OLIVESBURG — Crestview leads three Ashland-area teams into Friday night’s week two of the high school football playoffs.
The Cougars host 10-seed Patrick Henry, while Hillsdale travels to Danville, and Loudonville is at No. 2 Nelsonville York.
Here’s a closer look at each of these games.
Division VI, Region 22
No. 10 Patrick Henry (7-4) at No. 2 Crestview (11-0): The Patriots upset No. 7 seed Ottawa Hills 18-10 last week. Patrick Henry is a member of the Northwest Ohio Athletic League and was one of six NWOAL teams to qualify for the playoffs. Patrick Henry turned the ball over three times and still found a way to win last week. The Patriots sealed the win when defensive back Brock Behrman recovered an Ottawa Hills fumble with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. PH quarterback Nash Meyer ran for a pair of touchdowns and tossed a 29-yard scoring strike to Aiden Behrman. The Patriots have allowed 14 or fewer points in eight of 11 games.
Crestview’s defense took center stage in last week’s 38-0 win over Wayne Trace. Hayden Kuhn picked off a pair of passes and Caden Cunningham had an interception, his sixth on the season, as the Cougars limited the Raiders to 99 yards of total offense. Offensively, Kuhn completed 6-of-11 passes for 147 yards and three touchdowns. Cunningham, Adison Reymer and Tyson Ringler each had a TD reception. Kuhn has completed 83-of-145 passes on the year for 1,311 yards. Reymer has rushed for 1,316 yards and 19 touchdowns on 185 carries, while Michael Mays has 580 yards and nine TDs on 77 carries. Owen Barker has a team-best 20 receptions for 303 yards. Cunningham has 19 grabs for 352 yards. Defensively, Reymer has 103 tackles. Barker has 11 sacks.
Division VI, Region 23
No. 7 Loudonville (7-4) at No. 2 Nelsonville-York (10-1): The Redbirds piled up 396 yards of total offense in a 40-7 win over Rock Hill. Quarterback Matt Sprang rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and completed 9-of-16 passes for 172 yards. Rugged running back Peyton Regan bulled his way for 89 yards and four touchdowns, while Zach Frankford caught four passes for 84 yards and added a 9 yard TD run.
Nelsonville-York beat Grove City Christian 55-7 in the opening round as Landen Inman had a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown. Quarterback Makhi Williams added 54 yard TD run and tossed a 23 yard touchdown pass to James Koska.
Division VII, Region 25
No. 6 Hillsdale (7-4) at No. 3 Danville (9-2): The Falcons rolled to a 62-24 win over Conotton Valley in the opening round, building a 41-0 halftime lead. Quarterback Jake Hoverstock rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns and tossed a 25 yard TD pass to Max Vesper. Hoverstock has completed 85-of-154 passes for 1,199 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 818 yards and 13 TDs on 109 carries. Braylen Jarvis has rushed for 441 yards and six TDs on 68 carries, while freshman Owen Sloan has run for 403 yards and three TDs on 64 carries. Vesper has rushed for 380 yards and four scores and caught 20 passes for 201 yards and two TDs. Jack Fickes has a team-high 29 receptions for 419 yards and two touchdowns, while David Parker has 15 grabs for 225 yards and four scores. Defensively, Jax Rogers leads the way with 70 tackles. Jarvis has 68 stops and has returned an interception and a fumble for a touchdown. Vesper has 61 tackles, while Sloan has 58 stops.
Like the Falcons, the Blue Devils encountered little resistance in their playoff opener. Danville led Windham 41-0 at the half and coasted to a 41-18 win. Quarterback Walker Weckesser threw four touchdown passes to Kaiden Colopy and hooked up with Ryan Lucas on a 38 yard scoring strike. Lucas rushed for 65 yards and a score, while Max Payne rushed for 71 yards on four first-half carries.
