NEWS LINE
Shelby
to Face Physical Bellevue
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Robert Mahaney
Shelby and Bellevue just means high school football and they renew
their rivalry on Friday night at the Shelby Athletic Complex.
The Whippets (2-0) are coming off a (48-6) destruction of Lexington
last week.
Coach Robert Mahaney says their defense fueled what was a great start
to the game. “I thought our
kids did a great job of coming out right away playing Shelby Whippet
football Playing really
well on defense. Doing their job
and swarming to the football and then offensively came out and executed and
found way to finish drives. So,
really clicked and special teams played well.
So, proud of our kids. The
first road trip is to be able to go out there and kind of handle our
business and to get started fast on the road is a really good sign.
Hopefully, things we can continue to do this season,” he said.
Bellevue (2-0) smoked Wauseon (42-21) last week.
Mahaney says this is a team with a lot of tradition and one that is
playing very well this year. “I
think Bellevue’s a really good football team.
I think we have got to understand this is an old “NOL” rivalry.
It's always a physical, tough football game and that's who Bellevue
is and who Bellevue has been. I
think we have got to make sure we're ready for that.
When you talk about this team specifically, I think the coaches do a
great job offensively and defensively to put their kids in position to
succeed,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “When their on
offense it all goes through the quarterback Ike Brown.
He does a tremendous job of running their scheme.
He's a good thrower and a good runner.
Defensively, the (Caden) Cramer kid is as good a linebacker as we
will see. He's a great offensive
weapon too. They have got a lot
of talent on both sides of the football.
They bring the Bellevue tradition and we know we are in for challenge
this Friday.”
Mahaney says they want to contain Brown, but that is not going to be
easy. “Again, they do a great
job offensively scheming things to make sure he can make some plays.
He's a kid that can when things kind of breakdown he can still make
plays. It’s been cool as an
opposing coach to see him develop from a sophomore year to his senior year.
You can see him get more confident and just been able to make more
plays. Now to see what he's done
so far this season it's going to be a great challenge for our defense. Again,
I think that's the excitement of playing this game.
This is why we scheduled this game week three to make sure before
league that we challenge ourselves with a with a team with a ton of
tradition and pride and great coaches and great players.
It's kind of a great measuring stick to see where we're at right
before we start conference play next week,” said Mahaney.
Published 9/04/26
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Galion
Working on Fundamentals
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Matt Dick
Galion puts out the welcome mat the Columbus Bishop Ready Silver
Knights on Friday night in non-conference play.
They picked up their first win of the season in holding off Carey
(21-17) last Friday. They
stopped the Blue Devils four times inside their own five in the final
seconds to get the win.
Coach Matt Dick says his kids fought hard.
“I really thought our kids battled hard, especially in the fourth
quarter. I think the film was
good for us because there's lots of things we need cleaned up.
We're a young football team, a lot of first year starters.
Especially, when we talk about the offensive line, the quarterback or
defensive linebackers. Some of
those reads and things take playing time.
I think our kids have done a really good job this week in practice
and I’m excited to see how far we can grow from week two to week three,”
he said.
Dick says they are working hard at refining things on both sides of
the ball including the concept of moving on to the next play.
“If we could just maybe not press and just leave the last play
behind that would definitely help us, but I think young players struggle
with that. I think sometimes you
see one mistake lead to a second or a third.
Some of the things, especially like passing.
You look at it and you're like okay, why aren’t we making more
completions. If you look at it
it's all three levels. It starts
with the offensive line, but the quarterback footwork, quarterback read, are
the receivers running the right routes.
It all kind of fits together. We
really took some deep looks at the offense and defense and tried to fix some
things. I'm excited to see how
it came out this Friday because I think the kids put a really good week of
work in. I hope they get paid. I
hope it looks better and I hope things start looking more crisp.”
Ready (2-0) beat Licking Heights (34-21) last week.
Dick says that Ready has a lot of speed.
“I don't really know the opponents they played, so I think it’s
hard to judge how good they are. I
can tell you they look fast. They
are a really, really fast defense ends, lots of running backs that are
running you know 40, 50, 60 yard runs over and over again.
So, they definitely looked explosive, especially in the run game.
Then defensively, their two defensive ends are just up the field and
seem to put a lot of pressure on your quarterback.
It makes it so that you're going to have to really protect him
because they're pretty good athletes on the edge,” said Dick.
Published 9/04/26
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Madison
With More Improving to do
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Kobi Johnson
Madison entertains the Norwalk Truckers on Friday night in a
non-conference football game.
They routed River Valley (41-12) on week two.
Coach Kobi Johnson says their execution was a lot better than it was
in their opener. “Our guys had
a lot of growth from week one to week two.
I've heard a lot of older football coaches that I've been around say
you can always judge a football team by the growth they show in those two
weeks. I'm just really happy
with where we were at in week two compared to week one,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Again credit to Shelby week one.
I think they're a bear and they're going to give a lot of teams a lot
of trouble this year. A ton of
talent everywhere, but our kids definitely learned from some of the mistakes
that were being made week one and we're able to show that improvement into
week two. We have got to keep
building off of that.”
Johnson says they have to keep getting better.
“I told our kids last week I watched a video and John Harbaugh was
talking about you know 90 percent, 10 percent. You
could have a kid that’s doing 90 percent of things right, but as coaches
were focused on trying to improve that 10 percent.
After watching the film on the River Valley game there's still plenty
of things on every play that we can correct from techniques and things of
that nature. Whether it's
execute scheme, but we have just got to continue to try to improve week to
week and build off of the week before. So,
just proud of our kids, but again there's plenty still to continue getting
better on,” he said.
Norwalk (0-2) was throttled (58-0) by Ontario last week.
The Truckers have had some injury problems.
Johnson says they run an offense you don’t see much anymore.
“They're a unique challenge. They
run a wing-T offense and they're under center and in and out of the huddle
really quick offensively. So,
that's definitely been an experience for us this week just preparing for
that and kind of trying to get our kids as ready as we possibly can.
It's really hard to simulate stuff like that when that's not what
your kids are used to doing on a day-to-day basis.
Credit to our scout team this week they really bought into try and
give us the best look possible and prepare us for Friday night.
I know that our varsity guys are definitely grateful for those scout
team guys as well just doing everything they can to give us a look to have
us prepared, so excited for it,” said Johnson.
Published 9/04/26
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Seneca
East to Play Young Calvert
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ed Phillips
Seneca East kick off the Northern 10 Athletic Conference portion of
their schedule with a short trip to Tiffin Calvert to meet the Senecas on
Friday night.
They are coming off s (28-12) win over Monroeville last week.
Coach Ed Phillips says for the most part it was a solid effort.
“It was a really good game for us other than penalties, we had a
bunch of them, but the good side of it was we kind of overcame and still
came out with a great win against Monroeville, which when it comes to non
league wins anytime you get one over Monroeville that's one that you feel
really good about. It makes us
pretty excited headed into week one of the league,” said Phillips.
Branson Robinson threw four scoring passes for the Tigers last week.
Calvert (0-2) lost (14-10) at Norwalk St. Paul last Friday.
Phillips says they are young, but they have some kids that can make
plays. “They improved a great
deal from week one to week two and had a really good chance to win that game
last Friday. So, they are a
young team that poses a lot of threats,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday evening, “They have a couple good running backs, some good guys
out the perimeter to throw the ball to and their quarterback has done a nice
job. So, offensively they give
you a lot of threats and then defensively you have got a lot of the same
kids that go both ways guys. They're
pretty talented. We are hoping
our depths can play a big role in the game on Friday night.”
Seneca East is expected to be in the mix for a conference title in
the expanded “N10” and Phillips says they want to get off of the right
foot. “That’s our goal to go
3-0. We can put ourselves in
position to do that and if we do that then our goal for the week is
accomplished and move on from there. Anytime
you start to league you know you want to put yourself in a good spot.
Get off on the right foot with win and Calvert's kind of standing in
our way of that
Monroeville
Needs to be Mentally Tough
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Tylor Nester
Monroeville will be at home for the Danville Blue Devils in
non-league action coming up on Friday night.
It was a loss last week for the Eagles (0-2) to Seneca East (28-12)
on Friday.
Coach Tylor Nester says they saw some steps forward.
“It was definitely a step in the right direction.
We started playing better together.
A little bit less mental errors, but we still gave up the ball, so
one of our focuses going into this week is take care of the ball and create
some turnovers. Regardless of
the scoreboard, from week one to week two we did see some noticeable growth
with our entire team,” he said.
Monroeville was very explosive last year, but not so much this year.
Nester says they have develop more mental toughness.
“We have got to score points and some of that is consistency and
some of that is just mental errors. This
week we talked a ton about mental toughness.
The weather here in North Central Ohio has been hot and whatnot, so
it came at a perfect time. Not
only mental toughness and that aspect, but play that next play and not
letting that previous play bug you,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday
evening, “The ability to pick each other up and gelling together even
more. Continue to strive for
greatness every day. We like
what we saw out of our kids this week.”
Danville (2-0) had their way with Utica to the tune of (39-13) last
week.
It’s the first meeting between the traditional small school powers
and Nester says the Blue Devils are pretty good.
“They are really solid all of the way around.
They are the returning regional runner-up.
Nice size and physicality up front on both sides of the ball.
They do have some skill. I
think they are brothers, the Wallace kids, they have some speed on the edges
and in the backfield. So, we are
going to need to keep everything in front and limit those explosive plays.
Our goal is to just play solid football one play at a time,” said
Nester.
Published 9/04/26
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Carey
Ready to go
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jonathan Mershman
Carey will travel to Lucas to open up play in the expanded Northern
10 Athletic Conference on Friday night.
The Blue Devils shared the “N10” title last year with Colonel
Crawford.
It’s was a heartbreaking loss for Carey last week as Galion held
them off (21-17) last Friday. They
had it inside the Galion five in the final seconds, but couldn’t stick it
in.
Coach Jonathan Mershman says they were deficient in two significant
areas of the game. “You can't
turn the ball over more than you receive turnovers, so can't be minus one in
that category and then allow more explosive plays than you have explosive
plays and expect to win the game. So,
we need to focus on ourselves and what we're doing and get back to basics
and make sure that we're not turning the ball over,” he said.
Mershman says with the weather this week they have had to jump
through a lot of hoops, but he hopes it paid off.
“Well, this week's been a whirlwind of practice with the heat and
everything and black flags and red flags, so we ended up practicing early in
the morning on Wednesday and I think we had one of our better practices that
we've had all year with that morning practice.
The kids were kind of different and the kids were kind of fired up
about it. So, I'm hoping that
translates into a win this Friday,” said Mershman.
Lucas (1-1) was downed (28-7) to Hillsdale in a non-conference game
last week.
Mershman says the Cubs are going to offer up a challenge for them.
“They only have like 28 on their roster, so they don't have a whole
lot of kids, but man some of the kids they have got are some studs and some
nice good size,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We're
going to have to deal with them probably being a little bit bigger than us
up front. #45 (Brady Guegold)
looks like a load in the backfield and they got some fast guys at receiver.
So, we have got our work cut out for us on the defensive end.”
Published 9/04/26
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Mohawk
Has to be Physical
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eric Daniel
Mohawk will be at home for the Buckeye Central Bucks on week one of
league play in the expanded Northern 10 Athletic Conference on Friday night.
They overwhelmed Cardington (56-14) last week in a game that was over
in the second quarter. Andon
Clouse threw five touchdown passes in the win.
Coach Eric Daniel says they got a quick start and that was key.
“We got started a lot faster and had some kids making plays that
maybe we didn’t necessarily make against Margaretta.
It makes all of the difference in the world.
We were able to hit some stuff in the passing game.
They were taking away the run game.
We were able to take what they were giving us and Andon made some
nice runs and we had some really nice plays from our receivers for sure.
Our offensive line was protecting very well.
I'd like to be able to establish the run game a little bit better as
we move forward. That's kind of
a point of emphasis for us is a little bit more physicality up front,”
said Daniel.
Buckeye Central (1-1) lost (20-14) to South Central last week.
Having a chance to win on the last play.
Daniel says he was impressed by Buckeye’s effort and heart.
“Their kids did not quit. They
won week one. They got down in
week two and battled all of the way back.
I mean they were a fuzz away from, I mean literally last second in
the end zone, a 50/50 ball that they almost came down with,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “They had a couple chances there at
the end of the game that they were literally flip a coin and they win that
game. Their kids showed a lot of
guts and a lot of heart. So, I
was very impressed. I give coach
(Jordan) Phillips and those kids a lot of credit.
They have got a lot of fight and I respect the heck out of them.”
Daniel says the need to compete with Buckeye up front.
“They are definitely more physical.
It’s noticeable on film. They
run the ball well. They have got
some really nice offensive lineman that kind of pop when you watch them come
off the ball violently. They
play well with their hands and leverage.
Their two running backs are very, very physical.
So, it’s going to be a good physical test for our kids.
That’s something that that our guys need.
We need to get tested in the trenches and hopefully it kind of
prepares us as we work through our league schedule,” he said.
Published 9/04/26
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Fredericktown
to Meet Athletic Utica
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Spitler
Fredericktown will play Utica on Friday night in a non-conference
game at Highland High School.
They blanked Johnstown Northridge (21-0) last week.
Coach Scott Spitler says they made a big jump in their execution from
week one. “I thought we did a
good job of correcting mistakes from week one. Most
importantly is taking care of the turnovers and having ball security.
We came out on a plus two in the turnover ratio with our defense
getting a fumble recovery and an interception.
So, good complimentary football. The
defense was lights out. It’s a
result of the preparation week we had and then the focus on fixing things
that we didn't like that happened in week one,” said Spitler.
Spiter says the kids are dedicated to improvement.
“There's nobody that has higher standards than our kids in that
locker room. They're not scared
of work. They will roll their
sleeves up, grab their hard hat, pack their lunch and we went to work last
week. It showed from week one to
week two, which is what you hope for as a coach.
We have got another great challenge this week,” he said.
Utica (0-2) lost (39-13) to Danville on week two.
Spiter says the Redskins have a lot of potential game breakers.
“I think they've opened the season with really two tough opponents
in Centerburg and Danville that returned very good football teams.
The one thing that has been impressive is the skill and the weapons
that Utica has on offense. They
move the ball up and down the field on both those teams and they're really
good in football teams. Led by
senior quarterback Aaron Hayes, who's a load and a do all it player.
He runs the ball really hard and physical and then has a tremendous
arm,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “He’s 6’1”,
210 and then they've got a big running back next to him in the backfield ins
Wyatt Mcaturist who's 5’11”, 210. So,
they like to get downhill. When
they sling it they have got two 6’5” wide receivers on the outside
edges. So, like I said, they've
done a nice job of moving the ball up and down the field or on both their
first two week opponents. Defensively,
they're extremely aggressive and they're very multiple.
So, we have got our hands full.”
Spitler says they don’t get to be at home, but they have to control
what they can control. “Our
stadium's not done yet, so we're playing on neutral field.
We're playing over at Highland High School.
So, we just got to take care of what we control and make sure
Fredericktown doesn't beat themselves,” he said.
Published 9/04/26
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Huron
Trying to Find it
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Sam Hohler
Huron will be at Genoa to tangle with the Comets in a non-conference
game on Friday night.
Last week, they were smoked (37-0) by Hopewell-Loudon, the state
runner-up in division VI last year.
Coach Sam Hohler believes they made some improvements on defense from
the week before against Oak Harbor. “Hopewell
is still a very tough team. They
brought back a lot of really good kids from their state finals team from
last year. It looks like they
might be on a run again this year. For
us, we were pleased that we improved after week one.
We played a little better defensively.
We were able to be better against the run, which was one of our big
goals going into the game. Unfortunately,
Hopewell’s defense locked us down offensively and we struggled to move the
ball. We’ve played two tough
teams so far this year and we are just trying to get better for this week
against Genoa,” said Hohler.
Having only scored one TD in the first two weeks, Hohler says it
would be a plus to score early. “We
feel like we are really close. It
seems like right now it’s one step forward and two steps back.
We just can’t get into that good rhythm, so coming out early and
getting a score would be really beneficial for us,” he said.
Geona (1-1) is coming off a (56-7) win over Toledo Bowsher last week.
Hohler says the Comets have some kids that can play.
“We have played Genoa quite a bit over the years.
We have kind of hand a good series with them that’s been pretty
even. They are always a strong
program. They have got a really
nice quarterback and running back back for them this year.
They do have to replace quite a few kids on the line,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “Defensively, they are always
very solid. So, for us we are
hoping to make improvements. Hopefully,
we can go over there and make it a close game and see if we can pull one out
at the end.”
Published 9/04/26
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Clear
Fork Ready for Hungry Lexington
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Brokaw
Clear Fork will be home for old rival Lexington in a non-conference
game coming up on Friday.
It’s the annual “Hall of Fame” game with the 2026 class of the
Clear Fork Valley Athletic Hall of Fame to be introduced before the game.
The Colts (2-0) buried Zanesville (38-12) last Friday.
Coach Aaron Brokaw likes the way his team responded in the second
half. “The second quarter
slowed down. We had a couple of
guys get injured and that took a little bit of the momentum way.
The guys were in their heads maybe a little bit because of that.
We got a big stop before the half and took it into halftime, I think
with a 24-12 lead. We just got
the guys calmed down, regrouped and then we came out put a nice drive
together to a score, got a stop, and I think we followed it up with another
touchdown. It's nice to see the
guys kind of buckle down when adversities hit here in the first two weeks.
They've been able to withstand it and that's always a good thing to
see as a coach,” said Brokaw.
Senior quarterback Marcus Hoeflich has been outstanding this season
with 359 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
Brokaw says he has been a good decision maker.
“Marcus has done a really good job with the football.
It's been a lot more run thus far in the season than pass, which
maybe wasn't we anticipated. A
lot of the looks that we've gotten have been a little bit more favorable in
the run game,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “He's been
he's been efficient. I think
he's thrown two balls out of bounds and the other incompletions that we've
had on the season have been dropped. So,
he's put the ball where it needs to be.
We've got a lot of confidence in him to do the right job.
He’s a guy that’s a three and half year starter, so he's seen a
lot from that position.”
Clear Fork has lived on its ground game so far.
They have averaged 260 yards on the ground and have thrown only 13
passes.
Lexington (0-2) was ruffed up (42-6) by Shelby last week.
Brokaw says they a running a different defense and on offense they
want to establish the run when they gave the ball.
“They're athletic. They
are trying to do things a little bit differently defensively than what they
did last year. Offensively it
looks like they're relying on the zone run scheme and some quick passes and
taking some shots here and there. They're
going to be up for this game, it's a rivalry game, we told our guys all week
records don't matter in rivalry games. Our
goal is to be 1-0 each week and we're not worried about what happened last
week or what might happen the week after,” said Brokaw.
Clear Fork has gotten off to a quick start the last two weeks and
Brokaw says they want to do that again against Lexington.
“You always want to take care of the things that you can take care
of. So, when the opportunities
present through two weeks we've been pretty solid with taking advantage of
those. We've got to continue to
do that and that's the goal to do so going forward,” he said.
