Rochester got on the board just over five minutes into Friday's TRC football game with Northfield.

And they kept scoring.

Rochester bounced back from last week's first conference loss at Peru with a 62-0 domination of the Norsemen at Barnhart Field.

Brant Beck provided the early score on a 49-yard run. Parker Wallace added the extra point to stake the Zebras to an early 7-0 lead.

Rochester (5-2, 5-1 TRC) would score twice more in the first quarter. Both scores were on plays of 49 yards or more.

Sophomore quarterback Carson Paulik hooked up with Wesley Meadows for a 51-yard scoring play while Alex Demming matched the 49-yard rushing touchdown by Beck with one of his own and Rochester jumped out 21-0 by the end of the first quarter.

Rochester reached the endzone four more times in the second quarter.  Colton Fervada provided three of the scores with two on 4-yard runs and a 32-yard pass play from Paulik.

Beck added a 19-yard run in the second quarter for his second rushing touchdown of the night.

Rochester's 48-0 lead established a running clock for the second half.

In the third quarter, Demming added his second and third touchdowns of the night on runs of 7 and 11 yards.

Beck needed just seven carries to rush for 181 yards and two scores. Demming rushed for 137 yards on just seven carries to go with his three touchdowns.

Fervada also carried the ball seven times for a total of 66 yards on the ground.

Northfield (2-5, 2-4 TRC) saw a two-game win streak come to a close.

It's Rochester's second straight win in the series after dropping the previous three meetings.

Other football action Friday

Peru 61, Southwood 7

Tigers stay only unbeaten in TRC

Maconaquah 43, Lewis Cass 26

Braves stay tied with Rochester for second place in TRC with idential 5-1 records

Manchester 21, Whitko 0

Wildcats remain winless in TRC and have been outscored 224-57 on the season

Wabash 20, North Miami 18

Apaches secure first win of the season

#12 (3A) Tippecanoe Valley 35, #3 (3A) West Lafayette 13

Impressive road win for the Vikings to stay undefeated.

Caston 49, Culver 14

Comets (1-6) get first win as Culver stays winless on the season

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The sectional pairings for the 57th Annual IHSAA Boys Tennis State Tournament have been unveiled.

A total of 294 schools were drawn and placed into brackets for the team tournament which begins Tuesday and runs through Saturday.

Host sites will announce dates and times for each match.

The 64 team sectional winners will advance to regional play Oct. 3 and 4 at 16 sites.

The regional champions will advance to semistate play Oct. 7 at Center Grove, Culver Academies, Homestead, and Jasper.

The eight-team state finals are scheduled for Oct. 13 and 14 with state quarterfinal matches played at Carmel and Center Grove, and the semifinals and state championship match at North Central of Indianapolis.

Rochester has received a bye and will play the winner of the opening match between Maconaquah and Manchester.

The other semifinal will feature Peru vs Wabash.

Meanwhile, Tippecanoe Valley will play Whitko in a semifinal of the five-team sectional field at Warsaw with the winner earning a berth in the championship.

The first round matchup between Warsaw and Wawasee will send a winner to a semifinal against Columbia Center.

The pairings for the 30th Annual IHSAA Boys and Girls Soccer State Tournaments were drawn with 305 boys teams and 274 girls teams, both record numbers, set for competition next week.

The 274 girls teams top the previous high of 272 set last year and in 2019. The 305 boys teams equal last year’s record number.

Both tournaments mirror each other beginning with 16 sectionals in each of three classes running Oct. 2-7. Regional semifinals will be played Oct. 11-12 with regional championships on Oct. 14. Semi-States are Saturday, Oct. 21 at four sites with the winners advancing to the state championship matches on Oct. 27-28 at Michael Carroll Stadium at IUPUI in Indianapolis. Assignments will be made following the semi-state matches.

The Rochester girls will play in the 1A six-team sectional field at Argos. The Zebras (0-12) go into the final week of the regular season still looking for the team’s first win and will have to turn around a regular season loss to advance. Rochester will play Trinity Greenlawn (13-1) who defeated Rochester August 26, 9-0.

The Rochester – Trinity winner will play the winner of the Argos – Culver winner in one semifinal. The other semifinal is already set with Bremen playing LaVille.

The Tippecanoe Vaslley girla will play in the five-team sectional field at Leo. The Vikings (2-6) drew Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (6-3-2). The winner gets slotted into the championship match.

On the other side of the bracket, FW Concordia Lutheran will play Culver Academies with the winner taking on Leo in the semifinal.

