100 Years of Excellence
Shelby County Athletic Association! On March 6, 1925, Anna High School was crowned the first ever Shelby County boys basketball tournament champion by beating Jackson Center 26 to 21. The county tournament was played at the Sidney Armory, and over the years was moved between Sidney High School (East North Street), Sidney High School (Campbell Road), Jackson Center, and in the later years the Piqua Fieldhouse. The champions were rewarded with the Silver Loving Cup. Each champion school had their name engraved on it. The Loving Cup was kept by the winning school for the year and redistributed to the next county tournament champion.
The Shelby County Boys Basketball teams competed in 39 county tournaments. There was no tournament held in 1943 because of the war efforts and travel restrictions. Of the 39 championships Anna won 13, Jackson Center 8, Russia 5, Houston 5, Green 3, Botkins 2, Fairlawn 2, Fort Loramie 1.
Ohio High School Athletic Association! Retrieved from Timothy L. Hudak’s article titled Looking Back at OHSAA’s Basketball Championships on January 28, 2025 from https://www.ohsaa.org/sports/history/tim-hudak-features/bbk.
[The year 1923 marks the beginning of the OHSAA sponsored boys basketball tournament. While the tournament has usually been played at a site in Columbus, presently at the Schottenstein Center, it has over the years been played at various venues around the state, including locations in Kent, Toledo, Cincinnati, Dayton and Cleveland.
When the OHSAA began its tournament it divided the schools into two classes, A and B, based on male enrollment, with the A schools being those with the larger number of boys. These classes were renamed A and AA (bigger schools) in 1957, with a AAA (biggest schools) class added in 1971. In 1988 the classifications were reconfigured and renamed Division I-II-III-IV, Division I being for the biggest schools.
Today the term “tournament” refers to the Final Four, but it has not always been that way. In 1923 and 1924 the tournament consisted of all the games from the “Sweet 16,” roughly corresponding to today’s regional semi-finals, to the championship game. From 1925-1935 the tournament was reduced to include only the final eight teams, but from 1936-1941 it went back to the Sweet 16 format. Due to travel restrictions brought on by World War II, the concept of regional play at various locations around the state was introduced in 1942, with only the four regional winners proceeding to the state tournament. This system remained in effect after the war and continues to this day.]
Boys Basketball! Three Shelby County Boys basketball schools have been crowned state champions on five occasions (Fort Loramie, Jackson Center, Botkins). The first ever was claimed by the 1976-77 Fort Loramie Redskins, which won the Class “A” division. Fort Loramie was led in scoring by Doug Brandewie (689) and Tom Steinke (560). The Redskins were coached by George Hamlin.
The next State Championship earned by a Shelby County school was in the 1984-85 season. The Jackson Center Tigers that were coached by Jerry Harmon brought home the Class “A” championship. The Tigers went 27-1 on the season and were led in scoring by Tony Meyer (496) and Brian Scoggin (493).
Fort Loramie won the next basketball Class “A” State championship for Shelby County in 1986-87. The Redskins were coached by Dan Hegemier and went 22-6 on the season. Tom Brandewie was the leading scorer for the Redskins that season with 486 points.
Fort Loramie won the Division IV State Championship in 1992-93. The Redskins were again coached by Dan Hegemier and went 24-4 on the season. Jeff Brandewie led the Redskins with 403 points that year. Brian Eilerman and Gary Meyer led in 3 point scoring combining for 62 on the season.
The Botkins Trojans earned the Shelby County Athletic League’s most recent basketball state title. They won on the biggest stage in Division IV during the 2020-21 season. The Trojans were coached by Sean Powell. The Trojans were led in scoring by Jacob Pleiman (439) and Jayden Priddy (425) who combined for 864 points.
High Achievers! Among the other schools in the league, there were also many impressive teams. Russia’s 2001-02 basketball team advanced to the state finals. Anna’s 2007-08 basketball team advanced to the state semi-finals. Houston’s 2011 team earned a regional championship and a state final four appearance. Fairlawn (which was consolidated from Green and Perry Township schools in 1952-53) earned a district championship in 2003-04.
Unfinished Business! During the 2019-20 basketball season, the Jackson Center Boys basketball team defeated Cincinnati Christian to advance to the regional finals. The remaining games of the basketball tournament were cancelled because of the pandemic.
During the 1980-81 State basketball tournament the Anna Rockets were led by coach Jane Jones to a perfect 26-0 season. The Rockets brought home the first ever Class “A” State Championship trophy to Shelby County. Amy Anderson was the leading scorer for the Lady Rockets that season with 579 points.
Since that first state championship, the Shelby County Athletic League schools have brought home eight more State Championship titles to Shelby County!
The 1994-95 Jackson Center Tigers won the Division IV State title. They were coached by Roger McEldowney and went a perfect 28-0. The Tigers Tracy Schilling was the leading scorer for this championship run.
During the 2000-01 season Jackson Center won their second Division IV state championship. Jackson Center was coached by Gregg Gooding, and the team went 27 and 1 on their state championship year. Meghan Zorn was the leading scorer for the Tigers with 460 Points.
The next state title was won during the 2010-11 season by Anna High School. The Division III state champion Rockets were coached by Jack Billing and went 27 and 1 on the year. Megan Fogt was the leading scorer for the Rockets with 395 points.
