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Ontario With Opportunity

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          Ontario makes the long voyage to Toledo Central Catholic for a first round playoff game in division III on Friday night.

          They had to earn that privilege by winning their last two games, including (44-14) over River Valley last week in play in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says really the last two games were playoff like for the Warriors.  “Super proud of the way we closed the season winning four of our last five games and really showed a lot of growth and maturity as we came down the last half this season.  It's good whenever your football team kind of starts to figure it out a little bit.  So, for us it was a was a good end of the season.  We had some “playoffish” games and from a sense like hey we knew if we lost we were probably done with that goal and fortunately for us we were able to achieve it,” he said.

          Eckert says the players responded to the challenge just the way he hoped they would.  “I think anytime you have, especially nowadays, you have young people that if they don't find success early, they're faced with challenges and they're faced with hey do I really want to do this.  Do I want to put the time, effort, blood, energy, sweat into this.  I think fortunately for our guys we've figured out how to practice better towards the second half of the season.  I thought we bought in to what we were trying to accomplish.  I think for that the fruits of that labor really showed through as we had a good second half of the season playing some of our better football.  You'd love to go back and play a couple of those earlier games with the group you end up with.  I think we've shown growth throughout the entire season,” said Eckert.

          Ontario (6-4) is at Toledo Central Catholic (6-4) on Friday.  The Fighting Irish played only two teams this year that were D3, the rest have been ones or twos.  Walsh Jesuit is the only team from Ohio to beat them.  They have won five state titles, including 2022 and 2023 and were runners-up last year.

          Eckert says they have a lot of speed.  “I think the first thing that jumps off the film is just how fast they are getting to the football.  Their big guys run well.  They can score from anywhere on the field at any point, so anytime you're playing a team like this you've really got to focus in on jobs and assignments.  One wrong step could be a touchdown going the other way,” he said.

          Eckert says this is an opportunity for the Warriors and their kids.  “I would be lying if I told you it’s been hunky dory week around here.  When you're dealing with 15 to 18 year old young men perception and what they hear matters to them.  So, for us it's been a week of just being honest with them in terms of you have to go play the game.  You have to go compete, competitors compete and let's go see what happens,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “I think by the end of the week we're in a good spot, a good mindset.  It's no easy task.  It's not like you're going to go say we're playing “Jo Shmoe” down the street, this is a perennial powerhouse and it's an opportunity for our kids.  They've got a bunch of kids that are signed with colleges or being looked at to go to college.  It's a great opportunity for our kids to get in front of those same people and maybe earn a couple opportunities.  So, for us it's about going up there and playing Ontario football, being a tough team, and see what happens.”

Published 10/31/25

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Win and Get in for Ontario

          If Ontario wants to play some football next week they are going to have to beat River Valley on Friday night in their final Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game of the season.

          They really had the same kind of assignment last week and they crushed Highland (35-0) in a league game.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says it was a good team win.  “I know for us it was a week that was a really good practice week.  Anytime you're coming off a tough loss to a rival you’re kind of unsure what you're going to get with high school kids.  I thought for us we had some of our best practices Monday and Tuesday and that led into the game on Friday.  We were down a couple of players and I think we started to band together and did a good job of just kind of keeping the course of doing our jobs,” said Eckert.

          Ontario (5-4,3-3) plays host to River Valley in “MOAC” play on Friday night.  The Vikings (3-6,2-4) got ruffed up by Clear Fork (44-7) last week.  They have lost four of their last five.

          Eckert says they have size and they have some playmakers on the offensive side of the ball.  “The first thing that jumps out to you with them is just how athletic and big they are.  They've probably got college size up front 6’3”, 6’4” guys, 260 to 280 on both sides of the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They've got this all state basketball player playing quarterback, who's done some nice things this year along with the 6’5” receiver out there and another kid with 40 some catches.  So, athletically they show off the table and they're pretty good.”

          One of the websites that specialize in calculating possible playoff berths says there is a 96 percent chance if the Warriors beat River Valley, they make the postseason.

          Eckert says they have to take care of their business.  “If we want any shot to play week 11 it starts with taking care of business this game.  For us it was kind of the same way last week.  If we had any shot of getting in, we had to win last week and that’s what it’s all about.  We don't have an opponent week 11 right now, so our focus and time and energies is on doing what we can to slow down River Valley and hopefully come out with the win,” he said.

Published 10/21/25

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Ontario Playing Confident Highland

          Ontario is on the road at Highland to face the Fighting Scots in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action on Friday night.

          Unbeaten Shelby belted them (42-0) last week in a conference game.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they did some good things, just not enough to beat a really good team.  “Anytime you give a good team multiple opportunities it doesn't help your cause and last week against Shelby I thought we had a game plan to keep the ball out of DeVito’s hands.  Getting down 14-0 and then having a good drive down to the two and stall out.  We threw an interception and couldn’t get over that hump,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon,  “We battle back in the first half with 30 seconds to go in the half we're going down 14-0 and they end up scoring then getting the ball coming out of half and getting to 28 and then onside kicked and got it to go up to 35.  So, it's just one of those things where we couldn't stop them couldn't punch it in when had opportunities and then the score got away from us.”

          Eckert says against a team like Shelby you cannot miss opportunities to score.  “Anytime you're given opportunities in a football game the team that takes advantage of those typically wins the game.  When you're playing a really good team like Shelby and you're giving those opportunities, you're in a position to make a play, you have got to be able to capitalize on those or you're going to lose the game.  That's what happened with us this past week,” he said.

          Ontario (4-4,2-3) plays at Highland (3-5,2-3) on Friday night.  The Fighting Scots beat Clear Fork (13-10) in overtime last week.

          Eckert says Highland is developing some things and playing with confidence.  “I see a team that’s improving and gaining confidence.  As you watch the scores coming into this week you would say offensively they’re probably behind their defense and the film kind of backs it up.  The last couple weeks they've opened up their offense a little bit.  They've shown ability throw the ball more than they had early in the season.  They just beat a really good Clear Fork football team and anytime you're able to do that when you're an underdog they're playing with confidence, you're playing with some swagger.  We're getting them at the time where they're playing their best football of the year,” said Eckert.

Published 10/15/25

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Ontario Must Capitalize

          Ontario and Shelby have played four times in the previous two years with each having an exciting finish and we’ll see what happens on Friday night when the Warriors host the Whippets in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action.

          The Warriors (4-3,2-2) are coming off a (28-14) win at Marion Harding last week in conference play.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they just continued to try an execute the game plan.  “It was one of those games where the first half both teams wanted to run the football and when you do that the clock just continues to run and we found ourselves tied at halftime 7-7.  I thought we played it pretty decent first half.  We missed a field goal. The second half we came out and then just kept delivering those body blows running the football and it paid all for us.  We got a turnover inside of the 10 and pounded in a couple more scores before throwing one late to Carde Brown for the two score lead.  So, overall it was a good physical game for us and glad we came out on top,” said Eckert.

          Shelby (7-0,4-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, has likely the most explosive offense in the region.  They blasted Clear Fork (52-14) last week.

          Eckert says they would like to keep it out of the hands of the Whippet offense. “Anytime Brayden DeVito doesn't have the ball game you're probably happy.  So, if we can hold on to the football and continue to run the football.  We like to put ourselves in that position.  Again, the longer we have it the less he has it.  So, going forward that's kind of our goal for this week,” he said.

          Now the Shelby varsity defense has only given up one score in three weeks and that came after a turnover.

          Eckert says they have some guys that can play on that side of the ball and they come in rested.  “Those two ends they have jump off the page.  The (Carter) Kessler kid and the (Michael) Shepherd kid, they're really good.  Then the two guys they have inside don’t play offense.  So, their front four for the most part is fairly fresh when they come in and their linebackers they don't play offense either,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “When four of your starting seven that only go one way and they are really good to begin with it's good for the Shelby Whippets.  We’ll try to lock down a little bit and try to see if we can't just get by here with moving the ball and taking shots when we're getting those opportunities.”

Published 10/08/25

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Ontario Needs a Win

          Ontario travels to Marion Harding to face the Presidents in a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Friday night.

          They were able rally last week and beat Marion Pleasant (27-24) in league play.  The winning points came on a pass from Trey Remy to Candae Brown in the fourth quarter.

          Cach Aaron Eckert says it was a big win for them, especially the way they did it.  “It was a game that anytime you play a Pleasant football team you're going to face some tough kids.  They have a tradition.  We had a chance to jump on them early and squandered a couple of opportunities and let him hang around they took the lead going into half.  It was good for us to battle back.  When you have an inexperienced football team those are situations they just haven't been in before.  So, for us to come out and score in the opening possession and then battle our way through that and then taking the lead for good in the fourth quarter was a good thing for our program,” said Eckert.

          This season only 12 teams make the playoffs in each region.  Right now, Ontario (3-3,1-2) stands 15^th in theirs and Eckert says in terms of the playoffs this is one they have to have.  “I think with the postseason going back to 12 teams they all matter.  I don't know what the number is for us, but I know that this one's important for us if we have any shot up to reach that goal.  So, any anytime you play a conference opponent in the “MOAC” you're not quite sure what's going to happen because the “MOAC” top to bottom is probably one of the better conferences in the area.  Marion Harding has gotten a lot better as we move forward,” he said.

          Harding (2-4,1-2) lost (31-7) to Clear Fork last week in “MOAC” play.

          Eckert says this is a team that is really improving as the season progresses.  “I think it's a team that with the new coaching staff they're trying to establish the run and come in and that's been a different philosophy for those guys at least in the last couple years they've been more wide open in the previous regimes,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon. “I see a lot of good things.  They're getting better each and every week.  Defensively, they play tough.  They have a really good defensive player in Jarrod Slater.  I look for them to continue to get better as the year goes on and this week is no different.  I'm sure they'll make a big jump from last week to this week.  With the athletes that have down there they're dangerous at any point in the game.”

Published 10/03/25

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Ontario Trying to Grow

          Ontario entertains Marion Pleasant in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Friday night.

          They had another chance to win last week, but didn’t, falling (7-0) to Galion in a conference game.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they couldn’t make the big plays when required.  “It was a frustrating game.  I thought our kids just played outstanding.  It was an old school kind of defensive struggle.  It's one of those games where you looked back and you had lots of opportunities to punch one in or do this differently or do that differently.  So, or us another close game that we just weren't quite able to pull out,” said Eckert.

          Eckert says they must continue to learn about themselves and get better.  “The last two weeks we've lost two games.  The opportunities that we've had we've squandered away.  Good teams take advantage of those opportunities to find a way and it looks like right now we're just a bit short on those.  As we move forward hopefully, we learn, train and grow and become a better football player as we move forward,” he said.

          Ontario (2-3,0-2) will be at home for Pleasant (1-4,0-2) on Friday night.  The Spartans were drilled (34-0) by Clear Fork last week.

          Eckert says Pleasant has a proud tradition in high school football and their kids play that way.  "I think they’re a team trying to find their way too.  They've gotten a lot of different things offensively.  I think they're typical Pleasant kids in that play really tough, really hard.  I think anytime you play Marion Pleasant you better buckle them up because they've got a rich tradition,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “A lot of their parents and uncles have probably played football, especially during the 90s and 2000s.  So, I expect Marion Pleasant to come in here with a Marion Pleasant attitude and find a way to be competitive in this football game.”

          Eckert says not all football teams get better at this time of year.  They want to be one that does.  “I think as you progress through these weeks, especially in the middle of the season.  Once you've had four, five, six weeks to figure out kind of who you are it’s about getting better and not everybody does that.  So, think it's super important for us and our focus is going to continue to get better.  Practice each and every day and then as we perform on Friday night show growth from the previous weeks,” said Eckert.

Published 9/24/25

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Ontario Must Execute Better

          Ontario will be at home Friday night for Galion in the Mid-Ohio Conference for a crucial game for both in terms of a possible conference championship.

          Both lost tough games last week and likely can’t afford another do the presence of the Shelby Whippets.

          The Warriors (2-2,0-1) lost (14-10) at Clear Fork in “MOAC” play and coach Aaron Eckert says it was a game that could have been a win.  “It's a game that we can for sure learn from as we move forward.  We had our opportunities even though we turned the ball over plenty and it's one of those games that you wish you had parts of it back and could talk through and do different things, but you know that's the game, that's sports in general.  So, as we go forward, we do have an opportunity to learn from that game to get better and hopefully not repeat the same mistakes,” said Eckert.

          Ontario committed six turnovers in the game and Eckert says as a team, they must execute better.  “I think just concentrate on what our job is.  Unfortunately, our quarterback is going to get quite a bit of the blame for the interceptions and although he played a part in that he wasn't the only factor in those.  So, as you go forward you just try to continue to teach and learn and get kids to understand why we do things a certain way and hopefully clean those things up as you go along to the next week,” he said.

          Galion (3-1,0-1), #4 in Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, was outscored (45-34) by Shelby last.  They led (28-21) early in the third quarter, but the Whippets scored four straight times to put the game away.  Ayden Schmidt threw four TD passes for Galion, two of them to Jacob Chambers.

          Eckert says the Tigers have great speed.  “The Tigers are talented.  The first thing that jumps out of the film on you is the amount of speed that they have.  I think defensively a lot of the game they play one kids with a lineman’s number and I think he is one of the fastest kids in the conference,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Athletically speed is what they're built on and they've got the athletes to do it.  They fly can around and make plays.  In (the Shelby) game the Chambers kid got three receiving touchdowns to keep them in the game and their quarterback is shifty.  So, they have a lot of nice moving parts.  They're not a real big team, but they make up for that with their speed.  So, we've got to be able to execute offensively and they try to contain that speed when they get on offense.”

          When it comes to the Galion speed, Eckert says they have to they must be very fundamental in their execution.  “It's just to do your job.  They seem to want to create chaos and then blitz people and bring people from all different angles and get you to do things you don't normally do.  I think for us and the team we are we need to continue to focus on the fundamentals that make us a good football team.  This year we have played four games.  Two of those games we played pretty clean and two of those games we haven't.  So, we hope we can play a clean game against that defense and run the football I like where we're going to be at, but if we can't it's going to be a long night for the Warriors,” said Eckert.

Published 9/16/25

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Ontario With a lot to Contain

          Ontario will be at Clear Fork to start play in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Friday night.

          It’s the renewal of a rivalry that dates back to the 1960’s.

          The Warriors (2-1,0-0) hammered Madison (57-6) in a non-conference game.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says things really came together for them.  “I think we executed at a high level.  I think that was kind of the first time all season that we have been able to kind of put everything together.  When you're able to do that with guys that haven't played a ton of football and it feels pretty good and gives those guys confidence as your roll in the next week,” he said.

          Eckert says their more inexperienced players are starting to understand varsity football.  “I think it's a building block.  You’re not going to step in there day one as a starter and in a new position and you're just super confident about it, you need to cook a little bit.  You need to experience these things.  You need to go through some of the ups and downs before you kind of start to understand what's really happening.  I think for us after a couple weeks we're starting to get there.  We're starting to understand our assignments and starting to understand what other people are doing and we're growing more confidence from that,” said Eckert.

          Clear Fork (2-1,0-0), #5 in the first Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, lost a tough one (31-28) at Lexington last week.

          Eckert says the Colts have experience and they are physical.  “I think they're really talented.  This is a group of kids and the names keep repeating.  Some of them I feel like they've been there for three, four, five, six years.  There’s just a lot of guys that's been there and played football and it sounds like they've kind of bought into the system down there with coach (Aaron) Brokaw and coach (Tim) Scheid.  I think they're really talented.  I think they can fly around defensively.  They're a smash mouth team.  They're going to come right after you.  So, for us we've got to be able to withstand some of that, match that physicality, and try to play Warrior football,” said Eckert.

          Eckert says the Colts run the ball really well, but they can throw it too.  “They've got a nice group of athletes to go along with the quarterback, who makes everything go.  I think the (Marcus) Hoeflich kid does a really nice job.  I think he's really dynamic and even sometimes when you think you got him, you don't, he just kind of finds a way to wiggle out of things,” he told Swankonsports.com, “For us, it's about doing what we're supposed to do and matching that toughness and intensity and physicality they offer.  They want to run the football, but they have the athletes to spread out and throw it.  Their athletes are pretty darn good in space.  So, all 11 guys have to be understand what they're supposed to do and do a good job with their responsibilities.”

Published 9/11/25

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Ontario Has to do it up Front

Ontario hosts Madison is a game a non-conference game between teams that want to do the same things on Friday night.

          The Warriors battled back from a loss week one to Lexington to hammer Norwalk (37-6) last Friday.       

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they were more physical.  “We went up there and it did kind of what we were supposed to do and were coached to do.  Anytime you have a younger team, or a team that doesn't have a ton of experience, you try and put things that are attainable and reachable for those guys.  We knew we could be more physical and more aggressive than we had in week one and I think we went up and showed that week two,” he said.

          Quarterback Trey Remy, a first year starter at quarterback, accounted two touchdowns last week and Eckert says he has plenty of help.  “The quarterback is a great kid and he is only going to get better.  He made a huge step from week one to week two.  His surrounding cast, Guy Trader had a huge night where he had a punt returner, a kickoff return and a receiving touchdown.  So, anytime you have got guys that help out in the passing game or in the run game it just makes the quarterback’s job a little easier. So, as we continue to go through the season we'll try to build all those strengths that we have and try to put a better product on the field,” said Eckert.

          Madison (1-1) stuffed River Valley (20-7) last week.

          Eckert says there is a lot of enthusiasm around the Madison program and they are physical team.  “The first thing I think you look at is the excitement around the Madison program. Kobi (Johnson) is a great guy and a friend of mine and he's done what looks to be a fantastic job so far as a Madison alum just getting kids excited.  They have got over 80 kids in their roster and kudos to him,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “On the field they played with some of that enthusiasm.  I think they're big upfront and those guys move people.  They're kind of an old school football team in a sense that they would just run the football right at you with their big offensive linemen and their really talented tailback and quarterback.  So, for us it presents a challenge that they're going to be a downhill team, kind of Lexington did to us, and we've got to be able to respond and fight back when that happens.”

          A lot of games are won and lost up front, but Eckert thinks that is going to be big on Friday night.  “I think that's you know something that we really pride ourselves on over the last several years to just be a physical team at the point of attack and using our weight and strength to push people around.  I think that's kind of the blueprint Madison's gone with.  They've got big kids that can move people right now.  So, it'll be a good test to see where we're at.  Madison’s playing with a lot of confidence.  They beat a good team in our conference that a lot of people thought would be pretty good.  So, it's early in the season and you're still trying to feel things out, but I like the direction of where we're going and they're trending up and this should be a good one on Friday night,” said Eckert.

Published 9/02/25

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Ontario Must be Ontario

          It’s an important week for the Ontario Warriors as they travel to Norwalk to face the Truckers on Friday night.

          They fell (36-16) to non-conference rival Lexington last week.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they have to be better at executing the fundamental elements of the game.  “One of the things that showed up is just not being ready and being in the right spots.  That's a fundamental thing that we've got to work to correct every each and every week and just do our jobs.  I think we've addressed it this week and I hope shows up on Friday nights when we take on the Truckers,” he said.

          Eckert says they want to be much improved this week.  He says they have to be in more of an attacking mode.  “The old adage is that you see your biggest improvement of the year from week one to week two and we hope that that holds true.  We hope that we're able to you know get back to playing Ontario football and not being so much on our heels, but attacking whatever facet of game we're talking about.  For us it's a huge weekend because it’s chance for us to put our best foot forward and an opportunity for us to show our fans, parents, community that we're able to play Ontario football,” said Eckert.

          Norwalk got an overtime field goal from Tommy Vanderpool and beat Toledo Start (17-14) last week.

          Eckert says the Truckers are more of an old fashioned kind of team.  “Norwalk presents a unique challenge.  They kind of run an offense that's not seen as much today in the wing-T.  It used to be very popular, but now it's kind of gone by the wayside as most teams run the spread or some form of it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “For us you've really got to play assignment football.  They kind lull you to sleep and hit the big pass over top.  They'll run a double handoff that we've got to be prepared for.  For us, it's about playing our brand of football and doing your job throughout the week.”

Published 8/29/25

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Ontario Wants to Play Keep Away

          Ontario makes the short trip to Lexington to lock horns with the rival Minutemen on Friday night.

          Warriors coach Aaron Eckert says it promises to be a fun night.  “From an Ontario standpoint anytime you get the opportunity to go line up against Lex it’s a special night.  Fortunately for us we get them out of the gate.  So, it's one of those things its seems like the whole school is going against Lex whether it's soccer or middle school ball or high school football.  So, it's going to be beat Lex week here in Ontario,” said Eckert.

          Ontario won 12 games last season and made it to the regional final in division IV, but lost a lot to graduation.

          Eckert is impressed by how they have gotten better in preparation for this game.  “I think overall our group has continued to get better throughout this entire last winter, spring, summer, fall camp process.  We've lost a lot the last couple of years of guys that have been around and played a lot of football for us.  So, for us it's about these guys getting acclimated and we are trying to do our best job to get them comfortable in their roles and get them ready to go Friday night against Big Lex,” he said.

          Ontario has won the last three meetings in this series that dates back to the 1960s, including (31-14) last year at Ontario.

          However, this season, Eckert says the Minutemen have a lot of star power.  “When you look at the roster, it's one of the most talented teams I've seen in high school, especially for this area.  Anytime you have got a kid that is going to Georgia and you have another kid going to Michigan State to play, you have got another kid with offers in the Hughes kid and maybe the most dynamic athlete in all the area in Seven Allen coupled together with an improved offensive line and some other standouts on defense.  I think they have the makings of a really good team,” said Eckert.

          If they are going to win this time, Eckert says they have to eliminate the big play.  “The first thing that jumps out is keep those guys at bay the best we can.  We can’t allow big plays,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “If we give up a bunch of big plays it's probably not going to go the Warriors way that night.  For us we have got to play Ontario defense, be tough and physical.  Offensively, be able to continue to get first downs, that is going to be huge for us to keep our offense on the field and keep their offense off.”

Published 8/21/25

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Ontario Ready to Reload

          Ontario advanced to the division III regional final last season and this year they hope to put and good team on the field.

          The Warriors will have a lot of new players this year playing varsity level football for the first time, but coach Aaron Eckert says they have been seeing a lot of good things this year so far.  “I think this summer for us has been really good from a lot of perspectives.  When you lose a class like we've had the last couple of years we have a lot of holes to fill,” he told Swankonsports.com, “The holes are being filled by kids that have been our program for multiple years.  So, I'm excited to see what's happening and where we go and all that comes with that.    

          Ontario will have its second of two scrimmages on Thursday night at home against defending “OCC” champion Ashland.

          Eckert says the kids they have on the team understand what takes to be successful because they have seen it.  “I think that's where we've gotten to as a program, I hope.  Any given year unfortunately you may not be what to be, but you know I think for the most part the kids that have stuck it out and been in this program and have seen what it takes to be successful,” he said.

          Ontario opens the campaign at non-conference rival Lexington on August 22 followed by non-league games with Norwalk and Mansfield Madison.

          Eckert says these kids have been winners at lower levels and he believes that will transfer to varsity football.  “Winning breads winning and last year our JV’s we're undefeated, our freshmen were undefeated, so in terms of you know kind of filling in with new faces you know we have a lot of really good football players that just haven't been on the Friday night scene yet and all changes here we open next Friday against Lex,” said Eckert.

Published 8/13/25

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Ontario Battles Back

          Ontario played one its better games of the season as they downed Shelby (5-1) in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action on Thursday evening.

          Shelby won the first meeting (11-0) on Wednesday and Warriors coach Mike Ellis liked the attitude they brought to the ballpark on Thursday.  “What a day makes.  (Wednesday) night we didn't play well.  We had four errors and they took advantage of it.  It's not like we didn't hit the ball, but we hit it right at them.  So, it was a rough night for us, but proud of the kids and their attitude they brought some energy (Thursday) and we've got a “W” against a good team, a well coached team,” he said.

          It looks like Highland is going to win the “MOAC”, but there is a lot of baseball yet to play, including the tournament.  The draw is Sunday.

          Ellis says the Warriors are still looking to build momentum.  “These are high school kids and I've learned you never know what you're going to get.  The biggest thing is you're trying to get that consistency and it's hard at this high school age to get that every night.  So, that's why you see where teams are splitting and they get blown out, but then they come back win the next night,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “It's just one of those things and sometimes it's just matchups.  Sloan, a lefty was pitching well (Wednesday) and he had us out on our front foot a lot, but their outfield made some plays when we did hit it.  So, that was (Wednesday) night and (Thursday) night we were making plays and stuff, so it was our night.”