Published 9/03/26
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Ontario
to Face Explosive Tiffin
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Eckert
Ontario takes its act to Tiffin Columbian on Friday night to do
battle with the Tornadoes in a non-league game.
The Warriors (2-0) throttled Norwalk (58-0) last Friday.
Coach Aaron Eckert says they went into the game with the right
attitude and came away with a win. “I
was really pleased with our effort and the way we attacked the game.
The last thing we wanted to do was be complacent and let things
happen. So, I thought we did a
good job of taking things to them and it worked out for us,” he said.
It was (29-0) after the first quarter.
Tiffin Columbian (2-0) walloped Mansfield Senior (35-7) last week.
They received a win due to forfeit on week one when Fremont Ross
disclosed they had used an ineligible player.
They had lost on the scoreboard (22-21) to the Little Giants.
Eckert says the Tornadoes are a team with talent that is used to
winning. “I see a really
talented football team. When I
think of Tiffin Columbian I think of a tradition rich program.
The last time we played them a couple years ago in playoffs they took
it to us a little bit. So, it's
a place that has a lot of tradition and a lot of want to from that
perspective. So, this team is no
different they have athletes on the perimeter, they've got a quarterback
that was an all conference player last year, they got a really nice tailback
back. All those things combined,
and play really hard, so it's going to be a good matchup for us this
Friday,” said Eckert.
Former assistant Ryan Ottney is now the head coach as Judd Lutz left
for North Royalton. Eckert says
there hasn’t been a lot of change with Columbian.
“Just having that small sample size of playing them a couple years
ago with a talented division one quarterback, but there's a lot of
similarities there, especially offensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday afternoon, “They put you in binds with some of the formations
and motions that they do. Then
defensively they just come at you from all different angles.
So, I think there's a lot of familiarity there what I was told, and I
think, is that there's a lot of guys that are back on that staff even after
Judd (Lutz) left. So, that
continuity is huge. Anytime a
high school program you can keep your staff together usually it pays
dividends. They are going to be
a pretty completive ballclub that does things the right way.”
Published 9/03/26
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South
Central Must be Disciplined
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Derek Fisher
South Central visits Rittman for a non-conference game on week three
Friday night.
Last week, the Trojans (1-1) forced a turnover and scored and then
held Buckeye Central out of the end zone on the final play and won (20-14)
last Friday.
Coach Derek Fisher says they have made big plays when they have had
to. “I'm really proud of our
kid’s effort. The last two
weeks we've been really, really game tested.
A lot of situational football, a lot of come down to the wire and our
defense has stood up, stood the test the last couple weeks.
Happy with what the defensive staff has been doing and the kids have
been buying in, flying around, making plays overall.
We need to clean some things up but never, never disappointed with a
win like that,” said Fisher.
Rittman blanked Akron Coventry (35-0) last week.
Fisher says the Indians want to run the ball and they have been
pretty good at it. “They're an
experienced team. They play in a
really tough league out there in Wayne County.
Their schedule is pretty tough. The
last couple weeks they've blown some teams out, but I think when they get to
the meat of their schedule they're going to get tested a little bit more and
I think uh that should start with us this week,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Wednesday evening, “We hope that we can match up well.
We think we match up well. They
like to run the ball. They have
some big guys up front. They
like to establish the run, but they also have some guys on the outside that
can catch it. They are
explosive, they have good backs with good vision.
They make you miss and they're good at seeing the holes and finding
the cutback lanes. Defensively,
they throw a lot of different stuff at you.
It's kind of a you have to diagnose what they're doing.
They like to blitz guys from different spots.
They blitz from depth, they delay blitz, mix up coverages to kind of
confuse you a little bit. So, we
think it'll be a good test for our guys.
Hopefully, we're ready to go, we should be.”
Fisher says they have to stay disciplined.
“Especially when you deal with high school kids.
It can be pretty temperamental. You
want to control the flow of the game. You
want to eliminate the big plays. That
comes from missed tackles or missed assignments or getting your eyes in the
wrong spot. Hoping we can stay
disciplined, stay true to our keys. We
always preach to your 1/11th.
Don't try to do the other guy's job, don’t try to do too much,
don’t take the play off and do less and hopefully that leads to
success,” he said.
Published 9/03/26
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Norwayne
Challenging Themselves
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Adam Indorf
Norwayne plays at home against Sugarcreek Garaway in a non-conference
game on Friday night.
They lost (38-13) to Wooster Triway last week.
Coach Adam Indorf saw a little bit of improvement in their play, but
they have to be a lot better. “I
thought we got better from week one to week two, still not there, still a
tremendous amount of room for improvement.
Just finding a way to win the ballgame game.
10-0 at the half, so we have got to figure out how to continue to
battle in the second half and make sure we're working to improve ourselves.
So, a lot of work this week to get better.
A little bit of heat to battle and then try to come out with our best
foot forward Friday night,” he said.
Indorf says one this is clear, the players want to get better.
“We're talk about things that you can control.
Effort being one of those, your mental approach, your mental effort,
so just challenge everybody and the kids took a hold of that.
They wanted a goal if the coaches thought that we gave great effort
and then practice could end. If
coaches took a vote that it was not great effort as a whole then there would
be some sort of physical, like running consequence, or something,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “That was player led, so that's a
positive there that they want to get better and they want to do things the
right way. So, just continuing
the challenge, continuing to make sure we're getting better.
With the heat (Wednesday) got a little film session, so it's a metal
aspect. (Thursday), hopefully
you come out and polish everything up and get ready for Friday.”
Garaway (2-0) hammered Dalton (40-16) on week two.
Indorf says they are going to force the Bobcats to be very good.
“A solid performing team last year that was in a regional final. A
quarterback that’s back with some receivers that look really good and a
big offensive line. So,
defensively just continued to be very, very disciplined, be physical at the
point of attack, try to keep them off balance with blitzing and various
coverages. Hopefully, continue
to get some shots on the quarterback early.
Offensively, we have just got to gel together with the offensive
line. Have a little bit of
cohesion there and move forward hopefully being able to establish the line
of scrimmage, establish a run game and try to be a little bit more balanced
as we move through that game for a full 48 minutes,” said Indorf.
Published 9/03/26
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Mansfield
Senior Ready to Play Football
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach David Phillips
Mansfield Senior will be at Arlin Field for the second straight week
as they host Watkins Memorial in a non-conference game on Friday night.
They got behind early and lost (35-7) to Tiffin Columbian last week.
Coach David Phillips says they can’t wait until the second half to
start playing. “We have to
play all four quarters man. We
only played two quarters. Like I
told team the other day, they scored four times the first half and they only
scored seven in the second half and we scored seven in the second half,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “If we put that together
and shut them out in the first half that's 7-7, it's a game now.
Like I said, we just have to come ready to play.
We have to play all four quarters.
We can't wait for the second half.
Like last week’s game was over, so can’t wait.”
Phillips says they should be ready now to play football at the kick.
“They kind of understand now. The
jitters should be out by now. The
first home game. The first game
two weeks ago, big game, Hilliard Davidson, was on the road, big crowds. Last
week was our first home during, big game, in our town.
Jitters should be out now and we just go ahead and play football,”
said Phillips.
Watkins Memorial (0-2) comes to town off a (21-14) loss to Thornville
Sheridan last week.
Phillips says this is a team that isn’t going to make a lot of
mistakes. “They are a good
team. They are well disciplined,
they are well coached. They have
got a few athletes out there, hardnosed guys.
Like I said, well disciplined. You
don't see too many false starts or see too many holding penalties.
A disciplined team is always hard to beat,” he said.
Published 9/03/26
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Upper
Must Limit Big Plays
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Russell Hall
It is the opening week of play in the expanded Northern 10 Athletic
Conference on Friday night and one of games has Upper Sandusky at home for
the Wynford Royals.
The Rams are a whisker from being unbeaten after losing last week
(27-25) to Mt. Gilead in a non-conference game.
Coach Russell Hall says they just got off to a slow start.
“I was a little disappointed. Our
effort at the end was fantastic. Just
coming out sort of flat. We had
such a slow start next thing you know we're down 19-0.
Hats off to Mt. Gilead they had a fantastic game plan.
Their kids came out playing hard and they out executed us.
So, you can't win games like that, so we have to improve and move
forward. We have no choice,”
he said.
With it being a conference game this week, Hall says there is a
little more urgency. “Every
game is important, especially when you only have a 10 game season.
Yeah, it's definitely different that's for sure.
My coaches had to correct me last week.
You play your JV team week 10 league opponent’s JV team on the
Saturday of your last non conference schedule.
So, I actually had my practice script notes at the bottom to remind
kids about we've got a JV game at Mt. Gilead.
I was quickly corrected by several of my assistant coaches.
Coach, there is no three non league games again.
I'm like, oh my gosh, I was a little embarrassed there, but it's
definitely different that's for sure,” said Hall.
Wynford (1-1) outscored Cardington (34-20) on week one and they were
blanked (34-0) by East Knox last week.
Hall says they have to limit the Royals big plays.
“They’re a big play team uh and if they can hit big plays on
offense and defense, they proved that week one that they win.
If you're able to control and limit those big plays, like East Knox
did, then they were on the other side of that,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Wednesday afternoon, “It's really important.
They have some explosive players on their team for sure that in a
blink of an eye can score or pick the ball, make a big hit.
We just have to limit their big plays and play our style of football
for four quarters.”
Published 9/03/26
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Centerburg
Needs to Respond
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Colella
Centerburg will be at home for the first time this year as they
entertain Worthington Christian in a non-league contest on Friday night.
They were belted (50-0) by Johnstown-Monroe last week.
Coach Andy Colella says they need to respond on Friday.
He says last week didn’t go well.
“It didn't and that's part of life sometimes and part of football.
Johnstown's really good football program.
Coach Carter does a great job over there with that.
We knew it would be a tall task.
There are several things that just didn't go our way.
You try to learn from those things and move forward.
We were in a similar situation last year and we were able to bounce
back and rattle off some wins. A
lot of those kids are sitting in that locker room, so they've experienced
that before. They've seen the
correct way to respond to a situation like that and sometimes in life you
need to butt kicked a little bit to kind of wake you up.
So, it could be used as a positive thing for sure,” said Colella.
Colella says in football there is always the next chance to succeed.
“I think we have these illusions sometimes that everything's going
to be perfect or it has to be perfect and that's not how things go.
Football and life kind of coincide with one another.
There's situations that arise that don't go your way.
As much as you prepare and plan for them it’s just part of it.
So, learning how to handle that and move forward from it I think is
really important,” he said.
Worthington Christian (2-0) smoked Bexley (31-12) last week.
Colella says they aren’t fancy, but they do things well.
“They're a good football team.
They have a new coaching staff this year.
They do some really nice things on both sides of the ball.
This isn't a negative thing by any stretch of the imagination, but
they're very simple and basic. but it allows their kids to play really,
really well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “What they
do they do well. They have some
nice athletes on offense. They
distribute the ball, they're explosive athletes.
Some of the things we've been trying to key on and try to prepare for
on that side of the ball. Defensively,
the same thing. They like to
bring a little bit of pressure and those same guys play on special teams as
well. So, they've blocked a
couple kicks this year, they've had some nice returns.
So, it'll be quite a challenge for us.”
Published 9/03/26
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West
Holmes to Play Solid Orrville
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Keaton Leppla
West Holmes will be up at Orrville to challenge the Red Riders in a
non-conference game on Friday night.
They drilled Cleveland John Adams (49-0) on week two last week.
Coach Keaton Leppla says they went out and took care of business.
“We did what we were supposed to do.
We came out we executed defensively and held them to very minimal
yards. We got off the field on
third down. Offensively, we're
explosive. We caught the ball
and we had the mentality that we're going to score every time.
We had pretty good success,” he said.
Orrville (2-0) smoked Garfield Heights Trinity (43-0) in their week
two game.
Leppla says they have got a lot of weapons on offense.
“It starts with the quarterback.
Their quarterback is a big, tall kid, long, throws the snot out of
the ball. He is very, very
dangerous with his feet. He won
a game for them week one with his feet.
He is very elusive in the pocket, great throwing on the run and
finding receivers open downfield,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
afternoon, “Skilled kids wise they have got good speed, they have got good
size, they have got good height. Then
you can't discount they have got a really good running back back there
that's been able to get downhill and is a bruiser for a back.
We have got to keep the quarterback contained, we have got to get the
running back going east and west and control line of scrimmage.”
Leppla says the Red Riders have some guys on defense that can make
plays too, really some of the same guys.
“From a defensive standpoint. They have got those same guys over
there. They have some length at
corner, good safeties, they have got a really tough inside backer and some
really long overhangs. So, the
name of the game is to establish the line of scrimmage, execute, do our
jobs, not worry about trying to hit the big play every single time and be
meticulous on offense,” said Leppla.
Published 9/03/26
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Wynford
Opens “N10” With Explosive Upper
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andrew Amlin
Wynford is over at Upper Sandusky on the opening night of play in the
expanded Northern 10 Athletic Conference on Friday night.
They were blasted (34-0) by East Knox in non-conference play last
week.
Coach Andrew Amlin says they did not play well in any phase of the
game. “East Knox was the
better team that night. They
were more physical, they wanted it more.
They had some pretty good skilled kids and we struggled to tackle
them. So, from a defensive
perspective we struggled. We had
one of our guys go down, but we struggle anyway.
Offensively, we struggled too. We
couldn’t move the ball really well and missed out on some opportunities
for some big plays, but they weren't there.
So, kind of regroup this week and see what we made of against
Upper,” said Amlin.
Amlin says they can’t be thinking about what happened last week,
they must look ahead. “We’ve
talked about that. If we're
going to have success as the year goes we have to move past it learn from it
and do a better job of reading our keys.
Our eyes on defense just aren't in the right spot, so we really got
to get in there. We’ve really
stressed that this week,” he said.
Upper (1-1) lost (27-25) to Mt. Gilead last week.
Amlin says they are an explosive team.
“They got some good players. #13
(Cane Rupe) and #5 (Kasen Gottfried) are probably their two best receivers.
They do a nice job. #6
(Travis Klaus) is fast, #42 (Ezekiel Baldwin) is physical, #2 (Lucas Alspach)
plays tight end, he’s physical. Their
quarterback is a big kid, the (Keegan) Dunn kid.
I went to high school with his
uncle and his dad graduated a couple years after me at Mohawk,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “I kind of know him a little bit.
He can throw a ball well. The run they run the ball well. Offensively,
they can put points on the board and they spread you out.
They'll go from empty, they’ll get some tight in there too.
They make you defend the whole field.”
Published 9/03/26
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Lexington
Has to Tackle
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jacob Owens
Lexington looks for its first win of the season on Friday night as
they are at Clear Fork to meet the Colts in non-conference play.
They were walloped by Shelby (48-6) last week.
Coach Jacob Owens says the Whippets are really good and they showed
that last week. “Shelby's
really good, they're really physical, they play football really, really
well. They just have got a lot
of athletes that play in space. So,
I think they're a really good team, they're well coached, it didn't go our
way, but they're really good,” he said.
Owens says despite the loss to Shelby, they saw some things they can
build on going forward. “We
saw some things that we can definitely improve on, but like I said they're a
good team and even when you're doing things right they make it look like you
are doing it wrong,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We
saw some things on tape that we thought we could build on.
We saw some things that we thought our kids did really well.
We have just got to put it all together.
We need all 11 to execute all together to be successful.
So, we're trying to put that together, but we did watch the tape and
saw some things we could we can build off of.”
Clear Fork (2-0) thumped Zanesville (38-12) in their game last
Friday.
They average 260 yards a game on the ground and have only thrown 13
passes in two weeks.
Owens says they have to contain that run game by tackling the ball
carrier everywhere on the field. “Clear
Fork is a really good really good team, well coached and they want to run
the football. That’s Clear
Fork in the past and right now. So,
they want to run the ball. They
have a really good offensive line. They
have the Hoeflich twins that have been playing for a long time and other
guys that play good, hardnosed football.
We have got to be able to tackle, tackle in space and tackle in the
trenches. They're a really good
team. It’s another good week
for us to go up there and see what we’re made of,” said Owens.
Published 9/02/26
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Lucas
has to Win Trench War
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jim Sweat
Lucas has been searching for a league for a number of years and they
have landed in the expanded Northern 10 Athletic Conference.
Their first test on the football field will be a stiff one as they
host the Carey Blue Devils on Friday night.
They shared the title in the “N10” last year.
They won it outright in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Last week, the Cubs (1-1) fell to Hillsdale (28-7) in a non-league
game.
Coach Jim Sweat says they didn’t take advantage of their
opportunities. “We had the
ball in the fourth quarter. Started
a drive and it was 21-7 at that point. We
went for it on fourth down later in the game backed up at our end and they
put one in with less than a minute to go.
So, the kids battled hard. They
had no quit, which was something that we pride ourselves on and just
couldn't get it done on Friday,” said Sweat,
Carey is (0-2), but they have lost to state powerhouse Marion Local
(34-7) and talented division IV Galion (21-17) last week.
Sweat says the Blue Devils do a lot of things well.
“I could say that they're probably the best 0-2 team in the State
of Ohio right now,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “They
have great size, they're well coached, they run the ball hard.
We're going to have to show up and play physical on Friday night to
be competitive with a good football team like that.”
Lucas prides itself in their play in trenches and playing with
physicality. That’s key to
their game. Sweat says they have
to win there Friday night to have a chance.
“We have preaching to our kids all week about the level of
physicality that we're going to have to play with on Friday.
This might be the quickest football game played in the state on
Friday night. It may be done by
8:30. Neither one of us really
want to throw the ball if we don't have to.
So, again whoever wins the trenches wins on Friday night,” he said.
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Crestview
Taking Steps
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Steve Haverdill
Crestview takes the bus to Independence for a non-conference football
game on Friday night.
They were downed (28-16) by Crestline last Friday.
Coach Steve Haverdill says they did not get off to a very good start.
“We made a lot of mistakes in that first half that end up
capitalizing on. I thought we
had some improvements from week one, which was good with the young squad
that we have. Overall, I thought
we outplayed them at times. We
just made too many penalties, penalties and mistakes, and when you get down
28-0 and then you start rolling,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
afternoon, “We got back within 28-16.
We were going to get ready to try and do an onside kick and we had an
unsportsmanlike penalty because of our student section running onto the
field. That put us all the way
back down to 20, so it kind of took us out some rhythm there.
All in all, I thought we got a little bit better from the from week
one and now we're trying to get better here for week three.”
Haverdill says right now they are trying to build confidence in what
is a very inexperienced football team. “Especially
with how young we are to gain the experience.
Each week the game begins to get slower for them and they're getting
more confident in what they're doing and believing in what we're coaching.
So, as you see that progress hopefully it continues on from week to
week and the results will get better throughout the season,” he said.
Independence (1-1) ripped Rootstown (31-14) in their game on week two
of the year.
Haverdill says the Blue Devils are going to make them tackle them in
space. “They are a very
athletic team that runs a lot spread on offense, no huddle stuff, a good
running back. Defensively you're
going to get a couple different looks with a 4-4 and a 3-4, they are very
active and fly to the football. They
played a really tough Columbia Station team week one and then they beat a
good Rootstown team last week. So,
going up there we've got our hands full again with another good football
team. Hopefully we can continue
to build on getting better and have a little bit more success this
weekend,” said Haverdill.
