Lady Chargers Season Ends with Loss to I-35

Herald-Patriot, October 31, 2013
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Lady Chargers VB Team's Season ends with District loss to I-35

The Chariton varsity volleyball team's season came to a close with a thrilling, hard fought 3-2 loss to Interstate 35 in the first round of District playoff action at the Charger Dome Monday night. The scores of the match were 19-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-10 and 14-16. The loss gave Chariton a final season record of 10-13.

I-35 started out strong and took the first two games 25-19 and 25-20 to take an early 2-0 lead. In the first game the Roadrunners built leads of 17-8 and 19-11 but Chariton battled back. Chariton cut the lead to 21-15 and the Roadrunners responded with two more points to make it 23-15. With Emily Grismore serving Chariton cut into the lead even more and an ace by Grismore cut the lead to 23-19 in front of a loudly cheering Charger crowd. However, following a timeout I-35 scored the final two points to win the first game 25-19.

In the second game, I-35 had good serving and net play early to build a 7-2 early lead.  The Roadrunners led 15-7 at one point, however Chariton battled back to cut it to 15-11.  A couple of kills by Emma Fuhs cut the lead to 16-13 much to the delight of the Charger crowd.

The Roadrunners responded by scoring four straight points to make the lead 20-13.  Chariton once again rallied and came within striking distance, cutting the lead to 23-19.  But the Roadrunners once again finished the game strong scoring two of the final three points to win, 25-20.

In the third game, Chariton received strong serving from Fuhs early to break a 3-3 tie and give Chariton a 10-3 lead.  Chariton was serving well and putting hits in the right places and a kill by Allyson Showers and an ace by Grismore gave them a 14-4 lead.  Chariton built a 19-11 lead but the Roadrunners didn't quit and battled back to cut the lead to 20-17.  An ace by I-35's Slye Richardson cut the lead to 20-18 and a hit by Chariton that went out of bounds cut the lead to 20-19.

However, Taylor Tuley's serving helped Chariton get some breathing room and take a 23-19 lead.  Leading 24-20, Fuhs made a successful kill to give Chariton a 25-20 win and cut the match lead to 2-1.

Chariton was again strong in the fourth game and took early leads of 3-0 and 4-1.  An ace by Fuhs gave Chariton a 6-2 lead and momentum was in their favor.  I-35 scored a couple of straight points but Chariton pushed the lead to 9-4 on a Showers' kill.

A hit into the net by Chariton cut their lead to 11-8.  However, a Tuley kill and a block by Fuhs helped push the lead back to 15-8.  Leading 16-9, Chariton scored six straight points to take a 22-9 lead.  Leading 23-10, Chariton scored the final two points to win the game, 25-10, and even the match at 2-2.

The final game was a nerve wracking nailbiter that was dead even all the way through.  It was 3-3 early and I-35 surged ahead 8-5.  A Tuley kill cut the lead to 8-7 and a hit out of bounds by I-35 cut the lead to 9-8.  The Roadrunners rallied to score three more points to take a 12-8 lead.  Both teams traded kills to make it 13-9.  Behind Tuley's serving, Chariton was able to rally from a 13-10 deficit and tie it at 13 apiece.

With the score tied, Fuhs hit the ball into an empty space to give Chariton a 14-13 lead and be one point away from a victory and advancing to the next round.  However, The Roadrunners scored the next point to tie it at 14-14.  Games have to be won by at least two points and I-35 scored the final two points to win the game, 16-14 and advance.

Chargers Beat Fairfield in Final Game

Chariton Leader, October 29, 2013
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Chargers Beat Fairfield in Exciting, Rollicking Final Game

The Chariton Chargers closed out their football season with an exciting up and down, action-filled game against Fairfield on October 25th.  On Senior Night, the Chargers beat the Trojans, 34-28, to end their season with a 4-5 record.  The final record is the best record Chariton has had in football since 2007 when they also finished 4-5.  Along with Senior Night, it was also Go Pink Night where everyone was dressed at least partly in pink for breast cancer awareness.