On the boys side, Rochester and Tippecanoe Valley are separated by about 14 miles. They’ll  travel more miles than that for their next meeting in the postseason as they are both in the 2A Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran sectional . The Zebras (3-8) will try to avenge a 2-0 regular season loss to the Vikings (9-4-1) on September 13.

The Rochester – Tippecanoe  Valley winner will play the winner of the FW Concordia Lutheran – Wabash quarterfinal. On the other side of the bracket, Manchester will play Culver Academies  with the winner playing Dwenger in the other semifinal.

In the 1A sectional at Argos, Caston (3-7) opens with Winamac (4-7). The Comets and Warriors will provide a preview when they play on Thursday in the Comets regular season finale.

The winner will meet the winner of the North Miami – North White quarterfinal.

Argos and Culver Community are bracketed into the other semifinal.

Rochester girls golf is celebrating two of its members advancing from Saturday's regional. The celebration nearly included the entire team.

Rochester finished fourth at the Sandy Pines GC by a single stroke. The top three teams advanced to the state finals.

Photo: X account of Rochester Zebra AD

Representing Rochester at the state finals will be the regional's medalist winner, Olivia Bailey. Bailey won the event with a 72 and will be joined in the finals by teammate Ava Thomas who shot as 76.

Caston battled a top10 1A team in search of the team's first win but came up short in a Friday loss to North White, 14-6.

The Comets (0-6) lone score came in the third quarter when it was rushed in by Grant Yadon who added 58 yards on 13 carries. He was also 6-of 12 passing for 36 yards and an interception.

Jabez Yarber had eight tackles to lead Caston.

North White (6-0) was ranked tenth in the most recent Indiana Football Coaches Association poll.

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Brant Beck rushed for 157 yards on 14 carries and Alex Deming added 92 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns but it wasn't enough as Rochester lost its first Three Rivers game at Peru, 34-23.

Colton Ferveda added a touchdown and 44 rushing yards for Rochester (4-2, 4-1 TRC).

Rochester rushed for a total of 280 yards.

Brady Beck topped the Zebras tackle chart with 11. Brant Beck recorded 10.

Peru (6-0, 5-0 TRC) is the last unbeaten conference member and stands alone atop conference the standings.

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The Indiana High School Athletic Association announced the pairings for the Sixth Annual Unified Flag Football State Tournament Series via livestream at IHSAAtv.org.

Unified Sports enables persons with and without intellectual disabilities to participate on the same team for sports training and competition as part of the “Champions Together” partnership between the IHSAA and Special Olympics Indiana. Unified Flag Football, which began in 2018, is one of 22 sports sponsored by the IHSAA and one of two co-ed sports along with Unified Track & Field which debuted in 2014.

Forty-four teams have entered this year’s state tournament and are spread across eight sectionals to be played on Saturday, Sept. 30. The eight teams that emerge as sectional champions will move on to one of two regionals on Saturday, Oct. 7 with the two remaining teams advancing to the state championship game on Saturday, Oct. 14 at the Grand Park Sports Event Center in Westfield.

Last year’s state champion, the Brownsburg Bulldogs, will host Zionsville in the opening game of Sectional 6 while 2022 state runnerup, the DeKalb Barons will face NorthWood in its first round game in Sectional 2 played at Central Noble.

Tippecanoe Valley will play in the Warsaw Sectional.

3. Warsaw 

G1: Warsaw vs. New Haven

G2: Homestead vs. Manchester

G3: Carroll (Fort Wayne) vs. Fort Wayne North Side

G4: Tippecanoe Valley vs. G1 winner

G5: G2 winner vs. G3 winner

Championship: G4 winner vs. G5 winner

Tippecanoe Valley reached the state championship in the 201-19 season in a loss to Bedford North Lawrence.

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The 2022 Three Rivers Conference football season ended with a three-way tie for first place with Rochester, Tippecanoe Valley and Southwood all at 7-1 in conference play.

But for Rochester to get that share of the conference crown Southwood had to upset Tippecanoe Valley in the conference finale in Week 8.

Zebras head coach Ron Shaffer would like for his team to take care of it themselves in 2023.

Rochester (4-1, 4-0 TRC) can take a step toward an outright TRC title with tonight's road trip to Peru (5-0, 4-0 TRC). It's a meeting of the final two unbeaten teams in conference play and will give the winner the inside track to this season's regular season TRC title.

Peru almost stumbled last week before a second half rally pushed the Tigers past Maconaquah, 27-26. The Braves loss dropped them into a second place tie with Southwood with a 3-1 conference record.

Shaffer knows the Zebras will have a challenge dealing with two of the better players in the TRC.

In-season defensive adjustments by Rochester have proven successful.

GIANT fm Sports WROI coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Four different players scored for Caston in a boys soccer win over Oregon-Davis.

