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Swank on Sports
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Centerburg Trojans High School Athletics
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Centerburg
Opens Defense of “KMAC” Title Click
here to an interview with coach Andy Colella
Centerburg is the defending Knox Morrow Athletic Conference champion
and they begin defense of that title on Friday night at home against the
East Knox Bulldogs.
They lost their second straight game last week when they fell to
Worthington Christian (31-13) last Friday.
Coach Andy Colella says they couldn’t get anything game going on
offense. “That was a tough
week for us. Worthington
Christian is playing good football right now with a lot of confidence.
We hung with them for about three quarters, three and half quarters.
We just couldn't really get anything going together on offense.
Didn't really have too much of a rhythm there and it ended up
catching up with us there at the end,” said Colella.
East Knox (3-0,0-0) was unbeaten in non-league games after a (33-0)
win over Tusky Valley last Friday.
Colella says the Bulldogs play aggressive football.
“They're also playing with a lot of confidence.
You can just tell by the way that the kids are playing.
When you watch film there's a lot of energy there.
Running around playing good, hard football,” he told
Swankonsports.com Monday evening. “They're aggressive on defense, they
like to get after it. On
offense, they're efficient, get some explosive plays, they have get some
nice skill guys and a quarterback back there that can distribute the ball
and make plays.”
Colella says Friday night they have to score points in they are going
to win that football game. “Score
some points. We've been
struggling with that the last couple of weeks and really getting confidence
back. We left them Saturday with
the idea that it's a fresh start going into conference play.
It’s something that we're familiar with, the kids are familiar
with. So, hopefully that can
kind of regenerate some energy moving forward here into conference play,”
he said. Published 9/08/26 © Swankonsports.com “Your First Source for All Things Sports” “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Centerburg
Needs to Respond Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Colella
Centerburg will be at home for the first time this year as they
entertain Worthington Christian in a non-league contest on Friday night.
They were belted (50-0) by Johnstown-Monroe last week.
Coach Andy Colella says they need to respond on Friday.
He says last week didn’t go well.
“It didn't and that's part of life sometimes and part of football.
Johnstown's really good football program.
Coach Carter does a great job over there with that.
We knew it would be a tall task.
There are several things that just didn't go our way.
You try to learn from those things and move forward.
We were in a similar situation last year and we were able to bounce
back and rattle off some wins. A
lot of those kids are sitting in that locker room, so they've experienced
that before. They've seen the
correct way to respond to a situation like that and sometimes in life you
need to butt kicked a little bit to kind of wake you up.
So, it could be used as a positive thing for sure,” said Colella.
Colella says in football there is always the next chance to succeed.
“I think we have these illusions sometimes that everything's going
to be perfect or it has to be perfect and that's not how things go.
Football and life kind of coincide with one another.
There's situations that arise that don't go your way.
As much as you prepare and plan for them it’s just part of it.
So, learning how to handle that and move forward from it I think is
really important,” he said.
Worthington Christian (2-0) smoked Bexley (31-12) last week.
Colella says they aren’t fancy, but they do things well.
“They're a good football team.
They have a new coaching staff this year.
They do some really nice things on both sides of the ball.
This isn't a negative thing by any stretch of the imagination, but
they're very simple and basic. but it allows their kids to play really,
really well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “What they
do they do well. They have some
nice athletes on offense. They
distribute the ball, they're explosive athletes.
Some of the things we've been trying to key on and try to prepare for
on that side of the ball. Defensively,
the same thing. They like to
bring a little bit of pressure and those same guys play on special teams as
well. So, they've blocked a
couple kicks this year, they've had some nice returns.
So, it'll be quite a challenge for us.” Published 9/03/26 © Swankonsports.com “Your First Source for All Things Sports” “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM |
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Centerburg
to face Physical Johnstown Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Colella
Centerburg heads for Johnstown-Monroe for a non-conference match up
on Friday night.
Last week, they turned a tie game at halftime into a (35-14) route of
Utica on the opening night.
Coach Andy Colella says they turned it around in the second two
quarters of the game. “We had
some typical kind of first week situations in there.
We had some new faces. The
first time a guy is playing a full four quarters, but I thought once we
settled in, particularly in the second half, really in all phases of the
game, we've played pretty well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday
evening, “Just really proud of the kids of how they kind of hung in there
you know through that kind, I mean it wasn't a lull, but the first half
there. Credit to Utica as well.
They have some really good football players, tough, physical kids.
That was kind of the style of the first half.
We were able to open it up offensively and defensively came with a
little bit different attitude in the second half.”
The hay is in the barn so to speak with practice over for the week
and Colella feels they had a good week of preparation.
“Johnstown offers some unique challenges that we have had to
prepare for and I think we have had a good week of practice,” he said.
Johnstown belted Vermilion (34-14) last week in their first game.
Colella says the Johnnies are going to be physical in their approach
to the game. “They have a well
established program under coach (Mike) Carter.
He's been there for quite a while.
They have a style of play that's unique in terms of what you see
offensively, but it really comes down to the physicality and the
aggressiveness with which they play. That's
something that you're always going to get when you face them.
Their system kind of tailors to those kinds of kids.
So, we know it's going to be a physical, tough football game.
