ELIDA – It started to look like the game was on instant replay.
Elida midfielder Eben Jackson kept getting breakaways and continually set up his teammates for goals.
The sophomore Jackson helped power Elida to a 9-1 victory over Lima Central Catholic in a boys soccer match Saturday afternoon at Elida.
Jackson ended up with one goal and four assists.
Most of Jackson’s assists came on breakaway runs down the right flank. He then dribbled into the box and fed the ball to a teammate just in front of the goal box.
“I saw an opportunity and took it down,” Jackson said. “I went around them with some speed, then crossed it in. Usually, my teammates are there to help me out and get the assist. Really, that’s my job.’’
Elida’s Gabe Adcock had a three-goal hat trick.
Aiden Crites had two goals for Elida.
Ethan Ramsdail and Gavin Risner both had one goal for Elida.
Cole Rhinehart had LCC’s goal.
Elida is 4-2-1. LCC is 2-6.
Elida led 8-0 at the half and cruised home from there.
Elida outshot LCC 18-3.
“Good for our forwards to find the back of the net today,” Elida coach Tom Thomas said. “Overall, the boys did well today.’’
Elida had seven corner kicks, while LCC had one.
LCC’s defense kept creeping up and Elida spent most of the first half getting breakaway chances.
“I think that probably can be contributed to how they were set up, defensively, and we exploited it,” Thomas said. “We were able to get balls in behind (their defense) and were fortunate to finish them.’’
Elida goalkeeper Camden Howard had one save.
LCC goalkeepers Michael Sherrick and Noah Wilson combined for eight saves.
Elida played without four injured starters, including its leading scorer Ethan Thomas (sprained knee), who missed his fifth straight game.
LCC played without two players, including goalkeeper Oli Bruno.
The game wasn’t three minutes old when Elida scored first.
Elida’s Ben Osmon made a left-to-right cross into the heart of the box and Jackson gave it a one-touch shot into the net from 10-yards out.
Suddenly, Elida had a 1-0 lead with 37:40 in the first half.
Just about two minutes later, at the 35:05 mark of the first half, Adcock had a steal and a breakaway near midfield.
Adcock dribbled just inside the box, to 16-yards away, and fired a low liner into the net.
That gave Elida a 2-0 lead.
Elida pushed its lead to 3-0 on an own goal at the 29:36 mark of the first half. Jackson had the cross and an LCC defender tried to clear it, but it ended up in the back of the net.
Jackson’s first assist of the day came on a pass to Adcock inside the box. Adcock fired the shot from 6-yards out just inside the left post for the goal.
That gave Elida a 4-0 lead with 28:14 left in the first half.
“Eben did well today. That’s what we want out of our outside mids (midfielders),” Thomas said. “We want them to get the ball into the box and hopefully we can find the back of the net.’’
Next it was Elida’s Risner getting loose on a breakaway and scoring from 12-yards out.
That grew the Elida lead to 5-0 with 20:04 in the first half.
The Bulldogs then scored three straight goals on passes through the box by Jackson.
The first came on a Jackson-to-Adcock pass to make it 6-0. Adcock connected from 6-yards out to give him the hat trick with 6:34 left in the first half.
Next, Jackson gobbled up a loose ball at midfield and dribbled into the box. He put a move around a defender and sent a pass to the foot of Crites, who scored from 6-yards out.
That made it 7-0 Elida at the 1:30 mark of the half.
And Jackson wasn’t done yet.
With 11 seconds left in the half, Jackson again dribbled his way down the right side of the box and sent a pass to Ramsdail, who scored and it was 8-0.
Elida led 9-0 when LCC’s Rhinehart scored with 6:05 to go.
Ethan Thomas is expected to return in a few weeks and other Bulldogs should be returning, as well.
“Once we get healthy, I think we can be a pretty good team this year,” Thomas said.
Ottoville 10,
Cory-Rawson 0
Trey Landwehr, Quinton Schnipke and Kellen Schlagbaum had two goals each and Jayden Saxton, Preston Mansfield, Alex Leis and Jackson Ricker each had a single tally.
Oakwood 3, Shawnee 0
DAYTON — The Indians fell to 3-1-1 on the season.