Caston posted a 5-0 win with goals from Alex Craig,  Jan Cruz Aguilar Mendez, Brock Hook and Andrew McGrew (2).

Caston assists were turned in by Aguilar Mendez (2), Hook and McGrew.

Also in boys soccer

Bremen 8, Argos 0

LaVille 1, Culver 0

Girls soccer

Goshen 9, Argos 0

Tippecanoe Valley 2, North White 0

Volleyball

Rochester def. Maconaquah, 26-24, 25-23, 25-22

Zebras are 2-4 in TRC play

Caston def LaVille, 25-14, 25-21, 25-15

Caston 17-5, 3-1 conference play

Triton def. Winamac, 25-8, 25-13, 25-10

Culver Academy def. Tippecanoe Valley, 25-19, 25-18, 25-18

A memorable Rochester girls golf season just added another moment for the srapbook with advancement to the regional.

Rochester's 350 at the Tippecanoe Country Club on Monday was good enough for second place in the sectional.  The Zebras will join Kankakee Valley (333) and Logansport (374) among the top three teams that advance to the regional at Sandy Pines Golf Club.

Olivia Bailey topped the Rochester scorecard with a 79 and tied two others, Bianca Huizar of Winamac and Kankakee Valley's Brynlee DeBoard at the top of the leaderboard. Huizar won a playoff to claim medalist honors and also advance as an individual player.

For Rochester, Ava Thomas shot an 84 followed by Payton Moore (89), Alexis Haughs (98), and Ella McCarter (108).

Caston had three players compete in the sectional led by a 129 from Jullina Sherrick.

In other Monday sports action:

Boys tennis

Logansport 4, Rochester 1

Tanner Reinartz and Robert Bozzo teamed up at #1 doubles for a 7-5, 6-3 win

Girls soccer

Culver 2, New Parairie 2

Kassidy Banks and Giselle Villegas scored in the first half for Culver but New Prairie rallied with a pair of second half goals.

Bremen 9, Rochester 0

Boys soccer

Caston 1, Culver 0

Alex Craig with the goal for the Comets

Maconaquah 1, Rochester 0

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Culver's Giselle Villegas scored six times and reached a career milestone in the process Wednesday.

Culver recorded a 15-0 girls soccer victory over Oregon-Davis. In the process, Villegas scored her 100th career goal.

Eliana Andrzejewski, Kassidy Banks and Bre Hamilton also scored twice each for Culver.

Other area scores include:

Boys soccer

Tippy Valley 2, Rochester 0

Girls soccer

Tippecanoe Valley 4. Rochester 2

Boys tennis

Rochester 5, Whitko 0

Tanner Reinartz, Robert Bozzo and Ashton Musselman swept the singles mathcups for the Zebras.

Wade Bowers-Harrison Dunwoody recorded the win at #1 doubles. Rochester was granted the win at #2 doubles by forefeit.

It was Rochester's first TRC win. Zebras are 7-4, 1-4 in conference play.

For the first time since 2014 Rochester girls golf is the TRC champions.

Led by three All-Conference players, Rochester compiled a team score of 351 to finish six strokes ahead of second-place Maconaquah.

Olivia Bailey was Rochester's top performer with a 76 to finish third overall. Teammate Ava Wilson was next in fourth place with a 79. Payton Moore cared an 88 for sixth place.

Northfield finished a distant third with a 417 team score. Southwood, Peru and Wabash (tied for 5th), Whitko, Lewis Cass, North Miami and Manchester rounded out the field at the TRC Saturday.

North Judson and Pioneer in 1A, LaVille in 2A and Peru and Tippecanoe Valley receiving votes are among area teams getting recognition in this week's Indiana Football Coaches Association Poll.

Rochester and Caston host football action in Week 4. And dinner is awaiting fans who come early.

The Caston football team hosts Pioneer in a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Rochester hosts Manchester in a 7 p.m. kickoff.  GIANT fm Sports WROI coverage begins at 6:40 p.m.

Plymouth edged Rochester in a 3-team girls golf event at Round Barn Wednesday.

Plymouth posted a team score of 178 to just get by Rochester's 181. Bremen finished third with a 216.

Olivia Bailey was Rochester's top player and earned medalist honors with a 38 followed by teammate Ava Thomas with 40.

Three Plymouth players finished with a 43, Hanna Lafree, Noelle Hutchings and Taylor Hauptmann.

Bremen's top player was Sam Ton with a 48.

Rochester is 12-2 on the season.

Girls soccer

Culver 5, Kouts 1

Giselle Villegas four goals for Culver. Katie Schouton 7 saves in goal.

