Utica High School

The Division IV and Division V All-Ohio football teams were announced on Dec. 5 and a number athletes in the Mount Vernon News coverage area were included, including eight players from West Holmes.

No. 11 Utica (7-4, 3-2) traveled to No. 6 Columbus Academy (10-1, 4-1) in the first round of the Region 19 state football tournament, and the Redskins trailed early and could never recover in a 34-18 loss despite Hayden Piper running for two touchdowns and passing for one.

No. 11 Utica Redskins (7-3, 3-2) at No. 6 Columbus Academy Vikings (9-1, 4-1)

Utica (7-3, 3-2) finished the regular season with back-to-back shutout wins, with the Redskins crushing Licking County- Cardinal Conference rival Lakewood (2-8, 0-5) 35-0 in the final game of the regular season led by a three touchdown effort by Justin Giffin.

Despite winning the first set, the No. 17 Utica Redskins (10-13, 5-10) took a 3-1 loss to No. 7 Bishop Ready (14-9, 8-5) in the opening round of the Division III Sectional/District tournament.

Utica (10-12, 5-10) took on the Northridge Vikings (8-14, 4-11) on Oct. 10 and Emilee Ellis led the Redskins to a 3-1 win with a 14 assist performance.

Utica (6-3, 2-2) forced five turnovers in a shutout win over Johnstown Northridge (2-7, 1-3) on Friday night in a 20-0 victory.

Utica held a 17-8 lead after a half of play, but the Redskins weren’t able to hold off Johnstown-Monroe, who came back with a 22-7 second half advantage to take a 30-24 win.

Utica's Junior High Golf team recently participated in an exciting match against Johnstown and Newark Catholic, creating memorable moments on the golf course.

Utica (9-9, 4-7) went 2-1 last week with the Redskins getting swept by Johnstown-Monroe (13-3, 9-2), and then responding a 3-1 win over Lakewood (4-13, 1-10, and a sweep win over Granville Christian Academy (0-13, 0-10).

Mount Vernon News local football scoreboard Sept. 15

Utica volleyball coach Lisa Ritzer is looking for her team to build on last year, a season in which the Redskins struggled in terms of wins and losses but scored high points in development.

Licking County Wrestling Competition Night is a Wednesday night can’t-miss event for grappling fans and competitors.

After a couple of seasons in which Mount Gilead finished near the bottom of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference (KMAC) baseball standings, Coach Mark Kennon is firing up his team with a strong belief system, hoping that helps them turn the corner and be more competitive in the wins-losses columns this year.

The Mount Gilead (MG) Indians are coming off a rough season on the softball diamond in which they failed to win a KMAC matchup and went 6-12 overall, and while the team could have some bumps in the road due to lack of team experience, MG softball coach Morgan Dettra hopes that her team can be competitive and improve as the season progresses.

Our Athletes of the Week are Grace Sipes (Fredericktown basketball) and Trenton Collins (Utica basketball).

High School Wrestling Recaps

Mount Vernon’s Brock Blankenhorn took first place in the 106-lb. weight class.

Selections for the 37th edition of the Utica Redskins Athletic Hall of Fame were announced.

The Mount Vernon News sports department’s MVN ATHLETE of the WEEK is a weekly feature that spotlights local student-athletes and their schools. Based on their performances, we will select an ATHLETE of the WEEK and recognize other outstanding athletic accomplishments. Coming out of the holiday break, intensity was not a problem as several athletes showed no rust from the layoff. Two athletes who performed brilliantly in back to-back games include our Athletes of the Week, Ella Bouton (Fredericktown basketball) and Trenton Collins (Utica basketball).