          Ontario will certainly be tested next week when they play two against Highland.

          On Thursday, Ellis says Carter Walters was just very good on the mound for them.  “My senior Carter Walters in his four year career, especially during the state run (in 2023) he was just awesome hitting his spots and stuff and keeping people off balance.  (Thursday) he was just doing the same thing.  Just keeping them off balance and giving us the chance to do something with our bats.  We able to you know make some noise there and again he pitched really, really well for us,” said Ellis.

Published 5/09/25

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Ontario Gets by Harding

          Ontario got by Marion Harding (7-6) in nine innings in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action on Tuesday evening.

          The win keeps the Warriors (8-6,6-3) two games behind Highland and in a share of second place with Galion and Clear Fork.

          Coach Mike Ellis says they had to rally to get the win.  “We got down early 4-0.  The past two games we haven't been really playing well, playing a full seven innings.  Our kids stayed tough.  We started fighting back and then once we tied it, it was kind of going back and forth.  We ended up winning it by one, so it was a good game for us,” said Ellis.

          Ellis says his young squad is learning how to fight to get wins and that’s important.  “Especially when you have a young team.  Early in the year they would just kind of cave in and give in.  (Tuesday) I think I saw more a maturity.  It was like we're going to fight and see what happens.  So, I’m very proud of the team,” he said.

          Ellis says a win like they got on Tuesday night is only going to help them for the rest of the season, especially the tournament.  “The game (Tuesday) night is really going to help us when it comes tournament time.  Being in a tie game and going extra innings.  Any mistake, or error, can cost you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We went against their ace (Tyson Lind).  He's done really well this year in “MOAC” games.  We took him to his (pitch) limit yeah.  Their coach said that we were the first team so far to get him knocked out of just because of too many pitches.”

Published 4/30/25

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Ontario Handles Pleasant

          Ontario downed Marion Pleasant (9-4) on Tuesday in a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.

          The win keeps the Warriors (6-5,4-3) game behind Highland in the “MOAC” race.

          Coach Mike Ellis says Tuesday they didn’t strike out much.  “It's about time we've gotten some nice weather to play baseball.  Our guys did put the ball in play.  That's always the key you know put the ball in play and usually good things happen,” he said.

          Ellis says they were able to force the Spartans to make plays, which is what you want to do.  “When you put it in play you get the defense to move and anything can happen when just the defense is moving.  They have got to field the ball and then they have got to throw it to throw you out.  So, a lot of things go into that.  Sometimes I don't think the kids really realize that just putting the ball in play really helps your offense be able to score runs,” said Ellis.

          Ontario plays host to Pleasant (3-6,1-5) on Wednesday.

          Ellis says they have been telling their kids when you are in the dugout pay attention to what is going on between the lines.  “The biggest thing when you're in the dugout is watching your teammate bat.  Watch what the pitcher’s doing through your teammate.  Is he throwing breaking balls on the first pitch or is he coming inside or is he attacking outside,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “There's a lot you can learn just watching your teammates.  By the time you it's your turn the bat you have a pretty good idea what the pitcher is trying to do and then you have a pretty good idea of what you need to do.”

Published 4/23/25

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Clear Fork Strikes Early; Beats Ontario

          Clear Fork scored seven times in the first inning and went on to down Ontario (8-4) in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Wednesday evening at American Legion Field in Bellville.

          Colts coach Gabe Kennedy says they were able to get some guys on base on Wednesday.  “The first three games of the year we had some trouble kind of getting the bats going and getting guys on base.  When we do get them on base moving them over.  So, (Wednesday) night it was really nice to see early on in the game in the first inning there getting seven guys across the plate,” he told Swankonsports.com on after the win on Wednesday night, “It was a good start for us.  We knew Ontario is a good team, they're tough, they're always going to compete, so we knew it was going to be a dogfight all night.”

          Ontario coach Mike Ellis got right to the point.  “You can’t spot seven runs to a good coached team and expect to win,” he said.

          It was not a great night to play baseball, well unless you are Erine Banks, or perhaps a polar bear.  After taking that lead the Colts were able to strand a number of Warriors on the bases.

          Kennedy says it was a gutty effort by his kids.  “We got a great pitching performance from Garrett Hotz and Mason Sansom.  It was horrible conditions (Wednesday) night for both teams.  For everybody in the area that played baseball.  I think some teams the games got called for darkness and we were pretty close.  I think at one point said that the feels like was like 30°, which I think was a lie because it felt like about -10, but it was a gutsy effort by our kids.  Ontario they got guys on the bases and we were able to get the big out,” said Kennedy.

          Galion and Shelby in “MOAC” play was one that stopped after six innings with the Tigers winning (13-8).

          Clear Fork (3-1,2-1) plays at Ontario (2-2,2-1) plays at Ontario on Thursday if Mother Nature allows.  Both are a game behind defending champion Highland, who beat Marion Harding (4-0) on Wednesday.

          Kennedy says they have to be ready to play.  “Like we've said before, our conference is loaded.  It's a tough conference every game that's going to be a grinded out type of game, whether you win or lose and no matter what you have got to be ready to go to the next day.  So, we were fortunate enough (Wednesday) night get to win against Ontario at home and we're looking forward to competing against them (Thursday),” he said.

Published 4/10/25

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Ontario Downs Madison

          Ontario beat Madison (6-3) on a cold Monday in non-conference baseball action at Ontario.

          Warriors coach Mike Ellis says his team showed good improvement from their opener on Saturday.  “It's our first win of the year, so it's felt good.  I thought we played a lot better than what we did on Saturday.  Defensively, we played better, I mean we still have two errors, but we did play better.  Like I told you before, we're a team that’s a work in progress,” said Ellis.

          Perkins belted the Warriors (12-0) on Saturday.

          It was Madison’s first game of the spring.  Coach Nick Melton says there were good things, but not nearly enough.  “You have to give credit where credit is due and Ontario did more things right than we did (Monday) night and the score reflects that.  Their starting pitcher did a nice job of keeping us off balance at the plate.  We had a few guys compete at the level we expect, but not enough,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “I thought Ashton Taylor threw the ball well enough to give us a chance.  He also reached base in each plate appearance and that’s tremendous for a lead off guy.  We need more guys with nights like that.  The good news is we can do it again (Tuesday) with another chance to play ball and compete and we’re looking forward to it.”

          Madison travels to Wooster (0-1) to play the talented Generals on Tuesday in action in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.

          Ellis says the Warriors have to continue to get better.  “We're playing a lot of young kids and so there's a learning curve.  When you play that first game I think they're all nervous and stuff and then the second game they kind of settle in and it showed (Monday) night,” said Ellis.

          Ontario (1-1) will play at River Valley (2-2) on Tuesday in play in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.

          Ellis says getting a win first was important.  “We start (Tuesday) and we play River Valley.  Last year, we were 1-1 with them and so it's good to get that first win and then try to carry it over to (Tuesday) night,” he said.

Published 4/01/25

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Ontario Will be a Work in Progress

          Ontario is going to be a baseball team that hopes to be better in May than they are in March.

          Coach Mike Ellis says they don’t have many veterans, he says they are going to put a lot of inexperienced players on the field.  “This year we're going to be young.  I have got four seniors.  My only junior had labrum surgery from football, so don't know if he's going to be able to play this year.  Then I have a few sophomores and a freshman, so we're going to be fairly young,” said Ellis.

          Ellis says scrimmages, the first set for next Monday against Colonel Crawford, are going to be vital and practice time too.  “I think more this year than ever just because of how young we are.  You want to see what you have got.  You're putting different pieces all over the field and see what works and what doesn't.  So, the good thing is we have got three scrimmages to try and figure it out and then we'll just go from there,” he said.

          Ellis says this preseason is going to be about seeing you can play at the varsity level and more importantly who can’t.  “When you bring you know guys up from the JV you get to watch maybe a few games of them playing, but other than talking to the JV coach you really don't know stuff,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “The practices have been really good.  It's probably the hardest I've pushed the team so far.  As I told them, we're going to be a different team and we have got to be able to do all the little things right.  So, we're still a work in progress.”

Published 3/12/25

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Ontario Prepared for Postseason

          Ontario will play Clear Fork for the third time this season in a sectional semifinal in division IV on Tuesday night at Balogh Court in Ontario.

          The Warriors (7-15) won their final game of the regular season on Saturday when they beat Highland (63-49) in a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.

          Coach Jerry Moton says that’s how they have to play.  “I think the guys were locked and they were focused.  Every time we're locked in and focused the result is we win,” he said.

          Ontario beat Clear Fork (8-14) twice during the regular season (50-39) at Ontario on December 12 and (47-46) at Clear Fork on January 18.

          Moton says they have to control how the game is played.  “They are a good team.  They have got a player Hotz and he's averaging close to 19 points.  We have to contain him.  They have some shooters on the outside that we have got to contest.  We just have got to control the tempo.  We have got to control how we want to play.  We have got to dictate how we want to play the game,” said Moton.

          Ontario features a lot of younger players, but Moton says they have been taught what to expect from the postseason.  “One of the things I've been just talking to them about is like just seeing them mature as the season goes on and prepping them.  The last game that was sort of like a tournament environment right there,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “The last game that we played against Shelby was definitely a tournament style game as far as environment.  So, we've been prepping them as to what to expect in the tournament.”

Published 2/18/25

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Ontario Must Control Tempo

          Ontario takes on Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference leader River Valley on the road Tuesday night in an “MOAC” game.

          It had to be a very frustrating weekend for the Warriors as they lost two league games in overtime, (69-65) to Shelby on Friday night and (82-80) to Highland on Saturday afternoon.

          Coach Jerry Moton says they were different kinds of losses.  “I think the guys, especially in Shelby, they left they left it all out there.  We just came up a little bit short.  Against Highland I felt like the energy was not where it needed to be,” he told Swnkonsports.com on Monday evening, “That’s exactly why we went to overtime and we came up short.  So, those are all learning lessons and teachable moments for our very young team.”

          Ontario (6-14,4-8) plays at River Valley (17-2,11-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, on Tuesday night.  The Vikings schooled Galion (77-41) in a league game on Friday.  They lead Marin Harding by a game and can claim a share of the “MOAC” title with a win.

          Moton says they are a total team.  “They are a very good team.  They have got a complete team.  They have good guards, good wings, good posts.  They love to play up tempo.  They have really good shooters and they rebound well.  So, we have to on our “A” game if we want to come out with “W” against them,” said Moton.

          River Valley smoked the Warriors (72-29) on January 16.

          Moton says they can not allow the Vikings to control the game like last time.  “It's the effort, the energy, the focus on the game plan and attention to the details.  We have to control the tempo.  We can't allow them to dictate the tempo.  They want to run, they want to shoot threes, they want to get out quick and we have got to eliminate that,” he said.

Published 2/11/25

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High Energy the Key for Ontario

          Ontario plays host to archrival Shelby Friday night in a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.

          They play Highland Saturday afternoon in an “MOAC” game.

          On Tuesday, they were outscored (25-7) in the fourth quarter and lost (66-51) to Bellevue in non-conference play.

          Coach Jerry Moton says they just did not play with the same intensity in their final minutes of the game.  “We really let that one slip past us and just lost our intensity and our energy level.  It just seemed like it dropped.  It was kind of disappointing, but we learned from it and moved on,” said Moton.

          Shelby won the first matchup of the season between the teams (68-59) on January 2.

          Moton says they need to contain the Brayden DeVito, the “MOAC’s” leading scorer.  “They're a very well coached.  They are a great rebounding team.  They are led by Brayden DeVito, he's an outstanding player.  He shoots the ball real good, penetrates, mid range.  He's really the engine to their team,” he said.

          Moton says they have to play this game at even keel.  “That’s one of the things that we've been discussing with the kids all year is just understanding the game, the emotional aspect of it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Not being too high.  Keeping the energy at a steady level throughout the game and picking it up towards the end of the fourth quarter.  Sometimes the energy with young kids can drop and they hang their heads.  We try to help them through that whole process.”

Published 2/07/25

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Ontario Wants to Dictate Game

          Ontario plays host to Marion Pleasant in a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Thursday night.

          Last Saturday, they picked up their best win of the season when they scored at the buzzer to beat Firelands Conference leader Crestview (61-59) after trailing by six with 30 seconds left.

          Coach Jerry Moton says it was a great win.  “It's one of those wins as younger team that we have they'll never forget,” he said.

          The Warriors (5-10,3-5) have won three of their last six and all three have been by two points or less.

          Moton believes they are becoming winners.  “Like I said it's a young team and we're learning how to win.  Early on in the season we were losing those games and now we're coming out on top.  So, the improvement is coming, the growth is coming, I see it, we're just getting better every day,” said Moton.

          Marion Pleasant (6-8,4-5) as not played since January 18 when they lost (56-48) to “MOAC” leader River Valley.

          The Spartans won the first matchup with Ontario (55-53) on December 17.

          Moton says they want Pleasant to play faster.  “I think Pleasant is a very good team, very well coached, disciplined.  They try to force the opposing team to play their style,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “That's something that we're going to try to do.  We're going to get them to just to do the opposite.  We're going to get them to play our style of ball.”

Published 1/29/25

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Ontario’s Goals Still in Front of Them

          Ontario plays at Galion on Friday night in a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.

          The Warriors are coming off a league win on Saturday night when they held on to beat Clear Fork (47-46) on the road.

          Coach Jerry Moton calls it a game where they did a good job battling adversity.  “It was an emotional game that was very hard fought.  I think our guys learned how to play through adversity.  That's one of the first times that we stayed together and fought and came up with the “W,” he said.

          Ontario (4-9,3-4) plays at Galion (2-11,1-7) on Friday night.  The Warriors produced their most lopsided win of the season on December 14 they crushed Galion (79-47) at Ontario.

          Moton says Galion is better now.  “Galion has been playing better as of late.  I can't think right off of hand of the teams that they have played and actually won against, but I do know that they've been playing better lately,” he told Swankpnsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “I expect them to be up for the game.  We're on the road and on the road is always tough to win, so we're going to have to fight.”

          Galion has lost its last four games.  Their last win came (77-57) over Lucas on January 4.

          Moton says his team is also improving and that their goals are still attainable.  “I see us growing.  The guys are working hard.  It's just fine tuning everything, paying attention to details.  Just gearing up towards making this conference run and into the tournament.  Everything is in preparation for those two things right there,” said Moton.

Published 1/22/25

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Ontario With Limited Time to Prepare

          Ontario wants to get back on the basketball floor and they have two chances to do it this week as they host “MOAC” co-leader River Valley on Thursday and travel to Clear Fork on Saturday for Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference games.

          They have had a game with Highland postponed due to weather twice in the last week.

          Coach Jerry Moton says not only did they not get to play, but they couldn’t practice either.  “It's frustrating.  The only thing it does it just condenses our schedule even more than what it already has been because we have to reschedule games in the beginning of the year because of the football run, you know the football team.  So, it just really limits the amount of practice time that we truly get with our players,” said Moton.

          Ontario (3-8,2-3) hosts River Valley (8-2,5-1) on Thursday night.  The Vikings share the conference lead with Marion Harding.  They walloped Clear Fork (80-37) in a conference game last week.

          Moton says they are very good on offense and defense.  “They have a high octane offensive.  They hit the boards hard.  They have got some great shooters on the team.  They play really good defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They're just all around good team and we're going have to be up and ready for the physicality that they bring.”

          Ontario beat Clear Fork (50-39) on December 12.

          Moton says this will be a tougher challenge.  “That's going to be a fun game.  It's on the road, so it's always tough to win on the road.  I don't care who you play and or what their record is when you come to somebody’s home territory they always play with a little more pride and intensity,” he said.

Published 1/16/25

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Ontario is Maturing

          Ontario hosts Highland at Balogh Court on Friday in play in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.

          It is a 5 PM tip off for the varsity game.

          The Warriors broke a seven game losing streak with a (62-60) win at Willard in non-conference game on Tuesday night.

          Coach Jerry Moton says they did a good job sealing that victory.  “Closing out games has been one of the emphasis.  The guys hung tough and closed it out and it was a good team win,” he said.

          Ontario plays at least three freshman significant minutes and Moton says they are benefiting from the maturing those kids are doing.  “We're midway through the season.  I kind of joked with them like hey you're not freshmen any more you are now sophomores because it’s the second half of the season,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We're getting ready to go down a hard stretch and get ready to prepare for the tournament.  I think every game, every minute that they get is valuable.  It's going to be precious to them.  I think we're getting better and better each and every day.”

          Ontario (3-8,2-3) plays at home against Highland (6-6,2-4) on Friday evening.  Highland has won its last three, including a (63-57) win over Clear Fork in league play last week and Tuesday night they handed Crestview their first loss of the season (54-50) in non-conference action.

          Moton calls them aggressive.  “They play a very aggressive style of defense.  Even when the opposing team gets a rebound, they're sort of trapping that person.  If they turn the ball over, they're trapping.  So, they like to trap, they like to be aggressive, they like to push the ball, they have some decent shooters.  I like what I see from Highland as opposed to their team last year, they're very different,” said Moton.

Published 1/10/25

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Ontario Must Play Team Defense

          Ontario is at arch rival Shelby in play in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Thursday night.

          The Warriors trail River Valley and Marion Harding by a game in the conference standings.

          They lost a tough non-league game (52-49) to Madison on Saturday night.

          Coach Jerry Moton says they need to be able to play 32 minutes of basketball.  “I think we controlled the game, the flow of the game the whole time.  I think at the end, coming out in the third quarter also, that we let it get away a little bit.  They hit a last second shot to end the quarter in the third quarter, they outscored us I think 8 to 15.  That's just the point of emphasis for our young team coming out at halftime just to you know to really get off a good start,” said Moton.

          Ontario (2-6,2-2) plays at Shelby (5-3,3-2) on Thursday.  Last weekend, the Whippets held off Clear Fork (59-55) in an “MOAC” game on Friday night and lost (73-53) to Lexington in a non-league game Saturday night.

          Moton says poses a challenge.  “They still have a good team.  They have some good guards led by (Brayden) DeVito.  They have some big, thick inside players that are very physical and they're very well coached,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Shelby is still a good team.  A team that we really have to prepare for and be ready to you know fight every second of the game.”

          When it comes to containing DeVito (18.3 ppg), Moton says it’s going to be a team effort.  “It's going to be a total team effort on cutting down the driving lanes and getting the hand up when he shoots.  He has a quick release, he's very quick with ball.  So, it's going to be a total team effort to you know make sure we slow down him and their offense,” he said.

Published 12/31/24

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Ontario Must Defend

          Ontario travels to Marion Pleasant to meet the Spartans in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Tuesday night.

          They won their first two “MOAC” games last week in handling Clear Fork (50-39) on Thursday and blowing out Galion (79-47) on Saturday.

          Coach Jerry Moton says they did a lot of good things.  “I thought we played very well, shared the ball, got out and ran and executed our press very well,” he said.

          Moton says for them everything starts on the defensive end.  “Our team we want to have a defensive identity.  So, everything we generate is going to start and defensive end and then getting out and running,” he said.

          Ontario (2-1,2-0) is at Pleasant (2-3,1-2) on Tuesday night.  The Spartans beat archrival River Valley (51-48) last week in a league game.

          Moton says Pleasant will try and stretch the floor.  “They got a nice, solid big kid who crashes the boards, nice shot, can shoot the three.  #5, I'm think his name is McCants, nice, solid guard,” he told Swanknsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They like to stretch you out and drive lanes hard.  They wait for you to make a mistake and take advantage of it.  So, we have to be careful with reaching and just play solid defense on the half court.”

Published 12/17/24

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Ontario Ready to be Better

          Ontario beings play in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Thursday night when they host the rival Clear Fork Colts.

          In game one of the season, they lost (66-57) to Norwalk in a non-conference game on Saturday night.

          Coach Jerry Moten says they learned a lot from the loss.  “I think a lot of our young players got some much needed experience and they understand the speed of the play and I think things are looking up,” he said.

          Moten says it was an eye opening experience for a lot of his young guys.  “When we break down the film and analyze what happened and just pick apart just little bad habits and tendencies that they do just to make the team better I think like a light bulb went off in everybody's head once the game was over with because now they understand what they have got to do to get better each and every day,” said Moton.

          Clear Fork (2-2,2-0) beat Marion Pleasant (48-41) on Tuesday night.  They have won their last two, both “MOAC” games.

          Garrett Hotz is one of the area’s leading scorers and Moton says he will be a tough guard for the Warriors.  “They offense is really centered around him.  He's a great scorer and he's going to be the handful of guard.  It’s going to be by committee,” he told Swankonsports.com, “They are pretty sound.  They hit the boards.  They have got a couple shooters on their team.  We are just going to have to be ready for a fight.”

Published 12/11/24

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Ontario With Little Experience

          Ontario starts the boys’ basketball season on Saturday night as they travel to Norwalk to face the Truckers.

          Second year coach Jerry Moton says they have a team with little varsity experience.  “It's going to be a lot of learning and a lot of just gaining experience on game day.  So, I mean we're coming together and we're gelling and we're just going to continue to do that throughout the season,” said Moton.

          Moton hopes the bright lights of varsity basketball don’t overwhelm some of his players.  “Games are definitely different.  For I would say the bulk of the team this game experience is going to be new to them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “They're going to have to adjust and be ready for you know the real speed of play that's coming.”

          Norwalk (1-0) beat Oregon Clay (55-45) last week.

          Moton says Norwalk, on the other hand, has a lot of varsity experience and they are going to try and throw it in the post.  “They are very well coached and pretty good on defense.  They have got two big men that are really, really good, I think one of them played football.  They know how to pass into the post and they hit the boards hard.  It's going to be a tough game,” he said.

Published 12/04/24

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Ontario Must be Opportunistic

          Ontario locks horns with Sandusky Perkins on Friday night at Tiffin Columbian is a division IV regional final.

          It was a tremendous game last week, the Warriors rallied to beat arch rival Shelby (49-48) on the strength of a Bodpegn Miller one-yard TD run with 12 seconds remaining and a Kooper Kilgore extra point.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says it was a special game.  “I couldn’t be any more proud of the kids and the way they responded.  When you're down 22 at the start of the fourth and you're going against the team as good as Shelby you usually don't get the opportunity to come back at that point.  We dug ourselves a pretty good hole in the third quarter.  So, just seeing the kids be resilient and turn it on.  We throw a pic with under two minutes ago and the only thing we could do to get out of it was get a safety and we're able to get that.  So, I think the game kind of had everything you're looking for from whatever side you're on.  You're excited, you were down, you were up, you're down, emotions all over the place and that's what made it special,” said Eckert.

          Ontario (13-1) faces Perkins (13-1) on Friday night.  The Pirates, outright champions of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, downed Napoleon (35-21) last week.

          Eckert says the Pirates have a lot of weapons on offense and an outstanding defense.  “It starts up front.  I think most good football teams are good up front and they're no different.  They've lost some guys this year for whatever reasons and they continue to be really good.  They want to run the football with their really good offensive back #18.  They've got a quarterback with a good arm and a stud receiver that’s going to Michigan State.  So, they have kind of got that trifecta of what you need offensively.  More impressively might be their defense though.  They give up 160 yards game, they're super fast and physical and they challenge you on every play,” said Eckert.

          Coaches in the “SBC” say Perkins running back Isaac Bunts is the best player in the league and Eckert says they must try to control him.  “They look like a team that wants to run the football and I get that.  If you can control the line of scrimmage and you can win a lot of your games.  It's not a secret.  That's what we try to do here in Ontario and it's proven to be a successful formula for us over here,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “It doesn't shock me that that's where it starts with them too.  The back has got over 2000 yards and 28 touchdowns and all the accolades, but it really starts up front.  You have got to minimize his effectiveness by winning up front first.”

          Ontario has gamebreakers too beginning with Miller, who had over 500 total yards last week, and Eckert says they must cash in their chances.  “It's a game that you're playing a team that was projected state champs or at least in that conversation as one of the final two teams.  When you're the underdog you've got to make everything count.  We'll look to take advantage of every situation we can get on Friday when those opportunities arise we've got to be willing to grab and take them,” he said.