Boys tennis

Wabash 3, Rochester 2

Robert Bozzo won at #2 singles for Rochester. Wade Bowers-Carter Merideth posted Rochester's other win at #2 doubles

Girls golf

Lewis Cass 206, Caston 243

Ava Sylvain led Caston with a 57.

Volleyball

NorthWood def Tippecanoe Valley, 25-10, 25-11, 25-12

Boys soccer

Plymouth 4, Argos 3

Plymouth scored the game-winner off a corner kick with just over three minutes remaining.  Diego Zelaya scored three goals for the Rockies.

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled two limited-edition bobbleheads of legendary college basketball coach Bob Knight.

The first bobblehead features Knight wearing his signature red sweater, while the second bobblehead commemorates Knight’s iconic chair-throwing incident. The special edition bobbleheads are being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in conjunction with Knight Legacy. Founded by Coach Knight’s son, Pat Knight, Knight Legacy’s mission is to honor, promote, and preserve the Coach Knight Legacy and the footprint that Hall of Fame Coach Bob Knight has made in the history of basketball.

Standing on a circular base bearing his name, the first Knight bobblehead is wearing a red sweater and dark pants. The top of the base features a facsimile of Coach Knight’s autograph. Standing on a replica hardwood floor base bearing his name, the second Coach Knight bobblehead is wearing a red and white striped short-sleeved shirt like the one worn during Indiana’s game vs. rival Purdue on February 23, 1985, when Knight threw a chair across the Assembly Hall court objecting to a call. The chair throwing incident which has come to be known as “The Chair Game” is still remembered and even celebrated today on its anniversary and when the Hoosiers face Purdue. Knight, who apologized for his actions the next day, joked about throwing the chair since the incident, saying that he saw an old lady standing on the opposite sideline and threw her the chair so she could sit down.

The standing bobblehead is individually numbered to 2,023 while the chair-throwing bobblehead is numbered to 19,850. The bobbleheads are currently available for pre-order exclusively through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store. The standing Knight bobbleheads are $30 each, while the chair-throwing bobbleheads are $40 each, plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order. A set of two is available for $65 and both bobbleheads are expected to ship in December.

In his coaching career, Knight finished with an overall record of 902-371. The 902 NCAA Division I victories was a record at the time of his retirement, and currently ranks fifth all-time. He is best known for winning three national championships as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers in 1976, 1981 and 1987. In addition to coaching the Hoosiers from 1971 to 2000, he was also the head coach at Army from 1965 to 1971 and Texas Tech from 2001 to 2008.

Known as one of college basketball’s most successful and innovative coaches, having popularized the motion offense, Knight also won a National Invitation Tournament championship and 11 Big Ten Conference championships along with his three national titles. Knight received National Coach of the Year honors four times and Big Ten Coach of the Year honors eight times. In 1984, he coached the USA men’s Olympic team to a gold medal, becoming one of only three basketball coaches to win an NCAA title, NIT title and an Olympic gold medal. Knight was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991 and was a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He was also inducted into the Army Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Indiana Hoosiers Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.

Born in Massillon, Ohio, on October 25th, 1940, the only child of Pat and Hazel Knight grew up in nearby Orrville. His life in athletics began as a tall first baseman for the Mizer Tykes. He switched to basketball in the sixth grade and became a local star. An excellent student, Knight once won the Orrville Library’s competition for what child could read the most books between June and September. Knight went on to Ohio State where he played for Hall of Fame coach Fred Taylor. He was a reserve forward on the 1960 NCAA championship team that featured future Hall of Famers John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas. The Buckeyes lost in each of the next two NCAA championship games, of which the sharpshooting Knight also played a part of off the bench. One year after graduating from Ohio State with a degree in history and government in 1962, Knight enlisted in the United States Army and served two years of active duty. Knight, who was a private first class, also served nearly four years in the Army reserves. While in the service, Knight was an assistant coach for the Army Black Knights basketball team. As a 24-year-old in 1965, he was named Army’s head coach and compiled a record of 102-50 in six seasons there before going to Indiana.

When asked about the bobbleheads, Coach Knight’s son and Founder of Knight Legacy, Pat Knight said, “We’re thrilled to be honoring my father’s legacy with these limited edition bobbleheads in collaboration with the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. I think these bobbleheads are a great tribute to my dad’s legacy and the passion that he had for basketball and life.”

"We’re excited to team up with Knight Legacy to create these bobbleheads celebrating the legendary coach,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “One of the most successful coaches in the history of college basketball, and we think fans will love these new bobbleheads!”

An emotional loss in the Battle of the Bell with Tippecanoe Valley last week leaves Rochester in bounce back mode for tonight’s Week 3 football road trip to Whitko.

