Northmor Golden Knights/Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference News

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Northmor Edges Mt. Gilead

          Garrett Harvey’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Northmor a (2-1) win over Mt. Gilead in a game in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference on Monday evening/

          Coach Bruck Workman says they had some kids make some key plays in the ninth to get the win.  “Bowdre led off, he’s our nine hole hitter, he worked the count full, and fought off a couple tough pitches and worked a walk.  That rolled us up to the top and (Grant) Bentley had a base hit to right field that knocked (Bowdre) over to third.  Then (Bentley) steals second, so we're set and second and third with nobody out.  We have a strike out and then they intentionally walked Drew Hammond to load the bases,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “That brought up our clean up hitter Garrett Harvey.  We tried to squeeze in the winning run and we fouled that off.  So, he's down 0-2 and he's up there battling and eventually hits a nice line drive to right center knocking in the winning run.”

          Northmor is one of the favorites to take the title in the “KMAC” this year, but Workman says it will be a challenge because of teams like Mt. Gilead.  “Like I’ve said, this league is tough.  I mean the Baker kid that pitched for Mt. Gilead (Monday) night, I think he's pretty darn good.  He's only a sophomore, but he throws pretty well and he's going to be a tough one to beat on any given night.  The Fricke kid they have got is also a pretty darn good pitcher.  So, they're going to give people fits.  I think once they get going it’s going to be tough and any way you can get a win in the league, we'll take it,” said Workman.

          The Golden Knights (3-0,1-0) are scheduled to play at Mt. Gilead on Wednesday.

          The weather doesn’t look very promising with severe thunderstorms on Tuesday and cold weather later in the week.

          Workman says they had to take advantage of their opportunity on Monday.  “We talked about it before the game, this may be the only game we play this week with the way the weather is.  We need to take care of business because you don't want to lose that opener in the league and then have to wait another week before you play again and try to get that bad taste out of your mouth.  It's kind of like football and playing every Friday night.  You don't usually have to do that in baseball,” said Workman.

Published 4/02/24

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Northmor Blanks Lucas

          Grant Bentley and Trevor Brubaker combined on a five hit shutout and the Northmor Golden Knights beat Lucas (8-0) on Wednesday evening at Northmor in non-conference baseball.

          Drew Hammond had three hits and he and Bentley each had two RBI in the win.

          Coach Buck Workman says they played a solid overall game.  “Yeah, we were happy, I mean as cold as it was our pitchers threw strikes and didn't walk anybody.  We didn't make any errors behind them.  We made the plays we needed to make and kept the pitch counts down, that's always nice early in the season.  So, we're pretty pleased,” said Workman.

          16 players saw action and 14 of them got to the plate.  Workman says that gives them more data to make some decisions about varsity playing time.  “I think that's huge.  We have got a lot of young guys.  We're trying to see here early on who can and can't do what,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “That pays dividends later in the season and years to come.  So, I mean it's great to get all those guys in there and get some action,”

          Eight hits on a cold day isn’t bad and Workman says their timing in the box is coming around.  “The bats are getting a little bit better each time now.  We're starting to see the ball better, I think.  Some guys are coming around a little faster than others, but I think they'll get there eventually.  Yeah, the progress has been pretty good,” he said.

Published 3/28/24

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Northmor to Rely on Pitching

          Northmor, a consistent small school baseball power, is expected to be solid again this year based on their strong pitching and defense.

          Coach Buck Workman admits it has been a little bit of a slow start.  “So far, we're a little behind.  We got a late start.  We had a pretty successful basketball season, so we got like some guys there and we have got a wrestler.  We're trying to round into form.  It's getting there slowly, but surely,” said Workman.

          Now, Northmor shared the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference title in basketball and advanced to the division IV district final.

          Workman says those kids come to baseball with a winning attitude.  “I'm not disappointed by any means because you want all your programs to be successful and those guys know how to win.  They kind of bring that attitude to the other guys and you like to feed off of that,” he said.

          The Golden Knights are going to have solid pitching led by Grant Bentley and Workman hopes the hitting will be pretty good too.  “I think our pitching and defense is what we've kind of relied on the past so many years.  I think it's going to be much the same this year.  We have got a lot of returners this year, so I'm hoping the bats will be a little bit better than last year just because they've got a lot more experience under the belt.  So, we're going to continue to grow there,” said Workman.

          They will open the season on Saturday against Mansfield Senior and Franklin Heights.  Their first “KMAC” games on April 1 and 2 against Mt. Gilead.

          Workman says hitting is about timing and he expects that going to improve for his players.  “I mean as I’ve seen in the scrimmages, I sure hope that's the case because we can't do much colder.  Again, it's a lot about timing.  I don't know if it's so much the warmth or the cold, but it's just our timing is just off right now,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “We've seen some pretty good pitchers in these scrimmages and we're just not quite there yet, but each one I feel like we're getting a little bit closer.”

Published 3/20/24

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Northmor to Play Top Seed

          Northmor meets Northside Christian on Friday night in a division IV district final at Ohio Dominican University.

          A win would put the Golden Knights in a regional for the first time in school history.

          On Tuesday, they rallied to beat Patriot Prep (56-47) in a semifinal game.

          Coach Blade Tackett says they had to grind it out.  “It was great, it was a difficult game to win.  I mean they were beating us the whole game and we hung around and hung around and had a great fourth quarter and we're able to pull ahead around the two minute mark and never looked back,” he said.

          Tackett the were able to get their offense in high gear in that fourth quarter led by senior Grant Bentley.  “We were within two possessions the whole time and we were struggling to shoot, I said we just need to see a couple go in and you know we'll take the lead.  Grant Bentley caught fire, he really struggled for three quarters, but fourth quarter we got him to start with a layup, then we got a steal in transition and he buried a three and he went on to score like our first I think 12 points in the fourth quarter,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “From that point on it was him and (Jax) Wenger show in the fourth.  We got a really good put back off a free throw from Bryson Keirns and then Cole Cuffman came off the bench and played a lot for us early and took four charges.  So, that fourth quarter you had a couple calls go our way, but Grant Bentley got hot finally and that was it.”

          Northside Christian, located in Westerville, beat Ridgedale (72-45) on Tuesday.

          Tackett says they have athletes and can shoot.  “Northside has got 19 wins, so they're a good team.  They won that that Christian league that's in Columbus, they got first in that.  They have got a really good point guard, he's a great athlete, he reminds me of Amar Davis, I think that's a really good local comparison.  They have got a big that's fundamental.  Then they have got a shooter, who I think a good comp is, one of our players compared him to Carson King from Pleasant.   So, they have got a few pieces, so it's going to be a tough game, but I think we have got a great opportunity,” said Tackett.

Published 3/08/24

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Northmor Plays Explosive Wynford

          Northmor, the co-champion of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, will play at Wynford in a non-league game on Tuesday night.

          The Golden Knights shared the “KMAC” title with Fredericktown this year.

          Coach Blade Tackett says they were happy they were able to get a piece of that crown.  “Yeah, it's pretty special for us. It's only our fourth conference title in school history.  We wanted to win it outright, but Fredericktown is playing extremely well.  They beat us on their floor then and they went down to Centerburg and handled business.  So, I think they deserve it too.  They are a good team, they're playing really well right now, I think like seven or eight straight and they've won.  Yeah, we're proud of the title.  It’s tough to come by and we'll take a share over second or third place,” said Tackett.

          Northmor (14-5) is at Wynford (13-6) on Tuesday night.

          Tackett says the Royals can put up a lot of points and want to make them have to guard them, especially in the paint.  “Well, I mean from a talent standpoint they're pretty unreal.  I mean they all can shoot, they all can dribble, they're all athletic.  So, we have got to defend well and defend the three.  I think we have got to really predicate ourselves on driving and finishing around the basket and not settling for threes.  I think if we get in a shootout with them, we'll lose, but if we are aggressive to the basket, we have got a chance,” he said.

          The postseason tournament is about to begin and the Golden Knights have earned the third seed in division IV in the Central District and will host Madison Christian on March 2 in a first round game.

          Tackett says they look forward to the challenge of the postseason.  “We're pretty happy with the draw.  I mean we were a three seed.  Our district splits and we decided to take the Athens region.  The team that beat us last year jumped on us to potentially play us in the district semis,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “That'll certainly be a tough game, but we think we're one of the best teams in our district and we're going to do our best to make another tournament run.”

Published 2/13/2024

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Northmor Has to Make Shots, Rebound

          Northmor, the leader in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, will be at home for Cardington, who is a game back, in a big one Wednesday night.

          Fredericktown is a game back too.  They play at Danville on Wednesday night.

          The Golden Knights (12-4,8-1) drilled East Knox (61-44) on Saturday in a conference game.

          Coach Blade Tackett says their pressure defense was the difference.  “We had a great game on Saturday.  We didn't shoot it well, but played great defense and we're able to turn them over and score some layups in transition,” he said.

          Cardington (11-5,7-2) beat Danville (70-51) on Saturday.

          Tackett says the Pirates have very good guard play and he says they have to get a hand in their face.  “They are an extremely tough team.  They beat us the first time around by two, it came down to the last possession.  If they beat us, we'll be a three-way tie,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “They have got great shooters.  We are going to have to defend their guards and make them take tough shots.  If we do that, I think we'll have a chance down the stretch just like we did in the first game.  They are an extremely talented group.  It should be great atmosphere, we're really looking forward to it.”

          Cardington beat Northmor (51-49) on January 5.

          Tackett says Wednesday they have to make sure they are solid rebounders and making some shots would help too.  “We didn't shoot it really well the first time around that and it hurt us down the stretch.  In terms of defensively, I thought we did an okay job, but they're really good at getting offensive rebounds.  Those offensive rebounds don’t really lead to twos, but they are really good at getting offensive rebounds and then finding their shooters and that's when they can really knock down some threes.  So, as long as they force them into tough shots, but then finish the possessions with good rebounds, then I think we'll be in good shape,” said Tackett.

Published 1/31/2024

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First Place Northmor Meets Mt. Gilead

          Northmor, the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference leader, plays host to Mt. Gilead in a conference game on Wednesday night.

          They took the outright lead in the conference on Saturday when they rallied past Centerburg (63-52) with an outstanding second half.

          Coach Blade Tackett says they had to grind out the win.  “Tough and gritty win for us against a team that is always at the top of our conference.  They had us on the ropes, up late in the third, and we went on a good run late in the third and into the fourth to get a good win,” he said.

          Tackett says it was their pressure defense that made the difference against Centerburg.  “Well, in the first half they had a kid Isaiah Sule have 21 points just absolutely on fire.  Really we couldn't get anything going in the half court and third quarter, so we decided to press at the end of the third quarter and that ended up being the difference,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “We were able to turn them over 30 times and most of them in the second half of the third and late in the fourth, so really, really good effort out of our press.”

          Northmor (10-4,6-1) hosts Mt. Gilead (3-8,1-5) on Wednesday.  In their first meeting on December 19, the Gloden Knights blew out Mt. Gilead (73-43) on the road.

          Tackett says games against the Indians are always intense.  “It's a county rival.  They always play us tough.  We had a solid game against them the first time, played really efficient basketball and had a good win.  They're on a bit of a slide, but they're looking to get a win here.  They took Fredericktown to overtime, so they're putting pieces together.  Again, it’s a county rival, it'll be a packed house and we're really looking forward to it,” said Tackett.

Published 1/24/2024

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Northmor has to Finish Inside

          Northmor, a co-leader in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, will play at Centerburg, in a big game in the conference on Saturday night.

          Right now, Centerburg (5-4,4-1) and Cardington, also share the conference lead, but they both play Wednesday, Centerburg at Fredericktown, while the Pirates host Mt. Gilead.  That log jam was created when Centerburg beat Cardington (69-62) on Saturday.

          Northmor (9-4,5-1) also won on Saturday night.  They beat Fredericktown (64-46) to climb back into the top spot.

          Coach Blade Tackett says they have been playing pretty good basketball.  “There's no doubt about it.  I think the big thing for us is we're finally getting healthy.  We got our All-Ohio point guard back in the lineup.  He's played really well the last two games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “We lost the tough to Cardington, but I thought we played an outstanding game.  We got a nice win against Fredericktown last Saturday.”

          Northmor won the first matchup between the teams (55-47) on December 15.

          Tackett says Centerburg is a lot like them.  “They're extremely well coached team.  I think John Marhefka is one of the best coaches in the conference.  They're super disciplined, very physical, very similar to us.  The first game, I think, it ended up being a double digit win, but it was close until the fourth.  We had some free throws at the end,” said Tackett.

          Tacket says this game will likely come down to the final minutes again this time.  “We're very similar teams.  We're physical, we take care of the basketball, don't turn it over much.  So, I think that's going to be the story whoever can finish inside and make free throws down the stretch probably is going to win it,” he said.

Published 1/16/2024

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Northmor Expecting Good Things

          Northmor, the preseason choice in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, opens the season with two non-conference home games Friday against Marion Elgin and Saturday versus Colonel Crawford.

          Coach Blade Tacket says they are experienced and they are excited to get the season going.  “We had a real good summer.  We only lost one senior off of our team last year that was a 15 win team.  We brought back a really strong junior class and our junior class became seniors.   So, we brought back two really strong classes.  We had a great summer and we're really looking forward to the start of the season this week,” he said.

          Tacket says the Golden Knights have high expectations as do their fans.  He says they want to take it one game at time.  “I think especially in the area there are some pretty high expectations.  We want to try to realize those, but don't put too much stock in them just because we take it game at a time and worry about it a game and a time.  We had a long football season.  We've had a pretty short practice season here, so we have got a long way to go.  Coach (David) Sheldon always said it best it's a marathon not a sprint.  So, we're going to do the best we can here to begin the year with the expectation to hit a pretty good stride mid year and end year hopefully we’ll be lucky for another tournament run just like we had last year.”

          Tacket knows that Elgin will be a challenge for them.  He says the Comets are going to be disciplined on offense.  “They gave us a great game last year and beat us.  It was an overtime game 58-51.  They lost a couple more people than we did, but they also brought back a nice core.  Steven Castillo can really shoot the ball.  They have got a post player that comes back that’s an energy guy on defense.  They’ve got a JV point guard that's going to step up and be a really nice player for them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “I expect it to be a highly competitive game, just like it was last year.  They're very disciplined on offense.  I think they have got a new coach, he was their JV coach last year.  I think he's been an Elgin for a while, but it's a well coached team, well disciplined team and they got some good pieces.  So, we're going to have our hands full, it's going to be a competitive game.”

Published 11/29/23

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Northmor Faces Balanced Garaway

          Northmor plays the number one seed in their region in Sugarcreek Garaway in a regional semifinal in division VI on Friday night at Heath High School.

          They took apart Gloster Trimble (31-6) in a quarterfinal last week.  They held the Tomcats to only 95 yards rushing.

          Coach Scott Armrose says again they played a complete game.  “In all phases of the game we executed very well.  I think our coaches put a good plan together and our kids were able to go out and execute.  We played a good physical game and things turned the way we wanted them to,” he said.

          Northmor (10-2) plays Garaway (12-0) on Friday night.  The Pirates hammered East Knox (49-7) last week.  They have won 30 regular season games in a row.

          Armrose says Garaway is balanced and they have a lot of weapons on offense.  “They're a whole different kind of challenge than we've seen the last couple weeks.  They're very balanced on offense, they can run and they throw and they have got a lot of guys can make plays.  A little running back, not real big, but awfully powerful for his size and he's got a lot of speed and he does the running,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “Then a quarterback that's athletic, he can scramble, but he scrambles to throw and they have a 1,000 yard receiver on their team that that makes a lot of big plays, so offensively they're an incredible challenge.”

          To defend the Pirates, Armrose says they have to be fundamental and make Garway uncomfortable.  “It's stuff we haven't worked on for a couple weeks because we faced teams with a limited passing game, but it's something we've done very well all season.  We play a tough zone defense and we have guys that do a good job of adjusting to formations and getting to spots.  We do a really good job of rushing the passer.  So, those are two things that we have to do on Friday night.  We need to rush the passer and we need to get to our spots and drop to our zones and force turnovers,” said Armrose.

          In the same way, Armrose says Garaway is going to try and get pressure on their pass game.  “They are a 3-4 defense and they will stunt and they'll bring a lot of pressure off the edge.  They have very athletic outside linebackers, that's the strength of their defense.  They mix up which one of those guys that they'll blitz off the edge, so they keep you off balance that way.  They're really very athletic in the secondary, so they've got a lot of team speed on defense,” he said.

Published 11/08/23

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Northmor Faces Another Running Team

          Northmor will be home again for another playoff game Friday night as they host Gloster Trimble in a division VI regional quarterfinal.

          Trailing (22-14) at the half, the Golden Knights (9-2) put up 23 unanswered points in the third quarter and went on to pound Coal Grove (44-22) in a first round game.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they came out in the third quarter focused on what they needed to do.  “We knew we put ourselves in a situation where we had to get things going.  We started the third quarter out with an onside kick, a quick score, and a two point conversion to tie the game up and really at that point we didn't look back for the rest of the game,” he said.

          Running back Paul Cramer scored three times in the third quarter.  Quarterback A.J. Bauer passed for 235 yards on the night.

          Armose says they were able to get the crowd going in the third quarter.  “Our crowd was energized.  We had a really nice crowd.  Coal Grove really took the air out of our crowd with just really long drives and sucking the clock down.  It just got everybody down, everybody was quiet and there was no energy on our sideline, there was no energy in the crowd.  Once we got things going, we got those guys behind us, the momentum really started getting our way,” said Armrose.

          The Trimble Tomcats (6-4) smoked Marion Elgin (37-6) on Friday night in their playoff opener.

          Armrose says again they will be facing a running team, but Trimble passes the ball much better.  “It’s another one of these teams from down south that likes to run football.  They're very similar to Coal Grove in the fact that they're 90 percent run, but at the same time they have the ability to throw the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They have a quarterback that's really athletic and can throw it.  They'll run, run, run and then surprise you with a play action pass.  When they’re in situations where they have to throw the ball, they're able to spread the field out and do it.”