Published 11/21/24

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Ontario Has to Win Third Down

          Sometimes life gives you a second chance and that’s what the Ontario Warriors have this week as Friday night they face the Shelby Whippets in a division IV regional semifinal at Arlin Field in Mansfield.

          Shelby beat them (50-36) in a regular season game that led to a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title for the Whippets.   Like the Red Sox beating the Yankees or the Lakers beat the Celtics or vice versa.

          Ontario coach Aaron Eckert says offensively he thinks they can put up some points.  “We had a good offensive output last time.  We only punted once and unfortunately we only punted because we had a misalign on a touchdown that we got called back.  I like where offense is at, especially lately.  We've done pretty good job, especially last game of kind of distributing the ball and not necessarily just focusing on Bodpegn (Miller) and running around and making plays.  So, anytime you just run the offense and be successful at it usually put the team in a good spot to win the game,” said Eckert.

          Bodpegn Miller might be the best athlete in the area, but the Warriors also have playmakers like Mason Vantilburg and James Mahon.  Plus, Eckert calls their offensive line the best in the area.  “We have some guys that are able and willing to do that.  It's a good thing for us we've got multiple running backs I feel really good about.  We've got multiple receivers that did a nice job catching the ball when their name has been called,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “I think the offensive line is the best in the area, so they've been really good this year.  Whenever you have all those things kind of clicking and it does take some pressure off “BP” and allows your other guys to get involved when that happens good thing happen for the Warriors.”

          In the regular season game, Ontario failed to cover a free kick and that cost them.  Eckert says they can’t have foul ups in special teams.  “You have got to make sure your solid in that aspect of the game, especially against Shelby.  They do a great job over there of game planning and coming up with creative ways to take advantage of you on special teams.  So, just like every week we try to focus on special teams and give it the attention it deserves and hopefully at the end of the day you come out and play flawlessly in that part of the game,” he said.

          Eckert says they must make Shelby punt and he says they must continue to execute like they have been on offense.  “I think the first thing you have to do is you have to get off the field on third down. Brayden DeVito is too good to allow extra possessions or allowing the scramble for a first down and sometimes you can't help it, but other times when you have opportunities to get off the field you have to take them.  Offensively, we have to continue to play Warrior football.  We have to continue to be aggressive up front, we have to continue to make plays, we’ve got to play fundamentally sound football,” said Eckert.

Published 11/14/24

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Ontario Has to Contain Whippets

          Ontario versus Shelby, the sequel, is Friday night at Arlin Field in Mansfield in the division IV regional semifinals.

          Here’s hoping it’s better than Rocky II.

          Ontario (11-1) was very good last week in humbling Clyde (38-7) in the quarterfinals.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they were ready to play.  “I thought we played extremely well.  I think the kids had a great week of practice leading up to that game and then went out and executed the game plan I thought that was really well done by our offensive and defensive staffs.  At the end of the day, were at home and we said were not we're not done playing yet.  We wanted to keep playing football and here we are playing week 13,” he said.

          Shelby beat Ontario (50-36) on week nine of the regular season and with it went the title in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.  It was the only time the Warrior varsity allowed more than two scores in a game.

          Eckert says they can’t blow coverages or allow gaps or Shelby will exploit them.  “It starts with being aligned right.  Last game we did not get aligned all of the time and they hurt us.  They have arguably the best player in the area, it’s either Bodpegn (Miller) or (Brayden) DeVito.  With a kid like that, if you don't align right he takes advantage of it.  If you misalignment secondary he's going to find you.  So, we've got to be sound in how we get aligned and what we do in terms of how aggressive we are.  At the end of the day, I think the tougher team wins this game.  Last game we put ourselves in a chance to win.  We're winning in the fourth quarter and weren’t able to get it done.  So, we're going to take and learn from it and get better this week,” said Eckert.

          Eckert says their goal is to contain DeVito.  “Anybody you play you try to make them one dimensional.  What makes it so tough when you play a quarterback like DeVito is that he is their running and their passing.  So, if you try to bottle them up in the run game and not let him scramble around, he can hurt you with his arm.  In the same way if you put a bunch of people in the secondary, he’s just going to run all over you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Shelby does a nice job of putting him in positions to be successful.  So, what you're trying to do is trying to contain him because you're not going to stop him, it's just not realistic in high school football with them.  We hope to do a better job of containing him and kind of trying to keep them bottled up the best we can.”

          Arlin Field has been a great playoff setting over the year and Eckert says Friday night will be no different.  “We're both less than 15 minutes away from the from the stadium itself.  Both communities butt up to that community.  So, in terms of where it's at I think it's great for the game.  It's close, it's good for the area, a lot of people might stop over.  Mansfield Senior’s got a huge stadium so there will be a lot of people there.  It's good because you've got two of the best teams in North Central Ohio squaring off against each other with chance to go to the regional finals,” said Eckert.

Published 11/12/24

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Ontario Plays Versatile Clyde

          Ontario is at home form Clyde in a regional quarterfinal in division IV on Friday night.

          Last Friday, the Warriors (10-1) dominated Clear Fork (24-2) in a first round game.

          Coach Aaron Eckert felt they played well.  “Clear Fork had gotten a lot better since the first time we played at mid season and I thought we saw pretty good version of Clear Fork the other night.  It was a dogfight.  We were fortunate to come out on top after it was all said and done,” he said.

          Clyde (8-3) hammered Otsego (42-7) last week.

          Eckert says Clyde approaches the game a lot like they do.  “If you put us, Clear Fork and Clyde into a blender you would come out with a lot of the same pieces.  I think that they're really similar to us in terms of just being a physical football team with some good athletes.  They also play quite a few guys like we do.  So, it's like one of those games where you kind of look at yourself in the mirror and say we do a lot of the same things with a lot of similar type athletes, but everything starts up front for those guys as well just like it does here at Ontario,” said Eckert.

          Clyde plays two kids at quarterback who are both on the field at the same time.  Eckert says that allows them to do a lot of different things.  “It's a little bit unique when you have that kind of offensive identity.  Their starting quarterback is a left-handed kid, it looks like he's going to be a four year letter winner over there.  He's really dynamic and he can line up in the backfield, line up at receiver, and line up at quarterback.  Kind of how we use about the Bodpgen Miller some,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “They have a junior that has a really nice arm that comes in and plays some.  He can throw it.  They're a little bit different type of quarterbacks, but with them being on the field at the same time they can throw double passes and things like that.  So, it's definitely a unique challenge for us.”

          Eckert believes their defense has to give Clyde a lot of different looks.  “Every time they're on offense they’re going to kind of go up there and call a play, look at it again after they kind of fake snap it and then they're going to try to put their team in the best spot to be successful in that individual play.  They will do that the entire game.  It slows the game down a little bit it looks like on film, but it's hard to tell based off film.  So, we'll do the best we can and try to mix things up as they try to mix things up on offense.  We're looking forward to the challenge on Friday here at Ontario,” said Eckert.

Published 11/05/24

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Ontario to Face Physical Clear Fork

          Friday night marks the second meeting of the season between Ontario and Clear Fork as they collide in a first round playoff game in division IV at Copeland Field.

          Ontario (9-1), #4 in the final Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, won the first meeting (31-14) on September 20.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says the Colts are an improved football team.  “It's one of those things.  It's kind of weird in you're playing a team from your own conference in a way, but you know them, they know you.  What's unique about Clear Fork is their season probably turned after we played them.  They played a really good game against us.  They got healthy after us and they have won three their last four games.  So, it's a team on the upswing and playing pretty good football right now,” said Eckert.

          Clear Fork has wanted to be a physical team, but Eckert says now they are giving you more to defense.  “I think a lot of it has to do with just how physical they are.  They started that trend against us.  Clear Fork has always been known as a physical football team and a team that likes to run the football.  Now, their quarterback is healthy again and they're starting to do some RPO’s with him where they just throw it off the runs and just makes them that much more dangerous on offense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Then defensively, they've been solid all year.  They struggled to score early in the season, but now they're scoring the ball in waves and playing really good defense, which makes for a pretty tough match up for us.”

          Clear Fork is going to want to eat some clock and Eckert says they need to get them off the field.  “As in any game you want to get a bunch of three and outs and get your offense back on the field.  We can get the ball in the hands of Bodpegn Miller that's usually a good thing for us at Ontario.  So, overall we've got to try to limit their opportunities and play good fundamental defense and get the ball back to our offense and see if we can go down and score against that really good defense they have,” he said.

          Miller leads led the “MOAC” in rushing tis year and has made multiple big plays.  Eckert says they need some of those on Friday night again.  “That's kind of the name of the game if you can create some big plays in the throw game or the run game then you're probably going to win the game if you have more than they do.  The last time we played them we were fortunate enough to have Bodpegn on our team and he had some nice long runs.  If I remember right, Mason (VanTilberg) had a great game.  For us, we've got to show up and do a great job on the perimeter in terms of blocking because they're kind of in your face playing defense.  Up front you've also got to do a great job of opening up holes and trying to let those backs that we have find a crease and go,” said Eckert.

Published 10/31/24

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Ontario Must Get Back up

          Ontario lost its first game of the season last week and now they have to get back on the beam as they host Highland in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Friday night.

          Last week, they held a (36-35) lead with just over five minutes to play, but lost (50-36) to Shelby in a battle of unbeatens last week in conference play.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they hurt themselves with poor execution late in the game.  “Great game high school game.  We always kind of have that with them.  Unfortunately for us you know made too many mistakes down the stretch and to beat a good football team like Shelby you can't do that expect to win the game,” he said.

          Now, if Ontario (8-1,5-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, can beat Highland and Shelby loses to Marion Pleasant, the Warriors would share the title.

          Eckert says Friday night will kind of show what they are made of.  “It’s kind of like life.  You don't win every game you should or thought you would.  It's just one of those things where you're knocked down and what do you do, how do you respond,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “For us it goes back to who we are as people.  So, I fully expect the Warriors to be back and ready to go on Friday night.  Hopefully we learn something from last Friday’s game and our character shows through and we're able to get back on the horse and play Warrior football.”

          Highland (3-6,2-4) was waxed last week (41-7) by Clear Fork.

          Eckert says it can be difficult to understand what you will get from Highland.  “Highland is a team that they're kind of hard to evaluate.  They've got some really nice things this year.  They don't give up a ton of big plays.  They have some big plays of their own. They seem to just stick around games and then maybe late they give up a couple ones and the score looks a little worse than the game was.  They're pretty fundamentally sound team just like most teams that Ty Stover coaches.  So, we have to bring it really good game plan and effort and attitude with us on Friday if we have any chance of winning,” said Eckert.

Published 10/24/24

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Ontario Has to Keep the Ball

          No less than a share of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference crown can be secured by either Ontario or Shelby on Friday night as the two unbeaten teams play in Shelby.

          A lot has been said about the Shelby offense and why not, but their defense really has not allowed very much at all when the first string has been in there.

          Ontario coach Aaron Eckert says they are solid on three levels.  “The first thing stands out it's just how solid they are everywhere.  It starts up front with their defensive line, they've got real good pieces up there.  Their ends are really solid.  They're guys inside, two different players, one gets off the ball, really explosive, the other one double teams and they do a great job.  You combined that with their linebacker play.  They have really solid linebacker, the (Colton) Sturts kid has been a couple year starter.  Their outside two linebackers have played.  Their secondary, they've got the Nic (Eyster) kid back this year, who I think led the conference in picks last year.  They are just vert athletic in the back end.  This Shelby secondary and Shelby defense overall just really good, solid, high school football players,” said Eckert.

          Of course, Ontario has Ohio State recruit Bodpegn Miller at quarterback and he leads the “MOAC” in rushing with 1,182 yards and 12 scores.  He’s also thrown 13 TD passes.

          Eckert says he is just a playmaker.  “He's special, he's one of those kids that you call really good plays and it works and you can also call really bad plays and it works.  Sometimes those are his best plays where he just kind of improvises and goes and good things happen for the Warriors of the ball in his hands,” he said.

          Ontario (8-0,5-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, and Shelby (8-0,5-0), #2 in that poll, shared the title last season.

          Special teams can often be a difference maker in these kinds of games.

          Eckert says they have been pretty good in that area.  He says Shelby will try and do a lot of different things to get an advantage.  “That something that's probably overlooked and under practiced in general.  Something that we try to take pretty serious.  We start back in June with our special teams in the summer.  Again, luckily for us we've got Bodpegn Miller back there kicking and punting.  Our PAT kicker Kooper Kilgore is a freshman and he's done a great job for us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We're playing a team in Shelby who probably puts more time an effort into their special teams than anybody in the area and it shows up on Friday with all the different things that they do.  When it’s their turn to punt they put a lot of pressure on defenses because of their ability to be different and move the ball and come out different formations and they have an advantage there.”

          The winning points in this game last year came when Shelby executed a hook and ladder play with just about a minute to play and then intercepted a pass in the end zone to secure the win.

          Eckert says they have to keep the ball in their hands and get some extra possessions with turnovers.  “I think the first thing we've got to do is keep the ball.  They're an explosive offense.  They want to make explosive plays and throw the ball down the field.  If they don't have the ball in DeVito’s hands they can't score, so we would like to control the clock.  Then for us we've got to try to create some turnovers on defense.  Shelby's going to try to get as many extra possessions, whether through a fake punt, or through an onside kick on kickoff, something like that.  We've got to secure those opportunities and then ourselves manufacture an extra opportunity or two,” he said.

Published 10/17/24

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Ontario Preparing For Explosive Shelby Offense

          It’s the battle of the unbeatens on Friday night as Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference co-leaders Ontario and Shelby lock horns at Shelby.

          Ontario remained undefeated with a (45-14) win over Marion Harding last week.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says after a turnover early they got busy.  “The game couldn't have started any better for us.  They get the ball first and we get a pick on our third play.  Our first offensive play we score from about 30 yards out and it gets called back because of penalty and then we turn the ball over and then they go down to score.  Then I think we put up 45 points or something.  They scored late in the fourth, middle of the fourth or somewhere.  Regardless, our kids did a great job just kind of staying focused and staying the course and it's kind of been a theme for us all year,” he said.

          Warrior quarterback Bodpegn Miller had 451 yards of total offense last week.

          Ontario (8-0,5-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, is at Shelby (8-0,5-0), #2 in our poll, on Friday night for all the marbles.

          Shelby junior quarterback Brayden DeVito is the passing efficiency leader in the “MOAC”.

          Eckert says he is just very dangerous.  “It's kind of everything and what I mean by that is he doesn't really have a weakness in terms of being a quarterback.  He's got a really strong arm.  He can throw it probably 50-60 yards down the field in the air.  He's got great, uncanny ability to get out of bad spots.  You can have three guys around him and just kind of figures away to get away from you.  Then he does a great job throwing with anticipation.  He's probably the best I've seen at the high school level in my 14 years of coaching high school football of just throwing into space and just letting his guys just go get it.  I think that just makes him really special in that position,” said Eckert.

          Senior Nic Eyster is really the only skill position player for Shelby other than DeVito that had much varsity experience going into the season.

          Eckert says those other kids have done an excellent job of filling shoes.  “Their supporting cast around and is really solid.  A lot of juniors, a couple senior guys that played some reserve roles last year.  Eyster was a big part of the team last year.  That's what you have when you have a successful program.  Shelby football has been a long standing tradition,” he told Swamkonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “You have a really good JV team.  They haven’t lost a JV game in three years or four years or however long it's been.  When you have those guys and when you lose guys and the next guys kind of step up and take the role.  They're used to winning and then doing things the right way.  They kind of just step into that next role which they have.  They've done a great job filling the shoes of some really talented players that played there for a long time.”

          Sophomore Brady Bowman is their leading receiver this year.

          Both teams are solid in the trenches.  Eckert says the Whippets do some different things too.  “I think they're pretty good.  I think they've got one guy that goes both ways.  They've got a bunch of big hosses up there that move people.  They do a bunch of different stuff in terms of putting an extra lineman on one side and then bringing the tight end down.  Overall, those guys play one side of the ball and they do a pretty good job of moving you and giving DeVito time to make plays,” he said.

Published 10/15/24

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Ontario Ready for This Week

          Ontario, the co-leader in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, will host Marion Harding in a conference game on Friday night.

          Right now, the Warriors are tied for the lead with Shelby.  The two schools shared the title last season.

          Ontario (7-0,4-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, handled Marion Pleasant (35-14) last week.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they just kept plugging away.  “Pleasant was probably the most physical team we've played all year.  Really happy after a slow start for us getting the lead at halftime then was able to extend that lead in the third quarter.  I thought our kids did a great job and just kind of battling through everything that was happening in the game.  Hats off to Pleasant, they're a tough football team with big kids and that are gritty and tough.  Fortunately for us, we were able to pull that one out,” said Eckert.

          Warriors quarterback Bodpegn Miller leads the conference in rushing yards this season with 996.

          Harding (1-6,0-4) fell in the final minutes to Clear Fork last week (14-13) in conference play.

          Eckert says the Presidents have that home run ability.  “The first thing that jumps off the page is their ability to score anywhere on the field.  They've got athletes for days and they've got kids that have scored from all over the field.  It just takes one play for them to score.  So, we really got to limit their big plays and play good, sound Ontario football,” he said.

          With Shelby looming on the schedule next week, Eckert says they have to keep their heads out of the headlines.  “You can only do what you can do one week at a time.  We don't get the opportunity to play anybody else this week other than Marion Harding and so our effort energy have got to be devoted to Marion Harding,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “In this league anybody can really upset anybody else.  You look at year’s past where Marion Harding upset River Valley last year in the game that everyone probably would have picked the River Valley in but Marion Harding came in shut it down and won the game.  So, you really can't overlook anybody in this conference.”

Published 10/10/24

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Ontario to Face Big, Physical Pleasant

          Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference co-leader Ontario is down at Marion Pleasant in a conference game on Friday night.

          The Spartans are a game back.

          Ontario blitzed Galion (49-0) last week in a “MOAC” game.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says it was the best performance of the season for the unbeaten Warriors.  “It was one of those games that you hope and dream for really.  Galion is a pretty talented team and we were able to go into that environment, with all the elements, and play our best game of football so far this year,” he said.

          Ontario had 445 yards of total offense.  Galion had 98.  Warriors quarterback Bogpegn Milelr says rans for 202 yards and four scores.

          Eckert says they were mentally tough last week.  “Like we have said all year, this a gritty group of kids.  They will kind of play anywhere at any time and in any conditions.  I think we showed that on Friday.  We just showed we're mentally and physically tough enough to get through not only the rain, the weather and the mud, but just to be strong enough mentally to keep each other's heads up and go on to the next play when you make a mistake,” said Eckert.

          Ontario (6-0,3-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, plays at Marion Pleasant (4-2,2-1) on Friday night.  Pleasant edged Clear Fork (17-10) in overtime in ”MOAC” play last week.

          Eckert says this is the biggest team they have played this year.  “The first thing that sticks out about Pleasant is just how big they are, physically big they are.  They’re probably the biggest team we've played so far this year.  I think the offensive line is probably 6’2” 250, 260 across the board.  They're a physical team.  They get off the ball well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Their All-Ohio quarterback they have returning.  He's kind of what makes them go and makes a lot of good decisions in their RPO game.  You deal with those things on defense.  I think they're giving up the least amount of rushing yards in the conference.  So, good offense coupled with some good defense no wonder they got a good record.”

          Ontario leads the leading in rushing yards this season and Eckert says they have to win in the trenches again this week.  “That's the case in most weeks.  For us we've been blessed to have and offensive lineman that work really hard and defensive lineman that work had.  Kudos to those guys and the coaches on our staff.  It all starts up front for us each and every week.  Fortunately, we've been able to win those battles and we hope to do the same thing this week,” he said.

Published 10/01/24

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Ontario Must Contain Galion Speed

          Ontario, the “MOAC” co-leader, play at Galion against the Tigers in a big Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Friday night.

          They beat Clear Fork (31-14) last week to keep their share of first.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says controlled the point of attack in the when they had to.  “We got up 17-0 to start the game and kudos for Clear Fork coming back and making it a three point game in the third quarter.  At that point though I thought our offensive line didn't exceptional job of just got taking over the game and we were able to run the football and secure the win,” said Eckert.

          Eckert says they showed great leadership on the field when the Colts cut it to a one score game.  “Hopefully, you're battle tested enough.  We've got a lot of older guys that kind of stay in the path whenever things in the game maybe don't go your way. So, when we got close like that, I just pulled them aside and maybe give them a little motivational speech about it's time to go now, it's now or never, and and they responded with great effort and intensity,” he said.

          Ontario (5-0,2-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, visits Galion (4-1,1-1) on Friday night.  The Tigers suffered their first loss of the season when Shelby, the other co-leader, whipped them (35-6) last week.

          Eckert says this is team that has great speed.  “The first thing that stands out on film is just how fast they are as a team.  Last year's Galion team was much different.  They were a lot bigger.  This year they're built on speed and guys that can run,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “The first thing that pops off is their quarterback and how fast and athletic he is.  We've seen it firsthand the last couple of years along with two of their receivers with Chambers and the Carver kid and they do a nice job on the edges.  So, we have got to try to contain those guys.”

          Galion has made a lot of big plays and Eckert says they have to limit them on Friday.  “Especially them, they've got a lot of guys that can run.  I think their right tackle is a 11.1 100 meter guy.  So, they not only have speed in the still spots.  They have speed on the offensive and defensive line and linebackers that can run. So, anytime you play a team like that you just got to play fundamental football and do your best to contain everything, so you don't give up the big one,” said Eckert.

Published 9/27/24

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Run Defense Key for Ontario

          Ontario hosts longtime rival Clear Fork in a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Friday night.

          The Warriors (4-0,1-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, beat River Valley (27-14) last week to open conference play.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says wins on the road are always tough to come by.  “Anytime you can go to a conference opponent in the “MOAC” and walk out with win it’s a good day overall.  We're fortunate to get out of there with the win against a pretty talented River Valley team.  Looking forward to a challenge this week against the Colts,” said Eckert.

          Ontario has been especially good on defense this year.  Eckert says that is the backbone of the team.  “That's kind of been our calling card this year.  We’ve played really good defense.  The offense has put them in some bad spots and they've been able to get out of it and kind of overcome all those things.  Those guys do a good job over there.  It’s kind of one of those things where every team has a new identity and it seems like this year's identity for us is on that side of the football,” he said.

          Clear Fork (1-3,0-1) was hammered last week (41-21) by Galion in an “MOAC” game.  The Tigers scored 27 points in the first quarter.

          Eckert, however, says the Colts have really improved as this season has gone on.  “Clear Fork is a team that has gotten significantly better.  Their schedule didn't do any favors playing Perkins week one.  Last week, if you watched that game, their special teams really let them down.  They gave Galion quite a few points at the beginning of the game.  Without that, they played pretty evenly the rest of way and were able to do some things offensively too,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I see a team that's probably getting better each and every week and gaining confidence.  They've got a lot of young guys playing, so we look forward to a good battle this week in Ontario.”

          Ontario overwhelmed Clear Fork (45-0) last year.  The Colts have won seven of the last 10 meetings.  The Warriors other wins both came in 2020.

          Eckert thinks Clear Fork will try and force the issue and run the football.  “For a team that wants to run the football and doesn’t want to necessarily throw it a ton.  That’s part of their game that they’re not as good at.  Overall, they’re solid.  The offensive line looks like its getting better, maybe a little more healthy and they have got some backs that run hard.  They're getting back to being a Clear Fork football team where they're just going to be tough kids that run the football and they do it whether you want them to or not,” said Eckert.

Published 9/17/24

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Ontario Wants to be Ontario

          Ontario, the defending co-champion in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, plays at River Valley in their conference opener on Friday night.

          They buried Mansfield Madison (34-14) last week.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they got off to a better start than they had the first two games.  “This past week we got off to a good start and that’s something we had not done a good job of all year.  We had seven points in the first two games combined the first half, so came out and scored I think 20 some points in the first half and kind of got ourselves off to a good start,” he said.

          Ontario (3-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, travels to River Valley (2-1) on Friday.  The Vikings smoked Buckeye Valley (34-7) on week three.

          Eckert says they have an outstanding quarterback in Chase Ebert, the second leading passer, and third leading rusher in the league.  “Everything starts with their quarterback.  The Ebert kid is really good ballplayer, everything runs through him.  He's probably thrown 140 passes through three games.  He’s their leading rusher by a long shot.  He is one of the leading rushers the conference still.  So, offensively everything goes through him.  He does a nice job of keeping plays alive and and making stuff happen when there's not a ton there,” said Eckert.

