ASHLAND — Ashland County will be fulfilling its field of dreams on Friday night when the Ohio High School football playoffs begin.
Here’s a look at this week’s opening-round playoff games shape up for Ashland-area teams:
Division II, Region 6
No. 14 Ashland (6-4) at No. 3 Toledo Central Catholic (9-1): The Arrows will have their hands full with one of the top teams in the state regardless of division. Toledo Central Catholic’s only loss of the year was a 23-20 defeat at the hands of Division I powerhouse Lakewood St. Edward in the season opener. TCC hasn’t been challenged since then, outscoring its past nine opponents by a combined score of 386-64. Running back Chris Edmonds led the Three Rivers Athletic Conference in rushing with 1,372 yards and 23 touchdowns. Quarterback Ty’Waun Clark, a left-handed senior, has completed 96-of-145 passes for 1,317 yards and 15 TDs and rushed for 475 yards and eight scores. Receiver Dur’yea Hall has 30 catches for 484 yards and six TDs. Javon Murphy has 26 catches for 355 yards and four scores.
Ashland’s Jonathan Metzger is an All-Ohio candidate and the program’s career leader in receptions and receiving yards. The senior has 56 catches for 1,111 yards and 12 touchdowns. Landon McFrederick has a team-high 61 catches for 803 yards and seven TDs and Grayson Steury has 35 receptions for 590 yards and five scores. Freshman quarterback Nathan Bernhard returned from injury in last week’s 42-28 victory over Lexington and threw for 384 yards and three touchdowns on 19-for-31 passing. Running back Cayden Spotts has rushed for 885 yards and 12 touchdowns on 149 carries. The defense is led by Parker Grissinger, who has 146 tackles, including 16 tackles for loss. Ethan Truax has 119 stops and a team-high 19 TFLs.
Division IV, Region 14
No. 15 Shelby (5-5) at No. 2 West Holmes (10-0): The Whippets stagger into the postseason after dropping two in a row and four of their last five. Freshman quarterback Brayden DeVito has thrown for 2,269 yards and 22 touchdowns on 131-of-228 passing and rushed for 500 yards and four TDs on 77 carries. Wideout Issaiah Ramsey led the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference with 1,047 receiving yards on 50 catches with seven TDs. Grayson Heydinger has 31 catches for 407 yards and four TDs, while Kam Wheeler has 24 grabs for 406 yards and four scores. Running back Sklyler Winters leads the way on the ground with 552 yards and four touchdowns on 101 carries. Mason Vent leads the defense with 75 tackles and 11.5 sacks. Issiah Beck has 67 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Shelby is minus-15 in turnover ratio, having forced only six turnovers while giving the ball away 21 times.
West Holmes dropped to Division IV after reaching the Division III state semifinals last fall. The Knights have won the three straight Ohio Cardinal Conference championships and boast a major Division I college recruit in junior running back Sam Williams-Dixon, who visited Penn State last weekend. Williams-Dixon has rushed for 1,236 yards and 23 touchdowns on 150 carries, but he’s hardly a one-man show. Quarterback Mason Wolfe has has thrown for 2,511 yards and 34 TDs on 136-for-195 passing with just two interceptions. Speedy wideout Kyle Maltarich has 47 catches for 1,041 yards and 18 TDs. Logan Zollars has 31 catches for 588 yards and eight touchdowns. The defense allows just 12.2 points a game and is led by hard-hitting linebacker Elisha Baldridge.
Division VI, Region 22
No. 15 Wayne Trace (5-5): at No. 2 Crestview (10-0): Wayne Trace earned its way into the playoffs with three straight victories to close out the regular season. The Raiders’ signature win was a 28-26 nail-biter over Division VII playoff qualifier Defiance Ayersville in Week 9. Wayne Trace tied for fourth in the Green Meadows Conference. The Raiders rely on a stingy defense that allows just 14 points a game. Ezra Sinn leads the way with 112 tackles and five sacks. Offensively, junior quarterback Kyle Stoller has completed 90-of-156 passes for 1,066 yards and eight touchdowns. Kyle Slade has rushed for 401 yards and three TDs, while Tucker Antoine has a team-best 42 catches. Dylan Hildebrand has 27 receptions and Race Price has 24 catches.
