CHILLICOTHE — Doubted. Overlooked. Ignored.
Who cares?
Thanks to a near-perfect first half, and a defense that laid wood all night long, Unioto started its season with a 35-21 win over Jackson on Thursday night.
It was, without a doubt, a statement victory and one that — for the present moment — hushes the program's naysayers.
"If we're talking about programs, Unioto isn't on the same planet as Jackson High School football," Unioto coach Matt Hoops said. We're just trying to get better. Have we had some success over the past four years? Yes. But [Jackson] has been good for a long time. We knew we were going to have to be up for the challenge tonight to give ourselves a chance. We did that."

#jackson #chillicothe

AMANDA — Through a set and a half of Tuesday's season opener at Amanda-Clearcreek, Chillicothe's Evelyn Hamman was having her way.
The Cavaliers' senior leader had caused ruckus all night long, routinely finding open spots on the floor while providing several momentum-shifting stops at the net on the defensive end.
But when she gave her team a 16-8 lead midway through the second set with a block, upon landing, she noticed that four of her fingers on her left hand were straight — and one wasn't.
RELATED: Chillicothe's Evelyn Hamman is ready to cap record-breaking career
RELATED: Meet 7 area volleyball players who are chasing milestones

#amanda #related #meet #opener

CHILLICOTHE, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) -- The new coach at IVC is very familiar with central Illinois football.
Cameron Bailliez, a 2016 Pekin High School grad, is the new coach of the Grey Ghosts. He comes back to central Illinois after coaching six years in North Carolina.
Bailliez succeeds Tim Heinz, who retired after 21 years at IVC and a school record 99 career wins. Heinz guided IVC to 10 playoff appearances, the most recent in 2019.
"On offense, we will be more position-less. You'll see guys shift in motion all over the place. We'll see a guy playing tight end now might be a receiver. He might be a running back, he'll be all over the place," said Bailliez.
The players seem to like the new playbook.

#coach #back

CHILLICOTHE — Put simply, our area's volleyball scene is flat-out special.
Year after year, storied rivalries are renewed, new stars emerge in an everflowing river of talent and postseason runs become legendary tales.
This year, you should expect no different.
And before each team's journey starts, these seven players already have a legitimate chance at adding their own names to their program's history books.
Embedded content: https://www.chillicothegaz...

#Football #simply #special

CHILLICOTHE — We're less than a week away from kicking off a brand new high school football season in the Scioto Valley.
Hard to believe, right?
Last fall, three area programs — Chillicothe, Unioto and Zane Trace — managed to punch playoff tickets, while the Shermans and Pioneers picked up postseason victories.
Those same three schools will try and repeat that process while the rest of the area attempts to follow their lead.
But before that journey begins, we've named 10 players you need to know before a new season begins.

#chillicothe #begins #valley

Here is the week-by-week 2026 schedule for central Ohio high school football. Schedules were obtained from area schools and are subject to change.
Fairbanks at North Robinson Colonel Crawford; Harvest Prep at Versailles
Africentric at Groveport; Amanda-Clearcreek at West Jefferson; Bellville Clear Fork at Granville; Berlin Center Western Reserve at Whetstone; Berne Union at Bidwell River Valley; Bloom-Carroll at Caledonia River Valley; Bucyrus Wynford at Cardington; Canal Winchester at Grove City; Centennial at Grandview Heights; Centerburg at Utica; Chillicothe Southeastern at Fairfield Christian; Circleville at Chillicothe; Dalton at Danville; Dayton Dunbar at Briggs; Delaware at Buckeye Valley; Dublin Coffman at Hartley; Dublin Scioto at Thomas Worthington; East Knox at Northridge; Eastmoor Academy vs. Ready at Fortress Obetz; Fisher Catholic at Belpre; Franklin Heights at West; Fredericktown at Highland; Hamilton Township at Whitehall; Heath at Duncan Falls Philo; Hilliard Bradley at Big Walnut; Hilliard Darby at Lancaster; Huntington at Newark Catholic; KIPP Columbus at Beechcroft; Liberty Union at Woodsfield Monroe Central; Licking Heights at Newark; Linden-McKinley at Bexley; Logan Elm at Chillicothe Zane Trace; Madison-Plains at Westfall; Mansfield Senior at Hilliard Davidson; Marion Pleasant at North Union; Martins Ferry at Mount Gilead; Marysville at Westerville North; Millersport at Portsmouth Sciotoville East; Mount Vernon at Marion Harding; New Albany at London; New Lexington at Fairfield Union; Northland at Columbus Academy; Olentangy Liberty vs. Lakewood St. Edward at Lakewood; Olentangy Orange at Olentangy Berlin; Pickerington Central at Gahanna; Pickerington North at Troy; Reynoldsburg at Toledo Whitmer; St. Charles at Central Crossing; South at Mifflin; Thornville Sheridan at Licking Valley; Upper Arlington at Olentangy; Vermilion at Johnstown; Walnut Ridge at East; Watkins Memorial at Worthington Kilbourne; Watterson at Whitehouse Anthony Wayne; West Liberty-Salem at Jonathan Alder; Westerville Central at Marion-Franklin; Westerville South at Dublin Jerome; Westland at Teays Valley; Worthington Christian at Grove City Christian; Youngstown Ursuline at DeSales; Zanesville West Muskingum at Lakewood
Independence vs. Dayton Meadowdale at Welcome Stadium; Columbus Crusaders at Byron Center (Michigan) Grand Valley Christian
Beechcroft at Independence; Berne Union at Chillicothe Huntington; Bexley at Worthington Christian; Big Walnut at Dublin Coffman; Briggs at Dublin Scioto; Buckeye Valley at Africentric; Bucyrus Wynford at East Knox; Canal Winchester at New Albany; Cardington at Sycamore Mohawk; Centerburg at Johnstown; Cincinnati Aiken at Northland; Circleville at Washington Court House; Cleveland Glenville at Olentangy Liberty; Cleveland St. Ignatius at Pickerington North; Danville at Utica; DeSales at Walnut Ridge; East at Whitehall; Eastmoor Academy at Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy; Franklin Heights at Linden-McKi

High school football in the state of Ohio is unmatched. There have been plenty of outstanding players throughout the years, but the stadiums they have played in are just as iconic.
As part of the USA Today’s 250 for 250 celebration, local newspaper markets representing smaller USA Today properties in the Buckeye state are taking a closer look at high school football stadiums.
A group of sports journalists representing Ashland, Bucyrus, Cambridge, Chillicothe, Coshocton, Fremont, Lancaster, Mansfield, Marion, Port Clinton, and Zanesville and their surrounding areas compiled a list of the best high school football stadiums.
Now it's your turn to pick the best of the best. Be sure to vote in the poll below, and if you feel we've left your favorite high school stadium out, go ahead and write in yours from one of the above markets.
Here are the top 16 best high school football stadiums representing these areas: