Chillicothe’s Jalen Jones is in Tampa, Florida for the Blue-Grey National All Star Classic. The game will be played at Raymond James Stadium Saturday night at
8pm.

The versatile corner back-running back-kick returner had 7 interceptions for the Cavaliers last fall and was selected team MVP for Ron Hinton’s team.

Jones will wear #5 for the North squad which will consist of players from New York, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Illinois, California and the New England states.

The game will be carried by FOX Sports Florida “Prep Zone” live at 8pm Saturday.

The Chillicothe Girls’ Soccer season was cut short by DeSales 3-0 at Upper Arlington High School in the D2 Regional Semi-final.

Opportunities were few and far between as the Lady Stallions served up 26 shots on goal to just three by the Cavs.

Chillicothe’s approach was a slower tempo, possession offensive style while DeSales (14-4-2) countered with a high-pressure, very direct attack.

The Stallions scored their first two goals within four minutes in the first half. Alexander Shively sent a corner kick to the mouth of the goal and Alexis Neri put the ball in the back of the net at 22:17. Off another kick from the left corner, Lindsey Bowman put a foot on the kick which sailed behind the Cavs defensive set and it was 2-0 at 18:12.

Cavs coach Zach Breth said it was uncharacteristic of his team. “We gave up probably 8 corners all season, and gave up 8 in the first half and that’ll get ya.”

DeSales attack was relentless, allowing them to control the tempo and break down the Cavs defense.

“We just got beat on a couple of set pieces and one transition goal… that’s the way it goes.”

The Cavs inability to mount an attack led to the Stallions’ keep away approach in the second half. DeSales’ determination was rewarded with a breakaway goal by Megan McCabe at 14:49. Cavs goalkeeper Kaitlyn Cunningham extended her defense and McCabe got around her for an open net for the 3-0 lead.

“It was a faster game, similar to the Pickerington Central game (earlier in the season) the pace was definitely faster than what we’ve seen this season.” said Brerh, who led the Cavs to a 14-4 season.

It was the final game in Blue and White Kasey Crow, Jordan Matthews, Lindsey Schobelock and Baylee Stark who before coach Breth was hired in late July, held team practices and kept the group together during the summer.

If anything, the younger Cavaliers gained some valuable experience with the post season run. Breth added “We only had four seniors and two juniors, you’ve got a lot of underclassmen on the field… the experience of making it to the Regionals, seeing this type of a game, being here, being a part of it should pay off for seasons down the road for sure.”

DeSales advances to the Regional Championship game at Zanesville this Saturday.

 WBEX Postgame Zach Breth Cavs-DeSales

The CHS Girls soccer team will play St. Francis DeSales in the OHSAA Regional Semi Finals on Wednesday, November 2 at Upper Arlington High School (1650 Ridgeview Road, Columbus, Ohio).

A ticket for the bus trip is just $5 per person.

Chillicothe Athletic Director Garin Veris says there must be at least 40 passengers for the trip or the bus trip will be cancelled. 

Students will need to have a permission slip from their parents to make the trip.

The bus will depart from Hatton Memorial Gymnasium at 5:15 pm. 

The game starts at 7:00 pm and game tickets may be purchased at the site for $6. 

To reserve your spot on the bus, you must call the CHS Athletic Office at (740) 702-2287 extension 2550 before 5 pm on Tuesday, November 1. 

For the first time since 2004, Chillicothe is headed back to the Regional Girls Soccer tournament to face St. Francis DeSales Wednesday at Upper Arlington High School.

The Lady Cavs kicked their way past Unioto 3-1 for the Division 2 District championship Saturday at Jackson’s Alumni Stadium.

The win avenges a 6-1 Chillicothe loss at Unioto October 11^th.

The Lady Cavs ended a 32 minute scoreless struggle when Jordan Matthews advanced a pass to Lindsey Schobelock who booted the ball into the goal with 7:55 remaining in the first half for a 1-0 lead. SEOAL Player of the Year Kasey Crow attacked the box just 3:29 later. The ball rebounded off the chest of Shermans goalkeeper Ashley Flautt back to Crow who sent the shot just inside the right goal post to put Chillicothe ahead 2-0 before the break.

The Cavs had the advantage in time of possession and had 17 shots on goal.

Unioto had limited opportunities, but cut the Cavs’ lead to 2-1 at 34:52 of the second half off a shot by Kyleen Muirhead. Later, Muirhead had a goal waved off which would have tied the game at 2-2. Morgan Gumm, kicking from the left corner, centered the ball in front of the Chillicothe goal. Cavs goalkeeper Kaitlyn Cunningham appeared to momentarily make a save but the ball skipped through her grasp and rolled into the goal off Muirhed’s header. The goal was disallowed however when the officials ruled Cunnigham was bumped into which dislodged the ball from her grasp.

Minutes later, Schobelock worked the ball between two Shermans defenders and gave Chillicothe an insurance score just 8 yards from the goal at 15:22.

