By Cort Reynolds
BLUFFTON - The homestanding Bluffton football team stuck to the ground and ran past last-place Delphos Jefferson 42-14 in a Northwest Conference contest Friday night.
The Pirates dominated their last home game of 2019 by running the ball - they did not throw a single pass en route to rolling up 377 rushing yards.
Delphos scored the first touchdown, but then Bluffton reeled off 35 unanswered points to pull away from a close game at halftime and win handily.
By Cort Reynolds
BLUFFTON - The top-seeded Bluffton boys soccer team started its Div. III tournament run with a decisive 7-0 win over visiting Otsego Saturday afternoon.
The sectional final win upped the Pirate record to 13-2-2 and advanced them to the district semifinals against sixth seed Willard.
Bluffton's Jude Spallinger started the scoring parade with a goal in the sixth minute. Simon Derstine made it 2-0 four minutes later.
Kaden Basil netted a goal in the 37th minute to put the heavily-favored hosts ahead 3-0 at halftime.
By Cort Reynolds
COLUMBUS GROVE - The Bluffton boys cross country team finished third in the 11-team Div. III District 1 meet at Columbus Grove Saturday morning.
The top-three finish qualified the Pirate squad to regionals at Tiffin's Hedges-Boyer Park next Saturday, October 26.
Host Columbus Grove boasted the top four individual finishers and won the boys team title with 23 points.
Waynesfield finished second (106) with Bluffton third (107). Kalida finished fourth with 112 points, and Upper Scioto Valley came in sixth (123).
By Cort Reynolds
BLUFFTON - The host Bluffton girls soccer team shut out Mansfield St. Peter's 3-0 in Div. III sectional final action Thursday evening.
The fifth-seeded Lady Pirates improved to 10-6-1 with the shutout victory. The seventh-seeded Lady Spartans ended their season with an identical 10-6-1 record after the defeat.
Pirate Laykin Garmatter started the scoring with a goal in the 18th minute. Bluffton extended its lead to 2-0 on a costly MSP own goal six minutes before intermission.
By Cort Reynolds
NEW KNOXVILLE - The Bluffton volleyball team lost to Marion Local in straight sets in Div. IV sectional final play Thursday night at New Knoxville.
Fifth seed Bluffton ended its season 12-12 after the 25-16, 25-14, 25-21 loss to the Flyers.
Third-seeded ML improved its record to 12-10 with the win, and advanced to the district semifinals. All four teams left are from the Midwest Athletic Conference.
Sophomore Kylie Stackhouse led the Lady Pirate offense with nine kills. Junior Taylor Schwab compiled seven kills and seven digs.
The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) is proud to announce the launch of the newly redesigned HCAC website, heartlandconf.org, as well as its continued partnership with website solutions partner PrestoSports. The site’s new interface provides visual improvements as well as enhanced convenience featuring website navigation and mobile device integration.
