Despite having their game against Belpre canceled, the Southern Tornadoes still maintained their position at the top of the TVC-Hocking by skating past Federal Hocking 74-40.
Southern will have a break for the holidays before returning to action on Saturday. On Saturday, Southern will face Cincinnati Christian in the River City Classic at Marietta College.
The Belpre Golden Eagles got back on the right track this week by getting some redemption from last season. Due to snowstorms canceling the Southern game, Belpre's only game this week was against Trimble. The Tomcats beat the Golden Eagles on a buzzer-beater the last time the two met. This time, the Belpre offense made sure Trimble would not have the chance to pull off any last-second heroics. The Golden Eagles piled on a season-high 71 points on their way to a 71-61 win over the Tomcats.
Belpre will begin a stretch of five games away from home next week. The Golden Eagles' road swing begins with a trip to Fort Frye on Monday. Then, the Golden Eagles will play Ross County Christian in the River City Classic at Marietta College on Friday.
The Waterford boys lost to Monroe Central 54-41 on Tuesday. The Wildcats stayed close early, but Monroe Central pulled away in the second half. Finn Pennock led Waterford with 18 points in the loss.
On Friday, the Wildcats fell to Ironton 46-30 at the Ironton Classic. Waterford battled throughout the game, but Ironton controlled the tempo and kept the Wildcats from mounting a comeback. Gavin Hiener led Waterford with 12 points.
The Wildcats will look to bounce back Tuesday when they travel to Alexander. Waterford will then return home Saturday to face Federal Hocking, playing before the girls. Waterford will aim to regroup and pick up momentum as the week continues. The game against Federal Hocking is scheduled to start at 4:45 p.m.
The Federal Hocking Lancers previously scheduled matchup against the Eastern Eagles was postponed, meaning their two previous matchups were against Southern and Southeastern.
The Southern Tornadoes hosted Federal Hocking on Thursday, outdoing the Lancers 74-40. On Saturday, the Lancers traveled to Chillicothe, where they fell to the Southeastern Panthers 9-35 in an out-of-conference test.
After a rough week, Federal Hocking is looking to get back on track next week. They play at Berne Union on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and at Waterford at 4:45 p.m.
The Eastern Eagles continue to regain their momentum, winning a third straight game over Vinton County 59-41. That win was followed up with a four-point loss to the Morgan Raiders 62-58. Eastern's game againstFederal Hocking was rescheduled due to snow and will be played on Jan. 13.
The Eagles will look to add another win to their record with a game against South Gallia on Tuesday, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. at Eastern High School. This marks Eastern's last game until after the Christmas holiday.
The Trimble boys continue to struggle as they pick up two more losses, losing by 10 or more points. They hit the road to play against the Belpre Golden Eagles and went home with a loss, with a final score of 71-61. After rescheduling, the boys faced their rivals, the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes, on Saturday and lost 62-51.
The boys look to bounce back, as they will travel to play the Ross County Christian Academy Eagles on Monday, with tipoff starting at 7 p.m.
Despite the weather, the Eastern girls were able to play all three of their games this week. The team continues to trend in the right direction, picking up two big conference wins. They started the week with a dominant victory over Trimble, winning 62-37. Eastern then headed back to the Nest to face undefeated Fort Frye in which the Eagles suffered their third loss of the season 42-28. It was the first time all season that they were held under 40 points.
It was a quick turnaround as they played the next day against Southern. The Eagles picked up another conference victory beating the Tornadoes 67-40. The win solidified sole possession of first place in the TVC-Hocking. The defense has been one of their biggest strengths, allowing just 40 points per game, through the first nine games.
With the holiday season, Eastern will only play one game next week. They will travel to West Virginia to take on the Parkersburg Catholic Crusaders on Dec. 21. Eastern will then have to wait eight days before they tip off again.
A neutral site battle with Division II Bishop Hartley early in the week was postponed because of the snow. Therefore, the Federal Hocking Lancers only had to play one game: their conference rivals the Trimble Tomcats. The Lancers gave their home crowd their money's worth with a 75-43 victory over the Tomcats to continue their conference campaign.
The following week will be a massive measuring stick for Federal Hocking. They host the reigning Region 23 champs, the Fort Frye Cadets, who they lost earlier in the season. Then they travel to Waterford to face off against the Wildcats; the reigning TVC-Hocking and Division 7 state champions. Those games tipoff on Monday and Saturday respectively.
The Wildcats saw their three-game win streak end at home against Frontier, as the Cougars pulled out a 29-25 win in a low-scoring game. Waterford stayed close the entire night but could not get enough shots to fall late to complete the comeback.
On Friday, Waterford traveled to the ECO Center to face Martin's Ferry in the Buckeye 8 Classic. The Wildcats played well against the Division III opponent and stayed in the game for all four quarters but came up short in a 51-45 loss. Even with the setback, Waterford showed they could compete with a bigger school program and did not back down.
Waterford will be back home next week for two games. The Wildcats will host Alexander on Monday, looking to get back on track in front of the home crowd. Then on Saturday, they will take on Federal Hocking, currently ranked No. 2 in the conference and one of the top teams around. That game will be a big test, as Waterford tries to keep pace and build momentum. With two home games coming up, the Wildcats will look to turn recent close efforts into wins.
Belpre had an up and down week this week. The Golden Eagles started the week well by beating Southern 44-35. However, the Golden Eagles' momentum from two straight TVC-Hocking wins did not carry into their game against Alexander, as Belpre fell to the Spartans 59-32.
Belpre will play two games in next week's River City Classic at Marietta College. The Golden Eagles will play Marietta on Friday and Shenandoah on Saturday.
The Trimble girls had a down week, as they picked up two conference losses, losing by 25 or more points. The Tomcats hosted the Eastern Eagles and lost 62-37. They then hit the road to face the Federal Hocking Lancers and took home the loss, with a final score of 75-43.
The girls will look to get back on their feet come Monday, as they travel to face the Ross County Christian Academy Eagles, with tipoff starting at 7 p.m.
The Southern Tornadoes came away with only one win in their three games this week. Southern's week began with a 44-35 loss to Belpre, which the Tornadoes came back from the next day when they faced Meigs. Southern knocked off the Marauders 64-41. That win was the Tornadoes' first since Dec. 3rd. The Tornadoes could not capitalize on their momentum against Eastern, as Southern dropped that game 67-40.