Flood Warning issued September 20 at 5:21PM EDT until September 21 at 8:00AM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH (details ...)

...The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers...
St. Marys River at Rockford.
* WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast.
* WHERE...St. Marys River at Rockford.
* WHEN...Until Monday morning.
* IMPACTS...At 13.0 feet, State Route 117 near Route 118 north of Rockford is water-covered and closed.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 4:40 PM EDT Sunday the stage was 12.9 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to rise to a crest of 13.0 feet this evening. It will then fall below flood stage just after midnight tonight. - Flood stage is 13.0 feet.

Flood Watch issued September 20 at 1:07PM EDT until September 21 at 8:00AM EDT by NWS Wilmington OH (details ...)

* WHAT...Flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible.
* WHERE...Portions of Indiana, including the following counties, Dearborn, Fayette, Franklin, Ripley, Union and Wayne and Ohio, including the following counties, Adams, Auglaize, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Darke, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Hardin, Highland, Hocking, Licking, Logan, Madison, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Pickaway, Pike, Preble, Ross, Scioto, Shelby, Union and Warren.
* WHEN...From 7 PM EDT this evening through Monday morning.
* IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Showers and thunderstorms producing heavy rain will impact the area overnight. Rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches are expected with locally higher amounts. The heavy rain combined with saturated ground will lead to potential flash flooding.

Tuesday, March 15th, 2022

Otte to play football at Jacksonville State

By Gary R. Rasberry

Submitted Photo

Marion Local's Peyton Otte, center, committed as a preferred walk-on at Jacksonville State on Monday after leading Marion Local to a state title in 2021.

Peyton Otte is heading south and hoping to make an impact for a program that is moving up.

The Marion Local football standout will be attending Jacksonville State University in Florida as a preferred walk-on with the chance to earn a scholarship.

The Gamecocks entered Otte's vision through Dusty Rutledge, the former Parkway player and one-time head coach who serves as the football chief of state for new coach Rich Rodriguez.

"(Rutledge) contacted coach (Tim) Goodwin because they've been friends for a while," said Otte, who will be a pre-med major. "Coach Goodwin gave me his contact info. We had a conversation and they said they wanted me as part of the team. I went to down to visit, saw it and loved it down there. Made my decision right after that."

Jacksonville State has been a contender in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision since 1995, finishing as national runner-up in 2015. In 2023, the Gamecocks will move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision and join Conference-USA.

Last season under former coach John Grass, JSU went 5-6 and 3-3 in the combined Atlantic Sun/Western Athletic Conference's AQ7 partnership. The Gamecocks' biggest win came early last season when they defeated Florida State in Tallahassee.

Now Rodriguez, who has coached at West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona, is getting the team ready for the jump to the next level.

"He's steering the program in the right direction. There's a lot of buzz on the campus," said Otte. "It's an exciting time to be a part of the team."

Otte brings a lot of options to Jacksonville State in terms of where to play. Otte was an All-Ohio wide receiver at sophomore before moving to quarterback for his senior season. At quarterback, Otte rushed for 1,445 yards and 22 touchdowns and passed for 1,482 and 12 scores as the Flyers went 16-0 and captured the program's 12th state title since 2000.

Defensively, Otte also excelled at cornerback, earning first team All-Ohio honors this past season at defensive back with 34 tackles and two interceptions.

"You have to earn everything you do," said Otte. "You do it through hard work, which is how our community is. I'll take that with me, along with everything I learned from the great coaching staff we have at Marion."

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In his second year as New Knoxville's girls basketball coach, Tim Hegemier took the Rangers to the state championship game. Fifteen years later, in his final game, he made it back. [More]

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