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Columbian
with Big Match up With Ontario
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Ottney
Tiffin Columbian plays host to Ontario in a key non-conference game
on Friday night.
They belted Mansfield Senior (35-7) last week.
They scored four times early and coach Ryan Ottney says that was a
focus of theirs going into the game. “For
us it was the main focus point. We
wanted to start early. We wanted
to start getting the offense rolling a lot faster.
We were really slow week one, which is a little typical when you play
a good team like Fremont Ross. So,
I thought our guys responded extremely well.
We got out there, got off the get go with a good defensive stop, get
the offense going right away and we're able to kind of take control of the
game from the get go,” said Ottney,
Masen Seitz rans for four touchdowns for the Tornadoes.
Ontario (2-0) thrashed Norwalk (58-0) last week in a game that was
out of hand early.
Ottney says they have the physical tools and they are well schooled
too. “They are well coached,
the coach has been there for quite some time now.
We played them back in ‘23 and they had the Miller kid, who was a
unbelievable athlete. They're
fast, they're physical, they're strong, so I'm excited about the game.
I think it's going to be a very intriguing matchup for us. I'm
excited to see kind of the direction that we take as we move forward in this
season,” he said.
Special teams could be a big part of this game as Tiffin gave up a
kick return week one against Fremont Ross and the Warriors Tre Fowler has
returned the opening kick for a score both weeks.
Ottney says they have to solid in that area.
“That was the first thing that kind of popped out and we saw that
and we're like all right well there we go another thing for us to make sure
we continue to focus in on. The
kid is a talented returner and it's always nice when you can play from the
ahead right from the get go,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
evening, “Our focus to make sure that we sure that up.
I thought we did a really nice job Friday and in doing that.
That's again a continual focus for us at practice to continue to put
ourselves in positions where it’s a little uncomfortable where maybe we're
really tired and we throw our kicking team out there and make them run down
the field just so that we can prove to them think you can in fact do this.
You can stay disciplined, you can stay in your lanes and you'll rally
and swarm to the ball.”
Published 9/02/26
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New
Philadelphia With Another Big Challenge
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Johnson
New Philadelphia must have one of the more challenging schedules in
Ohio for a school their size as Friday night they host Indian Valley.
The Braves were state champions two years ago and made the final four
in division IV last year.
Last week, things went south in the second half and the Quakers (0-2)
lost (35-7) to West Branch.
Coach Mike Johnson says they can’t be shooting themselves in the
foot. “We have got to take
care of the ball a little better. We
turned it over in the second half. We
were tied up at halftime and then in the third quarter we had two turnovers
and just got us behind and we could never get back going.
It put us in some bad spots, so we're going to have to fix those
things this week,” he said.
Johnson says the mistakes they are making are certainly ones they can
fix in practice. “Some of them
are growing things and then some of them are mistakes and you're going to
have both of those in football games, but the reality is you have got to try
to minimize those and you need to play through some of it.
So, we've had a nice couple of days of practice this week to prepare
ourselves and we're just going to have to continue to build on that
throughout the course of the week and go play great football Friday,” said
Johnson.
Indian Valley (2-0) has smoked two Akron area schools in Green
(42-13) and Buchtel (42-12) last week.
Johnson says, yes, they are loaded again.
“They are a dangerous football team.
They come off the ball really, really well up front on both sides.
They've got a quarterback that started for them as a freshman on the
defensive line. He's also I
think he's the school’s career sack leader and he's a state champion
quarterback,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “Their
football team has been unbelievable these last couple of years.
This senior class, and even junior class, has had a lot of guys who
played a role in that. So,
you're playing against kids who have good experience, who are physical, they
run it well, the quarterback will throw it well and they get after you on
defense. So, it's a really
complete team, so we're going to have to play our best for sure.”
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St.
Paul to Face Spread
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Chris Doughty
Norwalk St. Paul will host Northwood on Friday night in a
non-conference game.
They play at LaGrange Keystone next week in game that replaces their
Plymouth game.
The Flyers (1-1) rallied past Tiffin Calvert (14-10) last Friday.
Coach Chris Doughty says they made a lot of big plays.
“There were a lot of exciting moments throughout the night.
Our offense struggled a little bit early on, but we got a nice spark
from Casey Fries taking back at 89 yard punt return for a touchdown, which
was really nice to see. That's
something we put a lot of time in as a return blocking scheme, so to see
some success with that was awesome for the kids.
Throughout the game our defense rose up a couple of different times
the get some crucial stops. Right
before halftime we got an interception in the end zone.
They were down to the five-yard line, so being able to go into
halftime tied was huge for the overall scope of the game.
Then late in the game we ended up scoring with a couple minutes left.
Wyatt Houser hit Levi Rospert in the corner of the end zone for a big
touchdown pass. Then ended up
getting a stop on the downs there to stop Calvert at the end.
So, I'm really pleased with the way the defense rose up,” said
Doughty.
It might now be easy to see, but Doughty says they did make some
improvement in their execution. “I
feel like we improved in a lot of different ways. maybe not big ways, but a
lot of small things technique wise. Really
happy with the way the kids have embraced getting better.
The goal is obviously whatever drills your working on individually
need to show up in team and then those things need to show up in the game as
well. So, the kids have done a
great job of embracing that and doing that on a regular basis,” he said.
Northwood (1-1) lost (36-35) to Millbury Lake last week.
Doughty says they can make some big plays.
“They’ve got a huge offensive line.
They average about 280 across the ball, which is quite a bit
different than our 195 on average. So,
that's going to be a tall task for us of just being able to control that
line of scrimmage. They run the
triple option, a lot like Edison. They've
got a big fullback Skyler Rita, he's 6’2”, 250, senior running back and
they like to run the ball with him up the middle.
Then they’ll have the quarterback keep it off of that Tyler Osley
and he's a really nice athlete for them.
So, they’ll run a triple option with him.
They'll also spread the ball out and they'll run him out of the
spread as well. Deep pass plays
the scramble him all over the place and he'll take off running.
They've got some nice receivers as well butthat
they like to get the ball to,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
evening, “Defensively they run a 4-2 front.
Their defensive line again has got some really good size to it.
They do a good job of running their feet.
Their linebackers are aggressive and their secondary can fly all over
the place. #13 Carter Rita for
them, he's a heck of a football player and he does a great job of defending
the run and defending the pass, he's all over the place, he's somebody we're
going to have to account for.”
Published 9/02/26
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Buckeye
Central to Face Athletic Mohawk
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jordan Phillips
Buckeye Central begins play in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference on
Friday night at Mohawk against the Warriors.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Bucks (1-1) last week as had a
chance to score a touchdown in the final second and didn’t and lost
(20-14) to South Central last Friday night.
Coach Jordan Phillips applauds their effort in the game.
“Obviously, we wanted a different outcome there, but I was proud of
the way the guys fought. We
didn't play our best ball, but the guys played all 48 minutes as hard as
they could. We’ve got some
execution stuff to clean up, but they fought to the very end and we had a
shot to win it down in the final seconds,” said Phillips.
Mohawk, also (1-1), hammered Cardington (56-14) last Friday.
Phillips says they are athletic and really just what you always
expect from the Warriors. “It’s
your typical Mohawk team. They
have been about the same in the last 10 years it seems like.
They're fast, they're athletic, they're long, they just play the game
at a different speed. They're
just a very good football team as usual,” he said.
Andon Clouse threw five TD passes last week for Mohawk and Phillips
says he runs it too. He says
that have to got to contain that kid. “They're
not afraid to run him. He's a
great thrower too, but he's the kind of kid you picture as an all world high
school quarterback,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon,
“He's tall, he runs well, he can spin it, we absolutely have to cover
well, but also keep an eye on him sneaking out of a pocket and then tackle
well.”
Published 9/02/26
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Mt.
Gilead to Face Athletic Opponent
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Reid
Mt. Gilead will host Grove City Christian in a non-league game on
Friday night.
The Indians (1-1) held off Upper Sandusky (27-25) last Friday.
Coach Mike Reid says the kids did a lot of good things, especially in
the special teams. “Well
first, I'm really proud. Last
week when I talked to you, we talked about seeing the character of the team
between week one and week two and I was very, very proud of the character I
saw in our kids. They came out
ready to go. We got a couple of
defensive stops early. We were
able to put some points on the board eventually in the second quarter.
We ripped off 19 straight points,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday night, “Special teams executed extremely well. I
was really happy with the start, but that second half it got pretty tight.
They were able to make some adjustments at halftime.
We had a couple guys that had to come out of the game for various
reasons. They're all healthy
now, but that didn't help us much defensively at the time.
The guys were able to hold on and get the win and I'm very, very
proud of them.”
Reid says at crunch time you just have to grind it out.
“It’s when the guys start taking to each other and remember all
the work they did in the offseason in the summer and just sticking with it. I
kept reminding them of what a great situation.
We have got to lead. We
just got to calm down and finish this game,” he said.
Grove City Christian was destroyed (71-7) by Madison Plains last
week.
Reid says the Eagles are better than that.
“I'll tell you what they're another spread team.
They remind me an awful lot of Upper Sandusky.
They’ve got a nice little quarterback.
They have a really big running back, reminds me of Jerome Bettis. He's
hard to bring down once he gets the wheels going and he can really move.
Our key is to shut him down before he gets rolling.
A nice stingy, little defense. They
had a rough game against Madison Plains last week and I'm not going to take
anything away from Madison Plains, but I think Grove City Christian hurt
itself a little bit with several turnovers.
So, I'll look for them to work on that this week.
Their not going to come into our place and have a bunch of turnovers.
I would be okay if we could get a few takeaways.
They're hungry for a victory, so they'll give a handful,” said
Reid.
Published 9/02/26
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Crawford
With Huge Challenge in Hopewell
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jake Bruner
Colonel Crawford hosts Hopewell-Loudon in a battle between two of the
best in the new Northern 10 Athletic Conference on Friday night.
The Eagles (1-1,0-0) lost a heartbreaker (20-14) at Fairfield Union
last Friday in non-conference play.
Coach Jake Bruner says they had their chances with the ball in
scoring position as the game ended. “Penalties
obviously hurt us, not converting in the red zone.
Like I said on Saturday, our kids battled and came back from a 14-0
deficit on the road against a division IV team.
We've got some youth still and we're trying to workout some of those
kinks. I don't fault our kids
effort, but at the same time there's things we’ve got to improve.
It’s good thing we got a whole week of practice to do that,” said
Bruner.
Hopewell-Loudon (2-0,0-0), one of the new members of the league,
crushed Huron (37-0) last week.
Bruner says they are physical and athletic.
“When you watch them, you see depth, you see the ability to run the
ball whenever they want to. A
big, physical line, physical backs and then the quarterback and guys that
can catch it. They've got all
the nuggets and they do all the little things right.
They have not been challenged very much yet,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I don't think they've punted in
the last two games. So, they've
done a lot of great things and they're really well coached.
They've been there, done that, and some of these guys have that play
on this team have taken it to the state runner up.
The experience and their confidence as you watch them play is very
impressive.”
Bruner says tackling these guys won’t be easy, but it’s something
they have to get done. “That's
easier said than done they just have so many weapons.
They have got speed, they have got size, they have got strength and
they do it on both sides of the ball. Getting
these guys down, they have got speed and then just some great size in the
running back positions and they got depth too.
So, that just makes it a really tough opponent to start the
season,” he said.
Bruner says they want to make this be a game in the fourth quarter.
“That would be the goal, but that’s easier said than done with
their experience and just the confidence.
Obviously, they have got great coaches and they do a great job.
Lucky for us we have scrimmaged them for many years, so we know a
little bit about them. At the
same time, we're playing a new team. This
team is confident, experienced, size, they have got all of the tools.
There's a reason they're picked to be in the top of the state
division IV this year. So, we
have got our work cut out for us,” said Bruner.
Published 9/01/26
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Bellevue
to Play a Really Good Shelby
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Alex Shepherd
Bellevue will be at Shelby in a game between two 2-0 teams on Friday
night in non-league action.
This is a rivalry that dates back to the time of World War II.
Last week, Bellevue spotted Wauseon a two score lead and then
walloped them (42-21) in a non-conference game.
Coach Alex Shepherd says they had confidence they could come back in
that game. “We have a few
miscues early and put us in a tough spot, but our kids are resilient and we
put them through some adversity during practice.
We always feel like we can make up for it as long as we don't let it
get away from us too bad,” he said.
Shelby overmatched Lexington (48-6) last week in non-conference play.
Shepherd says they haven’t missed a beat from last year when they
were division IV state runner-up. “They
haven't changed much. They're
right where they left off last year. They're
really good,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “The
quarterback is new, but he's a senior and he's got a ton of experience
playing. He does a great job
kind of filling in and makes some really good throws, he makes a lot of
plays with his legs. Yeah,
they're a pretty good team this year.”
Shelby’s defense has not permitted a score this season.
Shepherd says their defense gets to the ball.
“They fly around and play hard.
It's one thing that sticks out on film and you can watch teams and
just the motor that they play with and Shelby is one of the better teams
we've seen in a film. They're
flying around and they're playing hard,” he sajd.
Published 9/01/26
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Ashland
to Play Improving Clyde
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Valentine
Ashland will be at Community Stadium for the first time this year as
they host the Clyde Fliers in a non-conference game on Friday night.
The Arrows (2-0) downed Marion Harding (27-13) in the “Erie Bell”
game last Friday night.
Coach Scott Valentine says they got the job done, but they still have
a lot of improving to do. “I
think anytime you get a win you're happy about that.
I think again as we look at where we were the week before, where we
got to, we still have a lot of things to clean up as we go into this
week’s practice. So, we just
have got to keep getting better, but saw a lot of improvement in certain
areas and so that's what we're looking to strive for,” said Valentine.
Valentine says this group he has this year has been very good at
making adjustments during the games. “We've
talked to our kids a lot about during the game people are going to do
different things on both sides of the ball, and even special teams, and you
have to be willing to adjust and see things.
When we come to the sidelines or halftime make adjustments and I
think this group's done a good job so far,” he said.
Clyde (1-1) smoked Toledo Start (33-6) last week to get their first
win of the season.
Valentine says they have some size.
“I think they're a talented team.
They have got some good physical kids, big, physical kids.
Defensively, they attack you with different blitzes and things like
that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Offensively,
they're multiple. They do a lot
of different things. I know the
new coach coming in has done a great job.
They're going to keep improving too.
So, it's going to be a big test for us.”
Published 9/01/26
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Things
Don’t Get Easier for Northmor
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Armrose
Northmor will entertain the North Union Wildcats in a non-conference
game coming up on Friday night.
The Golden Knights (0-2) were overwhelmed (59-15) by Smithville last
week.
They gave up 28 points in the first quarter and coach Scott Armrose
says it was not a good night for them. “We
didn’t tackle well, we didn’t execute well offensively and it was a
recipe for a disaster, really was. We
were down in a hurry and our JV guys played most of the second half.
So, it was not a good night for us,” he said.
Armrose says they have some things to fix, but they must do that with
an attitude of looking forward. “Our
are guys are responding well. We
mentioned Smithville a couple of times (Monday) and now we put that behind
us because our focus has to be on a really good North Union team.
We don't have time to dwell on the things that we didn't do so well.
We have to get ready for this week.
That's the great thing about football.
There's the next week to prepare for and we get our minds focused on
that. At the same time, there
are some fundamental things that we have to fix and our guys know that, but
we have to look at correcting those things moving forward and not
backward,” said Armrose.
North Union (2-0) destroyed Waynesfield-Goshen (48-0) last week.
They have given up only one score all year.
Armose says that are unorthodox team in a number of ways and they
have to be ready for that. “They
are an unusual mix. Offensively,
they are tough because they're old school wing-t and then they'll come out
in an empty spread look the next play and they do that with the same guys on
the football field. Usually you
come up with a special plan for those double tight, double wing teams and
then a different plan for a five wide team.
They do both in back-to-back plays with the same guys on the field,
so that's a tough challenge,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening,
“They're different defensively than I think we've seen.
They run an unusual version of the 4-3 and they play a lot of man
coverage. So, they have
confidence in their guys. They
play cover zero look and pack the box with everybody else.
So, they have a lot of confidence and they should, they're really
good football team playing really good football right now.”
Published 9/01/26
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Running
and Tackling Key for Riders
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stevenson
Western Reserve will be on the road for the first time this season as
they travel to Northwestern on Friday night to meet the Huskies in a
non-conference game.
They scored three times in the second half last week and thumped
Margaretta (26-7) in a non-league game.
Coach Ty Stevenson says they really came out and played well.
“We think that our kids played a great game.
So, I'm really proud of them. They
worked really hard all week on the game plan and I thought they executed it
to a “T”. They scored on the
first drive and didn’t score again after that.
So, it's always good when you get the defense going like.
It was 8-7 at the half and got a couple scores the second half to
seal her up,” said Stevenson.
Stevenson says it the second half they really wanted to impose their
will and run the football. “We
lost four lineman to graduation. Actually,
the guys told me at halftime, coach let's go run football the second half.
So, we did and I think we only threw it a couple times the second
half. Those guys up front did a
great job and those two backs coming back (Landyn) Wiegel and Cooper Roe row
have been really good. So,
hopefully we can keep that up,” he said.
Wiegel ran for three scores against Margaretta.
Northwestern edged Black River (9-7) last week on the heels of a
(54-14) dismantling of Crestview.
Stevenson says they show some quickness and speed.
“They look good. Anytime
you can beat Crestview is a good thing and they not only beat them, but they
beat them pretty good. So, they
do a lot of spread stuff, the running back is quick and runs really well.
The quarterback can throw it really well, got some good athletes on
the edge, really big up front. That
defensive front seven in that 4-3 is really big.
So. they'll pose a huge challenge this week,” said Stevenson.
Stevenson says they are going to have to get a lot hats to the ball
and be solid tacklers. “They're
going to get you out in space and then try to make you match up and see how
you can do. You have got to make
sure that you are reading the right things and make sure you are getting
where you need to be and get all 11 guys.
You have got to swarm to the ball or else they will break a tackle
and be gone,” he said.
Published 9/01/26
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Highland
Playing Hard
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stover
Highland plays at Mt. Vernon in a non-conference game here on week
three Friday night.
They lost (14-6) to Heath last week.
Coach Ty Stover says that was really one they could have won.
“That was another week for us actually that we played really hard.
We're rotating 15 guys on Friday night and that's about all we got
rolling right now. They are
playing four quarters as hard as they could play.
We got down there later on in the third, early on in the fourth.
Made a couple mental mistakes, had some penalties that cost us a few
drives,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We moved the ball
up and down the field that night just had some penalties.
We were 0-0 at the half. I
was kind of kind of personally disappointed that we didn't get the “W”
on that one because I thought our kids played well enough to do that.
In the end it was 14-6 and we're on the wrong side of it.”
Stover says they have to have tunnel vision and look to correct
things as they go. “Especially
with our schedule this year. We're
going to just keep stepping up as you were aware before we get in the “MOAC”.
