloppy first half that yielded a slim four-point lead, the Delta Lady Panthers outscored the Eastwood Lady Eagles by 22 points in the second half to ride a 53-27 victory into the OHSAA Girls DIII District Championship game at Anthony Wayne High School.  The win by the #3-seeded Panthers over the #2-seeded Eagles sends Delta up against the #1-seeded Elmwood Lady Royals, a 55-39 winner over the Swanton Lady Bulldogs earlier in the evening.

The first five minutes of the game had all the markings of an easy win for the Panthers as they raced out to an 11-2 lead getting points from four of their five starters.  But just as quickly, a rash of Delta turnovers allowed the Eagles back into the game and the quarter ended with the Panthers on top 12-10.

Delta’s ball handling problems continued into the second quarter and Eastwood was able remain close.  Brooklyn Wymer made two free throws to push the lead to 20-16 when the horn sounded to end the first half. 

The Eagles forced another turnover to open the third quarter and hit a three-point shot to pull within one.  At this point, the Lady Panthers began to regroup and take control of the contest.  Braelyn Wymer was fouled attempting a shot from behind the arc and converted all three free throws.  She then connected on a three pointer and when Brooklyn Green netted a deep shot from the corner, Delta had their first double digit lead of the game at 32-21.  Reagan Rouleau drove inside for a lay-up with 8.5 seconds on the clock and the period ended with 34-21 advantage.

The fourth quarter was basically a shooting clinic put on by the Delta Lady Panthers as they scored 19 points, all from the field on baskets by seven different players.  The Panther defense held Eastwood to just six as Delta cruised down the stretch for the win.

Green captured game high scoring honors with 16 points while Rouleau added 13.  Braelyn Wymer scored 10 points and Ella Ford and Brooklyn Wymer had five points each.  Aubrey Haas scored 11 points for the Eagles and Kayla Buehler had seven.

Pictured:  Brooklyn Green shoots from inside the key.