NEWS LINE
Clear
Fork Expects Physical Game
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Brokaw
Clear Fork takes to the road Friday night to play the Highland
Fighting Scots in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game.
They lost a tough one to conference co-leader and unbeaten Shelby
(28-21) last week in conference play.
Coach Aaron Brokaw says the effort was there, but they just came up a
few plays short. “Overall, our
kids played really hard. Shelby
is a talented team. We did some
things really well, but we didn't do enough things well enough to win that
one. So, we have got to bounce
back this week,” said Brokaw.
There were almost 300 yards in penalties called on both teams last
week in a game that seemed to fail to achieve any rhythm despite featuring
two pretty good football teams.
Clear Fork (5-2,2-2) plays at Highland (3-4,2-2) on Friday night.
The Fighting Scots outlasted River Valley (34-33) in double overtime
last week in a “MOAC” game.
Brokaw says they want to rely on a power run game and solid defense.
“Highland is a good football team.
They try to play physically on both sides of the ball.
I think they pride themselves on running the ball and playing good
defense. It should be a good old
fashioned football game,” he said.
Kane Stover has been one of the better players in the league this
year on both sides of the ball. He
scored five touchdowns last week.
Brokaw says they have to know where he is at all times.
“That is one thing that we didn’t do a very good job of last
year. They move him around to
different positions in the defensive linebacker rotation.
At mic, he sometimes is on the edge,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “Offensively, he's played a little
bit of receiver, a little bit of running back, a little bit of H-back, a
little bit of quarterback. So,
they do a lot of different things with him and they've got some other guys
that can handle the ball. I
think they've had a couple maybe three or even four guys that have thrown
passes this year.”
The Colts remain in fourth place in their playoff region in division
IV. Brokaw says a win will be
important to them. “The focus
has been on being 1-0 this week and getting back in the win column.
The focus has been on Highland. We're
not worried about what goes beyond that,” he said.
Published 10/09/26
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Mohawk
Needs Great Effort
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eric Daniel
Mohawk, one of the co-leaders in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference,
plays at Colonel Crawford in a big game for both sides.
The Warriors (6-1,5-0) belted Willard (44-0) last week in an
“N10” game.
Coach Eric Daniel says they played with more intensity than they did
the week before. “I was proud
of our kids. We started off fast
and kind of took the momentum early and maintained it.
Much better energy and enthusiasm, which leads to better
communication and more physicality. So,
I was really proud of how we jump started and then maintained all of way
through the second half,” he said.
Colonel Crawford (4-3,3-2) held off Wynford (33-27) in a conference
game last week. The Eagles two
losses in the conference came to the other two co-leaders in Hopewell-Loudon
(38-22) and Carey (16-0) earlier this season.
Daniel says this is a very good football team.
“They are a very good football team, they're good.
They've played a really good schedule.
They were tied with Hopewell in the fourth quarter.
They were able to move the ball on Carey and slow them down multiple
drives and just had a couple bad bounces,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday evening, “They had a close one last week where they were able in
a big rivalry game and they were able to etch it out, kind of grind it out.
So, they're incredibly capable, incredibly dangerous, and a very
winning program. They've got
great tradition. So, even though
they've lost a couple games their kids still know how to battle.
They still know how to play football and be physical and be sound.
So, we're anticipating a really good football game.”
Daniel adds that this is a fun rivalry with Crawford.
“It's a lot of fun to play there. We
really enjoy playing them, whether it's at our place or theirs because it
always seems to be a good football game.
Like I said, it's been back and forth over the last couple years.
They got us last year on back and forth, probably seven lead changes
last year. So, we've got some
stuff that we need to look to shore up because it certainly will be a really
good football game. We
anticipate that type of football game (Friday) night.
So, we just want our guys to be ready mentally, physically,
anticipate a hard fought match with a lot of adversity and be prepared to
respond,” said Daniel.
Published 10/09/26
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Trenches
a Key for Bellevue
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Alex Shepherd
Bellevue plays at home against the Tiffin Columbian Tornadoes in a
crossover game in the Northern Ohio Conference on Friday night.
Last week, they remained unbeaten in Bay Division play with a (56-21)
whipping of Huron.
Coach Alex Shepherd says overall their play was solid.
“Outside of a couple plays. Gave
up a kick return in the first half and a touchdown there towards the end of
the first half that we had a couple miscues.
We had a lot of success on offense early and often and our defense
played pretty well throughout most of the game,” he said.
Quarterback Ike Brown accounted for six touchdowns.
Bellevue (5-2) hosts Columbian (5-2) on Friday night.
Tiffin destroyed Norwalk (63-7) in Lake Division play last week.
Shepherd says again the Tornadoes have some players.
“They are talented and it seems like they always are.
They've got some good size up front, great quarterback and a lot of
receivers on the edge and a couple backs that do a lot of good things,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “A talented team that plays
hard and they've had a pretty good year so far, so should be a good game.”
On defense, Shepherd says Columbian will show a lot of fronts and
they will be aggressive. “They
are good up front. They bring a
lot of pressure and move some guys around and create a bunch of different
looks. So, you have got to try
to maximize what you're doing on each play because they make some plays as
well. They're going to get you
at times. We have got to control
the ball and do well up front and give our quarterback some time,” said
Shepherd.
Both teams are 10th in their respective playoff regions,
Bellevue in division IV, and Tiffin Columbian in division III.
Shepherd says a win will be a boost.
“We're both 5-2, so whoever wins this one's going to get a lot of
second level points that should move one of us up a decent amount in the
standings,” he said.
Published 10/09/26
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Madison
Being Competitive
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Kobi Johnson
Madison takes the bus to Dover to face the first place Tornadoes in
an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.
Last week, they made a tremendous comeback, but fell just short and
loss (34-28) to New Philadelphia in an “OCC” game.
Coach Kobi Johnson says he was really proud of the kid’s
performance. “Yeah, it was
great game. I was really proud
of our guys and their fight. We
kind of put ourselves in a little bit of a hole in the first half.
Didn't play our best football, but we were able to come back in the
second half and play a great 24 minutes and give ourselves a chance.
We just ran out of time there, but I thought it was really good in
terms of growth for our program to see us in a situation down 34-14 at the
half and be able to come back and shut them out in the second half and give
ourselves an opportunity to try to get the ball back to win the game. So,
some growth out of it, but definitely things that we know we need to improve
on so that we're in a better situation throughout the entire game to be in
the right spot at the end,” said Johnson.
Madison (3-4,1-3) plays at Dover (5-2,4-0) on Friday night.
The Tornadoes outscored Wooster (44-22) in an “OCC” game last
week.
Johnson says Dover has some bigtime playmakers.
“They have some really talented skilled guys. I
think quarterback does a really nice job of facilitating the ball to these
guys. Dante Clark is really,
really good in the slot. He just
makes a ton of plays in the special teams game,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Thursday night, “For us this week, we have got to be really in tune
with the game plan and make sure we have eyes on those guys that are capable
of making huge plays. On the
offensive side of the ball, it's all about execution and blocking our butts
off. So, it's going to be a big
challenge for us, but we have just got to go out and play great football for
48 minutes and see where we're at the end.”
Johnson says they are still learning what it takes to win games
against good opponents. “We
continue to talk to our guys about if you want to be playing playoff
football you have got a knock off teams that people don't think you're
supposed to beat. So, for us
it's full focus on Dover and trying to play the best football we can.
I think we're capable of playing with anybody, but it's a tall task
and we have got to make sure mentally we're engaged and ready to go and have
a great road trip and go get the job done,” he said.
Published 10/09/26
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Seneca
East Has to Get Back on the Beam
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ed Phillips
Seneca East will be at home for Lucas for a game in the Northern 10
Athletic Conference on Friday night.
The Tigers lost a heartbreaker (8-7) to Carey last Friday in an
exciting league contest. The
Blue Devils scored with a minute to play to win the game.
Coach Ed Phillips says they were great on defense, but they just
couldn’t punch another one in. “We
played no doubt our best game of year on defense.
Their defense is really good and we couldn't finish it off in the
second half. It was a great high
school game and one we just got to keep building on,” he said.
Seneca East (5-2,3-2) plays host to Lucas (4-3,3-2) on Friday night.
The Cubs thumped Buckeye Central (49-0) in conference play last week.
With the double wing, double tight look, the Cubs can be hard to
prepare for, but Phillips says practice went well this week.
“They're different, they do have some similarities to Carey in
terms of the way they want to play, so that was nice to have them and Carey
back-to-back. A little bit
different look than we've seen in a long time,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Thursday night, “It makes it fun to prepare for.
I'll tell you one thing this week that was phenomenal is a right from
the get go on Monday our scout team did a really good job on their offense,
which is different and hard to duplicate, but our young guys did a really
good job of pulling that off.”
Seneca East likely will not win the “N10” title this year, but
they are in position to make the playoffs standing 11th in their
division VI region. The top 12
get it.
Phillips says they still have things to play for.
“On Saturday, we have a good film session and then on Monday we had
a really good practice and then just followed up Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday. Our kids are really
consistent and they like football. We
like being around them and I think that goes a long way into to handling the
good and the bad,” he said.
Published 10/09/26
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Fredericktown
to Face Explosive Loudonville
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Spitler
Fredericktown pays a visit to Loudonville for a game in the Knox
Morrow Athletic Conference on Friday night.
They are a game behind Danville and Centerburg in the conference
standings.
They are coming off a (28-18) win over Northmor in the “KMAC”
last week.
Coach Scott Spitler says they came alive in the second half.
“Pleased to get the victory. I
thought we were not as crisp and clean in the first half that I would like
to be, but I thought the kids came out the second half and started flying
around having fun and taking care of business and we're able to get out of
there with a win against a talented Northmor team,” he said.
Quarterback Cirk Parker ran for 182 yards and two scores last week.
Fredericktown (5-2,3-1) is at Loudonville (3-4,1-3) this week.
Unbeaten Danville walloped the Birds (55-0) last week.
Spitler says the Redbirds are big in the trenches.
“They are very skilled and it starts with the Caley brothers in the
backfield, Colton and Collin, running back-quarterback tandem, extremely
athletic, very dangerous, can put in the end zone and on any play in a
heartbeat,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Probably
the biggest group on the line of scrimmage that we faced all season.
They're really huge up front on the offensive line led by Jacub
Poole, a senior at tackle at 6’7”, 315.
So, they’re going to be a handful.
They run out of the spread offense and stretching you horizontally
and vertically. Like I said, the
quarterback, he's a dual threat that can hurt you on any play.”
With their run based offense play in the trenches is always a big
factor the Freddies and Spitler says that will be a battle for them.
“It's a big challenge. We've
got to have success on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and
it's going to be a huge challenge this week.
Playing in their house makes it even more difficult.
Like I've always said, every week in the “KMAC” is a tough week
and we've got to come ready to play,” said Spitler.
Published 10/09/26
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Galion
to Play Dangerous River Valley
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Matt Dick
Galion takes its act to River Valley for a game in the Mid-Ohio
Athletic Conference on Friday night.
Last week, the Tigers (3-4,1-3) beat Marion Pleasant (21-7) in
conference play.
The win broke a three game losing streak and coach Matt Dick says he
is happy for the kids. “I
think anytime the kids get paid for all their hard effort and all the time
they put into it, the same thing with coaches, but especially the kids, it's
all good for them. Hopefully try
to find a way to win one this week,” he said.
River Valley (0-7,0-4) almost got one last week when they lost to
Highland (34-33) in double overtime in a conference game.
Dick says they are improved. “The
power 5 receiver-tight end kid is just off the charts.
They do a good job of getting the ball to him in a variety of ways.
I think their defense has improved.
I watched them play some of the teams in “MOAC” and they've had
some hard outs. Games that they lost in OT or just lost late in the game.
They're just another tough “MOAC” opponent, but they are
different. They are five wide.
We haven't seen a lot of throwing this year, so it'll be interesting
to see how we match up with that,” said Dick.
Carter Myers, headed to Wake Forest, leads the “MOAC” in
receiving this year.
Dick says they must give him some extra attention.
“I just think make things hard on the quarterback.
Make him throw deep. Don't give them all the easy stuff and then
obviously double the Myers kid as much as possible,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “I think with all the different
formations you could do out of empty and quads and motion him into the
backyard and out it makes it hard to double him. It
makes it hard to get your best guy on him all the time.
They do a good job over there of mixing it up.
So, I think our challenge is to try to keep as often as possible two
guys on him and keep hopefully the offense off balance and that's the
challenge.”
Published 10/09/26
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Hillsdale
Needs This One
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Trevor Cline
Hillsdale travels to Rittman Friday night for an important game in
the Wayne County Athletic League on Friday night.
They scored 22 points in the first quarter and 43 in the first half
in destroying Northwestern (49-0) in league game last week.
Coach Trevor Cline says they came out ready to play and that was key.
“That's a second week in a row where we went up against an opponent
that it could have been a trap if we didn’t come out and play the way that
we should. Our guys did a really
good job of just finding ways to get better than what they were the week
before and go out and take care of business right at the get go,” he said.
They limited Northwestern to only 82 yards of total offense.
Hillsdale (6-1,3-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the small school division, is at Rittman (3-4,0-4) on Friday night.
Unbeaten Smithville crushed the Indians (41-0) last week.
Cline says they need to get off to a better start than they did last
year against Rittman. “Just
watching Rittman they’re a team that their goal was to be towards the top
of the “WCAL” this year. They're
definitely moving in the right direction.
They gave us a lot of trouble last year in the first half.
We were only up a touchdown. They
came out and played us really well last year,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Thursday evening, “We're looking to get off to a better start than what
we did against these guys last year and be able to put ourselves to the
situation to control the game. Last
year, when we played them at home it was a battle until we were able to get
settled down and able to get things going for us.”
The Falcons trail Smithville and Norwayne by a game in the “WCAL”
standings, those two play each other Friday, and Cline says this is a win
they must have. “This is a big
game for us because our hope is to still be able to win a league title.
We're going to need some help to get to that point, but we can also
take care of the business ourselves too.
If someone's able to knock off Smithville.
We need to take care of business the rest of the way to be able to
put ourselves back in the title hunt. These
last three games of the year are going to be big points for us playoffs
point wise. So, it's going be
important for us to go out and put our best foot forward and take her
business to set ourselves up for hopefully another home football game for
the start of the playoffs,” said Cline.
Published 10/09/26
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Mt.
Gilead to Play Co-Leaders
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Reid
Mt. Gilead host “KMAC” co-leader Centerburg on Friday night in a
Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game.
They picked up a win last week (27-21) at East Knox last week in
“KMAC” game.
Coach Mike Reid says they had to come from behind to do it.
“Last Friday was a real gutsy effort by our guys.
They showed a lot of heart, they showed a lot of stubbornness.
We started out kind of slow offensively.
Had to punt the ball away. They
put together a couple nice drives and scored one touchdown, but we battled
back and actually took the lead 7-6. They
had the lead at halftime 14-7. They
had to lead in the fourth quarter 21-13.
Our guys found a way to get the offense going in the fourth quarter
and came from behind and won that game.
Had to hold them off on our goal line at the end.
So, it was a very, very exciting game I'm sure if you're a fan, but
another knuckle biter for us. Proud
of the guys, proud about how hard they fought,” said Reid.
Tyler Harr ran for 198 yards, including two fourth quarter
touchdowns.
Mt. Gilead (4-3,2-2) hosts Centerburg (5-2,4-0) on Friday night.
The Trojans walloped Cardington (42-7) last week in the conference.
Reid says the Trojans are really athletic, but they think they have a
chance. “They're a
well-rounded team. Coach (Andy)
Colella year in and year out does a great job having his guys in contention
for a league title. Honestly,
we've come a long way here at Mt. Gilead, but that's kind of where we want
to be. We kind of want to
develop ourselves to finally get to that stage and we're not quite there
yet,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Centerburg
presents a lot of problems. They've
got a great big, tall, strong kid that's really, really fast, that’s
committed to go to Florida. The
quarterback is really nice. They
have even lost it looks like Miles Marshall's out with injury, but their
replacement is really, really good. So,
they're good across the board. They
have got a nice line and they have got a great big defensive line that plays
really, really well. So, it's
going to be another “KMAC” challenge.
It seems like week in and week out the “KMAC” is a big challenge
for the Mt. Gilead Indians, but we're up for it.
We're going to try to give them everything we’ve got here and come
out with a “W.”
A win by Indians would be a boost their playoff chances, according to
Reid. “That's one of the
things we did talk about even though it doesn't say we control our own
destiny on the Joeeitel.com site, or anything like that, we actually do
control our own destiny. A win
could really almost guarantee us a spot.
Anything can happen in the last two weeks of the season, but a win
would absolutely be, not to mention just for the playoffs, but just for
gaining confidence in my ball club as we continue the weeks nine and 10 and
hopefully 11,” he said.
Published 10/09/26
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Carey
Must Play as a Team
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jonathan Mershman
Carey and Hopewell-Loudon are two of the three leaders in the
Northern 10 Athletic Conference and they meet on Friday night in a huge
clash in the conference in Bascom.
Last week, Mace Puckett scored with :60 to play and then added the
two point conversion to give the Blue Devils an (8-7) win over Seneca East
in conference play.
Coach Jonathan Mershman says the defense gave them a chance to win
that game. “We grinded and got
that one. I thought the kids
battled hard the entire game. The
Seneca East defense would not let us score.
Then we found a way to score with one minute to go and then found a
way to get that two point conversion and win the game,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Our defense played just lights
out I thought all night, especially in the second half.
I thought they played excellent football in the second half and kept
us right in the game until our offense decided we wanted to score.”
Carey (5-2,5-0) plays host to Hopewell-Loudon (7-0,5-0), #1 in the
Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division.
The Chieftains dominated Tiffin Calvert (42-0) last week.
Mershman says Hopewell will be prepared for the game.
“They are well coached and every year they ready to go, ready to
reload, and keep playing. I know
they have got a three headed monster at quarterback and it seems like
they've been there forever. So,
I can't wait for them to graduate after this year.
I think it's just a really good coaching staff that knows what they
need to do and they get after it after it every week,” said Mershman.
Mershman says the Chieftains will spread the field and they have to
play team defense. “They make
everybody play and when you do that it stretches you out,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Everybody on defense needs to
do their job, their assignments, and play together and use each other.
Don't always try to make everything one single person doing the job.
Rely on others and I think we're doing that right now at a high level
on defense.”
Mershman says the team that wins will be disciplined.
“Discipline, that's what I heard when you said that.
It was just discipline. You
have got to play disciplined. I
think both teams will do that,” he said.
Published 10/08/26
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Lucas
Has to be Disciplined
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jim Sweat
Lucas will be over at Seneca East on Friday night for a game in the
Northern 10 Athletic Conference.
The Cubs (4-3,3-2) blasted Buckeye Central (49-0) last week in a
conference game.
Coach Jim Sweat says they played well last week, including a lot of
their younger players. “The
kids played well last week. It
was most importantly nice to see how excited they were when some of the
younger kids had an opportunity to get on the field Friday night and be
successful also. Just to see the
way that the older kids celebrated their accomplishments too.
Sometimes it's hard for kids to want to step off the field in that
situation, but they did, and just goes to show you what a great group of
kids that have,” said Sweat.
The Cubs ran for over 240 yards last week.
Seneca East (5-2,3-2) were edged last week (8-7) by conference
co-leader Carey.
Sweat say the Tigers are balanced on offense and they have a lot of
size in their lineup. “First
of all, they're huge. They've
got a lot of great sized kids. They're
skilled positions are really solid. They
have a big running back that likes to bruise it.
So, they have got a great compliment on film of both run and pass.
The kids work hard and they're extremely well coached,” he said.
SE quarterback Branson
Robinson has thrown for almost 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year.
Sweat says against Seneca East you must be very disciplined on
defense. “You have to be
disciplined. They have a lot of
formations, so we have to align properly and try to do our best to
understand what they're trying to do in each formation and be
disciplined,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “You have
got to have great eye discipline when you have a well balanced football
team. You can't sell out on the
run or the pass. They also have
the compliment of a great screen game too.
So, this week more so than a lot of weeks you have got to be
extremely disciplined this week and trust your instincts and trust your
keys.”
Published 10/08/26
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“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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New
Philadelphia Must Contain Lex
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Johnson
New Philadelphia, a game back in the Ohio Cardinal Conference, will
entertain the Lexington Minutemen in a conference game on Friday night.
Last week, they hung on to beat Madison (34-28) in an “OCC” game.
Coach Mike Johnson says they made the plays where they had too.
“I was really proud of our kids.
We came out and played a great first half.
In the second half, we struggled to get off the field a little bit
and we were a little less consistent offensively, but we had a lot of guys
who stepped up,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “We had
a couple guys out with injuries on the offensive line.
We had guys who didn't have much, or any varsity experience, step in.
We played great in that first half and were able to bring it home in
second half. So, even though it
wasn't necessarily pretty, I am proud of the way that we were able to finish
that game. Madison came back got
it within a score, kicked an onside kick, we were able to recover it and put
together a nice drive to end the game.”
The Quakers (3-4,3-1) hosts Lexington (1-6,1-3) on Friday night.
Johnson says the Minutemen are athletic, especially at quarterback.
“Lexington’s quarterback is unbelievable.
He runs it whatever the heck he wants, he's got a nice arm to sling
it, so we're going to have to contain him.
Defensively, we've seen them do a couple of different things.
We've seen them send the house and then blitz a lot of guys.
We've seen them play back. So,
our guys have been preparing all week to face both of those different
scenarios or those different styles. We're
excited for an opportunity to come out and have a great senior night,” he
said.
Johnson is concerned about the Lexington athletes and says they have
to contain them. “Like I said,
their quarterback is the real deal, I'm very impressed with his athleticism.
He moves great in the pocket, he can hurt you downfield and they've
had a couple other players step up throughout the course of their season
too. They got an outside
linebacker and receiver #11, who is a really good football player as well.
We have got to be consistent up front, that’s what we have been
hammering home this week. We're
going to have to get after them defensively,” said Johnson.
Published 10/08/26
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Lexington
Has to Get off Field
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jacob Owens
Lexington will be over at New Philadelphia for an Ohio Cardinal
Conference game on Friday night.
Last week, the Minutemen (1-6,1-3) were blanked (35-0) by West Holmes
in the “OCC.”
Coach Jacob Owens says last week they just didn’t play well.
“Last week, we didn't play well at all on either side of the ball.
We didn't play up to par, to our standards by any means.
West Holmes, give them credit, they're a really good ball club.
They came into town and they ran their stuff really well,” he said.
New Philadelphia (3-4,3-1) held off Madison (34-28) in an “OCC”
game last week.
Owens says the Quakers are physical and want to run the football.
“They are a very good football team, very disciplined.
Coach (Mike) Johnson has done a very good job with that program and
they like to run the ball, like to be physical up front.
They have ran the ball really well as of late.
They do some different things with “I” formation, under center,
old school type of football, so we'll be ready for that,” said Owens.
It is important to get running teams behind the sticks, but Owens
says for them they have to be more consistent on defense.
“We have got to stop them on first down, but second and third down
as well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “They do a
really good job of sustaining drives and moving the football and giving
themselves opportunities to win games. So,
first down is very important, but all the downs are very important.
We have to do a better job of getting off the field on third down.”
Published 10/08/26
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Danville
Preaching Focus
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Matt Blum
Danville, the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference leader, will be at
Cardington to face the Pirates on Friday night.
The Blue Devils (7-0,4-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football
coaches in in the small school division, blasted Loudonville (55-0) in a
conference game last week.
Coach Matt Blum says they got a good start and were able to keep
going from there. “We were
proud of the way our kids came out and fought at the kickoff. From
the very first snap set the tone the entire game.
Defensively, able to get a safety on the first possession.
Then on offense we were able to take advantage of that short field
and get a touchdown and go up 10-0 pretty quick.
I thought our kids did a good job building on that.
We're going to have to do similar things this Friday night,” said
Blum.
Cardington (0-7,0-4) was hammered (42-7) by Centerburg last week in a
conference game.
Blum says they do some good things.
“They've had some injuries, but they're scrappy bunch.
We're going to get their best shot, especially it being homecoming.
They do have some nice athletes they going to try to get the ball
too,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “We're going to
have to keep everything in front of us, flying on the ball, tackle in space.
Defensively, they do a good job with their blitz games, so have to do
a good job up front with our keys an our communication and give time for our
quarterback to execute the passing game.”
Danville quarterback Parker Proper is the leading passer in the “KMAC.”
Blum says their goal is to get better as a football team on Friday
night. “Our focus is just what
we can do today to have success and that's the biggest thing you know we've
been preaching this week. It’s
just focusing on ourselves, what can improve on to get better for today.
That's no different from Friday night.
We have got to worry about this, we have got to worry about right
now. What we are doing.
We have got to win the game and then we'll move on and prepare the
same way we do for every opponent next week,” he said.
Published 10/08/26
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South
Central Must Have Intensity
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Derek Fisher
South Central will be at home for Norwalk St. Paul in a Firelands
Conference game on Friday night.
They were smoked by conference leader Western Reserve (39-8) last
week.
Coach Derek Fisher says the Riders have very good personnel and it
showed. “They are undefeated
for a reason. They are a good
team, well coached, they play hard. They’ve
got some athletes, they have got some size and they made us pay for it.
They're good all across the board. I
think fourth in their region right now and deservedly so.
So, it was a learning experience for our guys.
Back to the drawing board and try to get ready for this week,” said
Fisher.
South Central (3-4,2-2) will put out the welcome mat for St. Paul
(3-3,2-1) on Friday night. The
Flyers destroyed Crestview (45-0) last week.
Fisher says the Flyers are fundamental, just like always.
“They have been a measuring stick in this conference for a long
time. Perennial power year after
year. I know they lost some guys
here and there, but it’s next man up for them every year,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “You can put on film from this
year of St. Paul and film from years ago and they look identical.
We always tell our kids that they know one speed and it's really,
really fast. Well coached, lots
of speed, very disciplined, they're not going to beat themselves, size,
making good angles, they sustain blocks, they fly to the football, great
kicker, special teams battle. They're
good all across the board and well coached.”
Fisher says they have to play hard on every play.
“We have got a match their intensity.
We have got to try to make fewer mistakes than they do.
Hope that we can keep it close in in the fourth quarter have a chance
to win it,” he said.
Published 10/08/26
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Wynford
to Play Rival Bucyrus
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andrew Amlin
Wynford makes the short trip to Bucyrus to take on the Redmen in game
in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference on Friday night.
They lost a tough one (33-27) to Colonel Crawford last week in
conference play.
Coach Andrew Amlin says they were right there at the end, but just
couldn’t get over that final hurdle. “We
had opportunities to win the game it just didn't happen for us. We
kind of made a few mistakes early in the game and that cost us later.
Our kids fought. We got
down 7-0, tied it, got down seven, tied it again, down seven, tied it, and
then they got up by two and then we got within one.
We just couldn't finish off, but our kids really responded well to
the challenge. They really
played hard and I think that was overall offensively one of our best games.
We just didn't happen to come out with a win,” said Amlin.
Wynford (2-5,1-4) is at Bucyrus (3-4,2-2) on Friday night in league
play. The Redmen were drilled
(37-0) by Upper Sandusky last week.
Amlin says the Redmen have a lot of guys that can make plays.
“They are a team that relies on big plays.
If you watch some of those games a lot of their scores are big plays,
so they can score quick. The
quarterback is a good athlete, he throws the ball well, he runs the ball
well. Their running back #8
(Wyatt Mckeever), he runs the ball well too,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday night, “They kind of move him around a little bit, so you have
got to find out where he is. #12
(Da’Shawn Cosey), they find ways to get him the ball.
Their team that relies on big plays.
Defensively, they're very aggressive. #5
(Hayden Butcher) is a very good football player.
They like be really aggressive with him.
He's aggressive, he tackles well, plays the run well.
We like to run the football, so he's a concern for us.”
Just like last week, this a rival game for the Royals, and Amlin says
they have to be ready to play. “Definitely
a rival, just like last week. They're
the biggest rivals that we have. So,
the kids will be fired up on both sides.
Bucyrus is out to prove something this year.
They’ve had a nice year so far this year.
They had a streak where they won two or three games on a row and that
hasn’t happened for a while. So,
they've improved. They're
greatly improved from last year I feel,” he said.
Published 10/08/26
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Crestview
Continues to Learn
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Steve Haverdill
Crestview plays at home on Friday night against first place Western
Reserve in a Firelands Conference game.
They were manhandled (45-0) by Norwalk St. Paul last week in a
conference game.
Coach Steve Haverdill says St. Paul was just a lot better, but they
learned from it. “We got
punched in the mouth. We got out
played across the board. They
came out ready to go and attacked us and played downhill all night and we
didn't answer the call and it got out of hand pretty early.
So, anytime you play a team and you're not ready to go you’re in
for a long night. With our young
group it was a good wake up call for them and a good taste of a good,
physical, Friday football game and we didn’t handle it very well.
So, another learning curve for them for the future,” said Haverdill.
Crestview (1-6,0-3) entertains Western Reserve (7-0,4-0), #4 in the
Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, on
Friday. The Riders roughed up
South Central (38-9) last Friday.
Haverdill says the Riders are just good everywhere on the field.
“They're good everywhere. They
can score with any guy on offense, they're fast, athletic, their defense
flies to the ball, they tackle very well, and they're well coached.
So, I mean there's a reason they’re 7-0 and there's a reason why
they've done as well as they have been so far.
We have got to play a perfect game and hope things go our way on
Friday night,” he said.
Friday night, according to Haverdill, is another opportunity for the
Cougars to get better. “That's
what we've dealt with all year. Our
seniors have been great leaders all year and then continue to work extremely
hard. It's not year that they've
wanted, but they're giving back and they're leading the young guys,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Our young guys are learning by
baptism what Friday football is and each week we're gaining something from
that will make this better in the long run.
We've gotten a little bit better every single week, which is all you
can ask for in the low areas. If
we can continue to do that the future is bright.”
Published 10/08/26
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Shelby
Has to Make Explosive Plays
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Robert Mahaney
Shelby hosts Ontario in a battle for first place in the Mid-Ohio
Athletic Conference on Friday night.
Both teams are unbeaten on the season.
Shelby (7-0,4-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll
in the large school division, edged Clear Fork (28-21) last week in
“MOAC” play.
Coach Robert Mahaney says there is a lot of hoopla about this game,
but they want to try to make this a normal week.
“I think at the end of the day we want to be what the Shelby
Whippets are. Live our core
values and like we talk about every week being process driven, fearless with
one another and being thankful. I
think every Friday night is an awesome opportunity, but big games, big
opportunities like this, you want to stick to who you are and what you've
done and that's what it is. We're
going to continue to be exactly who we are and that’s the message to the
team. It's been the message over
the years is just to continue to trust that and hopefully we can do that
again on Friday night,” he said.
Ontario (7-0,4-0), #3 in our poll, downed Marion Harding (27-12) last
week in a conference game,
Four times this year they have scored more than 40 points in a game
and Mahaney says they have kids that make big plays.
“They create a lot of expensive plays and explosive plays are one
of the huge indicators of winning football games at any level, so that's why
they had the success that they've had. For
us to challenge them defensively we have to try to match up with athletes
that they have. They can get the
ball to a lot of different people and they have a really good running game
too. So, really when you're able
to spread the ball to they athletes that they have and be able to take shots
vertically downfield and then have a strong running game with a back that's
really physical and can make explosive plays it gives you the opportunity to
be really successful offensively and that’s what they've done up to this
point,” said Mahaney.
Ontario’s defense has been good this season too.
Four times holding teams to less than 12 points.
Mahaney says the Warriors also have really good players at each level
of their defense. “I think
defensively they do a good job. Their
front six or even the seventh would be adjuster coming down to a good job of
really trying to swarm to the football and take care of the run game.
Their three stacked linebackers are really good football players and
they do a great job of flowing and getting to the football.
Those same athletes on offense are in the secondary.
They do a good job of getting matched up,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “One thing they do is play the ball in
the air. They go up and they win
contested plays and create a lot of turnovers with interceptions.
We have to make sure we limit that and make sure upfront we continue
to talk through that 3-3 stack and the linebackers that are moving and all
that kind of stuff. They've had
a lot of success playing that defense this year and we just kind of make
sure we can do our best to try to attack it in different ways.”
Both of these teams have made explosive plays in the kicking game
this year. Mahaney says special
teams is going to be a big factor. “It's
the third phase of the game for a reason and I think special teams are huge
in the game and games of this magnitude we have seen that in the past.
So, I think for us to get out there and each unit to kind of do their
job whether we can try to flip the field or make a play on a return.
We want to get all the points that we can on extra points and field
goals and all those opportunities. So,
really try to make sure we win in yardage and all that kind of stuff is
going to be big in any game with this much on it,” he said.
Published 10/07/26
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Norwayne
Battles Smithville for Lead
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Adam Indorf
Norwayne and Smithville share the lead in the Wayne County Athletic
League and they play each other at Norwayne on Friday night.
The Bobcats (4-3,4-0) have won their last four, including a (23-18)
win over Dalton last week in league play,
Coach Adam Indorf says they had a solid first drive, but then they
were inconsistent. “We came
out of the gate and we're driving the ball first possession and we drove the
ball down and the scored. We
were really efficient and then it was hit or miss throughout the rest of the
game. We made some mistakes
hurting ourselves with inopportune penalties.
