LANCASTER – Lancaster senior volleyball player Zoe DeLeon and her senior teammates had somewhat of a rude awakening when Leslie Davenport was named the new head coach.
Davenport has brought a different mentality, as far as making players work harder, holding them more accountable, and most importantly, not accepting losing.
Not that the program was downtrodden by any means, but it needed a jolt, and that is exactly what Davenport has brought to the program.
"Coach has brought a competitiveness, and she gives it to us straight," DeLeon said. "She holds us accountable. She has us working harder in practice, and it has transferred over to the game. There was a difference at the beginning when she took over, and it took time to get used to, but once we saw the outcome, it makes us want to work even harder."
More: Lancaster football lets lead slip away in loss to Hilliard Darby

#lancaster #brought #harder #deleon

Led by the big boys up front, the Berks Catholic Saints won their first Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 ****** le since the merger in 2022.
That hardware was followed by a run to their first District 3 championship appearance since 2019. Unfortunately for the Saints, they fell 17-0 to Trinity in a tough loss.
"I was really proud of the kids. I thought we had a really good year," Saints coach Dave Stahler said at the Lancaster-Lebanon League media day in early August. "Trinity, that's a really good program. I thought we'd move the ball a little bit better, but we didn't. We shot ourselves in the foot on offense a little bit … and we struggled to cover them."
Even with coming up short at the end of the season, the Saints had a ton to hang their helmets on. In Stahler's third season at the helm, he has turned Berks Catholic back into a team to be feared.
Berks Catholic averaged more than 300 yards per game on the ground and allowed just eight points per game in its wins defensively. Talk about a well-rounded football team.

#first

LANCASTER – It was a tale of two halves for the Lancaster football team in their season opener against visiting Hilliard Darby.
The Golden Gales were impressive in the first half, especially on defense, shutting out the Panthers to take a 9-0 halftime lead. However, the Gales' inability to move the ball with consistency in the second half proved to be their downfall. As a result, Lancaster's defense was on the floor more than it should have been, and Darby took advantage.
The Panthers rattled off 20 unanswered points in the second half. The Gales kept fighting and scored with 3:40 remaining to cut the margin to a one-score game, but it wasn't enough as the Panthers hung on for a 20- 15 nonconference victory on Friday, Aug. 21 at Fulton Field.
More: Starving for success, Lancaster set to usher in the McKinney era
Lancaster certainly played well enough to win, and it was one of those games where they had to feel like they let slip away. The glaring stat was that Darby ran 59 offensive plays compared to just 41 for the Gales.

#darby #second

Police were called to a high school soccer match in Huntersville last week after a 911 caller reported a large crowd was preparing to fight.
ALSO READ: Teacher hospitalized amid multiple fights at Lancaster High School
Huntersville police say between 200 and 400 people were at last Thursday's match between Hough High School and Community School of Davidson when the disturbance was reported.
A police spokesperson said officers did not witness any fighting, but they made sure the crowd left peacefully.
The 911 caller told police the match had to end early because of the disruption. The game is listed as a 1-1 draw between the two schools.

#police #huntersville #crowd #teacher

One newcomer to the Los Angeles Lakers who hasn't been talked about as much as some of the others is Ziaire Williams. The 6-foot-9 forward is very athletic, reportedly has a vertical leap of nearly 40 inches, runs the floor well and finishes strong in transition and is a versatile, effective defender. He will have a chance to make a significant impact on a Lakers team that has badly needed versatile, athletic perimeter defenders for the last few years.
Williams was born in Lancaster, Calif., which is about an hour northeast of downtown Los Angeles, and he went to high school in the San Fernando Valley, first at Notre Dame High School and then at Sierra Canyon School. He's now back in the Southland, and in a video on the Lakers' YouTube channel, he said that getting to play for the team is "super surreal."
"Seeing my name on the Lakers jersey was super surreal, a blessing," Williams said. "I can't even explain it into words I'm just so excited to be back home, playing in front of the fans, my family and I never would've imagined this day would come true. Eight-year old me is doing backflips right now. It's crazy, I just can't wait to play a real game. I'm ready to play right now."
The 24-year-old's main weakness is his 3-point shooting, which has improved somewhat during his five years in the NBA, but he was at a mediocre 34.3% from that distance last season. He's very good at hitting wide-open 3s (defined as the closest defender being at least six feet away), but he tends to struggle when a defender is closer than six feet away from him.
Last season, Williams averaged 10.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.1 ******* ists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks in 22.9 minutes a game as a member of the Brooklyn Nets. He signed a one-year, $2.45 million veteran minimum contract with the Lakers in mid-July.

