Salem tops Minerva for 11th straight time, 48–17

The Lions hosted Salem in an Eastern Buckeye Conference showdown Oct. 3, and while there was visible improvement from the last time these two teams tangled, the Quakers extended their winning streak against Minerva after a 48-17 victory.

In winning its 11th consecutive game against the Lions dating back to 2015, Salem took a 14-3 lead after the first quarter, then added 13 more points in the second to take a commanding 27-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Salem’s Cletis Monroy put the Quakers on the board with a touchdown pass to Bairon Exlinefour minutes into the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. The Lions responded with a 29-yard field goal from Zander Kirkpatrick.

The Quakers (4-3, 1-1) came back with another drive punctuated by a long run by Brandon Kanathat put Salem at Minerva’s six-yard line. Kana scored the first of three TDs moments later for a 14-3 advantage with approximately four minutes left in the period.

The Lions took the kickoff and promptly marched down the field until they were inside Salem’s red zone. The Quaker defense stiffened, however, and Minerva turned the ball over on downs at the four-yard line.

Nate Linkous injected some energy into the crowd when he returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown. The Lions also received a rushing TD from Timmy Kirkpatrick, who led Minerva (4-3, 0-2) on the ground with 117 yards on 25 touches. Linkous added 78 yards on 11 carries, while Lane Hawk picked up 50 yards on nine attempts.

Cross Country

The Lions competed at the Legends Meet 2025, one of the largest invitational meets in the area. Minerva gave its normal lineup the day off for the meet, held Oct. 4 at Trumbull County Fairgrounds.

The Lady Lions still performed admirably, placing 19th out of 34 teams in the small school division. Minerva was paced by junior Ivey Rettig (23:06.00) who placed 105th individually. She was followed by freshman Eliah Kirkpatrick in 106th place. Senior Rainique Simmons finished 111th, Elena Platt was 134th, and senior Giselle Hafner came in 162nd.

For the boys, Grady Troyer led the way in 18:55.95, good for 116th place. Zach Norris (130th), Sam Blum (140th), Caleb McMasters (176th), and Sylar Carson (189th) rounded out the scoring for the Lions. As a team, Minerva placed 25th out of 50 teams.

Girls Soccer

Don’t look now, but the Lady Lions are rounding into form just in time for the sectional tourney, which begins in a week. Minerva has gone 4-0-1 over its last five matches, including three wins this past week.

First up was a visit to Ridgewood Sept. 29 for a nonconference match. The Lions led 2-1 at the break and then poured it on in the second half for a 6-2 victory over the Generals.

Kyleigh Lippincott paced Minerva with two goals, while Ireland Kirkpatrick, Sophia Burick, Alexa Lippincott, and Alex Wike each added one. Alexa Lippincott, Kyleigh Lippincott, Grace Angione, and Kirkpatrick each recorded an assist. Manning the net, Ally Sullivan logged 11 saves in goal on the night.

On Oct. 1, the Lions visited EBC rival Carrollton for a grudge match and Minerva made it a sweep of the Warriors by taking a 2-1 first-half lead and hanging on for the 3-1 win.

The Lions received a goal and two assists from Kirkpatrick, a goal and an assist from Kyleigh Lippincott and a goal from Burick. Meanwhile, Sullivan was tough in goal, recording 12 saves for Minerva, which improved to 3-2-1 in the conference. Carrollton slipped to 0-5-1.

The Lions wrapped up their week hosting St. Thomas Aquinas Oct. 4 and won in a blowout, 12-0. Kyleigh Lippincott, Ava Whiteleather, and Kirkpatrick each bagged two goals. Alexa Lippincott, Wike, Sullivan, Lexi Yonkey, Autumn Thompson, and Rachel Weaver each scored a goal.

Kyleigh Lippincott and Tateum Richard added three assists apiece, while Alexa Lippincott,Kirkpatrick, Yonkey, Burick, Whiteleather, Weaver each added one. With her goals and assists against the Knights, senior captain Kyleigh Lippincott established school records for career goals and career assists in girls’ soccer at Minerva (8-6-2). She now has 91 goals and 43 assists, surpassing the previous marks of 90 goals and 40 assists.

Volleyball

Minerva won its fifth consecutive match Sept. 29 when the Lions defeated visiting Northwest 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-18). Becca Jackson had a monster game with 16 kills, 21 digs, two aces, 13 points, and eight serve receptions, while Ayla Shellenbarger added 14 kills, two aces, 11 points, 12 serve receptions, and 14 digs.

Gracie Momirov-Dierick contributed eight kills and two aces, Jenna Dowell had 20 serve receptions, 15 digs, and seven points, and Addy Kocher recorded 33 assists and 5 points.

Boys Soccer

The week began with a Sept. 30 rivalry game against EBC foe Carrollton and the Lions pitched a shutout, winning 2-0. Jeremiah Boone had a goal and an assist while Noah Morckel added a goal, and Kiptin Kiko recorded an assist. Talan Murphy logged the shutout as Minerva picked up its first conference victory.

On Oct. 2, Minerva visited state-ranked Hiland (11-2-2) and was blanked 8-0. Murphy had seven saves in goal.

The Lions wrapped up their week Oct. 4 by hosting Canton Central Catholic, and lost to the Crusaders, 6-1. Kiko logged Minerva’s lone goal from an assist by Wyatt Gonzalez. Murphy again manned the net, collecting seven saves for the Lions (2-11-3, 1-4).