          The Ontario coach says the goal is to try and contain Ebert and not let him make a big play.  “You have got to bottle him up, when he’s running around that’s when big plays happen for them.  Our goal and our job is going to be together prevent him from doing that, but that's easier sentence with an athlete like him.  I think he's definitely all conference basketball player, maybe an All-Ohio basketball player as well.  He's a really good athlete and it's hard to hard to keep him contained,” he said.

          One of key for the Warriors will be their ability to run the ball and eat up some clock.  Mason Vantilberg leads the league in rushing this year.  Eckert says they have to keep the ball away from River Valley.  “We always like to do that. We always like to possess the ball longer the other team.  We're not a super hurry up team.  We are a little old school.  We try to run the football as much as we can,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Fortunately for us, we've got some good backs that are able to do that and a really nice offensive line.  Anytime you have the ball and he doesn’t, it works out better for your team specifically.”

Published 9/12/24

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Ontario Wants Quick Start

          Ontario will take on the challenge of playing their second Ohio Cardinal Conference team of the preseason as they play on the road for the first time at Madison on Friday night.

          They downed Centerburg (35-21) last week to get to (2-0) on the season.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they kind of got better.  “I think it's some aspects we did.  Others we still kind of lacked a little bit.  We came out and squandered some opportunities in the first half offensively and put our defense in some bad spots and they responded.  So, overall, I thought we got a little bit better, but we still have got a lot of things to clean up as we go forward,” he said.

          Madison (0-2) has shown some good things this year.  They led by a couple of scores at the half last week before falling (35-14) to River Valley.

          Eckert says they have got some size this year and they are playing with more confidence.  “Madison they’re 0-2, but they've done a pretty nice job overall on the season of keeping the game close at halftime.  They were I think they were down 14-6 against Shelby and then against River Valley they were up 14-0.  Anytime you get a team that's got a little life and a little belief they're a dangerous team.  They have got some nice athletes and they're way bigger than we are.  So, we're looking forward to that challenge on Friday night,” said Eckert.

          This season Ontario has been a second half team.  Eckert says he wants a better start on Friday.  “Ideally, we'd like to be a first half and a second half team.  Just like any game, we want to start fast and get on top of our opposition early.  I've been proud of our kids that they responded at halftime in both games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Hopefully, we're not a second half team all year, but if that's what we are then I guess that's what we are.  Ideally, we'd like to come start fast and try to put the pedal down and see what we can do against the Madison Rams.”

Published 9/06/24

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Ontario Moves on to Centerburg

          Ontario after a big second half and a solid win over Lexington will entertain the Centerburg Trojans in a non-conference game on Friday night.

          After falling behind by two scores, Ontario got busy, especially in the second half and hammered Lexington (31-14) last week.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they responded well.  “It was kind of a tale of two halves for us.  We didn't start off super great.  We got a couple of first downs and threw a pick six and couple more first downs and turned the ball over and they were able to capitalize and we went down 14-0. Luckily for us, we kind of stayed the course, the defense played really great the entire game, and we were able to put up 31 unanswered points and get a win,” said Eckert.

          Eckert says their defense put them in position to win the game.  “We had some uncharacteristic punts that didn't go very far and gave up good field position.  We did some other things that weren't great offensively.  The defense kind of stood its ground and got a couple turnovers when we needed them especially and they just did a great job of making Lex kind of earn it as they went down the field,” he said.

          Ohio State recruit Bodpegn Miller had two interceptions last week for the Warriors.

          Centerburg handled Utica (21-6) in their first game.

          Eckert says they are going to have to play with intensity because he knows that Centerburg will.  “The first thing that stands out with them is they play super hard and it has just kind of been a calling card.  We've only played them for a couple years, but being from the area, you've always kind of heard about Centerburg and the toughness and aggressiveness that they play with,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “I think this team is no different.  They have had a winning tradition football team.  They have won a lot of games over the years and the guys they have down there coaching do a great job of putting kids in successful situations.  So, I wouldn't expect anything else from this from this year.”

Published 8/27/24

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Ontario Can’t Allow Big Play

          Two teams with big goals for the 2024 season meet on Friday night as Ontario entertains non-league rival Lexington at Copeland Field.

          Ontario won a share of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference last season and returns quarterback Bodpegn Miller, who will be headed to Ohio State next fall.  A group of media members has predicted Ontario to finish second to Shelby this fall in the conference race.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they have a lot of work to do, but hopes they will be ready on Friday night.  “That's a big question, you get to a point where you're there and you're prepared.  You look and you prepare all summer and all fall camp for this game and we think this week and there's so much more stuff we've have got to get better at and do better job of.  So, I hope we're there by the end of the week and I think we will be.  Right now, we're still at a point of just trying to make sure we get the game plan installed and do what we need to do in order to have a chance to win the game,” he said.

          Eckert says Lexington is just loaded with athletes all over the field.  “The first thing that jumps off when you watch the Minutemen it's just how athletic they are with Brayden Fogel and (Seven) Allen and (Avery) Crawford and Markale (Martin) and they just they just ooze athleticism at all their skill spots. especially offensively.  That's the first thing that you've got to like try to plan for and not give up a long one.  You want to make them work and make them earn it.  Defensively, I think their box is pretty good.  Jamie Masi, their defensive coordinator, always does a nice job of making sure he gets a lot of hats to the ball and making it hard to run the football, which is we've always tried to do here since I've been at Ontario.  Trying to establish an identity of being a tough, physical team that likes to run downhill,” said Eckert.

          In the same medina poll, Lexington was chosen as the second best team in the Ohio Cardinal Conference behind Mansfield Senior.  Fogel was been offered by the University of Georgia.

          Eckert says the Minutemen are going to make plays.  He says they have to limit the damage on the scoreboard.  “You have to have a quick memory.  If they make a decision to throw the ball up to Brayden Fogel and we're in a great spot, we have got two guys covering him, and he just jumps over both guys and catches the ball like sometimes genetics plays a role in that and there's things that we can't cover or we can't do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Our goal is to just make it as hard as we can on them and knowing that at some point their athletes are probably going to get us some.  We have got to try to limit those opportunities and when they do get us to limit when they catch it and not let them continue down the field to score.”

Published 8/20/24

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Ontario Looking Good

          Ontario is coming off a season in which they won a share of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title and ended up with a (10-2) record on the year.

          This year will be important when it comes to the Ontario Warrior program.  Can they build on that success?  Well, only time will tell.  They kick off the season on August 23 at home against Lexington.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they are doing the things to be ready.  “I like the way we've progressed so far.  The first scrimmage everyone feels like they have got a chance to be pretty good I think, so we're right in that boat too.  We like what we saw.  We saw some weaknesses that we have got to try to fix this week before we go play Ashland Thursday.  So, overall, I’m pretty happy with our effort and what we can control, so just trying to move forward and get better,” said Eckert.

          Eckert says they use the scrimmages as a tool to evaluate things and then try to get better.  “The scrimmages are a measuring as you go against somebody else and you kind of see how they attack and what you're vulnerable with.  Then that next week at least for us is how do we try to fix what we need to fix and then strengthen what we already do fairly well and try to split that time and be as efficient as possible,” he said.

          Ontario returns the “MOAC” player of the year in Bodpegn Miller, an Ohio State recruit, and some other quality players.  Eckert says they are still in the process of determining what strategies will work best for the Warriors this fall.  “That's where it's nice that you have time in the preseason.  Here, I think we're good at and you try and you realize like hey we're not as good as I thought there or hey we're actually better in this area than I thought we'd be based on that scrimmage,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Then you have kind of got to figure out was it you are actually good at that or was the team you're playing maybe bad at that or what's the combination of those things.  Then obviously try to go from there and strengthen what you can strengthen kind of mold yourself to what you're best at on both sides of the ball.”

Published 8/14/24

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Ontario Blanks Highland

          Ontario put a bit of a road block in the plans of the Highland Fighting Scots… at least for now.

          They beat Highland (2-0) on Wednesday in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action.  A win by Fighting Scots would have given them an outright title.  Now, they need to beat Marion Harding on Saturday to secure that title.

          Clear Fork, Shelby and Galion, who trail by a game, are going to be pulling for the Presidents.  Harding actually handed Highland a (2-1) loss earlier this year.

          Ontario coach Mike Ellis says a win over Highland is always big.  “(Coach) Donnie (Kline) does a heck of a job with them.  They are well coached and they're always good year in year out,” said Ellis.

          Highland won (3-0) on Tuesday.

          Ellis says their pitching has been outstanding this week.  “I started Carter Walters and when he's on he's very hard to hit and he was on (Wednesday) night.  He was hitting his spots and kept them off balance and and we got the “W.”  I've been very proud in these last two games with my pitching.  Peyton Duzan, who took the loss (Tuesday), pitched really well,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win “The first inning they got a run on an error and then they scored playing small ball, which they're really good at in the third inning.  Then from there on we had zeros on the board.  Then we had seven zeros on the board (Wednesday).  So, that's 11 innings we shut them out.  So, I'm very proud of my pitching.”

          Ellis says the Warriors are pretty good when they are on their “A” game.  “We kind of showed (Wednesday) night that if we come ready to play that we can be a good team,” he said.

Published 5/09/24

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Ontario Bounces Back

          Ontario had to win Wednesday night at Shelby, and they did, beating the Whippets (7-3), and staying in the race in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.

          They trail Highland by two games and play the Fighting Scots next week.  Highland wrapped up a share of the conference title by belting Clear Fork (10-1) on Wednesday.

          Shelby, also two games back, beat Ontario (5-2) on Tuesday, but Warriors coach Mike Ellis says they came out Wednesday with a different attitude.  “We talked a lot (Tuesday) night after the game.  Some things that we just didn't do right.  We just didn't come out with the enthusiasm and stuff.  We kind of played, I don't know, I call it dead.  So, (Wednesday) night we were a little more lively and it showed.  That’s important, especially for high school kids,” said Ellis.

          Ellis says offensively they were able to get off to a good start.  “Again, (Tuesday) night when we played them their pitcher kept us off balance the whole night you know.  We tried to put something together, we scored two and we had bases loaded and we just came up short.  So, (Wednesday) we jumped on them.  We scored two in the third.  James Mahon hit a two run home run and then we tacked on another two on the fourth and then we tacked on three in the seventh,” he said.

          The top of the “MOAC” has been very good this year, very competitive.  Ontario has beaten Galion twice, spilt with Shelby, and lost twice to Clear Fork.

          Ellis says it is a very good baseball league.  “You look at the top teams and they've just been you know beating up on each other.  I saw the scores of Highland and Clear Fork.  We have got Highland next week.  Then with Shelby.  It's just been back and forth.  Everybody's beating each other,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “Our league is very tough.  I said that in the beginning and it's probably tougher than what I really thought.  So, it's a great league to play baseball.”

Published 5/02/24

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Ontario Outscores Harding

          Ontario stays in the thick of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference race with a (12-9) win at Marion Harding on Tuesday evening.

          They trail Shelby by two and Clear Fork and Highland by one in the conference standings.

          Coach Mike Ellis says they pounded the ball in not so great weather on Tuesday.  “We just kept squaring up the ball and stuff like that.  It was us some nasty conditions.  We had some errors.  The good thing is that they really couldn't stop us.  We kept getting people on base and getting clutch hits all night.  So, I'm satisfied we got to win considering the conditions,” said Ellis.

          After Tuesday, Ellis hopes his club continues to hit the ball and gets contagious.  “Well, I hope so.  I hope it carries on for the game with them (Wednesday), but yeah it does.  We played Lexington on Monday and we only had four hits and Lexington only had three.  It was a pitching duel.  So, I was happy about (Tuesday) night and then I'm hoping they'll carry over for (Wednesday),” he said.

          The Warriors beat Lex (3-2) on Monday in a non-conference game.

          Ontario (9-6,6-3) plays at home against Harding on Wednesday afternoon.

          Last season, Ontario got red hot in the tournament and advanced all of the way to the state final.

          Ellis says they need to get on a streak now.  “When we went to Myrtle Beach we were two 2-1 down there and then when we came back we were on a little run until we played Clear Fork.  Give Clear Fork credit, they played better on that night than us.  Then we played Triway and we just fell apart.  I mean we were up after two innings 8-0 and we just fell apart.  I kind of snowballed if you get an error and then it becomes two errors or three errors and we lost 10-9 against them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “I told the boys after that game that we needed the get back on the winning track and try to learn from our mistakes our last two losses and and try to get a streak going.”

Published 4/24/24

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Ontario Edges Galion Again

          Ontario beat Galion for the second time in less than a week, and again in a close game, (4-2) on Monday night at Galion.

          Coach Mike Ellis is proud of the win.  “They are a very good team.  It was another battle (Monday) and we were fortunate that we came out on top,” he said.

          Ellis says a big key was the terrific effort turned in by starting pitcher Peyton Dzugan.  “We had an outstanding performance from Peyton Dzugan.  He went all seven innings and pitched his butt off,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “I talked to him before the game that his first couple outings he hasn't been himself and I said I need that kid that that pitched during the tournament run the rest of this year and he came ready to play and and pitched really well for us.”

          It took some time, but Ellis says they found a way to score enough runs to win the game.  “We kept getting people on base, but we just couldn't get the clutch hit or we couldn't execute a bunt.  We kept putting them on the bases, so I figured sooner or later we were going to get the few of those runners to home and fortunately we were able to,” said Ellis.

Published 4/16/24

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Ontario Gets Big Win over Galion

          Ontario kept itself in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference race with a (4-3) win eight innings over Galion on Tuesday evening in league play.

          They trail Marion Harding and Shelby by two games.

          Shelby beat defending champion Highland (3-2) on Tuesday.  Harding beat River Valley (8-4) and Clear Fork shut out Marion Pleasant (9-0) in other league games.

          Carter Weaver won the game on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.

          Coach Mike Ellis says it was a seesaw kind of game Tuesday night.  “(Tuesday) night was our night.  It was a back and forth nail biter.  It was 1-1 for the longest time and then we went up 2-1 and then they tied it.  Then they went up ahead 3-2 and then we tied it and it went into extra innings.  So, it was a really good high school game,” he said.

          Braxton Prosser gave Galion a (3-2) lead in to top of the seventh, but Jake Champman tied the game (3-3) with an RBI hit in the seventh for the Warriors.

          Ellis says the Warriors (4-4,3-2) executed when they had two had to.  “In a game like that the team that makes the fewest mistakes is going to win.  There were times that we didn’t execute next.  Get bunts down and stuff, but when the game was on the line, we did have kids step up and come through,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “I was talking to the team after the game just fundamentals when you don't do them can hurt you in a game like this and you'll lose those games.  Fortunately, we were able to win it.”

          Ellis says the league looks like it’s going to be very competitive and to win league games like this is going to be key.  “We also talked about that.  This league is really, really tough and if you've been paying attention to scores.  I mean the league is wide open.  So, every game that we play in as far as the league, we have got to try to scratch out a “W” and whatever it takes we're going to have to do that,” said Ellis.

Published 4/10/24

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Ontario Rallies Past River Valley

          Carter Weaver and James Mahon controlled the River Valley offense and Jake Chapman got a big sixth inning hit and Ontario edged River Valley (2-1) on Thursday evening in play in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.

          Trailing (1-0), Ontario got two in their half of the sixth on a big hit by Chapman.

          Coach Mike Ellis says they were just waiting for that clutch hit.  “We kept telling the kids we just need to get someone on base and then someone come up behind them and get that clutch hit.  We got guys on all night, we just couldn't get that clutch hit.  Their pitcher Adien Gray did really well.  I think he's really going to give other teams in the “MOAC” trouble.  I thought he was really good (Thursday) night for them,” said Ellis.

          Weaver went six strong innings for the Warriors (1-1,1-0) and Ellis says they decided to bring in Mahon to work the seventh and he got the save.  “He just gave up three hits, he walked one and he had 10 strikeouts in six innings.  We brought in James Mahon and he closed the door.  He had three strikeouts and only gave up one hit in the seventh,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “For us, we had really good pitching.  We had some errors.  We have still got some young guys, their first year on the varsity.  Hopefully, when they get some more games under their belt, they'll start to feel more confident out there and start to play up to their ability.”

          With the weather issues that we always seem to have at the beginning of the baseball season in Northern Ohio, Ellis says they have to continue to work on their mental discipline.  “We talk about that a lot.  It's easier to talk about it than to actually do it.  So, it's still a work in progress.  This was only our second game.  We play River Valley (Friday) and then we're supposed to play Norwalk on Saturday.  So, we'll have to see what happens (Friday) night,” he said.

Published 3/29/24

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Ontario Ready For Another Good Season

          Ontario, the defending division II state runner-up, will begin its baseball season by hosting Sandusky Perkins in a non-conference game on Saturday.

          The forecasted high is in the mid-40’s.

          Coach Mike Ellis knows that the expectations for the Warriors this spring are going to be pretty high.  “When you are a state runner up, I believe that you have got an “X” on your back and everybody's going to look forward to playing you.  They're going to be playing their best game, so I've been telling the kids that you know we really have got to work hard here and we have these last few weeks trying to get better each day.  I think they're looking forward to the challenge and to see you know what happens,” he said.

          Ellis says they do have some considerable talent back and will be adding some kids that can play to the roster.  “It's going to be about half and half.  I have got four guys returning that started last year on that state runner up team.  Carter Weaver, Peyton Dzugan, Carter Walters, and Jake Chapman, I'm really leaning on those four you know with their experience and you know their leadership.  I have some “JV” guys that kind of helped me in the tournament,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “I'm looking forward to you know having them up on the varsity team.  So, we're just going to be a different team.  Every year you're going to have turnover and so you know those first few weeks you're trying to figure what you have got and then you start scrimmaging and you start to see you know who's rising to the top and who's falling to the bottom.  Then to get ready for that first game and that first game is March 23rd here this coming Saturday.”

          When it comes to being regular season ready, Ellis says he likes to the pitching, but they have to reduce their base running mistakes.  “It's just the mental mistakes on the bases.  Our pitching has been pretty good.  I mean I've really been happy where we're at.  Our defense has been really good.  It's just getting on the bases and making you know mental errors.  I mean it's just cleaning up our base running.  That has been the one big issue in the last two scrimmages,” he said.

Published 3/19/24

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Ontario to Face Athletic Tygers

          Ontario makes the short trip to Mansfield Senior to play the Tygers in a sectional semifinal in division II on Tuesday night.

          They are coming off likely their best performance of the season when they beat Mid-Buckeye Conference champion Lucas (63-59) in overtime on Saturday night.

          Coach Jerry Moton says they did what they have been doing in practice.  “Yeah, I think the guys just really stuck together and played the whole entire game, four quarters.  We got out and ran and just did the things that we do in practice and it's translating and that's why I think we won the game,” said Moton.

          Ontario (6-16) is at Mansfield Senior (16-6), the Ohio Cardinal Conference runner up.  The Tygers have not played a game in 10 days.

          Moton says the Tygers are a team that is going to get up in you.  “Their ball pressure, they put tremendous ball pressure and pressure the wings and they like to get out and run, they're very athletic,” he said.

          The winner will play at Bellevue (17-5) in a sectional final on Friday night.

          Rebounding has been an issue for the Warriors at times this season.  Moton says it better not be on Tuesday night.  “They have got some tall and athletic kids and they just hit the boards really hard,” he told Swankonsports.com on Minday afternoon, “We're going to have to box out and we're going to have to hold our positions and really limit their second chances at the rim.”

Published 2/27/24

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Ontario Wants to Dictate the Action

          Ontario will visit rival Clear Fork in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Friday night and will host Mid-Buckeye Conference champion Lucas on Saturday.

          They broke a five game losing skid with a (57-51) win over Highland in league action last Friday.

          Coach Jerry Moton says they did a lot of good things beginning with rebounding.  “I think the guys played hard.  They rebounded the ball well and we got into our press and sped them up like we wanted to and wore them out towards the second half,” he said.

          Ontario (5-15,3-10) travels to Clear Fork (8-12,4-9) on Friday night.  The Colts have lost six of their last seven. 

          The Warriors beat them (67-59) on January 20.

          Moton says they are going to have to play physical.  “I mean when you look at them on film, they just always play hard, they play hard for four quarters.  I expect them to send four guys to rebound like they did before and we're just going to have to be tough and we’re going to have to be physical and we’ll have to play our style of play,” said Moton.

          Lucas (17-4) comes calling on Saturday.

          Moton says they want to make the Cubs play their game.  “I think it will be a good game.  We scrimmaged them in the preseason and so we got a good feel of what they want to do,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “I don't know if they changed it since then, we have got to look at film.  I think it's going to be a good competitive game and once again we're just going to stick to the game plan and play our style of basketball.”

Published 2/21/24

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Ontario Must Execute

          Ontario takes to the road to play Bellevue in a non-conference boys’ basketball game on Tuesday night.

          They play at Highland in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Friday night.

          They lost (86-66) to “MOAC” champion Shelby last Friday.

          Coach Jerry Moton says they did not have a good second half.  “I think we played hard and competed for like two quarters and then coming out in the third quarter we sort of let let the game get away from us and couldn't battle back make it a close game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon.

          They were trailing (43-33) at the half.

          Ontario (4-14) is at Bellevue (15-4) on Tuesday night.  Bellevue lost (41-40) to Sandusky Perkins in a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division game on Friday night.  They have won six of their last seven and eight of their last 10.

          Moton says if they follow the game plan he thinks the will win.  “They actually play similar to Shelby in the fact that they like to press, they like to turn you over, good rebounding team, really patient on offense, so we have to execute our game plan and I think we'll come out with a win,” said Moton.

          Bellevue is very sound on defense, with length on the wing.  Moton says they need to work hard to get shots.  “We're going to have to work, swing the ball fast, just execute our offense because their perimeter defense is pretty good and they rebound the basketball very well,” he said.

Published 2/13/2024

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Defense, Rebounding Weaknesses for Ontario

          Ontario has a tough task this week as they play at rival Shelby on Friday night.

          The Whippets (15-2,12-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, have already claimed the outright Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title.

          Last weekend, the Warriors (4-13,2-9) were buried by Marion Harding (73-36) on Saturday night.

          Coach Jerry Moton says his group needs to play a full game, which they haven’t been.  “Last Saturday, you know I think we competed you know for a couple of quarters.  We're a young team, so we just have got to figure out how to do it for the whole fourth quarters, the whole game,” said Moton.

          Shelby destroyed Ontario (87-54) on January 4 at Ontario.

          Moton says, well, they’re just very good and have a lot of things that concern you.  “Their athleticism, their rebounding, and their shooting,” he said.

          Ontario has lost five of their last six games.

          Moton says they are really pretty good on offense, but other areas of the game need to be strengthen.  “We have to play team defense and team rebound.  I think you know all the other areas are being covered because we're pretty good shooting team, we can get out and run,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “I think if we just hammer down on the defense, team defense, help side, if we rebound collectively as a unit, I think we'll continue to get better.”

Published 2/08/2024

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Ontario Has to Deal With Pressure

          Ontario travels to Marion Pleasant on Thursday for a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference and they play at home against Marion Harding in a conference game on Saturday night.

          They were whipped by Galon (67-41) in a “MOAC” game last Friday.

          Coach Jerry Moton says they did not play well.  “I mean basically I can just say it's that day wasn't our day.  Nothing was going that night, couldn't hit a shot, missed defensive assignments.  It was just a bad day for the boys’ basketball team,” Moton.

          The Warriors (4-11,2-7) play at Pleasant (8-8,4-6) on Thursday night.  The Spartans beat Clear Fork (58-54) on Friday night in a league game.

          In the first meeting between the teams, Pleasant won (60-49) on December 21.

          Moton believes Pleasant will try to force the issue.  “They are very athletic.  They like to run and they have good pressure defense.  We intend on fighting to win that game,” he said.

          Of course, Pleasant’s leading scorer Trey Booker (20.8 ppg) is out for the season with a broken leg.

          Moton says that makes the Spartans different and maybe more dangerous.  “That's unfortunate, prayers go out to Booker and his family, that's really, really tragic.  He was having a great season,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Sometimes when situations like this happen with a team they actually get better.  So, we'll just we'll take that into account and adjust our game plan accordingly.”

Published 1/30/2024

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Ontario Needs to Make Run

          Ontario heads for Galion and a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Friday night.

