BELLVILLE — Thursday’s Division II sectional championship game started a half hour late and was over before halftime.
Top-seeded Clear Fork scored six first-half goals and rumbled to a 10-0 win over Edison at the Colt Corral.
The Colts (12-2-2) will play No. 5 seed Tiffin Columbian at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Ashland. Columbian blanked Clyde 2-0 in Tiffin on Thursday.
The game was scheduled to start at 5 p.m. but was delayed for 30 minutes when the Edison team bus got lost. When play finally began, All-Ohioan Jordyne Helinski didn’t waste any time. The junior forward scored three of her four goals in the first half, upping her single season school record to 39, and added two assists.
“They played well. They played together,” Clear Fork coach Brittany Bechtel said. “I want the girls to live in the moment right now. This is important stuff. This is our tournament. You win and continue on or you lose and go home.
“It can be a scary time.”
Bechtel didn’t have anything to fret over Thursday. All-Ohioan Deijah Swihart and Alyson Wend each had two goals as the Colts unloaded on Edison goal keeper Lexi Potter. Clear Fork had 18 shots.
Eight different Colts had at least one goal or one assist.
“We played a lot of players. We played all 22 that we were allowed to (dress) today,” Bechtel said. “Everybody got a fair amount of time out there.”
Collision Course: The Colts and Richland Country rival Ontario could meet in the district championship game for a second straight year. The Warriors, who pounded Sandusky Perkins 10-0 on Thursday, ousted Clear Fork last year.
“That’s obviously the looking ahead part,” Bechtel said, “but we don’t want to look ahead.”
Ontario will play Norwalk in the nightcap in Ashland on Tuesday. Norwalk beat Madison 2-0 on Thursday.
Enjoy the Ride: Clear Fork has become a regular visitor to the district tournament, having won two district titles in the past three years. Bechtel urged the Colts to appreciate the sectional title.
“It’s like they get so used to it they forget how exciting these moments can be,” Bechtel said. “I want them to feel that and not forget about that.
“Sometimes when you go through a season and you’re winning, it becomes expected. Then everything seems very nonchalant.”
