TVC-Hocking Standings: Standings remain unchanged heading into New Year
By: Hardwood Heroes
Posted on:
TVC-Hocking Boys’ Standings
While there hasn’t been any conference play since our last update, plenty of teams picked up crucial out-of-conference wins. Waterford girls remain unbeaten, taking down first place Athens. Belpre girls picked up another two victories this week, improving to 7-3 so far. The Federal Hocking boys were able to pick up their first win of the season, taking down Miller in overtime.
T1. Southern Tornadoes | 5-2 (Conf. 3-0)
Written by: Joshua Hoerner
Despite a loss this week to South Gallia, Southern maintains a spot at the top in the standings. The Tornadoes rattled off five wins in a row, with three of those wins coming in conference. They defeated Federal Hocking and Trimble, while also winning a close contest against Waterford. A strong nonconference win over Fort Frye capped off the winning streak.
Looking ahead, Southern will take on Glenwood at home Monday, while also traveling to Ravenswood on Friday. The team’s next conference game is against Belpre on Jan. 7.
T1. Belpre Golden Eagles | 4-4 (Conf. 3-0)
Written by: Joshua Hoerner
Belpre is looking to get back on track after a scorching start to the season. A crucial win over Eastern could have major implications later on in the season. After winning four in a row, the Golden Eagles have dropped their last four games. The latest loss came against Marietta on the 27th.
Despite this, Belpre is in a great position in the standings. Their next contest is a matchup with Warren after the new year. They will play Southern to break a tie for first in the standings, followed by another important contest against Waterford.
3.Eastern Eagles | 5-3 (Conf. 2-1)
Written by: Stephen Koroly
The Eastern Boys have not played a game since we last caught up with the Eagles losing 64-57 versus Waverly on December 20th.
The boys will return from their extended holiday break with a rematch against River Valley. The Eagles broke 100 points in the first meeting, winning by a score of 106-74. This time the Eagles will travel to River Valley on January third and will take on South Galia at home the following day January fourth.
4. Waterford Wildcats | 3-5 (Conf. 1-2)
Written by: Charlie Ihlenfeld
The Waterford boys finished up the new year with a loss to the Alexander Spartans in the Alexander Classic 49-44. Their hard-fought defeat brought an end to their two-game win streak. Despite the loss, it was another defensive showcase for the Wildcats. Only one team has eclipsed 60 points against Waterford this year, the mighty Meigs Marauders. Their offense has some catching up to do, only eclipsing 60 once this year as well.
The Wildcats will get a much-needed home stretch coming out of the holiday season. On January 6th, the squad will host Fisher Catholic and face Federal Hocking at home the next day. It will be Waterford’s first chance to get revenge against the team that sent them home in the postseason last year. The boys will have two more home games, Parkersburg Catholic and Frontier before hitting the road again.
This home stretch could be vital for the Wildcats to claw back to .500 and rocket up the conference standings. A win over the Lancers would still have them behind Eastern, but it go a long way to proving Waterford is still in the conference race.
T5. Trimble Tomcats | 1-8 (Conf. 0-3)
Written by: Ty Carpenter
After a win against Adena last week, the Trimble Tomcats Boys’ team struggled to keep up their momentum. The Tomcats began their week hosting the Crooksville Ceramics but would get dominated, 92 to 67. They would follow up this loss hoping to bounce back against the Athens Bulldogs, but would suffer a similar fate, losing 51 to 34 at home.
Looking ahead, Trimble will head back into conference play next week, as they host the Eastern Eagles on January 7th.
T5. Federal Hocking Lancers | 1-7 (Conf. 0-3)
Written by: Gavin Carrig
A little bit of early Christmas cheer was spread across Stewart last Monday night, as the Lancers picked up their first win of the season against Miller 62-56 in an overtime thriller. Freshman Wren Ballew led the way for Federal Hocking on the night, finishing with 22 points, as well as the 3-point bucket to send the game into overtime. Cam Joy added 11 of his own in the win as well.
Fed Hock closed out the week with a trip to Alexander to compete in the Spartan Classic against Crooksville. The Lancers would drop the contest by a final of 57-63. Mosiah Cottrill would lead the team with 14 points, as well as earning player of the game honors. Cam Joy dropped 13 points, continuing his good scoring form.