          Northmor has thrown ball well all year, but Armrose says Trimble has shown the ability to get to the quarterback.  “They have showed multiple fronts on defense, but their base defense is a 4-3 cover two.  They stand their ends up against passing teams, so they get more pass rush.  They rush the passer very well and do a nice job filling from the secondary to stop the run,” he said.

Published 10/31/23

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Northmor Plays Big Coal Grove

          Northmor welcomes Coal Grove on Friday night for a first round playoff game in division VI.

          The Golden Knights (8-2) have won their won their last five games, including a (34-7) victory over Loudonville in Knox Morrow Athletic Conference play last Friday.

          Coach Scott Armrose says again they played well in all three phases.  “We played well on both sides of the ball.  We played really good defense again and really good special teams.  We were able to score early to get a big lead and then kept rolling on,” he said.

          Armrose says in the last month they he has changed his philosophy on how to start games.  “The last five weeks we've had great first quarters.  We're able to score multiple times.  Usually, I'm a coach that defers his choice the second half, but last four weeks we've been taking the football and start with the ball.  We get a good start and then stop and another score, so really put a team in a disadvantage when you get off to a quick start and we've been able to do that here the last few weeks,” said Armrose.

          Coal Grove (4-6) has lost its last five, including (23-16) to Rock Hill last week.

          However, Armrose cautions not to under estimate the Hornets.  “There a 4-6 team, but the teams that they've lost to are really good football teams, so they play a really high level of competition.  Their league is tuff and includes a team like Ironton, who's going to compete for division V state championship this year, so they've lost a really good football teams,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “They're really big and strong up front and they do a nice job blocking for three running backs that are able to get things done, one in particular has got tremendous speed.  So, they are a very challenging football team for us.”

          Armose says their kids in the trenches will be called to have good game on Friday night.  “They've done a great job here the last few weeks.  We played really good football up front with our defensive line and linebackers.  This is a whole different challenge, we haven't seen a team with size like this since we played Danville.  So, hopefully that experience is going to help us for this and hopefully we've learned and we're able to get things done,” said Armrose.

Published 10/27/23

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Northmor Not Satisfied

          Northmor has a chance to share the title in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference as we enter the final week of the regular season.

          They need to beat Loudonville in a home game on Friday night.  Plus, they need East Knox to hand rival Danville its first loss of the season.

          They smoked Centerburg (48-7) last week in “KMAC” play.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they were outstanding in all areas of the game.  “It was a pretty good performance because I can remember seasons we haven’t thrown five touchdown passes all year and we threw five touchdown passes in the first half.  We were on, we executed very well.  We got off to a great start both offensively and defensively.  We made plays on special teams and on offense and on defense, so all phases the game we were going very well,” said Armrose.

          A.J. Bauer threw for 257 yards last week.  Bo Landin caught three touchdowns passes.

          Northmor has won five of its last six games and is playing with confidence, but Armrose says they are still focused on getting better.  “We are playing with a lot of confidence right now and at the same time you know we had that setback early in the season where we lost a football game that we don't feel like we should have,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We know what happens if we're not locked in during the week of practice.  So, our guys are still really focused and we're happy with the way we play, but we're not satisfied and want to continue to work to get better.”

          Northmor (7-2,5-1) plays at home against Loudonville (3-6,2-4) on Friday night.  The Redbirds lost to East Knox (42-28) last week.

          Armrose says they can make big plays.  “They are very athletic on both sides of the football.  They have got a quarterback that can throw it and run it and he's a great athlete.  He's got a couple guys that he can throw to.  So, they have got a lot of speed.  They got speed in their secondary too and they got some guys who can rush the quarterback.  So, quite a challenge for us this week,” he said.

Published 10/18/23

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Northmor With Things on the Table

          Northmor, a game behind Danville in the race in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, plays at home in a must win conference game against Centerburg on Friday night.

          They scored three times in the first quarter last week and went on to blast Mt. Gilead (31-3) in "KMAC” action.

          Coach Scott Armose says they played well in all three phases of the game.  “We got off to a fast start offensively scored on some big plays, blocked at punt on special teams, so another big special teams play for us, and we're able to score off of off of that very quickly.  Then our defense was just outstanding all night. They did a great job stopping the run, slowing them down, getting big stops when we needed to.  So, overall we're very pleased with the outcome,” said Armrose.

          A.J. Bauer threw for 224 and three scores against Mt. Gilead.

          Armrose says they have been a big play offense.  “We completed eight passes for three touchdowns on Friday night.  So, we've been a big play team.  That's mostly because of that's what the defense is giving us.  Defenses are playing tight to stop our run and we're able to take advantage over the top,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “We can drive the ball if we need to, but if teams are going to give us the shots then we've shown our quarterback does a great job of throwing the ball down the field and we've got several guys go up catch the ball.”

          Northmor (6-2,4-1) plays at home against Centerburg (4-4,3-2) on Friday night.  Danville blew out the Trojans (52-22) last Friday.

          Still, Armrose says they are dangerous.  “Centerburg is a very athletic team.  They've been a little beat up here and they're getting healthy down the stretch.  They have battled themselves back to be a .500 team.  They've got plenty of weapons on both sides of the football, so it's going to be quite a challenge,” he said.

          Besides the league implications, Northmor is currently fourth in their division VI region and win would boost their chances of a home playoff game.

          Armrose says they have some goals.  “Well, we've got a lot to play for.  We want to play at home in the playoffs and we want a chance to win a league championship.  So, when you take care of things early in the season these games down the stretch in October are big games.  We've done that and these are all big games down the stretch and there's a lot of play for,” he said.

Published 10/13/23

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Northmor to Face a Big Mt. Gilead

          Northmor, still a game back in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, plays at Mt. Gilead on Friday night in a conference game.

          They handed East Knox their first conference loss last week in beating the Bulldogs (27-6) last Friday.  They held East Knox to 147 yards rushing and 184 total yards.

          Coach Scott Armrose says were on point on defense for four quarters.  “We feel like we beat a really good East Knox team.  They run their systems very well and they're big and physical up front.  We were able to execute when we needed big plays and our defense was solid all night long.  We were getting eight, nine guys to the football, swarming, and playing fundamental up front.  It was an outstanding effort by our defense Friday night,” said Armrose.

          Armrose says they did some good things in the special teams last week too.  “We executed all phases of the football game and we had an excellent special teams game, made a 40 and a 32 yard field goal.  Some of our drives kind of stalled out, but we were able to get points anyway,” he said.

          Northmor, right now, stands fourth in its computer region in division VII.

          The Golden Knights (5-2,3-1) are at Mt. Gilead (2-5,0-4) on Friday night.  The Indians fell (28-11) to Centerburg last week.

          Armrose says this is a team that is big up front.  “Another Mt. Gilead team that's got size up front.  It seems like they've always got big guys and this year's no different they're big and strong up front.  They have got some speed behind those guys on offense.  They're going to run the football and they do it very well, they have got big play ability,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “On the other side of the ball, they're big another defensive line.  Coach (Mike) Reid does a really nice job with their 3-4 scheme.  They do a really good job of executing that and are very fundamental upfront.”

Published 10/03/23

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Northmor Plays Physical East Knox

          Northmor, a game back in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference standings, plays at home against East Knox, one of the co-leaders, in “KMAC” play on Friday night.

          Last week, A.J. Bauer thew three TD’s and the Golden Knights thrashed Fredericktown (35-0) in a conference game.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they were able to get off to a good start like they wanted to.  “We definitely got better within a week.  We went out and we executed.  We got up early and that was one of our points of emphasis to get up early and we got things going early and it was a good night,” he said.

          Northmor (4-2,2-1) hosts East Knox (4-2,3-0) on Friday night.  The Bulldogs took out Mt. Gilead (28-0) last week.

          Armrose says the Bulldogs know what they are good at and that’s running the ball.  “They've got a nice offensive line and they've got a good offensive system. They have got two pretty good running backs back behind that offensive line getting things done.  They run a lot of buck sweep off tackle and it's definitely going to give some challenge we have to be fundamental up front defensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “When they're on defense, offensively we're going to struggle because those two solid running backs play inside linebacker and do a really good job.  So, they're an all around good athletic football team and they have systems and they execute them very well.”

          Northmor is physical too and Armrose says they are going to have to be that on Friday night.  “It seems like every year you're playing these Knox County schools, like Danville and East Knox, they play a physical brand of football and it's no different this year.  East Knox, they take pride in the way that they run the ball and the way that they stop the ball on defense.  They're real physical football team,” said Armrose.

Published 9/27/23

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Northmor Has to Execute

          Northmor, coming off a tough loss last week, will play host to the Fredericktown Freddies in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game on Friday night.

          It’s the first time they have been home since week two and just their second home game in the first six.

          They lost (32-21) to unbeaten Danville in conference game last week.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they played well, but not well enough.  “We did some things really well.  We were able to compete with a really good football team, but that's not where we at in our program right now.  We want to do more than compete against good teams.  A couple of things happened, we didn’t cover an onside kick and they converted on a fake punt.  That really made a difference in the football game.  Really, we've struggled defensively all night being able to stop their big, physical backs,” said Armrose.

          One of the key assets for the Golden Knights is their physicality, according to Armrose.  “It was a very physical football game that we played Friday night.  As far as physicality goes, we have a bunch of kids at Northmor that just don't back down.  We’re at home in a physical football game.  We'll hit with the best of them and I'm really proud of our kids for that.  I'm really proud of how physical we play and I'm really proud of they didn't back down or quit Friday night,” he said.

          Northmor (3-2,1-1) plays host to Fredericktown (2-3,1-1) on Friday night.  They beat Mt. Gilead (26-7) last week.

          Armrose describes them as a team that doesn’t hurt itself.  “Fredericktown is always big.  For some reason they've always got the big boys and they've got them again this year up front on both the offensive and defensive line,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Any coach (Will) Hartley coached team is going to be fundamental.  They do things right.  They're really good at what they do in their fundamentals and they bring up challenges on both sides all because of that.”

          Armrose says when playing a game against a team like Fredericktown, you must execute to the best of your ability.  “They take advantage of your mistakes when they do things the right way.  So, that's why you have got to do things right.  You have to be more fundamental than the fundamental team and that's what it comes down to who's able to execute better,” he said.

Published 9/19/23

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Northmor Has to be Smart Aggressive

          It’s a game that rings like a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference title game as Northmor will be at Danville for a very important game on Friday night.

          The Golden Knights opened league play with a resounding (44-6) triumph over Cardington last week after their first, and so far, only loss of the season (40-33) to Mapleton the previous week.

          Coach Scott Armrose says it was an important bounce back win.  “That’s something need to do after a loss.  You wonder how a team is going to respond to your first loss.  We like the way our kids dealt with it.  We used it as a learning experience.  We focused on the things we didn’t do well.  We did have a really good week of practice and we took care of things Friday night,” said Armrose.

          Armrose says they got solid leadership last week.  “Your underclassmen and other guys look up to your seniors and the attitude that your seniors have after a loss is something that everybody sees.  They all will reflect that and our seniors did a good job of knowing that we still have a lot that we can accomplish this season and they refocused and they worked really hard and the rest of the team kind of followed suit,” he said.

          Northmor (3-1,1-0) visits Danville (4-0,1-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, on Friday.  The Blue Devils smoked Fredericktown (40-0) in a “KMAC” game last week.

          Armrose says they have all of the talents you want in a football team.  “Danville's got a great combination of size, strength and speed and they've got it on both sides the football.  To put on top of that, they're a very well coached team.  They do things the right way fundamentally on both sides of the ball.  So, we have got quite a challenge for us Friday night,” he said.

          Outside week three, the Northmor defense has been very good this year, and Armrose says they will be challenged to be very good in all areas on Friday.  “We have got to do the same things we do every week.  We have to be solid up front, we have to do things the right way, our linebackers have to read keys and be disciplined in our defensive backs are going to have to be ready for the play action pass attack and they have to take a disciplined approach as well, “ he told Swanknsports.com on Tuesday evening, “It's a matter of having some sort of controlled aggression and still being fundamental the same time.”

Published 9/13/2023

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Northmor Must Respond

          Northmor takes the bus to Cardington on Friday night to take on the Pirates in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference opener for both.

          After two excellent performances to begin the season, Northmor lost (40-33) to Mapleton of the Firelands Conference last week, giving up more than 390 yards on the ground.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they got beat at the point of attack and that lost them the game.  “We knew that they were big enough and physical enough of a football team with what they do with their wing-T offense you really have to be fundamental.  We had the ball for two series in the first half.  One, we threw an interception and the other one we scored and the rest of the first half we just kind of stood and watched because we weren't big fundamental up front.  We were getting bullied at the line of scrimmage and they did an excellent job controlling the clock and moving the football and we weren't able to consistently get stops,” said Armrose.

          This week in practice, Armrose has been pleased by the effort he has seen in addressing the things they didn’t do well last week.  “I'm really pleased with the way we've responded this week in practice.  Two different things can happen when you lose.  You can use that loss to hang your head and feel sorry for yourself or you can use it to learn from mistakes and get better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “I really think our boys have worked really hard this week.  We're really using that loss as an opportunity to get better.  We know we have a lot of football left ahead of us and we're looking forward to getting back at it this week at Cardington.”

          Cardington (1-2), on the other hand, won for the first time last week in scoring late to beat Bucyrus (36-28) in a non-conference game.

          Armrose says the Pirates are big in the trenches and they are capable of causing problems for the Golden Knights if they don’t execute better.  “There are a team that's starting to figure it out.  They've got 14 seniors and 12 juniors, a lot of upper classmen.  They're huge upfront again.  They’ll take advantage of the same things that Mapleton did if we don't learn from those mistakes we made last week and improve up front,” he said.

Published 9/07/23

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Northmor Will Continue to Grind

          Northmor visits Mapleton of the Firelands Conference for a non-conference football game on Friday night.

          The Golden Knights overwhelmed South Central (60-0) last week.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they wanted to run the ball and they did with 31 carries for 226 yards on the night.  “We challenged our boys up front on the offensive line to be able to run the ball and we ran the ball very well.  Then the same thing up front on the defensive line they controlled the line of scrimmage and they controlled the entire game,” he said.

          South Central managed only two first downs and 46 total yards.

          Northmor (2-0) has looked impressive the first two weeks, but Armrose says they can’t rest on their laurels.  “Good teams get better every single week.  We tell our kids that and after a big win you can do one of two things, sit around and pat each other on the back and say good job all week long or you continue to work,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We're learning to appreciate the grind and we're going to try to get better every week.”

          Mapleton (1-1) got into the win column last week with a (42-18) win over Wellington in a non-league game.

          Armrose says they present some issues on both sides of the ball.  “They are a whole different challenge.  They're big, they're a physical football team both on both sides of the ball offensively and defensively and they're athletic. So, they bring up a challenge offensively running a shotgun wing-T and defensively with 4-4 physical defense, so they bring up a lot of challenges on both sides of the ball.”

          A shotgun wing-T almost seems like an oxymoron, kind of like cuddly grizzly bear, and Armrose says it is difficult to prepare for in a week’s time.  “It's a whole different challenge.  You have to be fundamental up front and you have to do things right.  We have to read the line of scrimmage because there's a lot of misdirection in the backfield and the defensive line has to play disciplined football, so that's what we're planning on doing,” said Armrose.

Published 8/30/23

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Trenches Again Key For Northmor

          Northmor plays its home opener on Friday night as they entertain the South Central Trojans for a non-conference game.

          Last Friday, A.J. Becker threw two TD passes and the Golden Knights ran for two others, plus Hunter Falk returned two interceptions for scores in a (42-21) win over Upper Sandusky.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they made the plays when the pressure was on Friday night.  “We're very pleased with our ability to make plays when we needed to, not just late, big plays all game.  When you're backs are against the wall we say players make plays and that's exactly what we did,” said Armrose.

          Northmor has an inexperienced offensive line and Armose says they are working to make it a better unit.  “We need to be more consistent up front offensively.  We've been saying that since scrimmage one.  We've taken steps in the right direction, we just need to continue.  So, blocking up front offensively to open up that running game is the thing we're working on the hardest,” said Armrose.

          South Central (0-1) lost (35-6) to Willard in their first game this season.

          Armrose says with a new coach in Derek Fisher, the Trojans are going to be a team that runs the football first.  “They are very athletic at quarterback.  He can throw and he can run and he's got a couple of receivers that they could throw the ball to.  They're not the team they've been in the past offensively, they're very different.  I think they're going to be a run first team and that's going to give us a challenge,” he told Swankonsports.com Thursday evening, “This is our first even front of the year that we're going to see here on defense.  We've been blocking odd fronts since our first scrimmage, so it's a little different.  We've had to make some adjustments so that our blocking rules work, but we've done a good job adjusting in practice.”

          When it comes to blocking different fronts Armrose says it can a more difficult process for a young line.  “Our rules are consistent, how we apply those rules to different fronts changes.  If you have got a good experienced offensive line, it's an easy adjustment, but we've got some guys that are starting for the first year and they're starting at a different position, so it is a little bit of an adjustment,” said Armrose.

Published 8/25/23

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Northmor Has to Get Better in the Trenches

          It’s a new opponent for the Northmor Golden Knights on week one as they travel to meet Upper Sandusky of the Northern 10 Athletic Conference on Friday night in their opener.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they have shown some really good progress in their pass game, but their running attack has been lacking.  “We've made steps in the right direction in some spots and other spots we still have work to do.  We've done a very good job throwing the ball and getting open, running good routes, and understanding our pass offense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Our run game hasn't come around yet.  We're still working on that.  We played a very big, physical Wynford football team Thursday night and running the ball was a challenge against them.  So, we still have some work to do up front.”

          Upper Sandusky made the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade last year and look to be improving as a program.

          Armrose says they are going to be tough contain.  “They are as athletic a team as we'll see all season. A quarterback that can sling it all over the field and can run the ball too and several guys that he can throw to.  Again, those same guys will be in their secondary on defense.  So, they're a lot like us where they have got a quarterback and athletes on the edge and maybe just a little bit unproven up front like we have been too,” said Armrose.

          Armrose says they want to get pressure on Upper quarterback Kaden Holman, but they have to do it in a smart way.  “You want to get pressure and do it the right way he scrambles and he's dangerous in the open field running himself.  So, a disciplined approach to pressuring a quarterback that athletic,” he said.

