Area Players to Watch this fall
Fall sports practice starts all across Ohio started Wednesday morning, and this area is fortunate to have some outstanding athletes who will step onto the field this fall to represent their schools in a powerful way. This week, the Gazette will look at several athletes from the coverage area who are expected to shine at a very high level in their respective sports when games start for real in August.
Landon Haas- Tippecanoe boys soccer
What a season for the Tipp soccer state champion. Haas absolutely dominated the MVL with 91 points, as a player gets two points for a goal and one for an assist. He not only won the scoring title by 26 points, but he also scored a league-high 33 goals, and his 25 assists were also atop the league.
His skills are unmatched in the conference this coming season as he looks to not only help carry the Red Devils to another league title, as Tipp stands 45-0 in conference play since joining the MVL in 2019.
Maddie Montgomery/Juli Sprague- Bethel girls soccer
We walked earlier in the summer, and she expressed her disappointment after a rough season for the Bees last year. Montgomery looks to be one of the key players in turning things around. She had a great summer of soccer with her traveling club team and has continued to visit colleges to set things up for her next level.
Sprague and Montgomery are like 1 and 1a with what they bring to the table. Sprague is a returning offensive juggernaut as she was third in the conference goals and points last year. She had 37 points and 16 goals, while dishing out five assists.
Emily Aselage/Savannah Clawson- Tippecanoe volleyball
The senior Aselage is the player who should make this team go with her experience and skillset, recording 233 kills as a junior at the net with a 40% kill percentage. She also had 264 digs and having a poised senior leader on the floor will go a long way toward a repeat in the MVL after a perfect conference record in 2023.
Clawson heads into her junior season with an impressive resume. As a sophomore, she recorded 459 assists and 383 digs and 17 blocks last season. She was also honorable mention all-Ohio.
Charlie Lane- Milton Union football
Only a junior, Lane had an outstanding sophomore season on the defensive side of the football. From his defensive back position, he led the Three Rivers Conference in interceptions. In 11 games, Lane picked off six passes, and ironically, they all came in a span of four games in the middle of the season. He had one pick in a tight 28-25 win against Miami East in week six and followed that up with another interception the following week against Covington.
He then picked off two passes against Bethel and Northridge in a game where the Bulldogs earned a 21-20 victory. He also recorded 40 tackles during the season.
Allen Mabson- Butler football
Like Lane, it was defense that gave Mabson his notoriety on the football field last season as he earned a first-team all-Ohio honor from his defensive back position. He picked off eight passes including three for touchdowns to lead Butler to a tie for the MVL title with Tipp and Troy. The 6’ senior made his presence felt in the opening game against Northmont with a pick-six, then added another one against both Greenville and West Carrollton. He had interceptions in eight of the ten regular season games and had 106 return yards off of his defense.
