SPORTS Page 13A
Monday, August 27, 2012
TODAY’S
SPORTS
REPLAY 50 years ago Aug. 27, 1962 A pair of foursomes shared top honors in the Four-Man, Best Ball Tournament over the Moose Country Club’s course on Sunday. Teams composed of Bernie Kerns, Ed Walters, Pete Musser and John Draper, and Bud Lucas, Frank Meyer, Dan Thompson and Wally Sachs, each registered combined 60s.
25 years ago Aug. 27, 1987 Sidney High’s golf team dropped its first match of the season after four wins, losing 162-168 to Wapakoneta at Shelby Oaks. Matt Roth led Sidney with a 40, Jeff Cotner had a 41, Mitch Blackford 43 and Andy Blair 44.
CALENDAR High school sports TODAY Volleyball Covington at Fairlawn Botkins at New Bremen Arcanum at Houston Russia at Newton Sidney at Wapak Bradford at Riverside Boys soccer Lehman at Graham Indian Lake at New Knoxville Girls soccer Franklin-Monroe at Botkins Graham vs. Lehman at Sidney Boys golf Ansonia at Houston Marion Local at Minster New Bremen at Parkway Lehman at Russia Girls golf Tri-Village at Fort Loramie Minster at Marion Local Girls tennis Lehman at West Milton Northmont at Sidney
ON THE AIR High school football On radio, Internet FRIDAY Scoresbroadcast.com — Bellefontaine at Sidney. Air time 7:05 PressProsMagazine — Troy vs. Springfield Shawnee. Air time 6:45
NUMBERS GAME 12 — Consecutive years that the Buffalo Bills have missed the playoffs, a league high. The last playoff game for the Bills resulted in the Tennessee Titans scoring on the “Music City Miracle” as time ran out on Jan. 8, 2000.
QUOTE OF THE DAY “It’s funny. Nobody talks to me personally about it. Obviously, I can either scour the Internet or watch all the stuff being said on TV or I can just keep pitching and watch the Golf Channel, I guess.” — Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg on potentially being shut down before the end of the season because of a club-determined innings limit.
ON THIS DATE IN 1996 — Stefan Edberg stuns Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek at the U.S. Open, winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in his record 54th straight and final Grand Slam event. 2006 — Marco Andretti, 19, becomes the youngest winner of a major open-wheel event, beating Dario Franchitti by 0.66 seconds to take the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.
Contact Sports Editor Ken Barhorst with story ideas, sports scores and game stats by phone at (937) 498-5960; email, kbarhorst@sdnccg.com; or by fax, (937) 498-5991.
Cards win to take series Reds still hold six-game lead in NL Central CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds are hoping for a strong finish to August after a difficult weekend series against the St. Louis Cardinals, and help is on the way for the NL Central leaders. The Reds announced Sunday that All-Star first baseman Joey Votto will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday at Single-A Dayton, a bright silver lining on the same day they lost 8-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals. Matt Holliday had four hits and four RBIs as St. Louis handed the Reds their second series loss in 13 sets since the All-Star break. The Cardinals have won five of six to move within six games of the firstplace Reds, who are 8-6 in a grueling stretch of 17 games in 16 days that manager Dusty Baker called the toughest of the season. “This was a tough series,” Baker said. “This is a tough stretch for us. We knew it’d be tough.” Votto hasn’t played since July 15 after injuring his left knee sliding into third base on June 28 in San Francisco. The 2010 NL MVP started the All-Star game and is hitting .342 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs. “I’m a little apprehensive because I haven’t played in a long time,” Votto said before Sunday’s loss. “The work on the field has been good. I have a long way to go on my swing. The things that I’m uncomfortable about will come out when I play in Dayton.” The Reds could have used Votto on Sunday against Adam Wainwright, who won his fifth consecutive start. Wainwright (13-10) allowed two runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings while improving to 60 with a 1.80 ERA in his last seven starts overall. The 6foot-7 right-hander, who
AP Photo/Al Behrman
ST. LOUIS Cardinals' Jon Jay (19) bunts a ball foul while Cincinnati Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan watches in the third inning of a baseball game Sunday in Cincinnati. missed all of last season because of elbow surgery, hasn’t lost since July 18 at Milwaukee. “Wainwright threw the ball well,” Baker said. “There’s not much else to say, except they beat us.” Reds right-hander Homer Bailey (10-9) gave up five runs in six innings while falling to 1-3 with a 6.04 ERA in five August starts. He also allowed a season-high nine hits for the sixth time. The Cardinals strung together four consecutive ground-ball singles during a five-hit third inning that plated three runs. Skip Schumaker led off with a double to right-center, and Wainwright chipped in with a one-out single into left field. Schumaker scored on Jon Jay’s base hit up the middle and Matt Carpenter singled to load the bases for Matt Holliday’s tworun single to left.
