Feature - 1st placeZoe Whitmer, 9, left, and her sister Ella Whitmer, 5, right, get a bit silly as they retrieve a soccer ball in the goal at Murfin Memorial Fields in Grove City. (Fred Squillante / The Columbus Dispatch)
Feature - 2nd placeA grasshopper stands out among red foliage at The Columbus Foundation. (Fred Squillante / The Columbus Dispatch)
Feature - 3rd placeOhio State Highway Patrol Trooper Bion Shaw (left) talks to Glenn Keough, Robin Martin, and John Bates, all from Newfoundland (Canada) and dressed as British Royal Marines at the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda. They were there for a ceremony to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. (Tom Dodge / The Columbus Dispatch)
Feature - HMThis year's Upper Arlington Arts Festival included Tic-Tac-Toe games painted on grass. Sophia Bixler, 4, places her 'X' as she plays with her dad, Dustin Bixler. (Fred Squillante / The Columbus Dispatch)
Feature - HMMifflin senior Kai Smith keeps time on his snare drum as the rest of the marching band enters the stands before Mifflin's football game against Watkins Memorial. (Joshua A. Bickel / ThisWeek Newspapers)
General News - 1st placeEric Frazee and Alexa Joyce write messages of hope and commemoration on Post-It notes in Athens. Students posted the messages on a communal board at the candlelight vigil held at Scripps amphitheater in honor of World Suicide Prevention Day. (Isaac Hale / Ohio University)
General News - 2nd placeCharlie Moushey, 49, pays his respects at a roadside memorial to Robert Lennon a cyclist who was killed by a hit and run driver on Miller Paul Rd. near New Albany. Moushey met him when he was also doing high school coaching of cross country and had been his friend and bicycling partner for 27 years. (Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
General News - 3rd placeColumbus fire chief Gergory Paxton in a moment of reflection at the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at Columbus City Hall . (Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
Portrait - 1st placeGlenville freshman Coby Bryant, 14, dresses in a bow tie just before their football game at Solon High School. (Lisa DeJong / The Plain Dealer)
Portrait - 2nd placeHelen Connone, 89, poses at Gene's Marine in Lorain. Connone and her late husband, Robert, opened Gene's Marine almost 68 years ago where she still comes in to work every day with her son, Jack, answering phone calls and greeting guests. (Sam Greene / The (Lorain) Morning Journal)
Portrait - 3rd placeOhio State's Corey Brown exhibits some spirit during a portrait session before the start of the 2013 season. (Chris Russell / The Columbus Dispatch )
Sports Feature - 1st placeA group of young Hilliard Darby fans play a game of catch before Hilliard Darby's football game against Hilliard Davidson. (Joshua A. Bickel / ThisWeek Newspapers)
Sports Feature - 2nd placeMurphy Vetter, 11, who has autism gets some help setting up on defense from referee Don Alexander in a game against the Mountaineers. Murphy's family got permission from the league to play youth football to help him interact with other peers. (Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
Sports Feature - 3rd placeOhio State defensive lineman Steve Miller (88) celebrates his sack of San Diego State quarterback Quinn Kaehler (18) with co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell during the 1st quarter of their game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
Spot News - 1st placeGreen Township EMS prepares to transport Jennifer McDonough of Youngstown who was hurt in a three-car accident on SR 14 east of Washingtonville. (Patricia Schaeffer / The (Lisbon) Morning Journal)
Spot News - 2nd placeHighway patrol Sgt. Craig Monte and trooper Kevin Thompson investigate a single vehicle rollover crash on SR 7 that claimed the life of a 43-year-old Rogers man and injured his passenger, also of Rogers. (Patricia Schaeffer / The (Lisbon) Morning Journal)
Sports - 1st placeOhio State running back Jordan Hall (2) tackles umpire Jim Krogstad alongside Florida A&M defensive back Marshane Godbolt (15) in the second quarter at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. (Brooke LaValley / The Columbus Dispatch)
Sports - 2nd placeMichael Traversa (9) of the Comets goes up for a pass against Anthony Bange (12) of Independence, but couldn't pull in the ball. (Tim Revell / ThisWeek Newspapers)
Sports - 3rd placeColumbus School for Girls' goalkeeper Olivia Feldman saves the ball as Worthington Christian's Aubrey Windsor (9) tries to avoid a collision. (Joshua A. Bickel / ThisWeek Newspapers)
Sports - HMBowling Green defensive end Kendall Montgomery gets a hand full of Kent State fullback Tim Erjavec's hair during the second quarter at Dix Stadium in Kent. Erjavec lost his helmut on the play and no penalty was called. (Phil Masturzo / Akron Beacon Journal)
Sports - HMBowling Green's Jerry "Boo Boo" Gates (24) slams University of Akron's L.T. Smith (3) to the turf during the fourth quarter of their game in Bowling Green. Gates was flagged for a penalty on the play. (Andy Morrison / The Blade)
Story - 1st placeSeptember - First place Picture StoryEric Albrecht/The Columbus DispatchMurphy Vetter, 11, who has autism leads his team, the Bulldogs, in pre-game huddles. Murphy's family got permission from the league to play youth football to help him interact with other peers. Murphy has developed relationship with teammates on and off the field. (Eric Albrecht / The Columbus Dispatch)
Story - 2nd placeMartin Cianciola (right) of Cleveland reads the race program in front of a betting window during the Little Brown Jug at the Delaware County Fairgrounds. (Joshua A. Bickel / ThisWeek Newspapers)
Story - 3rd placeUSA soccer fans during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying match against Mexico at Columbus Crew Stadium. (Kyle Robertson / The Columbus Dispatch)