          In maybe their best performance of the season, the Warriors (4-10,2-6) beat Clear Fork (67-59) in a league game on Saturday night.

          They made some perimeter shots to get them the lead, but coach Jerry Moton believes it was their defense that was the difference.  “I think we shot the ball well, but what I was more impressed with was our team defense and toughness.  I think we out rebounded Clear Fork and this is one of the first times this year that has happened with any team,” said Moton.

          In order to continue to win games, Moton says they have to make opponents play their game.  “We have to get better imposing our will on our opponent the whole game, the entire game, four quarters.  We do it in spurts and we have to just sustain their runs we have,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “If we're up in a team makes a run we have to know how to counter that.  We have to know good teams are going to make runs, stay together and keep with the game plan.”

          Galion (5-8,4-5) have lost its last six games.  Shelby, the “MOAC” leader, beat them (71-54) on Saturday.

          Cooper Kent had 32 points in the Tigers (66-53) win over Ontario on December 15.

          Moton knows they have to contain him.  “They have a good team.  Some terrific shooters.  If Cooper Kent can get going the rim seems to get wider and wider for him as each shot goes in.  One of the keys to us is the limit his touches,” he said.

Published 1/24/2024

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Ontario Still Talking Defense

          Ontario returns to action in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Thursday night as they are at River Valley to take on the Vikings for the second time this year.

          They play Clear Fork for the first time as they host the Colts in a conference game on Saturday.

          They beat Highland (57-54) for their first conference win last Friday. 

          Coach Jerry Moton says they were able to survive.  “Friday was a very up and down game.  Highland, you know, they have a knack for making the game their style of play, which is they're going to fight tooth and nail to the end.  Luckily, it came out that we were victorious,” said Moton.

          Ontario (3-9,1-5) takes its act to River Valley (9-5,5-2) on Thursday night.  The Vikings outscored Clear Fork (84-69) last Friday as Chase Smith had 34, 22 in the first quarter for River Valley.  The played Columbus Bishop Ready in a holiday tournament at Ohio Dominican on Saturday and beat the Silver Knights (65-64) for their fifth straight win.

          River Valley also beat Ontario is their first meeting (87-63) on December 7.

          Moton says they have limit Smith and get on the boards.  “At this point in the season, your team is your team and your style of play is your style of play.  So, they have a good scorer, he's outstanding.  If we can control him and limit his touches and control the boards and pay attention on defense, I think we will come out with the “W,” he said.

          In terms of overall improvement, Moton says if the Warriors are going to win for games they are going to have to do it on the defensive end.  “We have to pay attention, and I preach this, pay attention to the details on defense.  If we can play defense collectively together as a team, I think we can go on a win streak,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “This could be something special if they just come together and help one another out.  A person gets beat, help side defense, step in and then everybody rotate from there.  This is what we practice and it's just not translating over to the game effectively yet, not saying that it won't, because I think it will eventually.”

Published 1/16/2024

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Defense the Key for Ontario

          Ontario will be at home for Highland in a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Friday night.

          Last Saturday, the Warriors (2-8,0-5) lost (72-52) to Marion Harding, the second place team in the “MOAC”.

          Coach Jerry Moton says they players need to understand the importance of defense, especially when they are trying to make a comeback.  “I think the guys fought hard.  The only thing when we was battling back.  We would make a run and they would make a run,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It's just small things like that we have got to work on.  Not let teams concentrate even harder when we're making a run to stop them on the defensive end.”

          Highland (1-10,0-6) lost (53-44) to Clear Fork in their last league game last Thursday.  Since, they have lost two non-conference games to Crestview (58-48) on Saturday and Hebron Lakewood (35-32) on Tuesday.

          Moton says the Fighting Scots we in fact fight until the end.  “From everything I see on film, they play extremely hard, they send three, four guys crashing the boards to get rebounds and they and they fight took and nail the whole game,” said Moton.

          Ontario travels to Ashland, of the Ohio Cardinal Conference, on Saturday night.

          Moton says that is another game that they need to play well if they want to win.  “Ashland, they're fairly decent team too and I mean I just think every game is going to be a fight no matter who we play,” he said.

Published 1/12/24

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Ontario Has to Play Team Defense

          Ontario plays host to Shelby in play in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Thursday night.

          Last week, they beat Madison (68-60) in a non-conference game. 

Coach Jerry Moton says it was a confidence builder.  “Just a good win for us to get back on track.  I think the boys fought through adversity and found a way to win,” he said.

          Ontario (2-6,0-3) entertains Shelby (6-2,5-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, the “MOAC” leader, on Thursday night.

          Moton says the Whippets have very few weaknesses.  “They are very tough from the first player to the last.  They move the ball well, they shoot well, they rebound well.  I mean they just don't have a lot of things to exploit with their team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “It's going to be who's going to fight the hardest.  Who's going to rebound, who's going to execute, who's going to stay together as a team, as a whole, that's going to determine who's going to win.”

          Alex Bruskotter is the Whippets leading scorer at around 25 a game.

          Moton says they have to take the ball out of his hands.  “You have got to limit his touches.  You have got to force the ball out his hands.  You have got to make other people beat you besides him.  I went to the Lexington game, I think he had over 30, I think DeVito had maybe 11, so you have got to make other people beat you besides those two,” said Moton.

Published 1/03/2024

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Lexington Dominance Continues

          Lexington continues to show they are likely the best basketball team in North Central Ohio as they destroyed Ontario (84-46) on Saturday night in a non-conference game played at Lexington.

          The Minutemen (8-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, scored the first seven points and never trailed.

          Ontario (1-6) cut their deficit to 10 (24-14) with a Landon Foltz three with 6:36 to play until halftime, but the Minutemen then went on a (21-2) run punctuated by a Brayden Fogle basket 1:37 left until the intermission.  It was pretty much name the score after that.

          Lexington coach Scott Hamilton says games against Ontario are always big for him.  “I was excited, it’s a rivalry with two connecting schools.  It goes back a long way.  When I first started coaching here at a lower level coach (Joe) Balogh was over there, who was a former coach of mine years ago when I was in school, so that history got started.  Every time I took the court against Ontario that was just something.  I've said this before, it doesn't matter if we're playing checkers the Lexington-Ontario matchup is always special.  Then coach (Tim) Mergel, who was a conference opponent of mine, he goes over there and that kind of continues and builds.  So, don't really know coach (Jerry) Moton at all, but it's still Lex-Ontario to me and that's what we were out there trying to get the win for,” said Hamilton.

          Lexington shot 54% from the field (31-57), the Warriors only 32% (18-56) on Saturday night.

          Warriors coach Jerry Moton says he sees some light at the end of the tunnel.  “If we get shots maybe just a little different outcome.  I saw more fight on the rebounding end, but we still got work to do there.  Defensively, we have still got some work, but I'm seeing positive swings in the right way,” he said.

          Lexington won the battle of the boards by a 39-38 count.  Ontario grabbed more offensive rebounds (15-14), but a further investigation shows Lexington got 52% of their chances on the offensive boards to just 38% for Ontario.

          What has kept Ontario in some of their games this season is their perimeter shooting, but they only made 21% (5-23) against Lexington.

          Hamilton says perimeter defense was a key in their preparation.  “What they're capable of doing is knocking down three-point shots and statistically they shoot the ball pretty well if they get open looks.  So, we did not want them to start getting comfortable and getting settled in on our court to be able to knock down those shots.  So, we tried to make sure that we were keeping them off balance every chance we could.  We know that they want to play at a fast pace, so we tried to match that and actually build it up just a little bit more,” said Hamilton.

          The Minutemen looked comfortable at that pace.

          Although their advantage was significant all night, a running clock came into play at the 4:37 make of the third quarter when it became (65-30) Minutemen, Hamilton says they wanted to keep their foot on the gas.  “We continue to want to get better every time we step on the court.  We did have a target against these guys to make sure that we limited them to a certain amount of points.  We didn't want to give them open looks and even once we got comfortable that was a goal of ours was not to get relaxed.  Let's not relax on these guys and then ultimately let them back in the game.  So, it was one of those things that we wanted to do before the break,” he said.

          Even with their success this year Lexington had not shot all that well from the outside, but they did this weekend, they beat Ashland (88-54) in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game Friday night.

          They made 47% of their threes (8-17) against Ontario.

          Hamilton says he knew they had it in them.  “The frustrating part is that we've known that we were good shooting group individually and as a unit.  We've been working on it in practice and it's basically been one of those things where you tell the guys if it's not falling we're looking to attack the rim, we've got other opportunities keep the ball moving,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “The stat that really jumps out at me (Saturday) night that I’m impressed with was we had 23 assists on 31 makes, so only eight of our makes came without a direct pass from the teammate.  That’s contagious, efficient basketball, the guys are recognizing each other, they want to play some good defense and going into the holiday break you know they've earned a couple of days off.”

          Elijah Hudson led Lexington with 19 points, Fogle had 18, Joe Caudill 14 and Gavin Husty 12.  Foltz had 10 points for the Warriors.

Published 12/23/23

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Ontario Needs to Reset

          Ontario faces Marion Pleasant in a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Thursday night and then plays unbeaten Lexington in a non-conference clash on Saturday.

          After beating Norwalk (69-64) in overtime for their first win last Saturday, coach Jerry Moton says thy have to look forward.  “This week in practice it was definitely upbeat.  Sort of like more or less a reset.  I wanted them to reset and focus their sights on Pleasant.  It was good to get the victory, enjoy it, it's over with now and we have to reset and continue to work hard,” he said.

          Ontario (1-4,0-2) is at home for Pleasant (4-3,1-2) on Thursday night.  The Spartans Lost (65-56) to Clear Fork in a league last Friday.

          Moton says they want to make Pleasant play faster than maybe they want to on Thursday.  “They are very talented.  I think his name is Trey Booker, he's a very talented scorer, he's going to present some challenges for us defensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Our game plan is you know is basically still the same.  We want to push the tempo, we want high pressure and we want the shooters to shoot while they're tired.”

          As far as Lexington is concerned, Moton feels if they play hard they are going to be in the game.  “It's going to be a good challenge.  I tell my guys we have got to play everybody like their state champions.  So, I want my team to give every team the best challenge going out.  I want them to compete hard.  So, I think as long as we compete it’ll be a good game,” said Moton.

Published 12/21/23

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Ontario Downs Norwalk in Overtime

          Down by 10 points with less than four minutes to play, the Ontario Warriors rallied to beat Norwalk (69-64) in overtime Saturday night at the “O-Rena”.

          The Warriors (1-4) trailed (58-55) with 6.5 seconds left in regulation, but they advanced the down the court and got it into the hands of Landon Foltz, who drilled a three pointer out of the right corner at the buzzer to tie it up and send it to overtime.

          Foltz scored again on the first possession of overtime to give Ontario its first lead since it was (6-4) with 3:30 left in the first quarter and they never trailed in the extra session.  A goal by Mason Gamble with 1:01 left in the in the OT cut the Warriors lead to one (65-64), but the Truckers (3-2) could get no closer.

          Ontario made 6-12 free throws in the final two minutes to hang on.

          It marked the first win of the season for the Warriors and first year coach Jerry Moton says the players now know the formula to get those victories.  He says it feels good.  “Yes, it does, it's a relief for not only the coaching staff, but the players.  Now, they can relax, they know how they're going to win games.  They see it now, we have an identity, I think it's going to be really positive going forward,” said Moton.

          Regarding the final play of regulation, Moton says his instructions were simple.  “We just told them push it down the court.  Landon was wide open.  As soon as I saw him catch and the release, I knew it was good,” he said.

          Norwalk coach Adam Kreischer says they had two options, they could have put the Warriors on the line for two shots, but he says they chose to play solid defense and guard the three point line.  “You always can have two thoughts on that.  You could go ahead and foul and put them on the line to shoot two and then who knows what happens on the on the offensive rebound.  We just said, we're going to guard the three-point line.  We need to make them not roll the ball, make them catch it going towards our basket instead of their basket, which we did,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “We did a nice job, they had their kid driving towards the hole out of control all the way down to about the block area.  Even though we said guard the three-point line we had somebody from the corner help all the way into the block and they kicked out to the corner for the three.  I mean that's just not executing what we talked about executing coming out of the timeout.  We didn't execute a whole lot of stuff in the second-half the way we talked about executing it.”

          Ontario did a little more trapping in full court situations in the third and fourth quarter and Moton says their goal is to make to opponent play faster and make them tired.  “That's our game plan really to speed people up.  Make them take quick shots.  If you're playing fast then you normally don't hit outside shots because your legs are tired, so that that was our game plan too,” he said.

          Norwalk dominated play in the first half taking a 13 point lead (28-15) with :33 seconds left in the half on a three by Garrett Demuth and they led (29-15) at the break.  They held the Warriors scoreless for almost nine minutes of the first and second quarters.

          Ontario shot the ball better the second half and they took the ball to the basket more often.

          Norwalk prides itself on the way it plays defense, but Kreischer says in the second half they made way too many mistakes.  He doesn’t believe it was the tempo of the game.  “Well, I think that they kind of (pushed it) in the first half as well, we just handled it a lot better.  We still got 30 points or so at halftime.  We held them to 15 in the first half.  We played a half of basketball like us defensively and we played a half of basketball like a team I don't know defensively,” said Kreischer.

          Norwalk hammered the Warriors on the offensive glass in the first half, Gamble, Ben Rothhaar and Dalton Chapin repeatedly getting follow ups, but not so much in the second half.

          Moton says they played with better effort and that got them some easier looks at the other end too.  “It all comes down to effort and determination.  Finding a body, boxing them out, pushing them out of the paint and getting the rebound and push the ball up the court,” he said.

          Norwalk led (51-41) after a Gamble basket with 3:53 left in regulation, but Ontario cut to (52-50) with 1:38 left on a three by Grady Schroeder.

          The Truckers were still up four at (56-52) with :30 left after Gamble cashed in a couple of free throws, but Grady Schroeder followed with another three to cut it to (56-55) 15 ticks left.  Gamble added two free throws at the :06 mark.

          Kreischer says their poor ball handling also gave them fewer chances to get rebounds because the Warriors were making open shots.  “Again, we didn't get as many shots in the second half for whatever reason we stopped taking care of the basketball as well as we did in the first half.  When you do that, you allow them to get out and transition and some things like and those rebounds aren't as easy to come by,” he said.

          Grady Schroeder had 21 and Foltz 18 for the Warriors.  Gamble had 19, but fouled out in the overtime period, Chapin and Rothhaar both had 13 for Norwalk.

Published 12/16/23

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Ontario Still Learning

          Ontario plays host to Galion in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Friday night.

          They play at home against Norwalk in a non-league game on Saturday.

          Last Saturday, they lost (57-51) to Upper Sandusky in a non-conference game.

          Coach Jerry Moton says he thinks they are certainly making progress.  “About the game Saturday, it wasn't the result that we wanted, but I still see progress in what we're doing.  So, we're moving in the right direction.  It's a new system, it's new concept, a way of playing and so everybody has to get comfortable with it.  I have to find how the players fit in that in that system, in that scheme of things, so we're moving in a in a in a positive direction, that's what I'm looking at when I’m seeing things,” said Moton.

          Defense would seem to be a concern for the Warriors.  Opponents are shooting nearly 70% on two point field goal attempts.

          Moton believes the players are buying into the system, they just need to take their level of execution to the game floor.  “It's just getting over that first win and once we get over that hump and we can string some wins together they'll grow more confident in the system,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “All of the players have bought in.  They work extremely hard in practice.  The thing that isn't translating is the hard work for practice into the games once we can get that translated onto the actual game time, I think we're going to be special.”

          Galion (1-1,1-1) was hammered by defending “MOAC” champ Shelby (81-43) last Saturday in a league game.

          Moton says right now he is more concerned about what the Warriors are doing.  “Well, right now being 0-3, I mean every team's a challenge.  Galion presents certain challenges to us and it's up to us to step up to that challenge and force our will upon them make them adjust to us not the other way around,” he said.

Published 12/13/23

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Ontario Has to Play Better Defense

          Ontario will host River Valley as they open play in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Thursday night at the “O-Rena”.

          Last Saturday, they lost (105-94) to Crestview in a non-conference game.

          Coach Jerry Moton says the kids understand their potential, they just have to be better on defense.  “The players were definitely hard on their self.  They wanted to win for themselves, they wanted to win for the coaches, they wanted to win for the program, but I think they're still upbeat,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “I think they averaged like 40 points last year and they put up 94, now we just have to pay more attention to the defensive end.  We have to be more detail oriented in our assignments and stay disciplined.”

          Moton says they have to focus on improvement, that’s the key.  “It's going to be a learning curve to it all.  It’s a new system, basically new guys, new coaches, this is my first year, no excuses, we just want to get it done.  So, we're working hard every day to correct the things that we need to correct in order to get the win in the next game,” he said.

          River Valley (1-0) beat Olentangy Berlin (76-61) in their first game last Friday.

          Moton says the Vikings have some horses too.  “They have got some players that can just flat out play.  They fight hard, they give good pressure on defense, they like to get out and run.  I mean I see a lot of similarities in both of our teams and the styles that we play.  So, I mean it's going to be another fun and exciting game.  I think the team who rebounds and plays better defense will win,” said Moton.

Published 12/06/23

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Crestview Outguns Ontario

          Crestview scored at least 20 points in every quarter as they raced past Ontario (105-94) in a non-conference boys’ basketball game on Saturday night.

          The points scored by the Cougars marked the most ever by a Crestview team in the history of the program.  It also tied a record for the most surrendered by an Ontario team in its history.

          Actually, when I got home my neck was sore.  My first thought was, okay Swank you’re just an old man, but then it came to me it was like I had just watched the Wimbledon final or maybe the surveillance camera showing Madonna’s bedroom door.

          Crestview only trailed once in the game and that was (3-2) after James Mahon’s three pointer with 6:47 left the first quarter.  However, the Warriors never really went away and shot the ball pretty well from the perimeter.

          Crestview coach John Kurtz says they like playing that kind of game and thrived in that atmosphere.  “This was an interesting game.  I don't think we played very well defensively, but in these nights where a lot of shots are being made we like to play that way, so we weren't backing down,” said Kurtz.

          First year Ontario coach Jerry Moton says Crestview gave them what they expected.  He says they gave up too many layups and didn’t compete on the boards like he would liked.  “We knew what they were when we were coming into the game.  They rebound hard, they’re physical in the paint and they love to get out in transition.  We just didn't get the job done defensively and we didn't rebound as a team.” Said Moton.

          With way especially the Warriors like to play it is going to lead to a lot of runs in the game.

          Crestview led (18-9) with 1:46 left in the first quarter after an old fashion three point play by Dylan Bruner, but Ontario got it back to one (20-19) on a goal by Brady Zehe with 7:21 in the half.

          The Warriors cut it to (46-45) with 7:40 to go in the third after a three by Grady Schroeder, but the Cougars got back up 11 at (58-47) with 5:32 left in the quarter when Justice Thompson drove to hole and scored and followed that with a free throw.

          However, Ontario got it back to a two-point game at the 2:45 mark of the third (64-62) on another hoop by Zehe.

          Crestview got up 14 twice in the fourth quarter, last time at (86-72) with 5:47 to play after another Thompson goal.

          Kurtz says he was proud of how they played in the fourth quarter.  “I just felt like that there were just a lot of defensive breakdowns and to their credit they made shots, they made some pretty deep threes,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “You know hats off to them, but in the end, I like we were really tough going down the stretch.”

          Moton was disappointed in the loss, but says this is just a starting point for his team.  “It’s a learning curve when you’re trying to implement a new system into a program.  It’s just going to take some time, but our guys are getting better each and every day and I'm proud of them,” he said.

          Crestview has four players score more than 20 points in the game led by Thompson’s 39, plus Jarek Ringler had 21 and both Bruner and Tyson Ringler had 20.

          Grady Schroeder led Ontario with 27.

          Kurtz smiled when he said how happy he was with their unselfishness.  “What we were really excited about was to how many assists we had (Saturday) night.  We had Jarek for like 11 assists and another player with like eight and  another player with like seven, so obviously there's a lot of baskets, but there's also a really unselfish element to this team,” said Kurtz.

Published 12/03/23

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Ontario to Face Relentless Crestview

          Ontario opens up a new era of basketball as they play at Crestview against the Cougars in a non-conference game on Saturday night.

          First year coach Jerry Moton says they are bringing the right kind of momentum and execution on both ends of the floor into game week. “I believe the guys are getting better every day.  Every scrimmage I see improvement in their work ethic, their attention to details defensively, and execution of the offense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Collectively we're getting better.”

          This year’s Warriors want to be aggressive on both ends of the floor.  Moton says they want to be the ones that dictate the game.  “We definitely want to be the aggressor.  Want to pressure you in the whole full court and just get after you,” he said.

          Crestview, although a smaller school than Ontario, is none the less very good.  The Cougars are the defending Firelands Conference champions and the preseason choice of many to win the league again.

          Moton says Crestview is a team that is always going to play hard.  “I know they are tough team, resilient, they crash the boards pretty hard and they fight the entire game.  Like there there's no let up in this team.  They're a very good team,” said Moton.

Published 11/28/23

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Ontario Wants to Feature Pressure

          It’s a new era of Ontario basketball as Jerry Moton takes over as boys’ basketball coach of the Warriors.

          He says so far, he likes what he sees.  “It has been very encouraging, very positive, the kids buying in, they're starting to understand the way we're going to play, the concepts and the intensity that you have to bring every single day to practice and games,” he said.

          Moton says this edition of the Warriors is going to force the issue as much as they can.  “We're going to be intense, there's going to be a lot of pressure, we're not sitting back, we're pressuring.  What we want to do is make you uncomfortable in every aspect of the game.  We want you shooting with tired legs.  We want to be the team that is the most in shape,” said Moton.

          Ontario begins the season on December 2 at Crestview in a non-conference game.  Their opener in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference will be at home against River Valley on December 7.

          If you are going to be up tempo, you need to be in top shape.  Moton says that’s not something that just started this month with the Warriors.  “Not even just November, you create athletes in the off season.  So, during the offseason we had a great buy in.  We were getting like 15 to 20 guys just coming for conditioning and we would condition like sometimes two or three times a day and these kids just kept showing up and kept showing up.  I'm so very proud of this program and the direction that it is headed,” said Moton.

          Moton, a Mansfield Senior graduate, will be taking on his first varsity assignment.  He says he is ready for the challenge of making the Warriors better.  “It's every aspect.  Basketball is my realm.  It's what I love to do and I love the coach and I love this team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon. “Nothing is perfect, but if you do it over and over and over it can become a  permanent fixture, muscle memory.  So, there's a lot to work on.  I just can't say one thing, we can get better in every aspect of the game,” he said.

Published 11/17/23

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Ontario to Take on Aggressive Tiffin Columbian

          Ontario, the co-champion of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, travels to Tiffin Columbian to lock horns with the Tornadoes in a regional quarterfinal in division III on Friday night.

          The Warriors (10-1) advanced with a (31-22) win over Lutheran West last week.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they couldn’t put the Longhorns away, but they were able to keep them at arm’s length.  “In the first quarter, we get the ball and go score and then they go for it on their own 29 and we get a stop and if we score there, we probably put the game away pretty early.  But, they get a pick and the next play they go down and get a 91 yard touchdown.  So, we go from a game where we're in the driver seat to where we’re in a ball game and they've got confidence and we have got to fight, claw, our way back.  So, we came out the second half and then did a lot of good things eventually held them.  They had four big plays, one on special teams, but really kind of shut their offense down in the second half so that they really couldn't get back within that one score range to tie the game,” said Eckert.

          Tiffin Columbian (9-2) took out Ashland (49-21) last week to open the playoffs.

          Eckert says they are diverse and explosive on offense.  “The first thing that you see when you look at Tiffin Columbian is how dynamic their offense is.  I believe in division III and they have the second best offense in all of division III.  They're averaging just over 40 points a game.  It starts with their quarterback, the Akron commit, the (Brayden) Roggow kid.  Then they have got three really receivers and then the tailback has 30 touchdowns on the year.  So, they're dynamic on offense and it looks like they've done a good job of putting their kids in positions to make good plays and a big offensive line.  So, that's the first thing jumps off the tape at you,” he said.

          Roggow leads the “SBC” Lake in passing and Damien Brockington in rushing with 1,882 yards and 30 scores.