Miller City 2, Van Buren 0
Talon Heuerman and CJ Lehman each had goal, Ethan Barlage contributed an assist and Lane Pester made eight saves to earn the shutout in goal.
Fort Jennings 7,
Wapakoneta 1
WAPAKONETA — Kyle Beach had three goals and Austin Bump had two tallies. Wapak’s Connor Coffey and Logan Lee and Fort Jennings’ Brandt Menke each had a single goal.
Girls soccer
Shawnee 0,
Liberty-Benton 0
Chloe Lance made four saves in goal for Shawnee (5-0-1).
Elida 2, Anna 0
Analei Jackson had two goals, Hannah Jones and Jojo Knight each had an assist and Leah Ramirez finished with four saves to earn the shutout in goal.
Allen East 3, Indian Lake 3
Rilynn Jones had two goals and an assist and Aubrey Young had a goal and two assists for Allen East.
Riverdale 1, Bluffton 0
BLUFFTON — Julia Mehaffie had four saves for the host Pirates.
Celina 7, Maumee 1
Isabella Duenas had three goals and Allana Carroll had two tallies. Taylor Klingshirn and Kenlee Holstad each had a single tally also for Celina.
Continental 1, Defiance 0
Bryn Belcher had Continental’s goal and teammate Marissa Becher made a save in goal.
Volleyball
Pioneer Days
Invitational
KALIDA — Liberty-Benton defeated Wayne Trace 25-18, 25-23 in the championship match. St. Marys topped Fairview 16-25, 25-19, 25-23 in the third place match. Delphos St. John’s defeated Kalida 22-25, 25-23, 25-11 for fifth place and Bath triumphed against North Central for seventh (no scores recorded)
In other matches involving area teams, Wayne Trace defeated Kalida, 25-9, 25-15, St. Marys triumped against North Central, 25-15, 25-5, Fairview stopped Delphos St. John’s, 25-13, 25-6, Liberty-Benton turned back Bath, 25-13, 25-6, Kalida got past North Central, 25-13, 25-19, Delphos St. John’s defeated Bath (no scores recorded) and Wayne Trace topped St. Mary’s, 24-26, 25-23, 25-17.
Against North Central, Brooke Erhart had seven kills and three aces, Elyse Romes had six kills, Maria Gerding had 18 assists and six digs and Riley Nienberg had six digs for Kalida.
Against Wayne Trace, Whitney Unverferth had 10 digs for Kalida.
Against Delphos St. John’s, Brooke Erhart had seven kills, Maria Gerding had 11 assists, Riley Nienberg had five aces and Whitney Unverferth had 17 digs.
Elida 2, LCC 1
WAPAKONETA — The Bulldogs won 21-25 25-9 25-15.
Addisyn Freeman had 14 kills and five aces, Addysen Sneary had 26 assists and Abby Kristoff had eight kills for Elida. LCC individual stats were not reported by deadline.
Elida 2, Lima Senior 0
WAPAKONETA — The Bulldogs won 25-18, 25-18. Addisyn Freeman had eight kills, Abby Kristoff had five kills and two aces aces and Addysen Sneary had 15 assists for Elida.
Wapakoneta 2, Lima Senior 0
WAPAKONETA — The Redskins won 25-4, 25-9. No individual stats were reported by deadline.
Continental 3,
Temple Christian 2
CONTINENTAL — The Pirates won 20-25,17-25,27-25,25-22,15-9. Delaney Bowers had 13 kills and 28 digs, Macie Cordes had 17 digs and four aces, Teaghan McDougle had 33 assists and 15 digs, Lauren Williams had seven kills, 21 digs and five aces and Rhaegan Marshall had 19 kills and 12 digs for Continental.
Cecelia Worsham had 25 kills, four aces, 28 digs and three blocks, Emily Bontrager had 15 assists, four aces and 12 digs, Grace Korwin had three aces, Jessica Holloway had 11 kills and 21 digs and Kaylee Linhart had 25 assists and nine digs for Temple Christian.
Shawnee 3, Ottoville 0
OTTOVILLE — The Big Green won 25-9, 25-13, 25-21. Erica Thorbahn had 16 asssits, Elisa Kramer had 11 kills and Kara Burgei had four digs for Ottoville. Kyra Vermillion and Kelly Cooper each had nine kills, Grace Freiberger had 17 digs and Addie Maxwell had 18 assists for Shawnee.
