INSIDE SCORE … Hayden Sharps gets loose inside for a field goal on Saturday night. Sharps had a game-high 18 points for Montpelier.
PHOTOS BT REBEKAH DELL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
WILLIAMS COUNTY FOES … Edgerton’s Kellen Sanchez pulls up for a shot in last Saturday’s non-league game with Montpelier.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
EDGERTON (January 17, 2026) – The last time Montpelier and Edgerton met on the hardwoods; it was the Locos who prevailed with a dominating 72-24 victory over the Bulldogs back on December 9 at “The Railyard.”
It was the Locos once again getting the win, but this time around, it took a rebound basket by Wesley Hartsock with 3.5 seconds remaining to give Montpelier a thrilling 43-42 non-conference triumph.
“Edgerton has come a long way from the first time we’ve played them,” said Montpelier head coach Nick Ramos, whose squad improved to 11-1 overall and extended its winning streak to eight games.
“They got a good squad, a senior-heavy team and they just gave us fits tonight. We kept it close and it was a very physical game.”
For the most part, it was a nip-and-tuck game throughout with Montpelier leading by as many as five points, 14-9, on a three-pointer by Hayden Sharps early in the second quarter.
Edgerton (8-7) fought back with Mason Elden, draining a pair of trifectas along with a backdoor layup by Noah Weaver. The Bulldogs had the Locos on the ropes for much of the first half.
“I thought we came out a little bit slow,” admitted Ramos. “We were a step slow everywhere on the defensive end. We’re going to have to pick it up this week in practice because we have a helluva team coming next Friday in Pettisville.”
With the score tied at 20-20 just before halftime, Edgerton’s Maddox Baker was fouled on a three-point attempt in which he was fouled at half court with one-tenth of a second left.
He sank two of three free throws as the Bulldogs led 22-20, nearly matching their final scoring output from their previous outing with the Locos.
The Bulldogs led 31-26, on an inside bucket by Weaver with three minutes left in the third quarter before Sharps answered with two free throws and a layup to close the gap to 31-30 before Brady Everetts pushed the Edgerton lead to three points, 33-30, with a bucket.
Montpelier got a baseline jumper by Wesley Hartsock to end the quarter with the Locos trailing 33-32.
A three-pointer by Sharps, which had bounced off the rim and into the basket, gave the Locos a 35-33 lead to begin the fourth quarter.
“Hayden Sharps has been really playing well for us these last few games,” said Ramos. “He does a really good job of getting our team back to focus where we needed to be especially tonight.”
Both teams then exchanged a pair of baskets until the 3:14 mark of the fourth quarter when Hartsock gave the Locos a 41-37 lead with a rebound bucket.
Edgerton surged ahead one final time as Kellen Sanchez scored his only points in the game with a layup and Everetts followed it with a three-pointer enabling the Bulldogs to grab a 42-41 advantage with 42.6 seconds left.
Trailing by a single point and with the game on the line, Sharps was unable to convert inside, but it was Hartsock who eventually grabbed the rebound off the missed shot and successfully able to put in on a stick back for the 43-42 lead.
“The first thing I thought of was going to get the rebound for sure and either kick it out to one of my teammates or try to make something happen,” said Hartsock referring to his game winning basket.
On the inbounds pass, Baker was fouled by Montpelier’s CJ Fidler in front of the Edgerton bench, thus prompting Bulldogs head coach Duane Miller to call a timeout with 1.3 seconds remaining.
Following the timeout, the Bulldogs had one last chance of perhaps gaining some revenge from their earlier 48-point loss to the Locos. Everetts would inbound the ball to Mason Elden, whose three-point attempt from the right corner unfortunately bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
“It was deja vu from last Saturday,” said Edgerton head coach Duane Miller, whose squad had lost to Pettisville, 45-43, with similar game-ending circumstances. “The offensive rebound at the end killed us and it cost us the game ultimately at the end. The last bounce they got to take the lead just didn’t roll our way.
“Montpelier played one heck of a game and so did we. No. 12 (Hartsock) got the ball to fall in the way he wanted to. That’s how you end up with a one-point loss. The ball just didn’t bounce our way at the end.”
Ramos credited Edgerton’s defense of slowing his team down. The Locos, who had been averaging nearly 70 points per game, were held to their lowest scoring output of the season.
“One of the things I thought Edgerton was trying to do a better job is they were holding the ball and keeping their possessions a lot longer which obviously keeps the ball away from us,” said the Montpelier coach.
“They didn’t let us do like we wanted to do was to get out and run. It was a good game plan by Edgerton, and it almost worked.”
Miller had a solid defensive plan going up against one of the area’s top scorers in Montpelier’s CJ Fidler, who had been averaging 24 points per game.
Fidler was heavily defended by Edgerton’s defensive pressure all night long and was held to only four points, his lowest scoring output of the season.
“Obviously he’s (Fidler) is a great player and one of the best in the area,” said the Edgerton coach. “We took a lot of focus on him to start the day in practice today.
“I thought my guys did a great job of holding him to four points and having a chance to win the game at the end is exceptional against a team like that. I’m proud of our effort on defense.”
It was a far cry from the 48-point blowout administered by the Locos in their first meeting. “I don’t think anybody got Edgerton’s best in that first matchup,” commented Miller.
“For whatever reason, I thought today we got pretty close. I think that’s the type of team they can be. I think that’s the type of team I’ve seen in practice all year.
“It was great to see it come out tonight, but I’m not happy with the result and wished the result would have been at the winning end. If we play like that the rest of the year, we’ll be in a lot of games with the chance to win at the end.”
Sharps led Montpelier with 18 points followed by Hartsock with nine points and Kenneth Smeltzer finished with eight points. The Locos were 17 of 39 for 43 percent from the field, a perfect 6 of 6 from the line along with 20 rebounds and 10 turnovers.
Baker paced Edgerton with 15 points and Weaver, who was coming off a 22-point performance the previous night against Antwerp, added 11 points.
The Bulldogs were 16 of 39 for 41 percent from the floor, 2 of 7 for 28 percent from the stripe along with 18 rebounds and 10 turnovers.
Both teams have tough conference matchups on Friday. Montpelier hosts Pettisville in a huge Buckeye Border Conference showdown while Edgerton travels to Paulding to face the Panthers in a pivotal conference battle.
MONTPELIER (43) – Stahler 0; Stewart 0; Fidler 4; Sharps 18; K. Smeltzer 8; M. Smeltzer 2; Hartsock 9; Bass 2; Totals: 14-3-6 – 43
EDGERTON (42) – Ma. Baker 15; Sinclair 0; P. Elden 0; Gibson 0; M. Elden 6; Weaver 12; Everetts 7; Sanchez 2; Totals: 9-7-3 – 42
MHS 11 9 12 11 – 43
EHS 9 13 11 9 – 42