          Ontario’s defense has been very good this year in posting four shutouts during the regular season.

          Eckert says they just have to play their game and when they have the ball, don’t give it right back to Tiffin.  “I think you just have to make them work for things.  It looks like when they have played teams, they've definitely taking advantage with what the other team does against them.  They've been able to throw it and run it.  So, you just kind of have to do what you do and continue to play football.  I think our defense has been pretty good this year.  So, we're looking forward to the challenge,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Again trying remain balanced on offense I think also helps.  We can't go out there and go three and out and give the ball right back to them when we get stops. We've have got to play Ontario Warrior football and see what happens on Friday.”

          If there has been a bit of a weakness for the Tornadoes this year they have allowed some points.  Eckert says they are going to take chances on defense.  “It looks like defensively they are going to try to pressure.  They're looking to get turnovers it looks like so they can get more possessions on offense.  That may not be their philosophy, but just looks like they're willing to take some chances and they're willing to gamble a little bit and they're willing to get after the quarterback.  When you do that, you give up something else.  Like anything you do offensively or defensively.  So, they're not a bad defense by any means.  They're just been one that's been aggressive all year and they've been got a couple of times.  So, it'll be interesting how they attack us.  Will they put more guys in the box or will they respect the throw game.  So, looking forward to that chess match on Friday night,” said Eckert.

Published 11/01/23

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Ontario Hosts Lutheran West

          Ontario, the co-champion of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, plays host to Lutheran West in a division III first round playoff game on Friday night.

          The Warriors (9-1) earned that co-title with a (34-20) win at Highland last week.  Chase Studer ran for 89 yards and a score in the win.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they kind of took control in the second half.  “Things didn’t get any easier for us week 10 going down to Highland played a really good Highland football team with Dane Nauman, Stover and Reichenbach.  So, it was a good win for us, happy to kind of get out of there.  The conditions, and we're playing on turf actually last week, but hats off to Highland, they did a pretty good job and they took the lead briefly in the second quarter.  We battled back before halftime to get a score and then in the second half came out and took care of business,” said Eckert.

          Lutheran West (7-3) comes in on a four game winning streak.  The Longhorns smoked Chagrin Falls (34-7) last week.

          Eckert says they are loaded with athletes.  “I mean the Longhorns are super athletic and that's the first thing that jumps off the page at you.  They're led by their quarterback Jalany Theodore, #15, kind of a dual threat kid, left-handed.  Then they have a kind of a plethora of backs they play and then all four of them are pretty good, starting with Daquarius Bradley.  Up front they've got some size up front, they're probably bigger than us, which isn't anything new for us, but bigger than us and do a good job getting off the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They have some different personnel packages.  Defensively, they like to call cause some chaos.  There a 3-4 defense that kind of flies around, plays all man coverage, and looking to get after your quarterback.”

          Eckert says they kind of saw this kind of defense when they blanked Marion Harding (34-0) in conference play earlier in the seasion.  “I'd say the closest thing they remind me to is probably Marion Harding, just from a from a defensive standpoint.  Marion Harding was a 3-4 and just like these guys they played all man coverage like these guys do and they're good athletes.  So, that would be the biggest comparison, the most likely comparison for us defensively to these guys,” he said.

Published 10/26/23

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Ontario Playing With Confidence

          Ontario plays at Lexington against Lady Lex in a girls’ soccer division II district semifinal match on Wednesday night.

          The Lady Warriors (14-2-2) are outright champions of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference and ranked number seven in the state by Ohio Soccer Coaches Association.

          Coach Larry Atkinson says he is confident they are playing well headed into the match.  “I mean we're healthy.  We had a couple of injuries early on, but I think we're back full strength, 100% everybody's healthy.  We’ve been pretty good the last few games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “We had a tough game with (Berlin Center) Western Reserve towards the end of the year that we tied them, but to us that was a win because they were a quality program.  They probably had the best goalkeeper we've seen all year.  The kids have worked hard in practice this week, so I think we're ready to go.”

          Lexington (9-4-4) lost to Ontario in a non-conference match (2-1) back on August 19.

          Hover, Lady Lex beat Ontario (2-1) in a district final last year and Atkinson says many of the same players will be on the pitch for Lexington on Wednesday night.  “They’ve got a quality program.  Buck (Morton) has done a great job.  They've got a lot of returning lettermen that played last year when they beat us in the district final.  So, it's going to be a battle.  It's just going to come down to who makes mistakes and who takes advantage of the mistakes that the other team makes,” he said.

          As good as the Lady Warriors have been this year, Atkinson reminds that they are still a young team.  He says they have to get rid of those butterflies early on.  “Hopefully, we can continue to play how we have played.  I think the nerves are going to be kind of high early on because we're still pretty young.  We use a lot of sophomores and some freshmen, but I think our senior leadership out on the field is going to is going to help us on the defensive end.  I think just the girls confidence in each other I think is going to help us this year,” said Atkinson.

Published 10/25/23

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Ontario Wants that Title

          Ontario has a chance Friday night to earn no less than a share of Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title, something the Warriors haven’t done since Taylor Swift was just a Pennsylvania high school teenager.

          They play at Highland on Friday night and a win means no less than a co-title.  Shelby plays third place Marion Pleasant.

          Last week, they lost a heartbreaker when Shelby scored in the final minute to beat them (37-31) and they Whippets moved into a tie with the Warriors for first place.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they just didn’t get off the field when they had the chance.  “It wasn't one play in particular.  I mean there were multiple plays that we had a chance to get off the field at the end of the game.  So, hats off to Shelby, they won the game.  We're looking to move on this week to win the conference championship and head into the playoffs with some momentum,” he said.

          Eckert says they have to battle that adversity and get themselves prepared to play a good team.  “Throughout life you're just going to have some ups and downs and we talked to the kids about the gut wrenching feeling in your stomach and that means you care.  We had to come back to work this week and try to prepare for a pretty good Highland football team that's got the reining division V player of the year on the roster along with other really talented players.  So, it doesn’t get any easier for us this week because Highland is a really good football team and we've got to come ready to play,” said Eckert.

          Ontario (8-1,5-1) is at Highland (5-4,2-4) on Friday night.  The Fighting Scots are coming off a (21-11) win at Clear Fork in conference play.

          Eckert says they are more versatile this year.  “I think the first thing you notice is just how big and physical they are up front.  They look the part up front, really impressed a couple of their offensive lineman and anytime you have got Dane Nauman in the backfield he's going to pop off the the screen at you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “I tell you what, the quarterback has gotten a lot better.  He’s coming into his own, he's got some wiggle.  They have got a 6’4” receiver ever and Kadyn Reichenbach that has done a nice job for them this year with over 700 yards receiving.  Defensively, they fly around.  They're aggressive defensively, that's kind of always been their calling card since I've been at Ontario is how aggressive they played defensively.  So, we have got our work cut out for us this week that’s for sure.”

          Ontario wants to get off to a good start, they have done that this year, but if they don’t, Eckert says they need to adapt.  “That's something we've been pretty good at this year is just kind of getting off to a good start and making people play catch up.  Obviously, we’d like to continue to do that this week, but not all games go that way.  I'm sure they're going to have a plan for us.  So, we're looking forward to that match up with them and hopefully we were able to bring home an “MOAC” title the first time since 2004,” he said.

Published 10/19/23

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Ontario Can Win “MOAC” Title

          Ontario will host Shelby on Friday night and with a win over the Whippets they will win an outright Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title.

          It’s that simple.

          They maintained a one game lead on the Whippets with a (34-0) over Marion Harding last week.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they got down to business quick.  “We came out of the gate and took the ball went down and scored and were able to get a stop after a long pass and score again.  We left the first half 34-0.  I thought we won that game up front on both sides of the ball.  I think we allowed -12 rushing yards to Marion Harding last week and you did a nice job of stopping the run and forcing them to put the ball in the air, which we would rally to and eventually get them to punt the ball back to us on downs.  So, for us it was a good week.  We were able to get in and get out and stay healthy, so we're looking forward to this matchup this week with Shelby,” said Eckert.

          Ontario (8-0,5-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, puts out the welcome matt for the Shelby (6-2,4-1) on Friday night.  The Whippets beat Clear Fork (36-21) last week.  The game was tied at the half (14-14) with last place team in the league.

          Ekert says the Whippets have the kind of players that score from anywhere on the field.  “Shelby just jumps off the page at you as a super talented team that is really dangerous and can score from anywhere.  I think last week was a perfect example of that.  I believe they had a 90 yard touchdown last week and a 55 yard touchdown.  What jumps off the page is how athletic they are and schematically they do a great job over there putting their kids in successful positions to win the football game,” said Eckert.

          Ontario’s defense has pitched four shutouts this season, but Eckert says the Whippets are a different kind of animal.  “That's the first thing you try to limit is you try to keep everything in front of you and make them earn it if they're going to earn and go down and score.  It's one of those things where we would love to take this away or take that away, but when you have as many pieces as they have, you can't take everything away.  You just don't have enough defenders.  So, our goal is to try to limit the big plays and win up front,” he said.

          Shelby’s defense, has not held anyone under two scores, but has only allowed more than 30 once.  Eckert says they play sound defense.  “Defensively, they had maybe an off week last week, but they've been a pretty solid group overall throughout the year.  I know they're well coached and they do their jobs.  They are a fundamentally sound defense that's going to be in the right position and make plays when they're asked to make plays,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “It's a big challenge for us offensively.  It’s one of the better defenses we have probably seen this year.  So, we look forward to that challenge as we host those guys on Friday night.”

          With everything on the line, Eckert says it’s an opportunity for them to get everything they want.  “For us, it probably couldn't have scripted out any better.  Our two communities are separated by not very much, we kind of border with each other, so a lot of familiarity with people and our guys kind of know their guys and vice versa.  So, whenever you get an opportunity at the end of the year to claim the stake to the league title against the conference rival and they happen to be the team that's sitting number two with a chance if they win to take the conference title as well.  I mean you can't draw it up any better.  It’s what you want at the end of the season.  Now both teams I think are fairly healthy, so we've got everything we want right in front of us,” said Eckert.

Published 10/11/23

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Ontario to Play Aggressive Marion Harding

          Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference leader Ontario travels to Marion Harding for a “MOAC” game on Friday night.

          The Warriors lead Shelby by a game and play the Whippets next week.

          Ontario, unbeaten on the season, drilled Marion Pleasant (45-14) last week.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says the defense was up to the challenge.  “Last week was a scary game for us.  Pleasant’s a team that's played pretty well and anytime you have a quarterback like their kid, that I think is one of the better kids in our league, good arm, good legs, tough to bring down, it presents a problem for you defensively.  Overall, we gave up some yards and some plays, but we kept them off the scoreboard and the difference in the game,” said Eckert.

          Ontario (7-0,4-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, is at Marion Harding (3-4,2-2) on Friday.  The Presidents pounded Clear Fork (35-7) last Friday.

          Eckert says Harding is team that can make big plays at any time.  “Marion Harding is a team that is always scary.  They also have a new coach, like Pleasant.  It looks like their kids are around.  At this point in the season playing Maion Harding sometimes you have some different guys that maybe weren’t around at the beginning of the year, but this guy seems to be keeping people around and that's a good thing for their program,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Marion Harding is very athletic.  Anytime that a couple of their receivers or backs have the ball they've got like an extra gear that scares you because you believe that they can take the ball the distance when they get it.  Defensively, they're just aggressive, they fly around, they've got again good athletes that I can play press man and they're going to come after your quarterback.”

          Two weeks ago against River Valley, the Presidents recorded six sacks in a (27-13) win.

          Eckert says they will often bring a lot of blitzers.  “No matter how you slice it they have the ability to bring more guys than you have blockers.  It's going to be a cat and mouse game and if they treat us like River Valley where they just kind of bring six every time and say you better get rid of the ball sooner then we'll have to adjust for that.  We'll see how they play us on Friday when we head down to Marion,” he said.

Published 10/04/23

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Ontario Has to Get Back to Playing Defense

          Ontario, the co-leader in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, will entertain the Marion Pleasant Spartans in a conference game on Friday night.

          They maintained their share with Shelby by outscoring Galion (59-35) last week.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says he was pleased with what they did on offense.  “Galion was a game that I thought we offensively we did a lot of great things.  You don't score that many points and not.  I thought you know Bodpegn Miller, the offensive line, Chase Studer, Quinto Frankhouse and all of our other receivers did a really nice job on offense.  Defensively, it was our worst game of the year.  So, we have some a lot of things to practice this week and get fixed and ensure up for our kids and hopefully we can get that fixed for Friday,” he said.

          Eckert says on defense they were not focused last week and they need to get back to doing their job.  “I thought for the first five weeks and we've given up 35 points in the first five weeks and a lot of that was attributed to just kind of doing your job and I think this past game against Galion we just decided that we were going to maybe look at some other things and not do our jobs quite as well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “This week for us is about getting kind of back to that.  We said, we gave up as many points as we up in five weeks in one game.  We gave up over 400 some yards of offense and that hasn't been our MO this year when you're only giving up 120 yards per game or maybe less than that.  So, for us it was an eyeopener and kudos to Galion they do some wonderful things offense with their coaches are really good at what they do.  So, we just have to get better at what we do and not take anything for granted.”

          Ontario (6-0,3-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, plays host to Marion Pleasant (4-2,2-1) on Friday.  The Spartans rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Clear Fork (30-22) last week.

          Eckert says the Spartans are a dangerous football team.  “I think when you look at Marion Pleasant you've got a team that's always been a tough community tough team with tough kids.  We noticed that last year.  We went down there and we were we thought we were a decent football team and then they were winning in the fourth quarter until we scored a couple late to take over the lead and win the game.  They haven't had that much success last couple years, but this year they're 4-2 overall, right in the thick of the conference race and playing a lot of kids.  You've got a good signal caller back there at quarterback and it seems like they've got buy in from everybody.  They're playing pretty well right now, so they're going to be energetic and run to the football and do everything the right way, so the Ontario Warriors have got to show up this week for sure,” said Eckert.

Published 9/28/23

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Ontario Has to Stop Big Play

          Ontario, the early co-leader in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, is at home Friday night for the Galion Tigers in a key conference game.

          Galion trails by one after a loss to Shelby last week.

          Ontario (5-0,2-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in he large school division, went to Clear Fork and destroyed the Colts (45-0) in a league game.  They were ahead (38-0) at the half.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they got off the bus ready to go.  “That was a tough place for Ontario for a while going down the valley.  Fortunately for us, we were able to go down there and execute a game plan.  It started right from the opening snap for us.  We took the first play 70 yards for a touchdown and we kind of set the tone for the game.  I thought our kids did a really good job of just being competitive, being locked in, and continuing to play Ontario Warrior football,” said Eckert.

          The Ontario coach says everything they have done this year has been led by the play of the offensive line, which has been outstanding.  “I think everything we do offensively is heavily depending on those guys doing their jobs.  Although we have some things to clean up every week.  We have consistently been a team running the football for over 200 yards a game.  When you're able to do that it opens up everything else in your offense.  So, I'm really happy with the way those guys are developing and we'll hopefully continue to get better as the season goes on,” he said.

          Galion (4-1,1-1) got whipped in the second half by Shelby as the Whippets, the other league co-leader, blasted them (62-26) last week.

          Eckert says Galion is experienced and explosive.  “Galion is a veteran laden team, they're really experienced, similar to us I would say.  They have a lot of seniors and a lot of guys that have played a lot of football over the years.  Up front, offensively, they're big, especially the left side of their offensive line.  Anytime you have a guy like (Gabe) Ivy in the backfield you have a get a chance to score anytime he touches the ball, their is quarterback dynamic, so offensively they they've got a lot going for them,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Defensively, I think schematically they do probably one of the better jobs in the area of just putting their kids in really good positions to make plays and be involved.  So, especially against Shelby in the second half they got blown out a little bit, but up until that point it's 24-20 and they were going to trade punches back and forth in the first half.  So, that's a really good Galion football team over there.”

          Last year, a (46-36) loss for the Warriors, they gave up a lot of big plays and Eckert says they can’t do that this week.  “Last year, when we played those guys is that we would be able to get them in third and eight, third and nine, I think we had a fourth and 15 and they hit I want to say five or six, actually with six different touchdowns, that I think went over 20 yards with five of them coming over 35 yards.  So, we got bit by the big play last year and that's something we're going to try to defend against this year and make them drive the football and in order to win the game on Friday,” said Eckert.

Published 9/19/23

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Ontario Has to be Ready

          Ontario plays a traditional rival in Clear Fork in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game in the valley on Friday.

          The Warriors (4-0,1-0) buried River Valley (56-21) in an “MOAC” game last Friday.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they got off to a tremendous start.  “We couldn't have asked for a better way to start the game.  We go down and score in the opening session then we were able to get a three and out, go score again, they got the ball and we got strip sack ad were able to score again.  In the first quarter we were able to put up 35,” he said.

          Quarterback Bodpegn Miller threw four touchdown passes last week.

          Sometimes when you get off to a great start like that you tend to flatline a little bit, but Eckert says they did a pretty good job of maintaining.  “We had a lull there in the middle of the game.  They got a couple scores in.  That was the one thing that I was really concerned about.  Once you get up 35 points you feel safeish except for this game.  I was still really concerned because they're a team that can score from anywhere on the field.  So, anytime you're playing a team like that that can score a bunch you don't want to really give them any life to come back in the game.  I thought for the most part we did an okay job of kind of shutting that door and not scoring for the rest of the game to finish it off,” said Eckert.

          Clear Fork (1-3,0-1) is the defending “MOAC” champion, but they have lost three in a row, including (35-3) to Galion in their league opener last week.  Clear Fork running back/monster back Luke Schlosser is out for the year with a broken fibula.

          Still, Eckert says the Colts have a lot of talent and cannot be taken lightly.  “Clear Fork is not a bad team.  Their record is what it is but, they are really talented football team.  There's a reason they were picked to win the conference by almost every media outlet around here, if not all of them.  They have a lot of good players.  It's unfortunate what happened with the (Luke) Schlosser kid.  You never want to see that as a coach, but they have a bunch of other athletic kids that have stepped up,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “These juniors and seniors have won a lot of football games.  They'll be ready to play in the valley and that's the number one thing you tell the team this week.  Don't judge them based on their record, judge them based on what you know about them and we know that there are tough football team and they'll come ready to play.”

          Eckert says Friday they want to get off to quick start, like they did last week.  “Anybody we play, we don't want to give him life, especially a Clear Fork team that's had some trials and tribulations this season here.  Like anybody else, we want to start off fast and then get off to a good start and then play really good defense to get the ball back to the offense.  So, hopefully we were able to go down the valley and do that this week.  It’s going to be a pretty tough game.  Clear Fork is a traditionally tough team and they'll be ready to play when we suit up against them on Friday,” said Eckert.

Published 9/14/2023

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Ontario Wants to Keep the Ball

          Can this be the year for the Ontario Warriors?  So far it has, and they take the next step on Friday night as they entertain the River Valley Vikings in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game.

          They blanked Madison (38-0) last week in their final non-conference game.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they took care of business.  “I thought we executed fairly well in terms of our game plan just going out and taking care of business and then doing a good job with staying true who we are,” he said.

          River Valley (1-2) lost a shootout (56-45) to Tiffin Columbian on week three.

          Eckert says they are certainly explosive led by quarterback Chase Ebert.  “The first thing that jumps out at you is how athletic they are.  Last year, they lost their quarterback (to graduation) in (Cayden) Shidone, who was probably one of the best playmakers I've seen in high school football.  Although smaller in stature, just super quick, great arm, and understood their offense and ran it really well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “This year they've got a junior, #4 (Chase) Ebert, who's very similar, a little bigger, arm might be a little stronger, but a similar guy that's so far through three weeks has got very good command of that offense and they have put up a ton of points as they showed last couple of weeks.”

          Ebert has thrown for 678 yards and ran for another 354 and five touchdowns.

          Eckert says they need to take away his big play ability.  “He's one of the guys that’s one of our top rushers in our league and it's not so much by a design run.  He just finds a hole and he takes off and goes.  We have got to do a good job of minimizing his ability to scramble this week try to keep him bottled up,” he said.

          Ontario two of the top five rushers in the “MOAC” in running back Chase Studer (284 yards) and quarterback Bodpegn Miller (235 yards) and Ebert says they want to keep the ball away from that River Valley offense.  “That's kind of our M.O. anyway.  We want to possess the football and control the game.  Although we are a hurry up team at times, we do want to continue to kind of grind it out and move the chains see what we can get.  So, we haven't really done a quick strike offense this year, we've sustained quite a few drives, so we look forward to trying to do that again this week against a pretty good River Valley football team,” said Eckert.

Published 9/08/23

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Ontario Must Match Madison’s Physicality

          Ontario is at home for the first time this year as they play host to the Madison Rams in non-conference action on Friday night.

          On week two, the Warriors (2-0) put together an outstanding performance in a (35-0) win over Centerburg, the defending Knox Morrow Athletic Conference champions.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says their defense was outstanding.  “Anytime you can hold a team under 100 yards you're pretty happy with that outcome, right around 100 yards.  So, there's still some things we need to clean up.  We didn't play a flawless game by any means.  It's kind of how we respond to coaching and it's great to get to win and that's the ultimate goal, but for us to become the best versions of who we are, we've got to learn from it and get better from the mistakes that we made,” he said.

          Eckert says on defense they have a good combination of experience and kids that understand what their role is on the defense.  “I think it's a culmination of just kids understanding their jobs and responsibilities and how they fit in.  Also, we've got some guys who played for a couple of years now.  We're pretty senior laden on that side of the ball especially,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “It's a good combination when you have guys that work hard, care, and guys with experience that have been there and can kind of adjust on the fly to some things that you see.  So, overall we're making good decisions for the most part and we've got to continue to clean up some of the things that we didn't, but I like the direction that we're going.”

          Madison (0-2) was blanked (42-0) by River Valley, also out of the “MOAC” last week.  Their problems in winning a game has been well documented.

          Eckert says Madison is bigger than them and physical and that can be a tough matchup for the Warriors.  “When you're playing a team that's just physically bigger than you it scares you because they look like tough kids that want to play and get after it.  You watch the first part of the Shelby game they come out they get a pick and a nice long run and then they throw one over the top for a score.  Anytime you give a team like a Madison an opportunity to kind of punch them you in the mouth they're going to take it.  So, for us we've tried to rely on running the football and kind of being that tougher team and this week's going to be a good challenge for us to see if we can do that,” said Eckert.

Published 8/30/23

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Ontario Can be Better

          Ontario, after beating their arch rival in the opener last week, takes to the road to face the Centerburg Trojans, the defending champions of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, in a non-league game.

          Ontario got a field goal at the horn from Trey Booker to beat Lexington (17-14) last week.

          However, coach Aaron Eckert says they feel unstratified.  “Like we talked about after the game, it's exciting to win the game against a pretty balanced Lexington team.  The disappointing thing is we had 460 total yards and they had 120.  We had 15 carries for 120 yards.  So, anytime you win a game and you feel like you dominated the game, but you have to kick a last second field goal to win it you walk away with a lot to work on this week,” said Eckert.

          Eckert says they have talked a lot this week about their approach to the game.  “For us it's about being accountable for your actions.  Those are plays that you have got to be accountable for and take ownership of.  Then mostly you can learn those mistakes and talk about what happened or what was wrong or what was right about the play and coach them up and get better from week one to week two,” he said.

          Centerburg took out Utica (34-7) in their non-conference opener last week.

          Eckert says they are loaded with talent again.  “You start offensively I believe I've got five all conference players back from last year's 9-1 team during the regular season.  They're poised to make a run for the “KMAC” title again there.  I think they're really athletic on the edges at receiver and again have got really nice kids there, they have got a 1,500 yard back that’s back and their quarterback was an all-conference kid last year, I'm not sure if it was offensive or defense, but really good athlete,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They've got athletes everywhere on the field and one thing about Centerburg is they play super hard.  Defensively, again their calling card is probably just how hard they play.  Actually, they didn't give up any points against Utica last week.  Utica scored on a kickoff return for a touchdown.  So, we have our hands full going down to Centerburg with what is probably going to be a pretty good environment with close knit quarters and we are looking forward to it.”

Published 8/25/23

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Ontario Wants to Limit Big Plays

          Ontario looks for their second win in a row over rival Lexington as they travel south to meet the Minutemen on Friday night to open the 2023 campaign in non-conference play.