Zebras head coach Ron Shaffer says there may be some different personnel in different positions in tonight’s TRC game.

Shaffer talks about the Wildcats and their leader, a returning quarterback.

Shaffer says it’s a game where favored Rochester needs to start quickly and take confidence away from an opponent in Whitko who snapped a 15-game losing streak with a win in the season opener over Prairie Heights.

Pregame coverage on GIANT fm Sports on WROI is at 6:40 p.m.

Girls golf

Culver Academy finished 31 strokes ahead of second place Rochester to capture the Rochester Invitational.

The 12-team field:

1.  Culver Academy - 333

2.  Rochester - 364

3.  Maconaquah - 366

4.  South Bend St. Joe - 370

5.  Logansport - 390

6.  Western - 411

7.  Peru - 413

8.  Northwestern - 437

9.  John Glenn - 438

10.  Mishawaka Marian - 451

11.  North Miami - 475

12.  Kokomo - 499

Top 5 individuals:

1.  Piercy Dyer (Peru) - 69 (tied tournament record)

2.  Elizabeth Mercer (Western) - 71

3.  Kari Teglia (Culver Acad)- 72

4.  Lynne Zhang (Culver Acad)- 73

T5.  Miranda Stoll (Maconaquah)- 76

T5.  Olivia Bailey (Rochester)- 76

Cross Country

Caston boys and girls each finished fourth in  the Cass County meet.

Three of the Lady Comets placed in the top 20 overall. Camila Hernandez-Rios and Alexa Lowe finished 10th & 11th, with Comets frontrunner Myli Rude a couple places ahead in 8th.

The Caston boys team was led by senior Edison Byrum with his 8th place county finish. Also scoring top 20 honors in the meet were freshman Reed Sommers (17th) and sophomore Kane Finke (19th).

Volleyball

Caston posted a 3-1 mark in weekend volleyball at the Tri-County Invitational.

Tri-County def Caston, 25-15, 27-29, 15-9

Caston def North White, 25-22, 25-13

Caston def Crosspointe, 25-13, 25-8

Caston def South Newton, 25-16, 16-25, 15-13

Caston cumulative individual stats for the invitational

Isabel Scales 25 kills 10 blocks

Alexa Finke 21 kills 6 blocks

Macee Hinderlider 38 kills

Addison Zimpleman 13 kills 23 digs

Annie Harsh 62 assists

Girls soccer

#17 (1A) Culver 5, South Bend Riley 0

Giselle Villegas scored three goals for Culver

Two of the three teams that tied last season for the TRC football title meet tonight in a key Week 2 game.

But it’s the rivalry that gives the game between Tippecanoe Valley and #12 (2A) Rochester its added significance.  No longer conference foes with Tippecanoe Valley’s decision to leave the TRC for another to-be-formed athletic conference starting next season, the Battle for the Bell is the lead story.

Along with the heat and humidity.

Even with a break in the sultry conditions coming in this weekend a temperature near 84 degrees is expected near kickoff with humidity well into the 90% range. Though not unexpected in the August portion of the high school football schedule it will be an uncomfortable night for players in full gear.

Last season, Tippecanoe Valley won its fourth straight game in the series, 26-17. Rochester’s last win over the Vikings was in 2017. The two rivals didn’t get to play in the Covid-shortened 2021 season.

Zebras head coach Ron Shafer is excited for tonight’s opportunity.

Shafer says he’s heard people say the Vikings may not be as big as in the past.  He’s not so sure about that.

GIANT fm Sports on WROI has coverage at 6:40 p.m. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

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Indiana high school athletics has more than its share of well-known traditions, though the pursuit of game officials tends to settle quietly into the background.

However, it, too, remains a most vital component in order for every one of the 22 sports sanctioned by the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) to complete its season as seamlessly as possible.

The IHSAA in an effort to not only expand its pool of officials, but broaden each individual’s knowledge, is working with RefReps, which offers comprehensive online officiating education courses that include an interactive training video, instructor guides, assessments and more.

RefReps’ mission is to educate the next generation of high school sports officials so that he or she is best equipped with the skills necessary before confidently setting foot on the football field, wrestling mat, softball diamond, etc.

“What is unique about Indiana is it was the first state to pilot this in the high schools,” said Kyle Armstrong, founder and CEO of RefReps, which is now in its third year. “In the spring of 2022, we had seven high schools pilot this, and, if you fast-forward to today, we’ll be in around 500 schools in 33 different states.”

Representing Indiana on the ground floor of this effort were, in alphabetical order, Avon, Bedford North Lawrence, Brownsburg, Kokomo, Mitchell, Pioneer and South Bend Adams.