Just continuing to battle for four quarters and get after it.
Dalton had a good football team there and they fought for four as
well. So, we have got to get
back at it this week and make sure that we're putting our best foot forward
and improving,” said Indorf.
Smithville (7-0,4-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the small school division, drilled Rittman (41-0) last week.
Indorf says the Smithies have a lot of athletes and they can’t
allow them to get in a rhythm. “They're
always going to play physical. They
have a lot of offensive weapons and they have got a lot of opportunity to
use those weapons or those tools offensively to make some big plays,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “We have got to work as well to
get some big plays and make sure that we're working to get them off track
there offensively and behind the chains early.
Play disciplined football. Defensively,
they're going to be aggressive, physical at the point of attack and rally to
the ball. So, offensively for us
to continue to work and continue to take what they're giving and be
disciplined, be efficient and not get off track there and stay on the
schedule to work for first downs.”
Games between really good teams lots of times it boils down to
mistakes and Indorf says they can’t have many of those, especially the
mental kind. “Especially
avoidable penalties like an encroachment or a procedure something that's
more mental, so try to avoid those make that we're putting added emphasis on
the fact of doing your job and making sure that’s first.
Line up and do the same thing and take the same approach every play
so that we're not putting ourselves in the disadvantage,” he said.
Published 10/07/26
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Big
One for Crawford
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jake Bruner
Colonel Crawford plays host to Mohawk Friday night in the Northern 10
Athletic Conference in game very important to the Eagles postseason chances.
Last week, they held off rival Wynford (33-27) in a league game.
Coach Jake Bruner says man they have to get better.
“We have got a lot of things to improve on from last week.
Defensively, we gave up way too many yards and way too many missed
assignments on defense. We need
to get better at that. It is
going to be a harder challenge this week with a good team in Mohawk,” he
said.
Crawford (4-3,3-2) is at home for Mohawk (6-1,5-0) on Friday night.
The Warriors are coming off a (44-0) destruction of Willard last week
in “N10” play.
Bruner says the Warriors have a lot of kids that can play the game of
football. “They return the
offensive player of the year in the (Andon) Clouse kid at quarterback and he
plays linebacker too. They bring
back the (Kaden) Bish kid at tailback and he's had a great career there.
Then the (Levi) Tiell kid one of the best players in the league at
receiver and defensive back as well as the (Rhett) Leeth kid and some other
guys that that were on their team last year that was really successful,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They've lost one game for
a reason and we are going to have our hands full Friday night.”
Bruner says they have got to be able to contain the Warriors
offensive spurts, but that is easier said than done.
“I think they do such a great job defensively as well.
Their kids are always tough, they're always well coached and they do
a great job on both lines of scrimmage.
It's always a good football game with them.
We've got some of them over the years and they've gotten some of us
over the years. This is one of
those no difference in season. It
seems like no matter where we're playing it's always going to be a good game
against the Mohawk Warriors,” he said.
Right now, the Eagles are 15th in their division VI
computer region and Bruner says a win would be a big boost to their chances.
“We have got three weeks that are guaranteed left and each week is
very important and we're just taking one game at a time.
We're just trying to keep our season extended.
We have played quite the schedule so far.
The way our conference schedule has played out compared to others in
our conference is a little different because we played all the harder teams
and some of the teams in our conference don't have to play those teams.
So, it’s a little different each year for each team.
That's just how the cookie crumbles and we've got to figure a way to
get over this hump,” said Bruner.
Published 10/07/26
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Ashland
Has to Tackle
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Valentine
Ashland travels to West Holmes for a game in the Ohio Cardinal
Conference on Friday night.
The Arrows (4-3,1-3) broke a three game losing skid with a (30-7)
domination of the Mansfield Senior Tygers in “OCC” play last week.
Coach Scott Valentine says they got more confidence as they started
to play more consistent last week. “I
think our guys as we went through the game got more confidence, but also we
just did a lot of the little things right, which we had been really
inconsistent with,” said Valentine.
West Holmes (5-2,3-1) is game behind Dover in the “OCC” standings
going into this week after they hammered Lexington (35-0) last week.
Valentine says they will need to play very well to have a chance.
“They've got a good team overall.
They do a lot of good things on both sides of the ball.
So, again they're a team that we're going to have to play at a top
level and a lot of mistake free football to have a chance to be
successful,” he said.
The Knights have had six games this year when they have scored at
least 35 points in game and three when they have put up more than 47, so
they are very explosive.
Valentine says they must tackle well.
“I think the first thing is you have got to tackle them because
they run hard,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, "If
you don't do a good job tackling that that leads to big plays.
If we read our keys, which I thought we did a lot better job last
week of making sure we're reading our keys on defense, I think that that can
help with that too.”
Ashland pretty much must have this game to make the division II
playoffs. They stand 12th
in their region and the top 12 get in, but they are not going to get a lot
of points from their final two opponents.
Valentine says they know the assignment.
“I think just like now with where we're at every game's important,
so for us to go down there and play good football game, four quarters and,
hopefully come home with a win,” he said.
Published 10/07/26
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Tiffin
Trying to Slove Bellevue
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Ottney
Tiffin Columbian will be at longtime rival Bellevue for a crossover
game in the Northern Ohio Conference on Friday night.
They demolished winless Norwalk (63-7) last week, leading (53-0) at
halftime.
Coach Ryan Ottney says they wanted to get off to a good start and
they did that last week. “We
wanted to make sure we came out and we got going early and establish a great
offensive session going and then defensively I thought we played well and
special teams was very, very good as well.
So, it was an overall great performance by our guys,” he said.
Columbian (5-2) is at Bellevue (5-2), #5 in the Swankonsports.com
football coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night.
The Redmen whipped Huron (56-21) last week in a Bay Division game.
Ottney looks for an outstanding game.
“They are a very good football team, well coached, got some great
players over there. So, for us
our big focus is trying to make sure that we are disciplined.
Defensively, they make it very difficult for us offensively what they
do over there so. It's going to
be a dogfight. We know that
we're applying for a four quarter football game,” he said.
Bellevue quarterback Ike Brown accounted for six TD’s last week
against Huron.
Ottney says they need to contain him.
“He's a very, very good runner and he also throws the ball fairly
well as well. So, he's got some
nice pieces and some nice targets over there.
So, we've got to be aware of where they're at.
The big focus is if we're going to be able to try to contain him.
We let him get loose and we're going to have some issues in the game.
So, if we can find a way to kind of contain him and give ourselves a
chance on the offensive side of the ball, and do some good things, we’ll
have a shot in this game, that's for sure,” said Ottney.
Tiffin is 10th in their division III region and Bellevue
is 10th in their division IV region.
The top 12 make the playoffs.
Ottney says this is big game for both from that perspective.
“I think both of us are sitting in very similar situations right
now. I think as we're getting
down to the end of the season you start to take a peek and see if there's a
possibility for a week 11,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening,
“I think with this game for both of our programs it's a big win.
It would be a big win for all of us and if we can give get the
“W” on our side it gives us a lot of momentum and making that push to
get a chance to play in the postseason and same for them as well.
So, I know it's going to be a great game I'm looking forward to it
and we'll see what happens on Friday night.”
Published 10/07/26
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Norwalk
St. Paul Finding Their Grove
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Chris Doughty
Norwalk St. Paul will be down at South Central for a Firelands
Conference game on Friday night.
St. Paul blanked Crestview (45-0) last week in a conference game.
Coach Chris Doughty was pleased.
“I was really pleased with the improvement again.
They've been able to do that consistently for weeks now, so really
happy with that,” he said.
The week before the Flyers (3-3,2-1) had smoked New London (49-0) in
league play.
Doughty says they are starting to run the ball a lot better.
“I think a lot of it has to do with our offensive line play
improving quite a bit and also our running backs being more aggressive the
way they hit the holes and also being able to break tackles.
When you're able to combine that and you have got a strong run game
and you can control the clock and that that allows us to do a lot of things
we want to accomplish in the game,” said Doughty.
The Flyers have now run for over 1,200 yards on the season and most
of the come in the last two weeks.
South Central (3-4,2-2) lost last week to conference leader Western
Reserve by a (39-8) count.
Doughty says the Trojans have some skilled players that they have to
be concerned with on Friday. “The
thing stands out is they've got some really big offensive lineman first and
foremost. They've also got a lot
of skilled kids that they work in the game.
They have Brayden Viock at quarterback for them,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “He's a nice strong athlete.
He's a strong runner and an accurate passer.
As far as skilled kids, they've got Greyson Fisher, he's one of their
better athletes and then we've got a mix of some other kids with Jaxson
Strickland and Price Knoll and
Justin Gillum. They like to
spread the ball around and the mix a few different guys in at running back
form and they move the receivers in an out of the slot at receiver spots.”
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Northmor
Working Hard
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Armrose
Northmor hits the road for East Knox for another test in the Knox
Morrow Athletic Conference on Friday night.
Last Friday, the Golden Knights (1-6,1-3) did some good things in a
(28-18) setback at the hands of Fredericktown in conference play.
Coach Scott Armrose says they just could not put a complete game
together last week. “We
definitely did some good things and then again, we made some mistakes and
then our mistakes were costly. We
just we couldn't compliment each other offensively and defensively,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “Defensively, would get a stop
and then we'd end up going three and out and punting.
Offensively, we would go down and score and then defensively we'd
give up a touchdown. So, we just
didn't complement each other very well.
We just didn't make enough plays down the stretch to get us a win.
We're improving every week and definitely did some things really
well.”
The wins have not been there like they have been in some other years,
but Armrose says this group works very hard to be as good as they can be.
“We have got a group of guys that regardless of the result of our
games on Friday night they fight hard to get better.
So, we probably had one of our best nights of practice (Tuesday)
night after the loss last week. So,
these guys keep working, they really want to get better and I hope that we
continue to improve. I hope we
can show it with some wins here soon,” he said.
East Knox (4-3,1-3) fell last week to Mt. Gilead (27-21) in a
“KMAC” game.
Armrose says the Bulldogs like to spread the field on offense and
when defending they come after you with a lot of good blitzes.
“They’re athletic, they're not the biggest team we've played, but
they've got a lot of team speed both offensively and defensively.
Offensively, they like to spread the field out a little bit.
They'll throw the ball to open up the run game, so they complement
each other really well. Defensively,
they are a 3-3 stack, play a lot of man coverage behind it and they are one
of the best blitzing teams that we've seen this year,” said Armrose.
Published 10/07/26
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Ontario
Must Make Good Decisions Quickly
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Eckert
It’s the battle for first place in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference
as a pair of unbeatens clash as Ontario is at Shelby on Friday night.
The Warriors (7-0,3-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the large school division, downed Marion Harding (27-12) last week
in conference play.
Coach Aaron Eckert says this week with all of the outside noise they
must keep their focus. “You
try to approach every day as the same. Obviously,
it's not, it's a game between two unbeaten teams, but for us it's the same
schedule that we're going to follow every other week.
We're going to prepare the same way.
At the end of the day, it's a week eight game against an adjacent
district that's good football team. So,
we're trying to lock in and focus on the task at hand.
Again, this is the only game that matters this week for us,” he
said.
Shelby (7-0,4-0), #1 in our poll, edged Clear Fork (28-21) in
“MOAC” action last week.
Eckert says the Whippets, who average 40 points per game, are still
very multiple on offense. “They
don't have the luxury of having two division one tight end/H-back kids.
Last year, gosh it was a mess. They
still have one of them back, but he’s playing quarterback.
So, they're not as multiple as they have been, but they still are
really multiple. They get in a
lot of different formations, try to put you in different binds. They
still have the leading receiver in Shelby football history and (Brady)
Bowman. So, they have plenty of
weapons, they're big up front, it's a really good offense at Shelby,” said
Eckert.
On defense, Shelby has allowed 60 points all year long.
Eckert says they are very fast on that side of the ball and force you
to make quick decisions. “If
you're talking statistically speaking they're better than they were last
year when they went to the state finals.
What makes them so good is their defensive line and the defensive
pressure they put on you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon,
“They've got two kids in there from their state relay team that are
playing defensive end, so they get to the quarterback.
They want to make you make a decision quickly and feed you to the big
hogs they have got in the middle. Their
linebackers do a nice job and their secondary has been solid this year.
So, defensively is probably where they've been most impressive this
year as a team.”
Shelby has been explosive scoring two or three times over a five
minute period. Eckert says they
really can’t get behind by multiple scores.
“Anytime you allow a team to score three times in a row it makes it
really difficult to come back win the game.
A couple of years ago we played these guys in the regional semis over
at Arlin and that's kind of what happened.
It was 14-13 at the half and they scored 35 in the third quarter the
next thing you know we're down 20. Fortunately
for us, we able to come back and get that that win, but it's not something
you want to do or want to have to make a 20 point comeback in the fourth
quarter to win a ball game,” said Eckert.
Special teams can be a big factor on Friday.
Eckert says a big play there could be the difference.
“They've got a couple returns for touchdowns as well with Bowman. So,
I think that'll be huge. It
could be the deciding factor in the game.
Get a great return and set up a score or just a score on special
teams and both teams have dangerous returners, so it'll be interesting to
see how that all unfolds along with the offense defense cat and mouse
game,” he said.
Published 10/06/26
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Western
to Play for a Share
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stevenson
With a win at Crestview Friday night, Western Reserve will earn no
less of the Firelands Conference title this season.
They set themselves up for that with a (39-8) win over South Central
last week in conference play.
Coach Ty Stevenson says they played okay.
“I thought we played pretty well for the most part and got a 39-8
win there. They got their score
kind of late. Started really
well, started pretty hot and got moving a little bit and second half kind of
slowed down a little bit. I
think we only scored once. Not
the cleanest game we've played but, it'll work for a week seven game and now
we’re moving on,” said Stevenson.
Quarterback Colton Meagrow threw for 179 yards and a score.
The Riders limited South Central to 127 total yards.
Western Reserve (7-0,4-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football
coaches poll in the small school division, plays at Crestview (1-6,0-3) this
week. The Cougars were besieged
(45-0) last week by Norwalk St. Paul in conference play.
Stevenson says they have a lot of young kids in the lineup.
“They're playing two or three freshmen, two or three sophomores.
They're pretty big up front, they got a really nice defensive line
and the big Rose kid is playing mic linebacker and he fills downhill really
well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We have got to
make sure we stay focused. That
magic number is down to one to clinch a share of the conference title, so we
definitely have got to stay focused and make sure to put our best foot
forward and play well Friday night.”
Western won this game (34-0) last year, but the Cougars had won the
previous five meetings between the two.
Stevenson says the Cougars are always ready to play them.
“There's no doubt they'll be ready.
It's down there and any time you get to play on your own turf you're
always excited to go, so they will. Honestly,
we haven’t fared really well against them over my nine years here.
So, we're making sure that we're ready to go and prepared and
hopefully play really well,” he said.
Published 10/06/26
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West
Holmes Will Face a lot of Looks
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Keaton Leppla
West Holmes will host Ashland in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on
Friday night.
Right now, the Knights trail Dover by a game in the “OCC”
standings.
They responded to their only loss in conference play with a (35-0)
thumping of Lexington last week.
Coach Keaton Leppla says that performance was what they needed.
“I think it was a good bounce back win from the tough loss.
A loss that I don't think anybody in the program is happy with how we
performed. So, to kind of see
our guys rally back together. Our
staff rally back together kind of course correcting get back on the right
track was a very big positive for us as we approach the end of the year and
things wind out. So, very happy
with the way we responded this past week,” he said.
West Holmes (5-2,3-1) is at home for Ashland (4-3,1-3) on Friday
night. The Arrows broke a three
game losing streak with a (30-7) destruction of Mansfield Senior in
“OCC” play last week.
Leppla says they are going to be well prepared for the game.
“You're talking about a program and you're talking about a coaching
staff that’s been together for a long time and has been coaching football
for a long time. So, you're
going to get a team that's prepared. Are
they experienced as last year? No, but we fully expect you know we're kind
of the tip of the spear so to speak for them to get into the playoffs.
So, we're going to get their best shot.
We know we’re going to get everything thrown at us.
We know we're going to get a well coached team that knows how to
exploit a defense offensively,” said Valentine.
Currently, Ashland stands 12th in their division two
region. The top 12 make the
playoffs. West Holmes is fourth
in their division IV region.
Leppla says the Arrows do a very good job of disguising what they do
on defense. “Defensively
they've done a really good job over the past couple of years of being really
multiple and disguising their looks. We're
going to get the kitchen sink thrown at us this week.
Our biggest thing is we just have got to focus on ourselves.
Do what we do and execute what we have to execute and take what the
defense gives us,” he said.
Leppla says when you face that Ashland offense, they will stress you
in a lot of ways. “I think
they have had a running back hurt most of the year and they have got him
back. So, they are able to use
that 1-2 punch. They're going to
spread you out wide and with this running back they're going to force you to
honor the box and even with their quarterback running the ball they're going
to force you to honor the box,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
afternoon, “You can't spread out as much.
I played in high school against Scott Valentine.
I’ve coached against Scott Valentine.
I know that program is in good hands with him even with you the lack
of experience. We know they're
going to try and spread us out and then attack us in the box.
When we adjust to that, they're going to attack us out wide.
They're going to be really well coached on how to handle everything
we throw at them defensively.”
Published 10/06/26
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Triway
to Play Aggressive Manchester
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Cody Kelly
Woster Triway, a game back in the Principal’s Athletic Conference,
will be at Akron Manchester for a huge game in the “PAC” on Friday
night.
They slaughtered Canton South (62-6) in a conference game last week.
Coach Cody Kelly says they executed the game plan.
“I think we did what we came in and did what we we're supposed to
do. The defense played very well
getting multiple turnovers. The
offense really through the air got clicking.
We have been doing it in the run game for multiple weeks in a row, so
it was nice to see that we were able to go through the air and have that
dual capability. So, proud of
the guys for pulling it out and getting a bunch of other guys in the game
and now it's on to the end of the season here,” said Kelly.
Triway (6-1,3-1) is at Manchester (4-3,3-0) on Friday night.
The Panthers edged Fairless (27-21) on Friday night.
They share first place in the “PAC” with Orrville.
Kelly says they want to be physical and run the ball.
“They are going to be a physical run team.
They have a pretty special running back back there and in front of
him to some big offensive linemen. So,
offensively they're going want to run the ball,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Monday evening, “First and foremost, we have got to be able to stop the
run and play physical up front. With
our offense we're just going to have to maintain their pressure.
They're going to send a bunch of blitzes and try to cause chaos.
So, we just got to be able to protect our QB up front and establish a
running game of our own to we continue to sustain some drives.
They are a big, physical run team.
We have to make sure we limit their rushing attack.”
Kelly says against an aggressive defense like this, they have to
consistently execute. “There
is risk and reward to what they do. If
they guess wrong and we time out the right run play and we do our job it's
definitely opportunities for some explosive plays out there.
What you want to do is eliminate the negative. So, if we can sustain
the drive, eliminate the big TFL, the big sacks, and be able to chunk then I
think eventually the big play does come. I
think that's how you sustain a drive and be successful against teams like
this,” he said.
Published 10/06/26
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Centerburg
Wants to get Indians off Schedule
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Colella
Centerburg, the co-leader in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference,
heads for Mt. Gilead for a game with Indians on Friday night.
Last week, they pummeled Cardington to the tune of (42-7) in a
“KMAC” game.
Coach Andy Colella says they played some good complementary football
last Friday. “I was really
happy and pleased with the way that we came out really in all three phases
of the game. I thought we played
really well. Defensively, we've
been playing well for a couple weeks. Offensively,
it's been a challenge at times, but we kind of simplified things a little
bit on Friday and got in a good rhythm and that definitely helps on that
side of the ball, so felt pretty good with that,” said Colella.
In total yards last week it was Trojans 473 and Pirates 146.
Centerburg (5-2,4-0) visits Mt. Gilead (4-3,2-2) on Friday night.
The Indians are coming off a (27-21) win at East Knox last week.
Colella says they want to feature the power running game.
“Coach (Mike) Reid has done a great job over there turning that
program around. That's exactly
what they want to do. It's kind
of a little old school football, but it fits their kids,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “He's trying to play keep away from
you in some regards as well and physically trying take a toll on you.
So, it's a challenge, it's a different style of football maybe that
you don't see typically all the time and that presents its own
challenges.”
Mt. Gilead rushed for 318 yards last week.
Colella says against Mt. Gilead first down in key for them
defensively. “We talked about
that (Monday) actually our kids. That's
kind of the goal there is to create some pressure and to get them off
schedule. When you get them off
schedule and they're not getting three or four yards on first down.
They have got to do some things that they really don't want to do
like throw the football or there's some other things there.
So, that would definitely help,” he said.
Published 10/06/26
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Wooster
Must be Fundamental
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ray Leek
Wooster takes its act to Mansfield Senior for a game in the Ohio
Cardinal Conference on Friday night.
“OCC” leader Dover beat the Generals (44-22) last week.
Coach Ray Leek says he is proud of the effort his team put together.
“It was 10-7 and halftime. We
had a disappointing third quarter there.
Missed assignments, we gave up a few big plays, but Dover's known for
that. They've got a lot of
playmakers, a good quarterback, so they're going to do that to you.
At the end of the day, we kind of beat ourselves with penalties and
mistakes. So, we have got to
clean those things up this week. Proud
of our effort. With five minutes
to go in the game we're driving with the ball down by one score.
So, our kids fought until the end getting great effort from our kids.
We have just got to put it all together for all four quarters,”
said Leek.
Wooster (2-6,2-2) will be at Mansfield Senior (1-6,1-3) on Friday
night. The Tygers were buried
(30-7) by Ashland in a conference game last week.
Leek says they have to respect the Tygers athleticism. “They have a lot of athletes. They’re big up front. They want to establish the run. So, we've got to make sure again that we play all three phases because they've got a lot of weapons on special teams as well that they can take you to the house,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “They'll run some fake punts and stuff like that, so we have got to be disciplined. Offensively, we've got to establish a run game. We've got to lean on our offensive line and make sure that we take care of the football. That that we're going to consistently drive the ball and we're in the red zone. We've got to punch it in. We can't go down to the red zone and not walk away with points.”
Leek says they have to expect that Mansfield Senior will try about
anything in this game. “They're
hungry too. They want to get a
win. It’s at home for them.
So, we've got to be ready for everything, especially on the defensive
side of the ball. We've got to
stay at home just do our job, trusting that guy next to you, play assignment
football. Db’s got to make
sure they stay back for any trick plays, anything like that.
It's just going to come down the fundamental football, doing our
assignments and make it sure we're aligned and we're communicating with each
other,” he said.
Published 10/06/26
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Willard
Has to Contain Upper
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eli Fisher
Willard is down at Upper Sandusky in a game that has that old
“NOL” feel to it in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game on Friday
night.
The Flashes (3-4,1-4) were smoked by “N10” co-leader Mohawk
(44-0) last week.
Coach Eli Fisher says Mohawk has good players.
“Mohawk's pretty good and they showed that against us.
We didn't put our best foot forward against them.
They're really good at a lot of different positions.
They have got two or three of the best probably ten players in the
league. So, they're a good
football team they showed it last Friday,” said Fisher.
Upper (3-4,2-3) snaped a three game losing streak with a (37-0)
dismantling of Bucyrus last week in league play.
Fisher says the Rams have an outstanding pass game.
“They're about 75 percent pass at least and they have a bunch of
really good receivers, one that's in the top two in the in the league in
receiving yards,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “We have
got our work cut out for us there. They
also have got a quarterback who gets it to those guys and I think leading
the league in touchdown passes. So,
we definitely have got our hands full and we're going to be sound in our
coverages.”
Keegan Dunn threw for 286 yards and four scores against Bucyrus last
Friday. Dunn has 17 TD passes on
the season.
Fisher says they have to find a way to get some pressure on him.
“Your defensive line's has got to have sound pass rush lanes and we
have to got to make sure for the most part that we don't let them take the
top off. That we that we keep
stuff in front of us and rally to the football and gang tackle and not let
them hit the big plays,” he said.
Published 10/06/26
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Execution
Was and Will be Key for Upper
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Russell Hall
Upper Sandusky will be at home for Willard in a game in the Northern
10 Athletic Conference on Friday night.
These schools were both members of the former Northern Ohio League
for almost 70 years, but they haven’t played in football since 2010.
Upper (3-4.2-3) broke a three game losing streak with a (37-0)
whipping of Bucyrus last week.
Coach Russell Hall says they were clicking on all cylinders.
“I felt like our kids had a great week in practice and it carried
over to kick off on Friday. I
believe we executed at a very high level on both sides of the ball.
It was fun,” said Hall.
Quarterback Keegan Dunn threw for 286 yards and four touchdowns in
the win. Kasen Gottfried caught
seven passes for 168 yards and two scores for the Rams.
Willard was toasted (44-0) by “N10” co-leader Mohawk in a league
game last week.
However, Hall says the Flashes (3-4,1-4) have shown they can play
good football. “I think
they've got some really nice football players, that's for sure.
A little streaky, but when they're playing well they're playing
really well on both sides of the ball, that's for sure,” he said.
Willard quarterback Jake Rothaar has thrown seven TD passes and ran
for nine for the Flashes.
Hall says they have to contain him.
“He's got to have I don't know 15, 16, 17 touchdowns this year.
He's a very elusive pocket passer that can take off in a blink.
On a scramble that you know he's exciting to watch, that's for
sure,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “He reminds me a lot
of Mason Vent that was quarterback for us several years ago.
Just an incredible athlete, super explosive.”
Hall says again execution is key for them.
“Just like last week we just need to come out and execute at a high
level. If we understand that one
guy doesn't have to do everything. You
do your job and you know everything else will take care of itself,” he
said.
Published 10/06/26
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Shelby
Wants Fast Start
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Robert Mahaney
Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference co-leader Shelby will be at Clear Fork
to face the Colts in a conference game on Friday night.
Clear Fork is a game back.
Last week, the Whippets (6-0,3-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com
football coaches poll in the large school division, took down River Valley
(54-0) in league play.
Coach Robert Mahaney says they were ready.
“I thought our kids did a great job of starting fast offensively.
Made a big play on special teams to start the game and offensively
pushed it in. Then really just
kept things going. We want to
really push our kids to come out the gate and try to execute fast and early
and try to get the other team on their heels. I
thought they did a great job of that last week.
I'm really proud of our guys effort and then all the rest of the game
too,” he said.
Quarterback Michael Shepherd passed for 285 yards and four
touchdowns.
Clear Fork (5-1,2-1), #4 in our poll, downed Marion Harding (21-7) in
“MOAC” play last week. The
Colts ran for 389 yards in the game.
Mahaney says the Colts are a run first team.
“Their offensive identity is definitely to run it.
Coach (Aaron) Brokaw, first and foremost, does a tremendous job.
Does things the right way. I
think you can see that on film. They
play football the right way and that’s being tough and physical and
finding ways to run the football. Their
offensive line comes at you. The
quarterback is a good runner and the running backs are really good runners.
So, at the end of the day in high school football to be successful
you have got to run the ball and that is what they do.
They play really good defense as well.
Those two things together can make you really successful and that's
why they're where they're at,” said Mahaney.
Clear Fork allowed 166 yards last week and they have not permitted
more than 17 points in a game this year.
Mahaney says they have to execute if they are going to put up points.
“I think we have to make some plays when we get the opportunity.
With their 3-3 stack they do a great job of really controlling the
run game and giving you a unique front but and they play it so tight and are
so well coached. Coach (Tim)
Shied does a good job of coaching it,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday night, “Their kids play fast and they're downhill at you.
We have got to really stick to our assignments up front and you have
got to be assignment sound. With
the adjuster coming in there it’s hard to run the ball.
You really have to get a hat on a hat and try to make some plays when
you get the opportunity to run game. Then
the pass game you have got to try to win your matchups.
That's something that we have got to try when we get an opportunity
as a receiver to make a play and to give us a chance we got to try to
execute.”
Mahaney believes getting an early lead would be important for both
teams. “I think that's most
high school football teams. You
want to be in your comfort zone or have control.
So, I think you can just kind of get out and take momentum at the
beginning of the game it's going to help either team.
I think that's why we always try to preach we want to score on the
first drive. It’s one of our
goals every week. If you can do
that it really sets yourself up with momentum and a lot of success through
the rest of the game,” he said.
Published 10/02/26
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Seneca
East With Big One at Carey
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ed Phillips
Seneca East, a game back in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference
standings, plays at “N10” co-leader Carey on Friday night.
Already a game back in the standings, and this late in the season,
this is a must win for the Tigers.
They blew out Bucyrus (41-0) last week in “N10” play.
Coach Ed Phillips says his kids had some fun.
“Just played really well in special teams, defense, offense and
kind of took care of each other in in all those phases from my top guys to
the young guys that we got out there we got to have some fun.
It's just fun night because we've had in our first six games a lot of
battles. So, it was nice to have
one that wasn't down the wire and stressful and enjoy it and enjoy the
kids,” said Phillips.
Seneca East (5-1,3-1) travels to Carey (4-2,4-0) on Friday night.
The Blue Devils blanked Tiffin Calvert (35-0) last week.
Phillips says the expect what they always expect from Carey.
“It’s a typical Carey team,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday evening, “They are really athletic.
Physical on both sides of the ball, very aggressive in what they do.
They'll bring pressure. Put
pressure on your offense and they'll bring some people and put pressure on
you on defense. Just what you
would expect from Carey.”
Carey quarterback Tripp Phoenix leads the conference in rushing yards
with 966 and has scored 12 TD’s.
Phillips says they have to contain him.
“That's a huge key to corral him and not let him rip off a big one
and that's a challenge for us and one that we're excited to go over to Carey
see if we can take care of (Friday) night,” he said.
Phillips says sometimes your best defense can be your offense.
“If we can control it and then use the clock a little bit that
certainly is to our advantage. Then
we have got to put the points on board and to put a little pressure on
them,” he said.
Published 10/02/26
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Western
Has to Keep Going
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stevenson
Unbeaten Western Reserve, the Firelands Conference leader, is at home
for South Central in a conference game on Friday night.
The Riders (6-0,3-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the small school division, edged Monroeville (38-36) last week to
take sole possession of first place.
Colton Meagrow scored on a short run with 1:38 to play and punched in
a two-point conversion for the lead. Cooper
Roe then picked off a pass to preserve the win.
Coach Ty Stevenson says they were in position to make plays at the
end of the game. “It was what
makes high school sports great. It
was two teams who worked really hard to get to that point you know and
played tremendously hard that night. The
(Copper) Cleary kid ran for about million yards,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We didn't have one guy who ran
for a bunch or threw for a bunch or caught for a bunch, but we spread it out
pretty well. I thought that
probably helped us a little bit. In
the end, we were a little fresher down the stretch.
Monroeville played a great game too.
It was a lot of fun and happy to be able to say we’re in first
place by ourselves. Now we have
got to make sure that we hold court the rest of the way.”
Western Reserve also stands in fourth place in their division VI
region. The top four get a first
round bye.
Stevenson says now they have to have focus going forward.
“You have got to be even keel.
You can't get out of control either way because that's when things
start to break down. So, just
have got to continue to put your best foot forward every day and continue to
work hard and let that chips fall where they may,” he said.
South Central (3-3,1-2) edged Mapleton (41-40) in overtime last week
in their conference game. That
came after a (15-7) win at Crestview the week before.
Steveson says he expects another good game.
“They've won as many games as we have in the last two weeks.
So, they're 2-0 just like we are in the last two weeks.
They're really big up front. They
have got a lot of nice pieces. The
quarterback can really throw it and run, got a couple nice running backs,
and have got some dudes on the edge that can catch football.
So, I think it should be another really good football game.
Hopefully, we will play pretty well and see where it goes,” said
Stevenson.
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Run
Game Key for Wooster
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ray Leek
Wooster travels to Dover to meet the “OCC” leading Tornadoes in
an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.
The Generals pulled off one of their biggest wins in quite some time
last week when they beat New Philadelphia (17-10) in an “OCC” game.
Coach Ray Leek says they played consistent football.
“We put four quarters of football together in all three phases.
I felt like that was the first time this year that we've been able to
do that. So, proud of our kids
and the fight they're showing again. They
just keep getting better each week we're out there.
So, we have another tough test this week though.
Dover is 3-0 in the conference. So,
we are going to have to be ready,” he said.
Wooster (2-4,2-1) is at Dover (4-2,3-0) on Friday night.
The Tornadoes are coming off a (56-35) win over West Holmes last week
in a conference game.
Leek says Dover has a lot of weapons.
“Offensively, they just put up points.
They put up 56 points last week.
They're good at throwing the screens and then when you start biting
on that they will hit you over the top with the deep ball.
They gave a really good, solid quarterback who can throw and is also
dangerous with his feet,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening,
“Thay have got receivers all over the place.
We're going to be solid again on defense.
We're going to have to stop the run, but they're also not afraid to
throw the ball. So, we have got
to be solid. We have to got to
play mistake free football, take care of the football and control line of
scrimmage.”
