Wilkins named soccer MVP

The Shelby High School girls soccer team celebrated their first season as a varsity sport with a postseason awards ceremony.

Junior Mary Wilkins was named the squad’s Most Valuable Player.

The Offensive Player Award went to junior Brooklyn Gwirtz.

Receiving the Outstanding Defensive Player Award was senior Sophia Niese. She also received a Captain Award.

Lauren Krietemeyer was the recipient of the Sportsmanship Award.

Earning their first varsity letter were Audriana Albert, Olivia Barnard, Alexis Booker, Arizona Graszl, Gwirtz, Molly Hall, Krietemeyer, Mackenzie Martincin, Lindsay Montgomery, Alyssa Neill, Charlotte Niese, Sophia Niese, Peyton Putnam, Brenna Schartiger, Julia Sickmiller, Kelsey Snyder and Wilkins.

Certificates of participation were presented to Kierra

Beaver, Alyssa Booker, Angel Cline, Dailynn Dawson, Destiny Detillion, Brianna Hughes, Chloe Hursh, Sara Krietemeyer, Erin Lindsey, Brianne Mcquillen, Kailyn Miller, Megan Nothacker, Kassidy Price, Sarah Reiser, Sarah Smith, Brianna Thomas and Sammie Thompson.

The Lady Whippets finished third in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference with a record of 5-2 and posted an overall record of 7-8-2.

Once upon a time, rabbit hunting was the No. 1 outdoor sport in Ohio.

Today, it’s only third, following deer and turkey hunting, but there are still hundreds of local gunners who like to walk the fields and brushy woodlots looking for a dinner of fried cottontail.

It’s going to be a good year too, since the Division of Wildlife said recently that rabbit numbers are up this year, and action should be better than usual.

Plenty of local folk filled a limit on opening day (Nov.5) and others will do so soon because the first weeks of the season are prime time to find these tasty critters.

They’re not yet spooky, having been little hunted so far, and milder weather will have them sitting in thin cover like weed fields with good grass, Queen Anne’s Lace, goldenrod, and purple asters, or around old farm machinery, and brier patches.

They’re easy to find in such places and even relatively easy to hit, if you can lead a grey blur leaving at high speed.

If there’s a favorite way of hunting cottontails, it’s lining up a group of hunters about 10 yards apart in a row, then marching along stepping on every brushpile, wading through every thicket, and angling back and forth through every patch of weeds and cattails.

The method is lethal since no matter where they’re hiding and in what cover they’re currently favoring, you’re bound to find them eventually.

If they run straight, you get the shot, and if they angle when jumped a couple of others will get a try.

Dog hunters do even better, whether they hunt alone or with a few friends.

They’ll still walk in line and kick brushpiles, but if they miss a shot, the eager little hounds soon pick up the scent and bring the rabbit back around.

Then, it’s just a matter of making that line maybe 30 yards apart on both sides of where the bunny jumped and waiting for it to circle and return.

I hunted for long years with my little 13-inch female, Ketchum, and shot an enormous number of rabbits over her.

But, I learned quickly that the old fable that rabbits always return to where they jumped isn’t necessarily true.

When the rabbit began its circle, I listened carefully to see whether it was returning left or right, moved over that way, and made my stand right in front of good cover that I suspected the animal would seek.

Usually, it did, and I got an easy frontal or slightly angling shot.

The hardest rabbit hunting is when you go it alone, or with a single friend, but even here you can improve your chances with a simple tactic or two.

Fencerows are ideal for two hunter teams, but keep in mind that if they both march through a thick fencerow, neither is likely to get a shot. Rather, they’ll see brush shaking or maybe hear it jump well ahead.

So, put one gunner outside the row in open country and maybe slightly ahead of the brushpopper. Then, occasionally, switch walkers.

Do the same in small swales, thickets, big brushpiles, and other bits of cover.

One doing the work and one waiting for a target makes sense in such places.

If you’re hunting alone without a dog, remember to save energy and not waste time by hunting spots where you can’t get a shot.

Roaming through a huge weed field with hip high cover is almost pointless, even if rabbits are present, and hunting heavy brush is equally pointless.

Stick to small areas where you’ve at least a hope of seeing one clearly, and before you walk in, remember that the rabbit is going to jump out opposite of wherever you enter, and go out the far side of brushpiles.

Pick your place so that it has to head into fairly open territory, and give you at least a good chance of bagging it.

Finally, remember the weather.

If it’s fairly warm and sunny, they’ll be out in open areas enjoying weak sunlight, and I’ve found them often in just little pockets of grass in a pasture or thin cover weed field.

If it’s cold, they’ll be in heavier brush, and if it’s really nasty, look for them under farm machinery, old tumbledown buildings, under thick brushpiles where they’re protected from the weather.

Or better yet, stay home and toast your toes before a warm fire. Hooks & Bullets — Chronic Wasting Disease is coming closer and was found in two deer in Wyandot County last year. Surveillance is planned in Wyandot, Hardin, and Marion counties this fall and intense monitoring will continue for at least three years in these counties. Individuals who harvest a deer in one will need mandatory testing available at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area Headquarters

— Looking for some late season fishing? The Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau (New York State) reports almost every stream, creek, and tributary has trout in it these days. That includes steelhead and brown trout in various size year classes. Fishing can be from a small boat or waders with anglers using anything from lures to live bait. Call 716-597-4081 for more information.

Dick Martin is a retired biology teacher who has been writing outdoor columns for over 30 years. You can reach him at richmart@neo.rr.com