We're headed to Mt. Vernon this week.
Another big school that we'll be facing.
We'll try to correct some penalty situations that we've been having
and hopefully continue to play hard and physical and see if we can take the
ball away a little bit this week,” he said.
Mt. Vernon (0-2) lost (34-14) to Newark last week.
Stover says they have a game braker at tight end in Landon Dawson.
“Their tight end #12, the Dawson kid, he's a really nice athlete
about 6’4”, 220. He'll be in
the backfield, he'll be on the split, he'll be in the tight end spot.
Will have our hands full there. They
have a left-handed quarterback. Their
probably 70s on the roster, 65 to 70 kids playing for them.
They play extremely hard too. So,
we're going to go over there to Mt. Vernon, which is a close little jaunt
for us on the bus and see what we can get into,” said Stover.
Published 9/01/26
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Willard
With Tough Conference Opener
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eli Fisher
Willard will be at home for the Bucyrus Redmen in its first ever game
in the expanded Northern 10 Athletic Conference on Friday night.
Of course, Willard and Bucyrus both used to be members of the old
Northern Ohio League and played every year from the 1940’s until the
1990’s.
They Flashes blanked Brooklyn (40-0) in the non-conference game last
Friday.
Coach Eli Fisher says they responded well in the second half.
“Overall, we played pretty well.
We came out a little slow in the first half and kind of weren't happy
with how we played in the first half, but responded well and played a good
second half and did little things right,” he said.
Bucyrus (1-1) got past Riverdale (27-20) in their second game.
Fisher says Bucyrus has some players that can make big plays all over
the field. “Honestly, they
look like a really good football team to us.
They have got really good skilled kids.
Their quarterbacks really good,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Monday evening, “#8 is a really good player for them.
They ran their quarterback 41 times last week, so he's a stud.
They have got a good line too. So,
we're excited for the challenge, but they're a good football team.”
Fisher says Isaac McKeever can hurt them in a lot of ways and they
have to contain him. “I think
he was 12 of 15 throwing the ball for over 200 yards, so we definitely got
our work cut out for us. He's
probably the best player we've seen all year.
So, we're excited for the challenge, but we definitely got our hands
full,” said Fisher.
Published 9/01/26
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Wooster
Can’t Beat Themselves
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ray Leek
Wooster will make the short trip to Triway to meet the Titans in a
non-conference game on Friday night.
They lost their second heartbreaker of the year when they fell
(32-29) to Alliance last week.
Coach Ray Leek says they are still making too many mistakes.
“It's definitely frustrating, especially when there's a lot of
things that we could do better and not beat ourselves.
Penalties and things of that nature.
Things that we've got to clean up and we are cleaning up.
So, definitely frustrating, but at the end of the day, we just have
got to get back to work and keep driving.
Just be process driven as far as kids keep working the way they are.
The results will come if we keep up with the work they're putting
in,” said Leek.
Leek says they just have to continue to trust in what they are doing
and work hard. “Just keep
showing up every day at practice, being intentional, staying disciplined and
just do your job every day to the best of your ability.
If our kids continue to do that that's all we can ask for.
They've done a great job. They
work hard every day. They come
ready to practice. So, if they
keep that mindset we're going to be just fine,” he said.
Triway (2-0) smoked Norwayne (38-13) in a non-league game last week.
Leek says to have a chance to win they have to be more disciplined.
“Triway is a great football program.
They're pretty physical, they can run the ball, they can throw the
ball, they're disciplined,’ he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night,
“We're not going to be able to commit those same mistakes that we made the
last two weeks if we want to have a shot at this game.
So. we've got to be disciplined on our end and not beat ourselves.”
Published 9/01/26
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Hillsdale
to Tangle With Loudonville
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Trevor Cline
Hillsdale will be down at Loudonville for a non-conference rivalry
game against the improved Redbirds on Friday night.
Hillsdale (2-0) took out Lucas (28-7) last week in a non-league game.
Coach Trevor Cline says any win against Lucas is a good one.
“Anytime you get a win against Lucas it's always a quality win.
They're a very good program and have a rich tradition.
So, for us to be able to go down to Lucas and get a win was a huge
step in the right direction for our team this year.
There's still some things that we have got to get fixed, especially
during this week at a rivalry game. We
did improve on some things from week one to week two, which as a coach
that's all you can ask,” said Cline.
Loudonville (2-0) walloped New London (55-13) in their game last
week.
Cline says they are making strides.
“I think Loudonville is much improved I think coach (Keith) Lemke
is doing a great job of carrying over what coach (Ed) Honabarger did in his
couple years there as head coach. I
love just the fact that coach Lemke just continues to add the rivalry and
making this a big deal like we all want it to be.
So, it's been fun this week. It's
going to be fun the rest of the week just seeing both communities rally
around their school and get ready for the big rivalry game that's been
around for many years and one that you love being a part of,” he said.
Hillsdale has had the upper hand in recent seasons in this rivalry.
They won (35-14) last year.
Cline says he likes the return of more intensity to the rivalry.
“It's been a lot of fun and it's going to be a lot of fun this
week. It’s two communities
that are very similar and have a very similar makeup,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “If you grow up in Loudonville you
would be support Loudonville. If
you growing in Hillsdale you are going to be supporting Hillsdale.
So, on Friday night it's going be a lot of fun to seeing both
communities come out and support each school.
Obviously, we're going to do everything we can to make sure that we
come out on the good side of the whole event.”
Published 9/01/26
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Carey
Feeling Good
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jonathan Mershman
Carey will be at home Friday night for the Galion Tigers in a
non-conference game.
They lost (34-7) to state power Marion Local last week.
However, coach Jonathan Mershman says they can certainly take some
good things from that loss. “We
did some good things. I know the
score was 34-7. We got it to
21-7 at one point. Probably a
stop away from really gaining momentum.
They did an excellent job of of driving down and scoring and kind of
putting that game out of reach from us,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday afternoon, “I thought we did some good things.
We got them to fourth down four times we just didn't get off the
field. So, we have got to be
more consistent, have got to put plays together, you have got to stack good
plays on top of good plays on top of good plays and it comes with
consistency. We have got new
guys in places and so we're working on those things.
My goal is always to get better as the season goes on, so as long as
that wasn't our peak, I think we'll be okay.”
Mershman says they have made some good improvement this week in
practice. “In all honesty,
Monday the focus wasn't exactly where I wanted it, but I thought we put two
good practices together Tuesday and Wednesday.
So, I'm really pleased with those two days.
Our execution at a consistent level was there, focus was better.
Today's Thursday, so hopefully we have a good practice (Thursday) to
finish sharpening that sword and then we'll be ready for Friday night,” he
said.
Galion lost (36-12) at St. Mary’s Memorial last week.
Mershman says they are athletic and will be a big challenge for them.
“Explosive, really elusive quarterback, and they're going to do
some things out front defensively that's going to put us in a bind and we
have got to be prepared for that ready to adjust and be consistent with our
rules and follow our rules and I think we'll be just fine. Galion’s got a
really good team. I know they
lost week one. They had some
breaks not go their way and I can't count on those things happening against
us, so we have got to play our football, and play our style, and not let
them dictate what we do,” said Mershman,
Published 8/28/26
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St.
Paul Continuing to Build
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Chris Doughty
Norwalk St. Paul will play host the Tiffin Calvert Senecas on Friday
night in non-conference action.
They were handled in their opener (35-0) by Port Clinton.
Coach Chris Doughty says their were some good things to come out of
the game. “The final score
didn’t reflect a real competitive game.
Believe it or not it was only 7-0 but about 10 seconds to go until
halftime. So, I was really
pleased with a lot of things, especially defensively in that first half.
Our kids did a great job attacking the football and we forced a few
turnovers and got some stops. The
reality is though as the game wore on our kids just kind of wore down.
We weren't able to put the ball in the end zone.
It has been a focus this week, we have got to be able to put the ball
in the end zone. Late in the
game, we gave up a lot of third and long conversions.
We've got to correct those things this week,” said Doughty.
Doughty says he liked the focus he saw this week in practice.
“We've been rotating a lot of guys in, even some younger guys in
some positions trying to build some depth up.
Our guys that have been starting they really focused hard on their
technique. Really that's been a
month long process. They've done
a great job of improving on a weekly basis.
To see that renewed energy again working toward our next game has
been really nice to see,” he said.
Calvert was hammered (40-3) by Leipsic last Thursday.
Doughty says they are big in the trenches and they have some athletes
too. “Thing that sticks out
first and foremost for me with Tiffin Calvert is their offensive and
defensive lines. They've got
some good size on both sides of the ball, but the thing that stands out to
me is their pad level coming off the ball and the way they run their feet.
That's going to be a a big of emphasis for us this game,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We've got to win at the line of
scrimmage and it’s not going to be an easy task with some of the guys they
got over there. Their running
back, they've got a Nolan Lee returning.
He had a really good game against us last year.
He's a strong runner and can break some tackles, so it's going to be
important that we're able to stop that run game. They
have got some nice receivers as well in Nico Marinis, he's a freshman for
them this year they like to chuck the ball up to him.
Lukas Stoltz and Branyan Coleman and Max Griffin as well.
They've got some nice weapons at receivers.”
Doughty says the Calvert defense does a nice job too.
“Defensively, I already talked about the defensive line, but
they're linebackers play aggressive. They
can fill downhill in a hurry. Their
secondary does a nice job of run support and defending the pass.
So, it's going to be a good matchup for us and the kids are
definitely looking forward to it,” he said.
Published 8/28/26
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New
Philadelphia Must Defend
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Johnson
New Philadelphia entertains West Branch on Friday night in a
non-conference game, it’s the Quakers home opener.
They fell to Louisville (20-10) last week in their first game.
Coach Mike Johnson says honestly, they didn’t play well enough to
win the game. “I don't think
we did quite enough to win the game. We
had some opportunities and at the end of the day we just need to play a
little bit better. Hats off to
Louisville. I think they did a
great job, but our guys have had a heck of a good week in practice, so it's
on to West Branch now,” he said.
Johnson was very happy with the intensity that his players showed in
practice this week. “I think
our guys had a little extra fire this week, whether it was individual drills
where they really got after it or in group work.
I was really pleased with the intensity of practice.
It seemed like they had an idea and knew the purpose of what we're
trying to do and they executed as well as they could. So, we're looking
forward to seeing that on the field (Friday) night,” said Johnson.
West Branch won their opener in smoking St. Clairsville (37-6) last
Friday.
Johnson says they have a quarterback that does lots of things.
“They have got a quarterback, who I saw is committed to Youngstown
State. He's a good football
player. Last week, he ran it
really well. We've seen him pass
it well in the past too,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening,
“We're going to have to really try to keep him kind of bottled up so he
can't get loose. Then try to
take away some of his targets. He's
got a big tight end, he's a junior, he was very good football player.
So, we're going to have to do those things defensively and
offensively we got to keep that ball moving.”
Published 8/28/26
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Northmor
to Meet Very Good Smithville
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Armrose
Northmor takes the bus to Wayne County on Friday night for a
non-conference game with the Smithville Smithies.
They lost (30-21) to Upper Sandusky in a non-league game last week.
Coach Scott Armrose says they just couldn't make enough plays.
“They were just able to make more plays down the stretch than we
were able. We made some mistakes
defensively and offensively,” he said.
They surrendered 249 yards passing to Upper and they turned the ball
over three times.
Armrose says they have made good progress this week in practice.
“We had a good week of practice.
It's different for us because we haven't lost a week one game in a
really long time,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “You
never know what you're going to get with the football team after a loss.
We were able to put it behind us, focus on ourselves and just get
better. We did that throughout
the week.”
Smithville was a touchdown better than Massillon Tuslaw last week,
winning (21-14) last Friday.
Armrose says they do some unique things on offense.
“They are solid football team.
They do some things on offense that’s a little bit different.
They are tough to simulate in practice.
They do a lot of reading, run a little bit of option.
A lot of things that force you to be really fundamental and take care
of everything on defense, so we've worked hard on that,” said Armrose.
Northmor has established a reputation for solid defense.
Armrose says they will be challenged by an athletic Smithville
offense. “It's an offense
that’s not simple and they're athletic, so it's a lethal combination.
Now, they have got a quarterback that can run and throw, a big, tough
fullback, and and good speed all around.
So, a really tough challenge for us this week,” he said.
Published 8/28/26
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Upper
Sandusky Faces Physical Mt. Gilead
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Russell Hall
Upper Sandusky will be at home for the Mt. Gilead Indians in their
home opener on Friday night.
The Rams quarterback Keegan Dunn threw four touchdown passes last
week in their (30-21) win over Northmor.
Coach Russell Hall says they were clicking well.
“It was fantastic to see execution.
Coaches came up with a great game plan.
The kids really bought in having a good week of practice and came out
and executed. So, it was a good
win,” said Hall.
Hall says practice was good this week, but it wasn’t perfect.
“I think everybody wants just a little bit more. I
feel like we had a pretty good week of practice, but there's always room for
improvement that's for sure,” he said.
Mt. Gilead was crushed (42-19) by Martins Ferry in their opener.
Hall says the Indians opponent last week was really good.
“I see Martin's Ferry is a very, very good football team.
They are big, they are strong, they are fast, they can run, they can
throw, they can tackle, they can cover.
So, I feel that last week’s opponent for Mt. Gilead, if they're not
a playoff team, I'm not sure who is,” said Hall.
Hall says Mt. Gilead is going to be physical, like usual.
“The same thing from the last several years.
Since coach (Mike) Reid has been there.
They've been extremely physical, hardnosed team.
They have got a lot of two way players, but they play hard, very
hard,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Super impressed
with the way #44 (Boe) Sayers runs the ball, senior 6’1”, 210, runs like
a dump truck. #2 Tyler Harr he's
a senior and he's been playing there for a while.
He’s a do it at all athlete. He's
very impressive. #13 (Wyatt Long) moved from tight end it looked like last
year to quarterback this year, another senior 6’3”, 200, just a really
good athlete.”
Published 8/28/26
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Norwayne
Has to be More Physical
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Adam Indorf
Norwayne plays host to inter-county rival Wooster Triway in a
non-conference game on Friday night.
The Bobcats don’t lose much, but they did fall to LaGrange Keystone
(36-21) last week.
Coach Adam Indorf says Keystone definitely exposed some things they
were doing. “We had to work to
improve this week. Just take
care of our own and make sure we're doing our jobs.
Improve technique, improve some of those intricacies of the ball
game. Starting the ball game
with and onside kick there. We
have got to make sure that we get all that covered and what our role is in
that. So, just improving,
improvement all around. So,
hopefully we see some growth from week one and week two here,” said Indorf.
Indorf says their work in practice this week has been very good in
preparation for Triway. “We
did a great job. We made some
changes up front on the offensive line and working to understand the
schematics. Working to
understand how we're going to come out with that energy and play fast and
physical,” he said.
Triway beat West Holmes (21-14) last week to open the season.
Indorf says they are going to have to win up front this week to win
the game. “They’re going to
be a solid team. They're going
to be athletic, they're going to be physical on the offensive line and
defensive line. They look to
stretch the field both vertically and horizontally.
They have great athletes, a good quarterback.
Defensively, we're going to have to be on point and communicate and
be great in coverage. Hopefully
keep them off balance uh with some blitzes and get some shots on the
quarterback early,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “They
are a three front, move to a little four front sometimes.
We have to be able to sort that out and make sure our blocking
schemes are solid there. Hopefully,
we can establish the line of scrimmage and be physical up front.
Keys are just playing fast and physical and do our job, execute, and
hopefully be successful.”
Published 8/28/26
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Bellevue
Developing Confidence
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Alex Shepherd
Bellevue travels to Wauseon on Friday night for a non-conference game
against the Indians.
They hammered archrival Clyde (42-0) last week.
It was their third win over the Flyers in the last year.
Coach Alex Shepherd says practice has been good this week as they
start to settle into a routine. “It's
always important to take a large step from week one to week two.
We kind of get some of those first game jitters out from some new
kids that are starting for the first time.
It kind of seems a little bit more business as usual this week,” he
said.
Shepherd says he likes where they are and they starting to develop
some confidence. “We finished
last year with a decent record. We
felt like we accomplished a lot last year in my first season here,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “This is a new year and we have
a lot of new kids playing that didn't get a ton of reps last year, so you're
never sure how these kids are going to step in.
Luckily, we had a lot of kids step up last weekend and it kind of
felt like we took off right from where we ended last year.”
Wauseon was smoked (56-26) by Sherwood Fairview on week one.
Shepherd says the Indians do have some playmakers.
“Wauseon definitely has a lot of athletes that we have got to take
account for. Their running back
is really good. They have got
great skill in the backfield and their offensive line plays hard.
We have got to make sure we limit big plays on defense and we have
got to control the ball on offense,” said Shepherd.
Published 8/28/26
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Centerburg
to face Physical Johnstown
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Colella
Centerburg heads for Johnstown-Monroe for a non-conference match up
on Friday night.
Last week, they turned a tie game at halftime into a (35-14) route of
Utica on the opening night.
Coach Andy Colella says they turned it around in the second two
quarters of the game. “We had
some typical kind of first week situations in there.
We had some new faces. The
first time a guy is playing a full four quarters, but I thought once we
settled in, particularly in the second half, really in all phases of the
game, we've played pretty well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday
evening, “Just really proud of the kids of how they kind of hung in there
you know through that kind, I mean it wasn't a lull, but the first half
there. Credit to Utica as well.
They have some really good football players, tough, physical kids.
That was kind of the style of the first half.
We were able to open it up offensively and defensively came with a
little bit different attitude in the second half.”
The hay is in the barn so to speak with practice over for the week
and Colella feels they had a good week of preparation.
“Johnstown offers some unique challenges that we have had to
prepare for and I think we have had a good week of practice,” he said.
Johnstown belted Vermilion (34-14) last week in their first game.
Colella says the Johnnies are going to be physical in their approach
to the game. “They have a well
established program under coach (Mike) Carter.
He's been there for quite a while.
They have a style of play that's unique in terms of what you see
offensively, but it really comes down to the physicality and the
aggressiveness with which they play. That's
something that you're always going to get when you face them.
Their system kind of tailors to those kinds of kids.
So, we know it's going to be a physical, tough football game.
We have ways to try to exploit in our minds kind of that style of
play. We'll see how that turns
out for us,” said Colella.
Published 8/28/26
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South
Central to Take on Aggressive Buckeye Central
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Derek Fisher
South Central has its home opener on Friday night as they play at
home against Buckeye Central in non-conference play.
They lost their opener at Willard (16-12) on Friday night.
Coach Derek Fisher says they had their opportunities.
“Just came up short. I'm
proud of our guys, proud of our effort, proud of our coaching staff, good
game plan. We were able to hold
them scoreless the whole second half. We
missed a PAT, missed a field goal, there's a four point swing right there.
We also gave up two two point conversions, there's a four point swing right
there. So, any one of those go a
different way, or multiple of them, and we might be on the other end of that
game,” said Fisher.
Fisher says against Buckeye Central they have to put their best foot
forward. “It's been good, I
told the kids you make the most gains from week one to week two.