It was the last high school football game for 12 outstanding seniors, who all contributed this season.  They were Christian Bengtson, Hunter Storm, Ben Morrett, Connor Grgurich, Alec Reynolds, Chasen Blue, Zach McElroy, Ben Kinonen, Stephen McCurdy, Pavel Garbozov, Timo Timofeyev and Tyler Nance.  They will all be missed next season.

The Chargers started out well and led 21-0 in the second quarter and 28-7 just before halftime.  They allowed a late score in the second quarter to make the score 28-14 at halftime.  Chariton didn't play as well in the third quarter and Fairfield was able to get back in the game and tie it 28-28 with a score just into the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Chariton buckled down defensively in the final period however and got the winning score on a 31 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Christian Bengtson to tight end T.J. Hockenson to make it 34-28 with 6:08 left.

2013 Chariton Eighth Grade Volleyball Team

Cross Country Teams Close Season at Pella

Boys Cross Country
Covington places 61st, Steinhausen finishes 71st at District X-C Meet at Pella on October 24th.  Chariton didn't have anyone qualify for state as the top 10 overall runners and top three teams.  As a team, Chariton finished 11th overall out of 13 teams in the boys team standings with 354 points.
Max Covington led Chariton, placing 51st overall in 19:44.37.  Trevor Steinhausen placed 71st in 20:48.34 and Noah Thatcher placed 72nd in 20:48.54.  Sam Adams placed 74th in 20:50.01.  Aaron McDonough placed 76th in 21:01.14.  Jonah Thatcher placed 77th in 21:04.98.  Austin Cline placed 84th in 21:46.34.
The top three boys teams that qualified for state in Pella were Pella, Grinnell and Williamsburg.  Pella won the meet with 46 points and Grinnell was second with 62.  Williamsburg was third with 97 and Oskaloosa was fourth with 103.

Girls Cross Country
Showers places 62nd, Summerfield 64th at District X-C meet in Pella October 24th.  On a very cold night, the Lady Chargers placed 12th out of 13 teams with 356 points.

The top 10 overall runners and the top three teams qualify for state and Chariton didn't have anyone qualify for state at the meet.

Chariton's top finisher was Madison Showers, who placed 62nd overall in 19:04.  Allison Summerfield placed 64th in 19:16 and Maria Blong placed 73rd in 20:25.  Victoria Zinchenko placed 78th in 21:16 and Kya Wheeler placed 79th in 21:17.  Ashley Batty placed 80th in 21:31.  Abby Ballard and Sydney McNeeley didn't run at the meet.

In the girls team standings at Pella, Pella, Williamsburg and Grinnell were the teams that qualified for state.  Pella won the meet with 56 points and Williamsburg was second with 57.

Grinnell was third with 78.  Oskaloosa was fourth with 102 and Fairfield was fifth with 152.

Chargers Net Teams Beats Saydel

Herald-Patriot, October 24, 2013 and Chariton Leader, October 29, 2013

Bill Howes, Associate Editor

The Chariton varsity volleyball team ended their regular season with a 3-0 win over Saydel on Senior Night at CHS October 22nd.  The scores of the match were 25-15, 25-16, 25-21.  The win gave Chariton a final regular season record of 10-12.

The seniors honored were Emily Grismore, Kourtney Nichols, Allyson Showers, Cassie Carpenter, Emma Fuhs, Laura Tordoff and Brittany White.

In serving, Chariton went 47-61 with 12 aces.  Kourtney Nichols went 15-17 with two aces.  Emma Fuhs went 11-14 with one ace.  Brittany white went 7-7 with one ace and Emily Grismore went 6-10 with three aces.  Taylor Tuley and Allyson Showers each went 3-5 with two aces.  Alexis Curran went 2-3 with one ace.