          Northmor is division VII and Upper Sandusky is division IV and that means a win is a boatload of computer points for the Golden Knights, but Armrose says they don’t even consider that at this point in the season. “We don't think about that yet.  We're wanting to take it one week at a time.  Upper is an opponent and they're an opponent we're getting ready for and we want to win week one for many reasons,” he said.

Published 8/15/23

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Could be Big Year at Northmor

          Northmor was besieged by injuries a year ago, but in a way, they could benefit from that this fall.

          The Golden Knights were (5-6) last year, losing six of their last seven.

          They open the season at Upper Sandusky on August 18.

          Monday was the first day of official practice and it was with helmets and shoulder pads.

          Coach Scott Armrose says that was a plus.  “Yeah, that makes a difference.  Usually when you're starting out and just helmets it's a long build up and camp days are now more like practice days and once you hit that Monday it's just full go,” he said.

          Armose says the acclamation days permitted last week by the OSHAA were key to their preparation.  “They are absolutely important, especially now with the you know with the short time we have to prepare for the season.  As the way things are right now that's our best alternative that way we can get right to scrimmage on Saturday and scrimmage then again next week and be ready to play week one,” he said.

          You’re never sure what you have until the first snap for real, but Armose says the potential is there for a pretty good team.  “We're certainly working on it.  We're getting there, we're seeing improvement everyday.  This group of kids has worked very hard this offseason in the weight room and they're excited about the possibility,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “We have a lot of experience coming back and we're deep and we have a lot of talent in the skilled positions, so this could be a special year if we get things together here.”

          He says they have a good number of kids back that have varsity football experience, some because of necessity last year, and that is going to help them.  “Unfortunately, because of injuries doing a lot of teaching during the season last year and a lot of young guys got thrown into the fire, but they gained a lot of experience that’s helping them out right now,” he said.

Published 8/01/23

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Northmor Beats Fairfield Christian

          Grant Bentley threw a two-hitter, Northmor scored four times in the third inning and the Golden Knights beat Fairfield Christian Academy (6-1) Monday in a division IV district semifinal in Lancaster.

          They play Berne Union, who upset the top seed in the district Newark Catholic (7-4) on Monday, on Wednesday in the district final.

          The Golden Knights held a (5-1) lead after three innings and coach Buck Workman says it was good to score early.  “That's what we've talked about all year. It seems like we haven't done a lot of that scoring early.  We seem to wait around to the third, fourth, fifth inning before we get something going, but (Monday) night we were able to get that run in the first inning, but they answered right back. We got that four and in the third and that helped out tremendously,” said Workman.

          Northmor collected 12 hits against Fairfield Christian pitching and Workman says they were able to string some things together in that third inning.  “We hit the ball really well (Monday) night.  In that inning I think we got a couple hit batters, three or four hits that we were able to get the four runs on.  You can see my kids as the season has gone along the bats are coming around.  These guys that were early in the season getting their first varsity at bats and starting to figure it out and hit some balls hard,” he said.

          Cooper Thomas had three hits on the day, Drew Hammond, Garrett Harvey and Nick Ambrose added two each.  Harvey had two RBI.

          Again, Bentley was tremendous on the mound going all seven innings.  Plus, Workman says their defense was outstanding.  “Bentley did, what Bentley does.  He throws strikes and we played defense behind him.  I think we only had one strike out and only gave up two hits,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Monday night, “There were several plays on defense.  I mean our outfielders made two tremendous catches, our second baseman two over the shoulder catches, our shortstop started a double play, I think our third baseman had, I don't know, nine assists it felt like.  I mean it was just impressive the defense was just on top of it.”

          They had only one error Monday night and Workman says their defense has been very consistent.  “We were looking at it on the way home because I remember years when I first started at Northmor we would have over 100 errors a year.  We're in game 27, I looked at it (Monday) and we have 27 errors on the year.  I'll take one error a game at virtually every level. Obviously, the pitching and the defense have been carrying us, but our bats are starting to come around now,” said Workman.

          He says he doesn’t know a lot about Berne Union right now, but he will come game time.  “Just a little bit.  I mean I don't know a ton about them.  I already as soon as I walked in the door, I started looking on the internet scouring spots to see if I could find anything on them and I'll beat the bushes and see what we can come up with,” he said.

          Northmor (21-6) started this season with a lot of inexperience, but Workman says they have matured quite a bit.  “Coming in we were just so inexperienced.  I didn't know what we were going to get offensively or defensively.  The one thing I thought we had was pitching and obviously that gives you a chance, but you have got to put some defense behind you and have got to be able to score some runs.  The defense has far exceeded my expectations and like I said the bats are getting better and better each week of the season,” said Workman.

Published 5/23/23

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Northmor Beats Very Good Mechanicsburg

          Northmor spotted Mechanicsburg two runs and then rallied to beat them (5-2) in a division IV sectional final on Wednesday evening.

          They will play Fairfield Christian Academy next Monday in the district semis.

          Mechanicsburg scored twice in the top of the first inning, but the Golden Knights kept them off the scoreboard the rest of the game.

          Coach Buck Workman says they didn’t panic.  “The boys did a good job of bouncing back after a rough first inning and kept us in it.  Drew (Hammond) did a good job on the mound and we were able to hang around and get some hits when we needed them,” said Workman.

          Drew Hammond went all seven innings striking out nine and permitting only three hits.

          Workman says he is a kid a that gets better the deeper he gets into the game.  “I mean he's the kind of guy that if you don't get him early, he gets stronger as the game goes on and settles in and he just gets better and better as you go along,” he said.

          Workman says the Golden Knights (19-6) got some key hits as they took the lead (3-2) in the fourth inning.   “Early on we hit a lot of at ‘em balls, many guys were hitting it hard just hitting right at them.  They were making plays, but we got some big two out hits in that fourth inning,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Wednesday night, “Trevor Brubaker got a two out double that knocked in our first run then Bryce Cooper had a big hit knocked in two runs.  They gave us that 3-2 lead.  We just we just continued to battle and had some big, big hits when we needed them.”

          Workman has been a successful baseball coach at Northmor for more than 20 years and he says they like to keep it fun.  “I think it's how my guys approach it.  They just have fun.  I mean that's the thing that is great about this group of boys is they don't let the situation get too big for them and they just they compete and whatever happens. happens and they have fun with what they're doing,” said Workman.

Published 5/18/23

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Northmor Wins Tournament Opener

          Northmor played its first game of the second season and blanked Ridgedale (14-0) in five innings in a division IV tournament game.

          Brubaker, Hammond, Cooper and Bailey combined on a no hitter for the Golden Knights (17-6) on Monday evening.

          Coach Buck Workman says they wanted to get a lot of kids some work as things are about to get a lot tougher for them.  “That was kind of our plan going just using a bunch of guys, so we had everybody available.  They all did a nice job.  We had one big play that Isaac Black made that I kind of saved it, but we just wanted to be at full strength come Wednesday,” said Workman.

          Northmor would have been a big favorite going into the game on Monday, but Workman says they were ready to play.  “I think we're focused.  We came out the first inning and I think we had two bullets right out people and we go down 1, 2, 3 so it's like if you have been around baseball long enough to know that you hit enough at them balls people can stick stay around in a game like that,” he said.

          Northmor, the third seed in the Central District, will play at home against Mechanicsburg (16-4), the fifth seed, on Wednesday in what shapes up as an outstanding game.

          Workman says they have their work cut out.  “I mean I didn't expect we were going to have a team like Mechanicsburg for the sectional final. I mean they're 16-4 and playing in a pretty decent conference.  We're going to have our hands full for sure,” he said.

          Workman says these are two teams that are pretty similar in their approach to the game.  “Well, just looking at their stuff throughout the year and our games and whatnot, it looks like we're pretty similar in terms of neither one of us give up a lot of runs and when we face good pitching it's usually a tight, low scoring game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “So, I mean I think you're going to be in for one of those and we've played plenty of those, so we're used to them.  It's just going to come down to who makes plays when they need to.”

Published 5/16/23

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Northmor Blanks Galion

          Drew Hammond went all six innings striking out eight and allowing only one hit as the Northmor Golden Knights shutout Galion (10-0) in a non-conference baseball game on Monday evening.

          Coach Buck Workman says Hammond was tremendous and on offense they were able to get a lot of runners on base.  “Drew Hammond was on it (Monday) night.  I mean he gave up one infield single in the first inning and only walked one.  He just did everything we could ask for.  Then the bats were hot (Monday).   We had 10 or 11 hits and another six walks and a few hit batters, so we had traffic on most of the night.  The boys did a good job,” said Workman.

          Bentley, Harvey and Copper all had two hits for Northmor.  Hammond helped himself with three RBI.

          Workman says they were able to get some clutch hitting early in the game.  “I mean definitely you get some young guys out there in the mound that are focused on runners and they sometimes lose their command a little bit give you something out over the plate.  We were able to get some big, two out hits early and I think that kind of put us at ease a little bit.  Drew through free and easy and we were able to keep adding to the lead as we went along,” he said.

          Northmor (14-5) scored three runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings against Galion.

          The Golden Knights have been consistent and Workman says that is because of the pitching they have gotten.  “Our top four pitchers have given us a chance virtually every time that that they've been out there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We've just got to find a way to scratch some runs across and sometimes obviously you're going to face some pretty good pitchers on the other end as well.  When we've gotten beat it’s generally been the case where it's been we got shut down a little bit and couldn't score enough.  Our big four have really given us an opportunity every night out.”

Published 5/09/23

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Northmor Rallies Again

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          Northmor scored six times in the last two innings on Thursday evening and rallied to beat Colonel Crawford (10-8) in a non-conference baseball game in North Robinson.

          Crawford built a (7-2) lead in the game after three innings, but the Golden Knights scored three times in the sixth to tie it at (7-7) and then three more in the seventh to take the lead.

          Coach Buck Workman says they just kept fighting.  “They did a good job of kind of hanging in there.  I mean Crawford went up early 6-1, something like that, in the second inning and we made some mistakes defensively didn't help our starter.  We had a sophomore throwing (Thursday) after three straight league games.  It was just getting behind the eight ball, but our guys kept fighting,” said Workman.

          Drew Hammond, Garrett Harvey and Cooper Thomas all had two hits for Northmor.  Harvey, Thomas and Grant Bentley all had two RBI on the night.

          Northmor lost twice to Knox Morrow Athletic Conference leader Fredericktown this week.  They lost (1-0) on Monday and (4-1) on Wednesday.

          Workman says Thursday night was a good bounce back win.  “It was a nice bounce back situation.  We were right there in both of those games.  A couple calls didn't go our way you know.  We had our opportunities and we weren't able to execute, but (Thursday) we hung around and the boys found a way to get it done,” he said.

          Northmor is (11-4), #5 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the small school division, on the season and especially considering some of the obstacles they have faced, Workman couldn’t be happier with his team this spring.  “I'm ecstatic with the performance they've had so far this year.  I mean like I said we had one guy and two guys that played meaningful, I wouldn't say meaningful, but played a lot last year.  Other guys were just getting their feet, but this year coming in we had some injuries and whatnot and they've exceeded my expectations.  I'm proud of the efforts they've had,” said Workman.

Published 4/28/23

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Fredericktown Beats Northmor to Lengthen Lead

Click here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Hathaway

          Fredericktown now has a two game lead on Northmor in the race in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference after the Freddies outlasted the Golden Knights (1-0) Monday evening in Fredericktown.

          Freddies coach Ryan Hathaway says it was a great game.  “I thought both pitchers, (Grant) Bentley for them and (Ben) Mast for us threw really great games.  It wasn't the best conditions for either team.  It was pretty cold.  I thought both teams made a lot of plays defensively and we found a way to get one across in the third inning,” said Hathaway.

          Northmor coach Buck Workman says much the same.  He says both squads played well.  “It was a great pitcher’s duel.  Mast and Bentley threw up a lot of zeros and both defenses made some tough plays,” he said.

          The only run came in the bottom of the third when Brady Lester walked, stole second and scored on a hit by Kaid Carpenter and that was all the Freddies (13-0,8-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the small school division, would need.

          Hathaway says in games of this magnitude, you have to get big plays from your best players.  “We were able to get a guy on second base and then Carpenter came up and got a hit for us that we were able to score on.  In tight games like this, you just have to have your best players you know they have got to make big plays and that's what our guys did,” said Hathaway.

          Hathaway says that execution in the third inning was outstanding and it had to be.  “Lester drew a walk and he's able to steal second base and get in scoring position for Carpenter and Carpenter put a good hit in to left field and we were able to score him,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Monday, “I thought our guys did a good job of competing and trying to find a way to get on base all night.  I got a guy thrown out in the sixth inning there, so we kind of had opportunities.  We still were kind of looking for that hit, but it was it was a good win for us to be in a tight game.”

          Workman felt the Golden Knights (10-3,6-2), #5 in our poll, played very well at Fredericktown, but this time it just want’s good enough.  “You know when you play Fredericktown, you have to be close to perfect to pull out a win.  We played well (Monday) night, but the Freddies were better.  Hats off to coach Hathaway and his staff for what they do other there,” said Workman.

          The teams play against on Wednesday at Northmor.

Published 4/25/23

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Northmor Grabs Big Win

          Northmor solidified its position as one of the better small school baseball teams this year with an impressive (8-4) win over Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference leader Highland on Thursday evening.

          They have won all their games but one this year, but coach Buck Workman says they needed to be tested and Highland (12-3), #1 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the large school division, was certainly that.  “It was good for our boys to play a team of that caliber and compete.  Again, we're just trying to stay sharp.  They were kind enough to come over and pick up a non league game on a nice day and start a little earlier.  It's just good to see what we could do,” said Workman.

          Now, going to the bottom of the sixth inning, the Golden Knights were down (4-3), but they put up a five spot in the sixth giving them a four run lead.

          Workman says they were able to get one base and they got a big hit from Drew Hammond.  “We're down one going into the sixth and they made a heck of a play.  Our leadoff hitter, I thought we had a double down the line and their third baseman Zach Church dove and snagged it and kind of squashed that.  Then we had a little dribbler, a couple walks, and then Drew Hammond hit a double to the right center field gap and that got the guys going and we were to score a couple more with some ground outs and what have you and got the job done,” he said.

          Northmor (10-1,6-1) is not done playing outstanding teams.  They play Fredericktown (12-0,7-0), #1 in our small school poll, in two huge Knox Morrow Athletic Conference games next week.  The Golden Knights trail the Freddies by a game and frankly need to win both meetings.

          Workman says Thursday’s win says they can play with anyone, but he knows they are going to have to be better next week against the Freddies.  “I think that’s biggest thing, confidence and beating a good team like Highland can go a long way as far as knowing you can play with anybody.  I mean we have Fredericktown the number one team in the state in D3 rankings coming up Monday and Wednesday,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Thursday, “So, we wanted a good test before we got to that and Highland was it.  So, we have to play even better to compete with Fredericktown because we were fortunate this time with some things bouncing our way.”

Published 4/21/23

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Northmor Responds with Win

          Northmor kept itself in the race in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference with an (8-3) win over East Knox on Wednesday evening in conference play.

          They tail Fredericktown, the “KMAC” leader by just a game.  They play the Freddies in what shapes up as a petty important series in a couple of weeks.

          After losing their first conference game of the season at East Knox (12-2) on Monday, coach Buck Workman says they were able to bounce back on Wednesday and get a good win.  “They handed it to us pretty good on Monday.  They had their number one on the mound and he mowed us down pretty good, (Bryar) Householder, but our boys are pretty resilient they bounced back (Wednesday) night and had a good showing,” said Workman.

          Workman says he is proud of how his players look forward to the next challenge that confronts them, like Wednesday.  “I was talking to coach (Mark) Wiseman, my assistant coach about that little bit (Wednesday), it’s like you wouldn't have known we got beat 12-2 on Monday or if we won 12-2 as were preparing for this game.  They just they came out and just found a way to get the job done,” he said.

          Workman says they aren’t going to scare anyone with the way they hit the ball on most nights, but they find a way to score some runs.  “We’ll take eight runs any day, but (Wednesday) night’s game was pretty much a synopsis of what we have to do to be successful,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night after the win, “I mean we only had five hits, but we had quality at bats.  We drew seven walks, we got one hit by pitch, and those five hits were timely hits.  I mean Bohdi Workman, I can't say enough about him, he had three sacs, one was a squeeze with two strikes and drew a walk, so he was 0-0, just little things like that we got to have for us to be successful.”

Published 4/13/23

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Bentley Throws No Hitter For Northmor

          Grant Bentley fired a no hitter Monday evening and Northmor blanked Mt. Gilead (2-0) in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game.

          Coach Buck Workman says Bentley had good command.  “Grant was dialed in (Monday) night.  I mean he was hitting his spots for the most part.  He did hit a couple of guys and walked one, but that's kind of his M.O.  He kind of understands going in that we're going to pitch inside a little bit because people like to hog plate now.  He knows we might hit a guy here and there, but he just does his thing,” said Workman.

          In his opinion, Workman says you cannot be afraid to work inside or the batter is going to command that strike zone.  “I mean you see it more and more I think over the years that outside corner is nonexistent.  You try to hit it outside corner a lot of times and it becomes the heart of the plate because these guys are so far up on the plate,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening after the win, “We've talked about that with our pitching staff.  We know we have got throw inside and once in a while.  You're going to get one that’s going to get away from you and you might hit a guy, but that's kind of the things you're willing to deal with.”

          The Golden Knights (2-0,2-0) also beat Centerburg (8-4) last week in a conference game.

          Workman says they also got some a couple of clutch hits on Monday.  “A couple big hits.  I think we scored the one maybe the third inning.  I think our cleanup hitter, who’s a freshman, he gets up there and lays down a beautiful sacrifice bunt and our five hitter comes up gets base hit and knocks one in with two outs.  Similar situation later in the game slow ground ball to move a guy to second and the next guy gets a hit to knock him in.  There you go, there's your support,” he said.

Published 4/04/23

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Northmor With Solid Pitching

          Northmor, a very consistent small school baseball program, will be relying on its pitching this spring with an inexperienced everyday lineup.

