by Gary Andrews

The Northfield boys basketball team got off to an extremely slow start against Bluffton Saturday, falling behind 21-7 after the first quarter in a 66-59 loss to the Tigers.

Bluffton out scored Northfield 12-10 in the second quarter to lead 33-17 before the Norse would start to chip away. Northfield won the third quarter 22-21 then made a run in the fourth, out scoring the Tigers 20-12 but the first quarter deficit was to much to overcome in the loss.

by Gary Andrews

It was just one of those nights for the Northfield girls’ basketball team as they played host to county rival Southwood. Northfield shot 50 percent for the night and 64 percent from behind the arch in a 53-39 win.

Abby Keaffaber got things going when she drained the first shot of the night from three point land to give Northfield a 3-0 lead. Brooke Elliott would answer with a bucket, but the first quarter would belong to the Norse. Jacklyn Peas answered Elliott’s bucket with one of her own and was followed by Payton Thomson draining a three to put Northfield up 8-2. A Katie Souffer rebound bucket made it 8-4 when Keaffaber and Arie Kennedy hit back to back, making it 12-4. After another Stouffer bucket Peas would score off an offensive rebound and Cherish Leming would end the quarter with a bucket as Northfield led 16-6.

Brooke Elliott would get the scoring going in the second, but was answered by a Cherish Leming three and a free throw to make it 20-8. The Norse would then go on an 11-2 run that opened a 31-10 before Elliott got it stopped with two free throws. During the run Thomson hit a three with Abby Keaffaber scoring three times. At 31-12 Thomson would find the range behind the arch one more time as Northfield took a 34-12 lead to the locker room.

As cold as Southwood was in the first half, just the opposite happened the first four minutes of the third quarter as the Lady Knights scored the first 10 points of the quarter to cut the Northfield lead to 34-22 with 3:59 left. Payton Thomson would then bang home her third three pointer of the night and was followed by a Jacklyn Peas bucket to make it 39-22. Haley Heath and Arie Kennedy would trade buckets with Brooke Elliott hitting the final bucket of the quarter with Northfield leading 41-26 with a quarter to go.

by Gary Andrews

The Southwood varsity boys’ basketball team traveled to Greentown Saturday to take on Eastern, falling 74-72 to the Comets.

Down 17 going into the 4th quarter the Knights hit 5 three’s in the 4th to close to one at 73-72 with 13 seconds left. The Knights then had the ball, down two points with 5 seconds left. A three-point attempt by Alex Harmon did not fall as Eastern held on for the win.

Harmon did score 10 points in the 4th quarter. Matt Nose scored 11 points in the 4th quarter.

Wabash High School recently released the names of the 2015 Hall of Fame Class. The 2015 class includes Lee Showalter (1927), Robert Schuler (1930), Tammy Reahard (1987) and Tim LaMar (1999).

This group will be inducted between games on Jan. 17, when the girls’ basketball teams play Manchester. Wabash High School is still looking for a family member for Lee Showalter. If anyone has information on Lee Showalter, they should call the Wabash Athletic Department at 260-563-4138.

by Gary Andrews

The Wabash girls’ basketball team traveled to Rochester Saturday to battle the 3A, #8 Zebras on their home court, giving the host fits for a half before a cold third quarter by the Apaches resulted in a 49-44 loss.

Wabash played right with Rochester in the first, trailing just 12-10 at the first buzzer, then doubled up on the Zebras 10-5 in the second to take a 20-17 lead at the half.

Cold shooting haunted the Lady Apaches in the third as Rochester out scored Wabash 20-8 to lead 37-28 heading to the fourth, which the Apaches won 16-12 before running out of time in their comeback attempt.

Claire Cromer led the Lady Apaches with 18 points. Kristin Cromer added 9, Sarah Puckett 7, Jaycee Parrett 4, Shelby Stone 4, Madison Barden 2.

by Gary Andrews

The Southwood boys’ basketball team made a run at Huntington Friday, giving the Vikings all they wanted the first half before falling 74-50.