Leek says the run game is going to be important when the Generals
have the ball in their hands. “It’s
going to be a similar defense. A
lot of high school teams now run the 3-4, so they're going to be similar in
that area. They return a decent
amount in the secondary. So,
they're going to move and get after you and try to make you one-dimensional.
So, we're going to have to make sure that we have a solid run game
again, we have our offensive line, and again limit turnovers, control time
of possession. Similar story to
last week. We just have to
continue to take care of the football,” said Leek.
Published 10/02/26
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Lexington
Must Limit Big Plays
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jacob Owens
Lexington entertains the West Holmes Knights in an Ohio Cardinal
Conference game on Friday night.
The Minutemen (1-5.1-2) looked like they were going to win last week,
but Mansfield Senior scored in the final minute with a long pass and beat
the Minutemen (32-27) in “OCC” play last Friday.
Coach Jacob Owens says they did not execute in the final moments.
“We gave one up last week. I
thought our kids played hard. They
never gave up. We got behind
early to Mansfield and our kids never wavered.
They came back and kept fighting and made it a game and even took the
lead, but in high school football you have got to play until last second.
We gave one up at the end, but I I'm super proud of our kids for
fighting and never giving up,” said Owens.
West Holmes (4-2,2-1) fell out of first place when they lost (56-35)
to Dover last week.
Owens says the Knights are solid.
“They are really good and talented and physical up front.
They have a really good receiver, athlete in Corey Beecey.
He is a sophomore kid that played against us last year.
They're a really good team. Our
conference is really good. This
is another conference opponent for us for us Friday night.
We invite them into our home field and we have to be ready to go,”
he said.
Owens says a key Friday will be tackling in open space and scoring
when they get down close. “We
definitely have to move on the next play.
We can't give up the big play. We
have to make sure we're taking care of our business and tackling in open
space. They run a lot of screens
and things of that nature,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday
afternoon, "We have to make sure we're tackling and being very sound
defensively as well. Offensively,
we have to move the ball and finish drives. I
told our kids on Monday, we have to be able to have fun and finish drives
when we're in the red zone. So,
our kids have the game plan and we have one more day of practice (Thursday)
to kind of clean things up and get things ready to go.
I think our kids are ready to go.
We're ready to move on from last week.”
Published 10/02/26
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Norwayne
Has to Execute Better
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Adam Indorf
Norwayne plays at traditional rival Dalton in a Wayne County Athletic
League game on Friday night.
The Bobcats share the lead in the league with Smithville.
They downed Chippewa (21-7) in a league game last week.
They won, but coach Adam Indorf says they didn’t necessarily
execute that well. “Chippewa
was definitely playing hard and coming downhill.
We didn’t take advantage of some opportunities that we had.
We shot ourselves in the foot with some penalties.
So, definitely need to work on cleaning that up and being better with
ourselves and not creating any bad positions as far as field position.
Cleaning up things like procedure calls or line up wrong. Just
continue to work on ourselves and then make ourselves better,” said Indorf.
Norwayne (3-3,3-0) goes to Dalton (2-4,2-1) on Friday.
The Bulldogs blanked Rittman (35-0) in league play last week.
Indorf says Dalton will show intensity and they have to do that too. “They
are definitely a team that is going to come out and play for fourth
quarters. Bring a lot of energy
and they don't back down. On
every film that we have they're full go for four and seem to wear some
people down,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “We need to
make sure that we are being totally disciplined and we're going to continue
to match that effort and intensity. Just
do a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage.
Offensively take what they are giving us and defensively keep them
off balance.”
This is a rivalry game, but Indorf knows that they can’t just live
on that extra energy. “We want
to have some good energy, but definitely need to go out and execute.
Eliminate the mistakes where we can.
Do a good job of playing hard and doing our job.
We continue to preach to do your our job and put yourself in a
situation for success,” he said.
Published 10/02/26
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Perkins
Must Contain Athletes
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jalen Santoro
Sandusky Perkins entertains rival Sandusky Friday night in a game in
the Lake Division of the Northern Ohio Conference.
They destroyed Clyde (62-22) in a division game last week, scoring 62
points in the first quarter.
Coach Jalen Santoro says there were efficient.
“I thought we came out and we played pretty efficient.
When you make some big plays on special teams whether it be punt
returns or turnovers it gets you started in the right direction.
Again, saw some light for offense that we've been wanting to see that
we knew we had in us. Again, the
word of efficiency comes in mind. I
thought we ran the ball well too. So,
I thought we played well in all phases of the game last week and that was a
result,” he said.
Perkins (6-0,1-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll
in the large school division, plays at home against Sandusky (0-6,0-1) on
Friday. The Blue Streaks lost
(47-0) to Tiffin Columbian in a division game last week.
Santoro says they have to contain Sandusky quarterback Zion Henlon.
“Obviously, they have a good team.
I think they are still a little bit young in some aspects and haven't
gotten the results they wanted. They
have a playmaker at quarterback in Zion Henlon.
He is a little younger getting his first starts this year, but a guy
that can make some happen off schedule.
When you have a quarterback make something happens when nothing's
there. He can pass or run and
that makes another dimension to your defense that you have got to make sure
you're prepared for,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “He's
a dynamic playmaker and we have got to do a great job making sure we're
playing the line of scrimmage and downfield.
When we get him in space you have got to make sure you bring him
down. So, adding a bunch of
layers to what they can do. We
have been honing in on that all week here.
That’s our focus to get the job done and make sure we stop him.”
Published 10/02/26
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Willard
to Play Talented Mohawk
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eli Fisher
Willard plays host to Northern 10 Athletic Conference co-leader
Mohawk in a conference game on Friday night.
The Flashes (3-3,1-3) picked up their first ever “N10” win by
blasting Buckeye Central (32-0) in a conference game last week.
Coach Eli Fisher says they did what they set out to do.
“We were pretty happy with how played.
We started off slow, but towards the end of the first half started
playing better. Did a good job
stopping the run, which we haven't done in a while,” he said.
Mohawk (5-1,4-0) takes a five game winning streak into the game.
They belted Wynford (35-7) last week.
Fisher says they have a lot of guys that can play.
“They can run the ball, they throw it well, their quarterback seems
like he’s been in high school a while and he kind of gets them started.
(Kaden) Bish is a really good running back too.
They're both really good linebackers.
He's throwing to some studs too.
So, we have got our hands full,” said Fisher.
Fisher says the Warriors will stress your defense.
“They're about 50/50 and they're really good at doing both of them.
So, like you can only take one thing away,” he said.
Fisher adds that Mohawk has the kids to make plays on defense too.
“They run an odd front and they get after it.
They have got really good outside backers to play on the line
scrimmage and can cover the pass. Clouse
is one of the best linebackers we've seen all year, if not the best.
Kind of same thing with offense, it kind of starts with him and he
makes a bunch of plays for them.”
Published 10/02/26
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Monroeville
Working on Being Better
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Tylor Nester
Monroeville will be down at Mapleton to face the Mounties in a
Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
They now trail Western Reserve by a game in the conference standings
after losing (38-36) to the Riders last week.
Coach Tylor Nester says they lost a real battle.
“It was a good game all around.
Coach (Ty) Stevenson does a really good job over there.
It seems like every time we get together it's a battle.
So, unfortunately, we didn't come out on top, but in the grand scheme
of things it was a great high school football game all around,” he said.
Nester says their goal this week is to get better as a football team.
“We talked about it after the game on Friday and then Saturday to
kind of lick your wounds a little bit, but we got back to work on Monday.
Everybody is hungry to continue to get better.
That's kind of been a thing for us. We
started off the year with those non league games 0-3 and we learned through
adversity you just have got to get back to work and evaluate yourself,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “Our word of the week this
week is discipline. Some of that
discipline is working inside ourselves.
Hey, what could I have done better? What do I need to do to continue
improving. Our kids are buying
into that. They're working
really hard right now.”
Monroeville (2-4,2-1) is at Mapleton (1-4,0-2) on Friday night.
The Mounties lost a tough one (41-40) in overtime to South Central in
“FC” action last week.
Nester says they can be dangerous.
“They have got a nice line up front Lucas Jenkins is returning,
probably one of the best uh lineman in the in the conference.
Along with #12 (Cameron) Nichols is their go to guy.
So, they have got some threats and they have got some guys up front.
They can move the ball when they get consistent with it,” he said.
Netser says they have to show discipline.
“You have got to be disciplined.
You can't get your eyes in the backfield with all the misdirection.
What we like to call eye candy for our linebackers.
So, we have to be locked into our reads across the board.
We have got to win the battle in the trenches for sure,” he said.
Published 10/02/26
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Centerburg
to Face Scrappy Cardington
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Colella
Centerburg, the co-leader in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference,
will be at home for winless Cardington in a “KMAC” game on Friday night.
They outlasted Loudonville (7-0) in a conference game last week.
Coach Andy Colella says it may not have been a work of beauty, but it
is still a win. “We kind of
joked around about it too. You
don't typically see that score anymore. I
don't even know the last time Centerburg had a score like that, but you're
just finding a way. Really at
the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you win by one or 30 or 40 or
whatever it is. We found a way
to win. There's a lot to build
on from that. There's a lot of
things to work on too moving forward into (Friday) night's game,” said
Colella.
Centerburg (4-2,3-0) hosts Cardington (0-6,0-3) on Friday night.
The Pirates were taken to the woodshed (57-7) by East Knox last week.
Colella says they have been dealing with the injury bug.
“I think the battling some injuries it looks like.
They’re kind of the same as us here.
It seems they have a scrappy bunch there.
Kind of similar to Loudonville last week,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “They have got some young guys out
there. They run a kind of a
version of the wing-T on offense. They
get after you on defense. So,
just like any week in the “KMAC” it's always a challenge.
We look forward to the opportunity.”
With games against Mt. Gilead, Danville and Fredericktown to close
the regular season, all quality teams, Colella says they must avoid a
letdown this week. “In the
locker room you don't want to look beyond where you're at right now, but I
think everybody kind of knows what's ahead.
So, you just have to use the opportunity to prepare yourselves as
best as you can as you move forward here and that's kind of the idea every
week for us,” he said.
Published 10/02/26
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Clear
Fork Has to Execute
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Brokaw
Clear Fork hosts Shelby in big game Friday night in the Mid-Ohio
Athletic Conference.
The Colts (5-1,2-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the large school division, trail Shelby and Ontario, both unbeaten,
by a game in the conference. A
win Friday night is a must.
They downed Marion Harding (21-7) last week in a conference game.
Coach Aaron Brohaw says they put it together in second half.
“It was a 7-7 game at the half and we had to get some things sorted
out. Got the guys squared away.
Just reaffirmed what we were doing assignment wise and we were able
to come out in the second half and sort of impose our will.
Play good defense. I
think we had a missed field goal and maybe one or two touchdowns called back
in the second half. Overall, we
did a lot of good things. Definitely
some things to work on and we've been focused on those this week in
practice,” said Brokaw.
Quarterback Marcus Hoeflich ran for 163 yards and running rack Trey
Sellers added 158 on the ground. The
Colts held Harding to 166 total yards.
Shelby (6-0,3-0), #1 in our poll, lit up River Valley (54-0) last
week.
Brokaw says Shelby can do a lot of things.
“I think they are pretty versatile. They've
been playing some good defense this year.
They're not giving up a lot of points.
They've been getting up on teams pretty early,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “Then they are able to dictate the
pace of play. Offensively,
they've still got some explosiveness. They're
different than they were a year ago, but they still really thrive on the big
play.”
Brokaw says the Whippets are a little different in the way they go
about it on offense, but still very explosive.
“I think it's maybe a little bit more a traditional pass game.
Not that the (Brayden) DeVito couldn’t throw last year because he
clearly could, but the big thing with him was he would just extend plays for
so long. It's a different animal
at quarterback for them this year, but also there's still a really talented
guy,” said Brokaw.
Michael Shepherd passed 285 yards and four TD’s against River
Valley.
Last week, the Vikings didn’t cross the 50 until the final moments.
Brokaw says you have to be very sharp in your going to move the ball.
“You have got to be able to execute your base schemes.
They're going to throw some things at us that we probably haven't
seen from film on them. We've
got to be able to make those adjustments and continue to stack positive play
after positive play,” he said.
Brokaw says they have to challenge Shelby.
“I think the more you can put them in positions they haven’t been
into a lot the better you are of increasing your chances of success,” he
said.
Published 10/01/26
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Orrville
Meets Northwest for Lead
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Brent Besancon
Orrville and Northwest share first place in the Principal’s
Athletic Conference and they meet on Friday night in Orrville for the
conference lead.
The Red Riders hammered Canton South (41-14) in conference play last
week.
When it comes to Northwest on Friday night and coach Brent Besancon
says these are the games that you want to play in.
“Those summer days and stuff like that and things are kind of
dogging along and you're like why am I doing this stuff? Well, it's for
weeks like this. So, yeah it's
good to get to something like this,” he said.
Orrville (5-1,3-0) hosts Northwest (6-0,2-0), #5 in the
Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school division, on
Friday night. The Indians
handled Akron Coventry (34-6) in a non-conference game last week.
Besancon says Northwest is run first team that also plays very solid
defense. “They can run the
football. They have really
patient running backs running between the tackles.
On defense, just so fundamentally sound.
They never seem out of position.
They don't run a lot of different coverages and not a lot of smoke
and mirrors. It's just good
fundamental football,” said Besancon.
Besancon says Northwest is a very patient team who is going to try
and play keep sway from the Red Riders.
“They are a time of possession team.
I don't even stat time of possession. I'm
sure if I click it up on Huddle I'd maybe find it.
You can just tell that their game is keeping the ball away from the
opposing team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “To them a
three yard gain is a great gain and it is.
The style that they play they can just munch along and chew the clock
up and they're happy to do that.”
Published 10/01/26
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Danville
Getting Better
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Matt Blum
Unbeaten Danville will be at home for Loudonville in a game in the
Knox Morrow Athletic Conference on Friday night.
The Blue Devils (6-0,3-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football
coaches poll in the small school division, share first place in the
conference with Centerburg, the defending champion.
Quarterback Parker Proper threw for 320 yards and seven touchdowns in
a (57-7) romp over Northmor last week.
Coach Matt Blum says they were able to get a lot of things going.
“I thought we did a really good job in our passing game.
Offensively, we were you able to execute some things on the edge and
downfield. So, I was pretty
happy with that. Defensively, I
thought we did a pretty good job containing their pass game along with their
run game getting off to the edges. So,
we did some good things, but we definitely have some things that we need to
clean up too,” he said.
Blum says this is a team that has continually gotten better as the
season has unfolded. “I think
the true testament to that is our young kids.
Week four when we put our young kids in they gave up a touchdown
against Fredericktown and last two weeks when we put our young kids in
they've been able to get some stops defensively,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “I think that shows the true
growth with those kids being able to get good reps while keeping the other
team’s offenses from scoring. So,
I think we're getting better, but have some other areas that we need clean
up as we progress throughout the rest of the season.
We're getting there, but we're not all the way there yet.”
Loudonville (3-3,1-2) lost (7-0) to Centerburg last week in
conference play. They have twice
scored more than 40 points this year.
Blum says they have some kids that can be dangerous.
“They have some really good players. I
really like their running back #21 (Collin Caley), really like the
quarterback that they've moved there a couple weeks ago #4 (Coltin Caley)
and then I think they have a nice weapon out on the edge in #0 (Chayse
Wright). So, I definitely think
they have some dynamic playmakers. We're
going to have to keep things in front of us defensively while being able to
attack downhill in the run game. Defensively,
I think they play really hard. So,
we're going to be able to execute offensively and sustain drives,” said
Blum.
Published 10/01/26
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Ashland
Has to Tackle
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Valentine
Ashland will be at home for the Mansfield Senior Tygers Friday night
in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game.
They lost their third straight game last week when Madison beat them
(21-7) in a conference game.
Coach Scott Valentine says again they just had too many mistakes at
bad times. “Like I said over
the weekend, it's one of those games it could have gone either way.
They made a few more plays and we had a couple breakdowns that we
have to get fixed. Again, we're
on to this week and getting ready for this week,” said Valentine.
Ashland (3-3,0-3) hosts Mansfield Senior (1-5,1-2) on Friday night.
The Tygers won their first game of the season last week when they
scored in the final minute to beat Lexington (32-27) in a league game.
Valentine says they must keep the Tygers from making big plays.
“Like always they are a very athletic group.
So, that's the thing they're looking to get some big plays and make
some plays,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “That's
something that for us we're going to have to keep them from making big plays
on defense, offense and special teams, especially offense and special teams.
So, offensively we just have to start executing better ourselves and
completing our drives.”
Mansfield has allowed at least four scores in every game this year.
Valentine says take advantage of their chances to score.
“We've lost a lot of opportunities with some mistakes and not being
consistent. So, those are the
things we're focusing on right now,” he said.
When they are on defense, Valentine says they have to keep the Tygers
in front of them. “The thing
is it is going to be our tackling. There's
no doubt they will make plays and if you don't tackle and move your feet and
run your feet through on tackles and finish them they're going to make those
big plays. So, we have got to
limit those for them this week,” said Valentine.
Published 10/01/26
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Lucas
Must Control Point of Attack
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jim Sweat
Lucas puts out the welcome mat for Buckeye Central in a Northern 10
Athletic Conference game on Friday night.
Last week, the Clubs fell (20-7) to Colonel Crawford in conference
action.
Coach Jim Sweat says it was a great start for the Cubs, but after
that they couldn’t convert. “We
started out the game and we had about a 10 minute, 16 play drive, and went
down and scored. It was good old
fashioned Lucas drive,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night,
“From there, we had some mental mistakes, they cost us us some penalties,
they cost us and couldn't finish drives after that.
It was a 14-7 ball game in the second half.
We had our opportunities and just couldn't finish drives and couldn't
take care of business.”
Lucas (3-3,2-2) hosts Buckeye Central (1-5,0-4) on Friday night.
The Bucks were smoked (32-0) by Willard in a conference game last
week.
Sweat says they have to come out and be focused in this game.
“They are unfortunately a lot like us, what I mean by that is that
they don't have a lot of numbers, a smaller school.
So, the kids play hard and they're coached well.
So, we'll have to take care of business to be successful on Friday
night,” he said.
Sweat says they want to put the Bucks behind the sticks.
“There's no doubt they're about 70 percent run and 30 percent pass.
They're a lot like us they don't want to throw the ball or unless
they need to throw the ball. Commanding
the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and playing mistake free
football is the key to victory this week for us,” said Sweat.
Published 10/01/26
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West
Holmes Must Win Matchups
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here to listen to an interview with coach Keaton Leppla
West Holmes makes the trip to Lexington to face the Minutemen in Ohio
Cardinal Conference play on Friday night.
They lost their first conference game last week when Dover outscored
them (56-35) last Friday,
Coach Keaton Leppla says they played about half of a game.
“We did what we wanted to do starting out the game.
We went up 14-0 and we kind of let our foot off the gas and took a
step back. Got a little bit
complacent with a good start which we have not had for very much of the
year. Offensively, we kind of
stuttered a little bit. Defensively,
throw out the first quarter, we played a really good first quarter and we
played a really good third quarter,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday afternoon, “Just weren't able to put those other two quarters
together. A couple of special
teams plays got us. So, for us
it shows that we're right there, that's a really good football team in Dover
right there. Our biggest focus
is we have got to get this team to play four quarters in all three phases of
the game.”
West Holmes (4-2,2-1) plays at Lexington (1-5,1-2) on Friday.
The Minutemen lost (32-27) to Mansfield Senior last week in an
“OCC” game.
Leppla says Lexington offers a lot of challenges.
“They are very athletic. They
have athletes all over the place. The
quarterback is really growing a lot this year being able to push the ball
downfield, scramble around back there make plays happen with his arm and his
legs. Up front in their run game they've loaded up the box and they've
really taken a toll on some teams with their physicalness.
So, looking at it from our defense perspective we see a lot of
physicalness on the offensive side. We
really, really have got to run to the ball and we have got to be physical
and establish the line of scrimmage,” said Leppla.
When they have the ball, Leppla says they will have to handle the
Lexington pressure. “For us as
an offense we look at them and they're bringing a lot of pressure, so we
have got to be ready up front to have our eyes up to see what's coming, to
see where the pressures are coming. With
as much man coverage as they play we have got to win our one-on-one matchups
and take advantage of our athletes,” he said.
Published 10/01/26
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Galion
Has to Help Itself
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Matt Dick
Galion will host Marion Pleasant in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play
on Friday night.
They lost a tough one last week as Highland railed to beat them
(24-21) in conference play.
Coach Matt Dick says they just kept shooting themselves in the foot
last week. “I thought we did
some really good things at different times in the game, but it just got away
from us. If I was being honest,
I felt like we kind of just gave it away.
You have to give Highland a lot of credit, especially the mic
linebacker (Kane) Stover. I
think he caused at least two different turnovers in the game,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “I think the turnovers gave them
momentum, short fields, and then they found the way to score and claw their
way back. It was an up and down
roller coaster, but the end of the day I really felt like our execution with
penalties, with holding penalties, false starts and turnovers.
Those things we have got to clean up.
It's been kind of our “Achilles Heel” all year and just kind of
showed their ugly face pretty bad at Highland last week.”
Galion (2-4,0-3) is at home for Pleasant (2-4,1-2) on Friday night.
The Spartans were dusted (42-28) last week by unbeaten Ontario in
conference play.
Dick says Pleasant wants to run the ball and they are good at it.
“I think they are a tough “MOAC” opponent.
You hope to have the ball in fourth quarter with a chance to win. They
do a great job of running the ball in a variety of different ways with their
quarterback, sometimes they move him to running back.
They just really overload a side and play smash mouth football. I
think their kids do a great job of being physical and being disciplined and
that'll be a challenge,” he said.
Weston Shaffer leads the “MOAC” in rushing with 1163 yards.
Dick says they have been able to play physical football this year.
“I do think that we've played you know lots of physical teams this
year, Highland was physical. I
thought our defense last Friday that was probably a bright spot.
I really felt like they got better as the game went on.
My problem is we started giving them short fields.
I hope that our defense, and some of the stuff we did in the second
half, we can start that way this week and I think it will make a good game.
Pleasant is definitely a tough challenge to stop the run,” said
Dick.
Published 10/01/26
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South
Central to Play First Place Western
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Derek Fisher
South Central will be on the road at first place Western Reserve on
Friday night for a game in the Firelands Conference.
Last week, the Trojans railed to beat Mapleton (41-40) in overtime in
a conference game. They led by
two scores going into the fourth quarter, gave up three straight tallies,
and then won in the end.
Coach Derek Fisher says they have been good at executing at crunch
time. “It was a wild game.
It had a little bit of everything.
As I mentioned before situational football four times this year we've
had one score games and three times we have pulled them out.
So, proud of our kids, proud of our effort.
Hats off to Mapleton and they came ready to play.
Wild game, happy to come out on top.
It makes it a little nicer there at the end of the night,” said
Fisher.
South Central (3-3,2-1) travels to Western Reserve (6-0,3-0), #4 in
the Swankonsports.com coaches poll in the small school division, on Friday
night. The Riders scored with
less two minutes to play to edge Monroeville (38-36) and claim first place
to themselves last week.
Fisher says the Riders are just talented all over the field.
“They're good at everything. Coaching,
execution, they've got athletes, they've got speed, they've got size,
they've got a little bit of everything.
They know who they are and they fit those roles perfectly.
They play to their scheme, they play to their system,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “You can tell that they are pretty
good at game planning for teams. They
know who they're getting and they know how to utilize their personnel and
their schemes. They come up with
stuff that kind of catches teams off guard.
So, it's just kind of a perfect combination of a lot of good things
going in their favor right now.”
Fisher says they need to do a lot of things well to have a chance.
“They have great play design, great execution, and a lot of good
athletes. So, you have got to
keep your eyes on your keys and do the right thing try to eliminate the big
play, try to win the turnover battle, etc.
You can't give these guys a short field, can't give them an easier
chance than what they already need to score.
Try to hold them at bay as best as we can,” he said.
Published 10/01/26
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Wynford
to Play Rival Colonel Crawford
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andrew Amlin
Wynford plays at home against rival Colonel Crawford in Northern 10
Athletic Conference action on Friday night.
They were handled (35-7) by Mohawk in a conference game last week.
Coach Adrew Amlin says the end of the first half put them in a bad
spot. “I felt pretty good
mostly through the first half. It
was 14-0 with about three minutes to go in the first half.
We just kind of fell apart there a little bit and it’s 28-0 at the
half. That was a huge difference
in our momentum at halftime. So,
they came out and they drove the ball down the field a couple times.
They did a nice job and they made less mistakes we did.
So, there were some positives out of that game.
We didn't quit the second half that felt really good for us as a
coaching staff, so it's on a Crawford,” said Amlin.
Wynford (2-4,1-3) play host to Colonel Crawford (3-3,2-2) on Friday
night. The Eagles beat Lucas
(20-7) in a conference game last week.
Amlin says Crawford is really good football team.
“Their a good football team. Hopewell-Loudon
and them were tied at 22 piece. I
think they ended up losing by touchdown and Hopewell is really good team.
They played really well and had every opportunity to win that game.
We watched them versus Carey and really they kind of moved the ball
the more consistent than Carey,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
evening, “Carey just had a couple big plays.
So, that was really even match too, 16-0. So,
they do things very well offensively. They
are in multiple sets. They do a
lot of good things with that. Defensively,
they're very sound. They don’t
make many mistakes. They have
got a good coaching staff with a lot experience and a lot of players.
They do a good job over there.”
Amlin says this game, the “Iron Plow” game, does has a rivalry
feel to it. “The kids
know each other too, so there's talk and talk to each other this day and age
with social media and all that stuff. So,
it’s a rival, it's a big game for us.
This week and next are our two biggest rivals. So,
hopefully we can come out play well and see how all the pieces fall,” he
said.
Published 10/01/26
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Northmor
Must be Physical
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Armrose
Northmor plays over at Fredericktown against the Freddies Friday
night in Knox Morrow Athletic Conference play.
The Golden Knights (1-5,1-2) were overwhelmed (57-7) by unbeaten
Danville in the “KMAC” last week.
Coach Scott Armrose says it was not a good week for them.
“Our schedule's been brutal. We
play a lot of really good football teams.
We've seen some good opponents and Danville's just as good as any of
them. They did everything right,
we made mistakes, they took advantage of all those mistakes.
So, we're just looking to the future now,” said Armrose.
Fredericktown (4-2,2-1) beat Mt. Gilead (21-12) last week.
Armrose says this is a team that wants to be physical.
“The way that they run their offense it's very physical style of
offense and that bleeds down through the entire team.
They play physical football, they take a lot of pride in their
physical football and you can see it on offense and on defense,” said
Armrose.
Armrose says to have success Friday night is they must be physical.
“That’s our key to victory we have to match their physicality.
We have to play a physical football game.
They force you to play a fundamental football game when on defense.
You have to do things right defensively and if you don't they take
advantage,” he said.
When you play Fredericktown Armrose says they are going to be patient
and you cannot lose yours. “If
everybody does their job and does what they're supposed to do it's going to
be tough for them to find seams, but you get one guy that gets himself up
feel too far they find a seam and they're gone,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Wednesday evening, “They're a kind of football team that's not afraid
to use up an entire quarter on a drive.
They'll do that if you let them and it makes it tough to get your
offense going because you're not on the field very much.”
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Ontario
Focused on Improved Harding
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Eckert
Ontario, the “MOAC” co-leader, takes to the field at home on
Friday night against Marion Harding in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play.
Last week, the Warriors (6-0,3-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com
football coaches poll in the large school division, beat Marion Pleasant
(42-28) in league play.
Coach Aaron Eckert is happy with the win.
“I think anytime you get into league play in the “MOAC” it's
tough a game and last week was no exception.
Pleasant is really tough. They
have got a great quarterback over there that runs the ball really and
effectively. So, it's one of
those games for us that we probably didn't exceed people's expectations just
on paper, but at the end of the day we won the game and did enough to do
that. So, we're happy with
moving on,” said Eckert.
Quarterback Sean Tanner threw for 318 yards and four TD’s last week
against Pleasant.
Marion Harding (4-2,2-1) lost (21-7) to Clear Fork in an “MOAC”
game.
Eckert says Harding is young and improving.
He says they are athletic. “They're
a young team. They've gotten a
lot better over the course between last year and this year.
They're starting to play really good football.
They're a scary team in the “MOAC,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday afternoon, “They have some athletes, they have some big offensive
lineman to do a nice job of creating holes.
They’re trying to be a physical football team.
So, for us it's about coming out and doing what we do and then trying
to match that physicality and executing when we can.”
Harding quarterback Dez Feliciano is among league passing leaders and
Marcus McGary is among the rushing leaders.
Eckert says they show balance. “I'd
say they're probably one of the more balanced teams in our league.
They're about 50/50 run-pass. So,
anytime a team gets there you can't just key on one thing.
Then again, they have athletes and they put them in space.
They've got a big offensive line they like to run behind that is
getting a lot better it looks week to week.
So, they're a pretty balanced attack and I wouldn't expect anything
different from them on Friday night,” said Eckert.
Now, the big game against Shelby next week is already generating
excitement.
Eckert says they can’t be thinking about the Whippets.
“You can't win any game in the future, you can win the game that's
present for us that's Harding this week.
We'll deal with whoever comes after Harding after that.
Our focus this week, it’s homecoming, and we have enough
distractions to worry about at Ontario with homecoming this week.
So, we're focused on Marion Harding and doing the best we can on
Friday night with that game,” he said.
Published 9/30/26
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Carey
and Seneca East to Collide
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jonathan Mershman
Carey plays host to Seneca East in a battle between contenders Friday
night in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference.
Right now, the Blue Devils share first place with Hopewell-Loudon and
Mohawk. Seneca East is a game
back.
Last week, the Blue Devils (4-2,4-0) blanked Tiffin Calvert (35-0) in
conference play.
Coach Jonathan Mershman says they were far from perfect.
“I thought we played really well offensively and defensively,
especially Friday night. We had
some good plays on special teams and we have got some things we need to fix
on special teams. Overall, I
thought overall focus and overall play was good,” said Mershman.
Seneca East (5-1,3-1) is coming off a tremendous effort in beating
Bucyrus (41-0) last week.
Mershman says they must be able to deal with the Tigers size.
“Well, they have got good size everywhere, they're dynamic on
offense and they run around and get to the ball on defense.
If you can't take care of that size that they have up front it's
going to be a long night,” he said.
Branson Robinson is second in the conference in passing yards with
1246, but Jackson Gayheart has almost 600 on the ground.
Mershman says they have to have a solid defensive game plan.
“If you look at stats I think they're very close to being 50/50
yard wise,” he told Swannkonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “On defense
you got to be balanced and ready to go for either one.
So, it's a big challenge for our defensive coaches and they need to
make sure that they have everything buttoned up this week.”
Gayheart is third in the “N10” in tackles, Carey has the top two,
and Mershaman says they have to control him.
“I mean #44 for them it seems like he's been there for years, which
he has been there for years, but I mean more years than you would think.
He's a good player for them and he's a good plugger.
He does a lot of good work for them flowing over the top,” said
Mershman.
Published 9/30/26
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St.
Paul Starting to Run the Ball
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Chris Doughty
Norwalk St. Paul will be at home for Crestview in a Firelands
Conference game on Friday night.
On Saturday, they walloped New London (49-0) in a conference game at
Contractor’s Stadium.
Coach Chris Doughty says they did a lot of very good things.
“We started off the game really well with a kickoff return a
touchdown and kind of never looked back from there.
Our defense did a great job of forcing three and outs.
Offensively, we did a great job of moving the ball.
Accomplishing some things we've been trying to work for and did that
Saturday night,” he said.
Doughty says a big thing for them was being able to run the football
successfully. “The big thing
we were able to do was run the football and score some points.
We ended up having 450 yards of offense total for the game.
We ran for you know a little over 400,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Tuesday might, “Those are some things that within our offense that's
going to put us in the best position to win football games.
So, that's something we can continue to build off of.
A lot of it came down to the kids using better technique and better
blocking backside to give our running backs some cut back lanes and we were
able to that.”
St. Paul (2-3,1-1) hosts Crestview (1-5,0-2) on Friday night.
The Cougars are coming off their first win of the season in beating
Springfield Catholic Central (47-7) in a non-conference game last week.
Doughty says the Cougars are young, but improving.
“Crestview has got a lot of young guys playing and with that I
think they're doing some good things over there with improving those young
guys. They're going to have a
real good team here in the next couple years.
I think they're battling. Their
record is what it is, but they're continuing to improve,” he said.
Doughty says Crestview can throw it, they threw for 153 yards last
week, but he says they are still a run first team.
“Offensively they like to run the football.
They've worked a couple different kids at a quarterback this year.
Both a senior #16 and a freshman, the younger (Carson) Keener, has
played some quarterback form them. They're
not afraid to throw the ball with them, but they're main focus is to run the
football. Defensively, they're
still running their 3-3 stack defense. It’s
not quite as aggressive as it's been in the past, but they've still done a
nice job of developing their defense overall,” said Doughty,
Published 9/30/26
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Quakers
Must Start Better
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Johnson
New Philadelphia, now a game back in the Ohio Cardinal Conference,
will visit Madison in an “OCC” game on Friday night.