It was the third District final appearance for the Shermans (12-3-3) in the six-year history of the program.     

The win gives Chillicothe (14-3-0) a 3-2 series lead in their battle with Unioto.

A touching move by Chillicothe officials, former Cavs coach Pam Allen was asked to issue the Cavs District Champion medals to her former players. Allen stepped aside from coaching the Cavs while her husband battled cancer. She led the Cavs to their last regional appearance.  

Chillicothe meets DeSales (14-4-2) Wednesday night at 7pm. DeSales edged Granville 1-0.

Hear the game podcast with Dan Ramey and Lou Postage below.

 Girls Soccer Cavs-Unioto Pregame

 Girls Soccer Cavs-Unioto First Half

 Girls Soccer Cavs-Unioto Halftime

 Girls Soccer Cavs-Unioto Second Half

 Girls Soccer Cavs-Unioto Post Game

2011 ALL-SEOAL GIRLS SOCCER TEAM

Player School Grade Pos

Rachel Conaway Chillicothe 9 M

Kasey Crow** Chillicothe 12 F/M

Jordan Matthews Chillicothe 12 M

Lindsey Schobelock Chillicothe 12 F

Baylee Stark Chillicothe 12 M

Karena Fulks* Jackson 12 S

Jaqueline Norman Jackson 12 GK

Candice Kilbarger* Logan 12 F

Carmen Koster Logan 12 F

Brooke Simons Logan 12 GK

Jill Switzer Logan 12 F

Melissa Dickerson* Warren 11 M

Lauren Mazurciewicz** Warren 12 DM

Makenzie Ullman Warren 11 M

*—Denotes previous All-SEOAL honors. Simons, Stark and Ullman were honorable mention in 2010.

Player of the Year: Kasey Crow, Chillicothe

Coach of the Year: Zach Breth, Chillicothe

Honorable mention: Kara Detty* (junior) and Samantha Watkins (freshman), Chillicothe; Madison Hutchinson (sophomore) and Peyton Miller (freshman), Jackson; Danielle Halley (senior) and Natalie Messmer (senior), Logan; Addie Barnes (junior) and Breanna Duff* (senior), Warren.

Team was selected in a recent vote of league coaches. Each team received two automatic All-SEOAL honorable mention selections.

2011 ALL-SEOAL BOYS SOCCER TEAM

Player School Grade Pos

Dalton Bettendorf Chillicothe 11 M

Tommy Conaway Chillicothe 10 D

Elijah Crabtree Chillicothe 10 D

Jared Lester Gallipolis 12 M

Zach Stewart Gallipolis 11 M

Winston Wade Gallipolis 10 S

Chandler Fout Jackson 10 GK

Jared Ghearing Jackson 11 D

Aaron Jones Jackson 12 F

Clay Staker Jackson 12 D/M

Brandon Kuhn Logan 12 F/D

Tyler Myers Logan 12 D

Sam Arnold Warren 12 M

Nick Koch Warren 11 M

Daniel Rohr* Warren 12 S

Derek Schwendeman* Warren 12 M

*—Denotes previous All-SEOAL honors. Koch, Kuhn and Ida were honorable mention in 2010

Player of the Year: Nick Koch, Warren

Co-Coaches of the Year: Andrew Johnson, Warren; Lee Lord, Jackson

Honorable mention: Noah Valentine (senior) and Jacob Weber (sophomore), Chillicothe; Kelle Craft (senior) and Alex Lyles (senior), Gallipolis; Evan Crabtree (sophomore) and Dillon Wyant* (sophomore), Jackson; Keith Tolliver (junior) and Cody Wilson (sophomore), Logan; Ethan Ida (senior) and Evan Yabs (junior), Warren.

Team was selected in a recent vote of league coaches. Each team received two automatic All-SEOAL honorable mention selections.

In their two September meetings, Chillicothe dominated the matches (5-0 at Warren and 6-1 at McVicker Field).

Now, in late October, it took a kick from the right of the goal by Baylee Stark at 6:01 in overtime to send the Cavs to a 1-0 victory and a spot in Saturday’s District Final.

Stark said it was worth the wait. “I was waiting for the perfect through ball… I saw my Lindsey (Schobelock) backside. So, I figured I’d play it to the back post and it would either go in or she’d be there. I knew I could count on her.”

Stark had a handful of opportunities earlier in regulation, but was unable to find the back of the net.

“That game was crazy.” said the Cavs senior midfielder. “It was a very hard fought game it’s always crazy going into overtime, it’s very nerve wracking. You just have to play your heart out ‘cause it’s golden goal time.”

The game’s first half ended in a scoreless tie. The Cavs had just five shots on goal. The first coming on a corner kick by Kasey Crow two minutes in, but the next didn’t come until 13:46.

It was Warren on the attack with eight attempts and maintaining advantage in time of possession and that didn’t change in the second half.

The Warriors continued to advance the ball behind the Cavs defenders to no avail.

