Lima Central Catholic is heading back to the Northwest Conference and Fort Loramie will also be joining the conference as a football only school pending its school board’s approval in a Friday announcement by NWC commissioner Jon Derryberry. In a news release, it stated that “Lima Central Catholic High School has accepted an invitation to become a member of the conference in all sports beginning with the 2024-25 school year. Member schools met Wednesday and voted unanimously to extend an invitation to LCC. This will give the conference eight full-time members with the pending departure of Ada and Leipsic for the Blanchard Valley Conference in 2024-25....

(8-24-23) With the 2023-24 school year just getting underway there are still many questions to be answered for some Stateline area schools and athletic conferences on future memberships. The Northwest Conference (NWC) has an offer out to Midwest Athletic Conference (MAC) member Delphos St. John’s to fill one of the two open spots when Ada and Leipsic announced they were both leaving for the Blanchard Valley Conference (BVC). The Blue Jays are taking their time in deciding the pros and cons of the move. The clock is ticking down to when we find out what the Blue Jays will do. In the material below St. John’s hopes to have a decision by September 1st. A highlight of the presentation below— MAC vs. NWC from St. John’s web page (13 pages) – dsj mac nwcDownload Advertisements REPORT THIS AD So what is next for the other three schools who showed an interest in joining the NWC? Lima Central Catholic AD Mike Rumschlag – Lima Central Catholic (LCC) still remains interested in joining the Northwest Conference. Athletic Directors and school administrators have the difficult task of navigating these unstable times to ensure stability for the future, and so, patience is required. Liberty-Benton and Ft. Loramie (football only) also contacted the NWC about membership possibilities, but neither one of them have been invited to join. What happens next IF….? If St. John’s decides to move to the NWC, the conference will remain one member short from its current roster of schools. Will the NWC decide to stand pat or add another member or one of the three other applicants above. If St. John’s decides to remain in the MAC….nothing changes what is in place now. If St. John’s decides to move to the NWC, the MAC will be one member short and will have to decide their next step in the membership process. This is an option, Anna a football only member, could be asked to leave. This would give the MAC 8 football members, presently the MAC plays 8 conference games instead of 9 with the current 10 team membership. Several years ago the MAC eliminated one conference game in favor of scheduling a non-conference to help with added computer points (that was before the playoff added additional teams who qualify). (Another) If St. John’s decides to move to the NWC, the MAC could add Ft. Loramie as a football only member…giving Anna a natural Friday Night rival. Did you know… Two football games of interest this weekend…on Saturday Delphos St. John’s will play LCC and Liberty-Benton will play Columbus Grove from the NWC. The results of these two games might have an impact on the NWC membership situation. Last week in the battle of the two Delphos schools…St. John’s picked up a 45-6 win over NWC member Jefferson....

(8-24-23) With the 2023-24 school year just getting underway there are still many questions to be answered for some Stateline area schools and athletic conferences on future memberships. The Northwest Conference (NWC) has an offer out to Midwest Athletic Conference (MAC) member Delphos St. John’s to fill one of the two open spots when Ada and Leipsic announced they were both leaving for the Blanchard Valley Conference (BVC). The Blue Jays are taking their time in deciding the pros and cons of the move. The clock is ticking down to when we find out what the Blue Jays will do. In the material below St. John’s hopes to have a decision by September 1st. A highlight of the presentation below— MAC vs. NWC from St. John’s web page (13 pages) – dsj mac nwcDownload Advertisements REPORT THIS AD So what is next for the other three schools who showed an interest in joining the NWC? Lima Central Catholic AD Mike Rumschlag – Lima Central Catholic (LCC) still remains interested in joining the Northwest Conference. Athletic Directors and school administrators have the difficult task of navigating these unstable times to ensure stability for the future, and so, patience is required. Liberty-Benton and Ft. Loramie (football only) also contacted the NWC about membership possibilities, but neither one of them have been invited to join. What happens next IF….? If St. John’s decides to move to the NWC, the conference will remain one member short from its current roster of schools. Will the NWC decide to stand pat or add another member or one of the three other applicants above. If St. John’s decides to remain in the MAC….nothing changes what is in place now. If St. John’s decides to move to the NWC, the MAC will be one member short and will have to decide their next step in the membership process. This is an option, Anna a football only member, could be asked to leave. This would give the MAC 8 football members, presently the MAC plays 8 conference games instead of 9 with the current 10 team membership. Several years ago the MAC eliminated one conference game in favor of scheduling a non-conference to help with added computer points (that was before the playoff added additional teams who qualify). (Another) If St. John’s decides to move to the NWC, the MAC could add Ft. Loramie as a football only member…giving Anna a natural Friday Night rival. Did you know… Two football games of interest this weekend…on Saturday Delphos St. John’s will play LCC and Liberty-Benton will play Columbus Grove from the NWC. The results of these two games might have an impact on the NWC membership situation. Last week in the battle of the two Delphos schools…St. John’s picked up a 45-6 win over NWC member Jefferson....

