OK, OK. You’ve made your point.
One time with this whole 5-0 thing seemed wild enough. When it happened last season, the Ashland and Hillsdale football teams gave Ashland County two 5-0 starts in the same year for the first time this century.
The Falcons proceeded to set the area record for wins in a season (14) on their way to the Division VII state title game. Meanwhile, the Arrows completed just their fifth undefeated regular season (9-0 or better) in 118 years of football.
Now – with conference and playoff results looming – Ashland and Hillsdale look to be taking it up a notch.
With a smorgasbord of studs returning this season for both programs, the expectation was continued dominance, and both are 5-0 midway through the regular season yet again.
How about these gaudy numbers, running wildly parallel to each other for the teams:
- Hillsdale is outscoring its opponents 196-34, posting at least 31 points in all five games to start the regular season – likely a first in program history.
- Four of the Falcons’ five games have been decided by at least 28 points, and they are outscoring teams 134-0 in the first half.
- Ashland is outscoring its opponents 196-52, posting at least 34 points in all five games to start the regular season – a first in program history.
- Four of the Arrows’ five games have been decided by at least 27 points, and they are outscoring teams 145-21 after the first quarter.
The similarities don’t stop there, but those give a good sense of the absurdity of another dominant start for two teams making running clocks the norm.
Both Hillsdale and Ashland seem to have a pair of legitimate challenges in league play remaining.
The Falcons get Smithville (5-0) this week at home, then travel to Norwayne (3-2) in Week 10, while the Arrows host West Holmes (4-1) in Week 8 and also hit the road for Week 10 with a much-anticipated doozy at Lexington (4-1).
If they can run the table, both are projected to have first-round byes in the playoffs, as this season is the first in Ohio history to feature postseason byes (top four teams in each region get a bye while the Nos. 5 through 12 seeds will be in action in Week 11).
There is a lot yet to shake out, but here’s a look at what the teams have under their respective belts thus far.
ASHLAND / Notes to know
- 5-0, 1-0 Ohio Cardinal Conference
- No. 2 in Division II, Region 7 (eighth-most computer points in all of D-II)
- One of eight 5-0 teams in Division II
- Fourth time this century the Arrows have started 5-0 (also 2024, 2020, 2006)
- Notable win streaks: 15 straight in the regular season, 11 straight at home
- Scott Valentine is 152-67 (.694) in his 20th season as AHS head coach
The rest of the story (for now)
What has stood out to coach Scott Valentine in terms of differences from last season is the early development by the defense that was needed to be in this position.
The coach said Ashland was using more two-way players than it ever has under him as a head coach to start the year. That helped the AHS staff and defensive coordinator Ryan Stackhouse figure out who they could count on defensively.
“We didn’t have a lot of guys back on defense, so we were trying to see where we were going to develop, where guys were gonna step in,” Valentine said.
He noted the two-way contributions of senior defensive backs Gabe Baith and Braden Donatini, and added that returning All-Ohio first-team senior linebacker Gunner Lacey has been the leader of the unit.
“The experience that (Gunner) has had, he became the guy who had to control a lot of the stuff we do defensively,” Valentine said. “Tyler Sauder (now playing at Ashland University) did a lot of those adjustments last year and Gunner has taken that role and it hasn’t impacted his play.”
Lacey leads the Arrows with 40 tackles, which places him just 40 away from breaking the program record held by Anthony Deppen for career tackles (396).
Ashland’s defense has allowed just one passing touchdown this season and has forced 14 turnovers (nearly three per game), including nine total interceptions from seven different players.
Senior defensive back Tanner Wolfe leads the squad with three turnovers (INT, two fumble recoveries).
“We hate giving up points in general,” he said after Friday’s win over Dover. “… The way (Stackhouse) coaches, stuff just makes sense to us and he’s able to explain it and he’ll be the first to take the blame for stuff if he puts us in a bad spot.”
The Arrows have outscored teams 79-7 after halftime, allowing them to post 42 unanswered points against Dover (42-7 win), 33 unanswered against Bay (43-10) and 28 unanswered against New Philadelphia (34-7).
The Ashland offense, meanwhile, continues to sizzle under the leadership of 6-foot-6, 240-pound quarterback Nathan Bernhard.
The senior and Appalachian State commit has accounted for 21 touchdowns (11 rushing, 10 passing) through five weeks, rushing for 348 yards and throwing for another 828 without tossing an interception.
By the end of this season, Bernhard is likely to own Ashland’s career records for completions (he currently has 516), passing yards (6,767), total yards of offense (8,615) and total offensive touchdowns (96).
He’s even spent time at defensive end during a few key stands this season, collecting five tackles and showing off his open-field, chase-down speed.
“It’s kind of against my own philosophy over the years; I really didn’t like my quarterbacks playing defense,” Valentine said with a laugh. “But he’s a guy who’s put in a lot of work to be able to go over there and play. I didn’t want to keep him from doing that.”
The Arrows have plenty of other key players as well.