We have ways to try to exploit in our minds kind of that style of
play. We'll see how that turns
out for us,” said Colella. Published 8/28/26 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard Friday night For constant updates beginning at the kick At www.swankonsportshosting247.com Your First Source for All Things Sports |
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Centerburg
Excited About Game One Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Colella
Centerburg won the competitive Knox Morrow Athletic Conference last
year and they start this season in non-conference play at Utica on Friday
night.
Coach Andy Colella says they feel pretty good about their
preparedness heading into week one of the season.
“Yeah, pretty happy with how we did and how the kids did. I
think we had a plan and we accomplished what our plan was to get out of that
scrimmage. It was against
Columbus Academy, so obviously they're a premier program in Central Ohio.
We feel that we did pretty well against them considering the
circumstances. We should get a
couple kids back this week that we haven't had in a few weeks.
So, we feel pretty good. It's
always a time for optimism with the beginning of the season.
There's not a whole lot that's better than high school football, so
we're super excited,” said Colella.
Being defending champions the Trojans have a target on their backs,
but Colella says pressure is a privilege.
“That's the truth and we know that.
We talk about it, so our kids are aware of it, but also at the same
time it's a new team, it's a different year, different circumstances,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “In the same breath, we do
tell our kids that it's a product of the work that they've put in and then
the product of the work that kids before them have put in to put us in that
conversation and category. So,
it's something that not maybe a whole lot of people get to experience and
it’s something to kind of embrace and be thankful for the fact that we're
in a good spot right now.”
Centerburg has one of the best backs in the area in Miles Marshall.
He was all-Swankonsports.com last fall in our small school division.
The Trojans smoked Utica (34-0) in their opener last year.
Colella says they need to stop the quarterback run game and handle
the attacking Utica defense. “They’re
always a tough opponent week one. They've
got kids that play super hard they, they're going to present some different
challenges, they have got a really good quarterback and a receiver that's
going to create some mismatches because of his size.
They like to run the quarterbacks and that has a different element
their offense. Then on defense,
they're pretty aggressive and like to come after you.
So, that's something that we have got to work on.
We struggled with that before, but it gives us something to kind of
focus on as we move forward through the week,” he said. Published 8/18/26 © Swankonsports.com “Your First Source for All Things Sports” “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM |
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Centerburg
Expects to Excell Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Colella
Centerburg is the defending champion in the Knox Morrow Athletic
Conference and it appears they can be pretty good again this year.
Coach Andy Colella says they have some good experience back and also
some kids new to varsity football. “A
little bit of both, we have about half back on both sides of the ball and
some guys who played a lot of football games over the last couple years.
Jackson Ballinger and Miles Marshall and Clarke Redd, one of our linemen,
our lone returning offensive lineman, but he's been started since he was a
freshman. So, we will lean on
those guys who've been around you know for a couple years and have
experienced that success on Friday night will be really important for us
early on to kind of get the other guys up to speed,” he said.
Colella says this is a group is has gotten better as we get closer to
the regular season. “There has
been a lot of growth with the group that we have had.
Their willingness to work and be coachable.
You're not sure what you're going to get, but we scrimmaged on
Friday, this past Friday, and there was just a lot of energy and a lot of
fight from our guys. Offensively,
when you lose four starting offensive linemen you're not really sure kind of
what you're going to get there. In
the end, was really impressed with how they played and the physicality with
which they played with. The
execution, and some of those other things, are going to take care of itself
as they get more experience there. So,
yeah, it's been a good camp and summer so far,” said Colella.
The Trojans first game with be next Friday at Utica in non-conference
play. Their first game in
defense of the “KMAC” title will be September 11 at home against East
Knox.
Colella says they understand expectations are high, but they don’t
mind that. “They always are
for us. We feel that we should
be competing at the top of the league every year, that's kind of where we
have our standards set and kind of what we work towards,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Last year's done and over with
though. It's a completely
different team. You have some of
those kids back, but the makeup of your locker room is different.
So, how well do those kids gel together.
What's your leadership like. All
of those things are big factors. A
lot of those kids have had success, but it’s a different year.
Every team in the league's different, and there's a lot of really
good coaches, and some highly competitive teams that you're going to face
week in and week out.” Published 8/12/26 © Swankonsports.com “Your First Source for All Things Sports” “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM |
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Centerburg
Beats Rival Fredericktown
Centerburg battled back from an early deficit and beat rival
Fredericktown (9-5) in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game on Tuesday
evening.
Centerburg coach Josh Moss says beating the Freddies is always good.
“This is a game that I think both teams are fired up for every year
whether it's football, basketball, or baseball. Freddy’s
and Trojans, both teams want to go at it, both teams want to win.
I thought it was a good game. We
kind of had a shaky start. They
scored four in the first inning. I
think they have four or five hits in that first inning.
We answered back with three. Then
our pitcher Dustin Parker kind of locked in and threw a shutout the rest of
the way. They scored a fifth run
late in the seventh. Kind of got
in a little bit of a two out jam. Overall,
I thought our guys played well. We
get to go again (Wednesday) and then in about 10 more days we'll maybe do it
in the tournament. They have to
play Elgin first. We played them
three times last year and it looks like it may happen again this year,”
said Moss.
Fredericktown coach Ryan Hathaway says they have to be more
fundamental. “We must have
better at bats in the middle innings and be tough outs at the plate.
Defensively, we have to make routine plays and not give up extra
bases,” he said.
Moss felt it was important for them to get back in the game right
away. “We're a young team this
year. (Tuesday) night was our
senior night. We only have two
seniors and we've got four freshmen in the starting lineup right now.
