OLIVESBURG — The Firelands Conference crown may be out of reach, but Crestview still has plenty to play for.
The Cougars still control their own destiny in the hunt for a Division VI, Region 22 playoff bid. A win at Western Reserve on Friday would all but assure Crestview of its fifth straight playoff bid.
“The conference is out of reach as of now, but you never know what could happen,” Crestview coach Steve Haverdill said after last week’s loss to St. Paul. “Our focus now is on Western Reserve. We will have our hands full, but we’ll get ready to go.”
Crestview (3-5, 2-2) at Western Reserve (6-2, 3-2): The Cougars saw their Firelands Conference championship hopes dashed in last week’s 33-7 loss to St. Paul, but still can make the Division VI, Region 22 playoffs with wins in Western Reserve and Mapleton. Crestview running back Ayden Reymer had another big day against the Flyers and has now rushed for 1,215 yards and 12 touchdowns on 172 carries. Clete Rogers has rushed for 277 yards and four TDs on 58 carries. Quarterback Liam Kuhn has completed 59-of-114 passes for 928 yards and eight touchdowns. Tyson Ringler has 24 catches for 394 yards and two touchdowns, while Karter Goon has 18 receptions for 292 yards and three TDs. Defensively, Dylan Burge has a team-high 92 tackles while Jaden Hedrick has 83 stops. Caleb Cunningham has a team-best 22 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
The Roughriders snapped a two-game losing streak with a 44-22 win over South Central. Western Reserve led 38-8 at the half and 44-8 after three quarters. Connor Dawson rushed for 287 yards and five touchdowns on just 19 carries, averaging 15.1 yards per carry. Quarterback Hayden Keith rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and completed 4-of-7 passes for 40 yards.
Wooster (2-6, 1-5) at Ashland (4-4, 2-3): The Generals couldn’t get anything going in last week’s 35-7 loss to Mansfield Senior. Wooster managed just 147 yards of offense and was limited to 39 rushing yards on 35 carries. Quarterback A.J. Likowski completed 13-of-20 passes for 99 yards, but was sacked seven times for 26 yards in losses. Julian Franklin rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown. Charlie Williams had a team-high 11 tackles, while Hayden Reese had 10 stops. King Blair had two of Wooster’s three sacks.
The Arrows have struggled to put points on the board the last two weeks, managing just six points a game in losses to Ohio Cardinal Conference front-runners Mansfield Senior and West Holmes. In last week’s 20-6 loss to the Knights, quarterback Nathan Bernhard completed 17-of-21 first-half passes for 143 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown to Michael Franz — his seventh TD of the season. Bernhard finished with 204 passing yards. Franz had seven catches for 65 yards, while Cayden Spotts had eight grabs for 67 yards.
Hillsdale (6-2, 3-2) at Northwestern (1-7, 1-4): The Falcons rallied for a 28-21 win over Waynedale last week, overcoming a 21-14 halftime deficit. Quarterback Jack Fickes rushed for a pair of second-half TDs including what proved to be the game-winner on a 5-yard keeper with 9:44 remaining in the fourth quarter. Fickes rushed for 108 yards, while Owen Sloan ran for a game-high 165 yards and a first-half touchdown. Sloan leads Hillsdale with 591 rushing yards and five TDs on 93 carries. Fickes has 359 yards and eight TDs on 77 attempts and has completed 61-of-99 passes for 808 yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior Braylen Jarvis does a little bit of everything, rushing for 313 yards om 58 carries and catching 20 passes for 226 yards and three TDs. Hayden McFadden has a team-high 25 catches for 472 yards and seven scores. Jarvis leads the defense with 69 tackles, while linebacker Brady Heller has 61 stops and returned an interception 84 yards for a touchdown against Waynedale.
The Huskies fell to Smithville last week and are just 1-7 after sharing the Wayne County Athletic League crown last year. Northwestern is allowing more than 40 points a game and have scored just 40 combined points in its four WCAL losses.