In hitting, Chariton went 45-56 with 22 kills.  Fuhs went 13-18 with five kills.  Showers went 10-11 with six kills and Emily Seuferer went 9-10 with five kills.  Cassie Carpenter went 5-6 with one kill.  Tuley went 3-4 with three kills, Grismore went 2-2 with two kills.  Laura Tordoff went 1-3 and Micaela Folkerts and Nichols each went 1-1.

Chariton had 18 assists as a team.  Nichols had nine and Grismore had seven.  Curran and Showers each had one.  Showers had four digs and Nichols had three.  Fuhs and White each had one.  In blocking, Fuhs had one block solo and one block assist.  Seuferer had one block solo and Tuley had one block assist.

JV Volleyball team closes out their season with win, finishes 11-4

The Chariton JV volleyball closed the season in a successful fashion with a 2-1 win over Saydel at Chariton on October 22nd.  The scores of the match were 25-21, 20-25 and 15-12. 

In serving, Chariton went 45-54 with 14 aces.  Meredith Davis went 12-12 with four aces.  Carley Arnold went 10-13 with four aces.  Kendall Hardie went 7-9 with four aces.  Sarah Fuhs went 3-4 and Alexis Curran went 2-3 with one ace.  Madison Baker went 2-2 and Linday Black went 0-2.

In attacks, Chariton went 38-50 with 17 kills.  Davis went 7-11 with three kills.  Arnold went 7-8 with three kills and Curran went 6-10 with three kills.  Ryley Heffron went 6-7 with three kills.  Hardie went 6-6 with two kills.  Fuhs went 5-7 with three kills.  Victoria Gresken went 1-1.

Chariton had 12 assists as a team.  Davis led the team with eight.  Hardie had three and Arnold had one.  Chariton had six blocks as a team.  Arnold had three blocks.  Fuhs, Heffron and Hardie each had one.

JV Chargers Win over Carlisle

Herald-Patriot, October 24, 2013
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Defensive stand, blocked kick lift JV Chargers to win over Carlisle

The Chariton JV football team closed out their season with a 14-13 win at Carlisle October 21, 2013.  Chris Wright blocked an extra point, which ended up winning the game for Chariton.  The JV Chargers ended the season with a 3-4 record.

All the scoring took place in the first half.  For the second week in a row, Chariton's defense had a goal line stand at the end of the game to win the game.  Carlisle had a first and goal at the 10 yard line with 50 seconds left.  Ethan Downen sacked the quarterback on fourth down to win the game.

"Wow, what a geat way to end the season.  It was a great game from both teams.  Both teams played and hit extremely hard.  I was proud of our guys and the season they had,"  Chariton JV Head Coach Josh Snook said.

Dillon Sanders rushed for 105 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns.  "Dillon ran extremely hard.  He took a lot of big hits but just kept bouncing up," Coach Snook said.

For the game, Chariton had 10 first downs.  The Chargers rushed for 125 yards on 25 carries.  Chariton had one turnover.  The Chargers committed three penalties for 20 yards.

Aaron Cain rushed for 17 yards on five carries.  Nic Ryan rushed for two yards on three carries and Bradley Krutsinger rushed for one yard on two carries.

At quarterback, Cain went 4-14 for 31 yards.  Charlie Palmer caught four passes for 30 yards.  Ryan caught one pass for one yard.  Eduard Rodygin kicked two extra points.

Defensively, Downen had two solo tackles, six assists and two sacks.  Ryan had four solo tackles, four assists and one tackle for a loss.  Wright had five assists, one fumble recovery and a blocked extra point.  Kaleb Thorne had solo tackles, three assists and one fumble recovery.

Alex Boldyrev had one solo tackle.  Blake Poush had one solo tackle.  Krutsinger had one assist and Rodygin had one assist.  Cody Stevenson had one assist.  Quentyn Pennington had one solo tackel.

Lady Charger Net Team Competes at Winterset

Chariton Leader, October 29, 2013
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

The Lady Charger volleyball team competed at the Winterset Tournament Saturday, October 19.  Chariton played three competitive matches and the Lady Chargers went 0-3 on the day.