The Cougars have won three straight Firelands Conference titles and are unbeaten in the regular season each of the past two years. Quarterback Hayden Kuhn is 77-of-134 for 1,164 yards and 10 touchdowns. In two seasons as Crestview’s starting QB, Kuhn has thrown four interceptions in 267 passing attempts, or one every 66 passes. Adison Reymer has rushed for 1,211 yards and 19 touchdowns on 170 carries. Five Cougars have caught 10 or more passes, led by tight end Owen Barker (19 catches for 289 yards and four TDs). Caden Cunningham has 17 catches for 258 yards and a touchdown, while Tyson Ringler has 14 catches for 208 yards and a score. Defensively, Reymer has a team-high 98 tackles from his safety spot. A defensive end, Barker broke the program’s career sacks record last week and has 67 tackles and 11 sacks this fall. Linebacker Shawn Bailey has 74 stops while Cunningham has five interceptions.
No. 14 Mapleton (6-4) at No. 3 Columbia (10-0): The Mounties stubbed their toe last week, falling to Firelands Conference champ Crestview 47-16 to snap a three-game winning streak. Mapleton quarterback Kollin Cline is one of the premier dual-threat quarterbacks in north central Ohio. The Mounties average 34.7 points a game, but allow 32.1 points a game.
Columbia won the Lorain County League championship. The Raiders boast a powerful rushing attack with running back Marco Cirigliano leading the way. Cirigliano has rumbled for 1,967 yards and 37 touchdowns, while Tony Governale has 488 yards and Jacob Sanders has 537 yards. Quarterback Carter Kalamasz has thrown for 852 yards.
Division VI, Region 23
No. 10 Rock Hill (5-5) at No. 7 Loudonville (6-4): Loudonville was 2-4 after a 19-7 loss to Danville in Week 6, but closed the season with four straight wins. The Redbirds earned a home playoff game thanks to last week’s 28-21 victory over fellow Region 23 playoff qualifier Northmor. Quarterback Matt Sprang ran for 134 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, while rugged running back Peyton Regan rumbled for 122 yards and two TDs on 30 attempts. Slippery return man Camdyn Beachy returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Sprang was the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference’s second leading passer, completing 137-of-240 passes for 1,802 yards and 17 touchdowns. Zach Frankford has 59 receptions for 709 yards and four touchdowns. Senior linebacker Aidan Wolford ranks third in the KMAC with 95 stops to go with a team-best three interceptions, while defensive end Micah Simpson has a team-high nine sacks.
Rock Hill High School is located just north of Ironton in extreme southern Ohio, more than three hours away from Loudonville. Rock Hill competes in the Ohio Valley Conference. Rock Hill had its two-game winning streak snapped in the regular season finale, falling 56-28 to Coal Grove. Running back Kordell French has rushed for 1,112 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. French rushed for 227 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carries and returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score in last week’s loss to Coal Grove. Quarterback Brayden Adams triggers an offense that averages 22.9 points a game. He tossed a 31-yard touchdown pass to Chanz Pancake in the regular-season finale.
Division VII, Region 25
No. 11 Conotton Valley (6-4) at No. 6 Hillsdale (6-4): Conotton Valley is making its third straight playoff appearance and is in search of its first ever postseason victory. The Rockets have won four in a row and six of seven after last week’s 44-19 victory over Madonna (W.Va.). Quarterback Zach Putnam completed 12-of-14 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Evan Rice rushed for 156 yards and a pair of TDs on 30 carries. Gaige Galigher caught six passes for 98 yards and two scores.
Hillsdale is led by dual-threat quarterback Jake Hoverstock, who has completed 81-of-148 passes for 1,138 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 689 yards and 11 TDs on 102 attempts. Braylen Jarvis has 437 yards and six scores on 66 carries, while Max Vesper has run the ball 67 times for 346 yards and three TDs. Jarvis has 19 catches for 214 yards and two touchdowns, while Vesper has 17 receptions for 159 yards and a score. Jack Fickes is Hillsdale’s top receiver with 28 catches for 400 yards and two touchdowns. David Parker has 15 catches for 225 yards and four scores. Defensively, Jarvis leads the way with 64 tackles and three interceptions. Jax Rogers has 60 tackles, while Parker has 52 stops and three sacks.