Carson Parker, Lima Central Catholic (Ohio) football Parker accounted for six total touchdowns in a 42-14 victory over Shawnee. The senior rushed for 138 yards and three scores while passing for 206 yards and three more TDs....

They came into the game as sophomores and juniors and left looking like they had skipped a grade and now were juniors and seniors. Lima Central Catholic’s resounding 42-14 win at Shawnee in its football opener on Thursday night quieted any concerns about the youth and inexperience of the Thunderbirds, who had only two seniors in their starting lineup, for at least one night. Before the game, LCC coach Scott Palte told senior quarterback Carson Parker, senior wide receiver Billy Bourk and junior running back Matthew Quatman they needed to be productive because they owned most of their team’s experience. They responded in a big way and the younger Thunderbirds followed them. Parker rushed for three touchdowns and gained 138 yards on the ground on 32 carries. He passed for 206 yards and three more touchdowns and intercepted a pass. Bourk had 4 catches for 187 yards, had touchdown catches of 60 yards and 28 yards, and had another catch that went for 69 yards before he was tackled at the 1-yard line. Quatman rushed for 89 yards on 17 carries, caught two passes, completed a pass and was 6 for 6 on extra-point kicks. “We told our two seniors, Carson and Billy, and our junior Matthew that you three guys all played last year and there are a bunch of sophomores in the lineup and you’ve got to come out and make plays. I couldn’t ask for anything more than what those guys did. They got after it. Carson Parker is a great football player. He was the best player on the field tonight,” Palte said. LCC jumped out to a 21-0 lead late in the first half on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Parker to Bourk and two touchdown runs by Parker. Two of LCC’s first-half scoring drives started when its defense got interceptions — the first by Josh Young and the second by Isaac Leppert, who tipped a pass then grabbed the ball in the air. Shawnee got on the scoreboard in the final minute of the first half on a 3-yard run by Christian Jones to cut the lead to 21-7. Parker’s 1-yard touchdown run one play after Bourk’s 69-yard catch made it 28-7 early in the third quarter. Shawnee responded with a 58-yard touchdown run by Derek Lyons on the next play to reduce the lead to 28-14. But that was as close as the Indians could get when LCC gave a clinic the rest of the game on how to control the football and a football game. Lyons’ run was Shawnee’s only offensive play in the third quarter because LCC controlled the ball for the last eight minutes, 14 seconds of the third quarter and the first eight seconds of the fourth quarter before Parker connected with Carson Heffner for a 14-yard touchdown pass and a 35-14 lead. Two plays later, LCC got the ball back on an interception by Dakota Gerdemann and kept it for another eight minutes before Parker found Bourk for a 28-yard touchdown pass. “We’ve got a 215-pound quarterback, we’ve got a couple of 300-pounders up front. So if we can get the lead and slow the game down and take control and limit the possessions in the second half of a game we like our chances,” Palte said. He also liked what he saw from LCC’s offensive line. “Those guys did a fantastic job. I thought they got better as the game went on. You’re going to have those early young guy nerves. As the game went on I thought our guys really took control of the line of scrimmage. We’ve got three sophomores and two juniors up there and I thought they did a heck of a job.” Parker said, “It was really just coming out with a lot of intensity and thinking we were the tougher team. We might be young but we were here to play. “In our scrimmages we weren’t very good. But tonight we proved what we really were.” When Parker heard he had carried 32 times he said, “It definitely felt like it. When we went in at halftime I was feeling it. But I was like, if we want to win I’ve got to keep it going, so I kept it going the rest of the game, trusted my offensive line and hit the holes. The line played great tonight. I wouldn’t have done it without them.” Beyond winning and his big receiving night, Bourk said this game meant something extra for him. “My experience in high school with Shawnee was a loss my sophomore year and then I didn’t get to play in the win last year (because of an injury that sidelined him for five games). So just being able to come back for this game was a testament to how lucky I felt to be part of Week 1. The fact we came out and just grinded and battled for 48 minutes and got the job done, it’s one of the best feelings in the world to start off this way,” he said. Game summary Score by quarters: Shawnee 0 7 7 0–14 LCC 7 14 7 14–42 Scoring: L – Billy Bourk 60 pass from Carson Parker (Matthew Quatman kick). L – Parker 2 run (Quatman kick). L – Parker 16 run (Quatman kick). S – Christian Jones 3 run (Tyler Kimmet kick). L – Parker 1 run (Quatman kick). S – Derek Lyons 58 run (Kimmet kick). L – Carson Heffner 14 pass from Parker (Quatman kick). L – Bourk 28 pass from Parker (Quatman kick). Shawnee LCC 8 First downs 20 246 Total yardage 468 102 Rushing yardage 232 144 Passing yardage 236 10-19-4 Passing (Com-Att-Int) 8-10-1 0-0 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-40 Punts-Average 1-40 3-22 Penalties-Yards 5-53 Individual leaders: Passing: LCC: Carson Parker 7-206; Shawnee: Caleb Bacome 10-144. Rushing: LCC: Carson Parker 32-138; Shawnee: Derek Lyons 7-91. Receiving: LCC: Billy Bourk 4-187; Shawnee: Michael Garlock 3-65....