They lost (17-10) to Wooster in a conference game last week.
Coach Mike Johnson says they just didn’t get enough done on
offense. “I thought Wooster
played a good game. I thought we
had some opportunities and didn't make the most out of those and to their
credit they made plays and we didn't play good enough offense I think to get
there. Our defense played pretty
well. I think our special teams
and offense didn't play as well as we needed them to.
So, that's been a big focus this week is let's clean that stuff up,
let's get better, and let's hit the road and head out to Madison,” said
Johnson.
Johnson says early their execution wasn’t up to standard and they
made a lot of mistakes, including by the head coach.
“In the first half I don't think we were clean enough.
We cleaned it up and we played a much better second half. I
told the kids I had a call, I should have had a timeout, and I had a bad
fourth down call that didn't help us. So,
I told them I didn't help them in some spots.
We all need to be better gone into week seven,” he said.
New Philadelphia (2-4,2-1) is at Madison (3-3,1-2) on Friday night.
The Rams beat Ashland (21-7) in “OCC” action last week.
Johnson says Rams can make plays on offense and will be aggressive on
defense. “They just keep
getting better. From last year
to this year they are much improved. They
have some young skilled guys who contribute.
Some old skilled guys who contribute and play pretty well,” he told
Swankonsports.com Tuesday evening, “They spread the ball out and they
spread it around pretty well on offense.
Defensively, they play a 3-3 stack get after you.
They send a little pressure and it confuses offensive lines.
They look pretty good at doing some of those things.
We are going to have to weather the storm up front, come off the ball
pretty well on the offensive line and try to get the ball to our playmakers
and our playmakers hands.”
Johnson believes playing well early is going to be important for the
Quakers. “We have got to come
out and we have got to make some plays early in this game without a doubt.
If you're able you know go down the field, drive, and score and put
pressure on them it puts you in a better position than trying to make a play
or hoping to make a play because that never works,” he said.
Published 9/30/26
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Tygers
Getting Confident
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach David Phillips
Mansfield Senior plays at Ashland in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game
on Friday night.
They won their first game of the season as David Phillips III threw a
56-yard TD pass to Xavier Taylor with less than a minute to play to give the
Tygers a (32-27) win over rival Lexington last week.
Coach Davis Phillips says he is happy for the kids.
“It was a thriller man. I’m
truly proud of the kids getting their first “W” of the season.
We hadn’t rung that bell at home since 2023.
So, proud for the community, but the kids are the most important,”
said Phillips.
Phillips says the win over Lexington was very important to them
mentally. “They get a lot of
more confidence, especially my young guys, my young kids, my freshmen, I’m
playing a lot of freshmen,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening,
“So the confidence they have is a blessing to them.
Like I said, I’m proud of them. I’m glad for them.
We have to move forward as a team.”
Mansfield Senior (1-5,1-2) will be over at Community Stadium to face
Ashland on Friday. The Arrows
(3-3,0-3) lost (21-7) to Madison in “OCC” play last week.
The Arrows have lost three in a row, but Phillips says he sees the
things you always see with Ashland. “Ashland
has that traditional five wide. They
have a good quarterback. They
always have a great defensive line. They
play hard and are disciplined. Valentine's
a great coach and we are going to see what we get,” he said.
Published 9/30/26
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Fredericktown
Needs Depth
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Spitler
Fredericktown will host Northmor in game in the Knox Morrow Athletic
Conference on Friday night.
Last week, the Freddies (4-2,2-1) beat Mt. Gilead (21-12) in a
conference game.
Coach Scott Spitler says they played well with exception of some
hiccups in the red zone. “I'm
pleased with how the kids played. A
little disappointed in the fact that in the first half I thought we left
some points on the field. I
thought we played to the point where we controlled the first half really
well, but we shot ourselves in the foot and inside 10 yard line a couple
times and came away with no points. So,
a little disappointed in that. So,
we have to clean that up. To
play a quality, well coached team like Mt. Gilead and get a hard fought
victory was very pleasing. I
like where our kids are headed. I
think we're progressing with a relatively young team.
I think we're growing each week.
I wish we would have gotten out of it a little bit more healthier.
We're starting to get a little bit by the injury bug and that's a
little concern. We just have to
have guys step up. Next man up
mentality,” said Spitler.
Spitler says they are always trying to build more depth on their
roster. “That’s kind of how
we approach it with our kids. I
think the way we practice and continue practice I think we do a really good
job. There's been several weeks
where we've had 30 some or 40 some guys that have gotten in on Friday night
and play significant roles. Whether
it be an offense, defense or special teams.
So, when you're getting guys out there and getting them some
experience to play on Friday night that helps you in these situations.
So, we're going to lean on some of those guys and get them coached up
and ready to go against a good Northmor team,” he said.
Northmor (1-5,1-2) was dominated (57-7) by Danville in a conference
game last week.
Spitler says despite their record, the Golden Knights are a pretty
good team. “I think their
record is deceiving. They played
some real good football teams. They
played North Union, they played Smithville, who’s undefeated, they played
Danville, who is 6-0. They
played some really good football teams, buy they're a very good football
team. They have just taken some
tough ones early in the season,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
night, “They will stress you with their offense.
They have got Tanner Milley back at quarterback, the kid back in
(Brad) Bowlin at wide receiver. They have got a really nice tight end in the
(Jackson) Welch kid. Nice size
up front led by Rodney Acord at tackle.
Here's a nice kid at like 6’4”, 240.
So, they have got good size, they have got a good mix of balance
offensively with passing and running. Then
defensively they really get after you. The
Acord is leading our conference and tackles for loss from the defense end
position. So, it's going to be
quite the battle.”
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Bellevue
Going About Business
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Alex Shepherd
Bellevue will make the short trip to Huron to take on the Tigers in a
game in the Bay Division of the Northern Ohio Conference on Friday night.
They won their Bay Division opener last week with a (42-10) thumping
of the Edison Chargers,
Bellevue fell behind (7-0) and then coach Alex Shepherd says they got
busy. “We started a little
slow on that first drive defensively. We
challenged our kids to change it and we did.
From there we had a lot of success after that.
So, clearly it turned into a great show on Friday,” said Shepherd.
Quarterback Ike Brown threw for 273 yards and ran for another 103
against Edison.
Bellevue (4-2,1-0) is at Huron (0-6,0-1) lost (35-21) to unbeaten
Port Clinton in a Bay Division game last week.
Shepherd says this is a team that is dangerous.
“They have good size and some good skill athletes.
The quarterback does a nice job,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday afternoon, “They have played a tough schedule and they've come up
short. Watching them on film
they look very capable. So, it's
going to be another test.”
Shepherd says Huron is going to be hungry.
“They are struggling a little bit, at least record wise.
They are going to come out playing with nothing to lose.
We have got to expect a four quarter battle.
So, we have to have a great week practice this week and go out with
the same mentality we do every week,” he said.
Published 9/30/26
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Bucyrus
Wants to Compete
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jon Butchko
Bucyrus will be over at Upper Sandusky to face the Rams in a Northern
10 Athletic Conference game on Friday night.
They were smoked (41-0) by Seneca East in a conference game.
Coach Jon Butchko says late in first half they made some mistakes and
got themselves behind. “We had
a hot start. We came out and our
players did what we asked them to do and that's trade punches with one of
the teams that is constantly at the top of the league.
I thought for about a quarter and a half we were matching them stride
for stride and then they pop a big run out of there and hit a long pass play
and we have a turnover on downs and the special teams game on a mishandled
punt snap. It just kind of went
on from there. Our effort was
very, very good early on. Hey,
we knew was a tall order with a good team and for a while, like I said, we
traded punches with who's at the top of the league,” said Butchko.
Butchko says they want to compete every week on every down.
“Of course, we talk wins and losses, but more than that we use
words like compete and improve and we've done that at every stop in my head
coaching career. Those are the
most important points of focus. I
think they're doubly important for us right now.
We have to focus on the process of improvement, the process of
competition on an every snap basis. We
play some young guys, we play some undersized guys, especially on the
interior. We want to make sure
that those guys understand even if it's a tall order that great technique,
great physical strength, great preparation can carry you a long way in high
school football. That's part of
the beauty of this thing,” he said.
Bucyrus (3-3,2-2) is at Upper (2-4,1-3) on Friday night.
The Rams played well overall, but lost (32-10) to unbeaten
Hopewell-Loudon in “N10” game last week.
Butchko says this is going another tough one for the Redmen.
“I think this is the most complete Upper team in the four years
that I've been here. Russell
(Hall) does a great job over there. First
and foremost, he’s a good friend, but a great football coach.
They seem to have very, very few holes. I
like what they're doing defensively. They're
as fast as they've ever been on the defensive side of the football. I'm
sure he would tell you they are as athletic as they've been on the defensive
side of the football in in quite some time and certainly in the last four
years,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Offensively, that
quarterback he does a great job. He's
gotten more into the RPO stuff. He
competes, he took a shot and left the game temporarily last week and came
right back and captained the few scoring drives to take what everybody
believes is the best team in the conference to the half in a one score game
and play that game pretty tight for most of the night.
Hey, this is another a team that might be ahead of us. I
don't know where they compare to Seneca East and the rest of the conference,
but they're certainly ahead of us right now.
We know it's going to take a great effort, another great effort, to
come out victorious.”
Published 9/30/26
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“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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Madison
Needs an Even Better Performance
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Kobi Johnson
Madison, coming off a big win over Ashland, returns home to host the
New Philadelphia Quakers in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday
night.
Last week, the Rams (3-3,1-2) downed Ashland (21-7) in an “OCC”
game on Friday.
Coach Kobi Johnson says they did a solid job executing on both sides
of the ball. “I was really
proud of our guys. I thought we
competed at a much higher level for 48 minutes of the game.
It helps when you get off to a good start, but you can't get off to a
good start without kind of executing some of your stuff.
Our guys did a really nice job of making some improvements from last
week to this week to be able to go out there and get off to that start that
we needed. I felt like that gave
us a little bit of life to be able to start to put together some drives.
Both sides of the ball competed at a high level.
So, still plenty to learn from and get better from the Ashland game.
We're going to have to do that to beat another good team in New
Philadelphia,” said Johnson.
Madison had not beaten Ashland since 2014 and not won at Community
Stadium since 2005.
New Philadelphia (2-4,2-1) was upset last week by Wooster (17-10) in
a conference game.
Johnson says they have a really good run game.
“I see a really well coached team.
I think coach (Mike) Johnson does a nice job over there and his kids
play really hard. They have got
a couple nice running backs, a quarterback that can make some plays and
extend things. For us it's going
to be a big challenge to make sure that one we're matching their physicality
from a defensive standpoint and doing everything we can to slow down their
run game, but also being aware that they have some nice athletes out there
at receiver and a quarterback that can get them the ball.
So, from a defensive perspective we have got our work cut out for us
to go out and perform at a high level,” he said.
Johnson says they execute well on defense too, but it is something
they have some familiarity with too. “Defensively,
I think they're always really sound and do some nice things with rolling
their coverage,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Similar to
what we've seen a little bit out of Ashland.
So, it's nice to kind of have a similar front scheme that we're going
against this week because the same very similar to last week, but they do
some things a little bit differently. It's
going to take a good week of preparation for us to go out and get after it
to try to get a big win.”
Published 9/29/26
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Crawford
Again Must Stop the Run
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jake Bruner
Colonel Crawford will be over at Wynford to face their longtime
rivals the Royals in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game on Friday night.
They beat Lucas (20-7) in a league game last week.
Coach Jake Bruner says they did enough to beat a solid team.
“Sometimes you have to win those. Lucas
did a great job of running the football and eating clock.
Kudos to them and luckily we were able to get out there with a
win,” he said.
Bruner says he was most impressed by their consistency on the
defensive side of the football. “I
think we were consistent on defense. They
took the ball the opening drive and went 90 yards in it felt like an
eternity. A lot of fourth down
conversions running the ball down our throat.
We only had two possessions in the first half, but we scored on both.
So, we were effective and efficient that way.
They didn't score the rest of the night and we got some turnovers.
So, that said a lot about our improvement that way,” said Bruner.
Crawford (3-3,2-2) is at Wynford (2-4,1-3) on Friday night.
The Royals were trashed (35-7) to Mohawk.
Bruner says they are team that wants to run first and they have the
players to do it. “I see a
program that's got a long, storied history and a huge rival in our county.
They've really played pretty well this year consistently.
They've got some really big playmakers in the (Deegan) Lutz kid and
the (Braylon) Wells kid. The run
the ball really well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon,
“They have got some big players up front on the offensive line.
They just done a tremendous job of running the ball and playing
defensive here. We know in a
rival game records are thrown out. It's
going to be a war, a county war, and it always has been.
It's what makes high school football great.”
Bruner says on Friday night they have to win on first down.
“Like Friday night, first down was a key Friday night.
When Lucas gets two or three yards and that's a win for them.
Wynford is running the ball like them as well.
They have, I would say they have some probably big play offensive
players with Lutz and Wells at quarterback.
Those two kids run really hard and they're both really fast and
they're both really tough. So,
it's going to re a big challenge for our defense,” said Bruner.
Published 9/29/26
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“Your First Source for All Things Sports”
“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
Hillsdale
has to do its’ Job
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Trevor Cline
Hillsdale hosts Northwestern on Friday night in a game in the Wayne
County Athletic League.
Last week, the Falcons (4-2,2-1) scored 35 points in the first
quarter and hammered Waynedale (62-7) in a league game last week.
Coach Trevor Cline they got off to a good start and that’s what
they wanted. “Last week we did
a really good job of getting off to a fast start and that's what we hoping
out players would do get off to a good start and that's exactly what they
did. It's always good to do that
against a league opponent and just not let them hang around,” he said.
The Falcons had 409 yards of offense, the Golden Bears had 117.
Northwestern (2-4,0-2) lost (34-0) to unbeaten Smithville in
“WCAL” play last week.
Cline says the Huskies are younger, but they do have kids that can
make plays. “Northwestern is a
younger team and they're making major strides in the right direction.
They got a pretty good start there getting a couple wins early.
Now getting in the league play gets a little bit tougher,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They are definitely improving.
They have got some really good skilled position players.
One of the receivers is one of the better receivers that's ever came
out of our area stat wise. So,
we have got to slow those guys down and make them have to earn their scores.
If we're able to do that, we'll put ourselves in good position on
Friday.”
Cline expects Northwestern to use some different pressures to get
them to make quick decisions. “Defensively,
they are aggressive. They like
to blitz a good amount, so we have got to get those guys picked up, so we
can turn average plays into big plays. We
have just got to continue to do what we're doing.
That’s just us taking care of business.
All 11 guys doing their jobs. If
we do that, we'll going to put ourselves in a good position on Friday
night,” said Cline.
Published 9/29/26
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“Your First Source for All Things Sports”
“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM
Crestview
Has to Win the Trenches
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Steve Haverdill
Crestview will be at Norwalk St. Paul to battle the Flyers in a
Firelands Conference game on Friday night.
The Cougars (1-5,0-2) won their first game of the season last week in
destroying Springfield Catholic Central (47-7) in a non-conference game.
Coach Steve Haverdill says that win felt good.
“We got off to a good start, especially after a two hour bus ride
and we're able to just keep it going. Being
able to put 41 up in the first half was a good feeling.
The kids enjoyed it and now hopefully we can carry that into this
coming week,” he said.
Haverdill says now they have to take that momentum forward and build
on that for this week. “They're building confidence.
When you get that confidence and you know that you can get it done.
Now let's continue to put the work in, continue to do the things
we've been trying to do every single week to get better.
It's another week to try and get better and play a really good
football team on the road,” said Haverdill.
St. Paul (2-3,1-1) played its best game of the season last week when
they smoked New London (49-0) in a conference game on Saturday night.
Haverdill says they kind of expect the same ole St. Paul.
“They are hardnosed. It’s
the same St. Paul. They're going
to run it right at you and play solid defense, but if you fall asleep on it,
they can hit you a little bit in the air as well,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We just have got to continue to
play a strong four quarters and continue to battle and continue to do the
things that we've been doing to improve on our mistakes. If
we can do that then like I said hopefully we can play in this football game
and come up with another win.”
Haverdill says the outcome of this game is going to be determined up
front. “If you go back and
look at the last eight years the games between us and whoever has won up
front has won the game. So, the
offensive and defensive line pays a huge part in this game, and it will
again Friday night,” he said.
Published 9/29/26
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“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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PM
Highland
Respects River Valley
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stover
Highland will be on the road at winless River Valley in Mid-Ohio
Athletic Conference play on Friday night.
They scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and rallied to beat
Galion (24-21) in a “MOAC” game last week.
Coach Ty Stover says it was a good week for them.
“I thought we really came back alive a little bit after our week
with Shelby and competed and was physical, ran the football, took some
takeaways on defense and minimized penalties.
So, it was a step forward for us and makes us pretty happy,” he
said.
Fullback Kane Stover 143 yards rushing and two touchdowns last week
for the Fighting Scots.
Coach Stover says they have to take that momentum forward.
“That's been the conversation (Monday) and will be for the week.
It's got to be a stepping stone, but you have got to put it in the
past also. We're trying to do
that. I think the only way to do
that is by getting your hands dirty and getting back to work and raising the
expectations another notch and see if the kids respond on Friday,” said
Stover.
Highland (2-4,1-2) is at River Valley (0-6,0-3) on Friday night.
The Vikings were taken to the woodshed (54-0) by Shelby last week.
The Vikings did not cross the 50 until the game’s final moments.
Stover says they have players, including 6’5” tight end Cater
Meyers. “They've been in a
spot where we have been struggling a little bit as of late.
I know how desperate you feel inside and want to get things going the
right way. So, they'll be spread
offense. They'll run a little
bit of like a 4-2-5 on defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
evening, “They've got some kids in good spots.
They've got the young man that's going to Wake Forest on the edge.
So, we'll have our hands full in certain spots.
I think it'll all come down to once again who can run the football
and who can control that clock and shrink the game down.
If we were able to do that, we'll be in good shape on Friday.”
Published 9/29/26
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“Your First Source for All Things Sports”
“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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Columbian
Must be Fundamental
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Ottney
Tiffin Columbian will host winless Norwalk on Friday in a game in the
Lake Division of the Northern Ohio Conference.
They blasted Sandusky (47-0) last week in a conference opener.
Coach Ryan Ottney says they played a complete game.
“I was very proud of our guys.
I think this was the first time all season we finally saw us hit on
all cylinders on both offense, defense and special teams.
So, it was nice to actually to put a complete game together,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We've been fighting for that the
entire season. We've had moments
when we've all played well and then moments where one of us or two of us are
kind of letting each other down that side of it.
So, it was a great performance by our guys and well deserved win for
us.”
Columbian (4-2,1-0) is at home for Norwalk (0-6,0-0) on Friday night.
They were throttled (41-0) by Vermilion.
They have not scored in their last three games and only once since
week one.
Ottney says they run a wing-T offense and that is something you
don’t see much anymore. “The
biggest thing right now is focusing on Norwalk and what they do.
They run the wing-T, so that’s a unique offense that we have to
prepare for. So, we have spent a
great deal of time (Monday) talking with our players about that.
What they're trying to do defensively and trying to prepare ourselves
as we get ready for these next two days of hard practice,” he said.
The wing-T can be deceptive with a lot of fakes.
Ottney says they have to have eye discipline.
“You have got to read your keys.
That’s the biggest thing we were talking to guys about (Monday).
Making sure aren’t getting lazy and trying to make what we call a
“hero” play. That's when you
mess up and that's when they usually hit you.
We have to stay disciplined in what we're doing and making sure that
we don't have any issues and we lose focus at any moment in the game and not
give them any opportunities to have success,” said Ottney.
Published 9/29/26
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“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM
Mohawk
Must Contain Rothaar
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eric Daniel
Mohawk takes its act to Willard Friday night to battle the Flashes in
a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game.
Quarterback Andon Clouse threw three touchdown passes and the
Warriors buried Wynford (35-7) last week in “N10” play.
He has thrown a league high 17 on the season.
Coach Eric Daniel says they have responded really well to adversity
this year. “We've been pretty
fortunate. We've had some guys
step up over the last couple weeks with some guys out.
I've been very proud of our kids for stepping up.
Everybody's got to give a little more when you're a little banged up.
Just really proud of our kids for kind of making it happen over the
last couple weeks when we're down a couple guys.
So, hopefully we can continue that.
The task at hand gets even more challenging every week.
Willard's going to be very tough.
They're playing pretty good football right now,” said Daniel.
Mohawk (5-1,4-0) is at Willard (3-3,1-3) on Friday.
The Flashes got their first ever win in the “N10” with a (32-0)
whipping of Buckeye Central last week.
The week before they lost (29-14) to Seneca East and Daniel says the
Flashes are really improved. “The
last two weeks it's like they have gotten a lot better.
They were driving down with a couple minutes to go in the fourth
quarter to potentially take the lead against Seneca East.
They gave up a score really late and it ended up a two score game.
Seneca East is a good football team.
They were able to play keep away and control the clock, control the
ball, and had 12 to 15 to 18 play drives and that's the sign of a pretty
good football team,” he said.
Daniel says for Willard, quarterback Jake Rothaar is a playmaker with
tremendous potential. “That
quarterback, everything runs through him.
He's a dude man, he's very tough, he's hard to square up, he's very
physical and shifty. He creates
really well with his legs and his arms.
The offense kind of goes through him,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Monday evening, “It flows through him.
He's a good one to have it go through.
He's one of the shiftiest kids I've seen on film this year.
So, we certainly have to be sound in our run fits and be sound on the
back end when plays break down.”
Published 9/29/26
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Mt.
Gilead Meets East Knox This week
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Reid
Mt. Gilead is over at East Knox this week in play in the Knox Morrow
Athletic Conference on Friday night.
In a smash mouth kind of football game last week, the Indians fell
(21-12) to Fredericktown in league play.
Coach Mike Reid says it was physical just like they thought it would
be. “It was very, very
physical. Credit to coach
(Scott) Spitler and his boys. They
came out ready to play and they took control up front right away.
However, after that first drive, we were able to get a couple of
great defensive stops. Our
problem was we couldn't finish. We
couldn't finish any drives. We
moved the ball really, really well, but we couldn't finish drives though,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “We finally got within one
point in the third quarter. We
scored a touchdown to make it 7-6 and we didn't make the extra point.
They came back and scored right away.
It was a great battle. We
put together a great drive in the fourth quarter and we're able to score
with about two minutes left. We
tried a two point conversion, I'm sure it was really exciting to be a fan
there, but it wasn’t exciting to be on the losing end of that.
My guys battled really hard, so I’m awful proud of them for
battling back. Like I said, I
think we missed some opportunities, but give credit to Fredericktown they
were a better team last Friday.”
Mt. Gilead (3-3,1-2) is at East Knox (4-2,1-2) on Friday.
The Bulldogs crushed Cardington (57-7) on Friday night.
Reid says they have speed and are scrappy.
“They've done a great job over there.
They continue to be a real scrappy program.
The kids play really hard, really fast, with great confidence and
like I said they're really scrappy offensively and defensively,” he said.
Reid says they are going to have to deal with that speed.
“I coached against their coach when he was a player.
Coach (Greg) Steinmetz is doing just an energetic job with his kids
over there at East Knox. It's
going to be another tough ball game for us. It's
going to be a really physical battle with those guys.
They have great speed across the board.
Even their linemen are pretty quick and that's going to be quite a
challenge for us,” said Reid.
Published 9/29/26
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“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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PM
Upper
Sandusky to Play Improved Bucyrus
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Russell Hall
Upper Sandusky will entertain Bucyrus in a Northern 10 Athletic
Conference on Friday night.
Last week, they trailed by four points in the second half before
falling (32-10) to unbeaten Hopewell-Loudon in a conference game.
Coach Russell Hall says they played very well, but couldn’t pull it
off in the end. “Our game plan
going in was to try and keep it a one score game going in the fourth quarter
and we were able to do that. Then
unfortunately we started running out of time a little bit. I
called a fake punt that I probably shouldn't have called there and I gave
them a super short field to get another score and things like that.
Super proud of our kids to give that sort of effort, focus all week
in practice and give that effort last week.
It didn't bounce our way for four quarters,” said Hall.
Upper Sandusky (2-4,1-3) is at home for Bucyrus (3-3,2-2) in a
conference game. Seneca East
smoked the Redmen (41-0) last week in an “N10” game.
Hall says the Redmen have a lot of athletes.
“Much improved, (Jon) Butchko has done a keck of a job building
this program from when he first started.
You can look at their roster and they actually have quite a few
seniors and juniors this year that are impact players and starters for them
on the field,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “That
experience definitely shows. Their
quarterback that started last year as a freshman Isaac McKeever and he looks
very good as ever. A little bit
more improved from last year. #12
Da’Shawn Cosey is a really good receiver and defensive back. Hayden
Butcher is a very physical person on defense.
They've kind of moved him around here and there.
They've got a pretty nice squad.”
Hall says this game will be won by who executes the best, “It's
going to come down to execution. Whoever
executes better they're going to end winning it. Hopefully,
for us we have another practice week here and we come out and execute a high
level so that after the fourth quarter we're happy,” he said.
Published 9/29/26
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Ontario
to Play Hardnosed Pleasant
Click
here to listen to an interview coach Aaron Eckert
Ontario plays down at Marion Pleasant in a Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference game on Friday night.
The Warriors (5-0,2-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the large school division, outscored Galion (46-28) last week.
Coach Aaron Eckert says they knew it was going to be a tough game,
but they did enough to win. “Going
and playing a league opponent like Galion, a perennial playoff team that
went to the regional finals last year you know you're looking for a game
regardless of their record that's good football team.
So, we were fortunate enough to play well offensively and gave us
some things to work on defensively this week for sure as we you know try to
get better throughout the rest of the season,” said Eckert.
Eckert says they do have some things they need to work on defensively
and they have been doing that this week.
“I think it just getting to the point where we need to get to.
I understand the situations there are times in that game where we had
a good idea of what was coming and we didn't execute.
Whether we played too far off or we didn't do our job.
So, I think the stress is still to do your job and to make sure
you're to the best of your ability,” he said.
Pleasant (2-4,1-1) was hammered (42-0) by Clear Fork last week in
conference play.
Eckert says Pleasant is going to try and run the ball and a lot of
times it is going to be in the hands of quarterback Weston Shaffer.
“Pleasant is a hardnosed football team.
They're going to come out and then be physical.
So, it's kind of a constant with our league right now between them,
Clear Fork, and hopefully us, Shelby, Galion.
There's a bunch of physical football teams and if you don't bring it
each week then then you're going to lose,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday afternoon. “You kind of throw out the records.
It's homecoming game for Marion Pleasant.
They’ve get a really nice quarterback that does a nice job running
the football. He is the leading
rusher in the conference with almost 1000 yards.
So, we've got to shut him down and continue to play Warrior
football.”
Published 9/25/26
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Lucas
Must Keep on Schedule
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jim Sweat
Lucas travels to North Robinson to face Colonel Crawford in a
Northern 10 Athletic Conference game on Friday night.
The Cubs (3-2,2-1) have won two straight conference games, including
(34-14) over Tiffin Calvert last week.
Coach Jim Sweat says they really played Cub football.
“The kids played really well. Up
front we took care of business on both sides of the ball.
Brady Guegold had a great game for us and went for over 200 yards.
It was a great night for us. We
controlled the tempo of the game on offense and played pretty solid
defense,” said Sweat.
Colonel Crawford (2-3,1-2) lost (16-0) to Carey in an “N10” game
last week.
Sweat says the Eagles have a lot of athletes.
“They have weapons everywhere.
They are huge up front. They
are well coached and disciplined. They
spread the ball around quite a bit,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday
night, “Their quarterback is a pretty solid young man.
One heck of an athlete. Throws
the ball well, runs the ball well, so we definitely have our work cut out
for us.”
On defense, they are really good at all levels.
“Their big up front. They
get after it really well. Their
linebackers get downhill pretty quickly.
The secondary has good size and speed.
They're well-rounded,” he said.
Sweat says to have success they have to do what they always do and
that’s control tempo and play the game on their terms.
“That's kind of Lucas football M.O.
We control the pace of the game on offense.
We move the pace when we want to, but that starts with being able to
grind out first downs and not have negative plays either with bad snaps or
penalties and stay on our schedule. Three
yards a play and just keep moving forward,” said Sweat.
Published 9/25/26
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Crawford
to Face Tough, Patient Lucas
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jake Bruner
Colonel Crawford plays host to Lucas in a game in the Northern 10
Athletic Conference on Friday night.
Last week, they lost a tough game (16-0) to Carey in conference
action.
Coach Jake Bruner says they just couldn’t punch it in when they got
close. “Number one, our kids
gave tremendous effort. That's a
great football team in a tough environment to play in, but our effort was
there. We moved the ball really
for most of the night on a very good defense, but just couldn't convert in
the red zone. Whether it was a
holding call or a turnover on downs, we missed a field goal.
We just couldn't find that score to kind of keep us around.
They're too good of a football team to not score in the red zone,”
he said.
Colonel Crawford (2-3,1-2) is home for Lucas (3-2,2-1) on Friday
night. The Cubs are coming off a
(34-14) win over Tiffin Calvert in league play.
Bruner says they know what Lucas is all about.
“We're not very far removed from playing them because they were in
the “NCC” there for a long time. It
seems like a very short time ago we were playing them and not much has
changed. Tough kids that play
really hard, run the football, eat the clock, hardnosed, aggressive,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “We know that those guys
every night are going to play really hard.
That offense that Scott Spitler started there and man they're just
really good at it. We know that
they're going to be physical and disciplined and they're going to eat the
clock and run the ball. That's a
tough sell, especially in today's society where a lot of people are just in
spread throwing a ball and stuff like that.”
Bruner says you can’t allow Lucas to control the way the game in
played. “First down is important. If
they get three yards on first down, they're awful happy.
They're fine with two or three yards.
Their patient and that's tough to deal with because most people today
are looking for those big plays and those big play opportunities and they're
kind of the opposite and they do a great job.
Their kids believe in that, their community believes in it.
Just a lot of tough kids. We
have tough kids too, but those kids do a great job over there at Lucas and
we know we’ll get their best effort,” said Bruner.
Published 9/25/26
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New
Philadelphia Wants to be More Consistent
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Johnson
New Philadelphia is up at Wooster to take on the Generals in an Ohio
Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.
They destroyed Mansfield Senior (35-0) in conference play last week.
Coach Mike Johnson says they played well in all aspects of the game.
“I was really happy. I
thought our defense played great. I
think we allowed 147 yards and had a shutout.
On offense were able to move the ball and get in the end zone a
handful of times,” said Johnson.
It’s always a key to improve week to week no matter where you are
in the season. Johnson says they
got better last week against the Tygers, “I'd say so, I think we're just
starting to get a little bit more consistent in everything we do and then
from there we’re able to try to build off of some of the things that we
did well,” said Johnson.
New Philadelphia (2-3,2-0) is at Wooster (1-4,1-1) on Friday night.
The Generals were outscored (44-30) by Lexington last week in a
conference game.
Johnson says they know they have to contain the Wooster athletes.
“I think their quarterback is very good.
He does a nice job of getting the ball a couple of different good
weapons. He's smooth in the
pocket, he's able to fire it down field, he was able to get out and run a
little bit. So, we're going to
have to do our best to kind of keep him contained,” he said.
Johnson says something they have talked a lot about this week is the
need to play well early. “That's
always a priority is to get off to a good start.
Really last week we had a fumble on our first possession and it just
hurts you a little bit and puts you behind where you want to be.
Where you're planning and practicing to get to,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “That's been a focus is playing
clean. When we played clean
football and mistake free football, we’re pretty good.
When we don’t, we're not quite as good.
So, trying to keep that consistency on in all parts of the game.”
Published 9/25/26
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Mohawk
Has to Win First Down
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eric Daniel
Mohawk begins a three game road trip at Wynford on Friday night in
play in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference.
Last week, they smoked Upper Sandusky (41-7) in a “N10” game.
Coach Eric Daniel says they played well, but they are looking
forward. “That’s kind of in
the rearview mirror for us now. We
had a good holistic game and really proud of our kids and where they’re
progressing, but honestly, we've in our minds kind of moved fully on to
Wynford and this week's opponent,” he said.
Mohawk (4-1,3-0) is over at Wynford (2-3,1-2) in league play.
The Royals were hammered (48-14) by Hopewell-Loudon last week in a
conference game.
Daniel says Wynford wants to line up and run the football.
“They have got two of the top eight leading rushers in the “N10,
so they love to run the ball and that's kind of their bread and butter and
where they hang their hat on. We've
got to take a lot of pride and energy and effort into stopping them.
It's kind of a battle of ideals.
Our goal is to stop the run and that's kind of what we hang our hat
on,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Everything we do kind
of branches out from there. Their
goal is to run the football. They're
big up front. Their quarterback
and running back are nice players. So,
our kids need to adjust to their physicality quickly because that's just
something that you can't necessarily emulate on a scout team with a bunch of
freshmen and sophomores. So,
it's going to take us a little bit to get settled in, hopefully it doesn't,
but we need to come ready to go and be physical.”
Daniel believes first down is going to be key against Wynford.