The number grew to 51 Indiana high schools incorporating RefReps during the 2022-2023 school year; in excess of 100 are expected to take part this school year.

“If you look at the trajectory of licensed officials in Indiana from the 2015-2016 school year to 2016-2017, it went up by 43 officials,” said Armstrong. “That was the last year the number went up, and every year up to 2021-2022, it had dropped by over 1,000 officials.

“It had gone down, down, down, down, down, and, boom, we do the pilot program, and it goes up by over 300 officials,” said Armstrong.

The global outbreak of COVID-19 eliminated all high school sports in Indiana during the 2020 spring season, decreasing the number of officials to 5,829 during the uncertain times surrounding the 2021-2022 school year.

A comeback of sorts took place in 2022-2023 with the number rising to 6,158.

Compare this to the 2016-2017 school year in which there were 6,907 officials. There was a time, according to IHSAA Assistant Commissioner Brian Lewis, where that total regularly exceeded 7,000 officials.

RefReps is helping push these numbers back up.

“The two years following COVID, we saw a big drop. Many officials paused during COVID and then never returned. We are beginning to see an increased number of officials, but we must continue to get the next generation of officials started,” said Lewis. “There is a myriad of reasons for the official shortage across the country.”

We have a shortage of officials because there are more contests being played, whether it’s travel ball or something else. The average age of officials is upwards of 54 years old, so as they retire, are we getting enough of the next generation involved?”

The uncertainty brought on by a pandemic played a role in the decrease in officials.

However, other factors trickled in. One being persons no longer wanting to subject themselves to hostile fan bases.

“I think part of it is we went through a two-year span of contests not being played or fans being limited,” said Lewis. “People were at home. They were sitting in their house. We come out of that, and sportsmanship, egregious behavior has just been off the charts. We are seeing it more in the travel world, and in the AAU world, but it’s starting to sneak into education-based athletics. Officials, prefer to officiate in an education-based system because we have administrators and staff who can control that atmosphere a little bit.”

Using RefReps in state high schools and colleges enables Indiana to cast a wider net than before in gauging the interest of young people interested in becoming a high school official.

According to Armstrong, the program is extremely flexible in that it can be taught.

“Most high schools will have an actual stand-alone sports officiating class,” he said. “The second option is to take our materials and use them in the pre-existing physical education classes.”

For more information, prospective high school officials can go to refreps.com.

“We want to increase the number of new officials, but I’ll get calls all the time saying you need to lower your expectations, or you need to lower your standards, and we’re not going to do that,” said Lewis. “We hold our officials to a very high standard, and we are not going to sacrifice those standards to increase numbers. We are in the business of education-based athletics and the business of kids.”

“We have different requirements when it comes to tournament eligibility, but we’re looking at ways to give younger officials the ability to advance in the officiating world to make that a little bit easier.”

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Caston had to go an extra set against Peru in high school volleyball but still posted the win, 25-15, 25-19, 17-25, 25-18.

For Caston:

Alexa Finke, Macee Hinderlider, and Isabel Scales - 9 kills each

Addison Zimpleman 6 kills          

Annie Harsh 20 assists          

Makena Middleton 1

Also in Monday volleyball

Triton def. Rochester, 25-12, 25-18, 25-10

For Rochester (1-6):

Audrey Bolinger 5 kills, 4 points, 2 aces, 7 digs

Brailyn Hunter 3 kills, 1 points, 2 digs

Ella Hake 1 kill, 2 digs

Darah Strasser 1 kill, 2 points, 6 digs

Aubrey Wilson 1 kill, 4 points, 1 ace, 4 digs, 7 assists

Logyn Honkomp 2 points, 5 digs, 22 serve receptions

Rylee Clevenger 1 point, 7 digs, 11 serve receptions

Keyton Doran 1 dig

Mia Howdeshell 1 dig

Girls golf

Rochester had three players in the low 40s at Round Barn in victories over North Miami and Southwood.

Rochester's 175 topped North Miami's 209. Southwood was third with 232.

The Zebras' Olivia Bailey and Ava Thomas tied for medalist honors with a 41. Teammate Payton Moore had a 43.

Girls soccer

Bremen 3, Culver 0

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Volleyball

Rochester played in the Tomahawk Invitational hosted by North Miami

Eastbrook def. Rochester, 25-12, 25-14

 For Rochester: Aubrey Wilson and Darah Strasser with two kills, Audrey Bolinger with a block, Rylee Clevenger with 4 digs, Aubrey Wilson had 5 assists

South Adams def. Rochester, 25-11, 25-14

For Rochester: Brailyn Hunter had three kills, Aubrey Wilson and Audrey Bolinger each had one kill, Audrey Bolinger had three blocks and Ella Hake and Darah Strasser each had one, Aubrey Wilson had five digs and Logyn Honkomp had four, Aubrey Wilson led in assists with three.

