SPORTS
THE PAPER
December 2, 2015
Northfield’s Keaffaber signs with Huntington University
www.thepaperofwabash.com
Wabash County Hoops on Wabash WebTV
By Emma Rausch emma@thepaperofwabash.com Northfield senior Abby Keaffaber has signed with H u n t i n g t o n University to be both an athlete and an academic. On Tuesday, Nov. 24, Keaffaber signed to play with the college’s softball team, but told The Paper of Wabash County that she based her decision on much more than sports. “I liked that it was so close to my home and that I could visit my parents and family often,” Keaffaber told The Paper of Wabash County. “I love their small Christian campus and I went to a couple softball practices and I loved how they ran it. They also have a really great nursing program.” Keaffaber’s parents Tammy and Randy Keaffaber, sister Ally and brother Ryan all joined her as she signed the paperwork in the NHS library. Howard County Thunder coach Dave Roller, Northfield
By Bill Barrows
Abby Keaffaber (front row, center) signs her letter of intent to attend Huntington University and join the Foresters softball team. She was joined at the signing ceremony by (front row, from left) her sister Ally Keaffaber, father Randy Keaffaber, mother Tammy Keaffaber, brother Ryan Keaffaber, (back row, from left) Howard County Thunder coach Dave Roller, Northfield High School athletic director Clint Davis, Huntington University softball coach Doug Gower and Northfield softball coach Mike Holley. Photo by Emma Rausch softball coach Mike Holley and H u n t i n g t o n University coach Doug Gower were also present at the signing ceremony. When scouting the local athlete, Gower said he been keeping an eye on Keaffaber for several years. “I come over and usually watch the sectional ball games for years so I’ve seen her since she was a freshman,” he continued. “She comes from good
blood lines I guess you could say. I’ve watched her brother and probably her dad play in the past, but really she just proved that she wanted to be at Huntington. “She came to our practices. She emailed me. She proved that she wanted to be a student there and that appealed to me at a great deal let alone that she’s a good softball player.” Off the field,
Keaffaber plans to major in nursing with a concentration in oncology or perioperative. So far in her high school career, as a junior, Keaffaber played in 26 games with a batting average of .417 and 35 hits per game. She made six homeruns throughout the year. In her sophomore year, she played in 16 games and averaged .412. When she starts
playing for the H u n t i n g t o n Foresters, she said she believes she’ll bring her skills as a hitter and a catcher to the team. However, “we have a fairly good group of athletes so she has to earn her way on (the team),” Gower said. “But I see her as being a corner player or a catcher off the bat. That’s what I see her as just by past experience.”
Lady Apaches get TRC victory By The Paper staff
The Wabash Lady Apaches picked up their first Three Rivers Conference win of the season on Saturday, Nov. 28, d o w n i n g Maconaquah, 43-32. Wabash shot just percent from the field, but made up for the cold shooting with 17 steals on defense. “Lady Apaches struggled on offense in TRC opener but used a solid defensive effort and a good job on the boards to pull out the win,” coach Matt Stone said. Wabash had 40 rebounds in the contest, led by Katie McCauley’s nine. Jaycee Parrett was the leading scorer for Wabash, putting in 14 points. On Tuesday, Nov. 23, The Wabash Lady Apaches outscored Madison-Grant, 19-9, in the fourth quarter Tuesday night to down the Argyles, 41-38. Parrett led Wabash in scoring with 17
23
Girls and boys high school basketball has begun in earnest now that we have flipped the calendar to December. Wabash WebTV’s coverage now turns its focus to the Roundball. But before we get too carried away, let’s finish some old business. Northfield Head Football Coach Brandon Baker will join us on Hot Air this Thursday at 6 p.m. to recap the best football season the Norse have ever had. Hot Air is our new weekly show gives us a forum to discuss all thing sports and probably several other topics. Check out the Wabash WebTV and The Paper Facebook pages where you can comment or ask us questions that we will discuss on the air, OR tweet to us @wabashwebtv on Twitter. Our next game webcast will
be Thursday Dec. 10 from Manchester as the Squires host Warsaw in boy’s high School basketball. Looking down the road, Wabash WebTV will also broadcast from the Wabash County Basketball Tourney at Northfield on Dec. 29-30. The Wabash WebTV broadcast crew will provide you with a type of media that is the wave of the future and we love doing it for you and will try to refine the broadcasts to continually upgrade and make it top notch. Speaking for our commentators, Rick Harness, Jim Landrum, Tim Harness, Troy Miller, Chandler Jones and yours truly as well as our tech and support staff, Steven Weir and Julie Schnepp, thanks for tuning in! Join Wabash WebTV for exciting action of Indiana High School athletics. The Wabash WebTV schedule will be published in The Paper of Wabash County. If you are at a game or cannot watch it live, an archive of the featured game is available on the website shortly after the completion of each game.
Manchester boys start season 1-1 By The Paper staff Manchester’s boys’ basketball team started the 2015-16 season with a 1-1 mark last week. The Squires defeated Mississinewa, 69-56, to open the season on Nov. 25, but then fell to Oak Hill, 59-48, on Nov. 28. A g a i n s t Mississinewa, the Squires jumped out to
a 22-8 first quarter lead and were never really threatened the rest of the game. Chase Fierstos led Manchester with 23 points, while Koehl Fluke had 16. Against Oak Hill, Fierstos pumped in 24, but it wasn’t enough as the Golden Eagles hung on for the victory.
Nose, Blair lead Knights to win Manchester’s Bailey Sewell gets fouled on her way to the basket against Bluffton earlier this season. Photo by Eric Christiansen points. Saturday, Nov. 28. picked up its first win Southwood’s girls’ Wabash is now 5-3 Drew Thompson led of the season Tuesday, basketball team fell to on the season. Manchester with eight defeating Peru 44-33. Oak Hill, 61-31, on Lady Squires points. Abby Keaffaber led Tuesday night. Oak Hill defeated Lady Norse Northfield with 11 Brooke Elliott led the Manchester Lady The Northfield girls’ points. Southwood with 11 Squires, 53-28, on basketball team Lady Knights points.
By The Paper staff Matt Nose and Carson Blair each had 19 points on Saturday, Nov. 28, to lead the Southwood Knights to a commanding 62-28 win over Caston. Trailing 9-8 after one quarter, Southwood outscored Caston 41-12 over the next two quarters to take the lead which
would not be overcome. Nose had five threepoint baskets during the contest, while Blair had three threepoint baskets. Alex Harmon had 15 points and eight blocked shots in the victory. Peyton Trexler grabbed seven rebounds.