“Get them behind the sticks and win first down, that's huge in high
school football. If you can win
first down your percentages of getting off the field goes up substantially.
That's not necessarily a tackle for loss.
It's just get them in second and long.
Second and nine is a lot better than second and six.
You get them off schedule and it really shrinks an offensive
coordinator's playbook. It makes
you one dimensional. So, it's
huge early to be physical. You
can make them predictable. If
you're not they're playbook is wide open.
Play action hurts you. That's
when kids lose their key discipline. So,
winning first down is huge for us this week,” said Daniel.
Published 9/25/26
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Improvement
the Goal for St. Paul
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Chris Doughty
Norwalk St. Paul will entertain New London at Contractor’s Stadium
on Saturday night in Firelands Conference action.
Last week, was not a good one for the Flyers.
They were overwhelmed (53-14) by Western Reserve in conference play.
Coach Chris Doughty says there were some bright spots, but they could
never really stop the Riders. “Western
jumped out early and built up a lead. We
were really having some success on offense, which was promising, more
success than we've had in the previous two weeks.
Scored a few touchdowns there in the first half.
It seemed like every time we were able to get a score Western had one
or two responses. That made
things tough going down into halftime down 24 points against a good team.
They just continued to build that lead in the second half,” said
Doughty.
Doughty says they must buckle down and work on getting better as a
football team. “The season is
half over at this point. We're
entering week six and improvement obviously is one of those things we're
going to continue to work toward. We've
got a handful of younger guys that have been stepping in and filling some
roles and those kids have continued to steadily progress each week,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “That is the goal.
We want to be in position where we continue to improve at this final
stretch of the season and have a big matchup at the end of the season with
Monroeville week 10. We want to
be in position where we're playing meaningful football games at the end of
the season and competing for a playoff spot.”
St. Paul (1-3,0-1) plays host to New London (1-4,1-1) on Friday
night. The Wildcats are coming
off a (35-6) loss to Monroeville last week in the Firelands.
Doughty says the Wildcats have really good talent in the skilled
positions. “I think it stands
out to me in their skilled position players on offense.
Henry Thomas leads the league in several categories receiving wise.
Jackson Mitchell is another really good receiver for them.
Jarrett Manci is a four year starter at quarterback for them.
He’s doing a really good job commanding their offense.
Honestly, Shane Dobias out of the backfield is a talented running
back. So, definitely their
skilled positions stand out,” he said.
Published 9/25/26
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Perkins
to Face Improving Clyde
Click
here to listen to an interview coach Jalen Santoro
Sandusky Perkins starts defense of its title in the Lake Division of
the Northern Ohio Conference on Friday night as they are at Clyde to battle
the Fliers.
They edged Bellevue (10-3) in a crossover game last week.
Coach Jalen Santoro says they did enough to win and that’s all that
matters. “At the end of the
day it's all about winning and our guys found a way to win.
Bellevue came out and played a really good game against us guys.
We talked to our guys after the game, and on Saturday morning, we
didn't do everything we wanted to do exactly.
Sometimes the opposing team dictates what you can do.
We came out and found a way to win and at the end of the day that’s
the only stat that matters,” he said.
Perkins (5-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in
the karge school division, plays at Clyde (1-4) on Friday.
The Fliers lost (24-10) in a crossover last week.
Santoro says the Fliers are getting better.
“It’s coach (Eric) Leuthhold’s first year begin there.
You've seen a tremendous growth for them from week one two week five
and what we are seeing on film. The
record doesn't always reflect the opponent you have on a Friday night,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We've kind of showed our guys
the progress they made from week one through now.
The team you're looking at week one is not the same team you're
seeing now. So, our guys have to
do a good job and be ready to rock.”
Santoro says Clyde will show them a lot of looks when the Pirates
have the ball. “They’ll
throw a multitude of different things that you defensively.
A bunch of different coverages and they'll bring up the handful of
pressures. Offensively they are
starting to hit their strike and each week you see them getting better.
They are kind of evolving into who they want to be.
I know how it is being a coach that takes over a program.
Year one it takes some time to implement what you want to do.
So, you are starting to see that on the film and they're doing some
good things. Our guys have to
ready to play,” said Santoro.
Published 9/25/26
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Norwayne
Must be at Their Best
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Adam Indorf
Norwayne plays host to Chippewa in a game in the Wayne County
Athletic League on Friday night.
Last week, the Bobcats belted Waynedale (42-13) in a “WCAL” game
on Friday.
Coach Adam Indorf says they were still a little inconsistent.
“At times I thought we were playing really well, really efficient
and then other times not, so we have got to fix those.
We have got to be efficient all of the time.
Just do the right things all the time.
Do our job and challenge everybody on the team just do what they're
supposed to do, do their job and do that with energy and 100%.
So, at practice the focus this week has been the job attention in
detail and effort,” said Indorf.
Norwayne (2-3,2-0) plays at home against Chippewa (4-1.2-0) on Friday
night. The Chipps edged Rittman
(7-6) last week.
Indorf says the Chipps are very good at the line of scrimmage.
“They are a much improved team over previous years.
Kids that are going to fly around and get to the football and be
aggressive at the line of scrimmage, at the point of attack, and just give
great effort,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “We're
definitely going to have to come out and make sure that we're able to match
that and try to take that away from them.
Control the line of scrimmage and play disciplined football.”
Norwayne is the defending “WCAL” champion and has been one of the
best teams in the league for a long time.
Indorf says they know that everyone has the Bobcats circled on their
schedule. “We try to tell the
kids that we've got to make sure that we're doing our job every week.
Make sure that we are taking care of ourselves.
Everybody wants to be that crew that beats us or takes us out.
So, we're going to make sure that we are just being a little bit
extra focused and on top of our game,” he said.
Published 9/25/26
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Mt.
Gilead Expects Physical Battle
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Reid
Mt. Gilead is over at Fredericktown for an old fashion grind it out
game against the Freddies in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference on Friday
night.
Last week, the Indians (3-2,2-1) got off to a good start against
Danville, but couldn’t sustain it and lost (43-13) to the Blue Devils.
Coach Mike Reid says he likes the way his kids played.
“Danville's pretty daggone good.
They look good on film and they look good in real life as well.
I think coach (Matt) Blum is doing a great job there and I think he's
got something special going on over there.
I know they have got big goals and they're doing all the right
things to achieve those goals, so a lot of respect for them.
I also learned that my team wasn't going to back down.
We started out that game really, really well had a great defensive
stop,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “We drove the
length of the field and scored. We
were actually ahead 7-0, but we just couldn't sustain it.
Danville's got too many things to shut down, but my boys didn't quit.
We went in at halftime just down 20-13 and I think a lot of people
were shocked just at that, but the guys in my room weren't shocked because
they wanted to battle. Like I
said, Danville just has got too many weapons, offense and defense.
We gave them our best and I learned that my boys are pretty resilient
too. They wanted to get after it
as well.”
Mt. Gilead (3-2,2-1) is at Fredericktown (3-2,2-1) on Friday night.
The Freddies smoked Cardington (34-0) in a league play last week.
Reid says he expects a battle against a well coached Fredericktown
team. “I'll tell you what,
Scott Spitler does a great job just about everywhere he's gone.
They're very methodical, they have get some big guys up front,
they're creating some good schemes, they're running the ball really, really
well. Their passing game is like
ours you can't sit back and go to sleep on that or the few yards they get on
a catch is going to hurt you. He's
got a pretty well-rounded team over there and it's going to be quite a
battle Friday night. I have much
respect for him and the Freddies. It
might be a ground and pound show on both sides of the ball there,” Reid.
Neither team throws it all that much and Reid encourages fans to get
there early. “When you run the
ball the time just keeps coming off the clock, so it does seem to go pretty
quickly. I guess it just depends
on how much we want to actually throw the ball in the air. I
think I made a comment last week something about order your pizza at 7 the
game will be over by 7:45 or something like that and you can pick your pizza
up. It's going to be a good game
and Fredericktown is always a good game.
It'll be a great physical match up and we're going to have to match
their strength up front,” he said.
Published 9/25/26
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Trenches
Key For Western
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stevenson
Western Reserve plays over at Monroeville against the Eagles Friday
night in a game that might be the Firelands Conference championship game
this year.
Both are 2-0 in the conference, although it is very early in the
proceedings the winner is going to be in the driver’s seat.
The Riders (5-0,2-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the small school division, demolished Norwalk St. Paul (53-14) in a
conference game.
Coach Ty Stevenson says they got off to a good start and were able to
play well in a ll three phases. “I
felt it went well from the start there.
They fumbled the first snap and we recovered that thing and were able
to score on that drive and then take a few more on as the night went on.
Got some young guys in for a little bit of time, so that was always
good,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon. “Always fun to
win on your military night and go 2-0 in the Firelands Conference.
So, we're excited about where we're at and excited for this game this
week.”
Stevenson says players have become more experienced and they believe
in each other. “I just think a
little more consistency and more experience.
These guys are pretty young. We
graduated a bunch of seniors who played last year.
These guys have really really took to being connected and playing
hard together and doing those things together.
So, hopefully we'll continue to do that and see where we go,” he
said.
After some injury problems early in the season, Monroeville (2-3,2-0)
is healthy now and smoked New London (35-6) on Friday in a conference game.
Stevenson says they are big in the trenches and have the athletes
that can take advantage. “They
look really good. They're
healthy, they're huge up front, very strong and physical.
A lot of good speed. The
(Cooper) Cleary kid, the running back, is one of the best in the league.
The quarterback (Colt) Clark can throw it and run it.
Then they got a bunch of weapons around them.
So, it'll be a great challenge,” said Stevenson.
Like most games between good teams, Stevenson says this game is going
to be won and lost at the point of attack.
“You have got to take care of a lot of scrimmage.
Like I said they're big and physical up front, so you got to make
sure we take care of that. Make
sure you don't turn football over and try to win special teams,” he said.
Published 9/24/26
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Madison
Must Play Better
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Kobi Johnson
Madison takes its act to Ashland in Ohio Cardinal Conference play on
Friday night.
Both carry two game losing streaks into the game.
Madison lost (42-7) to West Holmes last week in the “OCC.”
Coach Kobi Johnson says again they got off to a slow start against
the Knights. “It's kind of
been a story in the last couple weeks for us. It's just not getting off to
quick starts and allowing teams to kind of jump out on us.
Then you feel like you're fighting back the rest of the game.
That's simply been a big emphasis for us this week is just trying to
focus in on getting off to a good start.
Executing early and playing the best football we can play early in
the game to try to give ourselves a chance there in the second half to be in
a tight ball games. So, credit
to West Holmes, it's a really, really good football team. I think they got a
chance to win a lot of football games in our league this year,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “They definitely played better and
were better prepared, so we got to do a better job this week making sure we
close that gap and get ready for a good Ashland team.”
Madison (2-3,0-2) at Ashland (3-2,0-2) on Friday night.
The Arrows lost (39-21) to Dover in “OCC” play last week.
Johnson says they have some nice athletes on the edge.
“Well, I think when you look at them you know they have a really
nice receiver and Killeen O'Brien, who's kind of been a staple there the
last three years and they love to try to get him the ball and it’s been a
big emphasize for us this week to make sure that we're prepared and have
eyes on that guy at all times. It's
not just him they have some other really nice athletes and good receivers.
So, they're a challenge to prepare for.
We're hoping that with another good day of preparation we are to go
out there and execute at a high level and try to slow them down
offensively,” said Johnson.
On defense, Johnson says the Arrows give them a lot to prepare for.
“Defensively, they do a really nice job of giving you some
different looks and moving their safeties around and trying to confuse you
from like a quarterback standpoint. So,
a big emphasis for the QB this week on recognizing where those safeties are
and trying to get a read on where they're going to end up post snap, so that
we can get the ball in the right place in the passing game.
Upfront we have got to make sure that we're being physical and being
solid in our game as well, so, we can give ourselves a good shot to win on
Friday night,” he said.
Published 9/24/26
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Hillsdale
Needs to be Consistent
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Trevor Cline
Hillsdale will be at home for the Waynedale Golden Bears in action
Friday night in Wayne County Athletic League.
They lost (28-14) to unbeaten Smithville in a league game last week.
Coach Trevor Cline says they just didn’t execute well enough at key
times in the game. “Last week
is sort of what has been killing us up to this point just not executing to
our potential and missing out on some big play opportunities it came back to
hurt us against a quality team. We've
had a good week of practice to bounce back from that.
Our guys play really hard and I'm proud of them for that.
It's just we have to find a way to fix some of those things that are
causing us to get in our own way. We
have to find a way to clean those up so we're not beating ourselves.
There is no reason why we should be losing because the opponent is
doing another thing and it happens be better than us, not because we just
aren’t executing. When you
have a young team you go through some of that stuff and that's what we're
going through right now, but we're working to get it fixed.
The guys are doing a great job of working hard,” said Cline.
Cline says this year’s team has been one that has had good focus in
practice. “That's one thing
that I have loved about this group. This
is one of the best groups I've ever found when it comes to focus throughout
the week of practice and they've done a nice job.
We're at the halfway point and I would say really for the most part
every week they've done a good job would be focused in practice.
Getting their reps in and get things figured out.
We just for whatever reason there's been just sometimes on Friday
night we haven’t got the job done as consistently as what we need to.
That's something that as a program we're trying to get cleaned up so
this second part of the year, we can go out there and put our best foot
forward,” he said.
Hillsdale (4-1,1-1) hosts Waynedale (1-4,0-2) in a league game on
Friday night. They lost (42-13)
last week to Norwayne in a league game.
Cline calls them a big play team.
“Traditionally they have a really good program.
There is a coaching change this year for them.
You can tell that he's implementing the things that he wants to see
change for the program. They're
big up front and I feel they have some skilled position players that if
we're not disciplined they're going to end up breaking some big plays on
us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, ‘When you're doing
this scouting and watching the film on them.
They do have big play potential.
So, we'll have to do a good job of making sure that we eliminate
those big plays. If they’re to
score against us, we have got to make sure that they earn those touchdowns.
They end up having 10, 12 pay play drives.
The thing they have done so far is when they've scored on film up to
this point, they do it on big plays. We
have got to make sure we limit those, so we put ourselves to the best
situation possible.”
Published 9/24/26
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Galion
Trying to Get Better
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Matt Dick
Galion is down at Highland in a game in the Mid-Ohio Athletic
Conference on Friday night.
Ontario outscored them (46-28) in a league game last week.
Coach Matt Dick says they made the Ontario offense made them defend
the whole field. “After last
week we were really more physical at the point of attack on the run. I think
their kids did a great job getting us off balance.
They had a receiver that was hard guard one on one.
Then the trips they did some nice things.
Then run up the middle. So,
I think they kind of had us trying to defend the full width of the field. I
think that that made it hard. I
think we had a good week of practice. I
think they made us a better football team and exposed some of our issues.
Hopefully we’ll grow from it,” said Dick.
Dick says last week, and the week before against Shelby, they played
teams that are going to make them better.
“I think it's hard not to be over critical when you lose or over
happy when you win, but the truth is all we can do is control our response
and try to maximize the talent on our football team,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “I think we just have a really
good group of kids and a good group of coaches that are working hard to try
to get back on the winning page. Hopefully
we can start stacking some wins and really grow from the experience of the
first half. I think we've played
some really good football teams and I think they have allowed us to
hopefully we can become a pretty good football team.”
Galion (2-3,0-4) will play at Highland (1-4,0-2) in the “MOAC” on
Friday night. Shelby hammered
them (47-6) last week,
Dick says the Fighting Scots are a very physical football team that
tackles well. “I think they
are a physical football team and it begins with their mic linebacker, the
(Kane) Stover kid. I think he's
just a really, really physical football player.
They run behind him and he makes a lot of tackles up the middle.
I think that you don't want to play them in a close game because they
definitely can get physical, play good defense.
I think coach Stover has done a great job over there just having a
tough football team every year and it's never an easy win,” he said.
Published 9/24/26
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Lexington
Must Execute Again
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jacob Owens
Lexington will play at Arlin Field against their rivals from
Mansfield Senior in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game on Friday night.
They got their first win over the season last week in outscoring
Wooster (44-30) in an “OCC” game last Friday.
Coach Jacob Owens says they got points from everywhere.
“Our kids did a good job of executing our game plan.
We had some special team scores as well.
We had a kickoff return, we had some defensive scores.
So, it was a true team effort. It
wasn't just our offense,” he said.
Owens says that win brought confidence to the team.
“You see it practice, you see the meetings, uh you see it just in
how they walk around in the day-to-day after they get a win like that the
confidence just grows,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon,
“It's good for our program to get that win.
It was a good program win for us to get back on track and get the
feel of winning again.”
Lexington (1-4,1-1) is at Mansfield Senior (0-5,0-2) on Friday night.
The Tygers were blanked (35-0) by New Philadelphia last week.
Owens expects the Tygers to play their best against them.
“Mansfield Senior is an athletic bunch.
They’ve got speed on the outside.
The have a couple of defensive line and linebackers that are very
physical and they play super hard. I
know that that program very well, so I know they're going to be ready to go
Friday night so we got to give it our best shot,” said Owens.
Now, Lexington and Mansfield Senior is a rivalry, but Owens says they
still must execute Friday night. “Execution
has to be a priority like last week was, like every week.
Every week we want to extricate at a high level.
We have to still continue to work on that penalty thing.
We talk about the penalties because we're a young team we're working
through it,” he said.
Published 9/24/26
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Orrville
Has to be Ready
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Brent Besancon
Orrville entertains the Canton South Wildcats in game in the
Principal’s Athletic Conference on Friday night.
They beat Fairless (25-20) in a league game last week.
Coach Brent Besancon says they played well when they had to.
“Down the stretch we played really hard in the fourth quarter and
made those plays when it counted and covered on fourth and 10.
We showed some real resolve and that was nice to see,” he said.
Orrville (4-1,2-0) is at Canton South (0-5,0-2) on Friday night.
Besancon says Wildcats are underrated.
“They played a really, really tough schedule so far.
There's multiple teams on there that are some good perennial
programs. So, they’re 0-5, but
they look pretty tough and they've had some good games in those games,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “In years past we've struggled
to beat them. I don't know how
many times Orrville has beaten them in the last seven, eight years but it
hasn't been that many. So, games
like this you can throw out the records in my opinion.”
Besancon says it is not necessarily about scoring, but rather
executing well early in the game. “You
would like to do things like that against a team like this that has been
struggling in the winning area, but sometimes you game plan for that and it
doesn't come true. Then do start
dwelling on it or do you play football.
I just like to come and execute.
We show some signs and we execute I think we could be a pretty darn
good football team. You get a
turnover, miss a block or something like that and all of a sudden it just
kind of stalls and we haven't been able to like overcome those
challenges,” said Becanson.
Published 9/24/26
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Tiffin
Making Strides
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Otteny
Tiffin Columbian hosts Sandusky in the first Northern Ohio Conference
Lake Division game on Friday night.
The Tornadoes (3-2,0-0) are coming off a (35-14) win over Huron.
Coach Ryan Ottney says they were able to put the game away,
“I was very proud of our guys.
A big message all week was about finishing, finishing, finishing.
We had two back-to-back games where we were there in the fourth and
weren't able to finish. A great
thing to see on Friday night we finished the game on both sides of the ball
and on special teams. So, I was
very proud of our effort last week,” said Ottney.
Sandusky (0=5,0-0) lost to Vermilion (39-26) in a cross over game
last Friday.
Ottney says the Blue Steaks are athletic and that always gives them a
chance. “They are athletes and
they’re playing hard. Their
record is deceiving. I know they
are 0-5, the play extremely hard. They
have had a tough road, just like us. Ik now they are doing a lot of really
good things over there. You can
see it on film. They're getting
better every single week. It's a
credit to the coaches and getting the best out of those kids.
They've got athletes, so they've always got a shot when they've got
athletes,” he said.
To have a chance in the Lake division this year, Ottney says they
have to win Friday night. “It's
a big game, we’re kicking off “NOC” play league play and we want to
come out there and we want to start off 1-0 in the league, but we know it's
going to be a dog fight no matter what,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday night, “Every time we play them it's been back and forth and
really tight games. So, we know
we have to bring our “A” game and be ready to go.
We've got several distractions because it's homecoming week for us
here in Tiffin, so hopefully we can kind of get past all those festivities
and worry about the game come 7:00 when we kick it off.”
Published 9/24/26
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South
Central Must Handle Success
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Derek Fisher
South Central hosts Mapleton in Firelands Conference play on Friday
night.
Last week, they edged Crestview (15-7) in a conference game last
Friday.
Coach Derek Fisher says their defense gave them a chance to win.
“Throughout the season we've had some games where we've been battle
tested. A lot of one score
games, a lot of situational football. Stuff
that we work in practice. Hats
off to Crestview. They battled
for four quarters. Those kids
were ready to play. We were a
little sloppy in the first half. Got
to tip our hats to our defense. They
kept us in it throughout the game and in the second-half we're able to pull
away,” he said.
It was their first win over Crestview since 2015 and Fisher says they
have to have some more confidence. “We're
trying to, it's cliche but take it week by week, one game at a time, but
it's one of those things that hasn't really hit you in the middle of the
season because it's just kind of on to the next week,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “It is good for our kids.
Anytime you get a win it is good, especially when you're getting a
Firelands Conference win and against a perennial power like them.
Coach (Steve) Haverdill does a great job over there.
It was a good week for us, but hopefully we can handle a little bit
of success and we can get back to the game plan and get ready for next
week.”
Mapleton (1-3,0-1) did not play last week.
Fisher says the pistol wing-T gives them a lot of deferent looks for
their defense. “They're
tricky, they're deceptive, they do a lot of different things.
Their coaching staff is going to have them ready to play.
Their kids like to grind it out.
They have got a lot of grit and all of that toughness to them and all
lot that stuff. You have got to
buckle your chin strap when you're playing them because that’s what you're
going to get. We expect four
quarters of tough, hardnosed, football.
We're looking forward to it, but we're hoping, like I said, to take
things in stride and build to week and take success on one week and on to
the next football game one week to the next.
We're ready for a good test from Mapleton on Friday night.”
Published
9/24/26
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First Source for All Things Sports”
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of Bounds” airs every Friday night 10 to midnight
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Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1 PM
Wynford
to Play Talented Mohawk
Click
here to listen to an interview Andrew Amlin
Wynford is at home for Mohawk in a game in the Northern 10 Athletic
Conference on Friday night.
Mohawk shares the lead with Hopewell-Loudon and Carey.
Hopewell drilled the Royals (48-14) last week.
Coach Andrew Amlin says they did some good things last week, but not
nearly enough. “It started off
really bad for us. We gave up an
opening kickoff and then we followed our first possession and despite all
that after one quarter it was 12-7. Sometimes
we played well, but there are other times Hopewell kind of overwhelmed
us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “That's what they
do, that's what good teams do. So,
I was really proud of our kids. We
stopped them a couple times inside the red zone. I
was really proud of that. I felt
we got better, especially defensively that game.
So, I was kind of proud of our kids on that.”
Amlin says they didn’t do enough and Hopewell was better than they
were last week. “When we
talked for kids after the game. You
look at the score and it was 48-14, but there were some positives.
When you play a team like Hopewell, they're so well coached and
they're so disciplined it's hard to overcome some of the things that we're
not really good at. So, there
were positives and I felt our kids grew last week,” he said.
Wynford (2-3, 1-2) hosts Mohawk (4-1,2-0), a winner of four in a row,
including (41-7) over Upper Sandusky last week.
Amlin says they have a lot of guys that can play the game.
“Their quarterback is a big kid, the (Andon) Clouse kind.
He thaws the ball well, he runs really hard, he's a big kid.
They have got a receiver, #5, the (Levi) Tiell kid, they throw to him
to him a lot, he's a good receiver. The
running back is good, the (Kaden) Bish kid, is good.
They're pretty good overall, they really mix it up run-pass.
They’re really well coached. I
know those guys over there. I
went to Mohawk. So, yeah it's
going to be a tough game,” said Amlin.
Published 9/24/26
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Northmor
Wants to Play Keep Away
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Armrose
Northmor will entertain the Danville Blue Devils on Friday night in a
game in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
It was Centerburg (48-28) over Northmor last Friday in the
conference.
Coach Scott Armrose says they made a of mistakes that led to scores
in all phrases for the Trojans. “We
just made too many mistakes. They
were able to score for touchdowns without their offense being on the
field,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “A couple special
team scores and a couple interceptions for touchdowns.
So, it's kind of been the same story.
We do some things really well, we execute really well, but we just
made too many mistakes to get the win.”
Northmor (1-4,1-1) will be at home for Danville, (5-0,2-0), #3 in the
Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, on
Friday. The Blue Devils smoked
Mt. Gilead (43-13) in their league game last week.
Armrose says the Devils show a lot of speed.
“Danville is a solid football team on both sides the ball.
They have got a lot of team speed. They're not the biggest team we've
seen, but they're just solid all around,” he said.
A big key for the Golden Knights will be to tackle well on Friday.
“They have the ability to score with big plays from multiple
players, so we're going to have to do a good job of tackling in space and in
the open field. At the same time
offensively if we can sustain drives and keep the ball out their hands it
will give ourselves a chance to win a football game,” said Armrose.
Published 9/24/26
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Clear
Fork Focused on Being Clean
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Brokaw
Clear Fork will be on the road on Friday night as they visit Marion
Harding to take on the Presidents in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.
Harding shares the early lead in the conference with Shelby and
Ontario. Clear Fork is a game
back.
The Colts (4-1,1-1), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the large school division, hammered Pleasant (42-0) in “MOAC”
play last week.
Coach Aaron Brokaw says they made a step forward on the offensive
line and were pretty solid overall last week.
“I think we did a lot of things really well Friday night in all
three phases of the game. It was
good seeing some of our young offensive line have some success in that game.
The communication improved for that unit versus what it had a week
before, so that was a big step,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
evening, “Defensively, pitching a shot out that’s always an exciting
thing. Marcus (Hoeflich) had a
pretty solid night. He looked
comfortable in the pocket, which we've been waiting on that through the
first couple of weeks. So, all
in all, I thought it was a really productive night for us.”
Brokaw says they had some more opportunities to throw the ball last
week. “I think the first
couple games of the season in our RPO game we had a lot of really run
favorable looks and he was making a lot of really good decisions with that.
Then Friday night we had some shot plays that made good decisions on.
We had some guys that went out made plays.
So, it made it a little bit more exciting especially for those
skilled guys because they will block, but they would much rather be running
routes and catching the ball,” he said.
Harding (4-1,2-0) downed River Valley (26-8) last week in conference
play.
Brokaw says they look like a confident ball club.
“They look like they're playing with a lot of confidence.
They're doing some things that are similar scheme wise to what we do
defensively. They have their own
look to it. They're running the
stack. Offensively they're
pretty multiple. They've got a
decent balance between run and pass. They've
got athletes over there. You
know they are 4-1, 2-0 in the conference, so they're going to be playing
with a lot of excitement a lot of energy,” said Brokaw.
Clear Fork won the first two weeks on the road and Brokaw says
getting on the bus doesn’t bother them.
“I don't think the being on the road is that much of a concern for
us. We did that early in the
year. I think guys are pretty
focused and able to go on the road and play.
You want to play as clean as you can and hopefully that'll be the
case this Friday night as well,” he said.
Published 9/23/26
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Danville
Has a lot Athletes
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Matt Blum
Danville, unbeaten so far on the season, will visit Northmor in a
Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game on Friday night.
They average 44 points a game and give up less than two scores per
contest.
Coach Matt Blum says they have a lot of kids that are players.
“I think we're executing well offensively.
In the past, we've been able to have a pretty good ground game, but I
think the biggest difference this year is we're multi faceted and how we're
able to attack defenses with our passing game as well,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “We have a lot of weapons on the
edge and inside the box, so that's been helpful to be able to have multiple
targets and people to be able to handle the ball.
So, that’s been pretty successful for us.
On defensive, we have a lot of guys back from last year in the same
spot, so they're being able to execute on what they're being asked to do and
they're doing a good job right now.”
Blum says they are a confident team, but they still have things they
need to address. “It really
builds off of each other. The
thing right now is not letting them get too confident where it becomes
cockiness. We want them to play
confident. We want them to play
up to their standard and potential, but you also have to be able to critique
them and be able to fix the issues we do have because even though we're 5-0,
we still have a lot of things we can improve on.
So, that's what we're going to aspire to do each week,” he said.
Danville (5-0,2-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll
in the small school division, plays at Northmor (1-4,1-1) on Friday night.
Centerburg trashed the Golden Knights (48-28) last week.
Blum says Northmor is really good up front.
“They have a really good defensive line, defensive box overall.
They play pretty physical and hard up front.
Offensively, they have a good senior quarterback that torched us last
year, so we know what he can do as well as two pretty good targets on the
edge with their tight end and one of their receivers #14.
We're going to have our hands full, so we have got to be able to play
for four quarters and get after it,” said Blum.
Published 9/23/26
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Ashland
Must Be More Consistent
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Valentine
Ashland will be at home for Madison on Friday night in a game in the
Ohio Cardinal Conference.
They lost (39-21) at Dover last week in conference play.
Coach Scott Valentine says they made it a game in the second half,
but they need to play more consistent football.
“Well, I think it's one of those things.
They're a good football team and we got out there and got down, but
our kids bounced back. We got it
within a score and then they made a couple plays in the second half.
So, again there is going to be about us and our consistency right
now. We've got to get better
ourselves and keep improving,” said Valentine.
The veteran Ashland coach says last week they were better than the
week before. “I think so, I
thought we tackled better. I
thought we blocked a lot better. So,
just the inconsistency of where we're at and the things we're doing because
you have a breakdown here or there that hurts you,” he said.
Ashland (3-2,0-2) hosts Madison (2-3,0-2) on Friday night.
The Rams were whipped (42-7) by West Holmes last week in a conference
game.
Valentine says the Rams are going to be aggressive and they have some
guys that can make plays. “I
know defensively they come after you with a lot of blitzes and things like
that. so that's something that we're going to have to prepare for,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Offensively, they've got
some skilled guys that they can make plays for them.
So, again it's going to be a challenge and we'll have to be ready to
go on Friday.”
Now, to win this game, Valentine says they can’t play a good
quarter or a strong half, he says they have to play four quarters.
“I felt we bounced back and handled adversity a lot better last
week than we did the New Philly week, so that's a step in the right
direction. It's about being able
to play a four quarter game. You're
going to have your ups and downs, but you have got to play through those and
be consistent at what you're doing at every position,” said Valentine.
Published 9/23/26
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Seneca
East Needs Win
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ed Phillips
Seneca East, a game back in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference,
plays at Bucyrus in an “N10” game on Friday night.
The Redmen are also a game back.
The Tigers (4-1,2-1) held off Willard last week (29-14) in conference
play.
Coach Ed Phillips says they came out the second half and put it away.
“They played us well and converted some big third downs.
They really possessed the ball, especially the first half.
The guys came through in the second half and finished off like we
like to. It put us at 4-1 and
ready for Bucyrus,” he said.
Running back Jackson Gayheart had 113 yards and three touchdowns.
Sitting a game back of Hopewell-Loudon, Carey and Mohawk, Phillips
agrees this is game they have to win. “You
would think so with the way things are sitting right now that's probably a
fair guess, but you never know. We
have just got to take care of our business and everything else is out of our
control. If we do our thing and
continue to improve each week and take care of our stuff there's nothing
else you can do,” he said.
Bucyrus (3-2,2-1) destroyed Buckeye Central (41-14) last week in
“N10” play,
Phillips says Bucyrus is young, but talented.
“They are much improved. They've
got a good group of young kids there. Offensively,
they can run a little and throw a little,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday night, “They're doing pretty well.
Defensively, they put a lot of speed on the field.
They put a lot of skilled guys out there, even up front.
So, they’re going to challenge us with that.
So, they are much improved over the Bucyrus team we saw last year.”
Published 9/23/26
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Fredericktown
Must Win Up Front
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Spitler
Fredericktown will be at home again this week as they host the Mt.
Gilead Indians in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game.
Last week was the Freddies (3-2,1-1) home opener at their renovated
field and they hammered Cardington (34-0) on Friday.
Scott Spitler says it felt good.
“It was good to finally be home and in front of our crowd.
It was just a great night. It
was also our homecoming and the guys went out and really pleased with their
focus all week. They went out
and took care of business in all three phases,” he said.
Mt. Gilead (3-2,1-1) was whipped (43-13) by Danville.
Spitler says the Indians are a physical team that wants to run the
football first and foremost. “They
are very similar to the team they had last year.
They're very strong up front on the line of scrimmage on both sides
of the ball. Their backfield is
very hard, physical runners,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night,
“A very attacking style defense. It's
the same type of challenge we had last year against them.
Last year we didn't handle the line of scrimmage very well on either
side of the ball and they took it to us.
That same challenge is presented to us this week.”
Last year, Mt. Gilead blasted the Freddies (41-7) in a game they
completely dominated.
Spitler says the clock will be running all night because there
aren’t going to be many passes thrown.
“You have two teams that make their bread and butter up front on a
line of scrimmage and want to run the football.