          Coach Buck Workman says they do not have much experience, especially with the loss of shortstop Max Lower to injury.  “I mean it's hard to say.  We are replacing eight seniors, who all played quite a bit.  I mean seven of them were starters and one of them was a guy that played quite a bit, our number three pitcher.  So, we lose all those and then get even more bad news, we lost our All-Ohio shortstop Max Lower, “ he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We're basically returning one everyday guy.  We have our top two pitchers back, so it's not all lost.  So, we're just going to have to suffer through some ups and downs early I think and figure out how we're going to generate some runs and we'll see what happens.”

          Northmor has scrimmages with Willard, River Valley and Medina Buckeye left before they begin their season April 25 against Mansfield Senior.

          Workman says those scrimmages are going to be pretty important to them.  “I mean in all the years we've had here in recent memory, I would love to get three or four of these babies in and see what we have got and who can handle certain situations.  If they can’t and we have to move somebody else from the JV or move somebody down or we'll just have to play it by ear and see what we have,” he said.

          Workman says they are going to have to be fundamental to score runs this season.  He says need quality at bats.  “That’s what we're trying to get through to them.  Those little things, getting those bunts down, moving runners, just putting the ball in play when you have got guys on third with less than two outs, just little things.  They think well I have got to get a hit and you don't necessarily get a hit, we are going to have to get quality at bats.  We have got to have a positive at bat, make something happen and at least work the pitcher or things like.  Just with our pitching I'm hopeful that that'll keep us around in these games with a little bit of defense and then we'll just manufacture some runs here and there and hopefully we'll be in some games,” said Workman.

Published 3/17/22

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Northmor Travels to Bellaire For First Round Game

          Northmor, of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, plays at Bellaire in a first round playoff game in division VI on Saturday afternoon.

          There are no lights at the Bellaire field.

          Last week, the Golden Knights fell (28-21) to Loudonville in a “KMAC” game.  It was their third straight loss.

          However, coach Scott Armrose says they accomplished one of their goals last week.  “We took a couple of steps in the right direction.  We wanted to execute better and we did.  We played fundamentally better, but at the same time still too many mistakes to pull off a win,” he said.

          The Northmor coach adds that his kids are still battling and want to play football.  “We don’t have any kids that have given up.  We work hard.  We continue to have good practices and we compete every week.  These kids have no quit in them,” said Armrose.

          Northmor (5-5) is at Bellaire (6-4) on Saturday afternoon.  The Big Reds beat Martin’s Ferry (39-8) last week.  It was their third consecutive win.

          Armrose says they feature some athleticism.  “They are a really good football team.  They are very athletic in the secondary and receiver.  They have a returning All-Ohio defensive back in Ray Ray Pettigrew.  He is a phenomenal athlete,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “They have a really good quarterback at the same time.  So, they are a good combination of run and play action pass on offense and like I said really athletic in the secondary.”

          In terms of personnel and approach, Armrose says Bellaire reminds him very much of “KMAC” champion Centerburg.  “Athletically they make me think a lot about Centerburg because they have a big quarterback that can both run and throw.  They way they are athletic in the secondary and kind of the way they go about their offense.  So, they make you think a lot of Centerburg,” said Armrose.

Published 10/27/22

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Northmor Must Execute

          Northmor needs a win on Friday night to assure themselves of a division VI playoff berth as they play at Loudonville in a game in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference this week.

          Right now, they stand in 14^th place in division VI, region 23.  The top 16 get in.

          Last week, they were blasted (49-13) by conference leader Centerburg.

          Coach Scott Armrose says Centerburg is really good and they didn’t play very well.  “They are a really good football team.  We didn’t do things well, again, and made them look really good, but they are good football team, and they out executed us and outplayed us and that is what happened,” he said.

          Northmor won their first four games, but since that they have lost four of five.

          Armrose says they haven’t executed the way they are capable.  “We just have to take care of the little things we took care of early in the season.  We have had guys in and out of the line up all year and we can use all of the excuses we want for why things haven’t gone our way in the second half, but it comes down to execution and we haven’t executed and we haven’t played the way we are capable of,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “Our last Thursday night practice of the regular season is an emotional one, or senior final practice.  We talked about just going out here at the end of the season in week 10 and hopefully week 11 and going out and playing the way we can and see what we are capable to doing.”

          Northmor (5-4,2-4) visits Loudonville (5-4,3-3) on Friday.  The Redbirds beat East Knox (49-8) last week and they have won their last three.

          Armrose says they feature a defense that the Golden Knights have struggled against.  “They are athletic.  They have a good combination offensively.  They have a really good quarterback and he is a junior and he will be back again.  He can sling it and he can run it.  They combo that with some really good receivers and a good running back.  They are a tough offense to stop.  Defensively, they are another one of the stack teams.  We have struggled with those teams a little bit this season, so we have worked really hard on that this week,” he said.

          A win guarantees Northmor makes the postseason and Armrose says they just want to keep going to practice.  “We just want to keep playing football.  We are having a lot of fun, we are finally healthy.  We just want to keep things going as long as we possibly can.  It is all about our seniors at this point.  We want their football careers to continue and extend as long as possible.  When we get knocked out, we want it to be because it was a better football team and not because we didn’t execute,” said Armrose.

Published 10/21/22

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Northmor Must Make Centerburg Throw

          Northmor takes the bus to Centerburg to take on the leaders in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference on Friday night.

          It would big bonus when it comes to playoff points for Northmor, who currently stands 14^th in the division VI, region 22.  The top 16 qualify for the playoffs.

          They were soundly beaten (36-9) by Mt. Gilead last week in a conference game.

          Coach Scott Armrose says there were too many mistakes.  “We just didn’t do things well consistently.  That has been our theme.  We are able to do things well, we tackle in the open field well, we control the line of scrimmage well and then we have our breakdowns.  Those breakdowns cost us dearly on Friday night,” he said.

          Northmor (5-3,2-3) travels to Centerburg (7-1,5-0) on Friday night.  The Trojans edged Danville (16-11) last week to take first place in themselves in the conference.  They have now won seven straight games.

          Armrose says Centerburg has a very strong running game.  “They are a solid football team.  They are all around good.  They are good up front, solid on the offensive and defensive lines.  They have a really good one, two punch in the backfield.  They quarterback (Tyler Johnson) has over 1,000 yards rushing and their running back (Caylan LeMaster) is right there with him.  They are a spread to run team and they do it very well,” said Armrose.

          If they are going to pull the upset on Friday night, Armrose says they have to force Centerburg to throw the football.  “(Former Colonel Crawford coach Ryan) Teglovic always said you have to try and make them beat you lefthanded.  We can’t let them run the ball to beat us.  We have to make them throw the ball to beat us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “They can still do it well.  I know Danville did a nice job controlling the running game and then Centerburg threw for 180 yards.  That is the gameplan, we have to make them put it in the air.  Hopefully, our athletic guys in the secondary can get that done.”

Published 10/14/22

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Northmor Charged with Stopping the Run

          Northmor continues its march toward another post season appearance as they host Mt. Gilead Friday night in a game in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.

          Right now, they are sixth in the rankings in division VI, region 23.  The top eight host a first round game.

          After a brief two game losing streak, the Golden Knights (5-2,2-2) beat East Knox (36-23) in a conference game last Friday.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they turned their attention more to the passing game last week.  “We played a much better football game offensively.  We finally put some things together and put some points on the board.  At the same time, there are still some things we have to fix.  We didn’t run the ball.  We didn’t control the line of scrimmage like we wanted to,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We had to rely on our quarterback’s arm and our receivers.  We got sloppy towards the end of the game once again.  We have a hard time closing these games out with leads and putting teams away.”

          Northmor QB A.J. Bower throw for 331 yards and five touchdowns in the win over East Knox.

          Armrose says due to circumstances they have had to shift their emphasis to the passing game.  “We have had the ability to throw the ball all season, but when the running game is going well and you have got a lead you really don’t feel the need to spread the field and throw the ball over the place.  Once the need arose and we played some more physical teams up front and lost our starting running back, we had to change the game plan a little bit,” said Armrose.

          Hunter Fulk caught eight passes for 177 yards and three scores in the game last week.

          Mt. Gilead (4-3,2-2) fell last week to “KMAC” co-leader Centerburg (28-14) on Friday night.

          Armrose says they are going to have to stop the run to be successful on Friday night.  “They are much improved football team over last year.  They are very athletic.  Their quarterback and their running back together have rushed for over 1,600 yards.  They are big up front and they do a really nice job of running the football,” he said.

Published 10/04/22

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Northmor Will Keep Fighting

          Northmor will travel to East Knox on Friday night for a game in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.

          After winning their first four games, the Golden Knights have now lost their last two, including a (22-15) setback to Fredericktown last Friday.

          Coach Scott Armrose was very pleased with his kid’s effort.  “Our kids fight, they have not quit in them.  That is what we do every week.  You tell them to keep playing hard and you fight to the very end and things we start going our way.  We are going to continue to work and we are going to get better,” said Armrose.

          Armrose says they are definitely dealing with adversity.  “We have talked about the football gods not being good to us lately.  We have had some injuries here and there.  We continue to fight and get better.  There are a lot of young guys getting a lot of opportunities,” he said.

          One of the players they have been without is All-Ohioan Max Lower.

          Northmor (4-2,1-2) is at East Knox (2-4,1-2) on Friday night in “KMAC” action.  The Bulldogs lost (22-6) to Mt. Gilead last week.

          Armrose predicts they have the personnel to give his team problems.  “They have losses on the year, but they are to good football teams in close games.  They are a young football team, but they have experience at running back and receiver and a couple of good athletes that are going to give us trouble,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “So, it is going to be a good football game over there at East Knox.”

          Armrose understands that the Bulldogs are going to be physical, as always.  “They are always a physical football team.  They have a style that allows that to happen.  It is going to be one of those Knox Morrow rivalries,” he said.

Published 9/27/22

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Northmor Faces Another Solid Defense

          Northmor, now a game back in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, will be on the road for just the second time this year, as they visit Fredericktown to take on the Freddies on Friday night.

          The Golden Knights (4-1,1-1) lost for the first time this year last Friday when they were throttled (32-7) by conference co-leader Danville.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they were beaten at the point of attack.  “They controlled the line of scrimmage.  They definitely did a nice job of that.  They are big and strong up front.  At times it was more than we could handle.  We weren’t able to establish the running game.  With our offense, if we can’t get the running game going it is hard for us to keep our offense on the field,” said Armrose.

          Armrose says he likes the way his team responded this week on the practice field.  “I think we had our best week of practice of the season this week.  Our boys responded well and they are up for the challenge this week,” he said.

          Fredericktown (3-2,1-1) outscored Mt. Gilead (43-22) last Friday night for their third win in their last four games.

          Like Danville, Armrose says the Freddies are going to be physical.  “They are another big, strong football team up front, so we have our work cut out for us again,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “They are another ground and pound off tackle kind of team that will spread the ball out a little bit.  We see a lot of similarities to Danville.  So, we hope we are up to that challenge.”

          Armrose says Fredericktown is also very good on defense and on all levels.  “They play four really good defensively linemen.  A couple of them pretty big boys.  They have really good speed in the secondary too with Teegan Ruhl and Kaid Carpenter back there.  So, they have it all.  They have a really tough defense,” he said.

Published 9/23/22

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Northmor and Danville in Key “KMAC” Battle  

          Northmor hosts Danville a huge early season game in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference on Friday night.

          It’s a game between two contenders.

          Northmor (4-0,1-0) played without running back Max Lower last week, but they still found a way to beat Cardington (27-13) in their league opener.

          Coach Scot Armrose says they handled the adversity they were facing very well.  “We were able to overcome some adversity both before the game with some key injuries and during the game, we turned the ball over, and we don’t typically do that.  We were able to overcome those adversities and it took a lot of guys to do it.  We had a lot of guys contribute and it was a really team effort,” he said.

          Danville (3-1,1-0) handled Fredericktown (28-7) last week down on Tuff Street.

          Armrose says this is a team with no weaknesses.  “They have a great combination of size, strength, speed and experience.  You go through the scouting report and read off the names of their starters you can’t believe those guys are still there.  A lot of these kids are juniors and seniors and they have been starting since they were freshmen and sophomores,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “They have it all.  They have the big kids up front and speed behind, a quarterback that can run and throw, they have a running back, so they can do it all.”

          On offense, Armrose says Danville will get in some spread formations, but their goal is force you to contain their power run game.  “They will spread you out a little bit, but they want to run off tackle.  They are a power off tackle team, but at same time they will run some jet sweep back behind that.  They will fake the jet sweep and run the power.  They will spread the field out a little bit and run some empty stuff, but everything they want to do comes back to them running off tackle,” he said.

          A former offensive line coach, Armrose knows the importance of the trenches.  He says that is where this game will be won and lost.  “All these games are run up front.  It comes down to they stunt a lot of defense and we have to be able to adjust and pick up those stunts.  Are we going to be able to block their big, experienced defensive linemen up front?  The same things for us.  We take a lot of pride in our defensive line.  They have done a great job to this point in the season.  They are going to have their work cut out for them this week,” said Armrose.

Published 9/14/22

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Northmor Prepares for Cardington

          Northmor kicks off play in the Know Morrow Athletic Conference by entertaining the Cardington Pirates on Friday night.

          Northmor (3-0) continued its strong defensive play last week by stuffing Bucyrus (27-7) in non-conference action.

          They actually held Bucyrus out of the end zone defensively and coach Scott Armrose says they played outstanding defensive football.  “I was very pleased with our defensive effort and our defensive game plan.  We executed well,” he told Swankopnsports.com on Wednesday night, “Their only seven points was off fumble that they recovered form us and ran back for a touchdown.  So, basically our defense held them out and they had an offense with an athletic quarterback that makes plays and they did a great job.”

          Northmor figures to be in the race in the “KMAC” this year, but Armrose predicts it is going to be a battle every week.  “The way that our league is kind of laid out this year there are going to be a lot of competitive games.  Down the stretch here all of these games are not only meaningful, they are all rivalries, they are all going to close, hard fought football games,” he said.

          Cardington (1-2) hammered Crestline (49-0) last week for their first win of the season.

          Armrose says the Pirates are a hard team to predict when they are going to do.  “Well, Cardington is a tough team to figure out because two of the better players, the Plowman twins, played their first game last week against Crestline.  You never know what we are going to see.  Nothing against Crestline, but there isn’t a whole lot you can learn watching that film.  They are interesting team and a tough team to prepare for because two of their better players have played very little this season,” said Armrose.

Published 9/08/22

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Northmor With Another Tough Defensive Assignment

          Northmor pays a visit to Bucyrus to meet the Redmen in a non-conference game on Friday night.

          They improved to (2-0) last week with a (28-20) win at South Central against the Trojans, holding them to three scores.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they did a good job containing and explosive offense.  “We played very tough defensively.  We held an explosive offense to 20 points.  Going in I thought if we could hold them to 20 or less, we would have a pretty chance of winning and we did that.  We put a special plan together for a team that does a lot of good things offensively that is tough to defend and we did a really good job of executing it,” said Armrose.

          Armrose says they don’t do anything too extreme when it comes to game plans, they just adjust every week.  “We certainly put the work in.  That is one of things our coaching staff is never going to get out worked.  We put the work in every week.  We are not schemers.  There are a lot of guys that will go out there and put a different plan together every week.  Everything we do fits our system and we make adjustments to our system and we do things within our system,” he said.

          Bucyrus (1-1) was blanked last week (42-0) by Danville, also of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.

          Despite that, Armrose says the Redmen are potentially explosive on offense.  “Bucyrus is very athletic offensively.  Their quarterback is a junior in the (Malachi) Bayless.  He can scramble and throw on the run very well and they have some receivers that can catch the ball.  Their offensive line is big.  Defensively, those same linemen play on their “D-line”.  They are big and they are physical up front and will certainly give us some challenges,” he said.

          Armrose says it is tough defending a quarterback like Bayless because a big play is always right around the corner.  “The danger is your “D-line” does their job with their pass rush and he evades the tackle and finds a seam and at that point in the play for secondary is deep and your linebackers are taking a drop and he all of the sudden takes off,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “At the same time you have to stay in your coverage too because he could scramble around and one of the better things they do is improvising and throwing on the run.  There are a lot of things that are involved.”

Published 8/30/22

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Northmor Takes on Wide Open South Central

          It’s a battle between different football philosophies as power run Northmor is at wide open South Central in non-conference play on Friday night.

          Last week, Northmor held Marion Elgin to 100 total yards and blanked the Comets (45-0) in their opener.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they did the things they had written on the scouting report.  “We were very pleased with our effort.  All of the things we talked about the need to be physical up front and our defensive line played fantastic,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We put their offense, which is a run first offense, is situations of third and long where they weren’t comfortable.  We forced turnovers.  I think they turned it over five times.  We were able to take advantage of those turnovers.”

          South Central scored with 15 seconds left to beat Willard (44-43) last week.

          Armrose says this is a team with a lot of big play potential they have to deal with.  “They are a whole different challenge than Elgin.  It is almost like it is a different kind of football game when you are playing them.  They are so good at what they do with run, pass option.  They may be the best quarterback wide receiver combination that we see all season.  It’s a very difficult challenge,” said Armrose.

          Now, South Central’s defense was leaky last week, but Armrose says they are a veteran unit and they gave them problems last year when they beat (37-20) the Trojans.  “They return I think nine starters from last year’s defense that really challenged us offensively last year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I know that they are big up front and they have great speed.  Their wide receivers and quarterback all play in the secondary, so they have a lot of speed back there.  We have our work cut out for us there.”

Published 8/26/22

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Northmor Meets Run Heavy Elgin

          Northmor play at home Friday night in their season opener against the Marion Elgin Comets.

          The Golden Knights are coming off a (9-3) season, although they lost three of their last four games.  They do return one of the best running backs in their area in 225 pound senior Max Lower.

          In a scrimmage last Friday against Wynford, coach Scott Armrose says they showed some improvement in some areas.  “I think in some places we took a step forward and we improved and some places we didn’t.  The good news is, Wynford is a much improved football team and we were able to see some things again.  We will see those things on film and hope we can correct them,” he said.