#play

CARROLL – Even though there is change in the air, the expectations for winning will never change for the Bloom-Carroll football team.
The Bulldogs have won or shared eight straight Mid-State League-Buckeye Division championships, and during the last four seasons, they have compiled an overall record of 42-12, including four consecutive playoff appearances and a Division III state runner-up finish in 2022.
Steve Daulton takes over as the new head coach. He had previous head coaching stints at Berne Union and Amanda-Clearcreek, and for the last three years, he was the offensive coordinator at Lancaster. Jeremy McKinney, who guided the Bulldogs the last four seasons, left to become the head coach at Lancaster.
More: Lancaster-area 2026 high school football schedules: Mark your calendar
Daulton understands there are high expectations, and he and his team are meeting them head-on.

#head #last #daulton #state

Newly released body camera and surveillance footage shows a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy being stabbed within seconds of arriving at a call about an armed man before deputies opened fire, fatally shooting the suspect.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday released body camera and surveillance video from the June 20 incident in a Lancaster parking lot that left a deputy wounded and 23-year-old Robert Castro shot. Castro died after the shooting.
The incident began with a 911 caller reporting a man wielding multiple knives in public.
Wisconsin Protester Brands Madison As 'Corrupt City' During Anti-police Tirade Following Deadly Shooting
"Hey, I just want to make a report of a guy with some knives ... swinging them in public," the caller told a dispatcher.

#angeles #camera

The Los Angeles Lakers are adding a young wing to their revamped rotation, adding free agent forward Ziaire Williams has agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal, according to ESPN.
The signing fills all 15 spots on the roster, solidifying a squad built around Luka Dončić and its new-look core.
Williams, a 24-year-old small forward from Lancaster, California, joins the Lakers after spending the last two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets.
The former No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft brings size, athleticism, perimeter shooting to a Lakers team looking for more depth on the wing.
The 6-foot-9 forward played some of his best basketball of his career in the last two seasons in Brookyln.

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

Few people earn their keep more at the British Open than David Lancaster. He's the first tee announcer, taking over the job from legendary Ivor Robson in 2016. If things go to schedule, Lancaster will arrive at his post this week at Royal Birkdale shortly before 6:30 a.m. on Thursday and Friday and remain until just past 4 p.m., faithfully seeing off all 156 players competing in the championship.
Such is one of the lovable quirks of the oldest tournament in golf. With daylight in England lasting more than 18 hours come July, the R&A sends every one of the 52 threesomes off the first tee. (Yes, Augusta National does this too, but it's a lot easier with only around 100 players competing in the Masters.)
It brings with it a unique anticipation among players as to "when" they'll be scheduled to tee off. Getting on the "right side" of the draw in the Open Championship is something many discuss, and in any given championship could be a major factor in the outcome. That said, we crunched the numbers over the last few decades and found it wasn't as big a deal as it's made out to be, and that there is no noticeable trend in whether early-late times result in more champions than late-early (it's a 13-12 split in the last 25 years).
Players will be competing in threesomes on Thursday and Friday at Birkdale. Official tee times have not been announced so we are simply listing all the players in the field here. Check back here closer to the start of the championship and we'll have the tee times posted as soon as they go live.
More From Golf Digest