So, I think coach (Mike) Reid said on the radio there Friday night
that you might be able to order a pizza at kick off and
pick it up by 7:30 because we both want to run the football and obviously
that keeps that clock moving,” said Spitler.
Published 9/23/26
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Triway
Must Contain Big Play
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Cody Kelly
Wooster Triway will be over at Fairless to meet the Falcons in a
Principal’s Athletic League game on Friday night.
Last week, the Titans drilled Tuslaw (51-0) in a conference game.
Coach Cody Kelly says it was a good bounce back after a loss the
previous week to Northwest. “It
was a good rebound game for us after the week before.
The guys responded well and got back to playing how we think we can
play and hopefully we can continue that throughout the year.
So, I'm proud of them just for the hard week of practice that we had,
it was difficult and just came out and do what they did on Friday scoring 50
and getting a shutout. It’s hard to do.
So, hopefully we can keep that rolling into this week and the rest of
the year,” said Kelly.
Kelly says its important for them to build some momentum.
“Especially as we get into the back half of the year.
We have some tough games this week and then the following weeks.
We want to ride it as far as we can go.
So, I’m glad we’re back on the right track now and hopefully,
like I said, we can ride this out from here on out,” he said.
Triway (4-1,1-1) is at Fairless (3-2,0-1) on Friday night.
The Falcons lost (25-20) to Orrville last week in a “PAC” game.
Kelly says they have some skill on the outside.
“They are a very athletic team skill wise.
They've got skill all over the field receiver wise.
The same guys back there at defensive back.
So, it's going to be hard to throw in the passing game.
They've got two division one kids on the defensive line,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “Offensively we have to make sure we
sustain some drives in terms of the run game.
Get the run game going and that will open up the pass for us.
Defensively it is just eliminating those big plays that those skilled
guys on the on the edges are capable of making/”
Published 9/23/26
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Upper
Has to be Fundamental
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Russell Hall
Upper Sandusky is a home for Hopewell-Loudon in a game in the
Northern 10 Athletic Conference on Friday night.
Hopewell shares the “N10” lead with Carey and Mohawk.
Last week, Mohawk smoked the Rams (41-7) in a conference game.
Coach Russell Hall says it was simple, Mohawk played very well and
they did not. “Mohawk played a
very, very good game. They had a
great game plan and they executed very well and unfortunately we definitely
did not play our best,” said Hall.
Upper (2-3,1-2) entertains Hopewell-Loudon (5-0,3-0), #1 in the
Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the small school division, belted
Wynford (48-14) last week.
Hall says this is a team that doesn’t make many mistakes.
“Being good and executing at all 11 positions, that's what sticks
out to me,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “All 11 guys in
all three phases of the game they're on the same page.
They know what to do and they do a good job.
It's very similar to watching a “MAC” team.”
Hall says, on the other hand, if you make mistakes they make you pay.
“You have to be efficient and sound and if you’re not efficient
and sound it’s going to be rough night.
You have got to play clean, you got to take care of the ball, you
have got to play assignment football,” he said.
Published 9/23/26
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Shelby
Process Driven
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Robert Mahaney
Shelby returns home to host the River Valley Vikings in a Mid-Ohio
Athletic Conference game on Friday night.
They traveled to Highland destroyed the Fighting Scots (47-6) last
week in “MOAC” action.
Coach Robert Mahaney says they came out and executed well.
“I give our kids a lot of credit to go to Highland and play against
a defense that had played really well all year long.
Coach (Ty) Stover does a great job with those guys.
I thought our kids came out executed offensively very well.
It was awesome to have Michael (Shepherd) back.
It kind of gave us a presence to just kind of at quarterback to be
able to execute a little bit better. Defensively,
we continued to play really well. So,
like we talk about, we want to build last week and find ways to continue to
get better this week for River Valley,” he said,
Shepherd had not played since week three due illness.
He thew six TD passes on against Highland.
Mahaney says his presence and his understanding of their offense were
key last week. “I thought the
biggest thing was just his presence out there.
The confidence that he's able to bring.
Michael is blessed with a lot of ability and to be able to get the
ball out to different people. He
was on time and on rhythm and did a really good job in the pass game and
then did a good job in our run game too.
So, to be able to make the reads and make the pulls and do those
kinds of things. When you
combine the presence with the decision making and all that kind of stuff he
was really a big boost. Not only
for Michael, but for everybody on offense and you could see that on Friday
night,” said Mahaney,
Shelby (5-0,2-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll
in the large school division, hosts River Valley (0-5,0-2) this week.
The Vikings fell (26-8) to Marion Harding last week.
The Whippets have won 28 straight regular games.
River Valley was the last team to beat them on September 29, 2023.
Mahaney says they must be focused on playing their best game.
“I think that's what we try to do every single week.
We talk about being process driven and talk about making sure that
the team we are right now going on week six is not the team we are at the
end of the season,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We have
got to make sure we continue to grow. I
think River Valley does some really good things, so we have got to make sure
we're ready for that offensively and defensively with formations.
They have a “Power 4” football player, so they have a lot
of things that challenge us. We
have to make sure we don’t stay stagnate and continue to grow and continue
to be process driven. Make sure
that the Shelby Whippets continue to better throughout this week and
continuously throughout the rest of the season.”
Published 9/22/26
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Monroeville
and Western Play for First Place
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Tylor Nester
First place is on the line Friday night in the Firelands Conference
as Monroeville plays host to Western Reserve.
They share first place in the conference standings after two weeks of
league play.
It was a similar situation last season with Monroeville winning
(27-20) and going on to win the conference title.
Monroeville (2-3,2-0) downed New London (35-6) in a conference
gamelast week.
Coach Tylor Nester says the win was good, but a lot of improvement is
needed. “Last week was a nice
win, but uh there's still room for growth whether that's the penalty side of
the discipline aspect and definitely taking care of the football.
I'm happy for the win and excited for this week,” he said.
Western Reserve (5-0,2-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football
coaches poll in the small school division, manhandled Norwalk St. Paul
(53-14) last week in a conference game.
Nester says the Roughriders and both disciplined and physical.
“Coach (Ty) Stevenson has been there for quite a few years and
always does a really nice job and his teams are disciplined and you can see
that on the film. They are
physical up front. They get to
the ball well on defense and they've always got big play potential on the
offensive of the field,” said Stevenson.
Nester says Western have a lot of playmakers and they have to contain
the big play on Friday. “(Landyn)
Wiegel it seems like her has been their feature back forever.
He gets bigger and bigger every year and faster and faster.
He'll be a handful for us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
evening, “(Colton) Meagrow had to step in early in the season, so he's got
a ton of experience and throws a nice ball.
They've got (Cooper) Roe and (Lucas) Summerfield to stretch the
field. We’ve got to limit
their big play capability and keep that ball in front of us.”
One of the keys Friday night, according to Nester, is winning at the
point of attack. “Their
linebackers for solid. They come
downhill and they fly there. The
defensive line is also aggressive. So,
up front on both sides the old adage is you have got to win in the trenches
and this game is no different,” he said.
Published 9/22/26
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West
Holmes Has to Win up Front
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Keaton Leppla
West Holmes hosts Dover in a crucial mid-season game in the Ohio
Cardinal Conference on Friday night.
Both have won their first two conference games.
Last week, the Knights drilled Madison (42-7) in conference play.
Coach Keaton Leppla says they were able to play a complete game.
“All year we've been talking about being able to get out to a fast
start and really start from the get go of doing what we want to do.
I think last week we finally saw that at all three phases of the
game. A three and out and a
nice, long, methodical, 10 play drive to get in the end zone.
Just being able to keep the foot on the accelerator throughout the
entire night and put four quarters together for really the first time all
year. So, it definitely moving
in the right direction and definitely needed that moving into this big
matchup,” he said.
West Holmes (4-1,2-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the large school division, is at home for Dover (3-2,2-0), a (39-21)
winner over Ashland last week in conference play.
Leppla says the Tornadoes are a very good team that has gotten
better. “You see a really good
football team. A team that's
improved a bunch since last year. Defensively,
we see them fly around. We see
them get pressure with three, we've seen them bring pressure with some good
coverage behind it. Done a
really nice job on the defensive side of the ball,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Offensively, there is there
another one that's their offense is really grown into a multi level attack.
Their run game has improved significantly as the year has gone on.
They have a really good screen game and they're really able to take
the top off defenses and push the ball downfield.
So, a really good defense, really good offense.
They definitely going to be the most talented team we've seen up to
this point, especially in the conference.
It should make a make for an exciting atmosphere and then a great
matchup.”
Leppla says they have to win at the point of attack and they have to
start fast again. “I think
that I’m kind of boring whenever it comes to the keys of the game, but for
us the number one thing we have to do is we have to win the line of
scrimmage. So, defensively we
have got to be able to control the line of scrimmage and create pressure.
Offensively, we have got to be able to move people off the ball and
establish our run game early on to really open up our offense.
So, number one for us is to establishment the line of scrimmage.
Number two is really specific to us is coming out to a fast start
like we did last week and being able to keep the foot on the accelerator and
I'll have to regroup and just kind of get into the flow of the game and get
rhythm offensively and defensively. Being
able to get off the field on third down and being able to extend drives on
third down really are the keys for us,” said Leppla.
Published 9/22/26
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Carey
Still Cleaning up
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jonathan Mershman
Carey, a co-leader in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference, plays at
Tiffin Calvert in a conference game on Friday night.
The Blue Devils share the lead with Hopewell-Loudon and Mohawk.
They play these two teams on weeks eight and nine.
Last week, the Blue Devils (3-2,3-0) shutout Colonel Crawford (16-0)
in conference play.
Coach Jonathan Mershman says they bent but didn’t break.
“I thought our defense played really well.
We still gave up a couple explosive plays, but we didn't let them get
to the house and then made them continue to play and were able to get stops
and keep them from scoring,” he said.
Mershman says they have shown improvement through the first half of
the season. “I'd say our
coaching staff has done a really nice job of getting them prepared.
Our non league schedule got us prepared for the league.
I think we're continuing to get better. I
still don't think we're all the way where we need to be yet and I hope we
just continue to chip away and keep getting better every week,” said
Mershman.
Even if you are on a three game winning streak you have things to
improve. Mershman identifies a
couple. “Consistency on
offense and not just rely on the explosive plays for us.
Being able to drive and finish a drive in the end zone are things
that we need to continue to work on,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
afternoon, “Just making sure that we don't shoot ourselves in the foot
with some dumb penalties. Other
than that, I think we're getting there.
Just got a couple things to clean up.”
Tiffin Calvert (0-5,0-3) lost (34-14) to Lucas in “N10” action.
Mershman says they are going to give them all they have.
“A really good team in the aspect of playing from start to finish.
They're going to give you everything they got.
Right now, it's a smaller team in the “N10”, so they can't bring
as many bodies out there as some of the bigger schools can.
They're fighters and we have got to be prepared to be ready for them
to come out and wanting to hit us in the mouth,” said Mershman.
Published 9/22/26
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Centerburg
to Play Improving Loudonville
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Colella
Centerburg, the defending champion in the Knox Morrow Athletic
Conference, pays a visit to Loudonville on Friday night for a conference
game with the Redbirds.
Centerburg (3-2,2-0) would score in all three phases of the game
including two interception returns and a kick return for a score in a
(48-28) win over Northmor in “KMAC” play.
Coach Andy Colella says their overall play was solid.
“Just proud of the kids once again.
Being able to score in all three phases you know that adds a
different element to what we're able to do and then for teams to prepare for
us as well,” said Colella.
The Trojans scored four times in the third quarter.
Carter Waggoner threw for 138 yards and two TD’s.
Loudonville (3-2,1-1) beat East Knox (26-14) in “KMAC” play last
week.
Colella says the Redbirds are improving and playing with confidence.
“They do have some young guys out there, but when you watch them on
film, they play really hard. You
can tell that they're getting better and they're learning and they’re
playing with confidence, you can tell that, and that could be a scary
thing,” he said.
Colella says it might be important to score early in the game on
Friday night. “That's what you
want to do. The longer you let
them hang around the more confident they're going to get and the belief that
they can win and they've shown that they can do that,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Sometimes when you have that element
there's the belief factor, but they've proven they can win.
So, clearly, they're a good football team.
You can tell that they're well coached and their kids play super
hard. So, I think that gives you
an idea of the kids and the belief that they have in their coach.”
Published 9/22/26
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“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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Bellevue
Has to be Fundamental
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Alex Shepherd
Bellevue begins play in the Bay Division of the Northern 10 Athletic
Conference on Friday night at home against the Edison Chargers.
The Redmen (3-2,0-0) lost (10-3) to Sandusky Perkins in a crossover
game last week.
Coach Alex Shepherd says they had a chance to win it.
“Our kids came to play. We
were right there and it gave us a shot at the end.
At the end of the game, they made one more play than we did and they
got in the end zone and we didn't. Our
kids played really, really well and we had a shot at the end and it just
came off short,” he said.
Edison (2-3,0-0) smoked winless Norwalk (42-0) last week.
Bellevue had whipped the Truckers (55-0) the week before.
Shepherd says Edison is younger this year, but still solid.
“Edison's always an extremely well coached team.
They always play really, really hard.
They always punch above their weight for sure.
They are starting a few new kids.
They lost a really good senior class last year.
So, they got a handful of kids that are new, but they're getting
better each week and they're going to be tough.”
Shepherd says the Chargers still run their option offense.
“They're still running their option game and reading some things
and get the ball on the edge and letting the quarterback make the decisions
and they do it well,” he said.
When it comes to containing that option, Shepherd says they have to
be fundamental and read their keys. “You
have got to be sound and then you got to be disciplined.
Kids have to read their keys and do their job.
If you get caught looking in the backfield or trying to do someone
else's job it can be a long night,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
night, “On defense it is a struggle getting off the field.
So, we've got to have a really good week of practice and make sure
our kids know what they're doing and do their job.”
Published 9/22/26
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Willard
Has to Stop Run
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eli Fisher
Willard will be down at Buckeye Central for a game in the Northern 10
Athletic Conference on Friday night.
The Flashes lost (29-14) to Seneca East last week in “N10” play.
Coach Eli Fisher says they executed their game plan pretty well.
“Our kids played hard and they executed our game plan to a really
high level and that kept us in the game.
Seneca East is a really good football team and program.
We were just proud that our kids battled.
You don't like to take moral victories, but we were in the game and
they competed,” said Fisher.
Willard had 262 yards of total offense in the game.
They held explosive Seneca East to 345.
Willard (2-3,0-3) will be at Buckeye Central (1-4,0-3) for an
“N10” game this week.
Buckeye was blown out (41-14) by Bucyrus in a conference game last
week.
Fisher says Buckeye wants to be a run first team.
“They like to run the football and they keep it pretty simple
offensively, but again they're going to do what they do and try to beat you
at it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Our kids are going
to have to play well, especially up front.
We've been having a hard time stopping the run, so we're going to
have our hands full if we don't do that.”
Fisher says they want to put Buckeye behind the sticks.
“It's key to get stops early in downs.
It's similar to playing the teams like Lucas and Bucyrus that we've
played. You have got to stop
them on first and second down and force them into throwing downs the best
you can,” he said.
Published 9/22/26
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Wooster
Has to Know its Rules
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ray Leek
Wooster hosts the New Philadelphia Quakers in action in the Ohio
Cardinal Conference on Friday night.
Last week, they scored a bunch of points, but lost (44-30) to
Lexington in an “OCC” game.
Coach Ray Leek says they got off to a show start and couldn’t make
it all up. “It's one of the
instances where you can't put yourself behind.
We’re down 23-6 going into half.
Made too many mistakes, hurt ourselves truly.
Our kids fought for four quarters, battled back, gave a chance at the
end there. So, proud of our kids
for the effort and the fight they're showing, but we've got to put four
quarters of football together in all three phases of the game,” said Leek.
Wooster (1-4,1-1) is at home for New Philadelphia (2-3,2-0) on
Friday. New Philly blanked
Mansfield Senior (35-0) in their league game last week.
Leek says the Quakers want to run the football and they are a
physical football team. “They're
realiy good. They want to run
the ball. They've got a lot of
guys back. They’re really
talented and physical,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We
are going to have to the show up this this week and stop the run first
because that's their identity. Defensively
they fly around. In their 3-4
they bring a lot of guys, they bring a lot of pressure at you, bring
pressure from different ways. So,
we have got to be ready for that as well.”
In order to stop the New Philadelphia run game, Leek says they have
to be very fundamentally sound. “We
have to play assignment football. Our
guys have got to get aligned and do their job.
Trust the guy next to them and fly around and be physical.
That's the only way you go stop the run, so we've got to be more
physical this week. We've got to
play sound defense and make sure that we're aligned and we know our
assignment,” he said.
Published 9/22/26
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“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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PM
Bucyrus
Must Limit Explosive Seneca East
Click
here to listen to an interview coach Jon Butchko
Bucyrus, a game behind the leaders in the Northern 10 Athletic
Conference, plays at home against Seneca East in a conference game on Friday
night.
The Redmen (3-2,2-1) routed Buckeye Central (41-14) last week in
“N10” action.
Coach Jon Butchko says they were able to make a lot of big plays.
“We finally displayed what we've always wanted to do offensively
and that was hit a bunch of big plays. Go
very fast. We start a bunch of
underclassmen and guys new to the program.
We were able to just jump out early and I think that caused some
disorganization for Buckeye Central,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
night, “A team we hadn't beaten in my time here.
So, we knew we were going to get their best shot.
We had several big plays. We
averaged like 11.1 yards per snap, which is very, very great.
I think we're starting to showcase some of the things that we think
we can do pretty well.”
Quarterback Isaac Makeever has run for over 500 yards and thrown
eight touchdown passes.
Butchko says he is the straw that stirs the drink at Bucyrus.
“He's a talented athlete. He
is great student and he's an outstanding young man.
He runs around and makes plays. I
said that when he got here in the ninth grade.
He's the emotional regulator of our team.
As he goes, everybody around him goes, a tremendous leader, he's
getting better as a quarterback, he's a heck of a competitive guy.
He’s an excellent baseball player.
I tell everybody that will listen this guy's probably a baseball
recruit,” he said.
Seneca East (4-1,2-1) downed Willard (29-14) in a conference game
last week. Their only loss comes
(30-22) to Hopewell-Loudon two weeks ago.
Butchko says Seneca East wants to play fast and be efficient.
“I think we see the same things that we see from Seneca East every
year. Very, very good skill,
very tenacious. I know that when
you drive through Attica, at least they had it painted on the windows last
year, “We want to tempo you” and they certainly come out and try to do
that. So, we're going to have to
be assignment sound and identify with their playmakers and and not let them
have a whole bunch of space. Really
be as efficient as we can be against them on both sides of the ball,” said
Butchko.
Published 9/22/26
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Shelby
Focused on Stopping the Run
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Robert Mahaney
Shelby will be down at Highland to face the Fighting Scots in a
Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Friday night.
Down (14-10) at halftime they rallied last week to beat Galion
(31-14) in a conference game.
Coach Robert Mahaney says they had some players step up.
“A ton of credit to our kids to go over there and really kind of
stay the course. We talked about
at halftime we need to get back to doing what we do and playing Shelby
Whippet football and doing your job defensively and offensively execute
whenever it’s your time. We
had a ton of kids step up and kids scoring their first touchdowns of their
career and it was awesome. It
was awesome to see different kids step up and to see our guys that are
experienced kind of embrace those guys and help them get going.
Hopefully, the lessons learned these last two weeks will help us and
give us more depth moving on into the future,” he said.
Sophomore quarterback Hayden Duval threw two second half TD passes.
Senior Michael Shepherd was out of the second week due to illness.
Mahaney says their younger kids have gotten a lot of reps and were
ready to step up. “I think
that's why when you look around the state you see a lot of teams that have
playoff runs they seem to always have playoff runs because you get a lot
more practice time and it's a good time to develop kids.
I think we have been fortunate to have that.
You've seen a kid, like a sophomore quarterback step up and make
plays for us or a senior at quarterback make plays for us because of the
extra time that we've had in practice that they put in,” he told
Swankonsports.com, “We've had extra time and all that kind of stuff, but
you also give a ton of credit to just those kids stet up at the moment and
executing when it was their time to help their teammates.
I’m really proud of them again like I said.
All of those things are all help, but at the end of the day the kids
have got to step up and make the plays.”
Shelby (4-0,1-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll
in the large school division, is at Highland (1-3,0-1), who lost (26-22) to
Marion Harding in league play last week.
Mahaney says Highland wants to run it.
“I think the thing that pops up is how hard they play.
They are really big up front defensively.
They kind of play their gaps really sound.
The Mic backer, the (Kane) Stover kid, flies around to the football.
So, I think when you talk about them defensively, they're very stout
up front. They've always been
really sound in coverage too. They're
really, really sound in coverage. Defensively,
you can see they play really well. Offensively
they do a really good job. Offensively,
they find different ways to run the football.
Their quarterback is a good athletic, their running back runs hard
and their big up front. So, I
think when you're talking about Highland they're going to find ways to run
football, play good defense, and if you can do that in high school football
you can have success. So, we
have got to make sure when we travel over there that we're ready to go and
ready to handle all those things that they're going to throw at us,” said
Mahaney.
Published 9/18/26
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Hillsdale
Has to Tackle
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Trevor Cline
Hillsdale plays at Smithville on Friday night in a key game between
contenders in the Wayne County Athletic League.
Last week, the Falcons (4-0,1-0), #5 in the Swankonsports.com
football coaehes poll in the small school division, trimmed Dalton (21-16)
in their league opener.
Coach Trevor Cline says it was a quality win for them.
“Last week, was a good win for us.
Dalton is a very good football team even though they are sitting at
0-4 right now. All four of their
losses have come against quality opponents.
So, it’s been a tough go for them, but they played some quality
teams. So, getting a win against
them was a big win. That was the
best team that we had played up to that point.
The same thing going into this week, Smithville is going to be the
best team we have played so far,” said Cline.
Smithville (4-0,1-0), #2 in our poll, hammered Waynedale (46-13) in
their league game.
Cline says they have an athletic backfield.
“They have a lot of things great about their team this year, but
their quarterback and their running back/receiver.
They're two of the better athletes that we will go up against all
year. We are going to have to
find a way to be able to contain them because if not we will be in for a
long night defensively. They
have got multiple guys who can make plays.
Our guys are looking forward to the challenge,” he said.
Cline says they have to play their best game this season.
“It's going to be something that we're going to have to make sure
that we play our best four quarters that we have up to date if we want to
put ourselves in a position to win. Our
guys are looking forward to that. As
a competitor these are the games that you're always looking forward to.
So, our guys have had a great week of preparation and they're looking
forward to going out there (Friday) night and getting a chance to compete
against one of the best teams in the area,” said Cline.
There are two big keys for the Falcons, according to Cline, tackling
and being physical. “I feel
that we have to have our best game to date tackling because we have got to
make sure that against #20 their four, five yard gains don't turn into
touchdowns due to broken tackles,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday
night, “He's going to be the fastest kid we've seen so far.
We have to be extremely physical.
Each year we play these guys usually the team that's the more
physical team ends up winning the games.
So, that's something that we're going to try to do (Friday) is be
able to out hit them and be physical of the line of scrimmage.”
Published 9/18/26
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Perkins
Has to be Sharp
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jalen Santoro
Sandusky Perkins is at Bellevue in one of five crossover games in the
Northern Ohio Conference on Friday night.
On week four, the Pirates (4-0), #2 in the Swankonsports.com football
coaches poll in the large school division, smoked Harvest Prep (52-13) in a
non-conference game.
Coach Jalen Santoro says they put the game away early in the third
quarter. “It was one of those
games where I believe we played our most complete game yet. We got off the
to a quick start. We had a
blocked punt setting us up on the one-yard line where we punched it for a
score. The following drive they
turned over on downs inside their own 40 yard line.
We had one play score after that.
We jumped on them early and they battled back.
They have a really good quarterback last week, a kid that’s
committed to “BG”. They made
it a game there. They had some
good drives,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We were able
to double dip around halftime and that was a big deal for us.
We came into halftime with a score and then came out of halftime with
score. That kind of set us up
for the third quarter and had a big third quarter and finished the game the
right way. We ran the ball
extremely well. I thought we
were assignment sharp across the field both offensively and defensively.”
Bellevue (3-1), #4 in our poll, overwhelmed Norwalk (55-0) in a cross
over game.
Santoro says the Redmen are young and improving.
“You're seeing the progress their making over the last year here
with coach (Alex) Shepherd with what they want to do offensively.
They are playing some younger guys and you can see on tape those
younger guys are just making big strides.
The younger the player is they're going to make those big strides
from week one to week two especially week two to week three and as the year
goes on,” said Santoro.
Santoro says they have to make reeds and communicate those.
“We have just got to make sure we are very assignment sharp.
The biggest thing for us right now is we're communicating across the
board whether it’s offensively, defensively, in the secondary and up
front. I think once we do that
we give ourselves a great opportunity. So,
that's something we have harped on this week making sure we are focusing on
us and making sure we're being the best versions of ourselves.
If we do that it will give us a chance to win a game,” he said.
Published 9/18/26
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Wooster
Must Take Momentum Forward
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ray Leek
Wooster takes to the road on Friday night to meet Lexington in Ohio
Cardinal Conference action.
They broke a 15-game losing streak last week with a (34-13) win over
Madison.
Coach Ray Leek says they put a complete game together.
“I thought our kids played well in all three phases.
Finally put a game together. Again,
like I've said in the past if they just stay a locked in and continue the
process and just continue to get better daily to win football games.
So, had a good week preparation, so if we can continue to do that get
better daily that's our goal,” said Leek.
Leek says you just don’t win on Friday, you win during the week too
and that has to continue to happen for them.
“We want to have that same process and same mindset.
Our goal for the year wasn't to win one football game, so we want to
get another one this week and just continue to stack those.
Building that momentum, keep going, so have another good week here
and then come out Friday night ready to play,” he said.
Wooster (1-3,1-0O is at Lexington (0-4,0-1) on Friday night.
The Minutemen lost (43-7) to Dover last week.
Leek says they have to come out and play well if they are going to
win this week. “They've really
good. They’re had a tough non conference schedule.
So, they've got some athletes that that we're going to have to stop
and shut down,” he told Swankonsports.com, “I think it should be a good
matchup. It’s going to be at
their place. It's always hard to
go on the road and play in the “OCC”.
So, again we've got to be on our “A” game in all three phases.”
Published 9/18/26
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Columbian
Must Finish
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Ottney
Tiffin Columbian takes the bus to Huron to meet the Tigers in a
crossover game in the Northern Ohio Conference on Friday night.
Last week, the Tornadoes (2-2) were outscored (42-33) by Lima Senior
in a non-conference game.
Coach Ryan Ottney says they gave themselves a chance.
“It was a great game. We
fought hard and we continued to fight to the last whistle.
We had opportunities. We
pulled within one point with seven minutes to go in the game.
We had opportunities to get off the field defensively and just
couldn't get it done. We gambled
on fourth down and they made the catch and made a move and ended up scoring
and then got a two point conversion to go up by nine.
Again, my players fought hard and drove right down the field and gave
us an opportunity and it didn’t happen.
Hate the result, but love the fact that we continue to keep fighting
every single opportunity we have,” said Ottney.
Huron (0-4) fell last week (26-7) to Margaretta in a non-conference
game.
Ottney says the Tigers are really like them in a lot of ways.
“They are very similar to us. They
played a tough schedule to start the year off.
They're battling really, really hard and they're playing hard.
I think that they're definitely looking for their first win on the
season and they're going to present some issues for us with what they do
offensively and defensively,” he told Swankonsports.com, “They're mixing
up some ways with their fronts and bringing some pressure.
So, we just have got to stay disciplined in what we do offensively
and defensively and not allow ourselves to make those mistakes in the key
situations. It's all about
finishing this week… finishing, finishing, finishing.
The last two weeks has really been frustrating for us as we haven't
been able to finish the games off, so hopefully this week we're able to get
on track and get that taken care of.”
Ottney says really it is a mental thing for them.
“It's a hurdle and sometimes it becomes a mental thing.
It doesn't click until it actually happens and once it happens and
then it becomes something that’s a little bit easier to kind of climb
over. We're putting ourselves in
these adverse situations in practice and trying to get our guys to see when
we have success and celebrate it so that we can hopefully in the game
situations be able to emulate that and get over that mental block and be
able to get the win,” he said.
Published 9/18/26
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Ontario
to Play Fast Galion
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Eckert
Ontario plays another quality opponent this week as they are over at
Galion against the Tigers on Friday night in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference
action.
Galion won this game (7-0) last year.
Last week, the Warriors (4-0,1-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com
football coaches poll in the large school division, stuffed Clear Fork
(17-7) in “MOAC” play on Friday night.
Coach Aaron Eckert felt they played tough football and that was
crucial for them. “Last week
was a typical Clear Fork-Ontario football game.
A physical game. We knew
that they were going to bring the wood to stay.
It was good for us to again match that intensity and physicality and
exceed it at times. So, I’m
happy with way our guys performed last Friday,” he said.
Galion led at halftime last week, but fell (31-14) to Shelby in a
league game.
Eckert says they put a fast team on the field.
“Galion has got an identity of just being a tough group of kids and
this team is no exception. They
lost quite a bit from last year's group, but defensively they play a similar
way. They play smaller guys and
they create chaos and try to make you do things you don't want to do
offensively because they're so fast,’ he told Swankonsports.com, “This
team reminds me a lot of last year, especially how fast they are on defense
when they fly in the football. They
just don't have guys that have been around doing it for two, three, four
years on the varsity level. So,
this Galion team has probably played one of the tougher schedules in our
area. Going to St. Mary’s
Memorial, and Carey and Bishop Ready and then Shelby.
So, they're going to be battle tested when we play them this week for
sure.”
It is Kane Hey’s first year as the Galion quarterback, but Eckert
says he is a playmaker when he gets the ball in his hands.
“You can’t say enough about that kid.
As I'm watching film this past weekend, I mean there's lots of times
where it's a bad snap or something happened that he comes away and he throws
a touchdown or he comes away and he runs for 35 yards.
He's just elusive as can be and just does a nice job of just keeping
the chains moving,” said Eckert.
Published 9/17/26
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Mohawk
Expects Battle With Upper
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eric Daniel
Mohawk hosts Upper Sandusky in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game
coming up on Friday night.
The Warriors (3-1,2-0) won their third straight game by dismantling
Bucyrus (56-7) last week.
Coach Eric Daniel says once they got started they rolled pretty good.
“We had pretty good execution.
The kids up stepped up and didn't underestimate the opponent, which I
was proud of. They were
definitely I feel like they were another step tougher.
Honestly, at one point it was 14-7 in the second quarter.
So, it took us a little bit to get going and adjusting to their team
speed that we talked about. Once we got settled in our kids tackled well.
We were sound on our back end. Offensively,
Kaden (bish) and then Levi (Tiell)
made some really big plays for us, which is kind of what we expect, and our
offensive line played very well,” he said.
Tiell scored four touchdowns against Bucyrus.
Upper Sandusky (2-2,1-1) was belted (49-14) by Carey last week in
league play.
However, Daniel says the Rams really have a lot talent and they
expect to battle. “Well, a lot
of people get their clocks cleaned by Carey.
They're much better than the score indicates. I
think the (Tripp) Phoenix kid from Carey, the quarterback, got loose, who is
one of the fastest kids in the state of Ohio.
He runs a 10.8 or a 10.7, 100, he's unbelievable.
We just don't have that speed. So,
it's going to be a much closer, tougher test for us this week.
They are very good. It's
another notch up in our competition. I
think there are very, very, very good football team from what I've seen.
They're athletic, they're really good up front and big.
They're defensive front seven kind of sticks out.
They're very good against the run.
They have got athletes everywhere.
It's going to be a much tougher test for us and part of our ramp up
as we work through our schedule,” said Daniel.
Upper’s Keegan Dunn leads the conference in passing yards with 979
and has thrown 10 touchdowns.
Daniel says the Rams pass offense is very good.
“I told the kids I said he's the best quarterback we will have seen
to this point this year. He's
one of the top one or two quarterbacks probably in our conference.
He's athletic, he's big, they're not afraid to run him at times if
they need to. He scrambles well
with his legs to let receivers get open.
He also scrambles well to get first downs.
They'll run him a little bit with design runs.
They got four, five receivers that are very, very good.
They’ve have got the top, in terms of receiving yardage, receiver
in the league, that's that #5 (Kasen Gottfried).
He's a great player. They
have got another kid back that was hurt at the beginning of the year, who
scored a touchdown on us last year the (Cane) Rupe kid, he's a great
player,” he told Swankonsports.com, “It's going to be a very tough,
physical battle. It's going to
be a very close game that's what we anticipate.
We told our guys we want that. We
want you to get tested and you should want that.
We want to see what kind of improvements we have made.
We really haven’t a close, and that's not to be disrespectful to
any of our opponents, we haven't had close games since Margaretta.
I liken these guys, I think they're very similar to Margaretta in a
lot of ways. So, we anticipate a
very close game and a tough game.”
Published 9/17/26
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Highland
Prepared to Adjust
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stover
Highland plays at home against Shelby in a contest in the Mid-Ohio
Athletic Conference on Friday night.
