Minerva football shows continued growth under new coach despite setback to Alliance

When it comes to overhauling a moribund football program, it takes time. The progress made by the players under the tutelage of first-year coach Zach Slates has been nothing short of miraculous, and the list of achievements is impressive.

Minerva’s 35-0 road loss to Alliance Oct. 17 needs to be looked at through that lens. The Lions may not be prepared to compete with the Alliances and West Branches of the Eastern Buckeye Conference, but they’re getting there. 

The Aviators, who have clinched a playoff spot in the Div. III playoffs, are the only EBC team thus far that has been able to keep up with league-leading West Branch, and against the Lions, it showed. 

First, tailback Ravhan Hawkins scored twice in the first quarter, his first TD a 1-yard plunge and his second a 46-yard scamper to put the Aviators ahead 14-0. Then star quarterback JR Jackson got involved, sandwiching a short TD run around two deep TD passes as Alliance (7-2, 3-1) took a 35-0 third quarter lead.

The Lions gained 209 yards against the Aviators, and as is Minerva’s nature, 184 of those yards came on the ground. Lane Hawk was the main ground gainer, picking up 94 yards on only 13 carries, while Timothy Kirkpatrick rushed for 49 yards on 17 carries, and Nate Linkous added 33 yards on eight touches.

The Lions (5-4, 1-3) can set some new marks next week as they host Carrollton to close out the season, such as beating their rivals – something they have not done since 2014. Minerva also has a shot to finish with a winning record for the first time since the 2011 season.

Girls Volleyball

Despite their geographical proximity, Minerva and Carrollton don’t see one another too often in postseason sports, often because, like football, they are in different divisions. Not in volleyball, however, so the EBC rivals were able to play each other three times this season as they met in a Div. IV East 2 District sectional final.

According to Minerva coach Tiffany Oaks, that level of familiarity is not always a good thing, but her crew persevered.

“We won both times we played them in the regular season, so it's tough to beat a team three times in the same season,” she said. “These amazing girls pulled together as a team and came out on top winning the last two sets. The hustle they showed on the court was incredible.”

Despite dropping the second and third sets to fall into a 2-1 hole, Minerva rebounded to win 3-2 (25-16, 24-26, 15-25, 25-20, 15-7), and in the process, won its seventh consecutive match

Ayla Shellenbarger was huge for the Lions, finishing the match with 21 kills, 32 digs, 16 serve receptions, a block, five aces, and 18 service points. Becca Jackson also had a big game as she recorded 18 kills, 26 digs, 30 serve receptions, a block, and 12 service points. Jenna Dowell logged 25 serve receptions, 22 digs, two aces, and six service points, while Addy Kocher added 42 assists, 18 digs, an ace, and 12 service points.

Rhemee Beadnell was both the Warriors’ assists leader and top server as she finished the match with 23 assists and 11 points. Juliaunna Miller led defensively with 37 digs, while Haley Thomas notched 13 kills and Haley Leslie logged four solo blocks for Carrollton (11-12).

“Carrollton is a tough and scrappy team,” said Oaks. “We knew they wouldn't go down without fighting for every point, and that is exactly what happened.”

Boys Soccer

The Lions faced off against No. 4 seed McConnelsville Morgan in a Div. IV East 2 District sectional final Oct. 16, and were on the short end of a 9-1 score. The Raiders (14-4) raced out to an 8-1 lead by halftime and coasted to the win.

Noah Morckel scored the Lions’ only goal off an assist from Jabin Reed. In the net, Talan Murphy logged six saves for Minerva (2-13-3).

According to Lions’ coach Tyler Stewart, there were some positive signs to take from the loss.

“A positive tonight was even against a tough team like Morgan, we got on the board 11 minutes in when Jabin Reed played a through ball to Noah Morckel up top to finish a great shot in the back of the net,” he said. “This is great because to be even able to score on Morgan, which has only given up 14 goals all season, is an accomplishment, especially with two freshmen doing that work.”

Girls Soccer

The Lady Lions, seeded seventh in the Div. IV East 2 District, traveled to St. Clairsville (10-5-3) to take on the No. 5 seed Red Devils, and came away with a loss in the sectional final. 

Freshman Ally Sullivan recorded eight saves in the net for Minerva, which closes its season with a mark of 9-7-2.