Fulton County Ohio Media

The Swanton Bulldogs used deadly accurate outside shooting and heavy defensive pressure to take down the Genoa Comets 52-36 in the first round of the OHSAA Sectional Tournament played on Swanton’s home floor. Three seniors, Andrew Thorton, Josh Vance and Trent Weigel, took the court in the Kevin J. McQuade Gymnasium for the final time in their Bulldog basketball careers and did not disappoint the home crowd as they raced out to an early comfortable lead and cruised to a solid victory.

It took almost three minutes for either team to score until Thornton found the bottom of the net from long range to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead.  The Comets put in a lay-up to pull within one point but they would never come that close again for the rest of the contest.  A jumper from Vance, a steal and lay-up by Mitchey and short bank shot by Thornton propelled Swanton to a 10-0 run to close out the first quarter with a 13-2 advantage.

Genoa’s offense came alive in the second quarter and they were able to match Swanton’s scoring but could not significantly close the gap.   Skyler Jo drained a three-pointer to open the period and Jacob Emerson scored nine of his team-high 16 points, but two treys by Thornton and one by Vance kept the Comets at bay as they could only shave one point off their deficit and trailed 28-18 at halftime.

The Bulldogs essentially put the game away in the third quarter by opening with a 10-2 run.  Hayden Callicotte hit a short jumper from the baseline to start the spurt and Thornton swished his fourth shot from behind the arc and added a lay-up to give Swanton a 38-20 lead with 5:17 remaining in the third.  The quarter ended with a 17-point margin, 40-23, for the home team.

With approximately four minutes remaining in the game, Swanton had extended it’s lead to 21 points at 49-28 and Coach Joel Visser began to empty his bench.  Genoa was able to convert twice from deep late in the game to push the final score to 52-36.

Statistically, Thornton led all scorers with 21 points and Vance added 16.  Callicotte, Mitchey and Weigel each had four points for Swanton.  In addition to Emerson’s 16 points, Jo had eight for the Comets.  The win sends the Bulldogs to Ottawa Hills on Friday to take on the Green Bears for the Sectional title with a 7:00 pm start time.

Pictured:  Cole Mitchey drives the lane for a short shot.

Identical twins Aricka and Averie Lutz, star student-athletes on the soccer field and the basketball court, have signed Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at Tiffin University (TU) and will join the school’s soccer program.  In acquiring these players, the Lady Dragons are getting a packaged deal of two players that bring with them their own individual package of grit, determination, work ethic, focus and effort as well as athletic talent.

Their commitment to any sport they play starts at 100% and seems to rise from there.  “They definitely put their whole heart into everything they do, especially when it comes to sports.  Sports drives everything for them,” commented Swanton Girls Assistant Soccer Coach Kersten Davis.  “They are the prime example of leadership when it comes to sports or academics.  They lift up the team so much and they are definitely going to be missed next year but they have left enough of a good example that our girls will be able to take after them.”

The selection of TU will be somewhat of a homecoming for Averie and Aricka as their mother, Angie Belcher, hails from Tiffin and has immediate family, including her parents, still living in the area.  “They’re such homebodies.  They’re excited that they will be near family,” said Ms. Belcher.  “They will have relatives that haven’t seen them a lot will get to see them play and they get to go watch cousins play that go to Calvert (High School).”

As dynamic and successful as this Lutz duo is on soccer pitch, they bring an equally energetic and effective skill set to the basketball court.  “Their effort is second to none,” said Swanton Girls Head Basketball Coach Eric Oakes, describing Aricka and Averie’s work ethic.  “If you have a day off, they text you about shooting or getting extra lifting.  It’s

all season long.  “Their effort on the court, if you’ve ever watched them, they’ve made plays over their career that you don’t see girls make such as diving and taking charges.  At 5’2” they play much bigger.  They’re two girls that just get after it and love to compete in whatever sport they play.”

That effort has not gone unnoticed by opposing coaches who vote on post-season recognition awards.  Both Averie and Aricka have been honored multiple times in both sports.

Averie has been named First Team All-NWOAL in soccer twice and Second Team once and First Team All-District twice and Honorable mention once.  In basketball she was named First Team All-NWOAL once, Second Team once, Second Team All-District once and Honorable Mention All-District once.