Baith has cleared over 1,700 yards of offense for his career and is a monster threat in the kick- and punt-return games.
His brother, junior Grayson Baith, has nearly 500 yards of offense and seven touchdowns this season as well.
Senior kicker Carson O’Brien collected the 100th made PAT kick of his career Friday, the same night junior wide receiver Killian O’Brien eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for his career (21 catches, 283 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs this season).
“Winning early helps your confidence, as long as you’re seeing things you’ve got to get better at,” Valentine said of the 5-0 start.
Winning early helps your confidence, as long as you’re seeing things you’ve got to get better at.
Scott valentine on ashland’s 5-0 start
To this point, the only team Ashland has beaten that has a winning record is Bay (3-2), but the Arrows know they’re circled on the schedule for every OCC team.
This week, they face a Madison program that last year nearly beat them in triple-overtime (33-27) despite a 2-8 final record.
“It feels great (to be halfway to 10-0); it’s right where we want to be,” Bernhard said. “Obviously, we can’t take anything for granted and can’t look over anybody because we know what happened at Madison last year.”
HILLSDALE / Notes to know
- 5-0, 2-0 Wayne County Athletic League
- No. 1 in Division VII, Region 27 (fifth-most computer points in all of D-VII)
- One of 13 5-0 teams in Division VII
- Sixth time this century the Falcons have started 5-0 (also 2024, 2019, 2011, 2009, 2007)
- Notable win streaks: Nine straight on the road, nine straight in non-conference games (regular season)
- Likely to extend area record for consecutive playoff appearances to 10 seasons
- Trevor Cline is 62-26 (.700) in his eighth season as HHS head coach
The rest of the story (for now)
A year ago, Hillsdale became the area’s first team since Loudonville in 1990 to play in a state championship game.
Despite that scintillating run, the Falcons entered this season with plenty yet to prove.
Hillsdale still has never had a 10-0 regular season, and despite all its successes over the last two decades, its lone outright WCAL title was in 2010.
Through five weeks, Cline and his squad have set themselves up to try to tame those demons.
Amazingly, the first-team defense has yet to allow a single point.
“One thing that’s probably been the most impressive about this group so far is they have stayed in the moment,” Cline said. “Every once in a while, you’ll get groups that start looking ahead, and our guys haven’t done that yet.
“Even when it’s been weeks where it hasn’t been our bigger games, they’ve gone out and played extremely well against those teams instead of overlooking them and playing sloppy.”
Every once in a while, you’ll get groups that start looking ahead, and our guys haven’t done that yet.
Trevor Cline on Hillsdale’s 5-0 start
The signature win thus far came last Friday in a 35-6 drubbing of Dalton.
The Bulldogs (3-2) hadn’t been beaten that badly at home since 2016 and it was Hillsdale’s first win at Dalton in a decade.
The Falcons already have two shutouts for the first time since 2019 and surely would have more if they kept their top defense on the field.
Cline credited the continued leadership of senior linebacker Brady Heller (270 career tackles) and senior defensive lineman Jake Haven (146 career tackles) – along with the emergence of sophomore lineman Carston Stephens (33 tackles this year) – as keys to the dominance.
The biggest difference between last year’s start and this year, Cline said, has come in special teams.
“When you’re an older team, we have some guys on special teams that on most teams would probably be playing varsity (offense or defense),” he said.
Senior kicker extraordinaire A.J. Brown has been as big of a guarantee as ever, hitting 22-of-24 PATs while also breaking the school record with a 45-yard field goal.
His career PATs made (164-of-179) already qualify him for the OHSAA record books.
The Hillsdale offense has proven to be death by a thousand cuts for opposing teams; 12 different Falcons have scored.
Star junior quarterback Kael Lewis has continued to solidify himself among the very best in Ohio’s Class of 2027 at the position, throwing for 886 yards and 13 touchdowns without an interception.
He’s now tied with Trey Williams for the most career passing TDs (48) at Hillsdale.
“I think he’s just done a better job of not forcing some throws,” Cline said of Lewis. “… The vast majority of the time, the guy who’s getting the football is the right read.”
With All-Ohio receiver Hayden McFadden missing the last two games due to a leg injury, Lewis has spread the ball around more than usual through the air.
Kyle Turk (14 catches, 228 yards, 4 TDs), Knox Lewis (15-235-2) and Brock Bower (10-145-2) have all helped keep the aerial attack potent, as six different Falcons have a receiving TD.
“It’s been a huge confidence-booster for those other receivers, because they’ve had to step up in the absence of Hayden,” Cline said. “As a team, we can’t wait to have Hayden back, but the guys who have stepped up have done a great job and have shown they can make plays, too.”
Senior running back Owen Sloan (72-675-9 rushing) continues to re-write the Hillsdale record books.
Each week, he adds to the marks he owns for career rushing yards (3,654) and touchdowns (51), and he’s part of a senior class that needs just three more victories to set the record for most wins by a senior class at HHS (current record is 36).