          Coach Aaron Eckert says they are ready to get going.  “I like what we've done so far and the process in which we've gotten to this point.  So, overall I think we're in a good spot and looking forward to the matchup with Lexington on Friday,” he said.

          The Warriors won (21-17) last year that their place, but their last visit to Lex two years ago resulted in a (45-0) humbling.

          Eckert says the Minutemen have some big play makers they have to contain.  “I think it starts with just their athleticism that they have that they have on the edge on offense.  Anytime that Foggle or the (Seven) Allen kid touch the ball or their tailback they have a chance to take it the distance and that's scary for an opposing defense.  So, that's what jumps out on offense on the first page.  They have got some some proven guys up front in Nickol and Sheets, who do a nice job creating some holes for the backs.  They have a quarterback that’s a big kid, that’s a little unproven, hasn't played in a varsity game before, but a good athlete that comes from and athletic family,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “On that side of the ball we are just try not to give up big plays and make them earn it if they are going to do.  Then the other side defensively, they do a nice job of executing in terms of putting their kids in the best spots to succeed.  So, they are a talented front.  Foggle jumps off the page actually I'm going to imagine he leads the area sacks this year from his defensive line position.  They have other guys were there just kids that are hardnosed and gritty kids and sounds like they're hungry over there.”

          Eckert says the key is making Lexington drive the field rather than allowing the big play.  “Typically, what happens if you make a team earn they screw it up, they get a holding call, they get a tackle for loss that puts them out of their rhythm.  So, for us that's what we would love to make them have to earn it if they're going to score rather than giving it to them in one play like they have the ability,” said Eckert.

Published 8/15/23

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Ontario Looking for Consistency

          Ontario has shown flashes of what kind of football team they can be this year, but they haven’t been doing it on every play.

          As they have worked through the preseason, coach Aaron Eckert says they have shown improvement in their execution.  “It’s something that you work all summer and you start putting on pads and things you talk about during the summer kind of coming fruition and you're able to kind of do it on the field rather than a while board or in a conversation.  So, you know those little things and nuances that we're trying to accomplish haven gotten better each and every day as we go along in this two a days season,” said Eckert.

          Ontario opens the season next week at non-conference rival Lexington on Friday night.

          Eckert says week one is different that other weeks of the season in terms of preparation and since it is the Minutemen, for them it is really different.  “I think that you think about that the whole offseason.  Not that you don't study the other teams and look the other team does, but I mean kind of your focus next game is that first game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “For us to add a little bit to that it’s kind of a rival down the road for us, not separated by much space and share borders.  So, that's something that we talk about often.  It's something we kind of workout with and the mindset that that's an important game for us, a rivalry, getting off on the right foot.  So, it's a big deal for us.”

          With just over a week left before the regular season begins, Eckert says they have to become more consistent in their play.  “I think the consistency piece of just coming in every play with the mindset of just winning that play and doing your job.  We've had a lot of splash plays this fall and we've also just kind of falling asleep at times this fall, whether it's practice or in the first scrimmage that we had.  So, it's just that piece of just being more consistent, being present every play that we’re on the field, “ he said.

Published 8/10/23

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Ontario’s Season Ends With Loss in State Final

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          The magical postseason run of the Ontario Warriors ran out of surprises on Saturday evening as they fell (5-4) to the Kenston Bombers in the division II state final at Canal Park in Akron.

          After starting the season as preseason pick in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, the Warriors lost nine of their first 12, but they caught fire at the right time.  They were probably not the favorite in their last five tournament games, but they won them all.

          Coach Mike Ellis said after the game that he could not have been more proud of them.  “I told him them in that huddle there, you ended up being the team that I thought you would be when I sat down before the year even started looking at it on paper,” he told Swankonsports.com, “I just told them that I love them with what they've done for me and the work they put in.  It was remarkable the ride we had in this tournament and I told them you have nothing to be ashamed of.  I mean we gave those guys a game.  We just didn't execute on a few things and they took advantage on a few things, so (Saturday) they were the better team.  I'm so damn proud of these kids.”

          Kenston (21-11) qualified for the state in division I last year.

          Ontario (17-15) scored in the top of the first when Colten Ramion singled to open the game, was sacrificed to second Jayden Leach, moved up on a passed ball, scored on a sacrifice fly by Gage Weaver.

          Kenston scored three on the bottom of the second, which included a run scoring single by Nikko Georgia, an RBI double by Bridger Bischof and a suicide squeeze by Grant Beclay.

          It also included back to back balks by Ontario starter Peyton Dzugan to move runners into scoring position.  “The first one was like a double move.  I mean, they said he moved twice and then the other one he turned his shoulder.  I don't know, nerves?  When you get out there and talk to him, well I didn't do anything, but it could be subtle and you know the umpire picked it up and so it is what it is,” Ellis said.

          There was no scoring until bottom of the fifth when Kenston added an insurance run when L.A. Mighton tripled and scored on a ground ball by Jimmy Cerhon.

          Ontario cut it to (4-3) in their half of sixth when Leach singled, Gage Weaver was hit by a pitch, Carter Weaver reached on a force and Carter Walters singled home two runs.  The Warriors left two on.

          In the seventh, Dzugan singled to open the frame, we sacrificed to second by Raimon, but a diving catch by the Kenston second baseman resulted in a game ending double play.

          Ellis says his kids kept battling to the end.  “We gave ourselves opportunities and that's all we kept asking of them.  We just needed to get someone on base and just string a couple hits together and you never know in a game like this.  I knew it was probably going to be a close game from the early start.  So, every run that you could get or squeeze out was important.  They got that extra run there at the end and I mean and that was the difference.  So, again credit to them.  We played the best we could,” said Ellis.

          A pitcher of lesser quality may have crumbled after that second inning, but Ellis says that Dzugan just got tough stranding five Kenston runners, two in scoring position in the next four innings.  “He's a bulldog.  I mean he's pitched really well in this tournament.  I knew that he wouldn't let me pull him out.  If we would have tied it up, he would have went right back out there in the bottom of the seventh,” he said.

Published 6/10/23

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Ontario Will Play for State Title

          Ontario has a chance Saturday to earn just their second state baseball title, and their first since 1994, as they edged Washington Court House (2-1) on Friday afternoon in the division II state semifinals at Canal Park in Akron.

          They will play Kenston, who downed Dayton Chaminade Julienne (4-3) in the first game on Friday.

          Ontario (17-14) opened the scoring in the top of the fourth inning when Gage Weaver singled and scored on a two out single by Braxton Hall. 

Court House would tie in their half of the fourth when Bryce Yeazel walked, was sacrificed to second and advanced to third when to ball was thrown into leftfield trying to retire him at second.  He scored on a hit by Will Miller.  In maybe the play of the game Ontario centerfielder Peyton Dzugan threw out Miller at the plate after a hit by John Wall to end the inning and keep the Blue Lions from adding runs.

Ontario scored the final run of the game in the top of the fifth.  Dzugan and Colten Ramion singled.  Jayden Lynch bunted, but Dzugan was thrown out at third on a nice play by the pitcher Tanner LeMaster.  Gage Weaver loaded the bases with his third single of the day.  Ramion scored when a hard hit ball by Carter Weaver was misplayed at first base.

Warriors coach Mike Ellis says he knew they would have to play seven innings and he is very proud of his kids.  “I figured just looking at the scores (Thursday) and those games there were all close games, so I knew our game would probably be close.  Every pitch we had to execute, every at bat we had to execute.  I mean it's just everything was so important, so I'm just proud of this team where we started and where we're at.  We get to play the last game and we’re hot.  My guys buckled down,” he told Swankopsports.com after the game, “I told him you know between innings, I said it's going to be a dogfight.  When we went up 1-0, I said this going to be a seven inning game.  So, pull up your britches, we're going to go all the way through right until seven innings.  So, I'm very proud of this team.”

Ontario started the season losing nine of their first 12 games.

Carter Weaver started the game for the Warriors and went four innings giving up only two hits, but walked six.  He allowed only one unearned run.  He was replaced by Carter Walters, who threw three scoreless innings, giving up only one hit and striking out three.

Ellis says Walters stepped up, just like he did last week.  “I mean he did that in the regionals.  He’s just been our, I don't know if you can call him a closer.  He comes in and his breaking ball is really filthy, so I knew that we could get a lot of misses.  That's the key with Washington Court House is they have some hosses, they're big kids and so you try to miss the barrel of the bat and he's very good at doing that.  I thought our pitchers did really well (Friday).  I thought Carter Weaver pitched well until I think he just ran out of gas because he was so focused on every pitch.  He no hit them a few innings there, so give credit to him and then Walters coming in and being a good teammate,” said Ellis.

Regarding Dzugan’s defensive gem to the end the fourth, Ellis says very good players make very big plays in very big games.  “He came up and fired it and then it was just a bang, bang play and when you get to this far you have got to make plays like that, nothing's easy.  Even when we're trying to score home you have got to go hard because they're going to try to throw you out, so we just keep doing everything,” he said.

Ellis says his kids enjoy playing baseball and he likes he attitude they are showing right now, which is different than the beginning of the season.  “I you know these guys are loose, so someone asked me if I was going to start cracking down on them as the week was going on and I was like no, I mean I've learned one thing about what these guys you know let them be them and come game time, they'll be ready to play,” he told Swankonsports.com, “On the bus ride here, it was quiet, they were focused.  It's just like in the regionals and I can't ask for anymore.  I mean I think we are starting to figure out that we know each other and it's been a great family on this run, so just enjoy it.”

They got a couple of clutch hits, Gage Weaver was 3-4, and Ellis says he really wanted to add one more in the seventh, but turns out they didn’t need it.  “I kept telling him going in the top of the seventh, I need one more run, give me one more run and I feel comfortable.  It didn't happen, but you tried to manufacture.  We missed some signs, so we were talking about that, but hopefully we'll execute better (Saturday).  When you get to that first batter, it’s so important to get that out and then you could feel like it relaxes the kids out there.  It sure relaxed me and then you go from there,” said Ellis.

Kenston (20-11) awaits Saturday at four in Akron.  Ellis says they play a lot like the Warriors.  “We were under the tunnel and it was 2-0 in the top of the seventh and they come in and score four runs.  So, they're scrappy, they kind remind me of us.  They're not going to give up and they're going to battle you, so it's going to be a challenge.  We’ll get back to work (Saturday) and see what happens at 4:00 o'clock,” he said.

Published 6/09/23

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Ontario Blasts Way to Regional Final

          Ontario scored six times in the first inning and six more and went on to out score St. Mary’s Memorial (12-6) to a division II regional semifinal on Thursday afternoon at Carter Park in Bowling Green.

          They will play Defiance, a (4-3) winner of Bay Village Bay in the second semi of the day, in the regional final on Friday, again at Bowling Green.

          In the first inning the Warriors got two run hits from Carter Weaver and Colten Ramion on their way to a (6-0) lead.

          Coach Mike Ellis says after that half inning, he told the kids not to expect an easy game and it wasn’t.  “We put the bat on the ball.  First inning, we scored six runs.  We were squaring up the ball and so I was really happy in the first inning, but I knew St. Mary's wasn’t going to lay down.  So, I knew it was going to be a seven inning ball game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night after the win, “I told the kids after the first inning as we were going out in the bottom of the first, that, hey, we need to put a zero out there, but St. Mary's came back and put up four, so I knew it was going to be a seven inning game.”

          St. Mary’s Memorial tied the game at (6-6) after three innings, but the Warriors go busy again in the top of the fourth.

          Peyton Dzugan and Jaden Leach started the inning with singles.  Then Gage Weaver followed with an RBI single, Carter Weaver had a two run double, Jake Chapman a two run single and Braxton Hall and RBI hit.

          Ellis says you have to keep adding on.  “That's all we kept saying.  We had Carter Weaver on the bump (Thursday) and it wasn't his day, but he battled for three innings.  He gave us what he could, so we knew we had to pick him up.  The team knew that they had to pick him up.  So, we just kept hitting.  We ended up with 12 hits, 12 runs and 12 RBI 's, so I was very proud of our team,” he said.

          Ontario (15-13) plays Defiance, who beat Bay (4-3) on Thursday, back at Bowling Green on Friday, with first pitch at 5 PM.

          Ellis says the Bulldogs are very good and have seemingly always been very good.  “They're very good.  I mean there's a reason why they usually end up in the regional finals and going to the state.  A storied history program and they're very good.  I think they finished fourth in the poll this year.  I scouted them and watched them and they're very well coached.  They play the game fundamentally right, so we have our work cut out,” said Ellis.

Published 6/02/23

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Late Rally Puts Ontario in District Final

          It was like Ontario could smell a big inning, but not get the big hit until sixth inning when they scored five times and went on to beat rival Shelby (7-2) on Thursday evening in a division II district semifinal at Fremont Ross High School.

          They will return Saturday at noon to face Clyde, a (1-0) winner over Bellevue in the first semifinal, for a chance to punch a ticket for the regional tournament.

          Shelby took a (2-0) lead in the bottom of the first when Eli Schwemley walked, Camden Wheeler doubled and Alex Brushkotter singled them both home.

          There was no scoring until the top of the fifth, when Shelby starter Landon Kennard walked the first two hitters.  A bunt by Colton Ramion loaded the bases.  Kennard then walked Jaden Leach with the bases loaded to force in a run.  Nic Eyster relieved for the Whippets and struck out Gage Weaver, but Carter Weaver tied the game with an excellent suicide squeeze.

          Then came the fifth.  With two other Peyton Dzugan walked, Ramion singled and Leach walked.  That was followed two run hits by Gage and Carter Weaver and a RBI single by Carter Walters.

          Ontario had runners on third in the third and fourth and didn’t score, but coach Mike Ellis says they came through, especially in that fifth inning.  “We felt like if we could get runners on and get the defense moving, that's the biggest key get the defense moving.  I mean then they can make bad throws, they can make errors and stuff.  So, I told them right from the start.  They're going to come out fast, but it's a long game, so don't get upset, don't think about it and we just have got to keep plugging away,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win, “I'm very proud of them.  They never gave up.  Each inning, we kept making noise and it's like we got guys on maybe we didn't score, but it’s like alright next inning we will get them on and we'll get them in.  So, I couldn't be more proud of this team after everything we've gone through this year with ups and downs.”

          Shelby had beaten Ontario twice during play in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, but Whippets coach Jon Amicone says they are an outstanding team that is getting hot at the right time.  “Give Ontario credit.  First off, I want to tip my cap to them. That’s awesome baseball team loaded with talent and it seems like they're finally putting together.  They have to be reckoned with.  I can see them going far past the district,” he said.

          Overall, Shelby pitching had six walks, three to the bottom third of the order and Amicone says they just gave the Warriors too many chances.  “Our guys kind of lost strike and you can't do that against a quality team.  We continuously walked the bottom of the order to bring up their guys.  It seemed like every time they had guys on the bases Gage Weaver or Carter were up.  We did it a few times got away with it and it finally it bit us late in the game.  We just need to understand you can't help a good team like that, especially when their studs are coming up,” said Amicone.

          With the chances they had to get runs, Ontario was not producing, but Ellis says they remained patient.  “I kept telling them to see more pitches, be patient up there, don't be swinging at the first pitch and they executed.  We've been talking all year about execution and stuff and (Thursday) the squeeze I think that got the guys really fired up.  I mean you have to give Shelby credit, they're well coached.  Jon (Amicone) does a tremendous job over there,” said Ellis.

          Carter Weaver went the distance on the mound for the Warriors.  With game tied at (2-2), the Whippets loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth, but Weaver got Eyster to fly to center.  He then struck three guys over the next two innings.

          Ellis says their pitching has improved.  “(Carter’s) a workhorse.  My pitchers at beginning of the year were young.  They threw some innings last year, but as the year has gone on they have matured.  You can see it now late in the season.  Even with Dzugan pitching a one hitter against Sandusky.  They're where I thought they would be and that's what I'm hoping for,” he said.

          Clyde beat Ontario (8-7) in a regular season game earlier this month.  Ellis says it will be a game where they need to play well.  “We have got Clyde.  We played them a couple weeks ago or so.  We have our hands full,” he said.

Published 5/26/23

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With Three in The Ninth Ontario Wins

          Ontario went to the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday evening trailing by two runs, but would score three times and beat Sandusky (4-3) in a division II sectional semifinal.

          They play at Sandusky Perkins in a sectional final on Friday.

          Coach Mike Ellis believes that the kind of games they have played this year gave them confidence going to the bottom of the seventh.  “I think the way the season has gone for us I think that it actually helped us in this game.  We hit the ball square on the nose all night long, line drives, they weren't the lazy flyballs.  These balls were hit on the screw.  We had nine hits.  We could have had five or six more, but just couldn't get runs,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “So, you have got to give Sandusky credit.  Peyton Dzugan, who we had on the bump (Wednesday) night, was tremendous he only gave up one hit, two walks, nine strikeouts.  So, I think everything that we've went through this year helped us to pull this game out.”

          Ellis says before that last inning he told his players to keep doing what they had been.  “Don't change anything.  I loved their at bats throughout the night.  Like I said, we were hitting the ball hard, line drives, but right to them in the outfield.  So, I mean I didn't want them to change, just keep that aggressiveness up there at the plate and then once you get on base be ready.  We are going to get the get you moving from base to base and then see if we can get the defense to move.  I hit and run and we stole some bases there and like I said give our kids credit to pull it out and they executed,” said Ellis.

          Perkins (15-8), co-champion of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, beat Ontario (9-5) on the first day of the regular season back in March.

          Ellis says they have to continue to play better.  “They're a very good team.  Very well coached.  It's going to be a tough game for us.  We have to play better.  I think our kids realize that.  They're looking forward to the opportunity to play them again.  When we played in the first game of the year it was really, really windy up there and raining, miserable conditions.  So, they're looking forward to the opportunity to play another game.  So, we'll just have to practice hard (Thursday) and then we’ll see how Friday goes,” he said.

Published 5/18/23

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Ontario Uses Big Inning to Beat Bellevue

          Ontario got a Taylor Mullins grand slam and beat Bellevue (4-2) in a division II district semifinal on Tuesday night in Willard.

          They will return to Willard on Friday to face Clyde, who beat Sandusky Perkins (10-0) in the other semifinal.

          Ontario coach Sean Snow says this group of girls does whatever is needed on that particular day to win.  “These girls never cease to amaze me.  I'm going to tell you right now they pull through exactly how we need to do,” he said.

          Trailing (2-0) in the top of the fifth, the Lady Warriors loaded the bases on hits by Autumn Taylor and Olivia Kreger and then Alex Switaj hit a ball back to mound and Bellevue pitcher Maci Smythe tried to pick Taylor off third base, but she was ruled to be safe after a meeting of umpires.  Bellevue coach Bessie Guy protested to no avail.

          Enter Mullins, who then belted a grand slam.

          Smythe struck out 13 Lady Warriors, but Snow says they go to her, plus they got excellent pitching from Eden Howard and Joslynne Frazier, who combined to allow only five hits.  Frazier went the final two and two thirds not allowing a hit.  “(Smythe) was dominate up to the fifth and she was dominate after the fifth.  I mean that girl is really good and credit to her.  We did what we needed to do to win that game.  Our defense and our pitching isn't getting enough credit for what they did because when we did what we had to do to win that game we held them to the two runs that they had that were unearned,” said Snow.

          Bellevue’s runs came when a ball was dropped in the outfield.

          As for Clyde, like Bellevue, out of the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference, Snow says he is confident they can get the win.  “Honestly, we're just going to go to practice (Wednesday) we're going to do what we do.  This team continues to just do what they have to do to win some games.  My thoughts on Clyde, I know nothing about them to be honest,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night after the win over Bellevue, “I watched their game against Perkins (Tuesday) night.  What I do know is they play Perkins twice during the season this was the third time.  They knew Perkins really well and they beat Perkins 10-0, I think.  So, the bottom line is we're going to go into Clyde and we're just going to do what we do and we're going to go toe to toe with a team that we think that if we do what we do we can have good results.”

Published 5/17/23

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Ontario Wins; Things Get Tougher

          Ontario hammered Vermilion (11-2) in a sectional final played on Monday afternoon at Ontario.

          Tuesday, they meet Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division winner Bellevue in a division II district semifinal in Willard.

          Ontario (19-5) scored twice in the first inning and they scored at least one run every time they came to bat on Monday in a game that was originally supposed to be played last Friday.

          Coach Sean Snow says they played well for a first tournament game.  “We added a little bit every inning.  We kept the consistency going and it was nice.  We had what four or five days off there, so it was a good game just to work through some things and hopefully it's a good build on to play back-to-back days,” he said.

          Joslynne Frazier, Autumn Taylor and Eden Howard all had three hits on Monday.

          Bellevue (15-3) beat Lexington (5-4) on Friday to win their sectional championship.

          Snow says they know Bellevue, the second seed in the district, is an excellent team.  “I mean Bellevue has a great pitcher for sure.  They hit the ball. I mean they are what they are you know they're ranked where they are because they're good,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night after the win over Vermilion, “I think the beauty of it is neither one of us really knows each other other than what we hear of each other, so it should prove to be a really good game with both teams are playing like they do.”

          Snow says in games like this it boils down to execution.  “I said from the beginning you know the team that gets out of this district is going to have to be playing their “A” game and I feel that about us for sure,” he said.

Published 5/16/23

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Ontario Beats Shelby; Earns Co-Title

          Ontario scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning and went on to destroy Shelby (15-2) in five innings on Wednesday evening and they share the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title with River Valley.

          The Lady Vikings (19-5,12-2) beat Galion (7-4) on Wednesday.

          Shelby (14-8,9-4) beat the Lady Warriors (9-2) on Tuesday knocking them back into a tie with River Valley.

          Ontario coach Sean Snow says they had a better approach at the plate on Wednesday.  “We did something different than (Tuesday) night and that was we made them pitch to us.  (Tuesday) night Shelby deserved that win.  They outplayed us, but we were chasing pitches and (Wednesday) we went back to what we do best and we made the pitchers come to us and then return you get a lot of hits,” said Snow.

          Trista Jewell had three hits and five RBI to lead the Ontario (18-5,12-2), #4 in the Swankonsports.com softball coaches poll in the large school division, attack on Tuesday.

          Snow says the team got in good counts and took advantage on Wednesday.  “I mean you get the count you want where the pitcher has to come to you and that's what Shelby did to us (Tuesday) night.  So, I mean it's all credit to Shelby what they did to us because of them we share this “MOAC” title and not actually have it on our own,” he said.

          Last year, Ontario won the conference title.

          Snow says they wanted it again, but they are happy with a share… kind of.  “Definitely feel really good.  River Valley is very deserving that was a tough split with them for us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “In this game you get a lot of breaks and also you get games where maybe you're the better team talent wise, but you still have those games like last night, this is no bash to Shelby, but the bottom line is Shelby was the better team (Tuesday) night when we feel that we are the better team outright.  It's a game of where anybody can beat anybody and it's a tough league and that's what we love about this league.”

Published 5/11/23

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Ontario Showing What They Can Do

          Ontario has won its last four games, all of them in league play, after a (13-5) whipping of Marion Pleasant in an Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Wednesday evening.

          They now stand in third place in the conference standings, but four games behind Highland, who beat Galion (7-2) on Wednesday.  Clear Fork is in second place.  The Colts drilled Marion Harding (12-0) in five innings.

          Ontario coach Mike Ellis says they continue to play with consistency.  “The last two weeks we've put together four games of seven innings and starting to play complete games,” he said.

          Ontario (8-8,6-4) also beat Pleasant (1-12,0-10) by a (4-1) count on Tuesday at Pleasant.

          Ellis says against teams that are struggling, they still have to play their best.  “(Tuesday) it was a (4-1) game and we left some runners on the bases.  (Wednesday) we were a little bit better driving them in.  Before the game I talked to the kids that you can't leave a team like that in a game because in the end if you don't put them away, they'll get you.  So, we were able to score a lot of runs (Wednesday) night.  We had 17 hits (Wednesday), so overall I was pleased with our performance,” said Ellis.

          Getting hits with runners in scoring position is one the more pressure packing situations in baseball, but Ellis says, they have been getting better and really overall improving.  “We had guys that were on base, so it gave their teammates the opportunity to drive them in and we still like left some guys on the bases.  We could have done better,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I mean as a coach when you look at it once the game is over there are things that you can always improve.  The big thing for me is that we are improving with each game.  (Wednesday) Peyton Dzugan was on the mound and he pitched really well for us and (Tuesday) we had Carter Weaver, who pitched really well for us.  So, things are starting to come together.  It took a little longer than I wanted, but I think we've kind of found our identity and hopefully we can continue this throughout the rest of the season.”

