Tag Archive for: Morgan Rutledge

RAIDERS LOOKING FRESH; ADVANCE PAST PALESTINE

CANFIELD OH- East Palestine came in to Saturday’s sectional final against South Range high off their win over Waterloo on Wednesday night. The Raiders made a fast start an emphasis all week. To describe their start to this game as fast would be an understatement. They used an explosive first quarter to roll past the Bulldogs 55-34.

The Raiders started the game on a 23-0 run using their press defense to stifle East Palestine’s offense. The end of the quarter showed a 25-1 Raider advantage. Izzy Lamparty proved to be a huge matchup issue for Palestine, especially in the first quarter. Trying to break a press with her in the middle proved near impossible.

The Bulldogs seemed to calm down after being punched with that first quarter outburst. They scored 11 in the second, thanks to a couple good plays by Morgan Rutledge on defense leading to quick buckets, and a good drive and scoop from Payton Sherry. Paige Snyder also had a strong frame. The Raiders added 18 more points to close the half with a 43-12 lead.

The Bulldogs never quit fighting as the game went on and showed great resiliency facing a big deficit. They held the Raiders to just twelve second half points.

Izzy Lamparty led the Raiders with 19 points, and 7 rebounds. Lexi Giles also had a strong day with 18 points. Gabby Lamparty notched a season-High 7 assists.

Paige Snyder and Joclyn Fristik both paced the Bulldogs with 10 points.

South Range advances to play Columbiana in the district semifinals Wednesday at Struthers. The tip is set for 6:00.

READING RUTLEDGE

EAST PALESTINE, OH- One of the most difficult challenges in high school sports is to be thrust into the spotlight of a high priority role player.  The dedication it takes to hone your craft, build the trust of your teammates and coaches, as well as the growth and mental toughness it takes to accept a bigger role as an underclassman?  It’s surely not something to take for granted.

Except if you’re Junior Post Player, Morgan Rutledge.

A family that is rich in athletic success ranging from the ballfields of East Palestine to the NFL, and everywhere in between.  Morgan is a perfect combination of her family’s heritage, as well as outgoing enough to blaze a trail of her own with time left on her high school clock.

We sat down with the Bulldog Bruiser to talk about her family, her game, and her plans for the future.  All that and more in this edition of East Palestine Player Profile: Reading Rutledge.

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BULLDOGS SURF THROUGH WATERLOO

EAST PALESTINE OH- it was the battle at Waterloo that went down as the historic defeat of Napoleon, and on Wednesday night East Palestine narrowly escaped a defeat by holding off the Waterloo Vikings 58-50.

East Palestine came out swinging. They rattled off 21 points in the first quarter to jump out to a 21-11 lead after one frame. In what would be a theme all night Waterloo would surge back into the game with help from their perimeter shooting. Waterloo has the lead 26-24 with less than a minute to go in the second quarter. Then a huge swing of events went in favor of Palestine, they hit a deep three and then quickly caused a turnover and hit a layup to go up 29-26 at the half.

The third frame much like the first belonged to the Bulldogs. They opened the third quarter scoring four points and going back ahead by seven. They’d end up with an eight point 42-34 lead after three. Palestine held that lead for a big section of the fourth frame, until Waterloo once again made a late surge. They cut a 54-45 lead to 54-50 with about 1:30 to go. The Bulldogs showed great resilience in handling the late momentum swing and scoring the last four points of the game. They escaped the upset, and picked up a massive win for a program that was hungry for a tournament victory. East Palestine is just the third team to beat Waterloo this year when the Vikings score 40 points or more.

Kenzee Johnston led with 16 points for the Bulldogs. Joclyn Fristik finished with 15, and Morgan Rutledge added 14.

The Bulldogs advance to play at South Range in the sectional finals on Saturday at 1:00.