So, when you have that youth and that inexperience.
Varsity baseball is different for these guys from 14U, middle school
baseball. So, to see the young
guys show some resilience. It's
on you right now, first inning, you're down 4-0, and what are you going to
do? So, for us to answer back
with three in the bottom of the first and chip away layer and the chip away
again. Really proud of the guys,
for just one staying locked in and two not giving up.
No quit, we're always in the fight,” he said.
Centerburg (13-6,8-5) has the rematch with Fredericktown (11-11,6-7)
on Wednesday.
Moss says games like this are going to prepare for the tournament and
just good for their young kids. “You
and I talked earlier in the year and I said it could ne one of four teams I
think could win this thing. East
Knox, obviously, has only got the one loss, but everybody else is
essentially split with one another the whole way through.
Being in tight games where you have got to execute late in the game
with something on the line,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night,
“All of those things have been great things for not just tournament prep,
but again just for our young guys tp go through that experience.
We've lost six games this year and out of those six, four of them
have been one run games we had the lead in the last inning, so for it to
bounce our way (Tuesday) night just felt really good to pull one of those
out where we had to hold on late to get it done.” Published 5/13/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports”
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Centerburg
Gets Past Danville
Centerburg edged Danville (9-7) Tuesday night to sweep the Blue
Devils in their Knox Morrow Athletic Conference series this week.
Coach Josh Moss says they responded late to get the win.
“(Tuesday) night was a good one. I
felt like every time we had a little bit of momentum on our side the
Ridgeway kid from Danville just figured out a way to get out of it and his
defense makes some plays behind him when they needed to.
A couple balls in the gap that they ran down, a couple big plays in
the infield they just made some plays when they absolutely had to.
It was just one of those tooth and nail kind of performances where we
just had to find a way at the end and (Tuesday) night it worked our way
late, not so much early, but late the ball bounced our direction,” he
said.
Moss says it seemed like early they couldn’t do anything right, but
they stayed patient. “(Tuesday)
night was one of those, and I don't mean this to take anything away, but we
balked a run home, we had three errors defensively, we couldn't get a bunt
down to save our lives. We did
not execute on some of those moments where guys have executed in the past
and to their credit they took advantage of our miscues,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “They kind of started working for us.
I think our guys were great about staying confident, staying up
staying in it the entire time and staying engaged.
It could have very easily went the other way when we get second and
third in a 4-2 game and don’t score. Those
are some big moments where it could have went the other way from a mental
standpoint and it didn’t. Credit
our kids they stayed locked in the whole time.”
A couple of other contenders who won Monday, lost Tuesday.
Fredericktown lost (8-3) to Mt. Gilead and Northmor lost (4-3) to
Cardington.
Centerburg (3-0,2-0) is the defending league champion and Moss feels
this year it is going to come down to those second series matchups, like
Tuesday. “I think every team
has at least one good number one pitcher that can beat anybody on any given
night. It's just going to come
down to that second game. How do
you play defensively? How do you do the little things? (Tuesday) night was a
prime example. We throw our
number one (Monday) night against their number two and it went our way.
(Tuesday) night they threw their one against our two and it was a
tight game for six and half innings and it finally clicked and went our way.
When we first talked you asked me about the league this year.
I would not be surprised if we have a two loss or three loss
champion. I think our league is
deep and we have got a lot of good coaches a lot of good pitchers in our
conference this year,” said Moss. Published 4/01/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports” |
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Centerburg
With New Faces
Centerburg, the defending Know Morrow Athletic Conference champion,
will have a somewhat inexperienced team this spring.
Coach Josh Moss says they understand well that this is a new season.
“We try not to focus or talk a lot about last year and I think our
seniors, we have two seniors this year, I think something they're
consistently doing is reminding our guys that this team hasn't earned
anything yet. This team hasn't
done anything yet. So, they're
doing a good job of pushing the guys every day.
Showing up and getting some work done.
A lot of new faces, a lot of young guys.
So, I think for us it's going to depend on how quick we can get
everybody up to speed and how quick some of those young guys and new faces
can get into their new roles if you will,” said Moss.
Moss says this year it has been important to get a lot of innings in
during the preseason. “We
scheduled four scrimmages. Typically,
I try to do three and hold one back. You
never know if you need one in the tournament.
This year I said I want to get four in.
We lost one to Mother Nature,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday evening, “We're hoping we get all these early games in, our non
league games, before league season starts.
It's so unpredictable early in the year if we're going to get
consistent play or not and you're forced inside to the gym if you're not
outside on the field.”
The Trojans are scheduled to plat River Valley Friday and Marion
Elgin Saturday before beginning league play with Danville next week, but we
will see what the weather says about that.
Centerburg in the near future is going to have a new baseball field
and that puts a smile on the coach’s face.
“We got approval for a new baseball field. It'll
be over on campus. Right now,
we're at the elementary school over on Preston Street.
Being over on campus right by the softball field is really exciting. I'm
really happy for the boys. It's
been a few years in the making and our administration, our leadership, has
been great with all of that. Our
booster club, our parent group, has been great with all that.
So, really excited to break ground and get started,” said Moss. Published 3/27/26 © Swankonsports.com “Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 PM to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM “Your first choice for All Things Sports” |
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Centerburg
Has to Play Complete Game
Conference champions collide on Friday night as Centerburg hosts
Colonel Crawford in a division VI regional semifinal.