The Lancers have a break off for the New Year but come back for a trip to face Wellston (2-6) on Friday, then have a quick turnaround as they host New Hope Christian Academy (6-2) on Saturday.
TVC-Hocking Girls’ Standings
1. Waterford Wildcats | 10-0 (Conf. 5-0)
Written by: Charlie Ihlenfeld
During the holiday season, the Waterford girls delivered nothing but coal to their opponents. On the eve of Christmas Eve, the Wildcats routed a previously undefeated Athens Bulldog squad 54-39. Behind 18 points from Kendall Sury and 12 from Avery Smithberger, the Wildcats dominated one of the best teams in Southeast Ohio. Brynnlee Pottmeyer was another standout, as the freshman point guard compiled 10 points in the win. Waterford cruised to a victory over former conference rival South Gallia, 46-29. It was another commanding defensive performance by the Wildcats. Waterford has allowed only two teams to reach 50 points all year.
The Wildcats have one more game before the new year against Sheridan at home. From there, they will host a familiar face in the Newark Catholic Green Wave. These two split an unforgettable series last year. Waterford went to Newark Catholic and fell in overtime, but when they met again in the regional semifinal, the Wildcats ended Newark Catholic’s undefeated season 53-42. Less than a week after that thriller, Waterford will have a rematch against the high-flying Federal Hocking Lancers. The Lancers fell in their last matchup, but they scored the second-most points against Waterford of any team this season. It is going to grueling to keep this undefeated season alive, but the Wildcats have been unflappable this year.
2. Belpre Golden Eagles | 7-3 (Conf. 4-1)
Written by: Joshua Hoerner
It has been an impressive start to the season for the Golden Eagles. This week, they picked up wins against Newcomerstown and Philo. Sophomore Gracie Bills has had a stellar start to this season. She’s averaging 18 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals per game. She’s also shooting 55 percent from the field, while leading her team in assists. Her frontcourt partner Haley Alloway is averaging 15 points and five rebounds, while shooting 77 percent from the free throw line and 40 percent from behind the arc.
The Golden Eagle’s lone conference loss was against Waterford. Despite the loss, Belpre gave Waterford their closest game this season. Their next game is an important nonconference matchup with Alexander, before resuming conference play against Eastern.
3. Federal Hocking Lancers | 7-3 (Conf. 3-2)
Written by: Gavin Carrig
Federal Hocking had only one contest this past week, coming in the form of a 61-67 loss to the hands of Harvest Prep. Senior Jaylee Orsborne led the way with 23 points. Brenlee Cottrill and McKayla Nelson would put up 16 and 10 points respectively.
The Lady Lancers were set to have a matchup against Minford on Saturday, but due to an illness in the Falcon squad, that game has now been rescheduled for Jan. 11.
Fed Hock will close out 2024 with a cross-TVC matchup against Nelsonville-York (3-5) and open the New Year with a game on the road at Southeastern (5-7) on Saturday, Jan 4.
4. Trimble Tomcats | 5-4 (Conf. 2-3)
Written by: Ty Carpenter
The Trimble Tomcats girls’ team came into this week hoping to bounce back after back-to-back losses to Belpre and Federal Hocking. The Tomcats would face only one opponent this week as they hosted the Tyler Knights, and would win convincingly, 44-30, to improve their record to 5-4.
Trimble will travel to take on the Notre Dame Titans this Friday, before facing the Meigs Marauders next Monday, hoping to build a win streak before returning to conference play.
5. Southern Tornadoes | 8-4 (Conf. 1-4)
Written by: Joshua Hoerner
Southern added two more wins to their already impressive nonconference schedule. After ending last week on a two-game winning streak, the Tornadoes have extended that to four after two more wins this week. A neutral site win over Ironton capped off another impressive week.
After winning four of their first five games, Southern has gotten back on track in the win column. An important non-conference contest against River Valley is next on the schedule, before resuming conference play against Trimble.
6.Eastern Eagles | 1-8 (Conf. 0-5)
Written by: Stephen Koroly
The Eastern Lady Eagles have also not played a game since December 20th where they lost to Williamstown 66-33. The ladies have struggled to start the season but are taking steps in the right direction with one win versus Clay 42-33. The Eastern girls are back in action on December 30th as they travel to River Valley.