South Range in semifinals

PARMA — South Range had little time to celebrate a last-second 17-16 win over Poland last Friday that put the Raiders in the state semifinals for the fourth time.

Top-ranked South Range (14-0) will play third-ranked Liberty Center (14-0), the defending Division V state runner-up, at 7 p.m. Friday at Parma’s at Byers Field.

Quarterback Tristan Toy engineered a 12-play, 70-yard drive in the final 2:10 with no timeouts left to spark the Raiders’ rally.

South Range has gone 42-2 the last three seasons, including the 2022 Division V state championship.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for grades K-12. Children 5 and under are free.

Kirtland at Minerva

MINERVA — One of the best high school football teams is playing in the area this weekend.

Minerva’s Hines Stadium will host top-ranked Kirtland (14-0) and fifth-ranked Galion Northmor (14-0) in a Division VI state semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday. The defending state champion Kirtland Hornets won their eighth straight regional title last Friday with a 41-6 win over Dalton, last year’s Division VII state runner-up.

Kirtland has played for a state championship 11 times since 2011, winning seven state titles.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for grades K-12. Children 5 and under are free.

Alderman hits hole-in-one

GLENMOOR — Mike Alderman of New Waterford aced Historic Highlands 185-yard No. 1 on Sunday with a driver.

Rick Provenzano and Logan Charles were the witnesses. It was Alderman’s sixth hole-in-one.

No. 1 Pitt in ACC match

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — The top-ranked Pitt volleyball team (27-1) heads to third-ranked Louisville (25-3) tonight for the second of two regular-season clashes.

Both teams are 17-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and have won or shared the last seven ACC championships.

Pitt has won the last three matches against the Cardinals, all in five sets.

Pitt’s only loss was in five sets at SMU on Oct. 12. The Panthers have won 12 matches in row, including the last eight by 3-0 scores. Nine Pitt volleyball matches have sold out this season

It will be held at 7 p.m. today at the KFC Yum! Center and will be televised live on the ACC Network.

East Liverpool tickets on sale

EAST LIVERPOOL — East Liverpool basketball season tickets will be on sale from 3 to 5 p.m. on Friday at the fieldhouse box office.

Gregory in action for YSU

CINCINNATI — Former West Branch High School All-Ohioan Sophia Gregory is working her way into the lineup for the Youngstown State women’s basketball team.

The freshman played a personal-high 16 minutes on Tuesday night in the Penguins’ 61-43 loss to Xavier at the Cintas Center.

Sophia Gregory collected two points, six rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks.

Both teams are 4-2 on the season. The Musketeers scored 22 points off 29 YSU turnovers.

The Penguins will fly from Cincinnati to San Juan, Puerto Rico, today as they prepare for the Puerto Rico Clasico tournament. There, YSU will play Southern Indiana at 11 a.m. Friday and Towson at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Lions, Indians bowlers split

CALCUTTA — The Southern Local bowling teams split with Heartland Christian on Thursday at Tri-State Lanes.

The Southern Local boys fell to Heartland Christian, 1,615-1,453.

Logan McCartney led the Indians with a 153 high game and 290 series. Jacob Junkins added a 128 game and 252 series, while Jacob Conley chipped in a 112 game and 220 series.

For Heartland Christian, Christian Hamilton paced the team with a 159 game and 297 series.

The loss drops the Indians to 1-3 on the season.

In the girls match, Southern Local topped Heartland Christian, 1,340-1,237.

Hunter Dickson led the Indians with a 154 high game and 271 series. Kennedy Lewis contributed a 122 game and 244 series, and Haley Kincaid rolled a 110 game for a 198 series.

Morgan Wade led Heartland Christian with a 120 high game and 215 series.

The win improves the Southern Local girls to 2-0 on the season.

Perry sweeps United bowlers

KENSINGTON — Perry swept United on Tuesday in a bowling action at Forest Lanes. In the girls’ match, Perry defeated United 2,368-1,535. Keira Bryan led United with games of 110 and 149 for a 259 series. Lauren Painter followed with games of 113 and 128 for a 241 series. In the boys’ match, Perry claimed a 2,540-1,881 victory. Josh Hawkins led United with games of 181 and 243 for a 424 series. Luke Hull contributed games of 187 and 214 for a 401 series.

Buffalo routs Kent State

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — C.J. Ogbonna accounted for five touchdowns, Al-Jay Henderson had 185 yards rushing and a score and Buffalo beat winless Kent State 43-7 on Tuesday night in a regular-season finale.

Buffalo (8-4, 6-2 Mid-American Conference) has won four straight for the first time since 1986 to end its regular season and have six MAC wins for just the third time in program history.

The Bulls went 7-1 in 2018 and 6-2 in 2013.

Ogbonna was 14-of-22 passing with three touchdowns, scored on runs of 12 and 11 yards and finished with 51 yards on the ground on nine carries.

Henderson carried the ball 30 times and his 20-yard touchdown run stretched the Bulls’ lead to 26-0 late in the second quarter.

Victor Snow, Tadd Barr and Javien Cuff each had a touchdown catch for the Bulls, who finished with 446 yards of offense and were 9 of 15 on third-down conversions. Snow finished with eight receptions for 99 yards while six others had one catch apiece.

Tommy Ulatowski threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Luke Floriea early in the third quarter for Kent State (0-12, 0–8), which has lost 21 straight games, the longest active streak in the FBS.

Smoke not from burnouts

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Formula 1 drivers complained last week about the smell of marijuana as they prepared for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with one even joking they could fail drug tests.

Marijuana is legal in Nevada and the odor can often be prevalent among those attending sporting events.

“Yes, there was a smell of weed,” Williams driver Franco Colapinto said. “If they dope (test) the drivers now, I think we’ll all test positive. When we all test positive, there will be a mess.”

Drivers had three practice sessions as well as qualifying Thursday leading up to Saturday night’s race.

Max Verstappen, who clinched his fourth consecutive series title Saturday with two races remaining, said the smell of marijuana was quite noticeable.

“I was quite high in the car,” Verstappen said jokingly. “It’s not ideal because you can also smell it while driving and it’s quite extreme.”

His Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, echoed Verstappen’s comments.

“I’m tired of it already,” Perez said. “The amount is incredible.”

Nevada voters approved legalizing the drug in 2016, and the new law took effect Jan. 1, 2017. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Flag football scours nation

DENVER (AP) — So you’re the most valuable player of that annual Thanksgiving Day backyard flag football game. Or played tackle football on any level. Or ran track. Or dabbled in basketball. Or toyed with any sport, really.

Well, this may be just for you: USA Football is holding talent identification camps for ages 11to 23 all over the country to find that next flag football star. It’s “America’s Got Talent” meets “American Idol,” with the stage being the field and the grand prize a chance to compete for a spot on a national team. Because it’s never too early to start planning for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, where flag football will make its Summer Games debut.

Know this, though — it’s not an easy team to make. The men’s and women’s national team rosters are at “Dream Team” status given the men’s side has captured six of the last seven world championships and the women three in a row.