          Armrose believes they were tested like they needed to be against Wynford.  “We are never going to be perfect, that’s for sure.  The things we work on fundamentally there are some things we are going to be good at and when we have a flaw there that is definitely something that needs to be fixed.  You not going to see those things unless you are going to show them in a scrimmage,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday evening, “Wynford is a much improved football team this year under Clye Skidmore.  They are going things the right way.  They are going to the old school Wynford way of playing football.  They showed us some things that we definitely need to improve.”

          Elgin (4-6) a year ago is the Golden Knights first opponent.  Armrose says they are a team that is going to play that football in a phone booth sort of style.  “Elgin is a tough team to play.  They run the double wing, much like the Lucas Cubs do, and very much the same way.  They do things really well.  They have athletes in places where they can make plays.  So, they bring up a pretty good challenge for us,” he said.

          Elgin with that style can be difficult to prepare for in a week, but Armrose says they teams they have played have prepared them for some things they will see.  “The things that they do are the things that are very similar to what we do, which is very similar to what Wynford does, and very similar to what Western Reserve does.  Your defensive line has to be fundamental, they need to squeeze, and take plays on and bounce things outside.  We have prepared ourselves with two tough scrimmages to help us be ready,” said Armrose.

Published 8/15/22

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Northmor Moving Forward

          Northmor is taking steps to get ready for the high school football season, which begins next week.

          They open up at home against Marion Elgin in non-conference play on August 19.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they are working on correcting mistakes they made in their first scrimmage.  “The good thing is Western Reserve is a good football team, they are well coached, they do things right and they are going to show mistakes.  We were able to see the mistakes that we made.  Hopefully, we are going to be able to correct them in our next scrimmage on Thursday night,” said Armrose.

          Armrose says their offensive line is inexperienced and at times that showed last week.  “What we thought going into that scrimmage our biggest concern was going to be our lack of experience on the offensive line.  Where Western Reserve had seniors on the offensive line and it showed.  I think our kids were able to see some things on film and we are working to correct those things,” he said.

          Northmor meets Wynford in a scrimmage on Thursday night.  Armrose says you want to be tested in these scrimmages.  “That is why you challenge yourself in your scrimmages.  If you scrimmage a team that is not very strong you gain a lot of confidence, but you don’t learn from any of your mistakes.  That was good for us to see Western Reserve and they took to us a few times.  We were able to move the ball at times, but at other times their experience against our inexperience showed,” said Armrose.

          The format Thursday night will be more game like than the first scrimmage was and Armrose says that allows them to be tested in other areas.  “As far as the format of the scrimmage we are going to go game situation.  Run through our special teams and do all of those situations and get kids on and off the field and that is good for us too.  Although our special teams won’t be live, but it will be run like a game.  We will play are varsity the first half.  We usually go with a series of varsity guys the second half to have a chance to make second half adjustments like you would in a game and them we start to rotate some young guys in after that.  We run it more like a game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Now, preparation is no different because we are still in camp and will are still going long practices here.  Typically for our second scrimmage we don’t prep for the team we are scrimmaging until the day before the scrimmage.  We work on getting ready for week one.”

Published 8/10/22

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Northmor Outlasts Pleasant; Advances to District Final

          Northmor needed extra innings and a lot of them, eight in fact, to beat Marion Pleasant (4-2) in a division III district semifinal played on Tuesday evening at Pleasant.

          The game had all of the plot twists of a Stephen King novel, just when you were sure one team would win, they didn’t.

          Northmor coach Buck Workman, already an old man, probably got a lot older on Tuesday, but he says it was worth it.  “With games like that your will get old fast.  It was crazy.  I still haven’t digested the whole thing quite yet.  Credit our kids they kept grinding and found a way to get it done,” he said.

          Drew Hammond, who didn’t even start the game with a bat in his hands drilled an RBI single off Pleasant’s Peydon Gosnell in the top of the 15^th to give the Golden Knights a (3-2) lead.  A second run would score that inning on a walk.

          Northmor tied the game at (2-2) in top of the seventh on Max Lower’s RBI double to force extra innings.  Pleasant had taken a (2-1) lead in the bottom of the fifth on RBI hits by J.T. Snively and Nik Osborn.

          There were lots of histrionics in extra innings.  A Northmor runner was thrown out at the plate in the eighth.  The Golden Knights Trenton Ramos made a game saving diving catch in the ninth.  Pleasant stranded two runners in the 12^th, left them loaded in the 13^th, and had a runner forced at home in the 14^th.

          Workman says their defense was exceptional.  “It was about every inning because it felt like we were always intentionally walking somebody every inning to set up a better situation for us.  Grant (Bentley) started and went eight innings and did a tremendous job and Drew (Hammond) came in and went the remaining seven and he did a fantastic job too dancing in and out of trouble,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “The defense was huge (Tuesday) night.  We played 15 innings and we had maybe two errors.  That was why we won because of our defense.”

          In a game like this is there are many stars, but if the were an MVP for the Golden Knights, it might be Hammond.  He took the mound in the 8^th inning and went the rest of the way, allowing only two hits.

          He also picked up a bat when called upon in extra innings by Workman and boy did he deliver.  “Drew was big.  He started off the game at third base and he was getting DH’d for.  Our DH was struggling a little bit, so I said we have to give Drew a shot here.  I think he grounded out the first time and hit it decent.  Then that next time with two outs, he had a big hit.  He is only a sophomore, but I expect him to continue to do big things like that these next two years,” said Workman.

          Northmor (18-7) meets Liberty Union at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University on Thursday in the district final.  The Lions beat Grandview Heights (7-0) on Tuesday.

          Workman knows they will face one of the better high school pitchers in the nation.  “That is going to be a tall order.  We are going to be seeing Jacob Miller, who is arguably the best pitcher in the state and one of the best pitchers in the county.  The kid can hit 98.  So, we are going to have our work cut out for us.  I am probably going set up the “L” screen (Wednesday) 10 feet away and try and throw as hard as I can to replicate what he does.  We will just see what we can do on Thursday,” he said.

Published 5/25/22

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Northmor Blanks Buckeye in Tune up

          Northmor, who plays a district semi on Tuesday, beat Buckeye Central (10-0) in six innings on Monday in a game scheduled to get both teams some work.

          Jack Sears and Drew Hammond combined on a two hitter for the Golden Knights.  Grant Bentley, Gavin Whited and Garret Corwin all had two hits.  Andrew Armrose and Corwin had two RBI each.

          Coach Buck Workman says they wanted to stay sharp.  “We have been playing pretty well of late.  We just wanted to make sure we were seeing some live pitching before we got into this big game with Pleasant (Tuesday).  Coach (Chad) Jensen was kind enough to come over,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We were scheduled to play them earlier and then we couldn’t make it work with rainouts and stuff.  He plays Wednesday against Plymouth and we have a game (Tuesday), so we got together and had a little tune up.”

          Buckeye Central (11-11) plays Plymouth in a division IV district semi on Wednesday in Galion.  Northmor (17-7) plays at home against Marion Pleasant (14-8) in division III district semifinal on Tuesday.

          Workman says their pitchers did a good job and when Buckeye hit the ball hard, they hit it right at someone.  “They hit some balls hard, but out defense was solid.  Jack Sears has been coming around.  We thew Drew (Hammond) for a couple of innings.  Anything they hit hard seemed to be right at us.  It was one of those nights when we were fortunate from that respect,” he said.

          Northmor got 10 runs on nine hits highlighted by a big six spot in the bottom of the sixth.  Workman says things seemed to mushroom for them in the sixth.  “We scored three in the third.  Everything seemed to be hard to come by until we got to the sixth.  Things just snowballed in the sixth we were able to get a couple of walks, a couple of hits, they made a couple of mistakes and the next thing you know we score six runs and it’s over.  We hit the ball pretty well, I wasn’t disappointed with that.  We had some at bats that I would like to have back, but on the whole it was pretty nice,” said Workman.

Published 5/24/22

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Northmor Shuts Down West Jeff

          Northmor won their division III tournament opener Thursday evening in beating West Jefferson (4-1) at Northmor to advance to play Marion Pleasant next week.

          Starter Grant Bentley was terrific in limiting the Roughriders to one run on one hit and the Golden Knight had only one error.

          Coach Buck Workman says that is how they have to play baseball.  “Bentley was on point (Thursday) night.  He only gave up one hit and when they did put if in play our defense was solid behind him.  That is the recipe we have to have to be successful,” he said.

          Northmor only got three hits themselves, but Workman says they were able to find ways to get runs.  “Our guys did a nice job of coaxing some walks.  They were patient.  We got a couple of bunts down.  We got a couple of slow rollers.  The speed that some of our guys have put pressure on them and they made a couple of mistakes.  Normally, when you get three hits, you don’t score four runs.  Our approach at the plate was really nice.  We hit some ball hard, but there were right at them.” he said.

          Workman has been coaching the game for a long time and he feels that getting down bunts in key situations is important.  “West Jeff came and scouted us on Tuesday when we played Fairbanks, who is in their league.  It is hard not to show too much.  I am a small ball guy by nature.  I didn’t care, we were still going to put pressure on them,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “It is tough, you are playing on that turf, and the ball is bouncing and they have to go get it, field it and make a nice throw.  Let’s make them make plays instead of swinging at bad pitches and striking out.  We don’t need to do that.”

          Northmor (16-7) plays host to Marion Pleasant (14-8), a (7-3) winner over Columbus Bishop Ready on Thursday, next Tuesday in district semifinal.

          Workman says Pleasant is solid and they have to continue to play fundamental baseball.  “I have kind of followed the “MOAC” pretty closely this year.  I have some kids that play travel ball they play for Shelby, Ontario, and Galion, so I keep an eye on those guys.  Pleasant being in our district.  They are a really good team.  They have some studs.  It is going to come down to who executes in that game.  We have the ability to beat them, but if we don’t play baseball like we are capable of, they could run us off the field.  It is one those deals that if we play like we did (Thursday) night, we will be fine, if we make errors we are going to be in trouble,” said Workman.

Published 5/20/22

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Northmor Avoids Rain; Blasts Mt. Gilead

          Northmor scored nine times in the first three innings on Tuesday evening and they hammered Mt. Gilead (10-2) in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game played at Northmor.

          It was one of the few games in North Central Ohio to be played on Tuesday due to a couple of lines of strong storms.

          Coach Buck Workman says they were fortunate to get it in, but they, and Mt. Gilead, really wanted to play some baseball.  “I didn’t really have high hopes.  We have been so backed up we just had to take a chance.  Fortunate for us Mt. Gilead is not that far away, so they were willing to make that risk.  We were starting a little earlier and I think that helped.  We were able to get started.  We had one 30 minute delay, but we were clean after that,” said Workman.

          This was the final “KMAC” game for the Golden Knights, who are going to finish fourth in the final standings.  They want to fill the rest of the regular season with non-conference games and are looking for a game on Wednesday.  They play Crestline Thursday and Galion and Colonel Crawford next week.

          Grant Bentley got the start and went six innings for the Golden Knights.  He surrendered one hit and struck out nine.

          He did walk five, but Workman says other than the wildness, he did a good job on the hill.  “Outside of a few walks and a couple of hit batters he only have up one or two hits.  He did the job and we made some plays behind him when we had to.  We finally got the bats going, so it was a pretty good night,” he said.

          Northmor (10-7,6-6) banged out 12 hits.  Bentley, Max Lower, Andrew Armrose, Garrett Corwin and Marty Kearns all have two hits for the Golden Knights.  Lower homered, Bentley had a triple and Corwin a double.

          Workman says they finally got some balance in the lineup.  “We have been looking for some of that.  We have been top heavy.  The top of the order has been hitting well all year.  We have been up and down at the bottom.  (Tuesday) night we hit more one through nine,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “We at least had some good AB’s, walks, or moved runners.  Up until (Tuesday) night we have been struggling with that.  Max Lower led off the bottom of the first with a home run and that got the guys going a little bit and made it a lot easier.”

Published 5/04/22

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Northmor Downs East Knox

          Northmor moved into a share of second place in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference with East Knox by beating the Bulldogs (10-5) on Wednesday evening in Howard.

          Both teams trail Fredericktown by two games.

          Coach Buck Workman says it was a solid win for the Golden Knights.  “It was definitely a quality win considering we were facing their number one.  We have been bit by the injury bug, so we are kind of short handed.  Everybody stepped up (Wednesday) night,” Workman.

          They played without senior Max Lower on Wednesday.

          Catcher Gavin Whited and shortstop Grant Bentley both had three hits for the Golden Knights, Bentley had three RBI.

          Workman says they had a good approach at the plate.  “We were just talking about that as a staff.  Several balls we hit straight up the middle.  We had a nice approach, we didn’t try to do too much.  Just getting bunts down.  Everybody contributed is some way shape or form.  It was just a nice team win,” said Workman.

          Nine different guys had hits in Northmor’s 15 hit attack.

          Workman says they had a lot of guys do good things.  “Even is a guy that didn’t get a hit, they got a walk, the pitch ran, or pitch hit, we just had guys doing things.  We run 14, 15 guys out there on different nights in different roles.  That is kind of the make up of our team and (Wednesday) night everything worked out for us,” he said.

          Drew Hammond went all seven innings for Northmor, giving up six hits and striking out six to get the win.

          Northmor (6-2,4-2) plays host to East Knox (6-2,5-2) on Thursday, barring more rain, which is in the forecast.

          Workman says one of the keys to their success this year has been the depth they have and what their bench can do.  “We kind of mix and match.  We have some guys that play some pretty good defense, but we have some guys that can hit it a little bit too and maybe they don’t have a full time position, but we use those guys in a pinch hitter role,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We have a couple of guys that can run pretty good and we use them.  It is nice to have a deep bench that helps us out when they can.”

Published 4/21/22

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Fredericktown Blanks Northmor

          Kaid Carpenter threw a three hit shutout as Fredericktown downed Northmor (2-0) in action Tuesday evening in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.

          The Freddies share first in conference with East Knox, who beat Cardington (8-2) on Tuesday.

          Carpenter walked none and struck out 15 Golden Knights.

          Coach Ryan Hathaway says he was in command.  “He was on it (Tuesday) night and threw a lot of strikes and really kept is pitch count down throughout the game.  I thought he looked as sharp as he has all season.  He really is a great competitor,” said Carpenter.

          Northmor coach Buck Workman says Carpenter was tough and they really didn’t have many chances.  “We just tip our caps to Carpenter and the Freddies.  They are well coached and don’t make many mistakes.  Carpenter was dealing and the couple of chances we did have, we just couldn’t get that big hit,” he said.

          Fredericktown (4-0,3-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com baseball coaches poll in the small school division, got RBI from Trevor Jobes and Luke Bean to score runs single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

          The Freddies got four hits and Northmor (3-2,1-2) walked six, so Fredericktown had some traffic on the bases.

          Hathaway says they need more clutch hits.  “There were a very solid team.  We got two across, which was great, but when we kind of regrouped after the game and looked at what we left on base, which was about 13.  We just have to do a better job of getting some more timely hits and not making it such a tight game when you are getting such a great pitching outing.  We found a way to get it done,” he said.

          Hathaway adds that Northmor pitchers Grant Bentley, Jack Sears and Drew Hammond did an outstanding job of changing speeds and they couldn’t barrel very many balls.  “I seemed like their guys did a good job keeping us off balance.  It wasn’t that we were having bad at bats it was just when we needed that one timely hit or needed somebody to put it in play.  We just couldn’t get a SAC fly when we needed it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “I think we had the bases loaded two or three times.  It’s just baseball and hopefully we get a chance to get out there (Wednesday) and our guys are getting put in these positions now.  Hopefully, down the road it is going to pay off.”

Published 4/13/22

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Northmor Scores Late to Beat Cardington

          Northmor scored 12 runs in the last two innings to break it open and beat Cardington (14-7) in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game on Monday evening at Northmor.

          Coach Buck Workman says they got some clutch hits.  “In the sixth inning we scored seven and six of those seven were with two outs.  That was nice to see because we have been lacking that two out punch, getting that big, two out hit when we needed it.  A shout out this week to Brody Workman for a big hit with two outs that kind of ignited us and we kind of exploded from there with a bases clearing double,” said Workman.

Max Lower and Andrew Armrose both had three hits for the Golden Knights.  Armrose and Grant Bentley both had four 4 RBI in the win.

          Northmor got at least one hit from seven players and Workman says that has to keep happening if there are going to have a good year.  “That we key if we are going to be successful and put up some big numbers, we have to have one through nine helping out and (Monday) night we got that even if it was a couple of walks here, a hit by pitch, a couple of hits from guys at the bottom of the order.  We had some pinch hitters come in and give us some quality at bats.  We have to do that if we are going to be successful,” he said.

          Northmor (3-1,1-1) plays at Danville on Wednesday in a conference game.

          Workman says if they were going to stay in the race, they had to get the win on Monday.  “We couldn’t start out the league 0-2.  They are a solid ballclub, they are scrappy.  Their top five are pretty darn good.  The game Saturday, the ball just didn’t bounce our way.  We had a couple of close calls that didn’t go our way that could have changed the outcome.  We had a couple of errors that put us in a bind.  At the end of the day, it was our own undoing,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “It was nice to see our kids show a little resiliency.  We could have buried our heads in the sand when we were down 2-1, but in the fourth inning we tied it up.”

Published 4/05/22

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Northmor Blasts Bucyrus in Home Opener

          Grant Bentley tossed four innings of shutout ball and added three hits as Northmor belted Bucyrus (10-0) in five innings in their first game at their renovated baseball field, which now includes a turf infield.

          Griffin Workman added three hits on the day.  Andrew Armrose had a hit and two RBI for the Golden Knights.

          Coach Buck Workman says it was a solid opener.  “It was good to see.  It was just nice to get out there and get to play finally.  It was a little chilly, but it was better than it has been,” he said.

          Cooper Thomas broke open a close game with a clutch hit in the third and the Golden Knights went on to score five runs in the inning.  “We did everything right (Tuesday) night.  I want to give a shout out to Copper Thomas.  He came up with a big pinch hit to knock in two in the third inning that kind of opened it up with two outs.  That was huge and we just kind of rolled after that,” said Workman.