We've also kind of hit home that half the state is 1-0 and half the
state is 0-1 and right now we're in the lower half.
So, the public and the community only know what you show them on
Fridays. We know we're better
than what we showed on Friday, but we got to come out this Friday and prove
it,” he said.
In their opener Buckeye Central ran for 218 yards in a (35-7) pasting
of Crestline.
Fisher says they are going to try and be physical on offense and
aggressive on defense. “They
were down 7-0 to Crestline and came back with 35 unanswered points.
They are well coached, coach (Jordan) Phillips over there, he's been
hit with different things. He's
kind of running a different offense this year, but you can see that he's
does a good job of adapting to his personnel,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Thursday evening, “They look completely different than they did last
year. Big up front, lots of
pullers. They like to run the
ball. Kind of the complete
opposite of what it was last year. Defensively,
they're stout, they give you different looks, they come from different
directions, they like to you know stunt the defensive tackles and defensive
ends. So, we'll have our hands
full, but I think that this will be a good test for us.”
Published 8/28/26
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Clear
Fork Going Forward
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Brokaw
Off a good performance on week one, the Clear Fork Colts hit the road
for Zanesville for a non-conference game with the Blue Devils on Friday
night.
They handled Granville in their opener (28-14) last Friday.
Coach Aaron Brokaw says they played well, but they were far from
perfect. “It's a typical week
one, I think our guys were ready to go.
We did a lot of things well. There's
a lot of things that we need to polish up as we move on into the season.
Overall, pretty solid outing,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday night, “I think it was the first time the Clear Fork’s beaten
Granville, so that was a relief to some of our young men I'm sure that had
played in that game a couple years ago and didn't come out the way we wanted
it to.”
Trey Sellers ran for 121 yards and a score and quarterback Marcus
Hoeflich ran for another 86 and two scores.
They ran for over 260 yards as a team and threw only six passes on
the night.
On defense, they gave up 279 yards, but held the Blue Aces to one
score for the first 47 minutes of the game.
Brokaw says their defense has the potential to improve.
“I think we've got a nice mix of experienced guys on the defensive
side and some young guys that are really starting to cut their teeth right
now. It's exciting to watch
those guys go,” he said.
Going into Thursday, Brokaw says they have had a pretty decent week
of practice on week two. “We've
had a pretty consistent week so far. A
natural progression, Monday kind of in scouting reports and new installs.
Tuesday you tend to see a little bit more mistakes and Wednesday is a
little cleaner. We're looking to
get into our Thursday practice and be really crisp there and then take the
bus ride over to Zanesville,” he said.
Clear Fork punished Zanesville (39-0) last year in the valley.
However, the Blue Devils won last week breaking a 26 game losing
streak in downing Maysville (30-13) for their first win since midway through
the 2023 season.
Brokaw says this is an improved football team.
“It's a little bit of a tough scout just like it was last year.
Not knowing a lot the competition all that well that they’re
playing. I'm sure likewise for
them. They look to be improved
from where they were last year. They
got that that win last week. I'm
sure they're looking at this game hoping to get revenge from last season
when they came over here to our place,”
Brokaw says they are going to have to stop the run first are
foremost. “They'll throw the
ball a little bit, but it looks like they want to hang their hat on running
the ball. They’ve got a decent
running back. Not a lot of film
on him. I think he's a
sophomore. They return their
quarterback. He's got most of
the season under his belt from last year.
He looks to be a little bit more of a guy that will keep his eyes
downfield, but he's not afraid to take off and run with the ball either,”
said Brokaw.
Published 8/27/26
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Lexington
Can’t Have Mistakes
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jacob Owens
Lexington plays at home against the Shelby Whippets on Friday night
in a non-conference game.
The Minutemen were outscored (21-0) in the second half last week and
lost (35-7) to the Ontario Warriors.
Coach Jacob Owens says they gave great effort, but they hurt
themselves. “I thought our
kids played hard. We were in the
game at the half and into the third quarter.
We have to be better at our penalties. We
have to clean up our penalties and be a solid football team there.
We had way too many penalties last week, which killed drives and
killed morale. So, we have to
better there,” said Owens.
Owens says hopefully this week they are going to have less jitters
than they did last week. “You
practice and you go through film and you watch some of your mistakes there.
You'll have that week one for sure.
So, we're hoping for this week to improve on that and that's been a
point of emphasis for us,” he said.
Owens says they have embraced this week and getting ready for Shelby.
“It's been good, our kids are excited for the opportunity to play
and get after it. Getting the
game plan from our coaches. They've
been doing a really good job of trying to execute our game, playing and get
better every day,” he said.
Shelby drilled Madison (54-0) in their opener.
They have won their last 26 regular season games in a row.
Lexington has not beaten Shelby since 2015.
Owens says they know it’s going to be a challenge, but they are
excited for Friday. “They're a
really good program, they're well coached and they do their job.
They play Shelby Whippet football.
They went to the state championship game last year, state runner up
team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “A lot of those
guys are back from that team and they just reload.
They're really good, so we have a tough task, but like I said before,
we always are going to respect our opponent, but we're going to give our
best shot on Friday night.”
Published 8/27/26
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Perkins
Must Look Ahead
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jalen Santoro
Sandusky Perkins will be on the road to play Toledo Scott on Thursday
night in a non-conference game.
The Pirates edged Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph (44-41) in double
overtime last Friday.
Coach Jalen Santoro was very pleased with how the kids played.
“It was a crazy game, a long one.
A couple things stand out, but like again playing the quality
opponent week one and then the length of the game and the physicality of the
game. It was one that you more
likely see week 12, week 13 type game than you do week one.
So, happy with the way our guys were in condition and ready play.
We had a few cramps, I mean that's be expected, but overall super
happy with the way we finished the game and played a very physical opponent
on week one,” said Santoro.
Santoro says they have been addressing a lot of things in practice
the week getting ready for Thursday. “You
have got to go out and tons and tons of things that need to be better still
and that is to be expected in a week one matchup.
So, again you want to see a jump from week one to week two.
Little minute things too like we want to make sure we continue to
tackle well, block and getting to the football and making sure we're
assignment sharp and all those little things are going to come with time,
but overall, again you want to see that big jump from week one to week two,
and more accountability after playing a big, week one game,” he said.
Toledo Scott got smoked (44-8) by Toledo St. John’s last week.
Santoro says their goal is to get better.
“Again, we need to be assignment sharp.
This week’s message focusing on us here and no let down after a big
win in week one. So, that's
easier so than done, but overall you kind of got to move on put that game in
the review mirror and get ready for the next week.
Keep taking that latter and keep taking steps to get better,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Just kind of focus on us
as we have a different week of practice with it being a Thursday night game.
You have to change some things around and stuff.
Kind of a different routine with what we're normally used to.
So, we have to adapt to got that and then let's gout out and have a
good practice here and go execute on Thursday night now.”
Published 8/27/26
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Mansfield
Senior Finding it
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach David Phillips
Mansfield Senior has its home opener on Friday night as they
entertain the Tiffin Columbian Tornadoes in a non-conference game.
They were whipped (30-6) by Hilliard Davison last week.
Coach David Phillips says they got off to a slow start and that, and
too many mistakes, cost them. “We
didn’t get off the bus when we arrived.
The penalties had us. We
had 15 penalties for 181 yards. We
also have multiple chances in the red zone,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday evening, “First game jitters, a little bit nervous mostly.
The second half we played very well.
They scored one touchdown the second half and we spotted them 16
points on special teams. Special
teams is a key part of the game as we all know, so that was huge.”
Phillips thinks that the nerves won’t be as bad this week.
“Now they have got their feet underneath them, so they should be
all good. Now they know what to
expect on Friday night as far as the breathing and everything.
Just how fast the game is played.
So, we should be fine this week and from here on out,” said
Phillips.
Tiffin Columbian lost a heartbreaker (22-21) to Fremont Ross last
week.
Phillips says the Tornadoes will be a solid football team.
“They are always well disciplined, fast, and they're aggressive,
physical. They play all three
parts of football offense, defensive, and special teams.
So, it's going to be a battle,” he said.
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Seneca
East Getting Better and Better
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ed Phillips
It’s the home opener on Friday night for the Seneca East Tigers as
the host Monroeville in a non-conference game.
After trailing by two scores early, the Tigers rallied last week to
outscore Gibsonburg (44-26) on week one.
Coach Ed Phillips says their depth was a big factor for them.
“I think we we're down 14-0, and come back, but we are down 26-21
at the half. One thing I talked
to them about early in the week is one thing we had at Gibsonburg was our
depth. We wanted to play a lot
of guys, and we did, we played a lot of guys.
I think that's really important to us and it paid off.
The kids just played with a lot of conference.
We made too many mistakes to start and that happens in week one
sometimes and that's the focus this week to clean that stuff up so that we
can play a clean game and give us the best chance to go out and be 2-0,”
said Phillips.
Phillips believes this is a football team that can get a lot better
this year. “I think that's one
good thing right now is if you look at us from scrimmage to preview and
preview to first game and now the few practices we've had this week.
I think this team is getting better every day,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night. “They're learning some every day.
We throw a good mix of youth and experience out there.
I think the thing about that is when you put those two together it's
kind of like growing a good garden and fertilize stuff and it grows really
good. I think we're really
growing well right now.”
Seneca East won this matchup last year (14-2) at Monroeville.
The Eagles were hammered (48-18) by McComb last week.
Despite that, Phillips says this a solid Monroeville team.
“They had some things not go their way against a really good McComb
team. They tried to fight back
in like us and they just didn’t quite get there, but they’re a really
good. They are a typical
Monroeville football team. Their
offensive and defensive lines are really good and they want to run the
football. They have got a couple
of really good backs and quarterback runs it and throws it well.
So, it’s what you'd expect out of a Monroeville team.
A huge challenge for us coming up this week,” he said.
Published 8/27/26
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Monroeville
Will Face Explosive Seneca East
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Tylor Nester
Monroeville will be down at Seneca East to face the Tigers in
non-conference play on Friday night.
It was not the start to the season they were hoping for last week
when McComb blasted them (48-14) last Friday.
Coach Tylor Nester says he likes the leadership he is seeing.
“It wasn’t the way we wanted the start off the season, but I'm
really impressed with our captains, our upperclassmen, and how they
responded Saturday morning. We
definitely have got to take care of the ball that.
You can't have those kinds of turnovers with a team like McComb or a
team like Seneca East. You have
got to take care of the football. On
defense you have got to attack that football creates the turnovers,” he
said.
Nester says he sees improvement in the Eagles, even dating back to
the game last week. “I mean
even throughout the game on Friday right with the result that it had we
still see, after we reviewed that film, we see some improvements out of our
kids. They didn't give up
throughout the game, throughout the hour and half rain delay.
The kids showed up on Saturday ready to learn.
Obviously, disappointed, but you want your kids to be a little bit
disappointed. You know they care
about it. When Monday comes
around ready to go and have had a nice, solid week of practice so far,”
said Nester.
Seneca East responded in the second half and outscored Gibsonburg
(44-26) on week one.
Nester says they have kids that can make big plays.
“They're explosive and they're big.
You’ve got (Landyn) Hicks on the line on defense and on offense
there. He can make some plays on
the defensive side. (Jackson)
Gayheart it seems like he's been starting for the last five or six years and
he is a force there in the middle,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
evening, “They have got some young guys that are stepping up to the
skilled positions. Then Robinson
at quarterback. He can scramble
and run. He can scramble to
throw. So, we'll have a
task with our db’s to keep everything in front of us and our defensive
line to be able to force him off at his point of contact.”
Published 8/27/26
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Wynford
Working on Focus
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andrew Amlin
Wynford plays its second “KMAC” team in a row to start the season
as play at East Knox against the Bulldogs in a non-conference game on Friday
night.
Last week, they downed Cardington (34-20) in a non-league game.
Coach Andrew Amlin says they need to be better on defense.
“Offensively, we were somewhat efficient, so that was probably the
biggest reason why we won. The
biggest mistakes were made defensively. So,
those are the things we've tried to improve on this week.
Defensively, we made a lot of mistakes.
We had some young guys playing,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Monday evening, “We watched that on film and that's the biggest thing
we're trying to fix. Not that
everything's easy offensively we just happened to be efficient.
Teams will learn how to defend us a little better as we go along, so
we have got to be ready for that too.”
Amlin says the key word in practice this week for the Royals is
focus. “That was kind of the
whole point this week. We kind
of pick a theme each week and this week's focus is on the tackling and focus
on your job. Sometimes kids get
under the lights and everything's happening fast for me.
They forget what they've been taught, so it's just a matter of
getting them out of those moments, getting back to what they really need to
do. It just kind of happens, so
just kind of repeating your drills hopefully they translate that to the
game,” he said.
East Knox got past Johnstown Northridge (19-14) on week one.
Amlin says they have some kids that can make some plays.
“They have some good athletes.
Their quarterback is a big kid. He
throws the ball well and they run him a decent amount. He's
a big kid, so we have to worry about him in multiple ways.
They have a running back #3 is pretty elusive.
If he gets loose he can he can make some big plays.
#13 is a good receiver too, seems like he's got a lot of speed.
He hit us for a touchdown last year, if I remember right.
So, they have some weapons, they're concerning.
They're a lot different than Cardington.
Cardington was more double wing, wing-t stuff. East Knox is a lot
more spread,” said Amlin.
Published 8/27/26
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Hillsdale
Has to be Better
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Trevor Cline
Hillsdale plays their traditional week two game at Lucas against the
Cubs in non-conference action on Friday night.
They beat Black River (34-20) in their opener last week.
Coach Trevor Cline says they kind of took their foot off the gas
pedal though. “It was a good
win. Anytime you can start off
1-0 that’s always what you’re looking for.
There's plenty of things that we need to get cleaned up because we
were up 34-7 and then started to get sloppy towards the end due to cramps
and things like that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We
have got some things that we need to get cleaned up, but for a first game,
especially breaking in a lot of guys that it was their first time that they
were the main guys on the varsity, it was a good win for us.”
Cline says those first time players now have a better understanding
of what varsity football really is. “They
do understand after you get your first varsity game under the lights, but
they also need to get ready because we're going to a tough road game going
down to Lucas where they have a great tradition and they have a great home
field advantage down there,” he said.
Lucas downed Steubenville Catholic Central (29-13) in their first
game on Saturday.
Cline says to compete against Lucas they are going to have to be
physical. “They're extremely
physical and that's what Lucas is known for.
They have some guys that are going to be physical and we're going to
have to be able to match that physicality and just tackle really well.
It's just a really fundamental Lucas team, which has been their thing
for many years now. So, we're
looking forward to getting the opportunity to play them again and go down
there and compete against a quality program,” said Cline.
Published 8/27/26
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Highland
Has to be Solid
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stover
Highland plays at Heath in non-conference action on Friday night
against the Bulldogs.
On week one, they handled Fredericktown (28-7) in their opener.
Coach Ty Stover says they did a lot of good things, but some not good
things too. “Hey week one was
actually a good surprise. The
kids played hard as expected. They
were physical. We have got to
clean some things up as far as penalties, I know we talked about that, and
then some technique things. We
had a few missed assignments that were percentage wise we're trying to
decrease. We’ve had a good
week of practice so far going into week two and that's where we're
headed,” said Stover.
Stover says coming off a win you can’t have a letdown.
He says so far so good. “We've
tried not to make it happen. It's
been another couple physical practices.
Still getting at it like we would in the summer trying to just keep a
humble, well balanced mindset coming into week two for Friday.
We know we have got another good test,” he said.
Heath lost (50-21) to Philo last Friday.
Stover says they have to defeat the Bulldogs athleticism.
“Heath is a large team and their members are really good.
Very athletic group all the way around.
They'll run the spread offense and on defense they'll be in a 4-2-5.
They'll be in two techniques on offense, a one and three and wide
five, so they'll be a little bit everywhere,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday night, “It will come down to if we can maintain our discipline
and handle our job assignments with great technique we'll be on the good
side of it on Friday. If things
get sideways and we start to let their athleticism take over, then you know
we’ll be in a battle.”
Published 8/27/26
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West
Holmes Wants to be Aggressive
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Keaton Leppla
West Holmes hosts Cleveland John Adams for a non-conference game on
Friday night.
In their opener, the Knights lost (21-14) to non-conference rival
Wooster Triway on Friday.
Coach Keaton Leppla says they played too passive in the first half
last week. “We came out slow
in the first half, unsure of ourselves, kind of waiting, feeling everything
out, not being the aggressor, responding versus reacting. They
came out in the second half and it was a complete 180.
Executed way better, still have got room to improve there, but we
were the aggressor, we were the ones who were going in attacking.
We just pinned our ears back and played in the second half.
So, really became a player led team in the second half,” said
Leppla.
Leppla says they are working on being a more disciplined football
team this week. “We're
definitely as we're going through normal days for us trying to figure out
what we're going to do. Any
tweaks, adjustments anything like that. Tuesday
Wednesday are our hard days,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
afternoon, “We got after them (Tuesday).
I think the biggest thing that we stressed this week is just
discipline and no pre snap penalties and no lack of technique penalties.
So, we really stressed and our guys have done a much better job this
week when it comes to that. Just
trying to get used to the guys to go out and play.
Not over complicate things and they've done a good job with that this
week.”
John Adams buried Toledo Woodward (42-8) in their first game.
Leppla says the Rebels have some playmakers.
“They are big up front in the trenches.
They have got skilled players that are very athletic. They
have got a very good running back who does a great job finding those cuts
and finding those seems and openings. Defensively,
they play what they play and they get after the quarterback and they blitz a
bunch. We're going to have our
hands full and it's going to be a great test for our kids,” he said.
Published 8/27/26
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Shelby
Embracing the Process
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Robert Mahaney
Shelby plays on the road for the first time this season as they visit
Lexington for a non-conference game on Friday night.
They walloped Madison (54-0) last week in their opener, scoring six
times in the first half.
Coach Robert Mahaney says their kids went out and did what they asked
them to do. “I was really
proud of our kids. We talked
about going into that game about all the pressure week one and getting used
to the operation, and the game, and all those kinds of things.
We were very fortunate to have one penalty and one cramp.
When you get that week one, I think it just spoke to our kids that
they handle the little things really well and then when we did the little
things really well the big things could took care of themselves.
Really proud of our guys to commit to what we've asked them to do and
then to go out week one, the opening game, and opening time for us to
represent Shelby this year and our kids played really well.
I thought Madison did some things really well too and coach (Kobi)
Johnson got them going, but I just thought our kids came out that night got
some things going and we were able to really take advantage of it,” said
Mahaney.
Brady Bowman broke Shelby’s all time receiving yards record in the
win over Madison.
Mahaney says last week their defense really set the tone for the
game. “I thought that's a big
credit to our defense who came out there and played really well.
It starts with our defensive staff, coach (Jon) Amicone and those
guys did a great job. Our kids
played hard and they played team defense.
They did their job we had been asking them to do and flew around and
were physical. I thought that
really set the tone. We had a
turnover early and fumbled at the goal line.
Our kids offensively still found ways to score.
We had three defensive touchdowns, so again a ton of credit to our
defense and what they did and how our kids came out and executed,” he
said.