Lima Central Catholic School in Lima, Ohio, today announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with BSN SPORTS, the nation's largest direct marketer and distributor of sporting goods to the school and league markets and a division of Varsity Brands, and Under Armour through their co- sponsored Women of Will (WoW) Program. The uniform and apparel agreement outfitting athletes and coaches in Under Armour gear will debut Spring 2023, unlocking partnership benefits for the organization as members of the exclusive Women of Will Program, the first high school sponsorship program designed distinctly for women’s athletic programs. Partnership benefits for the Thunderbirds Athletic Program include custom Women of Will branding and apparel packages, fanwear platforms, athlete leadership opportunities, social media exposure, Women of Will awards and branding designs through BSN SPORTS over the next 3 years. "We are thrilled for the opportunity to partner with Lima Central Catholic School, who continue to establish their presence as a driving force in celebrating female athletes and supporting women's sports," said WoW National Account Manager Tisha Hill. "The Women of Will program was created in partnership with Under Armour to recognize the determination and ambition that female athletes bring to the playing field every day as they set new standards and blaze paths for women's athletics programs. By leveraging our scale and unmatched partnerships with a global brand like Under Armour, we have an opportunity to enhance the experience of the Lima Central Catholic School Thunderbirds athletes, coaches, and supporters through our extensive product selection, innovative team shop platforms, and dedicated service teams." "At LCC we strive to lead and challenge the status quo of our area. Partnering with Women of Will sets us apart in our community, aligns perfectly to our core values as an institution, and shows that we are intentional about standing with our students and their development as human beings. For LCC, it's not just another program, it is who we are ", said Mike Rumschlag....