The inaugural edition of the Nations Championship launches in style with a clash between New Zealand and France in Christchurch.
This serves as the first All Blacks fixture at Te Kaha, the One New Zealand Stadium that has replaced the Lancaster Park venue damaged by the 2011 earthquakes in the city.
The new ground may well have a cracker to kick things off as the hosts start life under Dave Rennie, who replaced Scott Robertson as head coach at the start of the year.
While not at full strength, the France squad available to Fabien Galthie has been boosted by Bordeaux-Begles' failure to make the Top 14 playoffs and the Six Nations winners have plenty of threat within their side.
Here's everything you need to know.

LANCASTER – The 2025-26 high school season is officially over for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette coverage area, but there were several outstanding individual performances over the last school year.
It's now time to determine which female athlete deserves to be the Eagle-Gazette Female Athlete of the Year.
Six athletes are nominated.
Fans are encouraged to vote in the Eagle-Gazette Female Athlete of the Year Poll to determine who they think is the area's top female athlete. Fans can vote as often as allowed.
More: Five days in Akron with three softball teams left a lasting impression

LANCASTER — The 2025-26 high school season is officially over for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette coverage area, but there were several outstanding individual performances over the last school year.
It's now time to determine which male athlete deserves to be the Eagle-Gazette Male Athlete of the Year.
Six athletes are nominated.
Fans are encouraged to vote in the Eagle-Gazette Male Athlete of the Year Poll to determine who they think is the area's top male athlete. Fans can vote as often as allowed.
More: Mental health is no joke: My story of growing up in chaos and coming out on the other side

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:

Rod Stewart's wife Penny Lancaster is worried, reveals a source.
As Examiner previously reported, the "Forever Young" singer, 81, was forced to use an oxygen tank mid-concert in West Valley City, Utah on Friday, June 19, after nearly fainting onstage.
"Penny and the kids have been on Rod for literally years, telling him he's no spring chicken and the way he treats his body is bound to catch up with him sooner or later, especially his booze consumption," says the source. "He's ignored them repeatedly and now, their worst fears are coming true."
The week prior, Stewart had to cancel a concert in Chula Vista, California after an acute upper respiratory infection led to laryngitis, only to be spotted at a FIFA World Cup match in Boston.
"Even now, after this latest emergency, he's telling them to back off and insisting he knows his limitations, making excuses about dehydration and saying it looked a whole lot worse to the outside eye than it actually was," the source notes. "But for Penny, enough is enough."

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Golf is filled with tales of players improving their score by 12 shots over two rounds. Most astounding about Keith Mitchell was doing it in just over two hours.
Mitchell set a U.S. Open record Thursday at Shinnecock Hills when he became the only player to post a score in the 40s on nine holes, and follow that with a score in the 20s on the next nine.
He went 41-29. It added to an even-par 70, and Mitchell still isn't sure what happened. He was coming off a bogey on the par-5 16th, and his first thought was whether he would finish.
“I was thinking about trying to break 80,” he said. “I was just trying to keep in it in the fairway, on the green and maybe have a chance to make the cut. And then it all flipped.”
His 29 tied the Shinnecock Hills record for nine holes set by Neal Lancaster in 1995 (Lancaster is the only player to twice shoot 29 on nine holes in the U.S. Open).

The sense of anticipation felt by Ireland supporters about the start of the inaugural Nations Championship ramped up a degree or two on Wednesday when head coach Andy Farrell named his 36-man squad for the three matches his side will play in July.
Farrell's selection for the games against Australia, ****** an and New Zealand in July features three players who have yet to win their first caps, all three of those Connacht forwards.
Props Billy Bohan and Sam Illo, along with back row Sean Jansen, are part of the group which will travel to Sydney on Monday to begin their preparation for the three Test matches in the southern hemisphere.
The call-ups reflect the excellent form shown by Connacht in the latter half of the season particularly, as a run of positive results by Stuart Lancaster's team's moved them into eighth in the United Rugby Championship table, and thereby progressing to the end-of-season play-offs and qualify for next season's Champions Cup.
In total, six Connacht players have been named with Darragh Murray, Cian Prendergast and Bundee Aki also having been chosen.