The Trojans were outright champions of the Knox Morrow Athletic
Conference and the Eagles shared the Northern 10 Athletic Conference with
Carey.
Centerburg (10-1) got past Ridgewood (28-14) last week.
Coach Andy Colella says they responded well to the challenge they
were given. “Particularly in
the second half once we kind of got settled in and just adapted to the speed
and the physicality with which they did things and how they were trying to
do it. Even on offense.
We had a three and out to start, and there was another one I think
sprinkled in there, but we were able to move the ball fairly well on the
ground and through the air. We
didn't quite rack up as many points, but we held the ball a little bit
longer than what we typically do. So,
I think we did respond really well,” said Colella.
Crawford (11-1) made at least three big plays for scores in a (42-8)
win over Mt. Gilead in a quarterfinal.
Colella says they show a lot of balance on offense.
“They're very explosive on offense.
They have a couple quarterbacks they use.
Their wide receiver is extremely fast.
They have a nice, big running back that carries a load inside for
them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They're able to
spread it around. Take some
shots down the field. They take
quite a few of them. Then
defensively, they kind of keep things in front and play solid defense in
that phase. Their special teams
are explosive, just like their offense is. So,
it'll be quite the challenge for us.”
Payne DeGray is the “N10” defensive player of year.
Colella says they have to know where he is, but the whole defense is
solid. “All the guys up front.
They're really solid football players.
You don't get to this point without having lots of those kind of guys
there, but you want to know where he is at and try to do some things that
manipulate some of those kind of things,” he said.
In games like this the kicking game and turnovers become even bigger
and Colella says they have to understand their significance.
“When you get to this point you try to preach those things all year
to your kids and hopefully they kind of take to it.
You talk about those things and in hopes of maybe getting to a point
like this when those things are extremely important that they've brought in
throughout the season to the significance of special teams and turnovers and
being able to control the clock and all those things that sound kind of
cliché, but they're absolutely 100% true in determining games like this,”
said Colella. Published 11/11/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Centerburg
Refreshed, Ready
Centerburg, the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference champion, plays at
home Friday night against Ridgewood in a division VI regional quarterfinal.
The Trojans (9-1), #1 in the final Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the small school division, earned a bye with the top seed in region
23.
Coach Andy Colella says that ended up being good for them.
“I wasn't sure what to think of it to begin with, but I kind of
enjoyed it a little bit. It kind
of gave you a little bit of a break from kind of the grind of the season.
We gave our kids off a couple days.
Last Monday and then the weekend off and lightened up practice a
little bit. The idea is to kind
of recharge and refresh I think. So,
we tried to do that and we'll see how it works out this Friday,” said
Colella.
Ridgewood (9-2) downed Newcomerstown (28-6) in an opening round game.
The Generals are making their 20th playoff appearance.
Colella says this is a solid football team.
“They're a really good football program.
They're really good football team this year.
They play with a lot of energy and effort. I
think that's the first thing that sticks out.
They're a little bit smaller than what they've traditionally are, but
they make up for it in how aggressive they are and how fast they are.
So, it'll present some challenges for us for sure,” he said.
Colella says the Generals are going to try to possess the ball by
running it and taking time off the clock, something they are used to this
year. “They are primarily run.
They'll throw it when they have to.
They're similar to some of the teams in our league where they like to
kind of bleed out the clock, limit possessions, those kind of things,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We're somewhat familiar with
that. They just do it in a
little bit different way, but everybody does that to some degree.” Published 11/05/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Centerburg
Goes for Outright Title
Centerburg wins the outright title in the Knox Morrow Athletic
Conference if they can win at Fredericktown on Friday night.
If the Freddies win, they will share the title with Centerburg and
maybe Mt. Gilead too.
Centerburg (8-1,6-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the small school division, smoked East Knox (59-6) last week to earn
a share of the title.
Coach Andy Colella says that was only the first part of their goal.
“It was part one, I was really happy with the way that the kids
played last week. We got off to a fast start and those have typically worked
out pretty well for us. Just
proud of how they kind of handled the whole situation there and I'm looking
forward to this week,” he said.
The Trojans ran for 481 yards and only threw five passes last week.
Fredericktown (8-1,5-1) beat Danville (33-18) last week in the “KMAC”.
Big Gavin Toombs was moved to fullback and scored four times.
Colella says they run the ball a lot, but they can throw it too.
“They're well coached, obviously coach (Scott) Spitler and his
track record speaks for itself. Their
style of offense. They like to
run the football. I think that's
well documented and well known, but one of the things they are good at is
timely screens and counters and when they do throw the football they are
effective at it,” he told Swankonsports.com Wednesday evening, “They do
a really good job of mixing those things in a timely fashion there to keep
you guessing there a little bit. Defensively,
they fly around. They give you a
couple different looks there. Special
teams as well. So, you don't get
to the record that they have without being able to do those things really
well.”
Colella says you have to work hard and be fundamental if you are
going to contain that offense. “That's
one of the most difficult things about it is there's a lot of bodies that
are moving. So, for the kids to
figure out who has the football sometimes could be tricky.
You really have to study their scheme and where they like to hit the
plays. When you watch other
teams defend them. I think the
teams who are most aggressive on the edges have had the most success, and up
front too. Kind of blow back the
offensive line and do those kinds of things.
