Friday night can’t arrive soon enough for high school football fans in north central Ohio.
Four huge showdowns will help shape the championship chases in the Ohio Cardinal Conference, Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, Knox Morrow Athletic Conference and Firelands Conference.
Here’s a look at Friday’s primetime lineup:
Norwalk St. Paul (3-3, 2-1) at Crestview (4-2, 3-0)
It has been an unremarkable season by St. Paul’s lofty standards, but the Flyers always seem to find themselves in the mix for the Firelands Conference championship. St. Paul is 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the FC after last week’s 47-6 win over New London. The Flyers returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns in the third quarter.
Crestview has won four straight and outscored its three FC foes by a combined score of 128-7 after last week’s 42-0 victory over winless Plymouth. Quarterback Liam Kuhn has completed 63-of-98 passes for 1,001 yards and six touchdowns, while running backs Ayden Reymer and Bransen Hider have combined for 711 yards and nine touchdowns. Defensive ends Karter Goon and Jack Stephens have combined for 59 tackles and seven sacks.
“Jack and Karter are our bookends,” Crestview coach Steve Haverdill said. “They really cause problems.”
The longtime rivals have split the last four meetings with St. Paul winning two in a row. The Flyers own a 30-8 advantage in the all-time series. St. Paul has won the past two FC titles. Crestview won three in a row before that.
Clear Fork (5-1, 3-0) at Shelby (6-0, 3-0)
Not a lot of prognosticators had Clear Fork challenging for the MOAC crown this fall, not after the Colts went 4-7 last year.
But Clear Fork put the MOAC on notice with a 17-14 win over reigning Division IV state runner-up Sandusky Perkins in Week 1 and hasn’t taken its foot off the gas since. The Colts bring a 5-1 record into Friday’s cross-county grudge match and are tied with the Whippets atop the MOAC standings at 3-0.
Clear Fork boasts one of the stingiest defenses in the region, allowing 10.3 points a game. The Colts stymied Marion Harding in last week’s 31-7 win, surrendering less than 150 total yards.
Marcus Hoeflich’s scoop-and-score of a Harding fumble put the game out of reach early in the third quarter. Clear Fork would have likely pitched its third shutout of the season, but the Presidents scored late in the fourth quarter after Colts’ coach Aaron Brokaw lifted his starters.
Shelby has outpointed its last two opponents by a combined score of 90-0. The Whippets rank first in the MOAC in scoring offense (46.2 points per game) and total offense (410.2 yards per game).
“Shelby has a great team, but I have confidence in our defense and our offense,” Clear Fork’s Nash Evans said after scoring three touchdowns in last week’s win over the Presidents.
Shelby owns a 6-4 advantage in the past 10 meetings between the traditional Richland County powers. The Whippets have won two in a row and four of five since joining the MOAC.
Lexington (5-1, 2-0) at West Holmes (5-1, 3-0)
The Minutemen are 2-0 in the OCC and have won four in a row, allowing just 12 points a game during the streak. Lex’s big-play defense has forced 22 turnovers. Brayden Fogle, a Georgia recruit as a tight end, has returned an interception for a touchdown each of the past two weeks. Cohen Boozer recovered a fumble in the end zone in last week’s win over Mansfield Senior as the Minutemen had a pair of defensive scores. Lex has 15 interceptions on the season. Joe Caudill, a Michigan State recruit, has thrown for 908 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed for a team-best 242 yards and four TDs.
West Holmes has won five straight and is alone atop the OCC standings at 3-0 by virtue of the unbalanced OCC schedule. The Knights have given up just 12 points in their three OCC wins.
Lex won last year’s meeting, snapping a four-game West Holmes winning streak. The series is even at 11-11 since the OCC began play in the fall of 2003.
Mount Gilead (6-0, 3-0) at Centerburg (5-1, 3-0)
Mount Gilead is off to its best start in program history after last week’s 39-7 win over East Knox. Carson Bamum is the KMAC’s leading rusher with 1,083 rushing yards. Mount Gilead quarterback Cole Fricke has attempted just 22 passes all season.
The Trojans rely heavily on the run as well. Miles Marshall has rushed for 825 yards on 84 carries, averaging 9.8 yards per attempt. He leads the KMAC with 14 rushing touchdowns. Dual-threat quarterback Blane Ball has rushed for 699 yards and seven TDs and thrown for 787 yards and nine scores.
“We like our ball carriers,” Centerburg coach Andy Colella said. “It starts with those guys up front. As the weeks go by they just continue to get better.”
Centerburg has dominated the series, winning 11 straight since the teams were both members of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.