Bruce Crawford

I’m Baaaack!!

It’s been a little over three weeks and I’m itching to get back in the grind and start covering some good old fashioned Wetzel County high school sports.

I want to thank Bill Abraham for covering sports in my absence. Thanks, also, to Tyler Star News sports writer Logan Smith for going that extra mile for me, as well as our editor, Amy Witschey, who covered the state cheerleading competition. Also I would like to thank R.J. Goode for pitching in and helping Bill in covering some sporting events.

I would like to also personally thank all my Church family at Steelton Church of Christ for all the prayers and cards as well as the many Wetzel Chronicle sports readers.

While I was off, I got to watch my first major college girls’ basketball game at WVU when we took the Paden City Lady Wildcat varsity girls’ to Morgantown. I enjoyed myself very much, except for a small hamstring injury trying to catch a T-shirt from the WVU Cheerleaders.

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High school basketball is about at the halfway point of the season and I see that the Magnolia, Hundred, and Paden City boys are doing quite well, as are the Valley Lumberjills. However, just because the other teams aren’t faring quite as well as these teams, it will come down to the second season at sectionals. Especially for the graduating seniors, who will not want their final season to end and will do whatever they can to keep their teams playing for as long as they can.

The OVAC will be hosting their boys’ and girls’ basketball playoffs, with the top four teams in each class fighting for the crown. In addition, the other teams get to play other OVAC teams they might normally play in the regular season. Plus, the OVAC will host the annual wrestling and cheerleading tournaments at WesBanco in the near future.

As you can see, there are a lot of high school sports on tap the next couple months before baseball, softball, and track seasons get underway. I am going to be very busy during this time and I hope to see every team at least once before sectional time.

As you might have noticed, I am helping the Paden City girls basketball team try to win some games and invite you to come watch a game or two, especially the junior varsity girls. I miss not being out there refereeing this season, but have found a different side of the game of basketball that I haven’t witnessed. I hope that it will help me in writing my stories.