SWOOPE — Buffalo Gap's offense came through just when it needed it as the Bison rallied for an 8-6 win over William Campbell June 4 in the Region 1B softball championship.
Trailing 2-0 in the fourth inning, Buffalo Gap scored five runs to take the lead, one they never relinquished in claiming its third straight regional ******* le. Buffalo Gap will host Lancaster, the Region 1A runner-up, Tuesday, June 9.
"It helps us a lot because we have lots of fans out here," Buffalo Gap starting pitcher Rachel Showalter said of playing in front of the home crowd one more time this season. "It just picks up everybody, gives everybody energy."
Six Bison had hits, but none more than one in a balanced offensive attack.
Elissa Caricofe started the fourth inning off reaching on an error, then advancing to second on the same play. Rachel Showalter singled home Caricofe's courtesy runner, Emarie Smiley, to get the Bison on the scoreboard.

When Doc Wieland took over as head baseball coach at Bishop Fenwick High School, he knew he had a talented team that could go places after some tournament experience last year.
Wieland was right. The Falcons are going north next week to the Ohio High School Athletic ******* ociation state tournament after a thrilling walk-off win in the regional finals.
Fenwick (22-8) edged Roger Bacon (21-9) 5-4 in the Division IV, Region 16 final at Day Air Ballpark, home of the Dayton Dragons. It is Fenwick's first regional ******* le since 1982.
They will play in the state semifinals June 13 in Akron against Richmond Edison or Lancaster Fairfield Union, who played later June 4. First pitch is 1 p.m. June 13.
Fenwick scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to come from behind. With the bases loaded, senior Boyd Westerfield hit a grounder to the hole in shortstop. Bacon freshman Grayson Spears threw home but junior Isaac Barker beat the throw to score the winning run.

When Doc Wieland took over as head baseball coach at Bishop Fenwick High School, he knew he had a talented team that could go places after some tournament experience last year.
Wieland was right. The Falcons are going north next week to the Ohio High School Athletic ******* ociation state tournament after a thrilling walk-off win in the regional finals.
Fenwick (22-8) edged Roger Bacon (21-9) 5-4 in the Division IV, Region 16 final at Day Air Ballpark, home of the Dayton Dragons. It is Fenwick's first regional ******* le since 1982.
They will play in the state semifinals June 13 in Akron against Richmond Edison or Lancaster Fairfield Union, who played later June 4. First pitch is 1 p.m. June 13.
Fenwick scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to come from behind. With the bases loaded, senior Boyd Westerfield hit a grounder to the hole in shortstop. Bacon freshman Grayson Spears threw home but junior Isaac Barker beat the throw to score the winning run.

Nine area teams in softball, baseball and soccer entered Tuesday night, June 2, with hopes of reaching the state tournament, but only two survived the regional semifinals.
Both Buffalo Gap softball and Riverheads baseball picked up wins in the semifinals and will now not only play for a regional ****** le June 4, but also advance to the state tournament.
Waynesboro girls soccer, Stuarts Draft girls soccer, Stuarts Draft softball, Fort Defiance boys soccer, Fort Defiance baseball, Staunton boys soccer and Riverheads softball all saw their seasons comes to an end June 2.
In tennis, the Fort Defiance girls won a regional ****** le and will advance to the Class 2 state tournament where it will host Randolph Henry at noon Friday, June 5. In Class 1 girls tennis, Riverheads will host Lancaster at 1 p.m. June 5 and Buffalo Gap will travel to Rappahannock that same day.
Local teams will also be competing in their respective state track and field championships June 5 and 6, with Class 1 and 2 schools in Harrisonburg at James Madison University and Class 3 schools in Lynchburg at Liberty University.