John Gilbert had an amazing life. He went to school at Rawson and played football. Bluffton High School had an all-state player named Howard Triplehorn, who was an outstanding athlete as a running back. He received a scholarship from Michigan. Triplehorn was also a sophomore on the basketball team in 1928-1929, which won 23 straight games and lost to Akron St. Mary's in the state championship game, 28 to 26. Howard was the second leading scorer on the team.
Happy Monday, Blufftonites! Here are BlufftonIcon.com's top stories from the week that was, December 15-21. For a chronological look at Icon content, visit blufftonicon.com/archive.
LIMA BATH__The Bluffton High School wrestling team finished a strong third at the 11-team Allen County Invitational tournament on Saturday, December 20 at Bath.
Perennial power Allen East won the tournament with 257.5 points. Elida (237.5) came in second, while Bluffton finished a strong third with 216.5 points.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Three Pirate grapplers won their individual weight bracket titles.
LIMA__The visiting Bluffton High School boys bowling team comfortably defeated Lima Central Catholic in a dual match at 20th Century Lanes on Saturday, December 20.
The Pirate boys won their overall match by a wide margin of 2,352-1,620 to improve to 2-1 this season.
BLUFFTON__The Bluffton High School girls basketball team dominated visiting Kenton 65-38 in a non-conference game on Saturday, December 20.
Eleven Pirate girls scored in their balanced attack, led by Macy Schaadt's 15 points. Greta Myers tallied 14 markers, including two triples in the second period.
KENTON__The visiting Bluffton High School boys basketball team utilized a big third quarter to pull away and defeat non-league rival Kenton 53-36 on Saturday, December 20.
The Pirates led just 24-23 at halftime, but outscored the Wildcats 19-4 in the decisive third period to build a 43-27 cushion.
Bluffton took the final stanza 10-9 to win by 17.
The Pirates improved to 2-4 overall after registering their second road win in as many nights. Winless WBL foe Kenton fell to 0-5 after the home loss.
Columbus Grove took home top honors at the 2025 Northwest Conference Scholastic Bowl Tournament held Friday, December 19, at The Ohio State University at Lima. Crestview was runner-up in the varsity competition. Fort Loramie won the junior varsity division in its first appearance at the tournament, and Bluffton was runner-up.
MT. BLANCHARD__The visiting Bluffton High School boys basketball team raced to a big early lead and trounced non-league foe Riverdale 55-32 on Friday, December 19.
The Pirates shot to a 20-3 lead after the first period and were never threatened. Bluffton led 26-11 at halftime, and outscored the Falcons 29-21 after intermission.
The Pirates improved to 1-4 overall after recording their first win of the season. Riverdale dropped to 3-2 after the home blowout loss.
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By Paula Pyzik Scott
Bluffton High School senior Kain Wright has signed a National Letter of Intent with Ashland University Track and Field. Wright plans to major in actuarial science.
Kain is the son of Kerris and Krista Wright and is an active member of Emmanuel Church in Columbus Grove.
The ceremonial signing took place on Friday, December 19 at the BHS gym with family, friends and teammates on hand.