Rochester def. Delphi, 25-12, 25-15

For Rochester: Audrey Bolinger had 5 kills and Darah Strasser had 4. Rylee Clevenger had 9 points and Aubrey Wilson had 8 points. Audrey Bolinger had 2 blocks.  Logyn Honkomp had 8 digs and Darah Strasser and Audrey Bolinger each had 6 digs.  Aubrey Wilson had 10 assists.

Northwestern def. Rochester, 25-23, 25-20

For Rochester: Brailyn Hunter had 5 kills, Darah Strasser had 3 kills, Audrey Bolinger and Aubrey Wilson had 2 kills. Audrey Bolinger had 2 blocks and Keyton Doran and Darah Strasser had 1 block. Logyn Honkomp had 13 digs and Aubrey Wilson had 12 digs while Darah Strasser had 10. Aubrey Wilson had 7 assists.

Rochester stat leader totals for all games:

For Rochester:     

Kills: Aubrey Bolinger 11, Brailyn Hunter 11, Darah Strasser 10, Aubrey Wilson 5

Blocks:  Audrey Bolinger 7, Darah Strasser 2

Assists:  Aubrey Wilson 25 Mia Howdeshell 4

Digs: Logyn Honkomp 27, Aubrey Wilson 25, Darah Strasser 20

Aces: Mia Howdeshell, Aubrey Wilson and Audrey Bolinger 4

Caston played in the Tomahawk Invitational hosted by Winamac

Caston def Northwestern, 25-20 27-25

Wabash def Caston,  20-25, 25-14, 15-13

Caston def Peru, 25-18 25-18

Caston def North Miam, i 25-22 25-17

For Caston (total tournament stats)

Macee Hinderlider, 21 kills

Isabel Scales, 28 kills, 5 blocks

Alexa Finke, 22 kills, 6 blocks 

Shaylei Yadon, 7 kills

Girls golf

Warsaw Invitational

Rochester finished second in the event with a team score of 357.

Homestead (Blue) pulled away from the field to win the event with 306.

Olivia Bailey finished fourth overall with a 79. Ava Thomas carded an 85 for Rochester.

Cross Country

Rochester boys cross country finished seventh in the 20 team field at the Jacob Graf Memorial Invitational.

Wesley Steininger was 17^th overall in 18:13.8. Teammate Grant Bailey finished just behind in a time of 18:15.

Caston was 13^th as a team.  Edison Byrum topped the Caston runners with a 13^th place individual finish.

In the girls race, Rochester was 20^th in the 21-team field.  Caston finished in 16^th place.

Girls soccer

Culver 5, North Miami 0

Giselle Viellegas scored three times.  Maddie Hamilton and Kassidy Banks also scored goals for Culver.

Football

Rochester wasted no time getting into the win column for 2023.  The Zebras scored all 56 points in the first half including a 40-point outburst in the second quarter in Friday’s Week One win at Wabash, 56-7.

Sophomore Brant Beck rushed for 125 yards on just eight carries and scored three times. Alex Deming also cleared the century mark with 134 yards and a touchdown.

Colton Ferveda added two rushing TD on just five carries.

On defense, Beck delivered a sack and also topped the Rochester tackle chart with eight along with teammates Wesley Meadows and Gavin Young.  Deming had six tackles.

Young added an interception.

Rochester (1-0, 1-0 TRC) will host Tippecanoe Valley in the Battle for the Bell on Friday.

Caston rallied from a six-point halftime deficit with 12 third quarter points but West Central held on for a Week 1 football win, 24-12.Jabez Yarber led the Comets offense with 12 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown. Kyle Roudebush added 10 carries and 49 rushing yards.

Quarterback Gavin Mollenkopf was 8-for-15 passing with 104 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Levi Martin recorded seven tackles with teammates Pete DuVall and Roudebush six each.Grant Yadon caused a West Central fumble and Jabez Yarber had a fumble recovery.

Caston (0-1) will be at North Judson Friday. #4 (1A) North Judson shut out  Culver Friday, 47-0.

Tippecanoe Valley shutout Wawasee through three quarters and posted a 23-12 road win Friday.

Nathan Parker topped the Vikings offense with 66 yards rushing. Brock Derf had 48 yards on the ground with just five carries to go with a touchdown.

Asher McGriff added an interception return for a touchdown.