Shelby returns only two starters on defense.
Lexington lost (35-7) to Ontario in their first game.
Mahaney says they need to match the effort that Lexington has been
playing with so far. “Anytime
you go over to Lexington you know what to expect.
A community that loves their football and they come out there to
play. I thought week one their
kids played extremely hard. They
came out there and competed at a high level.
So, our kids have got to be ready for that.
It will be our first challenge to go on the road.
It's a cool thing at the beginning of our schedule where we have got
another Richland County rivalry game that we get to play against Lex,” he
told Swanlonsports.com on Tuesday night, “It's another opportunity to go
out there and get better. Our
kids are excited for it. Again,
I give a lot of credit to coach (Jacob) Owens.
He came in and it's taking this thing over and has those kids playing
really hard and getting everything going on.
I give a lot of credit to him and their staff and to their kids that
played extremely hard. So, again
we’re excited for the opportunity on Friday and ready to get over
there,” said Mahaney.
Published 8/26/26
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Colonel
Crawford With tough Road Trip
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jake Bruner
Colonel Crawford takes the long bus ride to Fairfield Union for a
non-conference game on Friday night.
Last Thursday, they outscored Fairbanks (45-21) in their season
opener.
Coach Jake Bruner says they played well, but they have things to work
on. “Opening games are always
a concern for coaches. Both
teams are 0-0. When you play a
team in week eight a lot of the times they've already decided who's good and
who's bad. Dave Carroll is a
heck of a football coach and we had a lot of concerns going in.
We did some really good things and we got a lot of improvement to do.
We're a young team, so we kind of expected that, but a win is always
good and in front of your home crowd against a team that is really well
coached, you're always going to be happy,” said Bruner.
Bruner says they have to get better on special teams and they must
keep an even keel as they play the game.
“Well, number one, special teams. I
wasn’t really happy with our special team play just because some of it is
experience of a game situation. So,
we've got to get better at that. Handling
I think a little bit of the highs and lows.
We scored on the opening possession of the game on offense and a lot
of people think that's great, but there's also some maybe overconfidence
that comes with that. So, just
kind of handle the highs and lows. We
are still playing a lot of young kids that plays into that as well,” he
said.
Fairfield Union was blasted by New Lexington (33-14) in their opener.
Bruner says they are a really good team.
“Well, New Lexington number one, I wasn't really familiar with New
Lexington until we started playing Fairfield Union.
It's one of the really great programs in division IV down there.
They actually beat Fairfield Union the playoffs last year.
It's kind of a rival game and New Lexington is always a really good
team,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Fairfield Union
as well is a really good football team.
They made some mistakes in some turnovers so they probably would have
won. Fairfield Union has almost
20 seniors and there are a division IV team and we’ve got to go down
there, it's an hostile environment. They
have just a great quarterback. They
have a great bunch of linebackers. Their
offensive line is really, really big and physical.
They have got it all. They
have receivers as well. So,
we're going to have our work cut out for us on Friday.”
Crawford won this game (28-14) in North Robinson last year.
Bruner says the run game is key here.
“I think they’re like us. I
think they want to run the ball first, but they will throw it. Their
quarterback is a runner and a thrower. He's
a really good athlete, he's the coach's son, his brother was the quarterback
before him. We faced him last
year and he's really dynamic. So,
they’re going to run the ball first, that's who they are.
They're going to stop the run first.
At the end of the day, they're not afraid to do those other things as
well. So, they're going to give
us a lot of different problems that that that we're going to face.
A much bigger team, we’re division VI and they’re division IV.
We knew signing up for this game it was going to be a stretch for us.
We’ve really just got to be ready and prepared to play,” said
Bruner.
Published 8/26/26
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Columbian
Faces Very Athletic Mansfield Senior
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Ottney
Tiffin Columbian will be at Mansfield Senior to take on the Tygers in
non-conference play on Friday night.
The Tornadoes lost in dramatic fashion last week when they fell
(22-21) to Fremont Ross last Friday.
Coach Ryan Ottney says he loved what they got out of their players.
“It was a heartbreaker, but I'm very, very proud of our players.
They played extremely well, they played extremely hard and at the end
of it all you just want to have a chance and we gave ourselves a chance to
have a way to win that game. It
didn’t out the way we wanted to, but I'm proud of the growth, I'm proud of
the discipline that kids had. There
was some momentum swings and they responded every single time and that's all
you can ask for as a coach,” said Ottney.
Ottney says he especially has liked the attention to detail the kids
have showed in practice this week. “The
biggest thing I have seen is there way more attention to each other on the
small things. I think that's a
big credit from what happened from week one.
They're playing a lot more passionate on special teams right now.
They've been very, very frustrated uh with the mistakes that were
made there. They're focused,
they're ready to move forward and their mindset's all about going into this
week,” he said.
The winning points last week came on a kick return by Fremont Ross.
Mansfield Senior lost (30-6) to Hilliard Davidson last Friday in
David Phillips debut as their coach.
Ottney says the Tygers are loaded with athletic kids and they will
have to do their best to contain them. “They’re
a team that's got a lot of athletes all over the field.
They're a little young. They
have got some freshmen they're playing, but those freshmen are very
athletic, they're talented,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night,
“We have just got to make sure that we are accounting for them and the
athleticism that they have to make sure that we can make some things happen
when we have the opportunity.”
Published 8/26/26
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Western
to Play Talented Margaretta
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stevenson
On Friday night, Western Reserve is at home for the Margaretta Polar
Bears in a non-league game.
They smoked Wellington (45-7) on week one.
They were the only Firelands Conference team to win last week.
Coach Ty Stevenson says overall they were a little inconsistent in
their execution. “We talked
Friday after the game and I kind of hold true to that.
I felt at times we were really good and at times we were a young team
week one. So, hopefully we get
some bugs worked out this week and then play a little better, a little
cleaner, football game this week,” said Steveonson.
Stevenson says they certainly have a little of things that need
improvement. “That is the goal
to get a little better every week and every day and continue to see the
things that you put on film and fix the things that need fixed and get a
little better at the things were pretty good at.
Hopefully, later in the season, we get into the conference we’re
playing good football,” said Stevenson.
Practice is where those improvements are going to be made and
Stevenson likes what he has seen this week.
“So far, it's been good. I
feel like our kids are locked in and they know Margaretta is a huge
challenge and one of the best teams on our schedule, if not the best team on
our schedule. So, they know it's
going to take a great effort. So,
I feel like we've been locked and ready to go,” he said.
Margaretta outscored Mohawk (30-20) in their opener to the season
last week.
Stevenson says they have a lot of weapons.
“They're really big up front. They're
skilled guys are big, strong kids. The
(Jace) Berg kid is a state qualifier in I think shot in disc and plays
running back and outside linebacker. The
(Carter) Luzader kid it feels like he's about a tenth year senior as long as
he's been playing,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “He’s
fast and physical. They have #8
on the outside, the (Kale) Bailey kid, who's on that 4x100 state
championship team, so they can run. The
quarterback is first year player, but is a big time baseball kid.”
Published 8/26/26
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Willard
Knows the Plan
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eli Fisher
Willard entertains Brooklyn in a non-conference game on Friday night.
This is a replacement for the planned game with Plymouth.
Last week, the Flashes edged South Central (16-12) on week one.
Coach Eli Fisher says they made a lot of mistakes, but they got
enough good things done. “We
did some things that were just undisciplined.
We had a lot of untimely penalties and things that we're just kind of
on us that we let get in the way of things.
Our kids battled and I do think it's good for them to be in that type
of game in week one. I thought
the defense played phenomenal, just a couple big plays, but we have to learn
from it and good opener,” said Fisher.
Football, really sports of any kind, is about constantly getting
better. Fisher says they have
been moving forward this week in practice.
“It's been good. We got
a game plan together Saturday and got that out to the kids over the weekend
and they did a good job of taking it into the week.
Luckily for us it's a similar kind of look to South Central, so bunch
of schemes were able to stay relatively close to the same.
It was good, kids took it well and then we got to fix a lot of stuff
over the weekend with film and things,” he said.
Brooklyn was buried last week (47-14) by Grand Valley.
Fisher says they are not going to be complicated, but they execute
well. “They’re athletic on
the outside. They want a very
simple offense. They are kind of
are going to do what they do and you better stop it,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “A little bit of wing-t kind of
stuff in there, but they do a good job getting into different guys.
So, we're going to have to play sound defensively.”
Published 8/26/26
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Wooster
Responding Well
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ray Leek
Wooster plays up at Alliance on Friday night in non-conference play.
Last week, the Generals lost a tough one (14-7) to arch rival
Orrville on Friday.
Coach Ray Leek says they played very hard, but they need to execute
better than they did last week. “I
thought we did a lot of good things. Our
kids played hard. It was
obviously week one and there's a lot of things to clean up, so we’re
looking for a huge jump going into week two.
Just clean up the penalties, snaps, just not beating ourselves,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “We have got to do a better job
at that. Our kids have really
responded. Our kids are
practicing hard. They're doing
all the right things. So, just
super proud of the effort they're putting in and the work they're putting to
clean up those mistakes so we can continue to get better each week that we
are on the field.”
Leek says they have identified what they need to work on and they
have been doing that in practice. “We've
had a good week of practice. The
kids are working hard. They
understand the weaknesses that we have got to attack.
I tell our guys every day just get better.
If every kid gets better in our program and just continue to get to
the best of our abilities and make sure that every player is continuing to
grind day in and day out that we'll be fine and just take care of the little
things,” he said.
Alliance lost (16-0) to Northwest, out of the Principal’s Athletic
Conference, last week.
Leek says wants to run it and they must contain that running game.
“Alliance, they're well coached, they're disciplined, they play
hard. They graduated a big
senior class. They lost the
Northwest in week one. but that was a close game as well.
I expect them to want to run the ball first.
They have got a lot of good athletes.
So, if we can stop the run and make them pass on us, I like where we
are. I think that we match up
well. I think it'll be a really
good game Friday night from two good teams,” said Leek.
Published 8/26/26
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Mt.
Gilead Can’t Hurt Themselves
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Reid
Mt. Gilead is over at Upper Sandusky for a non-conference game on
Friday night.
They lost (42-19) to Martins Ferry on the opening Friday of the
season.
Coach Mike Reid says they gave Martins Ferry too many opportunities.
“Martins Ferry was really, really good, so I have got to tip my hat
to them for sure. We had some
first game jitters and they obviously did not.
So, they're a great football team and I hope they go on to have a
great season and I hope we do too. We got back to work this week.
Saturday the guys came in and we looked at film and we saw some of
our mistakes we made. Martins
Ferry showed us some of the mistakes we made they exploited every single one
of them,” said Reid.
Reid says they put themselves in bad down and distance situations and
they are working on that. “We
hurt ourselves a lot. We had
some very inopportune penalties. We
had a couple false starts and a holding penalty and an illegal block that
set us behind the chains quite a bit. Martins
Ferry certainly didn't need that kind of help.
So, that's the thing is not hurting ourselves.
We talked about it last week where we couldn't hurt ourselves.
We have got to take care of ourselves make sure Mt. Gilead doesn't
beat Mt Gilead,” he said.
Upper beat Northmor (30-21) in their first game of the season last
Friday. Rams quarterback Keegan
Dunn threw four TD passes and 249 yards on the night.
Reid says Upper has a pretty dynamic offense they will have to stop.
“Coach (Russell) Hall at Upper Sandusky does a great job with his
offense, and defense for that matter, and a lot of respect for the Rams.
They spread the field out. They
throw short passes and as soon as you start jumping those, they'll scratch
you deep,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “They have got
a nice running game to go with it. They're
pretty well balanced. Defensively,
they always have presented some problems as well.
They match up pretty well with us, but I'm excited to go in there and
see how our guys rebound and get after it.
We've had a good week of preparation so far and so hopefully that
translates to a little much stronger showing Friday night.
Published 8/26/26
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Huron
Working on Blocking and Tackling
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Sam Hohler
Huron plays at home on Friday night against talented Hopewell-Loudon
in non-conference play.
They were hammered (42-7) by Oak Harbor in their opener last week.
Coach Sam Hohler says they got beat in the trenches.
“Oak Harbor was a big physical team up front.
They ran the ball very well against us.
We had trouble stopping the run.
Offensively, we were able to move the ball.
Unfortunately, we had a couple turnovers that really bit us.
Our team's still relatively inexperienced at a few spots and we're
working hard every day to try to improve,” said Hohler.
Hohler says he expects to see a good deal of improvement this week.
“Enough of our kids have played enough snaps between the last year
or two and this season now, so it is time to go out and make it happen,”
he said.
Hopewell-Loudon destroyed Millbury Lake (49-13) last week in their
first game.
Hohler says they will be a tremendous challenge for the Tigers.
“They're well coached. They
had a lot of success last year. They
got beat in the state finals to Kirtland in division VI.
This year they bumped down to division VII,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “They are very big and physical
upfront. They have an excellent
running game and they have a terrific quarterback.
He just finds ways to make plays and keep them going.
So, we'll definitely have our hands full again this week.”
Now, Hopewell does a lot of the same kinds of the things that Oak
Harbor does, so Hohler says they know where they have to get better.
“We've got to get off blocks and tackle better and then obviously
we have to take care of the ball offensively and try to put more points on
the board,” he said.
Published 8/26/26
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“Your First Source for All Things Sports”
“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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Ontario
Talking Getting Better
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Eckert
Ontario will be at home at Copeland Field to host the Norwalk
Truckers in a non-conference game on Friday night.
They outscored rival Lexington (21-0) in the second half last week
and took down the Minutemen (35-7) in their opener on Friday.
Gavin Miller was responsible for three scores for the Warriors.
Coach Aaron Eckert says they executed better in the second half.
“I didn’t feel like we played particularly well in the first half
and the film kind of showed that. Even
in the third quarter, we let them hang around.
I think we turned the ball over three times in the third quarter, at
least twice, and anytime you give a team an opportunity it doesn't go well,
but we were able to kind of put our foot down and to start making some plays
and just kind of impose our will and those guys.
I think that was the changing of the tide for us,” said Eckert.
They were their own worst enemy at times last week and Eckert says
they have to clean that up. “It’s
one of the things that in football typically the team that wins the turnover
battle wins the game. It’s one
of those things that was emphasize and feel really good about that so far
this preseason,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “We did
have any turnovers in the first scrimmages and then all of a sudden we have
a couple turnovers in this past game. Probably
made things closer than they needed to be.
Along with those turnovers come some opportunities to learn from them
and get better from it. So,
we're trying to take that approach and get better this week as we prepare
for Norwalk.”
Norwalk gave up to two early scores and lost (34-17) to Toledo Start
in their first game. Freshman
running back Brysen Risner rad for 141 and a score for the Truckers.
Eckert says they are team that is going to try and run a lot of
misdirection plays. “They are
a little old school. Offensively,
they're running a true wing-t. People
ran it for years and then people figured out how to defend it and they went
away from it, so they're kind of circling back to a little older generation
of football. So, it's kind of
refreshing to watch being someone that ran the wing-t for a year or two when
I was at Bucyrus. They've got
some growing pains. They
graduated quite a bit from last year's team and they're trying to figure
their way out as well,” he said.
Published 8/25/26
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Lucas
Needs “A” Game
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jim Sweat
Lucas welcomes the Hillsdale Falcons in a non-conference game on
Friday night.
They traveled to Steubenville Catholic Central on Saturday night and
beat the Crusaders (29-13) in their first game of the season.
Coach Jim Sweat was very happy with how his kids executed on a
difficult night to play football. “Right
off the bat, we went right down the field and scored and got a stop, and had
a turnover on downs, and put in another one.
We unfortunately got into a rain delay and storms and had to sit for
about an hour and a half,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night,
“It was pretty tough, but the kids came back out played well down the
stretch. Scored a couple to put
it away at the end. I was really
impressed with the kids composure being able to stay on track last
Saturday.”
Sweat says they can’t be satisfied with how they are playing, they
need to work on improvement. “We
don't have a lot of room for mistakes with our schedule this season.
One of the tougher schedules in division VII.
This week we have defending state runners up in Hillsdale, a great
team. A lot of talent coming
back from last year's team, and well coached, so yeah we have a work cut out
for us and it doesn't get any easier after that,” said Sweat.
Hillsdale started the season with a (34-20) win over Black River last
week.
Sweat says they are still a big play offense and on defense they
don’t make mistakes. “They’re
still very explosive. They play
fundamental defense and they get after it.
Offensively, they have weapons everywhere.
The quarterback Lewis, he's one hell of an athlete.
We have got our work it out for us.
We're going to have to play mistake free football to play with the
teams the caliber of Hillsdale,” he said.
Published 8/25/26
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Madison
With Opportunity to Learn
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Kobi Johnson
Madison plays host to River Valley on Friday night in a
non-conference game.
Last week, they got behind right away and were thumped (54-0) by
Shelby in their first game.
Coach Kobi Johnson says gave Shelby the opportunity to make big plays
and they did. “We made some
mistakes early and kind of allowed a team that we knew was pretty special to
get going and create some opportunities.
They scored on us on the first play of the game when we were on
offense. So, never a good start
and then just credit to those guys for executing really well and playing a
great game. Excited to see what
kind of run they go on again this year because I think it's pretty special
group,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “For our guys
though it was great learning opportunity.
We played a lot of sophomores on offense that were getting some of
their first varsity experience. They're
going against maybe one of the best teams we're going to play all year.
So, good opportunity for us to grow and continue learning what we
need to do to be a really competitive football team.”
Johnson says went to the practice field on Monday with the intention
of moving forward. “I think
our kids are a resilient group. That's
one of our character things we talk about all the time is being resilient
and being able to bounce back from tough challenges.
We kind of went through the film on Saturday and we're like okay
we're going to look at this and try to learn from it.
Then it's all about River Valley moving forward.
So, our kids do a really nice job of kind of shifting gears and
understanding that it's a long football season.
We can't dwell on one game. (Monday)
it was all about just looking at what do we need to do to try to be
successful this week against a completely different opponent.
The kids came out with that type of mindset, so I was proud of them
and excited for another few days of good work and get to go back at it on
Friday,” said Johnson.
River Valley was downed (21-9) by Bloom-Carroll last Friday.
Johnson says they have a big time playmaker.
“I think the first thing that sticks out is they have a really,
really good wide receiver/ tight/H-back type kid with Carter Myers.
He's got the Wake Forest offer and I'm pretty sure he committed
there, so pretty talented kid and they're definitely trying to find ways to
get him the ball. Up front they
have some pretty good size. So,
it will be another big challenge for us to just be able to compete against a
decent size offensive line similar to Shelby.
Our guys are excited for the opportunity get that home opener under
our belt and out of the way. So,
they're s good group and we got to go out and execute at a high level if
we're going to come away with the win,” he said.
Published 8/25/26
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“Sports Saturday” every week 10 AM to 1
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Ashland
Taking Steps
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Valentine
Ashland is on the road again this week as they travel to Marion
Harding to take on the Presidents in a non-conference game.
They won their opener last week in beating Bay (28-7) on Friday
night.
