ASHLAND — The first four weeks of the season seem like a distant memory for Ashland coach Sean Seder and the Arrows.
Despite four non-conference losses to open the campaign, Ashland finds itself in the thick of the Ohio Cardinal Conference title chase as it prepares to invade Mansfield Senior’s Arlin Field on Friday.
The Arrows (2-4, 2-0) and West Holmes (6-0, 3-0) are the only two OCC teams without a conference loss. Senior High (4-2, 1-1) fell to West Holmes 20-17 in Week 4 before evening its OCC record with a 23-14 win over Lexington last week.
Ashland opened league play with a 35-17 win at Mount Vernon in Week 5 before dispatching Madison 20-7 last week.
“We know that our conference is really good with West Holmes and Senior and Wooster out there,” Seder said after the win at Mount Vernon. “The conference is going to be tough. We knew if we could get some momentum going, then all the things we’ve been saying start to come to fruition.”
The Arrows will have their hands full Friday. Mansfield Senior coach Chioke Bradley was displeased with his team’s focus in last week’s win over Lex — the Minutemen trailed 23-0 going to the fourth quarter before scoring twice in the final 12 minutes to make things interesting — and planned to get the Tygers attention this week in practice.
“For the last two or three weeks, we have had really bad practices during the week and that’s on me,” Bradley said afterward. “Those guys understand now the expectation going forward. I am not allowing any more bad practices. So if we come out and we are not focused and we’re not being disciplined in practice, we’re gonna run. We’re gonna run for a very long time. And that’s just the expectation going forward.”
Both Ashland and Senior High are in the hunt for postseason berths in Division III, Region 10. The Tygers are are fourth in the regional ratings, while the Arrows are 15th. The top 16 teams qualify for the playoffs.
“All of our goals are still in front of us if we play well in the conference,” Seder said. “We just need to get better each week and rattle off some wins.”
Ashland (2-4, 2-0) at Mansfield Senior (4-2, 1-1): The Arrows have won two straight after dropping their first four games of the season. Receiver Jonathan Metzger had a pair of touchdown catches in last week’s 20-7 win over Madison and lead Ashland with 36 catches for 495 yards and four TDs on the season. Quarterback Landon McFrederick has completed 99 of 166 passes for 1,029 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 304 yards and two scores. Running back Cayden Spotts has a team-high 415 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 77 carries. Kadin Schmitz leads the defense with 74 tackles, while defensive back Braylen Hider has 56 tackles. Metzger has three interception to go along with 28 stops.
Mansfield Senior is coming off a 23-14 win at Lexington. Quarterback Brock Hill rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns, while Ricky Mills added 53 yards and a TD on seven carries. For the season, Hill has completed 84 of 141 passes for 1,007 yards and seven touchdowns. Myles Bradley and Aveon Grose each have 25 catches. Bradley has 443 receiving yards and four TDs while Grose has 150 yards and a score. Amarr Davis has 23 catches for 266 yards and a TD. Defensive lineman Mekhi Bradley has a team-high 65 tackles, while Grose has 54 tackles. Myles Bradley has four interceptions from his linebacker spot.
Crestview (6-0, 2-0) at South Central (2-3, 0-1): The Cougars cruised past Ottawa Hills last week as Connor Morse rushed for three first-half touchdowns in the 35-10 win. Morse has rushed for 925 yards and 17 touchdowns on 127 carries and also leads the defense with 63 tackles. Quarterback Hayden Kuhn has completed 69% off his passes (40-58) for 798 yards and 10 touchdowns. Adison Reymer has 11 catches for 267 yards and three touchdowns, while Gabe Smedley has 15 grabs for 245 yards and four TDs. Defensive end Owen Barker ranks among area leaders with eight sacks among his 47 tackles. Aidan Godsey has 42 tackles.
The Trojans dropped a 47-46 heart-breaker to Monroeville last week. Quarterback Brandon Mitchell completed 31 of 41 passes for 322 yards and four touchdowns. Carson Music caught 12 passes for 120 yards, while Hagen Adams had six receptions for 120 yards and three TDs. Running back Trey Beverly rumbled for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
Hillsdale (3-3, 2-1) at Dalton (4-2, 2-0): The Falcons got back to .500 with last week’s 30-7 win over Chippewa. Max Vesper rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns while quarterback Jake Hoverstock completed 8 of 15 passes for 115 yards and rushed for another 81 yards. Hoverstock has completed 28 of 45 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 370 yards and four touchdowns on 54 carries. Presley Lewis has rushed for 280 yards and three touchdowns on 57 attempts. Justin Zeigler has a team-high 12 receptions for 171 yards, while Carter Brightbill has 10 catches for 131 yards and two TDs. Vesper leads the defense from his safety spot with 46 tackles and four interceptions. Linebacker Jax Rogers has 43 stops.
The Bulldogs roughed up Smithville 40-7 last week, racing out to a 20-0 lead after the first quarter. Jaden Schlabach ran for 71 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries, while quarterback Ethan Stutz completed 12 of 14 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Owen Beatty had four catches for 61 yards, including a 33 yard touchdown.
