The Grove City Christian School football team will look to keep its playoffs hopes alive when it plays host to Andover Pymatuning Valley at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Eagles will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season, a stunning 10-7 defeat at Zanesville Rosecrans last Friday.

Grove City Christian stands at 7-1 and is unofficially sixth in the Division VI, Region 23 computer rankings. The top eight teams in the region qualify for the postseason.

Grove City Christian was fourth entering its game against Rosecrans.

The Eagles, which are seeking their first postseason berth in program history, will close out the regular season at home against Fairfield Christian Academy on Oct. 30.

"We know our fate for the postseason is in other people's hands," Grove City Christian coach Clyde Lucas said. "It could have been in ours."
Grove City Christian's 12 seniors will be recognized prior to the game on Saturday.

"They are great, coachable young men," Lucas said. "They listen very well. They're a disappointed group right now. They were fighting for the playoffs. We're not going to give up on it yet."

Pymatuning Valley, a Division IV team, is 2-6, with its wins coming against Vienna Mathews 26-12 on Oct. 2 and Cleveland Heights Lutheran East 14-6 on Oct. 10.

The 26 points against Mathews was a season high.

"Pymatuning Valley is a big school," Lucas said. "They have some decent-sized kids."

The Eagles entered last Friday's game averaging 44.1 points a game, but were held to their season low.

Senior running back Jessie Barns is closing in on another 1,000-yard season. He has rushed for 901 yards and 10 touchdowns on 110 carries.

Senior quarterback Christopher Bowman has completed 52 of 88 passes for 857 yards and 10 touchdowns, and has rushed for 239 yards and four touchdowns on 35 carries.

Senior Brice Bowman, Christopher's twin brother, has caught 21 passes for 574 yards and 11 touchdowns.

•The soccer team was 10-4-2 overall heading into its Division III district tournament game last Wednesday against MOCAL foe Delaware Christian.

The 11th-seeded Eagles finished second in the MOCAL at 3-1-1, behind Madison Christian (5-0).

Grove City Christian finished the regular season on a high note, as it was 4-0-2 in its last six games.

The Grove City Christian-Delaware Christian winner plays 15th-seeded Fisher Catholic on Saturday, with the winner most likely facing top-seeded Worthington Christian in a district semifinal on Wednesday.

Seniors Gabe Gutierrez, Josh Slone and Daniel Spears have paced the Eagles' offensively, with Slone leading the team in goals with 18.
Junior goalie Sam Hatfield has played well in net, according to coach David Morrison.

"We're focusing on taking our team to that next level of greatness," Morrison said. "We're really hitting on the small areas and trying to make the small things perfect."

•The cross country teams compete in the Division III district meet at Watkins Memorial on Saturday.

The top four teams and those individuals not on a qualifying team who finish in the top 16 advance to the regional meet Oct. 31 at Pickerington North.

The Eagles are seeking their first regional qualifier.

"It would be a big step for us," coach Doug Boggs said. "That's what your goal is. It's all about team-building first and then it's all about trying to get to a regional."

Boggs expects sophomore Sam Miller to vie for a regional berth.

Miller turned in a season-best time of 17 minutes, 32.47 seconds in finishing fifth in the Erin L. Nance Invitational at London Country Club on Oct. 3.

Senior Katie Miller, Sam's sister, should lead the girls team at regional.

"The kids are progressing real well," Boggs said. "They're starting to learn how to run as a pack, so the times are coming down a little bit as is our team average, which is what we've been working on. We've put in a lot of speed work. We'll be competitive at district."

•The volleyball team opened Division IV district tournament play last Wednesday against fourth-seeded Tree of Life.

The winner plays second-seeded Fisher Catholic, Millersport or Northside Christian on Saturday.

The Eagles entered the tournament at 5-16 overall, but played well late in the season, according to coach Joe Bradford.

Grove City Christian finished 2-10 in the MOCAL.

"We struggled a little bit down the stretch, we lost our last eight," Bradford said. "We went into a little mid-season slump. We played a little bit better last week. The results don't necessarily indicate it. We got a little spark back in our step."

Aricka Clark led the team in kills with 98, followed by Natalie Howard with 73.

Megan Keating (175) and Mariah Koenig (109) were the leaders in assists and Clark topped the team in blocks (59).

 

At a glance

Below are the recent results and coming schedules for the Grove City Christian fall teams:

CROSS COUNTRY
Saturday - At Division III district race at Watkins Memorial

FOOTBALL
Last Friday - Lost to Bishop Rosecrans 10-7
Saturday - Home vs. Andover Pymatuning Valley
Of note: The Eagles are 7-1.

SOCCER
*Oct. 6 - Tied Tree of Life 1-1
Oct. 8 - Defeated Gilead Christian 2-1
Oct. 12 - Def. Emmanuel Christian 6-1
*Oct. 13 - Def. Northside Christian 8-0
Last Wednesday - Played Delaware Christian in Division III district tournament game
Saturday - Grove City Christian-Delaware Christian winner will play Fisher Catholic
Of note: The Eagles were 10-4-2 overall before last Wednesday and finished 3-1-1 in the MOCAL.

VOLLEYBALL
Oct. 8 - Lost to Gilead Christian 25-11, 25-14, 25-14
Oct. 12 - Lost to Emmanuel Christian 25-15, 25-21, 20-25, 25-15
*Oct. 15 - Lost to Delaware Christian 25-21, 25-23, 25-11
*Last Saturday - Lost to Gahanna Christian 25-4, 26-24, 25-10
Last Wednesday - Played Tree of Life in a Division IV district tournament match
Saturday - Grove City Christian-Tree of Life winner will play Fisher Catholic, Millersport or Northside Christian
Of note: The Eagles were 5-16 overall before last Wednesday and finished 2-10 in the MOCAL.
*MOCAL contest