          Northmor also had no errors in the game, but Workman says they have things that still need refined.  “We still made plenty of mistakes situational wise in our hitting.  There are definitely some things we can get better at.  I don’t think we are going to be satisfied.  We have to keep growing and getting better game by game,” he said.

          Northmor returns to the diamond Thursday as the host Colonel Crawford (0-1) in a non-conference game.  The Eagles lost (11-3) to Plymouth on Tuesday.  They play Cardington in their Knox Morrow Athletic Conference opener on Friday.

          Workman says the fans turned out for the home opener and that was great.  “It was a great atmosphere.  The girls were playing, we were playing, there were a lot of people out for the first game,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “I’ll tell you since that COVID year last year our fans were incredible.  Just the general public out watching games because they were allowed to do things and I think it has just carried over.”

Published 3/30/22

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Northmor Has Little Bit of Everything

          Northmor will have an experienced baseball team with solid pitching and some versatility on offense.

          Coach Buck Workman says they have some injury concerns this year, but they have some depth.  “I am pretty excited.  We have kind of been up and down so far when we have scrimmaged and practices have been the same.  A couple of injuries have held us back a little bit, so we are looking for who is going to plug some holes until those guys can hopefully get back.  We have most of our guys back.  We lost our centerfield and our first baseman.  We have all of our pitching back, so we are pretty excited to get going,” said Workman.

          April 26 marks the beginning of the season for the Golden Knights against Mansfield Senior.  Play in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference starts April 1 with Cardington.

          With experience on the mound, Workman says that makes things a lot easier to manage.  “You are not searching for answers.  You know what you have when those guys go out there.  You have to put the best defense you can around them and let them throw strikes.  It gives you a chance to win ballgames,” he said.

          When it comes to hitting, Workman says they the ability to do a lot of things.  “I think we are a little bit of everything this year.  We have a couple of guys that can steal some bases.  We have a couple of guys that can get some bunts down.  We have a couple of power guys.  We are going to mix in some hit and run,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It is going to be dictated by the feel of the game and where we are at.  Normally, I can tell you one way or the other, but this group is a little more diverse.  It is not slanted one way or another.”

          With that versatility, Workman says the Golden Knights have a good chance to be a solid ballclub this year.  “I think we have some nice pieces.  We have seven starters back.  We lost those two, but we have several guys that got their feet wet.  Each of them that are going to fill in this year kind of bring something different to the table.  Maybe a better bat here, a better glove here, a guy that can get a bunt down.  We have pieces and parts and we just have to figure out roles.  If they can get in there are do their roles properly, we can be successful,” said Workman.

Published 3/18/22

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Northmor Holds off Colts

          Northmor outscored Clear Fork (33-16) in the middle two quarters and held off the Colts, who missed a shot at the buzzer, for a (51-49) win at Les Hauenstien Gym on Thursday night.

          Clear Fork put an (11-2) run together to close the first quarter to take a (13-6) lead after one as Caleb Dettmer scored four points during the run.  However, the second quarter was all Golden Knights as they opened with three straight field goals, including a three from senior point guard Graesin Cass to tie it at 13 all with 6:05 to play in the half.  Beau Dornbier’s field goal gave Clear Fork an (18-13) lead with 4:44 left in the second, but Northmor closed the half on a (14-5) run in which six different players scored to lead (27-23) at the half.

          After the break Northmor owned a (12-6) advantage in the third quarter feud by five markers, including a three point goal, by Logan Mariotti.

          Clear Fork, however, wouldn’t go away, outscoring the Golden Knights (20-12) in the final stanza.

          Northmor coach Blade Tackett says they had built a nice lead and were able to hang on in the end.  “It ended up being a close game down the stretch and we were lucky enough to pull one out.  I don’t necessarily believe we should have been in that position.  Clear Fork played really hard and probably deserved to win in the end.  I am not going to complain about us not playing well, especially down the stretch.  Luckily, we had a really nice second quarter.  We were able to keep that lead in the third quarter and it was enough to withstand their run at the end,” said Tackett.

          Clear Fork (0-8) has had trouble competing this season, but coach Steven Bechtel says this was their best effort of the year.  “We talked about this being a complete team effort.  We had 12 or 13 turnovers.  We lost as a team (Thursday) night and I thought that we played the best team basketball that we have played all year.  We put ourselves in position to have an opportunity to tie or win the game and just came up short,” he said.

          Northmor held a (47-35) advantage with 4:47 left in the game after a Grant Bentley goal, but Clear Fork got hot at the end paced by three, three pointers by sophomore Adam Vanausdle in the final 4:32.  Vanausdle’s three cut Northmor’s lead to (48-46) with 1:53 to play.  Maybe the biggest play of the night for the Golden Knights came when Cass went coast to coast to lay it in with :44 seconds left to give his team a four point edge (50-46), but the Colts again responded with a three from Dettmer to make (50-49) with 13 seconds left.  Bentley would make one of two free throws to make (51-49) and the Colts rebounded the second miss and all called time out with 4.7 seconds to play.  After a time out for each team, a three by Clear Fork guard Kaleb Hollar rimed out.

          Tackett says they went man of that final possession, but the Colts got a good look.  “They got a really good look at the basket, I mean they really did.  We just did what we do, played man and switched.  If we can get a good contest, we think we can win that possession and win the game.  They ran a nice set at the end of the “JV” game where they ran a lob to the basket, so we took away the basket, and I think we had a close out on the shooter.  They still got a good look, credit to them,” he said.

          Bechtel thinks his team executed well on the final play.  “I thought we got a great look.  We had three different options on there and we went with the third option, which ended up being a pretty good look. Sometimes on your third option you don’t get that good of a look,” he said.

          Cass led Northmor with 18 points.  Vanausdle has 13 and Dettmer 12 for Clear Fork.

          Happy with the win, Tackett says they did not get a consistent effort on defense.  “We competed well all night.  We executed really well all night.  The thing that bothers me a little bit is our defensive energy and intensity changes with our opponent.  Our guys have been executing offensively other than some mental turnovers that just didn’t make any sense to me.  We are dribbling off our foot or not catching it and it is going out of bounds.  When we didn’t turn the ball over, we executed really well,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “What we didn’t do well is defend, communicate and rebound really well and that’s what we want to hang our hat on and we do it against great teams.  I think our guys work hard.  I think we lose energy when we think we don’t have to play defense and it allows them to chip away.”

          Northmor (5-4) has now won three games at the horn this year.  They beat Danville and Fredericktown with hoops at the buzzer.

          Tackett says they have to be better at slamming the door.  “We have been in a lot of close games.  Here we are the second game in a row we had a chance to extend the lead and not be in a battle at the end of the game, instead we let our guard down a little bit thinking we were just going to push it to 15 and they were going to give up.  They hit a couple of big shots and suddenly it is a one possession game and here we are again.  We are at the mercy of the last possession like we have several times this year.  Luckily, it went our way this time,” said Tacket.

Published 12/24/21

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Northmor Wants to Keep TO’s Down

          Northmor is at home for Fredericktown in a game in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference on Tuesday night.

          The Golden Knights (2-1,1-0) are coming off a (58-57) win at Danville in conference play on Friday night.

          Coach Blade Tackett says they got a big play from their point guard to get the win.  “We were down one with 10 seconds left and Danville was at the line and missed a free throw.  Graesin Cass brought it down the floor, did a little spin move in the key, put up about a three, four footer and rattled one in with about 1.2 seconds left.  Danville missed a half court shot and we won by one.  It was a pretty fun night.  We had a good practice (Monday), kind of a new energy in the gym and no doubt about it we are feeling pretty good right now and that’s a god thing going into a tough matchup (Tuesday),” said Tackett.

          Fredericktown (2-1,1-1) comes calling on Tuesday night.  The Freddies lost (57-40) to Mt. Gilead in a “KMAC” game on Friday.

          Tackett says they have an outstanding player in Kaid Carpenter.  “They lost a lot from last year, they had a really great senior class, co-champs in the league.  They bring back Kaid Carpenter and the kid is pretty talented.  He averages about 20 points a game, 6’4”, can shoot, he is a pretty special player.  Outside of that they have some pretty athletic guards, some talented kids, not a ton of varsity experience, but I think they are getting better.  When you have a kid like Kaid you have the chance to win a lot.  I don’t think they are off to the start that they wanted, but Derek (Dibling) is a great coach there and I think they are starting to figure things out,” he said.

          In order to win Tuesday, Tackett says they must defend Carpenter, avoid turnovers and make some free throws.  “We have to do what we can to slow down Kaid.  We are going to put a lot of different defenders on him.  Max Lower is a pretty tough defender for us, we are going to see what he can do against him.  We  had nine turnovers against Danville and that is probably the least amount that we have had in two years.  We are going to try and replicate that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Free throws have been a key for us.  We were 100 percent in the fourth quarter on Friday, so we are also going to try and continue that.  Get that up to 60-65 percent, maybe 70.  When you shoot 45 you have to keep things in perspective.”

Published 12/07/21

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Northmor Clashes With Colonel Crawford

          Northmor plays at home against Colonel Crawford in a non-conference battle on Tuesday night.

          In their first game last Wednesday, the Golden Knights took down Pleasant (55-42) in a non-league game.

          Coach Blade Tackett says they turned in a nice overall performance in their opener.  “We had a really great team effort overall.  We did the things that we had prepped to do and the kids executed well.  We got a lot of input from our leaders.  Grant Bentley coming back had 23, six boards, six steals.  Graesin Cass our returning senior point guard had 13 points, nine assists and six steals.  Max Lower chipped in with usual eight points, six rebounds.  So, a lot of guys that had experience last year stepped up in the home opener.  The rest of the players did well as well.  Overall, it was a great night for us freshmen, JV, and varsity.  A perfect way to open, so we are super proud of our guys,” he said.

          Still there are things to improve with this group.  Tackett outlines rebounding and ballhandling.  “We are still turning the ball over too much.  That was our biggest problem last year.  The difference this year is we are playing a little faster and get some more offensive possessions, so it is not glaringly obvious.  20 turnovers still isn’t great.  We still gave up 14 offensive rebounds.  Those are our two major weaknesses and we knew that going into the game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Fortunately, it didn’t hurt us against Pleasant because we held them to a low shooting percentage.  We got some looks in transition.  Against Crawford, a really great team, everyone knows the program that they have, so we have to limit those turnovers and we have to box them out.  That is going to be a huge factor in (Tuesday’s) game.”

          Colonel Crawford (2-0) beat Crestline (52-28) and Kenton (76-48) last week in their first two games.

          Tackett says they have two outstanding players.  “You have the obvious, Mason Studer is an absolute stud.  He pushes their tempo well.  He shoots a high percentage.  He is great on defense.  He is just a tough kid.  They have Carter Valentine, another All-Ohio player, hey have coming back.  He is a D2 signed player that can get a bucket whenever they need it.  We are going to our best to try and slow those guys down and try and box out their role players.  I don’t know if McKibben is going to be back, but they have some other shooters that have stepped up in the first two games that we have to close out on.  They are going to go as Mason and Carter go, so we are going to do our best slow down a couple of All-Ohio players,” said Tackett.

Published 11/30/21

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Northmor Plays High Scoring West Jefferson

          Northmor, of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, plays at West Jefferson in a division VI regional quarterfinal ion Saturday night.

          The Golden Knights (9-2) beat Fredericktown, also of the “KMAC”, for the second time this year (28-14) last week in their playoff opener.

          Coach Scott Armrose says the Freddies where a lot better the second time.  “They definitely had improved.  They are a young football team.  They don’t play many seniors at all.  Coach Hartley does a great job with those guys over there.  He had them improving all season long.  This is one of the things with a football team like Fredericktown.  They kind of sneak into the playoff like they did, that helps you.  He has a good thing going over there and they were much improved.  I think our experience in the stretch of the game put us over the edge,” said Armrose.

          West Jefferson (10-1) lost only once in the regular season and that was to unbeaten Mechanicsburg (30-13) on week 10.  They beat Lucasville Valley (43-14) in their postseason opener last week.  The Roughriders have scored more than 40 points six times this year.

          Armrose says they have an explosive pass offense.  “They are not a young football team.  They play a lot of seniors.  They are very athletic.  It’s one of those quarterbacks that can throw.  He has thrown form almost 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns.  They have about four guys that can go up and catch the ball.  One of them being 6’4”, 1,000 yards receiving and 17 touchdown catches.  Our defense is going to have their work cut out for them.  Their strength throwing the ball kind of plays into our strength.  Our secondary is really good,” he said.

          Armrose adds they are very difficult to compare to anyone they have seen except maybe themselves.  “Offensively, it is hard to compare them to anyone just because they are so different in what they do.  We saw some teams like South Central that is able to throw the ball a lot like they can and had athletic receivers, but not to extent that they are able to do it.  I think these guys offensively are at a whole different level than what we have seen against any other opponent we have played,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Now, when I watch these guys play defense honestly the first thing that comes to mind is us because they play a base 4-3, are very fundamental in what they do, they are very well coached and they are really good on the defensive line.  That is going to be a challenge to our offense.”

          It will be a challenge for the defense Saturday night and Armrose says their offense has do its part.  “It is going to be an effort for our defense, but offensively we are not going to put some drives to together and move the chains and score some points and putting a very athletic offense on the field over and over is not fair for our defense.  So, we have got to sustain some drives.  We have to put some drives together, we have to keep the ball out of their hands, and we have to score some points,” he said.

Published 11/04/21

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Northmor Faces Improved Fredericktown

          Two teams out of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference will square off in a division six playoff game on Saturday night as Northmor plays host to Fredericktown.

          Last week, the Golden Knights (8-2) were beaten by Highland (38-7) on Friday night.  Had they won that game they would have shared the conference title.

          Northmor is a physical team, but coach Scott Armrose says Highland was more physical than them.  “Highland is a good, physical football team and their physicality was just a little too much for us to overcome.  We were out matched at the point of attack and had a hard time controlling the line of scrimmage, especially late in the game.  They did a great job of adjusting to what we do.  They had a good game plan and did a good job executing it,” said Armrose.

          Armrose says they look forward to a chance at redemption on Saturday night.  “The good thing with this whole thing is our season didn’t end on Friday night.  It would not have been a fun way for our seniors to end a really good season.  So, we are very happy that we get another opportunity to come out and compete together,” he said.

          Fredericktown (5-5) beat Centerburg (28-25) in a conference game last week.  The first time they played Northmor, the Golden Knights beat them (40-20) on September 24.

          Armrose there is no question the Freddies are better now.  “The Freddies are just a team that has improved all season long.  They do a great job coaching them over there.  Coach (William) Hartley is a great coach and does a good job, he has a good staff.  He has those guys ready to play,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They have their quarterback back, this will be his fourth game healthy now, and that allows them to take one of their better athletes in (Kaid) Carpenter and move him to receiver and that makes them a dangerous offense.”

          Armrose says Fredericktown is more versatile now and Carpenter can do a lot of things to hurt you.  “He is a 6’5” target and he’s athletic and he’s definitely a force.  When you finally figure out a way to cover him, he still has his snaps back there at quarterback and he is able to do all of the things he did against us last time.  So, he is definitely an athlete and he is a player we have to stop,” he said.

Published 10/26/21

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It’s All on the Line For Northmor

          It might be the biggest football game at Northmor since the cold war or at least the last time the Browns were relevant as the Golden Knights host rival Highland Friday night in a game where the winner will do not less than share the conference title in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.

          After winning their first eight games, Northmor (8-1,5-1) lost (14-12) to Centerburg last week, but Highland lost (27-20) to East Knox, and now the Golden Knights, Scots and Bulldogs share the lead.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they felt pretty down after the loss, but they have turned the page.  “It hurt and I could see the pain in our kid’s eyes.  We knew it was a painful loss.  We talked Friday night and again Saturday morning about how much we have left to play for.  (Monday) I just saw how eager they were and how excited we are to have an opportunity to come back to play in a big game this week,” he said.

          Armrose says they know what’s on the table on Friday night.  “We still have a lot to play for.  We have an opportunity to win our first league title in over 30 years, almost 40 years at our school,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “We have a chance to set ourselves up for a good spot in week 11, so there is still a lot left to play for.  Of course, we are playing our rivals in the Highland Scots for the last time.”

          Northmor stands fourth in division VI, region 23.  Highland is already in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference is the rest of the sports.  Football will follow next year.

          Dane Nauman leads the “KMAC” in rushing yards this season and Armrose says they hope they can contain him.  “Their running back, the Nauman kid, is the best we have seen all season.  He is a phenomenal athlete.  He is a great runner.  He is one those kids where you can only hope to contain him.  Most of the time he is going to get his yards.  He is going to make his plays and we are going to have to make ours too,” said Armrose.

          Northmor’s defense has been their corner stone this season and Armrose says they have to get a lot of tacklers to the football.  “You have to get a lot of guys to the football and you have to get him wrapped up early because once he gets going he is gone.  That is something we have done really well this season is getting to the football and getting a lot of guys to the ball and tackling well and gang tackling and that is something you certainly have to do against Highland,” he said.

Published 10/19/21

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Northmor Plays Talented Centerburg

          Northmor, the co-leader in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, hosts Centerburg on Friday night in a conference game.

          They share the lead with Highland and play the Scots next week.  Highland plays East Knox Friday night.

          The Golden Knights (8-0,5-0) belted Mt. Gilead (49-16) last Friday.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they were able to get the upper hand early.  “It was a fast start again offensively and defensively.  We were able to get up early and keep momentum in our favor all night long,” he said.

          Northmor scored three touchdowns in the first quarter.  Quarterback Marcus Cortez accounted six scores on the night for the Golden Knights.

          Armrose says momentum really jumped on their back in the game.  “When you get yards in big chunks early on that helps tremendously.  They decided to take the ball and we forced a three and out and then we got yards in big chunks and we just kept that momentum going,” he said.

          Northmor had 419 total yards.  Mt. Gilead has 212 on the night.

          Centerburg (5-2,3-2) is the defending conference champion and they are on a three game winning streak after a (26-19) win over Danville last week.