Aricka has been named First Team All-NWOAL twice and Second Team once, First Team All-District twice and Honorable Mention once and Second Team All-Ohio twice.  In basketball she was named First Team All-NWOAL once, Second Team once, First Team All-District once and Honorable Mention once and Special Mention All-Ohio once.  In her junior season Aricka also won the NWOAL scoring title.

Team success has also followed the Tiffin University commits. The Lady Bulldogs won the NWOAL Soccer Championship this past fall and advanced to the District Finals before their season ended.  The Lady Basketball Bulldogs recently won an OHSAA Sectional Tournament Championship and have moved into the District Tournament. 

Pictured:  Aricka and Averie Lutz with mother, Angie Belcher and father, David Lutz

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KAm6ArMUTWBpaA869

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The Swanton Lady Bulldogs employed a smothering defense in the last three quarters against Archbold, holding the Lady Blue Streaks to 11 points, just one in the fourth quarter and walked off their home court as OHSAA Girls DIII Sectional Champions after a 39-24 victory.  Along with the title, the Bulldogs gained a measure of redemption after suffering a 47-40 NWOAL home loss to the Streaks earlier in the year.

Judging by the first quarter, the game looked it might develop into a shootout as both teams were connecting from outside, mainly from behind the arc.  Swanton drained five three pointers in the opening frame, two each from Averie Lutz and Aricka Lutz and one from Frankie Nelson.  Archbold got two triples from Addison Ziegler and two short jumpers from Harley Phillips and the quarter ended with the Bulldogs on top 16-13.

However, in the second quarter, both defenses began to assert themselves.  The Streaks only managed to score three points, on a basket from long range by Addison Moyer for a 16-16 tie at the 6:54 mark.  Swanton did not fare much better but did get two put backs by Katie Floyd and a lay-up from Averie Lutz for a 22-16 halftime lead.

Both teams still struggled offensively to start the second half.  The Bulldogs were only able to put up another six points and Kylie Sauder kept Archbold in the game by scoring all their seven points, including a three-pointer and pulled her team within five at 28-23.

Swanton was able to dominate the pivotal fourth quarter with their rotating zone defense, frustrating Archbold’s outside shooters and preventing the ball from being dumped down low to the front line.  Leah McQuade’s single free throw was the only score for the Streaks in the fourth while the Bulldogs racked up 11 points, seven from the foul line, to put the game on ice.

Aricka Lutz garnered scoring honors for the game with 17 points and Averie Lutz tossed in 11.  Nelson scored five points, Floyd had four and Alaina Pelland rounded out the Bulldog scoring with two.  Sauder’s seven third quarter points were the high for Archbold.  Ziegler had six point, Moyer and Phillips scored four each and McQuade had three.

The loss ends the season for the Lady Blue Streaks as they finish with an even 11-11 record.  Meanwhile, Swanton improves to 16-8 and moves on to the DIII District Tournament.  The Lady Bulldogs will face the top-seeded Elmwood Lady Royals at Anthony Wayne High School on Thursday, February 25^th at 5:30 pm.

The lead-in to the Archbold at Wauseon boys’ basketball game Friday night had everything you could ask for in regular season-ending matchup.  Two talented long-time rivals tied at the top of the league standings with unblemished 6-0 records meeting to decide who would wear the NWOAL Crown for the 2020-2021 season. 

For the first three quarters and two minutes into the fourth, the contest was equal to the pre-game hype as the visiting Blue Streaks and the Indians battled back and forth.  Four times the game was tied and six times the lead changed hands and it appeared the outcome would come down to a final shot. 

However, with just over six minutes remaining and the score knotted at 33, Archbold’s DJ Newman hit a 10-foot jumper over Wauseon’s Connar Penrod, Trey Theobald put in a lay-up and Alex Roth scored on a short bank shot to give the Streaks a quick six-point lead.  The scoring burst continued, leading to a 19-4 run to give the Blue Streaks a 52-37 victory and the NWOAL Championship. 

The 15-point margin was in no way indicative of how close the game truly was.  Archbold held leads of five, one and two points at the end of each of the first three quarters respectively, but Wauseon struggled on the offensive end in the fourth and the Streaks took full advantage.

Newman’s 21 points led all scorers with most of the damage coming in the first three periods.  Roth took over the Archbold scoring duties in the fourth, racking up 11 of his 14 points and Ashton Kammeyer added nine.  Penrod topped Wauseon with 12 points, Isaac Wilson had nine and Tester Jones scored eight.

