The Van Wert County Courthouse

Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024

Random Thoughts: WBL, NWC and more

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

Lincolnview volleyball, a wild WBL football season, what if in the WBL, a wild NWC football game, Division IV, Region 14, and the NFL’s Washington Football Team are the subjects of this week’s Random Thoughts.

Lady Lancer volleyball

Lincolnview made a big jump in this week’s Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association poll, going from No. 14 to No. 8.

It’s a well deserved honor.

Wild and Wacky WBL

I think we can agree it’s been a strange Western Buckeye League football season.

Week No. 1, Celina beat Wapakoneta 14-10; Week No. 2, Elida, which lost 55-30 to Van Wert, upset Ottawa-Glandorf 14-7, while Bath upset Kenton 21-14; Week No. 3, Ottawa-Glandorf beat St. Marys Memorial 27-20 in double overtime; Week No. 4, Celina topped Elida 21-17; Week No. 5, Wapakoneta (0-4) edged then state-ranked Kenton 21-20.

It makes you wonder what’s in store in Week No. 6.

WBL what if?

Let’s say the Western Buckeye League went ahead with plans for two divisions and held a WBL championship football game with the division winners meeting in Week No. 6.

These are the divisions that were suggested: Celina, Defiance, Kenton, St. Marys Memorial and Van Wert in one, and Bath, Elida, Ottawa-Glandorf, Shawnee and Wapakoneta in the other.

Those divisions don’t quite align with the actual schedule that was played, but it’s safe to say it quite likely would have been Van Wert vs. Ottawa-Glandorf rematch in the WBL title game.

How fun would that be – two straight Fridays of two teams separated by one point in the first game?

Week No. 6

Week No. 6 already, which is the official end of the regular season, sort of. The playoffs begin next week, but some teams have regular season games scheduled for Weeks 8-10 if they get knocked out of the postseason.

Where has the time gone?

Division IV Region 14

It feels like Thursday is taking forever to get here. That’s when the Ohio High School Athletic Association will set brackets for round one playoff games.

It seems like Van Wert now has a legitimate shot at a top eight seed (maybe No. 5 or 6) and a first round bye, then a home game in Week No. 8.

Bluffton-Delphos Jefferson

Some numbers from Friday’s Delphos Jefferson at Bluffton football game:

505 – Delphos Jefferson’s total offense
609 – Bluffton’s total offense
311 – Yards rushing by Delphos Jefferson quarterback Colin Bailey
214 – Yards rushing by Bluffton quarterback Nate Schaadt
208 – Yards rushing by Bluffton running back Tyson Shutler
201 – Yards passing by Schaadt
41 – Number of first downs in the game
1 – Number of punts by Bluffton in the game
39-32 – The halftime score
56-54 – Delphos Jefferson’s lead after three quarters
62-56 – Final score, Bluffton wins

Washington Football Team

Without getting into an argument about the Washington Redskins name, I feel like I may be the only person who thinks this way, but the Washington Football Team sounds kind of classy.

If you have thoughts on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.

POSTED: 09/29/20 at 3:55 am. FILED UNDER: Sports