In the first match against Norwalk, Chariton lost 16-21 and 15-21.  In the second match against Red Oak, they fell, 7-21 and 9-21.  Chariton lost to Winterset 12-21 and 16-21.

For the tournament, Chariton went 64-72 in serving with eight aces.  Emma Fuhs went 15-16 with three aces.  Taylor Tuley went 14-14 with two aces.  Kourtney Nichols went 14-14.  Alexis Curran went 10-12 with two aces.  Emily Grismore went 5-6.  Sarah Fuhs went 3-3 with one ace.  Brittany White went 2-3 and Allyson Showers went 1-2.

In hitting Chariton went 95-122 with 25 kills.  Showers went 31-40 with 10 kills.  Showers went 21-40 with 10 kills.  Fuhs went 24-29 with seven kills.  Emily Seuferer went 15-18 with four kills.  Micaeda Folkerts went 8-11 and Tuley went 4-6 with two kills.  Cassie Carpenter went 3-3 and Carley Arnold went 3-4.  Kendall Hardie went 3-5 with one kill.  Grismore went 1-1.

Chariton had 24 assists as a team.  Nichols had 15.  Fuhs and Grismore had three apiece.  Tuley, Carpenter and Arnold each had one.  Chariton had 32 digs as a team.  Curran had 11 digs and Fuhs had seven.  Tuley had three digs  Grismore, Nichols, Sarah Fuhs and Arnold each had two.

As a team Chariton had three blocks.  Arnold, Emma Fuhs and Showers each had one block solo.

Charger Invitational at Red Haw October 17th

Chariton Middle School Cross Country teams finish season at the Charger Invitational at Red Haw on October 17th.  The 1.9 mile course featured beautiful scenery amid the turning fall colors and a difficult finish on the beach.
The girls and boys teams each had runners finish in the top 10.  The girls team finished second overall with 57 points.  Abby Adams led Chariton finishing seventh overall in 18:01 and Maryna Dobryden placed ninth in 18:55.  Ali Goldensoph placed 10th in 18:58.  Taheton Decker placed 14th in 20:47.  Destiny Madison placed 17th in 21:08.
The boys team placed third overall with 48 points.  Alex Dobryden and Jamie Overton placed second and third overall in the meet for the boys.  Dobryden placed second overall in 14:20 and Overton was third in 14:21.  Gideon Plank placed 13th in 15:15.  Ben Lahart placed 14th in 15:45 and Will Exline placed 16th in 15:53.  Bradley Owens placed 17th in 15:57.  Will Anderson placed 18th in 16:06 and Grant Goering placed 21st in 15:57.  Peyton Lane placed 24th in 18:10.  Riley Voss placed 26th in 20:19 and Micah Thatcher placed 27th in 21:19.  Aaron Sullenger placed 28th in 21:27.

Dobryden, Goldensoph Lead CMS Cross Country Teams at SCC Meet

Herald-Patriot, October 24, 2013

Bill Howes, Associate Editor

The Chariton Middle School cross country team ran at the South Central Conference meet at Eddyville October 15th.  The CMS boys placed second overall with 39 points and the girls placed fourth overall with 94 points.

The boys had two top 10 finishers, Alex Dobryden and Jamie Overton.  Dobryden placed fourth overall in 13:43 and Overton placed fifth in 13:44.  Bradley Owens placed 14th in 14:33 and Will Exline placed 16th in 14:46.  Gideon Plank placed 17th in 14:56 and Ben Lahart placed 18th in 14:56.  Will Anderson placed 21st in 15:07.  Grant Goering placed 29th in 16:45.  Peyton Lane placed 32nd in 16:59 and Riley Voss placed 35th in 18:20.  Micah Thatcher placed 37th in 20:09.  Aaron Sullenger placed 39th in 23:57.  Harrison Hamilton placed 40th in 25:35.  