Midway through, the tide turned. Chillicothe had seven consecutive shots on goal. The closest came off the foot of Lindsey Schobelock. Her kick from 25 yards right of the goal slipped through the Warren goal keeper’s grasp, rolling just wide of the right goal post.

With 25 seconds remaining, Warren’s Abigal Ida had a breakaway opportunity, but the kick was saved by Chillicothe’s Kaitlyn Cunningham.

Cavs Coach Zach Breth said Warren proved they came to play.

“Both teams were very patient defenders. They (Warren) had a game plan for us. You could tell they’d sorted out in the first two games, our pattern of play, our style and they came with a way to break that down.”

So the Cavs had to sort things out at halftime.

“The first half, they were the first to ever ball, they were high-pressure in our face and that’s hard to do for 80 minutes. The longer the game went on the more likely I thought we were to get an opportunity.”

In overtime, it continued to be an offensive struggle until Stark‘s kick from the right side.

“She (Stark) gets down in there near the by line, I love the texture she plays on the ball and she just kinda floats it sometimes. That one floated right over the keeper’s head, we talk about missing the keeper and that’s what happened.

Chillicothe will play Unioto for the D2 Southeast District championship at 10:00 Saturday morning at Jackson High School’s Alumni Field. The Shermans beat the Cavs 6-1 two weeks ago.

Unioto defeated Circleville 1-0 (4-2 on penalty kicks) Read more here.

Hear Dan Ramey's interviews with Coach Breth and Baylee Stark.

 Zach Breth Postgame Warren

 Cavs Baylee Stark

Chillicothe’s Alyssa Oates was named SEOAL Volleyball Player of the Year in a recent vote of league coaches.

The 6’ senior middle hitter for the Cavs had an 89% serve percentage, with 77 aces with 268 kills.

Joining Oates on the All-SEOAL Team, the Cavs’ Maddi Glendenning and an honorable mention for Parisa Bennett.

The Cavs (14-8, 8-2) finished second to Warren in the SEOAL Volleyball race this season and had their season cut short in a straight set loss to Canal Winchester in the Central District tournament last Saturday.

(See the player stats for Oates, Glendenning and Bennett below.)

2011 ALL-SEOAL VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Player - School - Grade - Pos

Maddi Glendenning, Chillicothe, 11, OH
Alyssa Oates*, Chillicothe, 12, MH
Heather Ward, Gallipolis, 12, L
Haley Rosier, Gallipolis, 12, MH
Sarah Martin, Jackson, 11, S
Abbie Hughes, Logan, 11, S
Devon Shaw, Logan, 11, L
Brandie Rogers, Warren, 12, OH
Ally Spence, Warren, 12, S
Kasey White, Warren, 12, MH/OH
*—Denotes previous All-SEOAL honors.

Player of the Year: Alyssa Oates, Chillicothe
Coach of the Year: Tammy Fisher, Warren
Honorable mention: Parisa Bennett (junior), Chillicothe; Kassie Shriver (sophomore), Gallipolis; Meredith Harless (senior), Jackson; Ashley McCort (junior), Logan; Kasey Simpson (senior), Portsmouth; Emma Ryan* (junior), Warren.

Team was selected in a recent vote of league coaches. Each team received one automatic All-SEOAL honorable mention selection.

Alyssa Oates: 73 total games played / 316 serve attempts 77 aces serve % is 89%/ 570 attack attempts 268 kills / 44 solo blocks / 24 digs.

Maddi Glendening: 73 total games played / 226 serve attempts 13 errors for 94% serving accuracy and 24 aces / 453 attack attempts 174 kills / 74 digs.

Parisa Bennett: 70 total games played / 146 serve attempts 13 errors for 92% serving accuracy and 19 aces / 227 digs.

The Chillicothe Cross Country teams failed to qualify for Regional tournament action Saturday. Both teams ran in the Central District races at Watkins Memorial.

The Boys team placed 13 overall. Ben Haller was the top CHS runner placing 65^th. Five other boys finished  within 15 places of one another. Jacob Johansen was 74^th, Mark Hirsch 81^st, Seth McGuire 82^nd, Brandon Mingus-Harris 83^rd and Xavier Newsome was 87^th.

Audra Metzler was the highest placing Chillicothe runner for the Girls, placing 62^nd.

Chillicothe's tournament run was cut short by Canal Winchester in the Columbus East Sectional Final, 25-22, 25-21,25-15.

Coach Bret Wrightsel was happy with the teams offense, but felt defense was what hurt the Cavs Saturday.

"All three games, we just felt like our defense broke down. The block wasn't getting there, the middles weren't getting there to help the outside... our offense was there, but our defense broke down.'

Wrightsel was quick to point out he was proud of the effort Chillicothe's four seniors gave his team this season.

"All four of them were great ". Sam Claytor, Marissa Webb, Madison Moss and Alyssa Oates were playing their final match for the Cavs.

The Cavs finish the season 14-8 and a second place in the SEOAL.

Hear Dan Ramey's post match talk with coach Bret Wrightsel:   10-22-11 Bret Wrightsel