Last week, it came down to the end with Marion Harding edging the
Fighting Scots (26-22) in a conference game.
Coach Ty Stover says their play was improved over the previous two
weeks. “We played really well
last week to be honest with you. I
tell you what, coach (C.J.) Westler has that Marion Harding team going
pretty well. That series that
call could have went either way. It
was a little bit of a false start on that play and then I think the ball hit
the ground, but that's not the way the cookie crumbled.
So, we didn't come out on top last week, but we did play a lot
better, so I'm happy with that. We’re
looking to just improve a little bit more each week,” said Stover.
Shelby (4-0,1-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll
in the large school division, has won 27 straight regular games.
Stover says, yeah, the Whippets are very good.
“They’re really good. Coach
(Robert) Mahaney has got them going again.
They have got a real nice offensive line and defensive line.
They have got skilled guys. They
have got the (Brady) Bowman kid that has broke all those receiving records
there. We're just looking to
improve, we call it one degree. So we're trying to take one degree of
improvement every week. Just to
see where we're we measure up,” he said.
Due to illness, Shelby quarterback Michael Shepherd, and some other
major players, have not played in wins over Bellevue (27-7) and Galion last
week (31-14) on Friday.
Stover says their game plan has varied a little, but not a lot.
“We're not really sure what we are going to get, but they haven't
strayed too far away from what they typically do.
When they put a tight end into the spread offense, they're about 80%
run, so that's one thing that we can kind of key on.
If they don't have the tight end, they're a little more balanced as
far as run-pass,” he told Swankonsports.com, “They haven't really
changed. They have got into
“wildcat” a little bit with their tailback and taking that backup
quarterback and put him on the sidelines for a few plays.
Like I said, they can always flip the analytics at any point because
of their athletes and things like that.
So, it's tough to prepare. You
just got to stay fundamentally sound. Pre
snap alignment is a huge deal for us that we're trying to work on also
because you know if you can align pre snap you have a better opportunity to
be successful during each snap.”
Published 9/17/26
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Mt.
Gilead Plays Very Good Danville
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Reid
Mt. Gilead goes to Danville to clash with the very talented Blue
Devils in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game on Friday night.
They started their league schedule with a (46-18) romp over
Loudonville last week.
Coach Mike Reid says they got off to a solid start and executed the
game plan. “I was really,
really happy with the way we came out offensively.
Our offensive line took charge and Bo Sayers ran extremely hard in
the first half and Tyler Harr had two quick hitters for big gains in the
second half. Both of them were
over 100 yards for the game and we rushed for nearly 400 yards again.
Our defense was pretty stout. Although
Loudonville had a really nice offensive attack.
There are a bunch of young kids that play really good football.
They are going to be something to deal with in the future.
We were able to score more points than them and that's what it's all
about. We're proud of the guys
and we needed that win carrying into Danville this week,” said Reid.
Bo Sayers ran for 190 yards and four scores for the Indians.
Danville (4-0,1-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll
in the small school division, walloped Fredericktown (52-7) last week.
Reid says they just have players all over the field.
“Well, I'll tell you what they have got a great mix.
They have got a lot of kids back from last year, but they're also
playing some young kids that are doing extremely well at a lot of positions.
I'm impressed with them up front.
Their offensive and defensive lines are very, very solid.
They want to get right after, they want to be real physical.
Offensively, they have just a myriad of weapons that it is an awful
lot to try to defend and shut down. The
(Parker) Proper kid has done a great job at quarterback.
The (Nolan) Ridgeway kid, they put him in at what you might call a
wildcat, but he was their starter last year before he got hurt,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “He can throw the ball from there
too. Cy Wallace is one of the
best backs we've seen probably all year.
He's extremely fast. His
younger brother (Briggs) they throw him the ball out in space.
He can move too. They
have got a couple of deep threats out there on the edge as well.
They have got a nice tight end-defensive tackle that’s a great
blocker and can also catch balls. They
have got just got way too many threats.
#7 (Brycen Burke) and not a whole lot of people talk about him but,
he just really impresses me on film as being very, very athletic.
So, they have got a lot to deal with.”
Reid says the Danville defense if pretty good too.
“Plus, their defense is only allowed eight points a game and some
of those points were scored under JV's late in games, so I don't know how
much their varsity's actually given up.
So, it’s just going to a challenge and it’s going to take a great
effort on behalf of our kids,” he said.
Published 9/17/26
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Willard
to Face Well Balanced Seneca East
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eli Fisher
Willard will be over at Seneca East to tangle with the Tigers in a
Northern 10 Athletic Conference game on Friday night.
The Flashes (2-2,0-2) lost (28-22) to Lucas in a conference game last
week.
Lucas ran for almost 400 yards and Willatd coach Eli Fisher says you
can’t allow that kind of success running the football.
“I thought our kids played hard.
We just made too many mistakes and couldn't stop the run.
They're a good football team and they have got good backs and a good
line. So, we're proud of how our
kids battled, but at the end of the day you have got to stop to run to win
and we couldn't do that,” said Fisher.
Seneca East quarterback Branson Robinson has thrown for 900 yards and
10 TD’s this season.
Fisher says he can make all of throws.
“He's a stud and he’s got to be one of the better quarterbacks
around and he's only a sophomore,” he told Swankonsports.com, “It
doesn't hurt who he's throwing to. He's
got five guys who can throw to and they're all good.
So, their offense is really good and they can run the ball too.”
Fisher says Seneca East linebacker Jackson Gayheart is just
outstanding and the kids that surround him aren’t too bad either.
“They still have the same skilled kids.
It really starts with Gayheart in the middle.
He's a heck of a player and their outside linebackers are darn good
too. They have got a big
defensive line and you can go on and on about how good their defense is,”
he said.
Published 9/17/26
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Crestview
Still Maturing
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Steve Haverdill
Crestview plays at home Friday night against the South Central
Trojans in a Firelands Conference game.
Last week, they gave up more than 300 yards passing and were drilled
(48-13) by New London in an “FC” game.
Coach Steve Haverdill says they did not come out ready to play.
“We just didn’t come out of the gates ready to play and they did.
They got on us early and it just got snowballed from there.
When you have got a young group that's still learning as they go you
want to get out and start early and then be able to work with it and then
our kids we weren't able to do that and it showed Friday night. New London
played to their game plan and played well for four quarters.
We will learn from that and continue to build on this year to get
better,” said Haverdill.
Haverdill says each of the four games they have played so far has
been a learning experience for his young team.
“Each week there's something different, there's new experiences
formed that they're going through and it's going to make us better in the
long run going through the stuff that we are now.
As long as we continue to work and fix some of the mistakes we are
making and continue to build on that it'll be worth it in the future,” he
said.
South Central found themselves down (50-0) at halftime and lost
(62-8) to Monroeville last week in a conference game.
Haverdill says they will have to play better to beat the Trojans.
“They've got some good athletes in the skilled positions.
The line is pretty big guys up front.
They're getting better. They
had a rough one last week against Monroeville, which Monroeville is a very
good football team,” he told Swankonsports.com, “We're going to have to
be ready. They're going to come
after us just like everybody else has. We're
going to have a weather the storm and not make mistakes to be able to hang
with these guys.”
Published 9/17/26
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Tygers
Have got to Want it
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach David Phillips
Mansfield Senior has a tough trip on Friday night as they must travel
to New Philadelphia for a meeting with the Quakers in Ohio Cardinal
Conference play.
Last week, they did some good things early in the game, but let it
get away in the second half as were drilled (47-7) by West Holmes in an
“OCC” game last Friday.
Coach David Phillips says they still have not put together four
quarters of football. “We got
some positive notes. We did the
complete opposite. We played in
the first half and didn't come out the second half.
So, that's the one thing like I've been saying just got to play all
four quarters, but we did show some good signs.
We did show some positivity with the kids, so we're getting it
together,” said Phillips.
New Philadelphia (1-3,1-0) scored four times in the second half last
week and smoked Ashland (35-10) in an “OCC” game.
Phillips says the Quakers don’t make mistakes and they are a
physical team too. “They are
well disciplined, fire off the ball and they’re physical.
Those three things you need in the game of football.
It's going to be tough going up in that atmosphere.
So, hopefully our kids got the lesson this time,” he said.
Phillips says they can’t get beat up front like they have been so
far this season. “In the game
of football if you lose in the trenches, you lose the game.
That's where the game is won in the trenches,” he told
Swankonsports.com, “The last few weeks we've been losing in the trenches.
So, our offensive line and our defensive line.
We have just got to get together.
We have got to show physicality.
We have got to want it. A
lot of kids don't want it and we have got to get to that.
They’ve going to get to that.”
Published 9/17/26
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Clear
Fork Needs to Bounce Back
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Brokaw
Clear Fork returns to the valley this week as they host the Pleasant
Spartans in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Friday night.
The Colts (3-1,0-1) lost for the first time last week when Ontario
beat them (17-7) in their “MOAC” opener.
Coach Aaron Brokaw says they were pretty good on defense, but not
very good on offense. “I
though defensively we played really well.
We were a little bit out of position on a longer touchdown run they
had. Offensively, we struggled
getting into rhythm. We had some
opportunities to make plays just came up short there in the second half,”
he said.
Last week, they held Ontario to 234 total yards, but gained only 187
yards themselves.
Brokaw says they were pretty fundamental on defense, but they did
allow a couple of big plays. “I
thought Alex Schlosser had a really good game.
The front six played pretty well.
We just had a couple of missed tackles.
Guys maybe playing with their head down looking for big hits rather
than just doing what they needed to do.
Overall, defensively, we did enough to get the job done.
Offensively we needed we needed more,” said Brokaw.
Some teams in the area have been decimated by injuries.
Brokaw says they have had a few, but they have been important
players. “We’ve had some.
The Zanesville game was pretty rough because we lost Davis (Hoeflich)
and Luke Remy and that's two, two way starters,” he said.
Pleasant (2-2,1-0) blasted rival River Valley (48-13) last week in a
conference game.
Brokaw says they will show you a lot of looks on both sides of the
ball. “Pleasant likes to mix
up a lot of formations defensively. Defensively,
playing a 3-4 and giving you 50 looks, giving you some 6-1 looks.
They like to keep things in front of them on defense,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Offensively they like to move people
around. They run with their
quarterback quite a bit. So,
formationally they present some challenges.
A big thing for our guys this week is we just got to bounce back.
We had a tough one last week. You
got to get back to work and do the things that put you in position to be
successful on Friday night.”
Published 9/16/26
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Western
Has to Stop Run
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stevenson
Western Reserve hosts Norwalk St. Paul in a battle of rivals in the
Firelands Conference on Friday night.
The Riders (4-0,1-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the small school division, whipped Mapleton (56-12) in their
“FC” opener last week.
Coach Ty Steveenson says again it was a game that they played better
in the second half. “Anytime
you start conference play 1-0 it’s a good thing.
It was kind of tale two halves. We
were good in the first half, but not as good as we needed to be.
Then I thought the second half we played a little better and held
them scoreless the second half and able to tack up a few more touchdowns.
So, it was a good night for us,” said Stevenson.
Quarterback Colton Meagrow threw three TD passes for the Roughriders
in the win.
Norwalk St. Paul (1-2,0-0) did not play last week as they cancelled
their game with Lagrange Keystone due to injury concerns.
Stevenson says they can’t get behind the Flyers this week.
“You can't spot them, you can't give touchdowns early spotting and
points and let them get going because they're a very good football team.
It sounds like they're really healthy.
So, it will be a big time challenge this week,” he said.
St. Paul has been the most consistent football power in the Firelands
Conference over the last 25 years and Stevenson says this is just a typical
Flyers team. “They are just
like they always have been. They're
going to be physical, they're going to run football right at you, they're
going to play action really well and be disciplined and do things really
physical,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “The defense
has a bunch of big dudes that can play football and fly around and hit you.
So, it'll be a great challenge.”
The Flyers had been throwing more the last couple of years, but
Stevenson says that is not the case this season.
“Their back to their identity.
They have a different quarterback, so they're definitely running
football hard and doing the things that they've always done up front.
Yeah, they're definitely like 75 percent of 80 percent run.
So, they're definitely kind of pounding the football right at you,”
he said.
Published 9/16/26
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Carey
Expects Physical Battle
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jonathon Mershman
Carey play at home in a critical game in the Northern 10 Athletic
Conference against rival Colonel Crawford on Friday night.
They shared the “N10” title last year.
Carey won last year’s game (24-14) again at Carey.
Last week, the Blue Devils belted Upper Sandusky (49-14) and coach
Jonathan Mershman says it was another step in the right direction.
“I thought we had made strides week after week after week.
I feel like we're still not right where do we want to be executing
and consistency, but we are starting to get there,” he said.
Colonel Crawford broke a two game losing streak with a (44-12)
destruction of Tiffin Calvert.
Mershman says this is a team that is reloading.
“They're kind of in the boat that we were in they graduated some
guys. They've been working some
new guys. They're getting better
week in and week out as well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
afternoon, “They had two really tough losses to two really, really good
teams. So, it's going to be one
of those things where who has gotten better in the in the first four
weeks.”
It appears that both teams have a run first mentality and Mershman
says the game is going to won up front.
“I mean both teams are similar in that aspect.
They both want to control the line of scrimmages on both sides of the
ball. So, when you get two teams
that match up like that if you like line play it's a good one to go to,”
said Mershman.
The Carey coach says both teams want to be physical.
“Yeah, I was kind of trying to just elude to that, but yeah
physical play. It's going to be
a slobber knocker all the way through,” he said.
Published 9/16/26
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Lucas
With Another Test
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jim Sweat
Lucas will entertain the Tiffin Calvert Senecas Friday night in a
game in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference.
They went to Willard last week and held of the Flashes (28-22) in an
“N10” game.
Coach Jim Sweat says it was a quality win.
“The kids played well last week.
Now, we still have some things to clean up.
Overall, they gutted out a good win last week on the road.
Anytime you get in conference play and can get a win on the road it's
a good Friday,” he said.
Brady Anschutz ran 143 yards and Brady Guegold had 134 in the win
over Willard.
Sweat says they need to continue to get better as a football team.
Right now, he says it’s the little things that need to be
sharpened. “Down the stretch
we made some mental mistakes. Missed
a couple snap counts and it cost us a chance to end the game with the ball
and we had to end up punting and play defense.
Stuff like that. The
little things. Being able to
stay focused for four quarters and stay physical for four quarters.
That's the area of improvement most for us,” said Sweat.
Lucas (2-2,1-1) host Calvert (0-4,0-2) on Friday night.
The Senecas are coming off a (44-12) thumping from Colonel Crawford
in a league game.
Sweat says have a lot of the elements that make up a good football
team despite their record. “They
are well coached. I've got a lot
of respect for the coach up there. He's
in a similar situation to us. Small
school and trying to play in a conference with pretty much mostly larger
teams than us. I know on film
what we've seen, what really sticks out, is their athleticism, big up front,
really handle the pressure well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
evening, “They have moved the ball pretty consistently against some pretty
tough teams. Talk about a
murderous schedule that they've had so far this year.
They might be the best 0-4 football team right now in the state of
Ohio. That's been the important
thing all week long. We talked
to our kids we can't just look at their record and think that it's a win for
us because that's not the case. They're
well disciplined and get after it.”
Published 9/16/26
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It’s
About Learning for Lexington
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jacob Owens
Lexington entertains Wooster in a game in the Ohio Cardinal
Conference on Friday night.
The Minutemen continue to search for their first win of the season.
Last week, they were smoked (43-7) by Dover in “OCC” play.
Coach Jacob Owens says they really didn’t help themselves last
week. “Dover came and they're
really good, really talented. They
played a tough schedule. They
took it to us a little bit. We
kind of shot ourselves in the foot. We
had some good drives. We tied it
up 7-7 at one point, but couldn't overcome our own mistakes,” he said.
Owens says one of the biggest things they are dealing with is a lack
of consistency. “We are kind
of young still. We have got lot
of guys that haven’t played a lot of varsity football,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We are going through the growing
pains of that right now. Our
kids don't give up. We have
played hard through four games, but we just came up a little short.”
Wooster (1-3,1-0) broke a 15 game losing streak with a (34-13) win
over Madison last week in conference play.
Owens describes them as an athletic team that will come in Friday
night with some confidence. “They
look good. They’re an athletic
brunch. They have got some
players out there that could do some things and be explosive.
Made some really explosive plays against Madison.
They showed some things that they haven't shown before early in
season. So, they're coming in
confident, as they should, they are 1-0 in the conference, and we have got
to come ready to go,” said Owens.
Published 9/16/26
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Monroeville
Better, Healthier
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Tylor Nester
Monroeville, the defending Firelands Conference champion, will be
down at New London to take on the Wildcats in a conference game on Friday
night.
The Eagles (1-3,1-0) overwhelmed South Central (62-8) in “FC”
play last week.
They led (50-0) at the half and coach Tylor Nester says they did a
lot of good things. “Really
proud of our coaching staff and our kids.
We talk about it each week and we're getting better, but the
scoreboard wasn't showing it. So,
trusting that process, having faith, and staying the course.
Like I said, our coaches, our leadership, our captains and our team
did just that,” said Nester.
Quarterback Colt Clark and some other major contributors retuned to
the lineup after injuries and Nester says that helped last week too.
“It always helps getting everybody back healthy and strong.
Plus, getting more and more reps our line is going to continue to gel
and all over the place,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening,
“Definitely I'm excited to have some kids back.”
New London (2-2,1-0) has put together two straight wins after a
(48-13) walloping of Crestview last week in league play.
It was their first win over the Cougars since 2015.
Nester says they have kids that can make plays and that makes them
dangerous. “They're much
improved. Skill wise, the
(Henry) Thomas kid can get up and go after the balls.
Also, quarterback (Jarrett) Menci. second year starter, he can get
the ball out quick. He's not
afraid to run it either. So, he
can make the play with his legs as well,” he said,
Published 9/16/26
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Norwayne
Wants to be Physical
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Adam Indorf
Norwayne makes the cross county trip to face the Waynedale Golden
Bears in a Wayne County Athletic League game on Friday night.
After a very challenging non-league schedule, the Bobcats drilled
Rittman (34-7) last Friday in their league opener.
Coach Adam Indorf says they got solid play from a lot of kids last
week. “I thought we came out
with a lot of energy and got after it after an early pick six for them.
We settled in and rallied off I think it was 34 points and did a good
job. I think everybody had a
contribution in that win. Just
looking for the same this week and continue to get better, continue to
improve and be efficient,” said Indorf.
Indorf likes the improvement his team has been showing early in the
season and that is something that must continue.
“We want clean a lot of things up.
I don't think we're ever happy in particular, but just be efficient
at what we do and do our best to continue to challenge the young men as we
work through the week,’ he said.
Waynedale (1-3,0-1) got whipped (46-13) by a very good Smithville
team last week in league play.
Indorf says they want to be physical and at the same time be a
fundament team on both sides of the ball.
“They're going to be big up front on those sides of the ball, so
we're going to have to make sure that we have great technique in blocking
and then block construction for our defense and athletic on the perimeter.
On defense we're make sure we're trying to keep them off balance,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “Trying to disguise
coverages or give multiple coverages. Bring
some pressures off the edge hopefully get some get some shots on the QB.
For us offensively, just be disciplined and be physical up front at
the point of attack and be physical with at the line scrimmage.”
Published 9/16/26
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Fredericktown
Focused on Improvement
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Spitler
Fredericktown will play their first game at their renovated field on
Friday night as they host Cardington in a Knox Morrow Athletic Conference
game.
They were thrashed (52-7) by Danville in a conference game last week.
Coach Scott Spitler says Danville is really good and they couldn’t
get anything going. “I think
Danville is very talented. They
have a lot of experience returning. They
stress you just so much. They've
just got weapons at every skilled position.
Defensively, I’ll tell you what they get after you.
They played a whale of a game. We
did some things that you can't do against good football teams and just never
really were able to kind of get our footing in any phase of the game.
Sometimes it happens and you have got to roll your sleeves up and get
back to work,” said Spitler.
Spitler says they have to learn for last week, but they can’t dwell
on it. “You watch the film on
Saturday morning. You be smart
in how you critique yourself and what you have got to get better at and then
it's you know time to flush it and move on.
You can't let Danville beat you two weeks in a row by stewing and
worrying about what happened last Friday.
So, our mindset with the kids was we learned about what we need to do
better at on film and then it’s on to Cardington week,” he said.
Fredericktown (2-2,0-1) is at home for Cardington (0-4,0-1) on
Friday. The Pirates were routed
last week (41-8) by Northmor in a conference game.
Spitler says Cardington has good skill and they will force them to be
disciplined on defense. “They
have a lot of skill. They have a
really nice, tall, athletic quarterback.
Good size in the trenches. I
think they have been in some tight ball games and just haven't come out on
the right side of them,” he told Swankonsports.com, “They definitely
have the skilled players that you have got to be disciplined from their
wing-T attack. They stress you
vertically and horizontally. Defensively,
out of their odd stack they like to bring pressure and they are very
athletic at the linebacker positions. While
you prepare for them it's really our mindset has been this week so far as
it's just making sure Fredericktown is getting better and we're a better
version of ourselves come Friday night.”
Published 9/16/26
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West
Holmes Wants Four Quarters
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Keaton Leppla
West Holmes takes a three game winning streak into a game at Madison
against the Rams in Ohio Cardinal Conference action on Friday night.
It was kind of a take of two halves last week for the Knights
(3-1,1-0) as they got it going in the second half and smoked Mansfield
Senior (47-7) in an “OCC” game.
Coach Keaton Leppla says that was good, but they have been more
consistent in their play. “We
kind of saw the opposite week three against Orrville.
We played really well on offense all four quarters and the defense
came alive in the second half. It
kind of flip flopped last week. The
defense did a great job for all four quarters obviously only giving up only
seven points. Offensively it was
a slow start for us into the second half.
Again, we've came out and we've proven we play really, really, really
well in the second half. For us
our biggest stress point important for the rest of the the year is we have
got learn to get all three phases of the game started off fast at the
beginning of the game. If we're
able to do that, we're going to continue to have even more success,” said
Leppla.
Madison (2-2,0-1) lost (34-13) at Wooster in league play last week.
Leppla says they are a team that is still building.
“They have big, physical kids, tough kids.
They want to establish a run trying to control the line of scrimmage.
They've got some good size all across the board.
It's a program with a new coach that's had some turnover and they are
finally get some consistency. So,
you see on the film you see the growth of the program.
You see that consistency starting to pay off,” he told
Swankonsports.com, “It got away from them last week, but they’re a team
that's going to come in and they're going to give us everything they
have.”
Leppla says they have to be focused and ready to play on Friday night
to have success. “When you
start winning games you're going to have a target on your back.
Again, it's not with the “OCC” I say there's no such thing as an
off week in the “OCC”. So,
we're going to be tested. They're
going to give us their best shot. We
have got to focus on us and what we do and do that well.
If we do that we're going to have success,” he said.
Published 9/16/26
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Another
Challenge for Crawford
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jake Bruner
Colonel Crawford faces another very good team as they travel to Carey
to meet the Blue Devils in a Northern 10 Athletic Conference game on Friday
night.
Avery Powers scored four touchdowns and the Eagles (2-2,1-1) hammered
Tiffin Calvert (44-12) in conference play last week.
Coach Jake Bruner says they did some good things, but they have to
get better. “Anytime you get a
win you want to be happy. We saw
some improvement in some areas and some things we have to improve on.
Just our consistency in those things.
Obviously, we have a big opponent this week and going on the road to
another really quality program that that does a lot of winning,” he said.
Carey (2-2,2-0) smoked Upper Sandusky (49-14) last week in conference
play. QB Tripp Phoenix had
another big day with five touchdowns.
Bruner says they have speed and power.
“Just a typical Carey team. They
play really hard and really well coached. With Tripp Phoenix and the (Logan)
Summit kid they have got tremendous amount of speed, but they also have
powerful kids in the (Mace) Puckett kid and some guys like that that,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Names it seems like they've
been at Carey for nine generations. They
just do a great job of being really consistent and running the football and
being explosive. It's a great
place, a great atmosphere for high school football.”
Bruner says Phoenix is very hard to contain.
“Not only is he a great football player he’s also a tremendous
track athlete. He high jumps
6’7”. He's one of the
fastest kids in probably nine counties.
He just has explosive power and speed and athleticism.
Just that kid alone makes you worry every play about what he's doing
and where he's at and doing those things.
So, we have got a big challenge for our team a big game up there on
Friday,” said Bruner.
Bruner says the Carey defense is fast and aggressive.
“They've run to the ball so well the ball.
They're aggressive, they overwhelm you with pressure and try to keep
you in front of them and they do a great job of tackling in space.
Things you just see year in year out from those guys.
Total respect for how they play the game and the toughness they show.
They are like us they have played a pretty might schedule so far, so
we’re looking forward to the challenge and always a great place to play
small school high school football up there,” said Bruner.
Published 9/15/26
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PM
St.
Paul Has to Score
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Chris Doughty
Norwalk St. Paul faces a big game this week as play at Western
Reserve in Firelands Conference action on Friday night.
Due to serious injury problems, St. Paul cancelled their game last
week against LaGrange Keystone, which had originally been signed to replace
Plymouth on their schedule.
St. Paul coach Chris Doughty says they are a lot more healthy this
week. “We definitely had some
guys take a step forward this week. Definitely
a good use of the week. We were
able to get a lot of work in with the guys that were healthy enough to
practice and our injured guys are definitely in a little better position now
that to continue playing a football game,” he said.
Western Reserve (4-0,1-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football
coaches poll in the small school division, blasted Mapleton (56-12) in a
conference game last week. Colton
Meagrow three TD pass in win.
Doughty says the Western backfield is very talented and their defense
is pretty good. “Offensively
Landyn Wiegel and Cooper Roe do a heck of a job running the football out of
the backfield. Wiegel had some
huge numbers last year and he's already put us some huge numbers again this
year. Colton Meagrow at
quarterback for them he's a heck of an athlete.
He's not real big at 150 pounds, but he does a great job spreading
the ball around throwing it and he's also dangerous runner as well,” he
told Swankonsports.com Monday night, “Then another weapon for them is
Tyler Cooper at 6’4”, 230 pounds at tight end and defensive end for
them. Defensively, they've got some aggressive defensive line play with
Landyn Wiegel and Jackson Davidson at defensive end for them.
They do a great job of setting the edge for them and Peyton Kerby and
Austin Kolb at inside linebacker do a great job of setting the tone in the
middle of the defense for them. So,
they've got some really good weapons on both sides of the ball and they're
playing really well right now.”
Doughty knows that they have to slow down that Western offense, but
he says they have to do a much better job on offense, they have scored only
14 points all season. “That's
going to be a really big challenge for our defense.
Honestly I've been really proud of both the way our defense has
played and improved throughout the season, so this is going to be a really
good test for us defensively again to get some stops.
More importantly, it's going to be important for our offense to put
the ball in the end zone this week. We've
got to figure out a way to sustain some drives and score some points because
we know Western’s going to score some points and we have to be able to
match that,” said Doughty.
Published 9/15/26
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Ashland
Has to Battle
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Valentine
Ashland will be over at Dover to challenge the Tornadoes in an Ohio
Cardinal Conference team on Friday night.
They lost for the first time this season last week to (35-10) to New
Philadelphia in “OCC” play.
Veteran coach Scott Valentine says they didn’t handle adversity
very well. “Yeah, we were up at halftime (10-7) and you have got to come
up and play a good next two quarters. We
came out and we didn't execute some things and had a lot of mental mistakes
and didn't handle the adversity when they scored a couple on us to help us
get back,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Those are
some things we have got to focus on as we go into this week.”
Valentine says with a younger team they just have to continue to
mature. “When you're young
when things aren't going right you've got to learn how to battle through.
We're just right now we don't have a lot of Friday night experience.
Things have been good for us the first few weeks there and then some
things went down and then we didn’t handle it really well,” said
Valentine.
Ashland (3-1,0-1) is at Dover (2-2,1-0) in league play this week.
The Tornadoes thumped Lexington (43-7) in the “OCC” opener last
week.
Ashland has played and scrimmaged Dover a lot over the years and
Valentine says he sees a typical Dover football team this fall.
“I see their normal Dover team.
They're very aggressive, they've got good talent in the skilled
positions. Upfront they do a
good job blocking it and getting off blocks, again it's going to be a test
and a challenge for us,” he said.
Published 9/15/26
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Bellevue
Has to Play Complementary Football
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Alex Shepherd
Bellevue plays at home in a cross over game in the Northern Ohio
Conference as they host the talented Sandusky Perkins Pirates.
After losing (27-7) to unbeaten Shelby on week three, the Redmen
(3-1), #4 Swankonsports.com football coaches poll in the large school
division, responded with a (55-0) destruction of Norwalk last week.
Coach Alex Shepheard says it could have been a trap game, but they
played well and had good focus. “Our
kids came out and we didn’t want the week prior to affect this past week. We
had to focus on one game at a time and that's what they did,” he said.
Perkins (4-0), #2 in our poll, beat up on Harvest Prep (52-13) last
week.
Shepherd says they are loaded again.
“They have playmakers everywhere.
Good guys up front. They
stop the run really well. They're
able to run the ball just as well as throw it.
So, we have got our work cut out for us,” said Shepherd.
Perkins is just really explosive and they score on big plays.
Shepherd says a key for them is to play explementary football.
“Part of helping out your defense is having a good offense.
If you can't stay on the field and you can't keep the ball in your
hands, they're just going to get more opportunities,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “The more opportunities they get
they're going to find something eventually.
So, we have got to play complimentary football.
Our offense has got to control the ball and have some success to help
our defense out.”
Published 9/15/26
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New
Philadelphia Wants to Build
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Johnson
New Philadelphia returns home on Friday night to host the Mansfield
Senior Tygers in an Ohio Cardinal Conference game.
They picked up a huge win last week by scoring four times in the
second half and smoking Ashland (35-10) in an “OCC” game.
Coach Mike Johnson says their defense was on spot all night and then
their offense really caught fire in the second half.
“I thought our defense played really well the entire night.
The only points we gave up was a field goal.
We threw a pick six to start the game out and then the defense played
phenomenal only giving up a field goal to Ashland’s offense.
Those guys know how to move it. So,
really, really impressed with our team in the second half and their ability
to run the football and our running backs made some big plays for sure,”
said Johnson.
Kolston Fox ran for 203 yards and two touchdowns last week against
Ashland. Overall, they ran for
393 yards on the night.
Johnson says this week a key for them is to continue to build
momentum off the win last week. “The
message of (Monday). We’ve had
three hard weeks leading up to last week of facing good opponents and heck
even last week Ashland's a good football team.
So, you build off this momentum.
You're seeing some of the fruits of your labor.
So, now it's let's get back to work and let's get ready for
Mansfield,” he said.
New Philadelphia (1-3,1-0) is home for Mansfield Senior (0-4,0-1) in
“OCC” action. The Tygers
were blasted last week (47-7) by West Holmes in an “OCC” game.
Johnson says this week they want to continue to be a more consistent
football team. “I think this
is one that our guys, I think we just need to keep trying to improve.
I mentioned to somebody we were kind of finding an identity and it
seemed like we found a little bit of an identity on Friday night,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Now we have got to build on that
identity and then continue to to try to stack reps, stack plays and get our
guys to the point to where we feel confident to move the ball.”
Published 9/15/26
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Wynford
Would Like to Play Keep Away
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andrew Amlin
Wynford makes the trip to Bascom this week to meet very talented
Hopewell-Loudon in a meeting in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference on
Friday night.
Last week, the Royals (2-2,1-1) totaled more than 400 yards on the
ground and hammered Buckeye Central (41-6) last Friday.
Coach Andrew Amlin says they came out and did what they wanted to do
and ran the football. “We ran
the ball well and it was good to see. Our
offensive line deserves a lot of credit for that.
They did a nice job and really improved from the week before.
I’m really proud of that. So,
we kind of feel when we get Braylon and Deegan in space somehow they can
make plays and they did that on Friday night.
So, it was good to see it's good to see our kids have some success
offensively because we've kind of struggled the previous two weeks,” said
Amlin.
Braylon Wells and Deegan Lutz both ran for three touchdowns against
Buckeye Central.
Hopewell-Loudon (4-0,2-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football
coaches poll in the small school division beat Seneca East (30-22) in a
“N10” game last Friday.
Amlin says the Chieftains are really good in the trenches.
“They’re physical and up front they are really good.
Their defensive line is easily the best unit we've seen so far this
year and most of those guys play the offensive line too, so they're a real
physical group,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They
really run the ball well downhill. They
get the quarterback involved in the run game.
They actually run like three different quarterbacks.
Two them are runners, one is more of a passer. So,
they make you defend a lot of things. They’re
really good at numbers in the attack. They
are just stout and it’s hard to move the ball on them.
Seneca East really struggled last week to move the ball on them.
That’s a concern for us because Seneca East is a pretty good
football team.”
Amlin says they would like to possess the ball and keep it away from
Hopewell, but that won’t be easy. “If
we could do that and kind of try to shorten the game.
That will improve our confidence in the game if we can shorten bit.
Get some first downs and keep the ball away from their explosive
offense. Like I said, they do
such a good job defending you. We're
going to have to play well to be able to do that,” he said.