Ali Goldensoph led the girls, placing 19th overall in 17:23.  Abby Adams placed 23rd in 17:53.  Maryna Dobryden placed 24th in 17:55.  Destiny Madison placed 36th in 20:04.  Taheton Decker placed 37th in 20:50.  Gizzy Keeler placed 38th in 20:56. 

"It was nice to run against the conference teams.  It's always a very competitive meet," Chariton Head Coach Bryan Berg said.

7th Chargers Beat Centerville in Finale

Herald-Patriot, October 24, 2013
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

The Chariton seventh grade football team ended their season with a 30-14 win at Centerville on October 10th.  Nathan Blong had an outstanding rushing performance with 212 yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns of 34, 35 and 4 yards.  With the win Chariton ended the season with a 3-3 record.

"Nathan had an excellent rushing performance tonight.  After missing the last two games with an injury, I was glad he was able to play in the last game of the season.  Adrian Hill had some nice runs at the fullback position and Jackson Fisher threw some nice passes and ran the ball hard.  But our offensive line played a major role in this win.  Center Brock Spencer along with fellow linemen Reid Walters, Hunter Clark, Colbie Werts, Noah Weaver and Ty White did an excellent job of opening up holes for our running backs.  The same linemen on offense, as well as newcomer, Zayn White, Garrett Roach, Nathan Weaver, David McCurdy, Gabriel Wertz and Braden Miller did a good job on defense.  This group will be fun to watch as they get older," Chariton Head Coach Chad Darra.

Hill had 43 yards rushing on seven carries and a two-yard touchdown.  He also had one PAT.  Fisher had 39 yards rushing on seven carries and two PATs.  Clark had seven yards on two carries.

At quarterback, Fisher went 2-4 for 19 yards.  Blong caught two passes for 19 yards.

Defensively, Clark led the team in tackles with six.  Spencer had five and Blong had three.  Hill, Cobb, Fisher, Tanner Nance, Nathan Weaver and White each had two tackles.

Walters, Chance Anderson, Noah Weaver and Jimmy Graham each had one.

Varsity net team Played Eddyville, tough in loss

Chariton Herald-Patriot, October 10, 2013
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

The Lady Charger volleyball team played well in a 3-0 defeat to Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont at Chariton October 8th.  The scores of the match were 20-25, 13-25 and 21-25.

In serving, Chariton went 47-54 with three aces.  Emma Fuhs went 11-11 and Kourtney Nichols went 10-10.  Taylor Tuley went 11-15 with one ace.  Allyson Showers went 5-7 and Emily Grismore went 4-6.  Alexis Curran went 3-5 with two aces.

In Hitting, Chariton went 55-62 with 15 kills.  Emily Seuferer went 12-12 with three kills.  Allyson Showers went 11-12 with three kills.  Tuley went 11-13 with three kills.  Fuhs went 11-15 with three kills.  Micaela Folkerts went 6-6 with two kills.  Curran went 1-1 with one kill.

Chariton had 14 assists as a team.  Nichols led the team with nine.  Folkerts had two and Tuley, Seuferer and Curran each had one.  Chariton had 21 digs as a team.  Curran had eight and Fuhs had five.  Showers and Tuley each had three.  Grismore and Nichols each had one.  In blocking, Fuhs had two blocks solo and Folkerts had one block solo.

9th Net Team Falls to Rockets

The Chariton freshman volleyball team hosted Eddyville-Blakesburt-Fremont and lost by a 2-1 score.  The scores of the match were 25-19, 22-25 and 12-15.

Ashley Storm led the team in serving going 15-19.  Kenzie Curran went 11-13 and Carlie Schaeffer went 8-11.

"The girls played well overall.  We missed some key serves down the stretch.  However, our net play was much improved and we got several blocks," Chariton Head Coach Shannon Page said.

Overton, Adams Lead CMS X-C Teams at Centerville Invitational

The Chariton Middle School cross country team traveled to Centerville to run in the Centerville Invitational on October 8th.