Coach Scott Valentine says they made some adjustments and played a
solid second half. “I think
like we talked about last week, you're just not sure what you're going to
get. Our guys being young in the
first half, didn't really get some things going and didn't execute some
things. Fortunately, we went in
at the half and made a few adjustments and I thought the kids came out and
played well on the second half,” said Valentine.
Valentine says winning by three scores is one thing, but they still
must get a lot better. “We
started (Monday) and we said this week is going to be all about getting
ourselves ready to go and better. We
talked last week about the improvement you make from week one to week two is
really important,” he said.
Marion Harding edged Mt. Vernon (21-17) in their first game of the
season last Friday.
Valentine says they are well coached and are playing some good
football. “I got to see them
in person one scrimmage and also got to watch them on videotape,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They look like they're a really good
team and have made a lot of strides. They've
done a good job coaching wise. So,
I mean we're going to have to really be prepared and play a good game.”
Harding always has athletes and Valentine says you have to prevent
the big play against them. “They’re
always athletic. The big thing
with athletes like that you just got can't give them big plays.
They've been explosive for some plays from what we see on tape,” he
said.
Published 8/25/26
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Galion
Has to be Tougher
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Matt Dick
Galion will be at defending “N10” co-champ Carey for a
non-conference game on Friday night.
St. Mary’s Memorial pulled away from them in the second half last
week an hammered the Tigers (36-12) in the opener.
Coach Matt Dick says they were not physical enough.
“St, Mary's came out and just out physicaled us.
I think at the end of the day, if you look at the one-on-one battles,
we lost too many of those. They
had a huge hook and ladder right for half to go up another score.
We came out from half and came within one and then from there they
kind of just marched on us the rest of the night.
We have just got to get more physical.
A lot of guys it was their first night being under the lights of
Friday night and I think that's different and especially for sophomores.
They make sophomores mistakes. I
think that you have got to look through that to get to see some of their
talent. We're hoping that week
two they're going to grow from that and we're going to play better.
Then as coaches how can we minimize that.
How can we put them in a better positions.
Maybe play them a little less, find competition, so that we can put
out a little bit better product than what we did last Friday,” said Dick.
Now this week, Carey is going to be a similar team.
One that wants to be physical. “Carey
is going to get really, really physical.
They have a hug running back #48, who is back, the Puckett kids.
I think all of our schemes, we have got to improve there, but also,
we just got to improve at the point of attack.
You've got to hold your ground whether you have to mix in some cuts
or slant a little lower. but you have got to win that battle.
I think we're going to work that hard this week and just a little bit
of a toughness mindset. Get back
to being a physical football team. I
think somehow we've lost that. You
also have to give St. Mary's credit. I
think Carey is the same way. They're
going to bring it. They're a
tough community, their kids play hard and our offense is a little bit more
explosive. We do it a little bit
different way, but you still have to match their physicality.
They are going to force us to do that it going to be a great game,”
he said.
Dick says again they want to get the athletes in space.
He says each player has to be better.
“Just like last week there's a lot of stuff that we do that they
can't really simulate or practice to stop, but I think that's the same with
Carey. Get our guys in space and
let our athletes make plays in space. It’s
the tale of two teams or opposite philosophies.
I think just part of it, if I was really going to pick one thing that
we got to get better as a team, it's just doing your 1/11th,
doing your one job and doing a little lower and a little bit tougher,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “I know the score got away from
us on Friday, but it was a great game. I
really believe that if we play that game 10 times, it would probably go
5-55. It was too evenly matched
teams. I think Carey’s going
to be very similar in that path. If
we want to win, we're going to have to be a little bit lower, a little bit
tougher and we're also going to have to execute and put those kids in binds
in the opposite way out of space with our speed, with our formations,
whereas they kind of want to get into a a phone booth with you and make it a
really grind it out game.”
Published 8/25/26
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Crestview
Must Learn
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Steve Haverdill
Crestview is home again this week this time for the Crestline
Bulldogs in a non-conference game on Friday night.
They were bludgeoned (54-14) by Northwestern on week one.
Coach Steve Haverdill says they did not execute the way they needed
to and got behind early. “There’s
no excuses, we just didn't play very well.
We had some turnovers early that kind of led to some things that
snowballed. Once that starts
happening, it's sometimes it gets out of hand a little bit we couldn't stop
the momentum,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I give
credit to our kids. They didn't
quit. They battled for all four
quarters. It's one of those
things we didn't get off to a good start.
We weren't doing things the way we normally like to do it.
We weren't executing like we should.
Credit to Northwestern, they came out ready to play and took it to
us.”
Haverdill says they must have a good week of practice so they can get
pointed the right way. “I
think it’s a testament to what you've done all summer as well and then it
leads into you've got that first game on your belt and now you can start
understanding as you get into those routines.
So, that's what we're looking for this week is to capitalize on our
mistakes and trying to fix those. Now
we're in a routine of well it's week two, kids are already used to what
we've done for week one, so hopefully we can get things flowing in the right
direction,” he said/
Crestline was smoked too last Friday when Buckeye Central blasted
them (35-7) on the opening night. They
had only four first downs, turned it over three times and had the ball for
less than 12 minutes.
Haverdill says they have improved and can be a dangerous club.
“I think they're doing a nice job.
It was a few years ago their numbers were really low and I think
they're doing a nice job getting kids out.
They compete extremely hard. They
have some very good skilled players and some decent sized linemen and they
keep battling. So, it's going to
be another battle for us. Our
guys can gain more experience at the varsity level.
We are playing a team that's coming in that actually probably has a
little more varsity experience than what we have thrown out there.
So, we just hope to build on those mistakes from week one and
hopefully it capitalizes in a win for week two,” said Haverdill.
Published 8/25/26
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“Out of Bounds” airs every Friday night
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PM
Fredericktown
Has to Clean it up
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Spitler
Fredericktown takes the bus for Johnstown Northridge on Friday night
as they face the Vikings in a non-conference game.
They were stuffed (28-7) by Highland last week.
Coach Scott Spitler says they kept shooting themselves in the foot.
“Well, you can't come out and turn the ball over four times against
good football teams. Highland,
under coach (Ty) Stover is a very well coached team, they took advantage of
the opportunities we gave them with the turnovers.
That canceled all the good drives.
If you look at the stats, both teams have total offense at 285.
So, we're pretty evenly matched.
The difference in the game is they capitalized on our mistakes.
You can't do that against good football teams,” he said.
Spitler says prep for Johnstown is important, but their focus this
week will be on their execution. “Our
mindset is while we prepare for our opponents our biggest focus is taking
care of what we control and that's our performance and that's our execution.
So, we're back to work this week and try to make that big swing.
Most teams make their most improvement between week one and week two
and especially when you have got the situation we have.
We have several guys, while we have some experience coming back on
our offensive line, we had several guys making their first varsity starts
Friday night. So, a big learning
curve there, so we hope we take that big step this week against
Northridge,” said Spitler.
Northridge was edged last week by East Knox by a (19-14) final.
Spitler says their execution problems were very similar to the
Freddies. “I think they had a
very similar night. I believe
they turned the ball over five times against East Knox.
It's tough to beat anyone when you do things soundly, but when you
have mistakes it makes it even more difficult,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Monday night, “I think they had a lot of the same issues we had Friday
night in the turnover world and so we know they're going to be ready to
play. Coach (Dave) Everson, I
have a lot of respect for him. I
have known him through the years. He
has a lot of experience at several places.
So, in his first year there he's doing some really good things and
they got some nice athletes. So,
we know this about our schedule, we've got to bring it week in and week out
and this next week's no different versus Northridge.”
Published 8/25/26
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Buckeye
Central Wants to Take Another Step
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jordan Phillips
Buckeye Central takes its act to South Central on Friday night for a
non-conference game against the Trojans.
They dominated Crestline (35-7) in their opener last week.
Coach Jordan Phillips was impressed.
“I’m really happy with our team, especially for week one to win
on special teams, to not be penalized and take care of the ball.
We will clean up some things there on film and get back at it
(Monday),” said Phillips.
The Bucks ran for 218 yards against Crestline.
Chance Hawley ran 83 yards a score.
Collin Perry scored twice. They
held Crestline two only four first downs.
Phillips says the goal this week is to get better.
“Having an older group of kids that that helps. I
mean they've kind of seen it before and they know it's a long year and a lot
more receptive to coaching that way,” he said.
South Central lost (16-12) to Willard in their opener.
Phillips says the Trojans have shown a lot of improvement this season
already. “Coach (Derek) Fisher
does a great job. Those guys are
well coached and they play hard. You
can really see an improvement from week to week,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I mean the jump they made from
their Crestline scrimmage up to Willard week one was really impressive.
They're going to be well coached on the things that they didn’t do
so well. We just anticipate a
team that plays really hard and does things the right way/
Buckeye throttled the Trojans (34-7) last season.
Phillips says they are going to have to execute to score.
He says the Trojans tightened up when they were down close last week.
“Especially in the red zone. They
really made Willard drive the field. Willard
had a ton of yardage and not much to show for it.
So, we're fortunate to have a kicker, but we're going to have to
really focus on executing in the red zone and getting it in the end zone if
we're able to get down there,” said Phillips.
Published 8/25/26
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Mohawk
Must Make Plays
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eric Daniel
Mohawk
will be at home entertaining the Cardington Pirates in a non-conference game
on Friday night.
They fell (30-20) to Margaretta in their opener last Friday,
Coach Eric Daniel says they were not consistent enough for four
quarters to win the game. “I
was a little disappointed with how we wore down.
We started off physical, but I’d like to see us continue that
throughout the third and fourth quarter.
Certainly, some bright spots and stuff we can build on, but we need
our guys to step up and make plays when their number is called. I
liked our senior leadership on how we responded and our captains and stuff.
So, that was certainly some encouraging things and we certainly
showed our youth at times too. That
happens with inexperience. We
told our guys it's only a bad thing if you don't learn from it.
So, the failure is just feedback.
So, we know what we have got to work on this week.
That's a good football team that we played last week, we know that,
but to get where you want to go you have got to play a good football teams
and you have got to perform well against good football teams.
So, we have got a lot to fix this week and we're getting after this
week and challenging our guys. They
stepped to up really well (Monday) I was really proud of them,” said
Daniel.
Daniel says they went out Monday and worked hard at being ready to
play on Friday. “It was the
best practice we've had of the year happened (Monday), so I was really,
really encouraged. Really happy
with our assistant coaches getting after our kids and challenging them and
how our kids responded in the film room and outside of it.
We're all in the same direction and we know this is a 10 week journey
and no state championships are won or lost in week one.
So, certainly just want to see a continued maturation and growth and
I think we're on the right track,” he said.
Cardington lost (34-20) to Wynford of the “N10” last week.
Daniel says the Pirates want to run the ball,
“They want to establish the run, they run a wing-t concept and a
lot of jet motion, a lot of quick motions, a lot of buck sweep and counters
off of that and then play action. So,
you definitely want to stop the run and get them behind the sticks if you
can. It makes them a little more
predictable,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Defensively,
they're a stack which we just went against basically, or something very
similar with Margaretta, so that's encouraging.
Just a little familiarity with the front for our guys. So, they
probably had 250 yards rustling last week.
They want to establish the run. They
have got some really nice backs and their offensive line does a nice job.
They have got a couple really nice, physical, offensive linemen.
They know their identity and we know we've got a defensive goal and
it'll be a good test for our kids.”
Published 8/25/26
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PM
Ontario
Excited For Lexington
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Eckert
Ontario is at home for Lexington in a longtime rivalry that dates
back more than 50 years on Friday night.
Warriors coach Aaron Eckert says his team has made a lot of progress
here in August. “I think we've
come a long way. We bring a lot
of guys back from last year. Last
year for our program standard wasn't a bad year, but it wasn't a great year
for us. We had a lot to work on
from that. I think we've
accomplished a lot over the spring, summer and through camp so far, so we're
excited to go put it on the field (Friday),” said Eckert.
Eckert says playing Lexington is always a special game.
“I think anytime you get to go compete, it’s a special day.
High school football in Ohio is special anyway, but for us to get to
open against our rivals at home under the lights in front of the home fans
there. So, we're excited to go
out there and show what we can do,” he said.
However, the Ontario coach says they can’t been too emotional.
“We have to come out and play Warrior football.
We can’t come out hollering and just blow it all in the first
couple possessions. We have to
play four quarters of pretty sound football.
This is a game where you almost throw out the records,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “I know we are both 0-0, but
there have been years where we have been 12-2 and you we win on a last
second field goal against a team that you know was 500ish.
So, two teams that know each other pretty well and kids that know
each other pretty well. You king
of throw out the records I guess and then play the backyard brawl here and
we are looking forward to that.”
Lexington won this game (36-16) last year on the way to a (9-2)
season.
Eckert says the Minutemen are less experienced, but still very
talented. “They graduated a
ton of guys from last year’s team and they were really good last year,
“OCC” champs. It's a little
bit of a different team. They’ve
got some nice skilled kids. They’re
younger, haven't played a ton, but it's something that can’t teach that
athleticism they have on the edges and their tailback, they just have it.
You have that and some pretty good lineman that played last year.
They are a dangerous team and we look forward to the challenge on
Friday,” said Eckert.
Published 8/21/26
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Western
Needs Intensity
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stevenson
Western Reserve starts its 2026 campaign at home against Wellington
in non-conference play on Friday night.
Coach Ty Stevenson hopes his kids are prepared to play.
“Hopefully, the hay is in the barn, that’s what they say.
You have got your last practice in and now it’s time to go play.
You have spent the better part of two or three months trying to get
ready to go. So, it all kind of
shows up (Friday) night. Hopefully
we do get those “T’s” crossed and “I’s” dotted and we'll see how
it goes,” he said.
Stevenson does believe the players can’t wait for the season to
start. He hopes they can reward
them. “It's fun to scrimmage
guys, but there's nothing like getting the numbers painted on the field and
the big “WR” in the middle and getting the play in those real jerseys
and put another team on the scoreboard. I
told them, we don't do “Rider-Jacks” after scrimmages because you don't
get any computer points, but you go win a Friday night football game, we'll
do some “Rider-Jacks,” said Stevenson.
Wellington has added some players in the preseason, legitimately, and
he says that will make them better, plus they are going to be hungry.
“They have got some really nice pieces.
Oberlin shut down, so they added six or seven guys there.
The quarterback is young, he’s a sophomore, he's a really good
athlete with a good arm,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night,
“The fullback #33, he's a big, strong player, plays mic linebacker as
well. I know they have got a
tight end #87 is really good too. So,
I told our guys they're starting seven seniors on defense and seniors
realize they're down to those last 10 games, so they're going to play really
hard and it's going to be on us to make sure that we match that intensity
and play as hard as they do.”
Published 8/21/26
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Highland
Wants to Win up Front
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stover
Highland will square off with Fredericktown in a non-conference game
between rivals on Friday night.
Coach Ty Stover believes the Fighting Scots have made some good
progress during camp. “We've
had a couple productive scrimmages that have helped somewhat with game
speed. Practices have been
productive. We've had our speed
bumps along the way, but we're happy with the kids and their effort and
their attitude and their unity. Of course, we're not where we need to be,
but we're on track to be that way,” he said.
Fredericktown runs that football in a phone booth look and Stover
says they have to be ready for that. “You
know, coach (Scott) Spitler always does a wonderful job.
He's going to shrink the game. He
is going to take the air out of the football, shrink the game as they
say,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “Double tight, double
wing and then they've got a few good athletic kids, both on offensive and
defense. A nice middle
linebacker and their front. We'll
have our hands full with their front guys, but we're going to see what we
can do and try to get the job done.”
Stover says they know if they want to win, they have to win up front.
“It will come down to the trenches (Friday) night.
Our “D” line guys, it’s anchored by a few seniors.
Offense we have got a few returners there on our “O” line.
Hopefully, it's all about being physical and putting that weight on
your front hand and getting at it and see what happens.
So, hopefully (Friday) night whoever's going to win the trenches is
going to win the ball game hopefully we're on the right end of that,” said
Stover.
Published 8/21/26
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Tiffin
Wants to Settle Down Quick
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ryan Ottney
Tiffin Columbian entertains Fremont Ross in a non-conference battle
on Friday night.
Ryan Ottney, in his first year as the Tornadoes head coach, says
there are lot of intangibles on week one.
“There's a lot of different you know questions that you have when
you go into week one. Scrimmages
can only show you so much, so your kind of trying to utilize those as best
as you possibly can to figure out what it is that your opponent is trying to
do. I think right now we're in a
spot where we feel we're okay. As
the game goes on, we'll kind of have to make adjustments.
We have those things ready to go if they start this show with some
different things and whatnot,” he said,
Ottney says they want to play with emotion, but they have to keep
that in control too. “I think
that's the biggest message to our guys.
It's been like that all week. Control
the emotions as much as you possibly can.
When you go out for week one everybody's just so excited.
The crowds are happy. It's
Friday night football the first week and everybody's excited about it and
they're ready to go. So, the
biggest thing for us is making sure that we can control our emotions as much
as possible. Stay disciplined in
our assignments and get after it best we possibly can.
I think once we kind of get going in the game those emotions, the
adrenaline starts to kind of slow down a little bit and you start to settle
into the game. That's kind of a
focus of where we want to be at as much to be possibly can as we work
through those four quarters,” said Ottney.
Ross won the meeting last year (13-9) as the Tornadoes were (5-5) in
2025.
Ottney says the Little Giants are athletic and he looks for a battle.
“I know a lot about them obviously.
I’m a graduate from there. So,
great historic program. They're
tough kids. Strong, physical,
fast kids. I know coach (Ken)
Winters is going to have them ready to go, amped up.
It's his first year as well like mine,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Thursday evening, “I know he's excited, he's an alum.
It's going to be one of those games where it's going to be a back and
forth battle. That’s just what
it has been like every time we’ve played them since we picked the rivalry
back up 2019. It's been a back
and forth battle between the two. We've
won some, they've won some, so for us it's controlling our controllables and
trying to find a way to start off the season on the right note.”
Published 8/21/26
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Norwayne
Must be Sound
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Adam Indorf
Norwayne is at LaGrange Keystone to start the season on Friday night
in non-conference action.
The Bobcats are the defending champions in the Wayne County Athletic
League.
Coach Adam Indorf says they have been challenged in the preseason and
they have benefited from the tests. “I
think we have done a good job of continuing to keep practices high energy
and keep after it. The second
scrimmage was definitely a challenge with CVCA, a final four team from last
year. They're going to be
physical and I thought after about the first series we kind of settled in
and matched up well with them. So,
continue this week to hit some of those deficiencies and work on them and
make sure that we're putting our best foot forward,” said Indorf.
Indorf says it’s important that they come out with energy when they
play and when they practice. “It
was the first day school this week as well, so and they negated each other,
but I thought overall we had a great week of practice.
We challenged them after the scrimmage to make sure that we're coming
out with energy and that has to show in practice and they did a good job of
that this week,” he said.
Keystone is also a perennial power in football.
Indorf says they need to put some pressure on Keystone.
“Offensive they have got a lot of weapons.
A lot of nice skilled guys. The
quarterback definitely has an arm. Some
keys for us in the secondary are to keep our eyes on the receivers, stay in
coverage, make sure that we are trusting our technique and footwork.