So, you want to get them stopped before they get started.
Once you get those four or five bodies rolling through there, it's
really difficult to stop,” said Colella. Published 10/23/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Centerburg
Goes for a Share
Centerburg has the opportunity Friday night to seize no less than a
share of the title in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference if they can win at
East Knox against the Bulldogs.
They currently own a one game lead on Fredericktown, who they play
next week, and Mt. Gilead.
They beat Danville (44-14) last week in league action.
Coach Andy Colella says they got off to a slow start, but played much
better in the second half. “It
was done a little bit differently than maybe what we had the past couple of
weeks. Offensively, we struggled
in the first half a little bit and that's credit to Danville and their
defensive game plan and their coaching staff.
We scored twice on defense and once special teams, so those phases
kind of picked up the slack,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
night, “Came out with a little bit different attitude in the second half
and got the ball rolling on offense there a little bit.
One of the things too we were limited possession wise. I
think we had maybe seven possessions in the game total.
Our first two drives of the game.
The first plays of those drives we had penalties, one of which was a
90 yard touchdown called back. So,
it kind of worked through some lumps there at the beginning, but our kids
did a great job of readapting and figuring it out.
They played really well in the second half.”
Centerburg (7-1,5-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the small school division, plays over at East Knox (1-7,1-4) on
Friday night. The Bulldogs lost
(28-19) to Fredericktown last week.
Colella says they have a fine quarterback in Jax Lester.
“They like to throw the ball around.
The quarterback has plenty of experience he's good at putting the
ball where he wants to put it. So,
we'll have our hands full on the back end and create pressure up front.
It'll be a good challenge for us.
We haven't seen a whole lot of that this year with the styles of the
other teams in the league. So, it would be a little bit different pace of
game,” he said.
Colella says their goal is to win and claim a portion of that title
on Friday night. “We talked
with our kids about that this week. This
is part one this week to have an opportunity to win the whole thing you have
to take care of what's in front of you right now, so that's what we're
focused on. It’s an exciting
time for our kids. They've
worked super hard to get to this point.
They're ready to go, they can't wait,” said Colella. Published 10/16/25 © Swankonsports.com Your first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Centerburg
Using its Athletes
Centerburg, the leader in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, plays
at home against Danville in a conference game this week.
They amassed 382 total yards and scored 32 points in the first
quarter in hammering previously unbeaten Mt. Gilead (46-0) in a conference
game last week.
Coach Andy Colella says they got rolling early.
“I thought our kids responded really well.
Got off to a fast start that was what we were shooting for and
fortunately it happened for us. Then
we were able to kind of use the momentum there to kind of keep rolling there
through the rest of the game. Both
sides of the ball played really well. Special
teams did as well. When you can
have a performance like that you got to have all three phases clicking
together and I thought our kids did a great job,” said Colella.
Quarterback Bline Ball is the total offense leader in the “KMAC”
with 946 passing yards and 817 rushing yards.
Colella says he gives them a lot of options.
“He makes really good decisions, so that helps tremendously and his
ability to be able to run you know opens up quite a bit and allows us to be
able to spread the football out because you have the key him in the run game
as well as our other running back Miles Marshall and then you have to try to
defend the guys on the outside as well.
So, it's a nice collection of pieces to be able to work with,” he
said.
Centerburg (6-1,4-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the small school division, has Danville (4-3,2-2) on Friday night.
The Blue Devils smoked Cardington (36-12) last week.
Colella says the Danville will be a different kind of challenge for
them. “Obviously, their
tradition speaks for itself. Coach
(Matt) Bloom has done a great job up there.
He's got their kids playing really well right now.
Typically, those kids get better as the season goes on, which you
know attributes to their playoff runs that they've had over the last several
years,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “You have got to
be ready for them. They can
spread the ball out. They've got
some nice pieces as well. I
think for us defensively the last three weeks we played primarily run teams.
I'm interested and curious to see how our kids are able to defend a
spread type team where they're able to get in multiple formations and move
around and distribute the football. Offensively,
from their defensive perspective they like to bring pressure and all that
kind of stuff, so be a little bit different challenge for us as well.” Published 10/10/25 © Swankonsports.com Follow our scoreboard for Constant updates on Friday nights At www.swankonsportshosting247.com Your first source for all things sports |
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Centerburg
Defense Has to Get off the Field
Sole possession of first place is on the line in the Knox Morrow
Athletic Conference on Friday night as Centerburg hosts Mt. Gilead.
Both are unbeaten in the league.
Centerburg (5-1,3-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the large school division, took care of Cardington (47-7) last week
in “KMAC” action.
Coach Andy Colella says they took a business like approach to the
game. “That's the plan.
That's what we tell our kids and have they responded well to that.
Really kind of set the tone at the beginning putting the pressure on
the other teams. We just kind of
had a solid night from that point forward,” he said.
Miles Marshall ran for 195 yards and four scores.
Mt. Gilead (6-0,3-0), #4 in our poll, hammered East Knox (39-7) last
week.
Colella says Mt. Gilead isn’t fancy, but they are big and physical.
“They're big and they like to run the football and they know that,
that's what they hang their hat on. They're
not shy about it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “Part
of that too is keeping the ball away from us or their opponents.
You've got to be creative with how you get the ball back and what
you're doing on defense in order to be able to do that otherwise they're
going to consume as much time you know as possible.
So, that's a big challenge for us.”