          Armrose says the Trojans can do a lot of things.  “They are a solid football team on both sides of the ball.  They play sound defense.  They have a good mix of big, physical guys up front and good, athletic seed guys that play behind them.  Offensively, they have a big, strong offensive line.  They are very balanced.  They can run the ball and the can throw the ball,” said Armrose.

          A team, like Centerburg, that is so well balanced forces the defense to make choices, according to Armrose.  “There in a fine line with trying to get after the quarterback and be able to get some pass rush, but at the same time trying to control the line of scrimmage and stop the run,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “A team that is balanced like Centerburg and can do both very well puts you in a bind defensively.  You just have to play fundamental football and hopefully you can put them in definite passing situations and we can get after them.”

Published 10/15/21

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Northmor Faces a Different Challenge from Mt. Gilead

          Northmor, the co-leader in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, plays on the road at Mt. Gilead in a conference game on Friday night.

          Tied 7-7 at the half last week, they owned the second half in beating East Knox (24-7) to knock the Bulldogs from a share of the conference lead.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they came out with extra fire.  “It didn’t have anything to do with adjustments or anything like that.   We decided we were going to go out in the second half and play a physical football game and go out and hit.  We decided if we did that the score would take care of itself and that’s what happened,” he said.

          Armrose says they didn’t change a thing in their game plan.  “They did exactly what we thought that they were going to do.  We only do a few things, so we decided we were going to continue to do what we were doing in the first half and we are going to do it a little better.  We played a good physical half of football.  We took care of the ball and played some darn good defense,” said Armrose.

          Northmor has never give up more than three scores in a game, and three times it has been one or less.  Armrose says the defense has been outstanding.  “It starts with pressure up front and the secondary has done a great job too.  We took an explosive East Knox offense and basically held them to one big play and that’s quite an accomplishment,” he said.

          Northmor (7-0,4-0) is at Mt. Gilead (2-5,0-4) on Friday night.  The Indians lost (49-14) to Centerburg last week.

          However, Armrose says they have of big play makers.  “They are every bit as athletic as any team we have played this season.  They have speed all over, a quarterback that can scramble and make plays,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “Their defense makes you think a little bit.  They do a lot of things on defense that are a little different.  It is a little bit unconventional what they do and where they bring their pressure from, so we have our work cut out for us.”

Published 10/06/21

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Co-Leaders Northmor and East Knox Meet

          Northmor and East Knox are two the leaders in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, Highland is the other, and the Golden Knights and Bulldogs meet on Friday night at Northmor.

          Highland plays at Fredericktown.

          Last week, Northmor exploded past the Freddies (40-20) in a conference game, scoring 20 points in the first quarter of the game.

          Coach Scott Armrose says that start was key for them.  “We were able to connect on some big plays early on, including a special teams plays, which helps.  We set the tone early.  We came out with a fast start.  We had probably our most balanced offensive game of the season,” he said.

          Running back Max Lower has 785 yards and 11 TD’s for the Golden Knights this year.

          Northmor returned the opening kick for a score last week and gave up a return for a score.  Armrose says they have hot and cold in that area all year. “It has been up and down.  We made a big play in special teams and returned the opening kick for a touchdown and then came back and gave up a big kick return.  Then gave up a kick return or a touchdown in the second half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We do some really good things and then we have some breakdowns, so we have to continue to improve there.”

          Northmor (6-0,3-0) hosts East Knox (5-1,2-0) in “KMAC” action on Friday night.  The Bulldogs throttled Mt. Gilead (49-10) last Friday in a conference game.

          Armrose says the Bulldogs have a tremendous team.  “They are a very athletic football team.  They have a lot of team speed and they match that with some big physical kids as well.  So, it is going to be a good, physical football game,” said Armrose.

          Armrose is a former offensive line coach and he knows where games are won and lost.  “It is every week.  I know it sounds cliché, but every football game is won and lost at the point of attack,” he said.

Published 9/28/21

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Northmor Plays Athletic Fredericktown

          Northmor, one of the first place teams in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, plays at home against improving Fredericktown on Friday night in a conference game.

          Last week, the Golden Knights (5-0,2-0) forced four turnovers and beat Danville (14-7) in a conference game.

          Coach Scott Armrose says again their defense rose to the occasion.  “Our defense was kind of a bend, but don’t break defense all night.  When they needed to stop drives, we were either able to stop them short of scoring or force a turnover,” he said.

          Fredericktown (3-2,1-1) beat Mt. Gilead (30-24) last week when Cade Carpenter scored on a 60-yard run with just over a minute to play to break a tie ballgame.

          Armrose says they big and physical on defense.  “They are big and strong up front.  They only play three defensive linemen in an odd front, but they rotate a couple guys through there and they are all good.  They are big and strong and they are athletic on the back end,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “So, they are going to keep us off balance with some stunting and blitzing and we have to be ready for it.”

          Carpenter moved from wide receiver to quarterback week one after an injury to the starter and Armrose says he is a playmaker.  “They quarterback is just an incredible athlete.  He can scramble and get out of trouble and they have receivers than can go up and make plays,” he said.

          Armrose feels there aren’t any dominate teams in their league and every week the game is up for grabs.  “I think in our conference every week everybody thinks they have a chance against each other.  I don’t know if it is a special effort against us.  Going into every game here going down the stretch in conference play both teams are going to have an opportunity to win,” said Armrose.

Published 9/23/21

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Northmor Counting on its Defense

          Northmor is on the road for the third straight week as Friday night they are at Danville to meet the Blue Devils in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game.

          Last week, they held off Cardington (21-14) in their conference opener.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they played very well in the first half, but made too many mistakes after halftime.  “We were very pleased with our clean first half of football.  Offensively, we took care of the ball and moved it up and down the field without any penalties.  Defensively, we were great.  Once again in the second half, we started to get penalties and get behind the chains a little bit and didn’t take care of some situations where we could have put the game away and let Cardington back in the game.  Going forward we are going to have to fix some of those things,” he said.

          Consistency is the issue for the Golden Knight offense.  Right now, Armrose says their defense is playing so well that all the offense has to do is not hurt them with penalties and turnovers.  “We are really trying hard to be consistent on offense and we haven’t had it yet.  We have had weeks when we have done really good things on offense and we have had weeks when the offense has kind of stalled out,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “The good news is we are (4-0) and our defense has played outstanding every week.  We know that if we get to a point in the game where we are only up a score, we don’t have to do too much offensively other than work the clock and let our defense go back on the field and take care of things for us.”

          Northmor (4-0,1-0) is at Danville (2-2,1-0) on Friday night.  The Blue Devils downed Fredericktown (28-21) last week in their “KMAC” opener.  Like Northmor, they had a big lead early in the game.

          Armrose says Danville is a tough place to play, but they enjoy the experience.  “Danville is a good football team.  They are 2-2 right now.  They beat us by a two point conversion last year.  We both have a lot of the same kids coming back.  It’s going to be a close football game and it’s a great place to play.  We love going to Danville.  We love playing there.  The fans are right on top of you.  It’s a great high school football atmosphere,” said Armrose.

          Really on Friday night, Armrose says their keys are no different than they have been this season.  “We have to play defense like we have all season.  We have to control the line of scrimmage defensively.  On offense, we have to take care of the football and avoid penalties,” he said.

Published 9/17/21

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Northmor Offense Hurting itself

          Northmor is at Cardington to start play in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference on Friday night.

          Right now, the Golden Knights (3-0,0-0) are unbeaten and lead the computer region in division VI.

          Last week, they blanked Bucyrus (25-0) allowing just 72 total yards.

          Coach Scott Armrose says their defense is good and getting better.  “Those guys keep getting better.  We knew we were going to be challenged in the secondary last week.  We set a goal to get better in the secondary and improve our communication and to get aligned a little better and a little more quickly and we did a great job,” said Armrose.

          Last week, did not go nearly as well for the Pirates (1-2,0-0).  They scored the first time they had it and then Colonel Crawford scored nine touchdowns and kicked a field goal in winning (65-6) in a non-conference game.

          Armrose says he is impressed the Cardington run game.  “They are different kind of challenge.  They remind us more of Seneca East.  They are more of a spread.  They spread you out to run the football.  They are a smash mouth, running football team and they do it very well,” he said.

          Against a team that wants to run it against them, Armrose says they have to win the point of attack.  “We need to continue to control the line of scrimmage and set the tone of the football game with our defensive line, which we have been able to do the last couple of weeks,” he said.

          Running back Max Lower has 355 yards and seven touchdowns this year.

          However, Armrose says they have been shooting themselves in the foot on offense the last two weeks.  “We need to improve the way we communicate up front with our offensive line.  We need to clean things up.  We have had 20 penalties the last two weeks combined against us offensively.  A lot of those are things that can be fixed and cleaned up,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “So, we have challenged our offensive line and not only them, but our receivers too, to communicate better with each other and to clean up those unforced mental mistakes.”

Published 9/07/21

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Northmor Looking to Improve Pass Defense

          Northmor takes to the road to play the Bucyrus Redmen in a non-conference game on Friday night.

          The Golden Knights (2-0) turned in another good fourth quarter and beat South Central (37-20) last week.

          Coach Scott Armrose says the put the game in the hands the big guys up front.  “Late in the game we leaned on our offensive line at get it done.  We had a couple of nice long drives that kind of took the energy out of South Central,” he said.

          They ran for 323 yards last week, led by Max Lower with 111 yards and Garrett Corwin and Niko Christo with more than 80 each.

          Bucyrus (1-1) was handled by Crestview (54-7) last week, however, in week one they got on the scoreboard a lot more in beating Mississinawa Valley (49-14) in their opener.

          Armrose says they have weapons.  “The Redmen are big.  On defense they are all juniors and seniors.  I think 10 of them are returning letter winners.  They have a lot of good experience on offense.  They have a young quarterback, but he can throw the ball all over the field.  We will have a challenge on both sides of the ball,” said Armrose.

          The Golden Knights did allow South Central to pass for 348 yards last week and Armrose says their pass defense has to be much better.  “They have a very similar attack to South Central, good speed at receiver like South Central does.  We have to get a little better in the secondary,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We have some things to improve on this week and some things we have to do a lot better back there.  We have to improve communication.  On offense, we just have to keep the ball out of their hands and sustain drives and stay ahead of the chains.”

Published 9/01/21

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A Different Kind of Challenge for Northmor

          Northmor came up with a thrilling win over Seneca East last week, but they will get a different look from South Central on week two Friday night.

          They host the Trojans in a non-conference game this week.

          Last Friday, they stopped Seneca East at the three yard line on the final play of the game to prevail (27-23) in an outstanding game.

          Coach Scott Armrose says were able to rise to the occasion.  “The way the game ended with our backs against the wall to stop them on the 3-yard-line and hold them off for a win that was pretty exciting,” he said.

          Max Lower scored four times for the Golden Knights.

          He adds that his front seven has been a dedicated group and they are going to be counting on them all season.  “I’ll tell you what our defensive line, our front seven, our linebackers too, they play such physical football,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They have worked so hard and when the game is on the line that who we want responsible.”

          South Central buried Willard (41-15) in their first game as quarterback Brandon Mitchell threw three scoring passes.

          Armrose says this is team that is going be fast and have playmakers on the perimeter.  “They have tremendous team speed.  They have three wide receivers that can make plays and a quarterback that can sling it around and a tough 3-4 defense that is going to give us trouble,” said Armrose.

          Whereas Seneca East was a more physical team, Armrose says their back four are going to have to be adle to tackle says players with a lot of speed and quickness.  “It is a different kind of challenge for us this week.  Our secondary from our second scrimmage to week one came a long way in getting aligned and being where they are supposed to be.  We need to take another step for this week,” he said.

Published 8/24/21

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Northmor Meets Seneca East in Opening Night Battle

          Northmor and Seneca East both expect to have very good season and they play each other on Friday night outside of Attica in non-conference play.

          Golden Knights coach Scott Armrose says this week they had good preparation for the opening night showdown.  “For our first week of practice of the regular season I thought we were exceptionally sharp.  We had a great week of practice,” he said.

          Armrose says the execution this week was based on what they were able to do in preseason camp.  “That came from a couple of weeks of challenging ourselves with some tough scrimmages with Western Reserve and Wynford and those kinds of things get you ready for the season, so we feel like we are ready to go,” said Armrose.

          Seneca East was a young team last year, much like Northmor, but Armrose says they got them best of them, and Friday night they want to answer back.  “They are a good football team.  They beat us 27-6 last year and they bring a lot back from last year’s team and so do we,” he told Swankonports.com on Thursday, “We have had that score posted in our weight room all winter, all spring and all summer.  We knew we had some ground to make up and we will find out if we did it.”

          Armrose says the definitely want to prove this is a pretty good football team.  “The kids are excited, they are ready to go and the coaches are ready to and we are ready to get the season started,” he said.

Published 8/20/21

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Northmor Eager to Bounce Back

          Northmor is ready to recapture the success they had been enjoying on the football field and are working hard to meet that end.

          The Golden Knights were only (2-8) last season and they won only one Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game, that coming over Fredericktown.

          The OHSAA has changed the time allowed for preseason camp.  It is down from three weeks to two in order to allow for another round of playoffs without extending the time allowed for the football season.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they have responded by going with longer practice sessions in attempt to get ready for a season that starts on August 20 at Seneca East in non-conference game.  “It has changed the way we prepare.  We have kind of extended practice.  The last several years we have gotten away from a traditional two a day and been going with one long practice.  We have extended it about a half an hour.  That makes for a long practice for an old guy like me.  We have extended our practices a little bit.  We really try to take advantage of time in July to make sure we got things in our camps that we needed to get in.  We have gone about it in that way,” said Armrose.

          Armrose says what has impressed him the most is his players have really been working hard.  “We have a group of kids that are not afraid to work really hard.  It started in June and we have hit the weight room really hard.  It is the best June and July that we have had in my five summers here at Northmor,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “So, they are definitely not afraid to work hard and they are hungry.  A lot of these guys were starters on last year’s team, most of the were, and they didn’t like the way our season went last year and they have worked hard to try and correct that.”

          The Golden Knights had produced three straight seasons of at least eight regular season wins before last year.

          Armrose says they are playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulder.  “They are they ready to prove what they are capable of doing and ready to play and show what they can do,” he said.

Published 8/11/21

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Northmor Downs Madison Plains

          Northmor earned a ticket to the division III district semis with a (5-1) win over Madison Plains on Thursday.

          They will play Columbus Academy, a (4-1) winner over Centerburg on Thursday, on Monday evening.

          The Golden Knights took a (1-0) lead in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Andrew Armose, but Madison Plains would tie on an RBI single by Ryan Ernst in the third.

          The key was the bottom of third when Northmor struck for three.  P.J. Lower reached on an error and that was followed by a walk to Grant Bentley.  Armose doubled to drive in Lower.  Garrett Corwin got Bentley home on a sac fly and Preston Harbolt drove in the final run of the inning with a single.

          Coach Buck Workman says that allowed them to relax a little bit.  “We were in a nip and tuck game and then we get to that third inning and we are able to plate a couple across.  It let the boys rest a little easier and play a little freer,” he said.

          Bentley, a freshman, started and went all seven for the Golden Knights.  He struck 11, including the last five he faced, and walked none.

          Workman says Bentley was efficient and their defense was sound making no errors in the win.  “They outhit us 7-5, but when you don’t walk anybody like Bentley did (Thursday) night.  We were able to pick up like five or six walks ourselves and they made a few errors and we played error free ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “That is a recipe for success when you don’t walk people and you make plays behind them.”

          Obviously, the defense was very good on Thursday.  Workman says a key play came in the with Madison Plains threatening in the fifth.  “We had a situation (Thursday) night where we were up 4-1 in the fifth inning and they had two on and got a base hit with two outs and our centerfielder P.J. Lower and made a play on a base hit to his left and threw a perfect strike to home and threw the guy out at home.  I think I get more excited on defensive plays than I do offensive plays.  That just got our team jacked,” said Workman.

Published 5/21/21

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Northmor Edges Marion Harding

          Northmor banged out 12 hits on Thursday as they went on the road to beat division I Marion Harding (13-11) in a non-conference baseball game.

          There were a combined 14 runs scored by both teams in the first inning alone.

          Coach Buck Workman says they got off to a very good start with the bats.  “We had the bats working early (Thursday) night.  We were able to put up eight in the top of the first to put ourselves in a good situation, but it went away real fast,” he said.

          However, Golden Knights starter Jack Sears didn’t get anybody out in the bottom the first inning, but Workman credits his kids for not losing their focus and continuing to get hits.  “We score eight and they come back and score six and had the bases loaded with nobody out and our pitcher was able to get us out of that jam and keep us up by two.  It was good to see us respond and put up a run or two in the third to keep making them chase us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night.

          Northmor would score one in the third, one in the fourth and three in the fifth.

          Drew Hammond came in got out of the first and went the rest of the way giving up four runs on nine hits.

          Pierce Lower and Garrett Corwin led the hit parade for the Golden Knights (15-9) with three hits apiece.  Matt Kearns drove in three.

          Workman thinks it’s important for them to face good pitching with the division three tournament starting next week.  “You don’t want to go into that tournament having not seen good pitching.  They thew some guys at us that brought it pretty good (Thursday).  I thought we got our bats back in gear.  We have kind of been in a little mini slump there the past few games, but we hit it well (Thursday),” said Workman.

Published 5/14/21

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Northmor Pounds Cardington in Rematch

          Northmor scored five times in the second inning and never looked back in blasting Cardington (11-3) in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game on Tuesday evening at Cardington.

          They lost to Cardington (7-1) on Monday.

          That is the third time the Golden Knights have responded to a conference loss with a win this spring.

Coach Buck Workman says wins this year in the “KMAC” are truly up for grabs.  “I think it speaks volumes to the depth of the league really.  On any night, anybody can beat anybody, and that is just what has happened to us in these three sets against Centerburg, East Knox and now Cardington.  We lost the first game and were able to turn around and get the second one,” he said.

Northmor (10-5,5-3) also did something else they have done all season and that is get behind early. 