With the title victory, the Blue Streaks finishes the league schedule at 7-0 and moves to 18-4 for the season.  The Indians drop to 6-1 in the NWOAL for second place and 17-4 overall.  Next on the schedule for both teams is the OHSAA tournament.  Archbold will host the winner of the Delta-Liberty Center on February 27th at 7:30 PM. Wauseon will host the winner of Wapakoneta versus Celina on February 26th at 7:00 pm.

Aricka Lutz (pictured) sank 12 of 13 free throws, 11 of them coming in the crucial fourth quarter and the Lady Bulldogs were 16 of 19 overall in a 43-32 victory over the Liberty Center Lady Tigers in the first round of the Girls DIII Sectional Tournament played in Swanton.  The teams were playing in their third game against each other with each school winning on the opponent’s home floor.  However, the stakes were higher in this contest with only the winner able to continue the season.

The game was tight throughout most of the first half with the teams tied at seven apiece after the first quarter and again at 16 all with under a minute remaining in the second.  Just before the end of the half, Averie Lutz was fouled driving to the basket and made both foul shots and Aricka followed that with a lay-up and a foul for a three-point play and a 21-16 Swanton lead as the teams headed for the locker room.

An early basket by Katie Floyd and a three-point shot by Sami Taylor, her second of the game, eventually led to the Bulldogs opening up a nine-point lead halfway through the third quarter.  The Tigers were able to trim that deficit to four before Swanton bumped it back up to six, 28-22, as the quarter ended.

The Bulldogs were able to slowly grow the margin back to nine with foul shots and finally to double digits, 37-27, on a free throw from Maddie Peluso.  Liberty Center began to intentionally foul to get back in the game, but they fouled Aricka Lutz every time who shot 93.3% for the game, which effectively sealed the victory and allowed the Lady Bulldogs to move on.

Aricka’s 23 points led all scorers.  Taylor added seven points while Floyd and Frankie Nelson had four each.  The Lady Tigers were led on the scoresheet by Samantha Graber with 12 points, on four shots from long range.  Cassidy Chappa scored seven points and Alyssa Giesige had four.

The Liberty Center loss ends their season with a 13-9 record.  Swanton improves to 15-8 and will face the Archbold Lady Blue Streaks, a 29-27 Sectional winner over Wauseon, this Saturday, February 21, at 7:00 PM in Swanton’s Kevin McQuade Gymnasium.

The Village of Swanton recently purchased a 2020 Suphten Fire Engine, manufactured in Urbana, Ohio, to replace the aging 2000 Pierce Sabre model which is in the process of being sold.  The new engine is described as “well rounded” by Swanton Fire Chief Anthony Schaffer in explaining its versatility, serving as a rescue vehicle as well as a state-of-the-art firefighting engine.

“The new fire engine will be used as a rescue pumper or rescue engine so it will be used not only for fire related incidents but also for rescues with extrication equipment (Jaws of Life) and other tools like that to get people out of cars or vehicles,” said Chief Schaffer.  “It will also be equipped with some HazMat materials and equipment.  There’s more compartment space on this truck compared to other trucks we’ve had.”

The Chief also explained that this truck is expected to be on the “front lines” of service for approximately 8-10 years and then serve as a reserve vehicle.  “What we’re trying to do here is to replace trucks before their value is so low that we’re not getting anything out of them,” he said.  “Twenty years here should be the maximum for a truck or engine.”

The initial cost for the new truck was $509,000, which was a lower price, negotiated when Suphten wanted to use the engine as a demonstration model to display at other fire departments.  The demonstration period also allowed for any “kinks” to be worked out and modifications were made to the engine before it was delivered to Swanton.

There is still some more work to be done on the truck before it will be ready to help protect the community.  “It will need around $50,000 worth of (additional) equipment,” said the Chief.  “A third party is going to be mounting the equipment and designing some of the compartments for organization and ease of use.  We’ll be able to store more equipment and make it more functional.”

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused some manufacturing delays in supplying the additional equipment required for the new Swanton Fire Engine 703 to be put into service.  Chief Schaffer estimates the truck to be available to the SFD sometime in April.

On the positive side, astute financial planning by Fiscal Officer Jennifer Harkey, allowed for the funds for the new equipment to be budgeted instead of requiring the Village to take out a loan.

Pictured:  Swanton Fire Engine 703 set to debut in April