Published 9/15/26
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Seneca
East Focused on Improvement
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ed Phillps
Seneca East will entertain the Willard Flashes in a Northern 10
Athletic Conference game on Friday night.
The Tigers challenged talented Hopewell-Loudon last week before
falling (30-22) last Friday night.
They totaled 306 yards of total offense and quarterback Branson
Robinson passed from 233 yards and two touchdowns.
Coach Ed Phillips says they played a very good game.
“We did a lot of really good things and had a chance right up to
the very end and was right on the cusp of knocking them off probably for the
first time in the regular season in quite a while.
So, just need to go out and keep improving like we have been and then
finish the deal this week,” he said.
Seneca East (3-1,1-1) has continued to play good football this year
and Phillips says they want to focus on continued improvement.
“I think that this team is improving on a day to day basis and then
certainly on a week to week basis,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
evening, “We didn’t get the “W” last week, but we certainly were
better than we were the week before. If
we keep doing those things it’s going to continue to go well for us.
We'll stack some things up that are pretty good for us you know
hopefully this week against Willard.”
Willard (2-2,0-2) lost (28-22) to Lucas in an “N10” game last
week.
Quarterback Jake Rothaar has 511 yards rushing this season, that’s
third in the “N10” after four weeks.
Phillips says they have to contain him.
“They spread you out on offense and they have got a quarterback
that was a really good job running the football.
He can throw it pretty good too, but they want to run the ball with
him. Defensively they get after
you. So, it presents some
challenges for us,” said Phillips.
Published 9/15/26
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Buckeye
Central must Practice Well
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jordan Phillips
Buckeye Central will host Bucyrus in a game Friday night in the
Northern 10 Athletic Conference.
Another longtime rival Wynford destroyed Buckeye (41-6) last week in
“N10” play.
Wynford ran for 407 yards last week against the Bucks.
Coach Jordan Phillips says they just didn’t play very well.
“We didn't play very well, that's the bottom line and it really
comes from I think attention to detail and practice.
Just attention to detail overall.
We didn't stop the run, didn't run it very well, and that's a recipe
for disaster in high school football,” said Phillips.
Phillps says this week they have start by having good practice
sessions in preparation for Bucyrus. “I
tell the guys you have got to win on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Your game on Friday you win
during the week. It's about your
preparation and knowing the details of your opponent.
We're going to have a great week this week.”
Bucyrus (2-2,1-1) was hammered last week too.
Mohawk whipped them (56-7) in league play.
Phillips says this is the best team that Bucyrus has put on the field
in many years. “That’s a
good football team. This is the
best team they've had in quite some time.
They're athletic, they're fast, they play hard.
They're very detail oriented. The
kids do their job. Like I said,
this is the best version of their team they've had in quite some time,”
said Phillips.
Bucyrus quarterback Isaac Makeever is fourth in the league in rushing
with 466 yards. His brother
Wyatt is fourth in the conference in receiving yards with 307.
Phillips says they are playmakers.
“They've got a couple brothers that do a really nice job.
The quarterback and the running back are brothers.
He runs it well, he spins it well, he's definitely going to stress
every part of the defense,” he said.
Published 9/15/26
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“Your First Source for All Things Sports”
“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Galion
Needs to Create Matchups
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Matt Dick
Galion will be at home for the Ontario Warriors in an important
Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Friday night.
Last week, they led Shelby (14-10) at the half, but the Whippets
scored three times in the second half and beat the Tigers (31-14) last
Friday.
Coach Matt Dick says they just made too many mistakes in the second
half. “I think we played a
really, really good first half and the second half obviously hats off to
Shelby they played a good second half. We
just got in our own way. Too
many false stars, snapping penalties, personal fouls, you name it, it just
felt like we just couldn't get momentum to go our way,” he said.
Galion (2-2,0-1) hosts Ontario (4-0,1-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com
football coaches poll in the large school division, on Friday night.
The Warriors downed Clear Fork (17-7) last week.
Dick says Ontario can do a lot of things.
“I think they have a lot of athletes everywhere, at receiver, at
quarterback, they are an explosive group of kids.
They can run the ball too,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday
afternoon, “They can put in some big boys up front and just run behind
them. So, I think when you have
a bunch of good receivers out wide and you have a big old line it makes for
a tough challenge defensively. On
the other side of it they bring a 3-3 stack and they bring lots of
pressure.”
Dick says with that kind of personnel it will force the Tigers to
make adjustments. “They do a
good job of okay this ain't working and they jump to the other.
I think as the defense you better be able to do both as well.
Sometimes you're going to put another defensive lineman into the game
and other times you will need another “DB”.
They do a good job of mixing it up.
I like their athletes out in space.
Offensive and defensive guys do a good job.
I think that we have some pretty good athletes on our team as well
and it will be fun to watch the guys match up,” said Dick.
Dick says they have to be in the right place and then make some
plays. “As coaches our biggest
adjustment is how do we put kids in better situations.
If we get beat with us doing the right thing.
I think that’s our biggest adjustment we're going to try to make
this week is can we just get a little bit smarter and a little bit more
disciplined. If we do that I
think there is going to be some really good payback as a coach and some
success if we get that done,” he said.
Published 9/14/26
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“Your First Source for All Things Sports”
“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM
Madison
Needs to Continue to Grind
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Kobi Johnson
Madison will be at home for West Holmes in a matchup in the Ohio
Cardinal Conference on Friday night.
The Rams (2-1,0-1) lost (34-13) at Wooster in “OCC” play last
week.
Coach Kobi Johnson says a good second half was not enough for the
Rams. “Start off just giving
credit to the Wooster team. They
came out playing fast, playing physical and were able to jump on us as early
a little bit. We didn't do the
best job in responding right away to that adversity that we faced there
early in the game, first quarter, and kind of spotted them 21 points there
in the first half. They made some great plays.
We went into halftime looking to make some adjustments and come out
and we played much harder I felt like in the second half.
I was proud of our kids and the way that they fought all the way down
to the end of the game, but still just weren't able to kind of get over that
hump of the first half. Like I
said, credit to Wooster played a great game of football.
Made some nice plays in the passing game and played well defensively.
So, they did their job and took care of business.
We have got a refocus ourselves on kind of figuring out what we need
to do to get the job done against West Holmes this week,” said Johnson.
Johnson says they need to be resilient and he thinks they will do
just that. “We talk to our
team all the time. Oe of the
main characteristics we want them to have in life is just being resilient
and bouncing back from tough challenges and tough things that happen to you
in life. Our team is showing
that we're capable of doing that. We
didn't perform well against Shelby week one and then came back week two and
week three and played some good football games.
So, I know that our guys are capable of doing it and I'm excited to
see them put together a great week of practice and to get the job done
against West Holmes at home. It’s
senior night, so our guys have got a lot to play for.
Just want to see them go out and compete their butts off,” he said.
West Holmes (3-1,1-0) hammered Mansfield Senior (47-7) in “OCC”
action last week.
Johnson says the Knights have a lot of playmakers.
“They’ve put some points up this season.
You look at their game against Mansfield last week scoring 47 and I
think against Orville they scored 50. So,
they’ve shown that they can light the scoreboard up.
It all starts with their offensive line up front.
They’re a physical group with great size.
They are capable of running the ball, but then they also get some
really nice receivers that they can throw down field to,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Sunday evening, “A little sophomore running back
that's a really talented player that we have got to be prepared for make
sure we have all eyes on him throughout the night to really try to slow them
down. Then on the defensive side
of the ball they're a disciplined team.
Coach (Keaton) Leppla does a nice job with their group as a whole of
playing good football and being physical.
So, it's a big task for us this week.
We have got to have a great week preparation go out and get the job
done.”
Published 9/14/26
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“Your First Source for All Things Sports”
“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM
Northmor
Needs to Continue Consistency
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Armrose
Northmor will be on the road at Centerburg in play in the Knox Morrow
Athletic Conference on Friday night.
They picked up their first win of the year last week in blasting
Cardington (41-8) on Friday.
Coach Scott Armorse says they execute well against the Pirates.
“We were you able to put those first three weeks of the season
behind us and we put together a pretty good plan and we're able to execute
it. So, I was really pleased
with how we played Friday night,’ said Armrose.
Quarterback Tanner Miley ran for two scores and threw for two more in
the win.
Like a golf swing, the biggest challenge is repeating what they did
last week this week against Centerburg, according to Armrose. “Doing
it consistently. That's just
something we hadn’t done the first three weeks and we were able to put
things together Friday night,” he said.
Centerburg (2-2,1-0) downed East Knox (21-9) last week as they began
their defense of the “KMAC” title. They
had lost (50-0) to Johnstown-Monroe and (31-13) to Worthington Christian the
previous two weeks.
Armrose says the Trojans will be one of the more athletic teams they
have seen all year. “They've
had a pretty tough preseason schedule as well.
They've played some good football teams and got a couple losses and
at the same time they got a couple really nice wins,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Sunday afternoon, “When you play Centerburg you know
you're going to see some of the top talent in the league.
They've got some of the best athletes that we'll see from any team
that we play all season long. They've
got a tight end-defensive end that's going to be playing at the University
of Florida. They have a lot
speed at wide receiver and at running backs.
So, they're definitely a big challenge.”
If they are going to win on Friday, Armrose says they need that
consistent execution on both sides of the ball.
“We're going to need to execute consistently like we did last
Friday night. We need to
eliminate mistakes. We need to
be able to tackle in space. We
need to consistently put drives together and move the ball down the
field,” he said.
Published 9/14/26
© Swankonsports.com
“Your First Source for All Things Sports”
“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
10 to midnight
“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM
Upper
Sandusky Has to be Better
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Russell Hall
Upper Sandusky must pick it up as they make the short trip to Mohawk
on Friday night to tangle with the Warriors in a game in the Northern 10
Athletic Conference.
They were smoked last week (49-14) by Carey in a conference game.
Coach Russell Hall says made too many mistakes against a very good
team and that cost them. “Unfortunately,
we just had too many mistakes. Mistakes
that we don't normally make in our run fits and things like that.
Just too many errors and unfortunately we didn't catch those errors
in time to get them corrected without giving up giant plays.
That being said, hats off to coach (Jonathan) Mershman and his staff
for having an incredible game plan and their quarterback for being crazy
fast,” said Hall.
Carey QB Tripp Phoenix had five TD’s.
Upper (2-2,1-1) travels to Mohawk (3-1,2-0) on Friday.
The Warriors pounded Bucyrus (56-7) in their league game last week.
Levi Tiell caught three touchdowns passes and returned am
interception for a score.
Hall says the Warriors are physical and they do a lot of different
things with the ball. “It's
another typical Mohawk team. Coach
(Eric) Daniel and his staff does a great job.
They’re a physical football team, hardnosed football team.
They go sideline to sideline,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday
afternoon, “They go right down the middle to 30 yard pass downfield.
So, very well balanced. Same
thing on defense. Very
hardnosed, quick, good in the run fits, good, sound pass coverage.
We'll have to bring our “A” game.”
Hall says they have to kind of forget last week and be ready to play
excellent football on Friday. “We
have got to wipe last week clean and reset for this week and play Ram
football the way we know how to play,” he said.
Published 9/14/26
© Swankonsports.com
“Your First Source for All Things Sports”
“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
10 to midnight
“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM
South
Central Figuring Things Out
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Derek Fisher
South Central plays at Crestview in a Firelands Conference game
Friday night between two teams searching for answers.
The Trojans (1-3,0-1) found themselves behind (50-0) at halftime and
lost last week (62-8) to Monroeville on Friday.
Coach Derek Fisher says they found out they need to make a lot of
improvement as a team. “Last
Friday was one of those ones where you still want to kind of throw the film
out. You hope that's the outlier
of your season. Don't know what
it was. Obviously, they're a
great team and they're great program. They've
had sustained success for the last couple years and they're kind of the
measuring stick for our conference. It
kind of gives us a reality of where we're at and where we need to be and
what we need to do to try and later hopefully reach that level at some
point. We're not there at this
point. So, back to the drawing
board. Try to stay positive and
trying to attack this next week and luckily we get 10 of these so that one
doesn't have to define our season,” said Fisher.
Fisher says they are going through the important process of self
evaluation. “We had a lot of
things that didn't go our way and we're trying to identify those right now.
Trying to figure out what it was.
Were we not ready to play? Not to take anything away from them,
they're a great team, but we also felt like we didn't put our best foot
forward,” he told Swankonsports.com on Sunday afternoon, “We're trying
to scratch the surface try to figure out what it is between switching things
up, is it a philosophical thing, is it just execution, so we're trying to
figure those things out.”
Crestview (0-4,0-1) was hammered (48-13) by New London is an “FC”
game last Friday.
However, Fisher knows that Crestview is a lot like Monroeville in
many ways. “If anything was
more true than it was last Friday it's that the records mean anything.
We were playing a Monroeville team that was 0-3.
I believe Crestview is 0-4 at this point of the season.
Again, they're one of the perennial powers of the conference year
after year. They are kind of the
measuring stick, or the barometer of the conference, so we're not
overlooking them by any stretch. So,
hopefully we can have a good week of practice and our guys will be ready to
play on Friday,” he said.
Published 9/14/26
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“Your First Source for All Things Sports”
“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
10 to midnight
“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM
Western
Must be Disciplined
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stevenson
Western Reserve kicks off Firelands Conference play on Friday night
at Mapleton against the Mounties.
After falling behind (21-0), the Roughriders rallied to beat
Northwestern (38-21) last Friday. Colton
Meagrow ran for 234 yards and two scores.
Coach Ty Stevenson is proud of the way his kids responded.
“Yeah, it was good win, anytime you get a win it's good.
We didn't start the greatest of any games ever.
We gave up kind of a double move their first drive and then fumbled a
punt, had a fumble in the backfield,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday afternoon, “We gave them kind of three quick scores there in the
first quarter. Then tribute to
our kids and testament to them that they were able to get going.
To rattle off 38 straight and put that thing away and get our young
guys in a little bit at the end of the game.
So, overall great win and happy to get league play 3-0.”
The Riders (3-0,0-0) are the only conference team unbeaten in
non-conference play, but Stevenson says this week begins a different phase
in the season. “Everybody is
0-0 in the league and regardless of what your record is in the non-league
schedule, so you have to show up every week and make sure you’re ready to
go and hope you play well, limit turnovers, and do things you need to do to
win a football game,” he said.
Mapleton (1-2,0-1) lost (43-36) to Crestline last week.
Stevenson says the Mounties have some weapons, especially Cameron
Nichols. “They have got some
nice pieces. #12 (Cameron
Nichols) is quick. I think it
maybe he won 100 in track this spring, or was definitely the very front of
it. So, he's really good and
they got another kid that's a really good long jumper.
#60 (Lukas Jenkins) he's been a big old horse in there for them for a
long time. So, they have got a
lot of nice pieces. They run a
tough offensive to stop. So,
we’ll have to play really well,” he said.
Mapleton runs a unique offense and Stevenson says they need to be
disciplined. “Coach (Mitch)
Young’s dad was obviously a very, very successful coach at Black River for
a long time running this pistol wing-T.
So, a lot of misdirection, a lot of counter stuff.
They've tweaked it a little bit this year to what they feel is their
strength with their team. This
#12 runs some jet sweeps and runs some counteractions.
So, it poses a lot of problems and you have got to make sure your
eyes are in the right place and have really good eye discipline to make sure
you’re taking care of your keys,” said Stevenson.
Western Reserve is scheduled to play Norwalk St. Paul next week in
“FC” play. St. Paul has
cancelled its game with Keystone this week.
St. Paul coach Chris Doughty says when the game was scheduled to
replace a game with Plymouth terms were established to the game taking place
would be dependent on the health of both teams.
“I had every intention to play this game with Keystone up until the
night of the Northwood game (last Friday) when multiple players sustained
injuries, with several not being able to participate in a game against
Keystone. By the end of the
Northwood game we have four of our two-way starters out with another five
players out with injury. This is
not an ideal situation, but the priority is to be healthy enough to compete
for the Firelands Conference championship,” said Doughty.
Published 9/11/26
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Lucas
Wants to Control Clock
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jim Sweat
Lucas is on the road to play at Willard in a game in the Northern 10
Athletic Conference on Friday night.
Both are new members of the expanded “N10.”
Last week, Lucas (1-2,0-1) lost (41-7) to the Carey Blue Devils in a
conference game.
Coach Jim Sweat says Carey’s speed gave them problems.
“I thought at times upfront. We
got a couple stops defensively, but we just could not handle their
quarterback last week. The kid
is one heck of athlete. He just
has speed that we can't replicate in practice.
We took one on the chin last week,” said Sweat.
Willard (2-1,0-1) fell (19-14) to Bucyrus in “N10” play last
Friday.
Sweat says Willard quarterback Jake Rothaar is really a talented kid.
“Their quarterback is another great athlete. I
think he's averaging over 120 yards rushing and over 150 yards a game
passing. We're going to have to
contain him to win a football game Friday night,” he said.
On Friday, Sweat says they must put together some drives and play
well in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
“I think we have to play complimentary football.
We have to be able to find a way to possess the ball,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We have not played well up front the
last couple weeks and that's on me as a coach.
We have got to get ready to go this week and play ball control
offense and play solid defense.”
Published 9/11/26
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Columbian
Has to be Disciplined
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Ottney
Tiffin Columbian hosts Lima Senior in a non-conference game on Friday
night.
The Tornadoes (2-1) were tied at 28 in the second half, but Ontario
would score three straight TD’s and win (49-28) last Friday.
Coach Ryan Otteny says they have to take advantage of opportunities.
“I was very proud of our fight.
We went down 28-7 and our guys battled back and tied it up and then
they just had some long sustaining drives.
We had opportunities we just couldn't get off the field on defense
and they took advantage of it. Again,
like I said before, they're a well coached team.
They made us pay for it. We
had plenty of opportunities to get some turnovers.
We ended up getting one. They
fumbled it I think three times we didn't get it and they threw one right too
us and we dropped it. So, when
those things happen you put yourself in a bad spot and you give them extra
opportunities and they took advantage of it.
It’s a learning lesson for us and something we have to make sure we
take advantage of when we have that opportunity,” said Ottney.
Lima Senior (2-1) beat Ben Logan (18-10) last week in a non-league
game.
Ottney says the Spartans are athletic.
“They're athletic as they can be.
They've got a freshman quarterback who's doing some really nice
things for them. They've got
some tall receiver #7 does some really good things.
A really quick speedster #2. He
can really do some nice things in the return game and some slip screens and
he gets the ball open in the open field but he's going to be very difficult
for us to get down,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening,
“We've got to key those guys and know where they are at all times and make
sure that we are under control. Step
on toes and make tackles and I think that's something we didn't do very well
for the first time this year last week.
So, I think that's the main focus for us.”
Ottney says it’s vital that they stay disciplined.
“We have to stay disciplined in our coverages.
Watching film with teams they have played.
Teams get sucked up and that's when they hit the shot over top.
We just have got to remain disciplined and trust our keys on what
we're doing and that's a challenge for us.
They are a team that's going to try to exploit that and take
advantage of it. So, we've got
to make sure that we stay back in our coverages and secure things up
front,” he said.
Published 9/11/26
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Upper
Must Play Physical
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Russell Hall
Upper Sandusky makes the short trip to Carey for a game in the
Northern 10 Athletic Conference on Friday night.
Decian Pelfrey ran for two touchdowns last week and the Rams smoked
Wynford (48-7) in their conference opener.
Coach Russell Hall says the win was a product of their hard work in
practice. “After that first
series of offense we executed really well and that was good to see.
Our kids worked hard, our coaches worked hard and we finally got the
benefits of our work,” he said.
Carey (1-2,1-0) drilled Lucas (41-7) in “N10” play last week.
Hall says the Blue Devils do a lot of things well and it begins with
being physical. “Carey is
solid everywhere. We haven't
beat them in over a decade. Seems
like every year they graduate a really good group of seniors and somehow are
able to go to the cupboard and just reload,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday evening, “They have got solid linemen, solid backs.
The defensive line is fast, aggressive linebackers, a typical Carey
team. The secondary is fast.
They're a very good team that has played a very hard schedule as
usual.”
Hall adds that if you can’t play physical football, you are not
going to be able to compete with the Devils.
“That’s kind of in their blood over there is physicality and
physical football. We played
them growing up when I was in middle school and high school, all that.
All except one year when they tried to go spread, they brought in the
spread coach, and he lasted a year. They've
done nothing but physical, smash mouth football.
If you don't answer that physicality call it's a long night for
whoever they're playing,” said Hall.
Published 9/11/26
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Northmor
Has to be More Consistent
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Armrose
Northmor entertains the Cardington Pirates in the opener for both
teams in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference on Friday night.
They fell to (0-3,0-0) on the season with a (41-14) loss to North
Union in non-conference play last week.
Coach Scott Armrose says they did not play well in the second half
last week. “We played a really
tough first half, which is kind of been the way that we've been so far this
year. We hung in the game with a
really good football team and kind of ran out of gas later in the second
half and it showed. They were
able to put us away. So, again
do we did some things that we really liked.
We made some mistakes that we need to correct.
We're going to continue to keep working and get better,” said
Armrose.
Armrose says they haven’t been as consistent as they need to be and
they have to in better shape too. “It
is a consistency issue and it has to do with, not to make excuses, but it's
the truth. One, we're playing a
ton of guys both ways and two some of these guys are pretty young.
So, we just have to just continue to get better.
Get in better shape. We're
playing against some teams here the last couple weeks that are just really
good football teams,” he said.
Cardington (0-3,0-0) lost (14-13) to Upper Scioto Valley last week in
a non-league game.
Armrose says the Pirates have a lot of size.
“They are one of the biggest teams we've played so far.
It might be the biggest team we have played all season.
They're huge inside on the defensive line and at linebackers.
Some of their linebackers are bigger than some of the defensive
linemen we have seen,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening,
“So, they pose quite a challenge for us inside.
They do a really nice job of stopping that inside run.
On offense, they are another one of the double wing type teams that
we see in in our league. They
run to the perimeter really well. They've
got a young quarterback that is better every week and has got a lot of speed
and does a great job the running football.”
Published 9/11/26
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Triway
With Tough One Right Away
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Cody Kelly
Wooster Triway hosts Northwest in a big early season matchup in the
Principal’s Athletic Conference on Friday night.
Triway (3-0,0-0), #3 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches poll
in the small school division, hammered Wooster (31-7) last week.
It was the first time the schools had met in more than 30 years and
Titans coach Cody Kelly calls it a fun win for them.
“It was a great win for us is it's fun to battle someone in the
same city as you. It’s a
community showdown. I thought it
was an awesome environment on both sides.
So, it was a fun game. Even
better to get a win out of that early in the year.
Now our sites are set on conference play, being 3-0 in non
conference, it’s where you want to be.
So, have got to keep moving on,” he said.
Northwest (3-0,0-0) downed Canton Central Catholic (30-21) last week
in a non-league game.
Kelly says the Indians are physical and want to run the football.
“They are going to be a physical team.
They want to run the ball. 85
percent of the time they're going to be trying to run that thing.
They have got three good backs. Two
running backs and a quarterback that runs the ball really well,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “We have got to be able to stop the
run. Their defense is solid and
then they don't let out big plays. They're
sound, they're disciplined. So,
we've run into one of the better teams we'll see all year week four, so I'm
glad that we get the opportunity to do that right away, but we have got to
be ready to go.”
Northwest was the only team to beat Triway in a conference game last
season, winning (32-29).
Kelly says this is one they would like to get.
“It’s the same as week one for us.
That’s we like to schedule the non-conference like we do.
We roll right into West Holmes, which is always a tough one. We have
Norwayne on the schedule. So, we
feel like we're ready, we're battle tested, we have got to win each one of
these. You have got to win
games. The “PAC” is always
hard. It's always pretty even.
This one has been one of the top teams the last few years that we
want to get pretty good,” said Kelly.
Published 9/11/26
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Wooster
to Meet Madison
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ray Leek
Wooster begins Ohio Cardinal Conference play at home Friday night
against the Madison Rams.
They were blasted (31-7) by Wooster Triway in a non-conference game
last week.
Coach Ray Leek says they hurt themselves too much.
“I think we made too many mistakes.
We turned the ball over too much.
Had a blocked punt. You
have got to win the turnover margin. Defensively,
we did create a few turnovers, so that was nice to see, but overall I think
Triway’s a really good football team.
So, we’re going to move on. We
open up conference play this week, so just have got to continue to get
better every day,” said Leek.
Wooster (0-3,0-0) is at home for Madison (2-1,0-0) on Friday.
The Rams whipped Norwalk (42-7) last week.
Leek says this is a team that is a lot better than it was last year.
“I think Madison looks really good on film.
They look a lot better than they have been in the past.
So, they’re a good job over the coaching staff and getting the guys
to buy in. They have got a
really good running back and they fly around on defense, so it should be a
good conference match up (Friday) right,” he said.
Big plays are a big part of high school football and Leek says they
want to make more of them of Friday night.
“Big plays help you offensively and when you're giving up deep
plays and big plays on defense it's usually a long night.
So, you definitely have to limit the big plays.
Those are goals that we have on both sides of the ball,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We definitely want to create those
on offense and you hate to see them on defense.
So, you want to make their offense put drives together.
You want to make them try to beat themselves and you know drive the
ball the length of the field. Offensively,
the more spark you have, the more momentum and big plays.
Those help you out a bunch on the scoreboard.”
Published 9/11/26
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For constant updates beginning at the kick
At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
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Buckeye
Central Wants the Ball
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jordan Phillips
Buckeye Central plays over at Wynford in a game in the Northern 10
Athletic Conference on Friday night.
In their conference opener last week, Buckeye (1-2,0-1) was punished
(48-0) by Mohawk.
Coach Jordan Phillips says they definitely learned from last week.
“It didn't play the way we wanted to for sure but, it was a really
good tape. The kids have been
receptive to making some changes. We've
had a pretty good week of practice here this week,” said Phillips.
Wynford (1-2,0-1) had a similar game to Buckeye last week, they were
whipped (48-7) by Upper Sandusky in a contest that was also over early.
Phillips says the Royals are also a team that wants to focus on
running the ball. “They want
to run the football. They've
actually got a pretty similar scheme defensively to what Mohawk ran, so just
solid. They're well coached,
they play hard and they're going to expect to win Friday,” he said.
Phillips says they want to dominate the time of possession.
“These game where you have two running teams field position is
huge. Our goal offensively is to
have two first downs on every drive. That
way you're flipping the field on a punt,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday afternoon, “When the defense is on the field for longer and
longer possessions they wear down and you can kind of keep drives going.
So, that's key for us is really winning on first down and getting it
to second and third and manageable and getting two first downs every
possession.”
Published 9/11/26
© Swankonsports.com
Follow our scoreboard Friday night
For constant updates beginning at the kick
At www.swankonsportshosting247.com
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Shelby
to Meet Explosive Galion
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Robert Mahaney
Shelby and Galion, the teams that finished one-two in the Mid-Ohio
Athletic Conference standings last year meet in Galion Friday night on the
opening night of league play.
The Whippets (3-0,0-0), #1 in the Swankonsports.com football coaches
poll in the large school division, beat Bellevue (27-7) last week with four
player out, including quarterback Michael Shepherd, due to sickness.
Coach Robert Mahaney has a big smile on his face.
“I’m really proud of our guys.
Really proud of the fight that they showed.
They could have made a lot of excuses for themselves, but instead
they dug deep playing against a really good Bellevue team.
Defensively, played really well.
Credit to our guys that continue to do job and trust the process.
Offensively, we found ways to make plays when we needed to.
Again, proud of our guys that stepped up.
We talk all the time about being process driven and that’s what we
have got to continue to do and continue to grow and do all of those kinds of
things, but really, really, really proud of our effort last week,” he
said,
Galion (2-1,0-0) rallied to beat Columbus Bishop Hartley (28-24) last
week in a non-league game.
Mahaney says they play hard and are very explosive.
“Coach (Matt) Dick does a great job over.
There are always extremely well coached and prepared.
Offensively and defensively and special teams really they're always
going to be prepared and have different wrinkles and different things that
they're going to throw at you. Then
when you talk about their kids and they play hard.
They have got a lot of talent. The
Hay twins are as good as players in our conference as anybody else.
You throw in some of the other experienced guys they have on a
regional final team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night,
“They have a really, really good football team.
With how they came back, I think they showed a lot of heart and
toughness and competitive drive really two weeks in a row to come back down
and make plays at the end of the game to win it.
That’s speaks a ton to their kids and their fight and the
competitive spirit that they have.”
Galion does a lot of different things on both sides of the football
and Mahaney says they have to be ready to adjust.
“Defensively, they do a great job of overwhelming you with
formations and with pressures and different stunts and play sound coverage
behind it. So, up front we have
got to really rely on our rules and trust that.
When we're on defense and they're on offense we have got to make sure
we are adjusted their to their formations and motions and all that kind of
stuff. Their quarterback does a
tremendous job of extending plays. We
have got to trust our rules there. If
he breaks contain and does those kinds of things you have got to be
disciplined and really work to do individually our job, so that the team
defense can succeed. Again, it's
one of the oldest rivalries in the State of Ohio.
We know that we're going over to their place and it’s going to be
exciting game. That's why you
play high school football to play in these kinds of games.
So, our kids are excited, but we know it’s a tough challenge that's
ahead of us,” said Mahaney,
Published 9/10/26
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“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM
Ashland
to Play Hungry New Philadelphia
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Valentine
Ashland hosts New Philadelphia at Community Stadium on Friday night
in a key early season game in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.
Last week, the Arrows (3-0,0-0), #4 in the Swankonsports.com football
coaches poll, turned it over six times, but held off Clyde (21-19) in a
non-conference game.
Coach Scott Valentine says they have been working on some things in
practice. “Again, as you as
you look at things a couple of turnovers were created by them.
They did a great job. A
couple of them were by our decision making at quarterback.
Then others were just not securing the ball.
So, definitely those were things we had to address this week.
Fortunately, our defense played a great game and allowed us to get to
win,” said Valentine.
Ashland stopped Clyde on a two-conversion in the final seconds to
secure the win and Valentine says enjoy the win.
“That's what I told kids. We
better feel fortunate we won, but you enjoy it every time you win because
they're tough enough to come by, so you have got to enjoy them when you get
them,” he said.
New Philadelphia (0-3,0-0) lost last week (37-14) to Indian Valley.
The team they have played have a combined record of (8-1) this year.
Valentine says the Quakers are physical and they are aggressive.
“They're always been a physical football team and so you see them
being physical. They've got some
fast skilled kids that we're going to have to be aware of,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Defensively they like bringing
some blitz, so we're going to have to pick up the blitz when we're throwing
it and be able to block them when we are running the ball.”
Both teams are a factor in the “OCC” race this season and
Valentine says they have to be ready to play at the top of their game.
“We always talk about it. We’ve
been in that situation at 0-3 in years past a few times.
Starting in the league everybody is 0-0.
So, for us it's going to be they're going to come out ready to go
trying to get their first win in the league and we've got to be able to do
the same,” he said.
Published 9/10/26
© Swankonsports.com
“Your First Source for All Things Sports”
“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
10 to midnight
“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM
Crawford
Moving Forward
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jake Bruner
Colonel Crawford plays at home against Tiffin Calvert in a game in
the Northern 10 Athletic Conference on Friday night.
The Eagles (1-2,0-1) were tied at halftime, but lost (38-22) to
Hopewell-Loudon in their league opener last week.
Coach Jake Bruner says he is proud of their effort.
“Number one, Hopewell-Loudon is one heck of a football team.
There is a reason they were picked to win the division VII state
title. They're one of the better
teams that I've coached against over the years.
That’s a credit to coach (Brian) Colatruglio and the players that
they have got there. I thought
our kids played really hard, but we didn't execute at times.
We fought back and played awful hard and I'm proud of our kids’
effort,” said Bruner.
Colonel Crawford had not lost two straight games since midway through
the 2022 season. Bruner says his
kids are still hungry to play football and have the right attitude.
“I think our attitude has been really good.
Obviously, nobody likes to lose.
It's hard to sometimes get yourself off the turf.
We did a good job I thought of coming back in that game and I think
our kids have fought every week. We've
got some injuries and stuff, so we played without some kids and had some
youth out there. I think our
kids have handled that really well. They
know we still got a long road ahead of us here with a lot of tough games
they ahead of us as well,” he said.
Tiffin Calvert (0-3,0-1) lost last week (41-7) to Seneca East in
league play.
Bruner says the Senecas lack some depth, but have some really
talented players. “Seneca East
is a really good, quality program, we play them in our league.
What I see Calvert is they've got some really good athletes.
Their running back, their defensive end and their offensive lineman
there is some really good stars in there as well as a freshman receiver,
he's a big star,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “I
see a lot of those like really good athletic players.
They just don't have as many kids right now.
Just numbers and I think a small school football around the area that
there are teams that have less than 35 kids maybe it's a little harder when
some kids get banged up. There's
definitely talent there, there's definitely good coaching there and you can
see that those kids play all the hard and we know we're going to get their
best efforts on here Friday night.”
Published 9/10/26
© Swankonsports.com
“Your First Source for All Things Sports”
“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
10 to midnight
“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
PM