Published 4/27/23

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Ontario Trims Galion in “MOAC” Play

          Ontario got closer to .500 in league play as they got past Galion (5-4) in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action.

          Coach Mike Ellis says they did a pretty good job of keeping their act together and winning the game.  He says in the past they haven’t been able to do that.  “I think our boys deserve a good win and they got it (Tuesday) night.  We jumped up to 2-0 quick and I've been there before.  Last week with Clear Fork being up in the first game we played them at our place.  We were up (2-0) and in one inning we fell apart and we couldn't recover.  (Tuesday) night we did have another inning, but we held it together and were able to win it in the end,” said Ellis.

          Ellis has been saying all season, for the Warriors good execution is the key and they did pretty well with that with Galion.  “I mean (Tuesday) we were able to execute a hit and run and got our guy in scoring position and then scored a run on a balk, so we executed.  Our pitching wasn't the greatest, but overall, we played pretty good defense.  So, I'm happy for the kids, but it's the first game of the week and we're going to have to get ready for (Wednesday) and go back at it,” he said.

          Ontario (5-8,3-4) will host Galion (7-5,4-3) on Wednesday evening at their place.

          There are not a lot of home runs in high school baseball, so Ellis says if you are going to win consistently, you have to do it with execution.  “It's very important in high school.  If you're not able to do the little things then you're not going to win very many games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday after the win, “So, execution we've been trying to emphasize that with the kids and so we've really been working hard on that to improve that aspect of the game.  So, like I said (Tuesday) was a good win.  I told enjoy it but then you know (Wednesday) we're going to go back at it and execute.”

Published 4/19/23

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Ontario Softball Continues to Roll

          Ontario beat Plymouth (10-5) in a non-conference softball game played on Thursday evening.

          That was after belting rival Clear Fork (12-3) and (13-3) in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference games earlier this week.

          Coach Sean Snow says they are really swinging the bats.  “We're seeing the ball well.  We definitely got our offense rolling a little bit.  I mean still Clear Fork still is one of them teams even though the score, like I said before, it doesn't dictate how good they are.  They're not a bad team at all,” said Snow.

          Joslynne Frazier had three hits on Thursday and Taylor Mullins and Trista Jewell both had two hits for the Lady Warriors.

          Snow says they have been getting hitting throughout the lineup.  “I mean it's been you know it's been nice and it's it helps with the girls really getting along and wanting to play together play for each other and I think that's huge for a team,” he said.

          Ontario (8-4,5-1) shares second place in the “MOAC” with River Valley, a game behind first place Shelby.  They play Highland in the league series next week.

          Snow says they still have to get a lot better, especially on defense.  “Well, I'm going to start off with defense.  We have to continue to back up our pitchers for sure.  Pitching is an art and we're fortunate to have three good pitchers,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “I think the first thing that could go cold will be your bat.  It's a game of failure, so I mean when the bats go cold you still need to make sure that we're backing up our pitchers and our defense is solid.  When we do that, we can have a rough night at the plate and still end up being successful.”

Published 4/14/23

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Four in the Sixth Give Colts Win over Ontario

          Clear Fork stayed a game back in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference standings with a come from behind (4-2) win over the rival Ontario Warriors on Tuesday evening.

          They trail Highland, unbeaten in league, and (7-2) winners over Marion Harding on Tuesday, by a game.  They share second with Galion, who beat Shelby (4-1) on Tuesday.

          The Colts scored four times in the top of the sixth inning on RBI hits by Kaden Riddle and Nate Lind, and with the bases loaded, Ty Sellers walked on what was a wild pitch scoring Kasey Swank from third and Chandler Ball, who had broke form second with the pitch, scored to add another run.

          Coach Gabe Kennedy says beating Ontario (4-6,2-3) was big for them.  “Ontario, we’ve already said they kind of are the measuring stick for us.  We've played some good baseball teams so far, but we knew that we'd be in for a dogfight with them and lucky for us we were able to get the win and we get to play them again (Wednesday) too,” he said.

          Kaden Riddle put together another big effort on the mound for Clear Fork as he went the distance, allowing five hits and striking out six.

          Kennedy says he was a bulldog again, plus he helped save the rest of their staff.  “Another gutsy effort from a senior captain.  Seven innings, complete game win, battled.  He got into a little bit of trouble with hitting a couple of batters, but then just battled out of it and he really helped us because we got to save some arms for the rest of the week,” he said.

          Ontario scored in the first when Gage Weaver got an infield hit and scored on a ground ball and it third on an RBI hit by Caden Boebel.  Coach Mike Ellis says the Colts made plays they didn’t.  “They did a better job executing than us (Tuesday),” he said.

          Clear Fork (7-1,4-1) host Ontario on Wednesday at American Legion field in Bellville.  Kennedy says that going to be huge too and then they have some tough non conference games. “We said at the beginning this was a gauntlet of a week.  We've got Ontario back-to-back, obviously the “MOAC” games are the most important.  We have got Berlin Hiland on Thursday then Crestview, who’s really good, on Friday.  So, it’s one of those things where there's no rain this week, so you know we have got to be ready to go.  We’ve got 6-7 pitchers that any situation, any day they could get the call so,” said Kennedy.

          On Tuesday night, early on the Colts couldn’t buy a hit, but Kennedy says they kept grinding.  “Early on in the game there we were struggling just to get guys on base.  I think we had one hit through the first couple innings and it just wasn't working out for us.  We're trying to get on base obviously with a base hit, a walk, whatever we could do to get on base and get things going so we can steal, we can bunt, you know dirt ball reads, all that good stuff, but it was hard to do.  Once we got it going there in the sixth inning it kind of opened things up for us,” he said.

Published 4/12/23

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Ontario Belts River Valley

          Ontario got a much needed win in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play on Tuesday evening as they demolished River Valley (13-2) in six innings.

          Coach Mike Ellis they hit the ball as well as they have all year.  “We were hitting, we ended up with 17 hits.  So far this year that's our greatest output.  I mean started the season little rough so we kind of went right back to the basics and it helps too that the weather is little bit warmer.  So, it was a good night,” said Ellis.

          Also, Ellis says Carter Weaver gave them a good start on the mound.  “We had Carter Weaver on the on the bump and he pitched really well.  Only gave up four hits.  He was really efficient throwing strikes.  I think he ended up like throwing 62% strikes (Tuesday) night out of 87 pitches, so he was really good (Tuesday) night for us,” he said.

          Highland and Galion lead the “MOAC” standings with (3-0) league marks.  Highland beat Pleasant (8-4), Galion edged Clear Fork (2-1) and Marion Harding got Shelby (4-2).  The Whippets and the Colts are both (2-1) in the league.

          After losing two last week to defending champion Highland, Ellis says this was a game they needed to win.  “Especially in the league, to get that first win.  Actually, we got our first win (Monday) night against Madison.  We played and we won 7-1, so it's good to have back-to-back good games,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “It's enjoy the win (Tuesday) night and you know (Wednesday’s) a new day.  We have got to go back to work and we have River Valley at our place.”

Published 4/05/23

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Ontario Belts Highland

          Ontario rapped out 22 hits and they smoked Highland (22-9) in six innings in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference softball game played on Wednesday evening at Highland.

          Coach Sean Snow says they were seeing the ball well all game long.  “You know the weather was in pretty rough shape for everybody, but we were hitting the ball on the screws.  I mean it was just a great night altogether.  We hit some good pitching and the girls, their bats really come alive when you look at how we started the season at Perkins and they kind of shut us down,” said Snow.

          Perkins beat them (2-1) on Saturday.

          Taylor Mullins, the Ontario leadoff hitter, had five hits, including a double.  Joslynne Frazier had a home and three hits overall.  Trista Jewell, Autumn Taylor and Alex Switaj also has three hits each.  Frazier had four RBI.

          Snow says the game played Wednesday is really an illustration of what softball in Ohio has become, it’s a power game.  “In the early 2000s, they moved the pitching rubber back three feet to 43 feet and it's really became more of a hitters game.  Now, mind you, we have a very solid lineup offensively, but on top of that it just has become more of a hitters game and it's helped all teams out there,” he said.

          There were a number of games on Wednesday that were not played due to rain or wet field conditions, but Snow says they wanted to get this one in if at all possible.  “I mean it was one of those deals where, I mean when you are taking those bus trips and league games are very important and you definitely want to make sure,” he told Swankonsports.com after the win on Wednesday night, “Highland being a very competitive team.  We had a good night obviously.  Defensively we didn't play the best, but the bottom line is when it comes to league games you got have to get them in.  It was very important to make sure we got that game in.  They did not get near the rain down there that we got up here Mansfield, so it was somewhat of an advantage.  The field was in great shape, their facilities are amazing and I was just nice to be able to play the game.”

Published 3/30/23

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Ontario Will be Terrific

          Ontario, the defending softball champion in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, is poised to have another good season this spring.

          Coach Sean Snow likes the progress they have made in high school spring training.  He likes their pitching and their hitting.  “I love what I see, I love what I see.  We're returning a lot of experience, our pitching is still solid and our offensive lineup is just going to be a force this year I feel,” he said.

          In this era of high school girls’ softball you have to be able to score runs and Snow says they should be able to do that this year.  “Sometimes you have to manufacture, you still see some good pitchers that just can stifle you a little bit from the circle and you have got to figure out ways to do it.  We're fortunately blessed with a lot of different options and a lot of good hitters, I'm really happy with what we have,” said Snow.

          Now, when it comes to the “MOAC”, Snow says it will be a competitive league and they are going to be a big factor in it.  “I think the league is going to be competitive as always for sure.  I think if we do what we can do I feel really good about our chances of being competitive in the league with another chance of repeating hopefully doing that on our own again,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Beyond that though you have teams like Clear Fork always gives us fits.  You have River Valley still returns their pitching.  They did lose a couple, but they'll be solid.  Highland, the same thing, they were solid in the league last year.  Shelby is going to hit the ball all day long.  The bottom line is we just have got to be ready every game.  We can't take anybody lightly.  You can't take anything away from Marion Harding also, they have been improving every year. Galion has got a good freshman class in, so that is a little unknown what to expect with them.  I think they're definitely going to be better though.”

Published 3/24/22

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Ontario With a lot to Prove

          Ontario is expected to be one of the contenders in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference race this spring.

          They begin league play next Tuesday and Wednesday against defending champion Highland.

          Baseball coach Mike Ellis saw some improvement during high school spring training.  “With our first scrimmage last Monday we scrimmaged Colonel Crawford and I thought we played well at times.  There's always improvement that you can make that you see.  Considering that you know we really hadn't been outside that much, I thought we did alright,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Then a second scrimmage this past Saturday, you want to see improvement from your first scrimmage to your second and I did see that.  We scrimmaged Lucasville Valley and I just saw that they're ranked behind Wynford in division IV.  I knew that they were a good team that they had everybody back.  Two years ago, they went to state and last year they made it to the final eight.  So, I knew it was a good team, a good test and I saw improvement, but as a coach there's always things you can improve.”

          Ellis says when they scrimmaged Hillsdale on Monday, he thought they took a step back and they have been working on some things.  “We finished up this Monday against Hillsdale and I thought we took a couple steps backwards, but the good thing is we have got the rest of this week to try to correct those and get ready for Perkins on Saturday,” he said.

          Their first game of the season is at Sandusky Perkins, the favorite in the Lake Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference.

          Ontario is one of the picks in the “MOAC”, but Ellis has emphasized that they have done anything yet.  “I think with the expectations it's always good I believe because it's something to work for.  But as I have told them we haven't done anything yet.  We haven't proven anything yet.  That'll start on Saturday, but in the “MOAC” anybody can beat anybody.  Our non-conference schedule is really tough.  So, if we don't bring our “A” game it's going to be a long season for us.  So, it's just one game at a time and then we'll see where we're at at the end of the year, but expectations are always good it's a good motivator at times,” said Ellis.

Published 3/23/22

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Ontario With Amazing Rally Advances to Play Shelby

          Ontario rallied from a nine point fourth quarter deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Clear Fork Wednesday night and advance to play Shelby in a division II sectional final on Friday night back at Madison High School.

          The Warriors (13-10) trailed (56-47) with 3:12 left in the game on Wednesday night after Gage Weaver was assessed a double technical foul and kicked out of the game.  Grayson Purvis scored all five his points in the final 25 second to help the Warriors get the (62-59) win.

          Weaver will not play in the game against Shelby.

          Coach Tim Mergel says his kids just refused to lose.  “Hats off to them you know playing with some I guess you could say unorthodox lineups, out of timeouts our kids executed flawlessly.  After free throw situations, were able to apply pressure when needed, come up with 50/50 balls where we needed them.  Just and all out good effort.  A good reward for our kids for putting in the energy,” said Mergel.

          Mergel says when you find a way to win like that it should be a boost in your confidence.  “You like to think.  I mean you like to think that the kids walking off that floor felt pretty good and when they woke up got school this morning, they felt pretty good.  So, as long as we keep that feeling with us at least you know we hope to have a fighting chance come Friday,” he said.

          Now, Shelby and Ontario just played last Friday, with the Whippets (19-3) earning an outright Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title after routing the Warriors (74-43), leading (23-2) after the first quarter.

          Mergel says if they are going to compete in this game they have to at least contain the Whippets fast break, rebound better and an limit their turnovers.  “Yeah, they're really good.  They're good at every position.  They probably outmatch us at every position,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Probably no one's giving us a chance, but our kids I think will believe and I think they are believing.  We just have got to you know sure up some things like stopping the ball in transition and then winning the rebounding battle and not giving up live turnovers because as you know they can put up points in a hurry on you.”

Published 2/24/23

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Ontario, Clear Fork, a Third Time

          Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference foes Ontario and Clear Fork play at Mansfield Madison on Wednesday night in a division II sectional semifinal.

          They, of course, played twice during the regular season, with Ontario (12-10) winning both times, (82-22) on December 10 and (70-60) in overtime on January 27.

          Ontario coach Tim Mergel says they both know what each other is about.  “Definitely no surprises, I think everyone at this point in the season has shown their hand.  I'm sure there's a few wrinkles they're going to throw at us and maybe a few counter moves we'll throw at them, but for the most part it's five guys on the floor with our five versus their five,” he said.

          Clear Fork (6-16) has clearly shown improvement this season and Mergel says his opinion they are playing with more energy.  “They have got a better flow about them, a better energy.  I have said countless times basketball is a game that rewards energy and they're playing with a lot of it lately.  They're kind of searching for that I guess you could say a trademark win on the year and my guess is they have got this one circled that this could be it,” said Mergel.

          Mergel says they are going to be prepared for this game and he thinks Clear Fork will be too.  “It doesn't matter you know how you play you just have got to win by one.  There are crazy things that can happen in tournament, but we're going to do a good job preparing our guys for what they bring to the floor and I'm sure they're going to be prepared for us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “It should be a good environment.  I mean heck it's right down the road at Madison, so we both played in this year.  I think they were a little bit earlier than we were, so you know the surroundings are going to be somewhat familiar and obviously the teams playing each other and going to be familiar.”

          Now, Ontario has won some close games this year, and Mergel believes that might be in their corner on Wednesday.  “I think if you want to say any place that we may have an edge it probably is that we want some close ball games.  We had a tip in at the buzzer against them to send it overtime, we had a tip in to win in regulation against Colonel Crawford.  We pulled out some close league wins, so if there is any edge that that can be said that that might be for us, but you know the tables can turn at any moment,” Mergel.

Published 2/21/23

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Ontario Must Control Tempo

          Ontario tries to play the role of spoiler as they host Shelby in a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Friday.

          A win by the Whippets means they would have the title to themselves.  A win by the Warriors and Shelby might have to share it with River Valley.

          On Tuesday night, the Warriors lost a non-conference game to (49-44) to Bellevue.

          Coach Tim Mergel says they just could not make the plays in the end.  “They're just a little bit better than we were.  Our kids fought and had it done single possession game just couldn't quite get over the hump.  Bellevue made its free throws late.  It was one of those things where we just couldn't quite get over the hump,” he said.

          Mergel says playing games like Tuesday night make them a better team.  “That's the thing we were trying to key in on is we did a lot of positive things against Bellevue just the score didn't work out in our favor.  From game one to now the competition's been really, really good, the teams we've played have been really, really good.  We've gotten better so you know hopefully that trend continues into Shelby on Friday,” said Mergel.

          Ontario (12-9,8-5) entertains Shelby (18-3,12-1), #2 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division on Friday.  Shelby dropped one to Lexington, the Ohio Cardinal Conference leader, (66-59) on Tuesday night.

          Mergel says the Whippets do a lot of good things on both ends of the court.  “Obviously, they present a number of problems.  We've just got to take away a few of those.  I mean they have got three athletes that really just play above the rim, couple kids outside they can knock it down, a couple kids that can pull up in your face,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Transition wise they get out and run the floor well and they'll pressure in the 2-2-1 zone.  So, we've got to limit live ball turnovers.  We've got to control the glass a little bit and we've kind of got to get that pace at our pace.”

          Shelby won the first meeting (82-67) on January 13.

          To be successful against Shelby, Mergel says you have got to limit their runs.  “That's where we kind of got a little trouble in the first quarter with them.  They ran off 10,12 points in a row and you know we battled back and got it down to eight at the half, which I felt good about.  They hit another run on us and then we just didn't have enough quite enough steam to catch back up.  If you can limit those runs and kind of get them to play a little bit half court you're going to be in a better situation,” said Mergel.

Published 2/16/23

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Ontario Beats Colonel Crawford With Tip in

          Gage Weaver tipped in a miss at the buzzer to give Ontario a (40-38) win at Colonel Crawford in non-conference basketball on Saturday night at Mac Morrison Gym in North Robinson.

          They took their first lead (36-34) since it was (2-0) on a Gage Weaver basket with 1:36 to play in the game.  They held the Eagles scoreless in the fourth quarter until a Braxton Baker five footer in the lane with :35 to play in the contest, which got the Eagles to within two (38-36).  After an Eagles timeout, Ontario broke the Crawford pressure, but was called for a traveling violation on a two handed dunk attempt, giving the ball back to Colonel Crawford.  Trevor Vogt tied the game with two free throws with 6.9 seconds left, leading to the final sequence.

          Ontario coach Tim Mergel says he made the decision not to call a time out after the free throws.  “Obviously Colonel Crawford is very well disciplined defensively and you know to call it time out there and let them get set up defensively and talk strategy, I didn't think it was worth it.  So, just get it out let's go and (Grady) Schroeder had a nice drive to the basket and came up short, but in comes Gage Weaver, he's a kid that competes at a high level all the time and I'm a firm believer that basketball rewards energy and he got rewarded,” said Mergel.

          Colonel Crawford took a (6-4) lead on a Jacob Maddy lay in with 4:07 to play in the first quarter and led by as many as 10 at (16-6) on another Maddy hoop with 5:16 to play in the second quarter.  Ontario would cut it to six at (20-14) after a Bodpegn Miller three with 2:06 to play until halftime.  The Eagles lead (24-14) the half when Derek Horsley scored with three ticks left.

          However, they scored only 14 points the second half and four in the fourth quarter.

          Coach David Sheldon says they got good shots, they just couldn’t convert.  “We got great looks and we didn't finish and that's where it is.  Everybody’s going to talk about the last play, but we come out the third quarter with a good lead in the first four possessions we go empty.  We call time we make a run and then the fourth, we got shots in the hands of people we want and they didn’t go,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “That's the tough thing about the game of basketball.  The Weaver boys were pretty good (Saturday) night and they're good players.  That was great game for us, but it's a tough loss.  It was sort of the roller coaster this game like of our season when you look at it throughout the entire 21 games we've played so far.”

          Ontario scored the first seven points of the third quarter, punctuated with a Braxton Hall three to cut to (24-21) with 6:28 left in the third.

          Mergel was confident they could get back in it.  “Coming in at halftime, I told the kids, I didn't mind the position we were in.  Coach (Carl) Schnittke made some recommendations offensively.  We were just rushing things.  We were making extra passes like in the first couple minutes each quarter and finally got that momentum on our side,” he said.

          Colonel Crawford led (34-26) entering the final stanza and there were three goals on then first 5:30 of the quarter, all by Ontario, two of the them by Carter Weaver, to tie the game at (34-34) with 2:30 to play.

          Mergel says defensively, they tried a number of things defensively before they found something that kind of worked.  “That was a chess match out there.  We started off switching and they exploited us and they started going high, low.  When they got a mismatch, then we went no switch.  Then they were going dribble drive on us,” he told Swankonsports.com.  “At the very end there we were only switching ball screens, so it was a nice chess match between coach Sheldon and I and fortunately for us we made one more play.”

          Sheldon thought they were effective defensively.  He says it boiled down to not making shots.  “Overall to hold them to 40 points that's a good night.  I mean they're explosive, they shoot the three well, they have got the Weavers who can put it on the floor really well.  So, defensively it wasn't bad.  We just didn't convert at the offensive end and we got great looks all night.  We were watching and saying jeez oh petes, how is that not going?  It's tough loss, that's bottom line, but you have got to learn from it and move on to our last game next Friday night,” said Sheldon.

          Colonel Crawford (14-7,9-3) plays at Upper Sandusky in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game on Friday night.  Braxton Baker led the Eagles with 14 on the night.

          Carter Weaver had 17 for Ontario (12-8) to lead all scores.

          The Warriors will entertain Bellevue on Tuesday and Shelby on Friday night in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game.

          Mergel says Saturday night was a big win for them.  “This environment is second to none.  It’s an older gym and it's louder and heck in there, your kids can't hear and that's where you play just unstructured basketball at its best and I thought our kids did a fantastic job and you know moving forward we have got two tough opponents and then obviously that district is just a nightmare,” he said.

Published 2/11/23

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Ontario Must Play Their Game

          Ontario is a basketball team building some momentum as we land in the final weeks of the regular season.

          They have won their last five, including beating Galion (66-62) on Thursday and Marion Pleasant (57-54) on Saturday in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play.

          However, coach Tim Mergel says things about to get more challenging for them.  “We're playing pretty well.  We won some games in some close fashion, which is always good to be in those situations, but this weekend gets tough when you talk about Marion Harding and Colonel Crawford and both of them being on the road,” he said.

          Ontario (11-7,8-4) plays at Marion Harding (13-6,9-3), the third place team in the “MOAC”, on Friday night.  The Presidents lost (44-39) to Mt. Vernon in a non-conference game on Tuesday.

          Mergel says they are hard to guard and they crash the offensive glass.  “They control the pace so well and they attack the glass extremely hard.  I think one kid, I mean I could be mistaken on this if it wasn't a typo, but I wouldn't doubt it, one kid has 110 offensive rebounds on the year.  That just tells you a lot on why they're successful,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “When they get the lead they play at a pace that's difficult because they're hard to guard one-on-one.  They kind of spread you out.  We're going to have to play at our pace and then again not let them maintain a lead or space out a lead because it's difficult to play catch up with them.”

          Harding won the first matchup of the teams (63-47) on January 5 at Ontario.

          Mergel says that it’s important for them to get off to a good start, so they can get some confidence.  “It gives the kids a little bit you know comfortableness, a little bit of relaxation, especially on a court that's not our own.  I felt like we played right with them for three quarters when they were here, but obviously they are a different team on their home court.  Ww are excited to go over there and see what we could do this time around,” said Mergel.

          Colonel Crawford (14-5) hosts the Warriors for a non-conference game on Saturday.  Mergel says that will be another tough one.  “Well, they don't rebuild, they just reload.  They have got two kids over there in Baker and Maddy that play extremely hard and they could score in different kind of aspects.  They have got a point guard that kind of controls the game.  If you leave them open, they can knock it down.  Obviously, coach (David) Sheldon is going to have prepared and then they're set game should be pretty good so you have got to be prepared for them,” he said.

Published 2/10/23

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Ontario Plays Once Beaten Crestview

          Ontario plays three home games in five days this week beginning with once beaten Crestview in a non-conference play on Tuesday and then Galion on Thursday and Marion Pleasant on Saturday.

          Last Friday, Ontario beat Clear Fork (70-60) in overtime for an “MOAC” win.