Workman says they sort of feed on that.  “We have had traditionally show starts this year and we did it again (Tuesday) night.  We went one, two, three in the first inning, we hit a couple balls hard, but hey come up and score a couple.  It was the same old story we go down early,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “In the second inning we get a leadoff double and I’m like, alright, here we go, then we get two quick outs and I’m like, oh man, but then we put together five runs with two outs.  From that point forward the kids were just oozing with confidence and we were able to keep it going.”

Max Lower, Pierce Lower and Andrew Armrose all had two hits for the Golden Knights, Max Lower had two RBI.  Drew Hammond gave up two runs over five and two thirds innings to get the win.

All five of the runs it the second inning came with two out and Workman says those key hits are really big.  “I tell my kids all of the time those two out hits, those are almost like extra runs because they are so demoralizing to the defense.  When you are one pitch from getting out of the inning and it is bing, bang, boom and you give up two, three runs, just like that, it’s frustrating,” said Workman.

Published 4/21/21

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Northmor Beats Mt. Gilead Twice

          Northmor picked up two important wins in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference on Monday in beating Mt. Gilead (10-9) and (5-3) to keep themselves in the conference race.

          They trail Highland and Fredericktown by game in the conference standings.

          Coach Buck Workman says Monday was a rare opportunity.  “We don’t get a chance to do that very often unless it’s a Saturday.  Being able to pull out two on Monday makes it even nicer,” he said.

          The first game was started on Friday, stopped due to rain, and continued on Monday.

          Workman says they didn’t start on Monday very well in giving up five runs in the top of the fifth, but they were able to battle back.  “It didn’t start out so swimmingly for us.  We come out and we are up 5-4 and the next thing you know we are down 9-5.  We gave up five runs and that first inning that we start games has been giving us issues, but a tribute to my kids they never give up and they got right back in it and tied it up at nine in the bottom of the fifth.  Then we held them twice and were able to get a run across in the seventh to win it,” said Workman.

          Grant Bentley had a walk-off RBI single for the Golden Knights.

          Workman says one of the best things about these kids is their grit and determination.  “They don’t quit, I’ll give them that.  I would say in the eight games that we have won, we have been down in five or six of them and found a way to come back and get the job done,” he said.

          Jack Sears got the win in the second game for the Golden Knights (8-1,3-1) by going the distance in giving up only six hits and no earned runs.  Drew Hammond got the win in relief in the first game.

          Workman adds playing these games on Monday changes a lot of things, but his kids where prepared.  “You have to change your game plan and the way you do things.  You are getting out of the school a little sooner, you are kind of rushed.  A good majority of my kids have done this stuff, they have played some travel ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We aren’t 8-1 if we don’t have the baseball I.Q. that some of these kids have.  We don’t have flame throwers out there on the mound, but we have kids that know the game and they find a way to get it done.”

          Max Lower had two hits in both games against Mt. Gilead.  They had nine hits as a team in the first game and 11 in the second.

          Workman says this team has found a bunch of ways to score runs this year.  “We have done a little of everything.  We have played some small ball, we’ll hit a away, and take walks and sometimes when people make mistakes on errors and what not.  It has just been a combination from game to game.  You just don’t know what is going to happen with us, but we find a way to score,” said Workman.

Published 4/13/21

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Northmor Rallies Past Centerburg

          Down by six runs early Northmor recovered to beat Centerburg (14-9) in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game on Wednesday evening.

          On the strength of two home runs by Joe Tepper, the Trojans took and (8-2) lead after just an inning and half, but the Golden Knights were resilient and fought back right away with a six spot to take a (9-8) lead.  Grant Bentley doubled in two runs, two more scored on walks and two more on fielder’s choices.

          Coach Buck Workman says his kids didn’t hang their heads and kept fighting, something that has defined this team so far this this spring.  “We were down 3-0 in the first and tied it up and went down 8-2 in the second and came back and took a 9-8 lead.  That is one thing about our guys is I don’t think they are ever going to quit on us.  They are always going to give you quality at bats and try and get us back in the game.  We got into a little bit of a hole there early and kept digging out,” said Workman.

          The Golden Knights (5-1,1-1) put it away with a five spot in the bottom of the fifth, highlighted by RBI hits by Bentley and Andrew Armrose.

          Drew Hammond pitched five and third innings of two hit relief to get the win for Northmor giving up no earned runs.

          Workman says this team has shown they can battle adversity and be successful.  “We started out really nice, 4-0, and then we had that little slip up there on Monday to Centerburg when we didn’t play really good defense, we didn’t throw as many strikes as we have been throwing, he hit a few batters and put ourselves in a bind, and lost 11-6, but the way they bounced back (Wednesday) was good to see,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “You have to have that short memory.  It is not like football where you have to wait a week.  We only had to wait two days to get out there and get on the horse.  With what Centerburg did to us early in this game, my kids had every opportunity to say this isn’t working out and we will pack it in, but they did not do that and I was ecstatic about the way they bounced back.”

          Northmor hosts Mt. Gilead in their next conference game on Friday.

          Workman says they don’t have a lot of experience this year, but he believes they have a good mix of talent.  “I think we have a pretty good mix.  When we say young, I think we mean young in terms of varsity experience.  We are starting a lot of juniors and a couple of seniors, but we have a couple of freshmen that have been carrying a heavy amount of the load on the mound.  So, it is nice to have that mix.  I think the combination is just boating well for us right now,” he said.

Published 4/08/21

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Northmor Beats Buckeye Central

          Northmor extended its winning streak to three games to start the season and they downed Buckeye Central (7-3) in a non-conference game on Monday afternoon.

          They got an outstanding effort on the mound from freshman Drew Hammond, who fanned eight over six innings for the Golden Knights.

          Coach Buck Workman says he was on his game.  “We threw one of our freshmen in Drew Hammond (Monday) and he was phenomenal going six innings and he only gave up three or four hits and one earned run.  He was on top of his game,” he said.

          After allowing a run in the bottom of the first, Northmor hung three on the board in their half of the second and Workman says that took a little of the pressure off Hammond and he rose to the occasion.  “I thought it was key, especially with Drew out there, to make him pitch a little easier if we had a little cushion and he did a good job throwing strikes.  We made some errors (Monday) night that we normally don’t make, but we worked around them, and he did a good job of fighting through that adversity.  That was just nice to see coming from a young kid,” said Workman.

          Northmor (3-0) plays Bucyrus on Tuesday and Galion on Thursday in non-conference games before opening play in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference next Monday against Centerburg.

          They swept a doubleheader from Mansfield Senior on Saturday, winning by identical scores of (11-1), both in six innings.

          Workman says again the pitching was very good.  “We are excited, more than anything we are just happy to be playing.  Saturday, we got good pitching performances from our starters in Grant Bentley (4 IP, 1 hit, 10 K’s) and Jack Sears (5IP, 2 hits, 7k’s) did a great job for us.  We were able to punch through some runs as the game went on and take advantage of some timely hits and hopefully that will continue,” he told Swankonsports.com after Monday’s win, “I have no doubts that we are going to have our ups and downs this year when you play 27 games, but I’m ecstatic about how we have started.”

Published 3/30/21

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Northmor Growing Well

          Northmor may be playing some young kids this year, but they have the potential to be pretty good when they get out there on the baseball diamond. 

          Coach Buck Workman says they did some good things in a scrimmage on Tuesday against South Central.  “We are pretty excited.  We don’t have a lot of varsity experience, but they have played some travel ball over the years.  (Tuesday) night we were able to scrimmage against South Central and that went pretty well considering it was the first time we have been out in a live competition setting.  We have been out quite a bit with this nice weather.  So, we hit the ball a lot better than I expected.  Obviously, we have some things to clean up, but it went pretty well,” said Workman.

          As is normal, Workman says pitching is ahead of hitting right now, but he feels their offense will come along too.  “I would say that pitching is generally ahead of the hitting.  In our first two scrimmages, I think we mustered two infield singles and a blooper to right field in our inter-squad scrimmages last week.  The pitching is definitely ahead, but the more live pitching they see they will catch up to it,” he said.

          Workman says the Golden Knights have been able to hit his offering pretty well this year when working inside, but against their own guys, not so much.  “I think I have probably thrown 60,000 pitches this year.  They hit me in that cage like they are MLBers and they get outside and I am like, what is that?  What happened to that cage swing we had?” he said.

          Northmor is set to begin the baseball season on March 27 in a doubleheader against Mansfield Senior.  They open the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference portion of their season on April 5 and 7 against Centerburg.

          Workman says they have already found some young pitchers that can do the job and they are looking for more.  “We have some guys I think are going to step up and be the one through four guys, but on the whole it is just a bunch of youngsters.  We started a freshmen (Tuesday) night and he went three innings, Grant Bentley, he did a good job, gave up one earned run,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Griffin Workman came in and threw two scoreless and we had a couple other guys that threw a scoreless inning.  We are really just trying to see who will step up and take the bull by the horns with those pitching spots.”

3/18/21

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Northmor Can’t Have Turnovers

          Northmor plays at home against Cardington in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game on Tuesday night.

          There has only been one win so far for the Golden Knights, but coach Blade Tackett says they are sill locked in and believing in what they have to do to win games.  “I think record wise and most people think we are no where we want to be.  I would say we are happy to be on the floor for all of our games.  We have been competitive in some.  The guys are getting better.  They are staying bought in.  As the season keeps on going if we get to keep playing games, we are going to be happy to do so and put on our best show every time we step on the floor,” said Tackett.

          They lost (36-32) at East Knox in a conference game on Friday night and Tackett says they are not giving themselves enough of a chance to score because they keep turning the ball over.  “I think the biggest thing is we have to hang on to the basketball.  We average between 18 and 22 turnovers a game.  When we don’t turn the ball over, we are pretty efficient offensively.  When we shoot twos we are shooting 50, 55 percent, but if we are giving the basketball away those are more defensive possessions for us.  That’s more opportunities for them to score and less for us to score.  That’s honestly what it has boiled down to for all five games,” he said.

          Cardington (3-1,2-1) beat Danville (53-50) in a conference game last Friday.

          Tackett says the Pirates are athletic and like to play fast.  “They are a super athletic team.  They love to get up and down the floor, so we are going to play in the passing lanes.  They are going to get up and pressure us.  They know that we struggle to take care of the ball.  If we do I think we can frustrate them a little bit,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “If we control tempo things can go our way.  If we let them turn us over and get steals and get in transition it could be a tough night for us.  I like the way our guys have prepared.  We had a great practice on (Monday).  I think they know what we have to going in (Tuesday), so we are looking forward to it.”

Published 12/15/20

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Transition Seamless at Northmor

          There is a new head boys’ basketball coach at Northmor, but Blade Tackett has been around the program for quite a while as the varsity assistant, so that sometimes difficult transition has been pretty easy so far.

          It has been a challenging year for the first year head coach with the COVID-19 pandemic.

          Tackett says he never know what you are going to encounter next.  “It goes back to that old cliché one day at a time, but I think at this point and time any coach would tell you it is a second at a time or a moment at a time.  At any point you could have a positive test in the program and you are shut down, you could have be shut down by contact tracing, you might get shut down by higher powers.  So, it is definitely a day at a time, a moment at a time.  It is a crazy season,” he said.

          In terms of offensive and defensive strategy, Tackett says they isn’t going to be much of a change and the coaching staff is pretty consistent too.  “I have a really unique situation that that was kind of plan all along and I was lucky enough for it to work out.  Coach (Zach) Ruth was ready to be done and I was ready to take over and the administration and everybody was on board.  I have a great relationship with the kids.  We are kind of running things about the same that we were running them before, so it’s not much different there.  I have a really great varsity assistant.  We have our “JV” and freshman coach back from last year.  So, we hit the ground running there wasn’t a big transition for us,” said Tackett.

          Plus, there is going to be quite a bit of talent around.  Tackett thinks the Golden Knights can be pretty good once they get on the floor this winter.  “It has been a really fun first two weeks to be honest.  We have two or three starters back.  We lost a really good class last year, but we really like the two seniors that we have, they are really good kids, they are good basketball players,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We have a few juniors to put around them that have got some skill.  I think we are going to have a really talented point guard, got a couple of shooters.  Our kids are good, coachable kids and they practice hard.  We have been hit by this whole COVID thing a little bit, but for the most part they have taken it with stride.”

Published 11/12/20

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Northmor Matches up With Loudonville

          Northmor of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference plays host to Loudonville of the Principal’s Athletic Conference in a first round playoff game in division VI on Saturday night.

          It is an odd football season from many angles and one of them is the playoffs are here on week seven and not week 11 as normal.

          Northmor coach Scott Armrose says they are not as good as they can be, but they are improved.  “Well, we have definitely improved every week.  Our scores and our record aren’t necessarily showing that, but I think we have gotten better.  I don’t think we are as good now as we can be at some point,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We have definitely improved every week.  You are not going to be playing your best football by week seven like you would be by week 10, but everybody is in the same situation.”

          The Northmor (2-4) defense has been very good this season and Armrose says they are going to keep them in games.  “That is the comforting thing every week is our defense plays so hard and we have such a good defensive game plan that they are going to keep us in football games.  At some point the offense is going to start to click and we are going to figure some things out and we are going to become a little more consistent and things are going to come together,” said Armrose.

          Loudonville (1-5) lost to unbeaten Canal Fulton Northwest (41-20) last week in a “PAC” game, but like in most weeks they were in that contest for most of it.

          Armrose says they have a very good back in Sam Williams.  “That record is deceiving.  They play D-4 and D-5 teams, so they have a tough, tough schedule.  They have one of the fastest running backs that we have seen all season.  He is a freshman, so he is going to be a good football player for a while,” said Armrose.

          He adds they are in spread, but they are going to try and run the ball.  “They have become more of a spread team.  They are doing a lot of spread stuff now.  They will spread the field and get the ball to their #2, their good running back.  They probably run the ball more than they throw, but they do it from spread formations,” said Armrose.

          The Northmor coach says they have seen a lot of what Loudonville does from schematic standpoint.  “It is definitely not new to us.  We are getting used to the spread and preparing for the spread.  They are a 4-2-5 defense and we have seen that before, so nothing new to us,” he said.

Published 10/08/20

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Northmor Finds Some Things on Offense

          Northmor, after finding some offense last week, goes to Highland to play the Scots in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game on Friday night.

          The Golden Knights (2-3,1-3) beat Fredericktown (34-13) last week to break a three game losing streak.  They had 406 total yards last week, 323 coming on the ground, 119 from running back Max Lower and 116 by quarterback Marcus Cortez.

          Coach Scott Armrose says the finally saw on game night what they had been seeing in practice from their players.  “We had a really nice second half were things started to click.  We feel like we turned a corner offensively.  We kind of were able to show and do what we knew we could do all along and we got things moving,” he said.

          Armrose says they are not fancy in what they do on offense, but they work hard a perfecting what they do.  “We don’t do much offensively.  We are not that creative.  We do what we do.  We just try and get better that those things each week.  Just continuing the work on the things that we do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “We were kind of able to just get better at those few things.  We just executed better, made fewer mistakes, limited turnovers, we cut back on penalties.  Those are the things that killed us the three weeks prior.”

          Highland (2-3,2-3) lost (29-6) to Danville last week in a conference game. 

          Armrose says Highland has some size and they are going to be difficult to run against.  “Highland is a big strong football team.  They have some nice speed on the back end, but they are really big and strong up front.  It is going to be quite a challenge for us,” he said.

Published 10/01/20

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Northmor Plays With Heart

          Northmor continues to struggle to find wins, but their kids continue to play with heart and that is a very good thing.

          The Golden Knights (1-3,0-3) play at Fredericktown (1-3,1-3) on Friday night in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game.

          They lost (14-12) to Danville in a conference game last week and coach Scott Armrose says it was a game a lot alike their other three losses.  “We played really tough defense and just made too many mistakes offensively to get the win,” he said.

          Armrose says they continue to shoot themselves in the foot on offense.  “Turnovers and penalties.  It seems like every time we get a good run, we get a holding penalty attached to it.  Every time we get a drive going, we throw an interception.  We are very inconsistent offensively and we have to keep getting better,” said Armrose.

          Fredericktown earned its first win of the season last week in holding off Mt. Gilead (28-22) in a conference game.

          Armrose says they are young at Fredericktown, but they certainly bring them some concerns.  “They are a good, young football team.  They have a nice mix of athletic, young players and some seniors with some ability there.  They are a big team.  They start several guys that are over six feet tall and they are going to present quite a challenge to us,” said Armrose.

          Taking nothing away from the Freddies, Armrose says they have to clean up their own house before they are in better position to win games.  “We just have to work hard to correct the mistakes.  What we do well though is we fight hard, we play with tremendous heart and our players never give up,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “When you are on a losing team if you don’t have any of those three things, then you are in trouble.  Our boys continue to fight, continue to improve, and wins are coming our way.”

Published 9/23/20

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Northmor Too Inconsistent Right Now

          Northmor is a football team whose defense is giving them a chance to win football games, but their offense can’t take advantage right now.

          The Golden Knights have entered the fourth quarter with a chance to win both weeks, losing (12-0) to East Knox two weeks ago and (20-12) to Cardington last week.

          This week, they host Danville in a game in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.

          Coach Scott Armrose says they have been very close, but they just can’t seem to put plays together.  He says there have been too many bad ones sprinkled in there.  “Right now, we are just too inconsistent offensively.  It seems like every time we had a good play, we had a mistake and got it called back,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “So, those mistakes cost us a football game.  We are a young football team and we are working on those inconsistencies and we are working on correcting those mistakes.”

          Armrose is confident of one thing with this bunch.  He says they will fight until there are triple zeros on the clock and do it every week.  “Every game we have played in so far has been a fight.  We fought very well.  We have played two really close football games.  We were in both of those football games to the end.  If there is one thing our boys are going to do, they are going to fight.  We play good, tough, physical football, but right now three are just too many mistakes,” said Armrose.

          Danville (2-1,2-1) got their second win in succession last week, when they downed Fredericktown (22-13) at their place. 

          Armrose says honestly the Blue Devils are a lot like them.  “Danville is a lot like us.  They are a young, athletic, physical, football team and it is going to make for an exciting matchup on Friday night,” he said.

Published 9/17/20

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