Gage Overby connected on 3-of-4 field goal attempts including a long of 46 yards. He made both extra point tries.

The Vikings (1-0) travel to Rochester Friday.

Rochester picked up a Tuesday golf win at Round Barn.

The Zebras had four players in the 40s led by a 41 from medalist Olivia Bailey to post a win over Western, 176-209.

For Rochester, Payton Moore - 42, Ava Thomas 45, and Lexi Haughs 48.

Also in area golf

Plymouth 194, Bremen 232, Tippecanoe Valley 252

Maddie Thompson led Valley with a 56.

Volleyball

Pioneer def. Rochester, 25-11, 25-17, 25-12

Caston def. Carroll (Flora), 25-12, 25-12, 25-11

Macee Hinderlider 7 kills. Alexa Finke 5 kills, 1 block.  

Tippecanoe Valley def. Wawasee, 25-18, 13-25, 25-14, 16-25, 15-10

Culver def. Oregon-Davis, 25-23, 25-16, 25-14

Boys soccer

North White 5, Rochester 0

Warsaw 7, Argos 0

Girls soccer

Trinity Greenlawn 7, Argos 1

Boys tennis

Robert Bozzo (No. 2 singles) and Ashton Musselman (No. 3 singles) won for Rochester. Jonas Kiser - Jack Reffett won at No. 2 doubles.

Cameron Manuel won at No. 1 singles for Valley. Ian Cooksey - Will Mellott won at No. 1 doubles.

Giselle Villegas scored in the opening minute of play off of an assist from Bre Hamilton that propelled Culver in the start of a 9-1 girls soccer win over Tippecanoe Valley.

Villegas would score three more times. Teammate Kassidy Banks scored three times for the Cavaliers.

Co-ed soccer

Maconaquah 8, Caston 0

Boys soccer

Winamac 11, Delphi 2

Conner Burton broke his own school record of six goals in a match by scoring seven times.

Beginning August 20, hunters can apply for a variety of reserved hunts by visiting on.IN.gov/reservedhunt.
The online method is the only way to apply for the hunts listed below. No late entries will be accepted. Applicants must possess a hunting license that is valid for the hunt for which they are applying.
Applications for the following reserved hunting opportunities open Aug. 20. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Sept. 24:

• Fish & Wildlife Area (FWA) waterfowl hunts: Waterfowl hunts at participating FWAs, including LaSalle, Kingsbury, Hovey Lake, Goose Pond, and Kankakee. Province Pond Wetland Conservation Area, managed by J.E. Roush Lake FWA, will also participate.
   
• Fish & Wildlife Area (FWA) deer hunts: Firearms season deer hunts at Deer Creek and Fairbanks Landing FWAs.  
   
• State Park property deer hunts: Deer hunts at participating state park properties, including Chain O’Lakes, Clifty Falls, Fort Harrison, Harmonie, Indiana Dunes, Lincoln, O’Bannon Woods, Ouabache, Prophetstown, Shades, Shakamak, Spring Mill, Tippecanoe River, Turkey Run, Versailles, and Whitewater Memorial state parks and Raccoon Lake. Cave River Valley Natural Area, which is managed by Spring Mill State Park, will also participate.
   
• November Game Bird Area (GBA) hunts: Hunts on GBAs in northern Indiana (Benton, Jasper, Newton, Warren, and White counties). Hunters may choose from a variety of hunt dates. These are not put/take pheasant hunts.
   
• November youth-only Game Bird Area (GBA) hunts: Youth-only hunts on GBAs in northern Indiana (Benton, Jasper, Newton, Warren, and White counties). Hunters may choose from a variety of hunt dates and must have an adult at least 18 years of age present while hunting. These are not put/take pheasant hunts.
   
• Indiana Private Lands Access (IPLA) Hunts: The IPLA program has switched to online reserved hunts and are no longer available through self-service sign-in. IPLA will offer reserved hunts for game bird, squirrel, waterfowl, and firearms deer on private lands.

Applications for the following reserved hunting opportunities open Oct. 1. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Oct. 29:

• December Game Bird Area (GBA) hunts: Hunts on GBAs in northern Indiana (Benton, Jasper, Newton, Warren, and White counties). Hunters may choose from a variety of hunt dates. These are not put/take pheasant hunts.                                                                                                         
• Indiana Private Lands Access (IPLA) Hunts: IPLA will offer archery and muzzleloader deer, late season waterfowl, goose only, and small game hunts on private lands.

Hunters will be selected through a random computerized drawing. Applicants will be able to view draw results online within two weeks after the application period closes. An email will be sent to all applicants when draws have been completed.
Only one application per hunt is allowed. No changes can be made once an application is submitted.

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