Celina 3, Minster 0
The Bulldogs won 25-14, 25-9, 25-10. Brooklyn Bourne had eight kills, 15 digs and four aces, Amelia Lutz had seven aces, Payton Bertke had 16 assists and Sarah Giesige had four aces. Kayla Lamm had five kills, Lilly Barhorst had four kills, Brooklyn Osterioh had five assists and Macy Prenger had seven digs for Minster.
Fort Loramie 3,
New Knoxville 0
NEW KNOXVILLE — The Rangers lost 25-14, 25-16, 26-17. No individual stats were reported.
Coldwater 3, Defiance 0
DEFIANCE — The Cavaliers won 25-12, 25-17, 25-16. Jenna Leugers had 19 assists, Mia Knapke had 18 assists, Madison Wendel had eight digs and three solo blocks, Spencer Etzler had 11 kills, 11 digs and four aces and Morgan Blasingame had 10 kills for Coldwater.
Cross country
Tiffin Carnival
TIFFIN — Minster (136) finished second behind team champ Fort Loramie (126) in the girls Division III Varsity race. Fort Recovery was 10th (307). Minster’s Taylor Roth finished 10th (19 minutes, 47.5 seconds) behind race winner Macie Miller (18.26.6) from Old Fort.
Ottawa-Glandorf (144) was sixth and Lincolnview was ninth in the Girls D-II-A Varsity race behind champ Lexington (76). O-G’s Alexa Fortman (19:36.6) was seventh behind race winner Kayla Gonzales (18:51.8) from Shelby.
Columbus Grove (221) was third and Marion Local (236), Minster (246), Lincolnview (291), Bluffton (304) and New Bremen (341) were sixth through 10th behind team champ Ottawa Hills (93) in the boys D-III A Varsity race.
Bluffton’s Erik Nygaard (fourth, 16:18), Fort Recovery’s Trevor Heitkamp (fifth, 16:28.1) and Bluffton’s Landon Armstrong (seventh, 16:35.5) all finished in the top 10 behind race winner Brylan Holland (15:47.4) from East Canton.
Ottawa-Glandorf (243) was sixth and Van Wert (302) was ninth in the boys D-II Varsity race behind champion Carroll (72). St. Marys’ Tyler Birt (16:56) was top area finisher in 14th place. Carroll’s Jack Agnew (15:50.1) was the race winner.
Colleges
Football
Ohio Northern 28, Capital 13
COLUMBUS — Senior Trevor McConnell threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth to help the Ohio Northern football team to a 28-13 victory at Capital on Saturday night at Bernlohr Stadium.
The Polar Bears improve to 1-1 overall and in the 1-0 Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Comets fall to 0-2, 0-1.
McConnell finished the day 16-of-27 passing for 174 yards and three TDs.
Senior Josh Bever led the strong Polar Bear defensive effort with seven tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.
The Polar Bears turned a pair of early interceptions into a 14-0 lead just 4:46 into the contest.
Senior Jevon Taylor had the first interception 38 seconds into the contest, giving ONU the ball at the Comet 32-yard line.
Six plays later, senior Trevor McConnell (Detroit, Mich./Cranbrook) connected with senior Nick Tangeman (Marion Local) on a 5-yard touchdown and it was 7-0 with 11:55 left in the first quarter.
Sophomore Austin Colon intercepted CU on the next play from scrimmage and Northern had the ball at the Capital 11.
McConnell snuck in from one yard out with 10:44 left in the period to give ONU a 14-0 lead.
Cu trimmed the lead to 14-6 at intermission with a pair of 24-yard field goals in the last 2:05 left of the half.
A 44-yard pick-6 brought the Comets within 14-13 just 1:24 into the third quarter.
McConnell hit senior Davey Berner on a 6-yard touchdown pass to extend the Polar Bear lead to 21-13 with 1:07 left in the third quarter.
McConnell hit senior Jack DiMario on a 7-yard touchdown pass to put Ohio Northern ahead 28-13 with 8:11 left in the game to end the scoring.
“We showed a great deal of poise in the second half when momentum was against us,” ONU head coach Dean Paul said. “Our offense matured in the second half and we had two nice drives to put the game away. Our defense was outstanding all night.”