“That’s the way it goes,” Bailey said. “I can hold my head up high. I was trying to get them to hit ground balls and get some double plays and keep the ball in the yard. It wasn’t like I was all over the place. I didn’t have any walks. You’ve just got to tip your cap to them.” St. Louis added two more runs in the sixth to make it 50. Holliday hit a leadoff triple before Craig drove a 1-2 pitch over the wall in left for his 20th homer. Chris Heisey and Ryan Ludwick had RBI singles in the sixth for Cincinnati, which beat the Cardinals 8-2 on Saturday. Holliday doubled in a run in the seventh and singled in Carpenter in the ninth. “It’s a situation where they came in swinging the bats,” Baker said of St. Louis, which finished with 42 hits in the series. “We couldn’t put them
away.” The Reds open a threegame series at Arizona on Monday night. They are off Thursday before closing out the trip with three at lastplace Houston. “We’ve got to push and push the next three days,” Baker said. “These are the dog days. We’ve got to finish strong in August.” NOTES: Votto has undergone two minor surgical procedures related to a torn meniscus in his knee. The Reds are 27-14 since Votto left the lineup. ... RHP Nick Masset was awaiting the results of an MRI on his right shoulder after soreness returned following his rehab appearance with Triple-A Louisville on Aug. 21. Masset has been on the disabled list since spring training. ... The Reds and Cardinals meet one more time this season, in the final series Oct. 1-3 in St. Louis.
The streak comes tumbling down As I drove to St. Baughman Stadium Marys on Friday before a new facility night, I reflected on opens at the new the half-century I've high school north of spent following the town. football fortunes of We hosted Dayton the Sidney Yellow Meadowdale at SidJackets. ney Memorial StaMany of the memdium in our final ories involved games Dave Ross tuneup the previous against the RoughridFriday. I sat with Guest ers in both St. Marys some of my SHS 1972 columnist and Sidney, and all classmates as part of have been season openers. our 40th reunion. We were There was also one memo- joined by a wonderful football rable playoff encounter at teammate from our high Troy in 1989 that yielded our school days, Doug Spillers only regional football title. (SHS 1971), and his family. I was in the stands at SidDoug’s grandson, Andre ney’s Julia Lamb Stadium Spillers, is a fine defensive when we beat the ’Riders 42-0 player with a powerful left leg to begin our 30-game victory on the 2012 squad. As we streak in 1968, and was on the parted company near the end of field when that streak ended the scrimmage, I told “Team at St. Marys three years later. Spillers” that Andre could boot On this trip I was hoping a field goal that would end all of for another milestone with a the futility, possibly very soon. Sidney win that would end a I was told there was much two-season losing streak to- energy at Sidney High School taling 20 games. on the day of the long awaited Yes, this losing streak opener. Our marching band began in St. Marys. Our has grown exponentially the team, our school, and our com- past few years and marched munity all needed a win, the halls playing our fight which would also end any song just before the school day jokes about “30 & 0” (1968-70 ended at 2:30. winning streak) eventually We took a great crowd to becoming “0 & 30” with an- Auglaize County to support other winless campaign. our team, including the band, I saw all three preseason cheerleaders, students, parscrimmages and felt I had ents, school employees, and seen an improved but still in- fans. They were enthusiastic consistent squad which could all night. I wondered to myget better and win a few self, “How special will this be if games in 2012. I was confi- we can get a win?” We would dent the streak would end be- all find out around 10 p.m. fore it reached 30 and I felt it The 7-7 halftime score recould happen on opening mains at game’s end and the night in our final visit to Skip captains meet for another coin
toss. The home team will get the first possession in the overtime followed by the Yellow Jackets. When we get the ball in the extra stanza, we’ll know what is needed. We’re finally in the proverbial “driver’s seat,” especially with a superior kicker who had booted a 47-yarder in an intrasquad scrimmage. Here we go. This game will have a winner and it will happen quickly. St. Marys comes away empty and is denied even a field goal try by a fumble. Sidney takes over at the 20 and needs only a field goal to win. The Jackets move to the 13yard line in the middle of the field, a great place for our kicker to seal the deal on a fourth down 30-yard attempt. The snap is solid, the hold is good, and so is the kick. We win!!! No, not quite yet. St. Marys is awarded a timeout and we’ll have to do it all again. The kicking unit remains calm while the Sidney contingent is anything but. This is it. The process is repeated with the same result. This time we do win. One-hundred-plus band members erupt with another rendition of the fight song. High fives and hugs are everywhere on the visitors side amid more cheering and clapping. The visiting crowd is buzzing. Jubilant team members come to the front of the bleachers behind the Sidney bench to greet our supportive throng. Several minutes elapse before Sidney players
and coaches finally exit the field toward a distant makeshift lockerroom. The band files out with much bounce in its collective marching step. A few Sidney partisans remain and are in no hurry to leave. This is a moment to savor. My final high five is with longtime Sidney High School teacher and coach Mary Jannides, who founded the “Block S” girls cheer group back in 1960 when the high school moved to Campbell Road. Memories abound and new ones are added on this night. The streak is over. Bring on Bellefontaine. Sidney football now also holds another distinction: our last three wins have all been in overtime, including the two that ended the 2009 season. What a way to start a football season, and what a way to start a school year. The long awaited victory is huge for our team. Competitive sports have great value but they’re more fun when you win. Our fight song begins with “Sidney High, Sidney High, Never Let that Spirit Die.” On this night our spirit is alive and well. I will always remember Friday evening August 24, 2012. Our young men did us proud and we all shared in the excitement. This one was special for all of Yellow Jacket Nation. —— Dave Ross is the historian of SHS football and is a regular contributor to the Sidney Daily News.