During 50 years of Fort Loramie girls basketball, the Redskins have won the Shelby County Athletic League 26 times, earned 26 district titles, 10 regional titles, and two Division IV state championships.
Saturday’s celebration before the Fort Loramie versus Ottawa-Glandorf contest will recognize the 265 players who have worn an FL uniform. The event will also honor the freshmen, junior varsity and varsity coaches who led these players to individual and team accomplishments.
In addition, the ceremony will salute the managers, trainers, doctors, statisticians, and videographers who performed “behind the scenes” work and made the girls hoops program run smoothly year after year.
ScoresBroadcast.com carries the game live at 1 p.m. It is simulcasted on WMVR, 105.5 TAM FM, radio.
Fort Loramie, 13-0 on the season, is rated No. 1 in Ohio in the AP girls Division IV poll. The squad has won 61 of its last 62 contests over three seasons.
If Saturday’s “special day” doesn’t motivate the Redskins enough, the opponent surely will.
Fort Loramie takes on a D-III Ottawa-Glandorf squad that is 11-1, losing only to D-II Lima Bath. The O-G Titans are ranked third in the state.
The Redskins one-two punch of Kenzie Hoelscher and Dana Rose will be challenged on Saturday. O-G’s Erin Kaufman racked up 14 points and 10 rebounds versus Bath. Kelsey Erford, another strong interior player, had 10 points, nine boards, five assists and five steals. Guard Anna Siefker buried four triples over Bath’s defense.
This season, Ottawa-Glandorf owns a half dozen wins over much larger schools, including D-I Perrysburg.
The Titans were ousted by four points in the regional final last year by powerhouse Columbus Africentric.
Ottawa-Glandorf and Bath own excellent traditions in girls basketball in the Western Buckeye League. Three of every four years, one of the two schools wins the conference crown. In 44 years, O-G has been victorious in two-thirds of its WBL games.
Through five decades of basketball at Fort Loramie, the Redskins program has posted the second most triumphs in girls games in Ohio, trailing Berlin Hiland by three. Bath is three wins behind the Redskins.
Interestingly, Fort Lorame head coach Carla Siegel, whose career as mentor of the program spans 22 years, has been “a part” of 780 of the 1,156 girls hoops games played at the school. She played in 90 contests, served as assistant coach in 122, and has been mentor of the program for 568 games.
Inaugural head coach Jane Poeppelman amassed a winning record in 21 of her 22 seasons and laid the foundation for the program’s terrific success.
ScoresBroadcast.com and WMVR also carry the Saturday night 7:30 PM boys game at Fort Loramie, which features the Redskins (8-4) and D-IV Convoy Crestview (9-2). The Knights have been ranked as high as 12th in the state this month. They have upset number two ranked Kalida and beaten Fort Recovery by 13.
Crestview’s 6-8 post player, four-star Kalen Etzler, is headed to Ohio State.
