Four teams move up a division

COLUMBUS — Four area football teams have moved up a division for the 2026 season, which was announced by the Ohio High School Athletic Association on Thursday.

Salem is the only area team in Division III, while Crestview is in Division V and East Palestine and Lisbon are in Division VI.

They are among the 37 schools in Ohio that moved up a division from their 2025 assignment due to the 2026-27 school year being the start of a new two-year base enrollment cycle.

South Range dropped from Division V to Division VI.

A total of 708 Ohio schools will field 11-man football teams this fall, which opens Aug. 21.

Puskar leads Mooney girls

YOUNGSTOWN — Lisbon assistant boys basketball coach Quinn Puskar has been hired as the Youngstown Cardinal Mooney girls basketball head coach.

“I’m beyond excited to jump in and get started with such a prestigious program at Cardinal Mooney,” Puskar said.

Puskar has spent the past nine seasons with the Lisbon boys as an assistant under Chris Huckshold.

Potters, Beavers at East Palestine Relays

EAST PALESTINE — The 41st East Palestine Relays will be held today at Reid Stadium.

Action starts at 4:30 p.m. with the 4×1600 relay, the boys discus and high jump, girls shot put and boys and girls long jump.

The Howland boys and girls have swept the team titles the past four years.

Other schools entered are host East Palestine, Beaver Local, Campbell Memorial, Carrollton, East Liverpool, Howland, Rootstown and United.

Poland Invite on Saturday

POLAND — The 30th Poland Invitational will be held Saturday at Poland High School.

Twenty-four schools are entered, including Crestview, Leetonia, Salem, South Range, Springfield Local, West Branch and Western Reserve.

The Salem girls and McDonald boys will try to defend their team titles.

Action will start at 9 a.m. Saturday with the boys shot put and long jump and girls discus and high jump. The finals in the girls and boys 3200-meter run will be at 9:15 a.m., followed by the rest of the running finals at 10:15 a.m.

Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students. All tickets are sold at the home gate.

Rangers’ deGrom shuts down Pirates

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jacob deGrom struck out 10 over 5 2/3 innings, Evan Carter hit an inside-the-park home run while Corey Seager went deep and the Texas Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 on Thursday night in the rubber match of their three-game series.

It was the 62nd career 10-strikeout game for deGrom (2-0), who has a 2.13 ERA in his six starts. The 37-year-old, two-time Cy Young Award winner threw 63 of 89 pitches for strikes, allowed five hits and exited after issuing his only walk.

Carter’s two-run homer for the game’s first runs came when he lined a 97.5 mph full-count fastball beyond the reach of right fielder Ryan O’Hearn in the third inning. The ball ricocheted hard off the bottom of the wall and Carter rounded the bases for his first career inside-the-parker, and third homer this season.

That came two pitches after home plate umpire Dan Merzel signaled ball four, but that was overturned on a ABS challenge by the catcher Joey Bart and kept Carter at the plate instead of a walk.

Seager made it 6-0 in the fourth with his three-run homer, his sixth of the year being a 382-drive pulled into the right-field stands off Pirates rookie Bubba Chandler (1-2).

Chandler allowed six runs and seven hits while striking out four and walking three.

Oneil Cruz hit his eighth homer for Pittsburgh, a two-out solo shot in the fifth.

Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin played his last game as a teenager, going 0-for-4 the day before his 20th birthday.

He was the last batter of the game, striking out against Peyton Gray, a 30-year-old right-hander making his big-league debut with a 1-2-3 inning.