Mt. Gilead ran for 264 yards last week.
Colella says they want to put the Indians in bad down and distance
situations. “We told our kids
this week you get to that point by winning first down.
If you get them off schedule on first down that puts them in those
uncomfortable situations that they would rather not be in.
Then you get to those third and long situations and you have a better
chance of getting them off the field,” said Colella.
The Centerburg coach says they have to be patient when they have to
the ball and try not to force things. “We
just talked about that (Wednesday) actually.
You can't get frustrated or can't get off your own schedule of what
you want to do because of that,” he said. Published 10/02/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Centerburg
Focused on Cardington
Centerburg takes its act to Cardington to take on the Pirates in play
on Friday night in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
They pounded Loudonville (41-0) in league action last week.
Coach Andy Colella says they played very well on both sides of the
ball. “I'm really proud of the
way that we played in terms of execution coming off the week before highly
emotional, energetic game with Northmor.
Trying to replicate that sometimes is difficult to be able to do, but
I thought from that execution standpoint on both sides of the ball I was
pretty pleased. We were able to
run the football really well. We
had I think over 400 yards. Then
defensively we were able to keep them out of the end zone.
So, all in all it was a pretty solid performance,” said Colella.
Centerburg (4-1,2-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the small school division, will travel to Cardington (3-2,1-1) on
Friday night. The Pirates edged
East Knox (36-35) last week.
Colella says Cardington has some explosiveness.
“They have got a lot of guys coming back from last year.
I think the top rusher in the league.
So, we'll have our hands full trying to contain them.
The quarterback is are really good runner as well.
They have got some big guys up front on both sides of the ball,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “It'd be a good challenge for
us. Offensively, to be able to
move the ball around a little bit I think would be important for us.
It's kind of been a point of emphasis.
Defensively, running the wing T you have got lots of motions and
different things there. So,
being disciplined on that side of the ball is important.”
Centerburg has unbeaten Mt. Gilead on the schedule next week.
Colella says their focus is only on Cardington this week.
“We try to keep the focus on where we're at right now.
We'll worry about that when the time comes.
I'm sure it's probably in the back of the minds, but we don't get to
that point if we don't take care of business this week,” he said. Published 9/24/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Centerburg
Not Satisfied
Centerburg will be at home this week for the Loudonville Redbirds in
play in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
They outscored defending conference champion Northmor (44-27) last
week in their conference opener. Miles
Marshall scored four times.
Coach Andy Colella says they got off to a good start in the game.
“We were pretty pleased with our performance.
Northmor and coach (Scott) Armrose have done a tremendous job since
he's been there, so we have a lot of respect for him and his coaches and his
players and what they do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night,
“So, when you have a well coached football team like that they don't make
a lot of mistakes and you have got to capitalize when you have the
opportunity to and we felt like we were able to do that.
We got off to a good start, which helped, and kind of put them behind
a little bit, so they had to play catch up.
We threw punches back and forth and fortunately we were able to come
out on top.”
Colella says the Trojans (3-1,1-0) have played well this season, but
they are not satisfied. “It's
that's kind of the way that we approached (Monday).
Going back and looking at the film there were a lot of things that we
could have done better. We
turned the ball over four times, we gave up a kickoff return, we had some
untimely penalties. You have got
to make sure that you start off the week on the right foot.
You're proud of what you did, but it's time to move on.
You have a new challenge this week, so that's kind of our
approach,” said Colella.
Loudonville (2-2,0-1) lost last week (27-12) to East Knox in
conference play.
Colella says this is a run first kind of team they are facing.
“Coach (Ed) Honabarger took over last year and if anybody knows his
track record it’s a really good one. So,
they're going to be well coached. Their
game plan is to run the football and as much as they can.
They can spread it out throw if they want to, but you can tell just
by watching some of the previous games that's what they want to do,” he
said. Published 9/16/25 © Swankonsports.com You first source for all things sports “Out of Bounds” Fridays 10 to midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Centerburg
Rallies Past Northridge
Centerburg, the “KMAC” champion, battled some adversity and came
from behind to beat Johnstown Northridge (9-6) in a division V district
semifinal on Tuesday evening.
Coach Joss Moss says frankly it was a terrible day to play baseball
in Knox County. “For those
that weren't in attendance this may have been one of the sloppiest, I don't
mean play wise, just field condition wise games that I've ever coached or
been a part of as a player, coach, or spectator.
I'm shocked and surprised that our field held up and we were able to
just get the game in. The field
conditions 100% impacted the game for both teams. I
think on a clean day this is probably a much lower scoring game.
Both teams had at least four errors.
Just wet baseball, slippery conditions, it was nuts, felt like a
football game,” said Moss.
Ricky Faught and Mason Vallance both had two hits for the Trojans.
Ryan Long had three RBI.
Moss says they just had to play though the weather and be tough.
“Our message with our guys is we can't control this.
I could just kind of feel the frustration for our pitchers and our
infielders just they're trying to do everything they can to just get strikes
over the plate. I believe Daniel
Lemaster has been one of the best pitchers in Central Ohio this season.
He walked seven guys and he just doesn't do that.
So, just seeing that physical frustration, that body language.
That was our message was just next pitch, next out, let it go and
move on there's nothing we can do about it other than get through this,”
he said.
Lemaster went six and a third and allowed only one earned run.
He gave up only four hits, walked seven and struck out eight.
