East Palestine in state poll

COLUMBUS — East Palestine and West Branch show up in the first Associated Press 2025 Ohio high school football poll released Tuesday.

East Palestine, which is 3-0 for the first time since 2009, is ranked 17th in Division VII. The Bulldogs will host Lisbon on Friday.

West Branch, now 2-1, is ranked 23rd in Division VI. The Warriors dropped the season opener to Canfield (3-0 and ranked sixth in Division IV).

Youngstown Ursuline (2-0) is ranked ninth in Division IV. Ursuline’s game against Farrell last week was canceled after the school was included in a federal lawsuit filed this week claiming incidents of hazing on a football field trip over the summer. Ursuline has a bye this week and named Michael Frasco as interim head coach for the rest of the season.

See page B2 for the complete state poll.

Bus can’t stop at United

HANOVERTON — The Valley Christian at United volleyball match scheduled for Tuesday was canceled because Valley Christian did not have a bus available. It is expected to be rescheduled at a later date.

United’s next match will be Thursday at Leetonia.

Former Mount Union QB leads big upset

ADRIAN, Michigan — Former Mount Union quarterback Noah Boudrie is feeling at home at his new school.

Boudrie — who transferred to Adrian College to be closer to home in Monroe, Michigan, for his final season of eligibility — threw a game-winning touchdown pass with 26 seconds as the Division III Bulldogs stunned FCS Valparaiso University, 10-7, Saturday night.

Boudrie led Adrian on an 83-yard drive at Brown Field with 1:20 remaining. He was 4-for-4 passing for 83 yards on the drive, including the game-winning 26-yard scoring pass to Ethan Abberger.

Boudrie finished 16-of-23 passing for 183 yards along with 24 yards rushing.

He played in 27 games at Mount Union, which has won 13 NCAA Division III national titles, before leaving for Adrian, which has yet to win a playoff game.

Boudrie was the starting quarterback at Mount Union last season until suffering a knee injury. He completed 114 of 163 passes for 1,831 yards and 16 touchdowns with two interceptions last season along with 512 yards and nine touchdowns on 100 carries.

Adrian will host Thiel College at 3 p.m. Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM on Saturday, September 13.

Slabach shines in collegiate debut

DAYTON – Wright State freshman and South Range graduate Emmitt Slabach got out of the gate quickly in his first collegiate race.

Slabach finished 32nd out of 208 men’s runners at the Mike Baumer Cross Country Classic on Friday night.

He finished the 3.1-mile course at Fairborn Community Park in 15 minutes, 19.4 seconds. Slabach was Wright State’s fourth runner.

Brendan Thomas was the winner (14:33.4) in leading Butler to the team title with 21 points. Ohio State was second with 34 points and host Wright State was third out of 14 teams with 120 points.

Slabach finished seventh in the Ohio Division III boys state meet last November in 15 minutes, 34.11 seconds — the second-fastest time in South Range history.

Stewart earns roster spot

CANTON — Elijah Stewart, an East Liverpool resident, has earned a roster spot on the team that will represent the Northern Ohio Professional Golfers Association in the third Junior Ohio Cup to be be played Oct. 17-19 at Brookside Country Club in Canton. Elijah, 13, is one of eight boys on the 16-player team that will play in the Junior Ohio Cup, a team event patterned after the Ryder Cup. He is the youngest member on the team.

A summer to remember

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Mason Howell goes back to Georgia for his senior year of high school, and he might have a hard time digesting just what transpired in a most astonishing four months.

Howell’s lone victory on his World Amateur Golf Ranking ledger was two years ago in the Billy Horschel Junior Championship.

He returns to school having been co-medalist at the U.S. Open local qualifying (64), medalist at U.S. Open final qualifying (63-63 at Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta), medalist at the U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Amateur champion at Olympic Club and unbeaten in his Walker Cup debut.

“I couldn’t even tell you what’s been going on these last two months,” Howell said after the Americans’ 17-9 victory over Great Britain and Ireland. “It’s been so much fun, and to do it with my family by my side the whole way, yeah, I look forward to keep going. … So much to look forward to next year, and just keep working hard, keep getting better, and hopefully some good results will keep coming.”

He went 2-0-1, and what stood out was not so much the feats but the moments.

He had an albatross on the par-5 second hole at Cypress during a practice round. He closed out a single victory on Saturday with birdies on two of the most famous holes at Cypress, the par 3s along with ocean, making a 45-foot putt on the par-3 16th over the ocean and unleashing a fist pump of sheer joy.

And then on Sunday, he closed out a foursomes victory by one-hopping a wedge from the fairway into the hole for an eagle on the par-4 17th along the coast.

“I saw Mason earlier this summer shoot 63-63 to get in the Open, and that turned my head,” U.S. captain Nathan Smith said. “Then I watched him at the Olympic Club and I watched him later in the summer, and it was like I had found Superman.”

Howell, who is No. 143 in the amateur world ranking, would not have been on the U.S. team if not for winning the U.S. Amateur. And the Walker Cup wasn’t on even on his mind at Olympic.

“It’s definitely been a roller coaster, but I’ve been playing really good golf. I didn’t know the winner of the U.S. Am got on the Walker Cup until about my quarterfinals match,” he said. “It’s been such a fun week. I’m just super blessed to be here.”

And the year isn’t over. Howell will join the Oklahoma State duo of Preston Stout and Ethan Fang in Singapore on Oct. 8-11 for the World Amateur Team Championship.

He has committed to play at Georgia when he graduates high school.

“Just this week through our practice sessions, you get to see everybody’s game, and I really couldn’t believe it up close,” Smith said. “Just an incredible young man, mature beyond his years, and I think we’re going to be treated to some incredible golf by him for the next decades.”

Guardians win fifth straight

CLEVELAND (AP) — Joey Cantillo allowed four hits in a career-best eight-plus innings, José Ramírez homered, doubled and scored twice, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory.

Cantillo (5-3) struck out five and didn’t issue a walk. Cade Smith pitched a scoreless ninth for his 12th save for the Guardians, who entered play 2 1/2 games behind Seattle for the final wild-card spot.

Ramírez, who had three hits, hit a solo homer off Royals starter Noah Cameron (7-6) with two outs in the first. David Fry hit the second of back-to-back to doubles to drive in Ramírez in the fourth.

Cameron, a 26-year-old rookie, gave up two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings.

The Guardians, who has won six of seven, beat the Royals 10-2 in the series opener Monday.

Bobby Witt Jr. returned from a three-game absence and Jonathan India was activated off the 10-day IL for Kansas City.

Key moment

Cantillo gave up a leadoff single to Kyle Isbel in the ninth and was replaced by Smith, who got Mikael Garcia to fly out. Isbel moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third when Witt singled before Smith struck out Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez to end the game.

Key stat

The Guardians clinched the season series — and the head-to-head tiebreaker for any postseason implications — over the Royals.

Up next

Kansas City has not announced its starter against Logan Allen (7-11, 4.46 ERA) on Wednesday in the third of a four-game series.