Two State Championship teams from the SCAL! The 2012-13 season was especially notable for Shelby County as two schools won the state championship in their respective divisions. The Lady Rockets, coached by Jack Billing, went 26-4 on the year winning the Division III title. Natalie Billing was the leading scorer for the Rockets with 521 points. That same year, the Fort Loramie Redskins coached by Carla Siegel, went 27-3 on the year and won the Division IV state championship. Darian Rose led the Redskins in scoring that season with 557 points.
Two State Championship teams from the SCAL! The 2012-13 season was especially notable for Shelby County as two schools won the state championship in their respective divisions. The Lady Rockets, coached by Jack Billing, went 26-4 on the year winning the Division III title. Natalie Billing was the leading scorer for the Rockets with 521 points. That same year, the Fort Loramie Redskins coached by Carla Siegel, went 27-3 on the year and won the Division IV state championship. Darian Rose led the Redskins in scoring that season with 557 points.
The last three girls basketball state championships have all been won by Fort Loramie High School. The 2014-15 Fort Loramie Redskins were the final team standing in Division IV. Head coach Carla Siegel and her Redskins went 26-4 on the season. Jessica Boerger was the high scorer for the Redskins that season with 475 points.
The 2020-21 Fort Loramie Redskins won the Division IV state championship. The Lady Redskins, coached again by Carla Siegel, went 29-1 on the season. The Redskins leading scorer was Kenzie Hoelscher scoring 402 points. For the first time in league history, a Shelby County Girls (Fort Loramie) and Boys (Botkins) Basketball teams won a state championship in the same season.
In 2023-24, Fort Loramie did it again by winning the Division IV state championship. Under the leadership of head coach Carla Siegel, the Lady Redskins completed a 28 and 2 season earning them the trophy. Avery Brandewie led the charge that season with 342 points.
High Achievers! Other impressive basketball teams include the Botkins 1997-98 team that won the schools first district championship in girls basketball. Fairlawn has advanced to the sectional finals on multiple occasions. Houston’s 1985 team also won a district championship. Russia has claimed eleven district championships.
Unfinished Business Times Two! During the 2019-20 basketball season, Shelby County girls basketball had tremendous representation in the tournament. Both Fort Loramie and Anna High School’s girls basketball teams qualified to play in the state tournament. The tournament was cancelled because of the restrictions surrounding COVID-19.
Coaches for life! During the first seventy-five years of the Shelby County League, two coaches set the bar for coaching longevity. According to Bob Wise’s Shelby County Athletic League Basketball publication of 1995, two coaches have been dedicated basketball coaches who each coached for 26 years in the Shelby County League. They are Bob Anderson of Anna High School and John Kremer of Fort Loramie High School. Together they account for 16 league championships, coached 596 league games and coached a combined total of 1,129 basketball games. During one fourteen year period, 1962-63 through 1975-76, Fort Loramie or Anna finished first or second in the league every year. Both coaches had the opportunities to coach their sons and laid the foundation of the statewide recognition the Shelby County League enjoys today.
Following in their coaching footsteps and beyond! Since that publication, another coach has matched Coach Anderson and Coach Kremer. Fort Loarmie’s head girls basketball coach, Carla Siegel, is leading the Redskins for her 26th season. To date, she has coached in 689 contests and notched 562 wins and only 127 losses. The Redskins have earned four state championships not including the 2020 state berth that was cancelled. They have tacked on nine regional championships, twenty one district championships and seventeen league titles under her leadership. Siegel succeeded Jane Poeppelman who coached the Lady Redskins for twenty-two seasons.
The second longest coaching career in Shelby County League Boys Basketball history belongs to John Willoughby. Willoughby served as the boys head basketball coach at Houston High School for an impressive 30 seasons. Willoughby recorded 342 wins and 335 losses as the head coach. During his thirty years, Willoughby and the Wildcats earned two league titles, six district championships, and one regional championship.
The longest SCAL boys basketball coaching career to date was earned by Paul Bremigan. Bremigan led the Russia Raiders boys basketball program for 31 seasons. During this time Bremigan and the Russia Raiders won eight league championships, five district championships, and one regional championship. Bremigan recorded a record of 437 wins and 276 losses. Paul continued to coach after these 31 seasons and a few years later returned to Russia to lead the Lady Raiders basketball team.
The longest SCAL boys basketball coaching career to date was earned by Paul Bremigan. Bremigan led the Russia Raiders boys basketball program for 31 seasons. During this time Bremigan and the Russia Raiders won eight league championships, five district championships, and one regional championship. Bremigan recorded a record of 437 wins and 276 losses. Paul continued to coach after these 31 seasons and a few years later returned to Russia to lead the Lady Raiders basketball team.
100 years and beyond! Basketball is just a game. However, to the residents of Shelby County it’s our game! To our schools, communities, families, fans, and student athletes it is something that holds deep roots in the rich tradition of Shelby County. If you are not convinced, just attend any two Shelby County schools who square off in a girls or boys basketball contest. Basketball is the sport that brought our county schools together to form our athletic league, a single county league which has officially existed for 100 years.
Each and every community has had standout athletes, coaches, those teams that will always be remembered, and recollections of the games that got away. The Shelby County Athletic League is very proud to have played a part in facilitating this passion. The formation of this league has expanded into many sports that we will celebrate this spring as we continue the Shelby County Athletic League’s 100 years of Excellence!
Written by Joel Staudter with information provided by Bob Wise