Moss says he is proud of how his team battled.
“We put up a five spot in the first inning.
I have got to really give some credit and tip my hat to coach Young
and the Northridge boys like, there's no quit in those guys.
They stayed in it and fought and scratched and clawed and they
actually took the lead 6-5 I believe in the fourth.
We were able to get a couple in the sixth to kind of to give us a
little bit of cushion,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “For
me, I love that we had that adversity in district semifinal.
We had to fight through some obstacles.
We had to come from behind to get a win to keep our season going.
So many good things came out (Tuesday) night from just such a sloppy,
rain, field, fog, all the above. It
was great to see the guys really gut one out.” Published 5/28/25 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Centerburg
Gets a Share
Centerburg clinched no less than a share of the title in the Knox
Morrow Athletic Conference with a (5-0) win over East Knox on Monday.
They lead Cardington by a game with one to play.
Cardington beat Northmor (7-3) Monday and plays the Golden Knights
again on Tuesday.
Coach Josh Moss says it actually took part of three days to get this
win. “It was a crazy game.
We actually started this game on Friday, May 2 and it's been
suspended two different times. So,
we picked it up (Monday) in top of the ninth at our field as the visiting
team, which was kind of odd to begin with.
It was a typical pitcher’s duel.
The (Caleb) Armstrong kid from East Knox ended up throwing all nine
innings after the delay, resumption, delay, resumption.
The kid through the heck out of it,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Monday night, “We used (Daniel) Lemaster game one, and the resumption we
threw (Ricky) Faught, and then we brought Lemaster back.
It was just odd all the way around.
You get to the ninth inning 0-0 and they had one hit and we had no
hits going into it and ended up getting a couple going out way there in the
top of the ninth.”
Moss says they were able to take advantage of some things on Monday.
“Their guy came out and he got two quick outs.
He struck out our first hitter in the ninth.
The second guy grounded out. It's
like alright here we go we're going 10, 11, 12 innings.
A huge two out rally. We
did all of our damage with two outs. We got a walk, had a couple hits,
couple walks, passed balls, stole some bases and it just kind of snowballed
from there. We were able to pick
up a couple cheap ones and then got a big hit by Clarke Redd to drive in two
and kind of extend the lead before we made the final out of the inning,”
said Moss.
Centerburg (11-6,11-2) will play East Knox (10-11,8-5) on Thursday.
At stake for the Trojans is the outright conference title.
Moss says that’s something they want.
“That's what the boys said (Monday) night.
We set our goals early. The
boys want 20 wins, a “KMAC” title and a district title.
So, after (Monday) night we were talking and they didn't want to
celebrate this one. They didn't
want to really. They said the
job’s not done. It's kind of
what they all kept saying, the job is not finished, job is not done. We’ve
got one more to go. So, I just
hope they can keep their focus come out ready to go Thursday and check off
one of our goals,” he said. Published 5/13/25 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Centerburg
Beats Cardington; Takes First Place
Centerburg took sole possession of first place on Wednesday with a
(7-3) win over Cardington in play in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
The Trojans (8-4,8-1) now lead the Pirates (10-3,7-2) by one.
Daniel LeMaster went the distance giving up only one earned run and
fanning 11.
Coach Josh Moss says it was a hard earned win.
“It was a big win. Wyatt
Wade, who pitches for Cardington, I shook his hand after the game. I
told him I said dude I'm so glad that you're graduating because you've just
been a pain in our butt for like three years now. I
feel like every time he throws against us he just gives us problems.
(Wednesday) night, we resorted to some small ball and put some
pressure and it worked our way. He
threw a heck of a game. It felt
good to come out on top of one and not have it be a one run game like it
typically is when him and Daniel are going against each other,” said Moss.
It may not be the case at all levels of the game, but Moss says in
high school you better be able to bunt.
“I think good pitching always beats good hitting.
If you can't get guys on and get them over, I think you're going to
struggle against a good team,” he said.
Baseball is a short intense season and Moss knows they have a lot of
hard work in front of them. “The
rest of our schedule. We have
got our rivals Fredericktown next week and then we go into East Knox, who it
looks like they're starting to turn the corner and have a really good
season. It looks like they're
hitting the crap out of the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
night, “Then because of I believe prom we don't play Cardington again
until early May. So, we don't
get that typical Monday-Friday or Wednesday-Friday game with them.
This one gets split. So,
chances are we probably see Wade again and we'll see what happens.
We have got to continue to take care of business.” Published 4/24/25 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Centerburg
Blanks Northmor Behind Lemaster
Daniel Lemaster struck out 20 batters and Centerburg shutout Northmor
(2-0) in a game in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference on Wednesday.
Those 20 K’s broke the Centerburg record for strikeouts in a game.
Trevor Brubaker was a pretty good for Northmor too.
He went the distance giving up only three hits, walking none and
striking out six.
Centerburg coach Josh Moss says it was a good win for them.
“We split with them last year.
Brubaker, I think, is one of the top pitchers in our conference.
He got us for a dozen last year, so to see the guys come out and have
some success early off of a pitcher like that it really felt good.
Then obviously with what Daniel did on the mound was outstanding,”
he said.
Centerburg scored twice in the first inning.
Moss says Lemaster was on point and was efficient too.
“Anytime your pitcher strikes out 20 of the 21 outs he is doing
something right. The defense
didn't have to do a whole lot (Wednesday) night. The
only other out was a pop up in foul territory.
