Category Archives: Sports

Okaw Valley’s Fritz Signs Letter with Rend Lake College

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•December 20, 2017•

Photo furnished

By Jason Brown
NP Sports

This summer on July 15 Garrett Fritz made a pledge to continue his baseball career at Rend Lake College next fall.

The senior standout made it official Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in Bethany when he signed his letter of intent.

“It was a good offer so I couldn’t really turn it down,” said Fritz. “And I talked to all my coaches and parents, and it just turned out to be the right fit for me.”

“He is one of the most competitive young men I have been around,” said OV baseball coach Andrew Hagerman, “and I can tell you Rend Lake, as much as they may think they know about him now, landed a gem here. I look forward to his senior year here and following his success at the next level.” Read More

A Night Filled with Bad Shots Haunts Timberwolves

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Photo by R.R. Best
Austin Hill passes the ball against Central A&M Friday.

•December 20, 2017•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports

The Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team snapped its 3-game winning streak with a nonconference loss to Central A&M Friday.

A poor shooting night caught up with the Timberwolves as they fell behind 33-12 at the half and could not recover for the eventual 52-25 loss.

“The key stat for us was that we couldn’t make shots,” said Okaw Valley coach Brooks Inman. “We were 1-for-18 from 3-point range, and that will not get the job done.”

Jared Bunfill led OV with eight points, and Austin Hill had six.

Sam Hagerman and Ty Nichols scored five and four points, in that order, and Hutson Dickens added a bucket.

“We held them to 52 points, and they average over 70 points per game on the season,” Inman said. “Our defensive effort was good enough. We just did not execute offensively the way we would like.” Read More

Injured OV Team Scores Three Wins in a Row

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•December 13, 2017•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports

Despite being bitten by the injury bug these past couple weeks, the Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team won its third game in a row with wins over Sullivan and Tri-County.

The Timberwolves were working as a tight pack when pressuring Sullivan last Tuesday night.

OV’s full-court and ¾-court pressure forced several Sullivan turnovers in the first half.

The Timberwolves were able to convert the turnovers into easy points.

OV jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game and extended that lead to 12-2 when Trey Yarnell hit a 3-pointer with just over two minutes left in the game.

Sullivan cut that lead to 12-9 to start the second quarter, but OV took a 19-11 halftime lead. Read More

ALAH Girls Start Slowly with Win over VG

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•December 13, 2017•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports

The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond girls’ basketball team ended this past week with a 1-2 record, a win against Villa Grove and losses to Mattoon and Kansas/Shiloh/Oakland.

“We can’t expect to step on the floor and think we will be able to compete,” said ALAH coach Mac Condill. “We need to establish ourselves at tipoff or else we should continue to expect to start slowly.”

Against Villa Grove Thursday, the Knights took a 2-point lead into the second quarter where they outscored Villa Grove 21-12.

The Blue Devils battled back in the third to outscore ALAH 16-9, but the Knights were able to hold off Villa Grove for a 54-51 win. Read More

Okaw Valley Girls Hit Threes to Propel Win

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•December 13, 2017•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports

Okaw Valley girls’ basketball team split a pair of games this past week, defeating Martinsville Monday night and losing to Altamont Thursday night.

Monday night against Martinsville, eight Timberwolves scored at least three points to help propel OV to a 57-26 victory.

OV outscored Martinsville 23-4 in the first quarter and did not allow a point in the entire second quarter. Read More

ALAH Knights Squeeze by Tuscola in Overtime

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ALAH Knight Kobe Wells had a good game with 13 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

•December 13, 2017•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports

The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond boys’ basketball team split a pair of games this past week.

The Knights defeated Tuscola last Tuesday but lost to Toledo-Cumberland Friday.

Against Tuscola, ALAH had to outscore the Warriors 12-9 in overtime to win a close 50-47 game.

“We did a fantastic job rebounding on both ends of the floor,” said ALAH coach Dale Schuring. “We competed well and handled adversity when it came our way.”

The Knights out-rebounded Tuscola 53-42.

ALAH shot only 33 percent from the field and 22 percent from behind the arc but was able to finish on top at the end of the back-and-forth game.

“We were able to get good shots but shot very poorly all night,” said Schuring.

Will Cohan led the team with 15 points, four assists and four steals. He also had three rebounds. Read More

Sullivan Redskins Take Villa Grove Heritage

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•December 13, 2017•

The Sullivan boys’ basketball team finished 1-2 this past week with a win against Villa Grove/Heritage and losses to Neoga and Okaw Valley.

Against Villa Grove/Heritage, Sullivan extended a 4-point lead in the second quarter by outscoring VGH 11-3.

The Redskins pulled away in the third quarter with an 18-4 run and then held on for the 47-24 win.

Caden Ellis scored a team-high 14 points, and Ian Plank added nine points. Read More

Obituaries 12-13-2017: Hope Snyder

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Hope Snyder

Hope F. Snyder, 91, of Bethany passed away at 3:04 p.m. Saturday, December 9, 2017 in Aspen Creek in Sullivan.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, December 17 in McMullin-Young Funeral Home in Bethany. Visitation will be from 1–3 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home in Bethany. Burial will be in Marrowbone Township Cemetery in Bethany.  Read More

Dash Honored

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•December 13, 2017•

Shelby Dash, a senior at Central College in Pella, Iowa, has been honored for her contributions to the college volleyball team. Dash of Bethany is a graduate of  Okaw Valley High School. She was awarded a varsity letter.

Coach Jeanne Czipri awarded 15 varsity letters during the team’s recent awards banquet.

Sullivan Girls Pick Up Two Conference Wins

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•December 13, 2017•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports

The Sullivan girls’ basketball team picked up two Central Illinois Conference wins this past week.

Monday night the Redskins toppled Meridian and Thursday defeated Warrensburg-Latham.

Against Meridian, Sullivan took a 13 point lead into the second quarter and extended that lead to 19 points at the half.

The Redskins continued extending the lead in the second half, including a 20-5 third-quarter run, to eventually win 59-20.

Sullivan totaled 35 total team rebounds and 26 steals.  Read More