PROCTORVILLE — Physical defensive play and explosive offensive plays were the theme of the night for the Fairland Dragons, as they held off the upset-minded Coal Grove Hornets for a 33-22 win in a Ohio Valley Conference game on Friday night at a rain-soaked Jim Mayo Memorial Stadium. Dragons head coach Ron Wooten knew that his team would be in for a physical, playoff-like test from Coal Grove and felt his players passed that test on Friday. "You know what Coal Grove is and th

SOUTH POINT — In a game dominated by the running game, it might have been the kicking game that proved to be the deciding factor. The South Point Pointers used the running duo of Landon “Batman” Vance and Robert “Robin” Napier to rally in the second half and beat the Coal Grove Hornets 48-36 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Friday in a game full of onside kick-offs. Vance ran 11 times for 193 yards and 4 touchdowns while Napier carried 15 times for 94 yards. The Pointers

WILLIAMSPORT — As a team, the Ironton Fighting Tigers just missed a trip to the state tournament. But golf also has a way to reward individuals and Ironton senior Asher Keyes got a special reward: A trip to the state tournament. The top two finishers qualify for the state tournament and Ironton finished third in the Division 2 district golf tournament on Wednesday. But Keyes and junior Connor Chandler of Greenfield McClain each shot a 77 over the par 72 course and earned a tr

COAL GROVE — Brock Shelton scored 3 touchdowns as the Gallia Academy Blue Devils rallied from a first quarter deficit to beat the Coal Grove Hornets 33-13 in an Ohio Valley Conference game last Friday. Coal Grove (2-4, 1-2) jumped in front on the second play of the game as fullback Liam White broke through the defense and ran 52 yards for the score. Xander Hernandez kicked the conversion and it was 7-0. Gallia Academy (1-5, 1-2) came back with its own scoring drive capped by

BARBOURSVILLE, W.Va. — When you have 4 of the top 13 golfers in the tournament including the best player, your chances of winning should be pretty good. For the Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers, they weren’t just good. They were the best. Led by the Player of the Year Mairin Walters, Ironton won the Ohio Valley Conference Golf Tournament Friday at Esquire Golf Course. Walters shot an 81 to take medalist honors while Samiya Blackburn of Chesapeake was two shots back. Ironton had a

COAL GROVE — The only kind of spread the Coal Grove Hornets seem to be interested in is how big of a post-game meal will there be this week. In an era of spreading the field with five receivers and filling the air with passes, the Hornets are taking a different approach by lining up and telling the defense, “Here we come. Stop us.” The Hornets’ power running game was the key to a 40-34 Ohio Valley Conference win over the speedy Portsmouth Trojans on Friday. With Coal Grove (3

McDERMOTT — Showing steady improvement all season, the Gallia Academy Blue Devils capped off that climb by winning the Ohio Valley Conference Golf Tournament on Tuesday at the Portsmouth Elks Country Club. Led by medalist Christopher Conley, Gallia Academy posted a 318 team score to finish ahead of the second-place Fairland Dragons by 14 strokes. The Ironton Fighting Tigers were third just 4 shots behind Fairland. The Coal Grove Hornets were fourth at 376, the Rock Hill Redme

CHESAPEAKE — It was ground and pound. The Coal Grove Hornets ran 53 plays with 51 running plays as they pounded out a 16-0 win over the Chesapeake Panthers in an Ohio Valley Conference game. Coal Grove's win ensured they would keep the Little Brown Jug traveling trophy for the seventh consecutive season. The Hornets (1-3, 1-0) had 278 total yards with 235 coming on the ground led by workhorse running back Gauge Craft who ran 46 times for 222 yards and a touchdown. Coal Grove

COAL GROVE — After last seasons' 10-win campaign, the Russell Red Devils were left with a lot of questions about their squad for the 2026 season. For Russell coach TJ Maynard, most of the questions focused around replacing four starters on the offensive line, breaking in a new quarterback for the third straight season, and replacing his entire defensive backfield. Well, much of those questions got answered as the Red Devils took down the Coal Grove Hornets in a 34-0 win on Fr

Players and coaches of the 2025 Coal Grove Hornets’ football team. COAL GROVE — When Coal Grove Hornets’ seven-year head coach Jay Lucas goes to fill the holes in his lineup, he’s going to need a lot of filler. The Hornets graduated some talented players from last year’ 8-3 team that won its first Ohio Valley Conference title since 2017 and qualified for the Division 5 postseason playoffs. Of those who must be replaced is All-Ohio first team running back and Division 5 Southe

