12/19/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
WAYNE CITY – The contest between long time rivals Webber Township and Wayne City had the makings of a classic battle.

However senior scoring machine Nathaniel Marlow was having “none of that.”

The 6-3 guard lit up his rivals with an onslaught of shots from all over the court, including a barrage of points in the third quarter, as the Trojans made quick, mercy rule, work of Wayne City on Friday night.

Marlow scored 40-points as Webber never trailed in an 86-45 demolition of the hosts, punching a ticket into Saturday night's championship contest against North Clay.

Marlow connected on 9-of-11 free throws and scored 18 of his points in a third quarter that drained all of the drama out of the Friday night finale.

In describing Webber Township, a one-man show they are not.

Marlow got plenty of help on Friday night from his teammates.

Senior Waylon Jones tossed in 20-points for the Trojans and four other Webber players scored at least six-points as the squad never trailed.

Sophomore Jacob Marlow scored eight-points while a trio of players; sophomore Bryden Dalby, senior Grayson Loman, and sophomore Zaydun Withrow added six-points apiece in the rout.

“He (Marlow) is more than just a 3-point shooter. He is a threat at so many different levels and we did a good job of finding him in the right spots,” said Coach Helm.

Wayne City head coach Jake Talbert will probably want to simply erase whatever recording they have of the game and move on to the third place battle against Ed Co.

The Indians were never in contention as the fell behind 10-0 before they could score and trailed 19-3 at the end of a dumpster fire of a first frame.

How bad was it for Wayne City?

Webber Township forced eight first quarter turnovers and held the hosts to just 1-of-11 from the floor.

The numbers increased to 5-of-24 and 12 turnovers by halftime.

Wayne City senior James Walker paced WC with 19-points but he didn't get much help offensively.

Junior forward Rhyver Tibbs scored seven-points for Coach Talbert before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Peyton Harrison added six-points and both sophomore Cole Tucker and senior Javen Loker scored four-points each.

The defensive effort by Coach Jaxon Helm's club was outstanding from the beginning as Webber Township improved the resume to 8-1 on the season, and 4-0 in Pool A of the 71st annual Conrad Allen Wayne City Holiday Tournament.

After 2-of-4 free throws and a rebound basket by Marlow, his teammate Dalby scored on a steal and fast break for an 8-0 lead.

Jones scored twice in transition, with the second one coming on a Marlow blocked shot.

Marlow nailed down his first of three trifectas for a 16-point spread at the end of one.

It got better for the Trojans and much worse for the Indians in the second quarter.

Jones cashed in another fast break score off a steal by Dalby.

Dalby got a nice assist on a back door cut by Marlow before four-straight points by Loman.

Two more free throws by Marlow and five baskets on fast breaks off of Wayne City mistakes closed the half at 41-15.

“That (our defense) has been a big point of emphasis for us. I haven't liked our half-court defense of late. I thought we did a good job tonight. The guys closed out and did fundamental things right defensively. They followed the game plan defensively,” said Coach Helm.

Dalby, Jones, Marlow and Loman (twice) were part of the lay up drill that sent the teams to the half.

Marlow did a little bit of everything to open the second half.

A conventional three-point play on a drive to the basket continued the offensive plan for Webber.

He added a long 3-pointer from right in front of his team's bench and converted a pair of steals into points late in the quarter.

The final two baskets of the quarter by Marlow, both on drives in the lane, made it 70-33 heading to the fourth quarter.

Jones added another three-point play and one final 3-point bomb by Marlow forged the largest lead of the night at 80-39 before the reserves for both coaches finished out the final moments of continuous clock.

Webber connected on 34-of-54 (62.9 percent) from the field overall, 5-of-13 from the 3-point line.

Wayne City hit on just 18-of-48 (37.5 percent) and 0-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Webber will face North Clay in the title game Saturday night after the Cardinals dispatched Edwards County.

Coach Josh Zink's club cruised past the Lions and finished 3-0 in the Pool B.

Edwards County and Wayne City will play for the second time this season.

The Indians won the first battle 73-65 at the Hamilton County Invitational Tournament on December 3rd.

“One of things about teaching man-to-man defense to high school kids is that man-to-man isn't just about guarding your man, it's about helping each other out. Team defense has been a big preaching point for us and it showed tonight,” said Coach Helm.

Wayne City (45) – Walker 7 0 5-7 19, Tibbs 3 0 1-1 7, Harrison 3 0 0-0 6, Loker 2 0-0 4, Gregory 0 0 1-2 1, Musgrove 0 0 0-0 0, Cole Tucker 2 0 0-0 4, Keen 0 0 0-0 0, Braddock 0 0 0-0 0, Crew Tucker 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-18, 3FG-0, FT-7-10, PF-16.

Coach Josh Zink and his club (7-1) are looking for their second championship since rejoining the Conrad Allen back in 2018.

Senior guard Cody Zimdars paced the Cardinals with 26-points Friday night.

Junior Lucas Griffy added 17-points and senior Carder Walden scored 12.

Senior Kade Atwood and senior Mason Byers added nine and six for the winning total.

Edwards County and head coach Kevin Schnicker saw their overall mark slip to 6-4.

The Lions were led in scoring by sophomore Walker Sledge with 18-points while senior Cash Conner “cashed in” 17-points.

The Cardinals pulled away in the second half and led 70-43 before seven-straight points by Edwards County made the score more respectable.