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

AID — This was one of those days when everything was working. The Symmes Valley Lady Vikings put together a total team effort with all facets working as they blanked the Coal Grove Lady Hornets 15-0 in a run rule 5-inning non-league game on Tuesday. “Our girls played a great game against a good Coal Grove team,” said Lady Vikings’ coach Jeff “Odie” Estep. “We got great pitching against some really good hitters and then our girls hit the ball well throughout our lineup.” Brenn

COAL GROVE — You could almost hear Phil Harris singing the first part of this Jungle Book song: “Look for the Bare necessities, the simple Bare necessities Forget about your worries and your strife.” With Rylee Bare on the mound, the Coal Grove Lady Hornets had no worries as she pitched her team to a 6-1 win over the Minford Lady Falcons on Thursday. Bare went the distance to get the win as she struck out 11, walked one and gave up just two hits. Bare also went 3-4 with two r

The league tiles have been settled, the state champions crowned, and the individual postseason awards are being announced. Having spent the past five months closely following 10 area teams on both sides of the Ohio River, Tri-State Sports Page has studied the teams and the players throughout the season and now it’s time to announce the TSSP All-Roundball teams. While there were some good teams and even a few great teams, the all-star selections are about individual success wi

2025-26 Ohio Prep Sports Media Association All-Southeast District Girls Basketball Teams Division 2 Second Team Ella Hinton, Logan, 5-7, Jr., 14 Special Mention Ryann Landis, Logan Division 3 First Team Hayleigh Chidester, Marietta, 5-8, Sr., 10.2; Milee Smith, Unioto, 5-10, Sr., 23.7; Mylie Forgrave, Sheridan, 5-3, Sr., 12.0; Ella Chapman, Athens, 5-2, Sr., 11.5 Player of the Year: Milee Smith, Unioto Coach of the Year: J.D. Walters, Sheridan Second Team Keyairah Beard, U

CHILLICOTHE — Despite a third quarter rally to take the lead, a cold shooting streak in the fourth proved to be too much to overcome for the Coal Grove Lady Hornets, as they fell to the Belpre Lady Golden Eagles 38-32 in the Division 6 district semifinals on Tuesday at Southeastern High School. Coal Grove finishes the season with a record of 17-6. Belpre improved their record to 8-16 and moved onto the district finals on Saturday where they will face the Waterford Lady Wildca

IRONTON — Ironton coach Drew Stevens was worried about a letdown. What he got was a never let up. After beating Coal Grove twice in the regular season, Stevens was concerned that his team might not be as focused as it should be. Hey coach. Breathe easy. Your boys have your back. Ironton forced 13 first half turnovers and began the game with a 14-0 run en route to a 62-24 win over the Hornets in the Division 5 District quarterfinals. Ironton (20-2) led 16-4 after the first qua

COAL GROVE — This was a case of the big girls coming up big. The Coal Grove Lady Hornets called upon their two tallest players to step up against the height of the Green Lady Bobcats on Wednesday. The Lady Hornets’ Jenna Anson and Izzy Kitts did just that as Coal Grove beat the Lady Bobcats 50-39 in a non-league game. “We wanted to challenge their big girls and bring extra bodies when they got in the paint,” said Lady Hornets’ coach Nick Miller.”Izzy (Kitts) and Jenna (Anson)

CHESAPEAKE — Playing good on offense and good on defense led to good results. Playing a balanced game, the Coal Grove Lady Hornets held off the Chesapeake Lady Panthers 40-37 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Monday. “We played well on offense and defense in the first half,” said Lady Hornets’ coach Nick Miller. “They came out in a zone and we moved the ball and had balanced scoring. Kendall Taylor had a good scoring second quarter with seven points.” Coal Grove (16-5, 10