He got into a little trouble in the seventh.
He got picked off in the sixth and kind of took that out the mound
and walked the first two guys kind of got himself in a jam, but settled down
and got out of it. 102 pitches
and 20 strikeouts, we'll take that anytime we can get it.”
Northmor got only one hit off of Lemaster.
Golden Knights coach Buck Workman says his young team was a little
overmatched. “Lemaster was on
and diced us up. We are a group
with not a lot of AB’s versus guys of his caliper.
We’ll get there, it’s just going to take some time.
Kudos to Daniel and congrats on breaking the record,” he said.
Moss says Lemaster was able to locate all of his pitches.
“What he has struggled with a little bit early on this year
scrimmages and our opener is I felt like he was mostly fastball.
He just couldn't locate his second and third pitches.
(Wednesday) night he was able to throw his second and third pitches
really in any count,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “He was
getting them over for a strike. He
was getting them for a swing and a miss with two strikes.
Then the fastball looked like it had a little bit of extra on it when
he needed it. So, able to throw
one up and in, up and away, whatever he needed to do.
He just looked like he was in command of all of his pitches.” Published 4/03/25 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source for All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday night 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Fredericktown
Gets Share of “KMAC”
Fredericktown earned a share of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference
title with a (7-3) win over Centerburg on Monday evening at Fredericktown.
They can win it outright with a win at Centerburg on Wednesday.
Brady Lester led off the bottom half of the first inning with a solo
homer over the centerfield wall, but the Trojans (14-3,9-2) tied it in the
top of the second on a hit batter, an error, and Jesse Rings scored on a
wild pitch by Kaid Carpenter.
Like good teams do, the Freddies (13-2,10-0), #2 in the
Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the small school division,
responded and scored four in their half of the second to take a (5-1) lead.
Korbin McGowan walked and Xavier Mullins doubled to start the inning.
McGowan scored on a ground out by Luke Bean and Mullins crossed plate
on an error. After a sacrifice
by Alex Selby, Lester was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Carpenter singed to make it (4-1) and the final run of the inning
scored when Branden Sapp walked with the bases loaded.
That chased Centerburg starter Daniel Lemaster, who took the loss.
Fredericktown made it (7-1) with two in the third.
Mullins, Teegan Ruhl, and Selby loaded the bases with singles and
Lester doubled two home.
Fredericktown coach Ryan Hathaway said they had to keep adding on.
“We knew we had to put a lot of runs together against a team like
Centerburg because they were going to come in and keep hitting the baseball
all night, so we knew we had to try and stay ahead.
It seemed like they kept getting the tying runs and getting their
kids to the plate, so we knew it was going to be a long one if we didn’t
continue to hit and try and get base runners on,” he told
Swankonsports.com after the win, “We kind ran ourselves out of that inning
when we had four, we made an aggressive play right there, but I thought if
we could have kept the bases loaded we could have got a few more runs in
that situation, but that’s baseball.
Carpenter tried to score on a wild pitch on ball four to Sapp, but
was tagged out.
Centerburg coach Josh Moss says that second inning was the difference
maker in his option. “We knew
coming in the margin for error (Monday) was pretty thin.
One thing about Fredericktown is Ryan does a good job with those
guys. They always seem to play
good defense. They always seem
to have one guy on the mound that can go out and win a game.
Timely hitting, I don’t know how many two strike hits they had.
They did a great job moving guys over.
That one inning, Lou Piniella said best, he could look at 80 percent
of his losses and attribute them to one bad inning and that was us,” said
Moss.
Centerburg struck for two in the top of the fifth an RBI single by
Grayson Reynolds and a run on a wild pitch by Carpenter.
Kaid had some command issues during the middle innings, but he
retired eight of the last nine Trojans he faced to put the game away.
Hathaway says they he was able to settle down and start to use his
off speed stuff more the last two innings.
“His pitch count started getting up a little bit.
I thought he was throwing a lot of pitches early.
He really didn’t settle it until late.
I think he was very pumped up for the game, so a lot of fastballs
were staying up. You can’t do
that against good hitters like they have on their team.
I thought he bounced back and started throwing his off speed for a
strike and late in the game he was able to keep them off balance,” said
Hathaway.
Carpenter ended up with 12 strikeouts and no walks allowing eight
hits over seven innings.
Moss says Carpenter was able to make some adjustments.
“I tip my cap to Kaid, he is a competitor.
I like watching the way he plays the game.
He plays hard, he is gritty. We
made some adjustments, and credit our guys, we started putting the barrel on
the ball. He started mixing it
up and started going to his off speed. He
came out and showed why he is one of the best guys in our league on the
mound,” he said.
Mullins had three hits for the Freddies, Letser, Carpenter and Ruhl
had two. Dalton Hall had three
for Centerburg.
Fredericktown shared the “KMAC” title with Highland, now a member
of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, last season and Hathaway says they want
to take care of business on Wednesday. “We
want to try and go out and win it outright and not have to worry about any
other games. We are honestly
treating it like it is tournament style baseball at this point.
Going down to their place and seeing what kind of team they have
after (Monday) it is going to be a good test for us to see where we are as
far as where we stand going into the tournament with these guys,” he said. Published 5/03/22 © Swankonsports.com Your First Source For All Things Sports “Out of Bounds” every Friday From 10 to
midnight “Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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