The youthful Knights went toe to toe with the Vikings for a half, at one time leading in the second quarter. Southwood fell behind early but a bucket from Alex Harmon and a three from Carson Blair knotted the score at 6 when a Viking 13-5 run ended the quarter with Huntington leading 19-11.

Playing a 4A school on their home court and trailing after one you can either give up or play like there is nothing to lose. The Knights chose the second option and behind hot shooting from Robbie Cole and Carson Blair mounted a comeback and took a 27-26 lead on a Brandin Frazier bucket. The taller Vikings bounced back and eventually led 36-29 at the half.

Things went south for the Knights in the third quarter as they struggled to find the bucket and keep Huntington away from theirs, losing the quarter 21-7 and trailing 57-36 after three.

Southwood would play right with the Vikings in the fourth, losing the quarter 17-14 for the 74-50 final.

Leading Southwood was Robbie Cole with 12 points. Alex Harmon added 10, Matt Nose 8, Noah Kirk 8, Carson Blair 6, Peyton Trexler 2, Brandin Frazier 2, Clay Hinrishsen 2.

by Emily Armentrout

On Sunday, Nov. 30, following the Indianapolis Colts vs. the Washington Redskins game at Lucas Oil Stadium, two Southwood Elementary football teams, the Steelers and the Colts, joined a team from Oak Hill to play their own games on the gridiron.

The Southwood Steelers, coached by Matt Whitesel, and the Southwood Colts, coached by Ed Rathbun, joined Oak Hill coach, Mark Stefanatos, on the sidelines, coaching their 4th and 5th grade teams in a once in a lifetime experience.

“Mark Stefanatos arranged for both Southwood teams to play at Lucas Oil Stadium. We were able to go down as a team and watch the game, and then play on the field afterwards. It was an experience of a lifetime for my boys,” Rathbun told The Paper.

“It was a great opportunity and opened their eyes to play at a bigger venue. Not many kids get to go to an NFL game and run out the tunnel. It was a once in a lifetime experience,” added Whitesel.

Each Southwood team played against the Oak Hill team. The Steelers and Oak Hill were locked in a slugfest, neither team able to score in the shootout game style. For the Colts, getting kids on the field who hadn’t seen much game play during the season took precedence.

“We played well but my coaches and I didn’t go down in competitive mode. We had a successful regular season and we went into this with one agenda, and that was to have fun,” Rathbun explained.

The Southwood Steelers beat the Southwood Colts, 7-0.

by Gary Andrews

The Manchester boys basketball team took a major hit this week when leading scorer Chase Fierstos went down with a broken foot. The Squires regrouped and went to work with out their leader Friday, defeating Wawasee 44-37.

The Squires trailed 9-8 after the first stop, perhaps with everyone learning a new role. Manchester got two buckets each from Chainey Zolman and Braydon Sewell.

Manchester got going in the second quarter with Koehl Fluke and David McAtee getting in on the action. Manchester won the quarter 14-8 with Fluke draining a three and McAtee hitting one. Chainey Zolman led the Squires in the quarter with 6 points. Manchester led 22-17 at the half.

For the third quarter in a row the Manchester defense held Wawasee to single digit scoring, winning the quarter 10-9 to increase their lead to 32-26 with a quarter to go. Freshman Koehl Fluke led the way with 5 points, including a three pointer while Chainey Zolman and Keelan Norwood each had a bucket.

The Squires would not let Wawasee get any closer as they out scored the visitors 12-11 in the fourth. Chainey Zolman led the fourth quarter charge with 7 points. Koehl Fluke added 5.

Chainey Zolman led the Squires with 19 points. Koehl Fluke added 14, Braydon Sewell 4, David McAtee 2.

Manchester won the junior varsity game 47-39.

Kane Gable led the Squires with 14 points. Bailey Ness added 11.

Manchester fell in the C team game to Oak Hill 37-32.

Hayes Sturtsman had 12 points, Parker Yard 8, Jake Schannep 4, Braydon Lassitor 4, Nathan Self 2, Braxton Wilson 2.