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Sands Electric tourney champions crowned

As it pertains to local golf, the second Sunday in September means only one thing. The annual Sands Electric Company Golf Classic was held for the 33rd consecutive year last Sunday with a field of 24 players taking part in the two-man, best ball scramble. A playoff was needed to determine the winner in a hotly contested tournament that features random-draw teams. Bill Mumley and Ted Ducker took the top prize outlasting defending champions Bill Glitch and Roy “Al” Glitch. Both teams checked in with rounds of 70. Mumley and Decker prevailed on the first hole of a sudden-death ...

Grid picture brightening at Beallsville

BEALLSVILLE — Football wins have been a scarce commodity in recent years at Beallsville. The Blue Devils’ grid program was on the verge of extinction two years ago, with no coach, no schedule and only a handful of grid hopefuls. Enter Larry Deem. When no one else had the courage to lead the program, the ex-Marine took the reins in early August of 2015. He quickly instilled his military background into his football team. The Blue Devils were schooled in toughness, commitment, passion and dedication while making no excuses. The last two-plus seasons have been painstaking at ...

Changes needed at ‘The Shoe’ as Ohio State humbled by Oklahoma

COLUMBUS – Frustration. Disbelief. To a man, every Ohio State coach and player who entered the interview room following the Buckeyes’ 31-16 loss against Oklahoma on Saturday night admitted things need to change. Exactly what that change involves remains to be seen. One thing’s for sure, it’d better come quick. “We lost a game,’’ OSU head coach Urban Meyer said following the nationally-televised showcase pitting two of the nation’s top programs. “We lost a game to a good team. Didn’t play very well.’’ While the then-No. 5 Sooners won by 15 points, it felt ...

Wheeling Jesuit welcomes new athletics director

WHEELING — Rudy Yovich has been on the job for less than a week but feels right at home in The Friendly City. Yovich is the new athletic director at Wheeling Jesuit University. The 53-year-old comes well-groomed for his new challenge, serving most recently in the same capacity at Defiance College since 2014. “The settling in process has actually went very well. The entire campus community has been very welcoming to me, really from the moment I arrived for my interview. There are truly some fantastic people here with a passion to serve students and support athletics,” Yovich ...

Wheeling Small Fry Wrestling League celebrates 40th birthday

The Wheeling Small Fry Wrestling League turns 40 years old this fall. Rick Welker has been around for nearly all of those. His father, Dr. Bill Welker, founded the organization back in 1977 and his mother, Peggy, even served as the commissioner for about five years. “We’ve probably had more than 10,000 kids over the years come through our league. That number could actually be a little low because of the population drop-off from then to now,” he admitted. “That would be an average of 250 kids a year. I can remember when it was in its hey-day and my mom was the commissioner, it ...

OV trio has solid opener for WVU

West Virginia University’s season didn’t begin the way the Mountaineers or their loyal fanbase had envisioned when they fell to Virginia Tech, 31-24. Area Mountaineer fans, however, could probably find a little bit of solace in the fact that three former OVAC standouts — Colton McKivitz, Brendan Ferns and Josh Sills — not only played in the game, but turned in solid performances. McKivitz — who is a Union Local graduate — garnered the most praise after he opened with what appeared to be basically a flawless performance at right tackle. He was named to the week 1 all ...