Friday, October 11th, 2013

St. Marys blows out Van Wert for first WBL crown

By Robb Hemmelgarn
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard

St. Marys' boys soccer team celebrates after the Roughriders defeated Van Wert 8-0 to secure their first outright Western Buckeye League title.

ST. MARYS - If you heard deafening cheers and other celebratory commotion on the west end of St. Marys at around 9 p.m. on Thursday night, it was for good reason.
Following their 8-0 drubbing of the Van Wert Cougars, the Roughriders' boys soccer team and head coach Dave Ring secured the program's first Western Buckeye League title on the soccer field.
"This was our first goal at the beginning of the season," proclaimed Ring just a few seconds before he was doused with a bucket brigade of ice water. "We knew our schedule at the start of the season was going to be very difficult against several teams that have beaten us in the past. We played tough all season though, and I could not be prouder of this group of kids with what we accomplished tonight."
St. Marys senior Micah Johns proudly echoed Ring's comments.
"This is absolutely the best feeling in the world right now. It seems like this is something we have been working for forever. We have been so close other years and to get over that hump is an incredible feeling," said Johns. "Now we set the bar for the younger kids we have coming up to accomplish the same thing."
The Roughriders scored early and often against the Cougars, beginning with junior Zac Nelson punching in his teams' first goal less than nine minutes into the game. At the 24:04 mark of the first half, freshman Zach Lemmerman joined in on the excitement with his first of three goals on the evening. Nelson connected with another score midway through the first half, while sophomore Nathan Wilker pushed his team in front 4-0 with 13:06 remaining before halftime.
"We wanted to come out and score early and leave no doubt about what we wanted to achieve tonight," said Ring. "We respect Van Wert. It wasn't that long ago when we were in their shoes, but we definitely wanted to make tonight our night, especially for an outstanding group of seniors."
Just as in the first half, the Roughriders dominated the other end of the field in the second half and reignited their scoring barrage with two more scores from Lemmerman. The home team extended their lead to 7-0 when Van Wert inadvertently knocked one into the goal and closed things out in the final 10 seconds when senior Detrique Mines celebrated his senior night with the final score of the game.
"I am really excited to be able to say I was on the first St. Marys team to win the league soccer title," said Mines. "Shawnee prevented us from winning it last year and we opened the league season with them this season and beat them. That made us believe we could accomplish what we did tonight."
As the team knelt in front of Ring before chiming the victory bell and raising the WBL plaque, he addressed his squad one final time.
"We may win more titles here on the soccer field in years to come but no one except for the players on this team can ever say they were the first to do it. What an outstanding accomplishment."
The Roughriders improved to 11-1-3 overall and capped off their season in WBL play with a record of 7-0-2. They are back in action at home Saturday in the regular-season finale against Greenville at noon.
Additional online stories on this date
CELINA - Christopher Summers made an emotional plea in Mercer County Common Pleas Court Thursday afternoon, apologizing to the former student with whom he had a 28-month relationship and requesting probation so he could spend time with his family. [More]
Mercer County Soil and Water Conservation District board members reviewed three invalid allegations of improper manure application during their regular meeting Thursday. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
WAPAKONETA - Changes in office alignment, pay wages, income and special elections were among topics discussed Thursday during a meeting with state and Auglaize County leaders.
MONTEZUMA - A Montezuma man charged in Auglaize County with photographing minors in the nude also faces nine counts of illegally possessing firearms in Mercer County.
A 27-year-old Coldwater man received serious injuries Thursday night when his bicycle was struck from behind by a vehicle along state Route 118 south of the village.
Midwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Meet
COLDWATER - For the last two years, Coldwater was only the second school in Midwest Athletic Conference history to win both the boys' and girls' cross country championships.
MARIA STEIN - The Marion Local Flyers captured the 2013 Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball championship outright on Thursday night with a 25-19, 25-14 and 25-10 victory over the Minster Wildcats on Senior Night at The Hangar.
ELIDA - Celina's volleyball team opened the Western Buckeye League season in disappointing fashion but they closed the league slate in celebration.
Eldora Speedway puts the finishing touches on its 60th Anniversary season on Saturday night with the UNOH Sprintacular, an all-Sprint Car program featuring three different divisions of open wheel racing.
Local Roundup
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
New Bremen completed its regular season by going over the .500 mark in Midwest Athletic Conference play with a three-set sweep over Parkway on Thursday night at Cardinal Gymnasium.
COLDWATER - After dominating the first two sets, Coldwater had to rebound after a sluggish third set to come back and wrap up their best regular season in school history with a four-set win over rival St. Henry on Thursday night at The Palace.
Naturally speaking
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Geological Survey is sponsoring several fossil hikes during Earth Science Week in Ohio, Oct. 11-19.