Senior Austin Eick (Rossford) caught five passes for 80 yards for ONU.
Ohio Northern outgained Capital 311-182 in total offense.
Albion 51, Bluffton 1
ALBION, Mich. — Josh Neuberger tackled Albion’s Eric Johnson the end zone for a safety for Bluffton’s only points.
Women’s golf
ONU second
at invitational
MARSHALL, Mich. — Ohio Northern opened its fall season with a second place finish at the 16-team Olivet (Mich.) Kyle Campbell Memorial Invitational at The Medalist Golf Club.
The Polar Bears (14-1 overall) finished with a 327-327—654 on the 36-hole tournament. Bethel (Ind.) won the team title with a 318-306—624. Junior Grace Honigford (80-76—156) and sophomore Amelia Burger (78-84—162) each posted top-10 finishes to lead ONU.
Women’s cross country
Polar Bears finish first
SPRINGFIELD — Ohio Northern earned its second straight victory to open the season Sat the Wittenberg Invitational at the Clark County Fairgrounds.
The Polar Bears (10-0 overall) won the team title, scoring 40 points to place first of 10 teams. Wittenberg was second with 62 points, and Baldwin Wallace was third with 84 points.
Fifth-year senior Tessa Pitcovich led Northern across the finish line, finishing fifth overall with a time of 23:31.4 on the 6,000-meter course.
Men’s cross country
Ohio Northern triuimphs
SPRINGFIELD — Ohio Northern earned its second straight victory to open the at the Wittenberg Invitational at the Clark County Fairgrounds.
The Polar Bears (12-0 overall) won the team title, scoring 42 points to place first of 10 teams. Denison was second with 73 points, and Baldwin Wallace was third with 83 points.
Sophomore Trey Masterson led Northern across the finish line, finishing fifth overall with a career-best time of 26:44.7 on the 8,000-meter course.
Volleyball
2-0 day for ONU
MOUNT BERRY, Ga. — Ohio Northern closed out its slate in the Berry (Ga.) Invitational with a 3-1 win over Covenant (Ga.) and a 3-0 victory over Oglethorpe (Ga.) at the Cage Center.
The Polar Bears (5-2 overall) went 2-1 in the event after falling 3-0 to No. 11 Berry (Ga.) on Friday.
Northern opened play Saturday with a 22-25, 25-16, 25-18, 25-22 win over Covenant (1-6 overall).
The Polar Bears followed that with a 26-24, 25-19, 25-10 sweep of Oglethorpe (5-2 overall).
Bluffton drops 2
BLUFFTON — The Bluffton University women’s volleyball team fell to Baldwin Wallace (3-1) and John Carroll (3-1) on day two of the Spiketacular. Bluffton slipped to 5-3 on the season, while the Yellow Jackets improved to 4-2 and the Blue Streaks moved to 5-2.
Women’s soccer
Bluffton 7,
Grace Christian 5
WYOMING, MI — Bluffton University secured avictory against Grace Christian. The Beavers improved to 1-2-1. Grace dropped to 1-4.
The Tigers put a score on the board first (1-0) just over five minutes into play. Bluffton answered back with four straight goals when Nina McGinn and Alyssa Kester both netted two tallies apiece to give the visitors a 4-1 lead. A Grace Christian goal made it 4-2, but Kelsie Gladieux found the back of the net, assisted by Taylor Dye and Alyssa Potteiger, to make the score 5-2 going into the half.
Dye opened the second half with her first goal of the season to put the Beavers up 6-2 early. Grace responded with a shot in the net, trimming their deficit to three (6-3). McGinn found the webbing for a third time in the match, opening a commanding 7-3 lead with the first Beaver hat trick since Ashley Keller accomplished that feat against Earlham back in 2015! Despite two more goals from the Tigers, it was too little, too late, and Bluffton nailed down its first victory of the season.
Beaver goalkeeper Brielle Collier picked up her first win of the season with four saves. Two Tiger netminders saw time on the field, tallying a total of 11 saves between them. Bluffton outshot Grace 23-10 (18-9 on goal). The visiting team forced three more corner kicks (6-3), but the winners were also whistled for four more fouls (8-4).
Tom Usher wrote about the Lima Central Catholic-Elida boys soccer match for The Lima News. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