They are the second line of defense, but that’s the only thing second about them. Linebackers make up the second line of defense and are needed to read the situation and react quickly. And their jobs are plentiful. While the defensive linemen tie up the offensive linemen, the linebackers are versatile players who fill holes, stop the running gaps, blitz the quarterback and drop back into pass coverage. Here’s a lot at five of the top linebackers to watch this high school foot

ATHENS — Natalie Goode pitched a one-hitter as the Meigs Lady Marauders blanked the Coal Grove Lady Hornets 6-0 in the Division 5 district semifinals on Tuesday. Meigs (24-2) will play in the district finals Friday against Southeastern. Goode struck out 9 and did not walk a batter in getting the win. Goode also went 2-3 at the plate with a double and an RBI. Brooklyn Roush was 2-4 with 2 doubles and an RBI for Meigs. Kyleigh Kranyik was 1-3 with a double and an RBI, Ava Horn

IRONTON — For baseball players, the St. Joseph Flyers are pretty good at marathons. The Flyers pushed across a run in the 11th inning as they outlasted the Coal Grove Hornets 3-2 in a non-league game on Monday. St. Joseph (13-6) got the winning run in the 11th with one out when Beckham Waginger singled, stole second, took third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Carson Lyons. The Flyers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Mason Weber walked and Beckham Wag

IRONTON — A pinch of this, a dash of that, a smidge of that, mix it up and you have a win. Ironton had a successful recipe on Friday as the Fighting Tigers blanked the Coal Grove Hornets 10-0 in a five-inning run rule Ohio Valley Conference win. Braydon Baker pitched a one-hitter and Ethan Sutton was 3-for-4 with 3 runs batted in to help spark the win. “A few kids made some great plays in the outfield, (Ethan) Sutton hit great and (Braydon) Baker pitched very well,” said Iron

PROCTORVILLE — The Coal Grove Lady Hornets used the right recipe to get a win. The Lady Hornets mixed 10 hits with 6 errors and a few cups of good pitching to beat the Fairland Lady Dragons 14-0 in an Ohio Valley Conference game. The good pitching was supplied by Rylee Bare who gave up just 3 hits as she struck out 5 and did not walk a batter in the run rule win. Coal Grove (8-10, 7-3) was led at the plate by Izzy Kitts who went 3-3 with 4 RBI. Shay Collins was 2-3, Kendall T

PROCTORVILLE —The Fairland Dragons’ bats just kept hitting away and as a result they just kept scoring. Fairland had 13 hits and scored in four of their six at-bats as they beat the Coal Grove Hornets 13-2 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Monday. Fairland (7-8, 5-4) took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Tanner Brown walked and Chase Lapole had an RBI triple. Josh Gillespie followed with a double for a run and Nolan Fleming singled in the final run. Coal Grove (5-9, 2-7) go

SOUTH POINT — Kota Copley doesn’t just pitch, she can hit, too. Copley pitched a 7-hitter and went 4-for-4 at the play with 2 doubles and 2 runs batted in as the South Point Lady Pointers beat the Coal Grove Lady Hornets 8-5 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Friday. Copley struck out 6, walked 2 and only 3 of the runs were earned as she got the complete game win. South Point (11-5, 5-2) had 14 hits and Copley wasn’t the only player with a big game. Kaylee Stidham was 2-3 w

COAL GROVE — What do Rolaids and Dawson Philyaw have in common? They’re both great when you need some relief. Philyaw came on to pitch six dominating innings in relief as the Ironton Fighting Tigers beat the Coal Grove Hornets 7-2 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Wednesday. The senior left-hander gave just two hits and an earned run while striking out 11 of the 18 outs he recorded and did not walk a batter to get the win. Philyaw and starter Jacob Hughes were going to spl

COAL GROVE — Better late than never. The Fairland Dragons rallied in the sixth inning and edged the Coal Grove Hornets 5-4 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Friday. Fairland (3-5, 2-1) took a 1-0 lead to start the game but Coal Grove tied the game in the bottom of the first inning. Coal Grove (2-5, 0-3) took a 2-1 lead in the third and then went up 4-1 in the fourth inning. But Fairland put together a four-run rally in the sixth and then held on to win. Nolan Fleming got t

AID — The Symmes Valley Lady Vikings just keep on rolling. The Lady Vikings downed the Coal Grove Lady Hornets 11-1 in a run rule game on Tuesday, then rolled past the Northwest Lady Mohawks 13-0 in a run rule Southern Ohio Conference game on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Symmes Valley (9-2, 2-0) won as Brenna Tibbs pitched a two-hitter with nine strikeouts and three walks. Tibbs also went 3-4 at the plate with a double and she led off the game with a home run. Kaycee Thompson was