The 1.6 mile course included a rugged terrain with long and winding hills.  Teams from around southeast and central Iowa competed along with Kirksville, Mo.  The weather was nearly perfect making it a great day on which to run.

For the CMS girls, Abby Adams led Chariton placing 62nd overall in 10:21.  Ali Goldensoph place 67th in 14:03.  Taheton Decker placed 75th in 15:18.

For the CMS boys, Jamie Overton placed 19th with 10:21.  Alex Dobryden placed 27th in 10:49 and Bradley Owens placed 38th in 11:10.  Gideon Plank placed 43rd in 11:19.  Ben Lahart placed 53rd in 11:37.  Will Exline placed 56th in 11:41.  Will Anderson placed 62nd in 12:08 and Peyton Laine placed 70th in 12:46.  Grant Goering placed 81st in 14:33 and Riley Voss placed 84th in 14:49.  Micah Thatcher placed 87th in 15:48.  Aaron Sullenger placed 92nd in 17:19 and Harrison Hamilton placed 93rd in 19:29.

"I was very happy with the effort.  We try to improve every week and we did that,"  Chariton Head Coach Bryan Berg said.

9th Chargers fall to Pella

The Chariton freshman football team took on Pella at Chariton on October 4th.  The Chargers played tough throughout the game and lost by a 38-0 score.

Chariton played well defensively in the first quarter, giving up just eight points.  Pella scored twice more in the second quarter to take a 22-0 lead into halftime.  In the second half, the Charger offense wasn't able to get going and the Little Dutch scored two more touchdowns to make the score 38-0.

Offensively, Kobey Riechmann led Chariton with 40 yards on 18 carries.  The Charger defense played one of their best games of the year against a potent Pella offense.  Middle linebacker Ethan Downen led them once again by tallying nine tackles and two sacks.

7th & 8th Grade Football against Mt. Ayr

Herald-Patriot October 10, 2013
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

7th Grade Football Team Pulls Out Win Over Mt Ayr

The Chariton seventh grade football team pulled out a great come from behind win with a 12-8 victory over Mt. Ayr at Chariton October 3rd.  With the win, Chariton improved to 2-3 overall.

Hunter Clark scored a 15-yard touchdown in the first half, which ended with Mt. Ayr leading 8-6 at halftime.  With under 1:30 left in the game, Jackson Fisher hit Brodey Johnson on a quick slant that he ran down to the one-yard line.  Fisher scored on the next play to put Chariton ahead.

Clark rushed for 24 yards on four carries and one touchdown.  Adrian Hill rushed for 22 yards on 14 carries.  Fisher rushed for 20 yards on five carries and one touchdown.  At quarterback Fisher went 6 -9 for 83 yards.

Nathan Weaver caught three passes for 54 yards.  Johnson caught one pass for 31 yards.  Hill rushed for minus two yards on two carries.

Hill led the team in tackles with six.  Noah Weaver had five and Chance Anderson and Reid Walters had four apiece.  Tanner Nance had three tackles, Hunter Clark, Hunter Cobb and Brock Spencer had two apiece.  Johnson, Fisher and Colbie Werts each had one.

8th Chargers Fall to Mt. Ayr

The Chariton eighth grade football team lost to Mt. Ayr, 56-6 at Chariton October 3rd.

"We didn't start the game very well.  They got up on us early and we couldn't come back.  Mr Ayr was a really good and physical football team.  I was proud of the guys.  They played their hardest and continued to give great effort for the entire game," Chariton Head Coach Ben Schooley said.

Hunter Neer rushed for 29 yards.  Tommy Sommers had five yards rushing.  Quarterback Tyler Anderson had two completions for 12 yards.

Isaiah Tuigong had one catch for 11 yards.  Neer had one catch for one yard.

Defensively, Sommers had four tackles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.  Kurt Showers, Anderson and Jade Spencer had two tackles apiece.

Connor Lundy, Taylor Good and Neer each had one tackle.