Up front we're going to have to defensively make sure that we're
trying to get some pressure. Try
to keep quarterback off balance and make him move and then throw the ball on
the run,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “A good running
back there and be gap sound and win the line of scrimmage defensively. Offensively,
just take what they're giving us. Make
sure that we control a lot of scrimmage up front and then make sure that we
are doing our job and getting up and being sound in everything that we're
doing as far as pass routes and technique and things of that nature.”
Published 8/21/26
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West
Holmes to Face Talented Triway
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Keaton Leppla
It’s another of those non-league rivalry games as West Holmes is at
Wooster Triway on Friday night to take on the Titans.
Coach Keaton Leppla says they are just tying up some loose ends.
“We are going to go out (Thursday) and it will be a mental day for
us. Go over any corrections that we need to make from the week.
Any adjustments in our scheme offensively or defensively we want to
make or just review. Get our
guys out there for special teams. So,
it's kind of that fun little walk through here make sure everybody's on the
same page and we're ready to go,” he said.
Leppla says the kids are kind of tired of practice and they want to
play a game for real. “You
spend all off season working towards getting to practice and you spend all
summer practicing and then you spend all preseason preparing for scrimmages
and now scrimmages are over now it really counts.
You get the atmosphere of a true Friday night.
Our kids are excited for the year to start.
They're excited to get going, they're excited to prove themselves and
we're really excited for (Friday),” said Leppla.
Triway won this game last year (23-21), which got their season
started on the right foot and it with a “PAC” title.
Leppla says they have a lot of talent again.
“They're very good up front defensively.
Their line is probably going to end up being one of the best that we
play all year. They have got
linebackers that move downhill. They
have got skilled guys that are ball hawks on that defensive side,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “They're going to present a
challenge for us offensively. Defensively
for us, they’re multiple they'll put a tight end and run the ball, they'll
try and control the box. A new
starting quarterback this year, but they return a lot of skilled guys on the
outside. Very long, very
athletic, very dynamic in their offense.
So, for us, we think it's going to be a great matchup and we're
excited to see how our kids respond.”
Published 8/21/26
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Mt.
Gilead Concentrating on Themselves
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Reid
Mt. Gilead has a home date with Martin’s Ferry on Friday night here
on the opening week of the season.
Last year was a breakthrough year for the Indians as they produced a
(9-2) record and a runner-up finish in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
Coach Mike Reid says Friday night their focus will be on what they
do. “We have good practice
this week. We don't know a lot
about Martins Ferry. We gathered
up to film over from last year and their scrimmage tape they exchanged with
us from this year, but when it comes down to it back to your original
point,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “It's all about
us. It always has been and
always will be. So, we have got
to take care of the things that we need to take care of first and foremost.
The first thing is coming together.
The boys have jailed really well together and now we're going to give
it all we got (Friday) night.”
It’s been a long and hot August of camp and Reid says his guys are
ready for a game. “They've
been ready to roll. They played
a scrimmage a couple weeks ago and then we played half of a football game
last week. Just when they feel
like they are getting things going together we had to stop because it's just
a preview. It's time to turn
them loose and see what they do,” he said.
When it comes to Martin’s Ferry, Reid says they are going to put a
lot of athletes on the field. “They
are very good football team. They
have some nice skilled kids, they like to take deep shots, they have got
some fast kids, they have got a really nice running back, and they have got
a big offensive line. So, our
work is cut out for us, but hey we're up for that challenge.
We like starting out with a with a pretty good football team to see
where we're at,” said Reid.
Published 8/21/26
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Shelby
Wants to Play Some Football
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Robert Mahaney
Shelby is at home for the Madison Rams in the Grant Milliron Trophy
game on Friday night at the Whippet Athletic Complex.
The Whippets have not lost a game to Madison since 2014.
Coach Robert Mahaney says they have put in the work this summer and
now they are ready to go. “Well,
week one is always a unique challenge. The
first time you get the band and fans and everything out there, but I think
our guys have done a good job throughout the summer and throughout August. Now
with school starting and trying to stay process driven and try to get us
ready for that point. To open
the season with a rival like Madison and playing for the Grant Milliron
Trophy I think it's an exciting game. With
that comes excitement. You know
week one there is going to be nerves and all that kind of stuff, but I think
our kids have done a good job so far this week especially dialing into the
game plan and getting ready to go. So,
hopefully we get to go out there and play in a big game in our area and
we're excited for that opportunity,” he said.
Shelby won the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title last year and
advanced to the state final in division IV.
Mahaney says there are always nerves, but in their program, they
believe in routine and reverting to what you know.
“We talk about all the time about being process driven and part of
that is the way you can go back to what you're supposed to do.
If you see this formation or if you give this call, all those kinds
of things, we try to be so routine oriented along those things so that we
kind of handle the nerves,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night,
“We can just kind of get back to our normalcy.
We've been playing football since June.
We've had helmets on since June.
We have been going thought this and now it’s a bigger stage with
more people there are all those kinds of things, but the keys and the plays
and the rules are all the same. You
have got to go out there and try to execute.
Sometimes week one is going to always have its moments, but at the
same time it's exciting to get back out there.
School started and it's a great opportunity to represent the
community and we're excited for it.”
Madison was (3-7) last year, but have the potential to improve with
the players they have.
Mahaney says they show a lot of good things.
“I think coach (Kobi) Johnson does a great job.
I think he gets those guys ready to go.
I think they showed improvement and their scrimmages.
Defensively, they're running the 3-3 stack this year and doing a good
job in a new defensive of flying around and getting to the football show.
For us, we have got to make sure we're ready to handle that upfront.
Offensively, if they're spreading it out a little bit.
They played two different quarterbacks and they have got some
athletes. We just have to make
sure knowing that’s it's a rivalry game, knowing that it's week one.
We have got to make sure that we really come up there and have a
focus and make sure that we stick to who we are.
We play Shelby Whippet football the way that we've been playing it
for 132 years and can go out there and give it our best,” said Mahaney.
Published 8/20/26
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Crawford
to be Challenged
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jake Bruner
Colonel Crawford plays at home in North Robinson on Thursday night as
they have the Fairbanks Panthers in a non-conference game.
The Eagles are coming off a co-title in the Northern 10 Athletic
Conference and an appearance in the division VI state semifinals.
Coach Jake Bruner says they have done some good things this month and
have gotten better as a team. “We
scrimmaged Shelby and Perkins in our first scrimmage and obviously those are
two really good football teams. They're
going to fight for the championship in the region in division IV and very
impressed by them. Then got the
scrimmage River Valley, who is another great “MOAC” opponent, bigger
school than us. Just like that
we're continuing to improve. We've
got some experience, but we've got a lot of young kids too.
We have just got to grow every day and hope that we can continue to
get better,” said Bruner.
Bruner says the experience that some of the players they have will
show good leadership with the younger guys.
“You hope that the kids that have played before.
We've got a couple kids that have played on a lot of really good
football teams here in the last couple years can kind of guide them in the
experience of the ups and downs. Hey,
you're going to miss a tackle, you're going to make a mistake and you can't
dwell on it, you go to the next play,” he said.
Crawford buried Fairbanks (42-7) last year in what was a down year
for the Panthers (3-7) in 2025.
However, Bruner knows they will be well coached.
“Dave Carroll, it starts with him, he's a great football coach and
had a lot of success at Urbana, Garaway, Clear Fork and even at Fairbanks.
His first year was 7-3 and coach of the year.
He's just a great football coach that’s been around a long time and
does it the right way and just tremendously develops kids.
We know we're going to get his best effort and those guys will be
ready to play us,” said Bruner.
Bruner says Fairbanks has some athletes that they will need to
defend. “I think it starts
with their tailback. He’s a
1,000 yard rusher and he's a returner, a good player last year.
They have got a fullback that's back and a linebacker that's back,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “The the quarterback,
although a sophomore, have been really impressed with him not only just as a
runner, but as a thrower. They
have got other weapons too, but those are some of the things with guys with
experience back that had great seasons.
They're just continuing to get better.”
Published 8/20/26
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Ashland
Ready to Find Out
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Valentine
Ashland hits the road for Bay Village to meet the Rockets in their
opener to the 2026 season on Friday night.
Hall of Fame coach Scott Valentine says they have made some good
progress during the month of August, but you are never sure what you are
going to get until they turn the lights on.
“Well, I think like you said, you've been around the game enough,
you never know what you're going to get that first game.
You're hoping things and you're hoping you're prepared for everything
they need to be prepared for. I
think we've made progress throughout our preseason, but you get to that
opening game and then that's where you find out what you have got to do to
keep getting better,” said Valentine.
One thing that can be a problem area is special teams.
Valentine hopes they have gotten enough reps with those teams.
“Well, that's the thing, we'll try to do that in practice try to
work because in scrimmages a lot of coaches don't like working those things
live. If you don't do it, we go
pretty much live in practice against ourselves, but still that's a game
night situation where the intensity is up and everything like that and
you're just hoping you've prepared your guys and you don't have any big
mistakes there,” he said.
Ashland was the runner-up in the Ohio Cardinal Conference last year
and they beat Bay (43-10) in the first game last year.
Valentine says the Rockets, (6-5) last season, have some talent back
on the roster. “We know they
get some experienced guys coming back. Their
is quarterback back. He has a
nice arm and throws the ball well,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
afternoon, “Defensively, we've got to be ready that.
Then they are 3-4 defense. Some
of the stuff that they did last year they've been doing in their scrimmages,
so kind of anticipate that. They
play some man coverage, so we're going to have to win those one-on-one
battles.”
Published 8/20/26
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Crestview
Starting Young
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Steve Haverdill
Crestview opens the season at home on Friday night as they entertain
the Northwestern Huskies in a non-conference game.
Coach Steve Haverdill likes the progression he saw during the
preseason. “I like that we are
getting better every day and that's what you're looking for with as young as
we are that's the positives out of it. So,
if we continue to get better every day, every week you it's going to be
successful for us,” he said.
Crestview will have a lot of kids that will be playing their first
varsity game on Friday night and Haverdill says it will be eye opening for
them. “The speed and the
physicality. I mean kids that
haven't been on that varsity stage yet.
It's not a JV game, it's not middle school, the speed is different,
the physicality is different. You
have got to be true to your assignments and your keys and your reads.
These are well coached teams and the kids are prepared.
So, you have got to be able to do what you're doing and you can't be
making the same mistakes over and over again or you're going to get
exploited,” said Haverdill.
Northwestern has struggled in the football field in recent years.
They were (1-9) last year.
However, Haverdill says the Huskies look improved to him.
“They look very good on film. We
watched them with Mapleton and Tusky Central Catholic and then Mt. Gilead
and they've gotten better with both of their scrimmages,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Thay have got some really nice
athletes. They like to throw the
ball a lot. They'll still run it
to keep you honest. On defense,
they attack very well against the run and cover well.
So, they're a much improved team from things that we've heard in the
past. So, they must have a lot
of experience back and things like that.
So, it's going to be a four quarter game, especially week one because
you never know with all of the unknowns of week one.”
Published 8/20/26
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Mansfield
Senior Has to Bring it
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach David Phillips
Mansfield Senior starts the season on Friday night at Hilliard
Davidson in non-conference action.
Coach David Phillips, in his first year as the head man, says he
believes his kids are ready. “We
had two good preseason tests with Stow-Monroe Falls and Fremont Ross.
Those are two pretty good teams.
They are physical and they are aggressive.
I think they gave us their best and we took the blows and their
punches. So, I think we are
prepared,” said Phillips.
Phillips says the Tygers are eager for the season to start.
“I mean they kind of get tired of … we had those two scrimmages,
but that’s just one day, and they get tired of hitting each other,” he
said.
Hilliard Davidison downed Mansfield (38-7) last year as the Wildcats
finished (4-6) in 2025.
Phillips says he expects an inspired performance from Davidson.
“They one of the biggest public schools in the state, so they are
going to bring numbers. They are
always disciplined and aggressive,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
evening, “They are going to play hard in front of their home crowd.
It’s a home game and they are going to bring it.
We are just going to have to match their energy, if not more.”
Published 8/20/26
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Northmor
Must Defend the Pass
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Armrose
Northmor will be at home for the Upper Sandusky Rams in
non-conference play on Friday night.
Coach Scott Armrose says step by step the Golden Knights are going to
be prepared for that opener. “I
feel like we're going to be ready in one more day.
That's why we get four days to get ready for a football game and I'm
glad we have one more day. We're
getting close we've seen that improvement that we've talked about before.
We've got a good plan put together.
It was rough (Tuesday) and much, much smoother (Wednesday) and I'm
sure we'll be better (Thursday),” said Armrose.
Camp started on August 1 and Armrose says these kids are ready to put
their skills on display. “They
are ready to play. All of the
time that these guys put into it it's officially payday now and they're
ready to go out there and play and show what they can do,” he said.
Keegan Dunn returns as the Upper quarterback and Armrose says he is a
kid that can make big plays. “They're
going to throw the ball, we know that, and they throw the ball very well.
They have got a quarterback it can sling it all over the place.
He's athletic enough with his legs to keep the play alive.
He doesn't really scramble to run, but he will scramble to keep the
play alive,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “That's
dangerous too and he's got a lot of athletes to throw too.
Uses his length keep the play alive and they keep their routes moving
and they're really good at it. So,
they're going to throw the ball and we have to be ready for that.”
Published 8/20/26
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Mohawk
Taking Steps
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eric Daniel
Mohawk will be at Margaretta against the Polar Bears in
non-conference play in their first game of the season on Friday night.
Coach Eric Daniel says they are not where they need to be yet, but
they are in a pretty good spot right now.
“Certainly, ironing out still some wrinkles.
It's slowing down for our kids. It
just takes time with the lack of experience that we have.
Just trying to play simple, play fast, get our guys to stop thinking
so much and just play downhill and play physical.
Shrinking that learning curve as much as possible over the last
couple weeks into Friday,” said Daniel.
Daniel says a key to high school football is to have the ability to
play fast, just react. “90% of
high school successes the kids not thinking and playing fast.
That's kind of what we're looking for right now.
We don't want to throw too much at them.
We just want to keep it simple and get it lined up and let's go,”
he said.
When it comes to Margaretta, Daniel says the Polar Bears, who were
(9-2) last year, have a lot of kids back at key positions.
“They have a lot more coming back than I thought. I
thought they graduated a bunch and then you watch last year's team and then
you compare them to this year's and it's like well that kid’s the same,
that kid’s the same, and you keep saying that.
It's like what the heck,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
evening, “They lost that Keller kid, who's a really good player and
certainly their quarterback and some nice pieces up front, but I think they
bring back in the mid teens in terms of starters.
So, they have got a lot of pieces back that if you were coaching
them, you'd really like to have, for sure.
They have got a lot of their athletes back, had some really nice
linemen back. So, certainly very
dangerous team. I think they're
going to be a very good playoff team based on what I see on film.
So, it's a good week one task force for sure.”
Published 8/20/26
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Fredericktown
Looking For Tough One With Highland
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Spitler
Fredericktown faces their annual opening night game this time around
at Highland on Friday night.
Coach Scott Spitler says they working hard and will continue to do
that moving forward this week. “Don't
rush it too much, we still got another day of prep, but I'm like every other
coach it seems like we don't have enough time.
The kids have been working hard this week you've been really focused
and get another day of prep here and we'll go over to Highland and see where
we stand,” he said.
Spitler says they have to be focused on what they need to do against
Highland. He says this one is
for real. “It counts now, no
more scrimmages. It’s time to
buckle down and you have got to execute at a high level against a very good
opponent. So, I like where our
guys are. I like the work
we’ve put in so far this week. We'll
tighten things up again (Thursday) and we'll head over to Highland and see
where we are,” he said.
The Freddies won this game last year (21-6) at home.
Spitler sats the Fighting Scots are going to be pretty good on both
sides of the ball. “Coach (Ty)
Stover does a great job. Their a
physical team, they have got great size in the trenches.
This year they're a little bit more spread oriented where last year
they were kind of option oriented,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
night, “Defensively, they're led by their division IV player of the year
at middle linebacker in Kane Stover, who is committed to play college ball
at Army. He's a tremendous
athlete. They are also utilizing
him in several different spots on offense.
They are really well coached and we know it's going to be a
battle.”
Published 8/20/26
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Willard
Must Tackle
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eli Fisher
Willard will be at home for South Central in a non-conference
football game on Friday night.
It’s the debut of Eli Fisher as the Flashes head coach.
He says coaches never have enough time to prepare, but he says the
kids are ready to get it going. “It
definitely feels like we can take as much practice as we can get, but I'm
sure they're eager and they're excited and ready to go so,” he said.
Willard smoked South Central (46-12) last year in the season opener.
Fisher says they Trojans are going to have a different look on
defense this season. “They run
a different defense this year. It’s
not what we are used to seeing, it's a little bit different.
Their quarterback is really good and if we don't keep him in the
pocket and tackle them low, he's a big dude, we're going to be in
trouble,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We're going to
have to play well and if we do that, we'll see what happens.”
Fisher says there are always going to be surprises in the opener.
“Most teams aren't even wearing game jerseys in these scrimmages,
so you don't know who's necessarily playing where and whatnot and that makes
it challenging. So, you just
hope that you've prepared your kids enough up to this point to be able to go
out and still compete,” said Fisher.
Published 8/20/26
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Triway
to Play Aggressive West Holmes
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Cody Kelly
Wooster Triway hosts West Holmes to begin the season on Friday night
in a non-conference game.
In two years, this is going to be a conference game when West Holmes
moves to the Principal’s Athletic Conference.
Triway coach Cody Kelly says his team is rounding into shape here on
the first week of the regular season. “We
definitely have solidified some things.
Some personnel and who we have got and who we are and we seem to have
a pretty good idea. You never
know for sure, but we think they have a pretty good idea of who we want to
be and the guys that they're going to be with us doing that,” he said.
On week one, Kelly says you have to be ready to make adjustments.
“I kind of explain it as weather the storm because we don't know
exactly what they’re going to do. We
saw some stuff on film, but they could be hiding things.
We're assuming that they have a lot more to offer, so whether weather
whatever that storm is,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night,
“Play our base, play our reads, play within ourselves and then once we
figure out what they're actually trying to do then we can go ahead and kind
of adjust. Make those
adjustments whether it’s an alignment issue or assignment things.
You could go out there a series or two playing catch up a little bit.
It’s week one and it is what it is.
You hope you prepare the base well enough on both sides of the ball
to be able to handle some of those exotic, different looks that you see.”
Triway edged West Holmes (23-21) last year in the season opener.
Kelly says this is a typical West Holmes team.
He says they are very good. “They
are going to be a senior led team. Very
physical and big up front. Your
typical West Holmes that you always think about when you’re thinking about
West Holmes. They are going to
pose a great challenge. They
have tremendous skill on the offensive side of the ball with a huge line up
front. Then the defense is kind
of chaos. They’re sending guys
everywhere, every which way. So,
definitely got our hands full with West Holmes, like we always do.
They're always a pretty darn good program over there.
Just kind of focus on us one play at a time take it as it goes each
play,” said Kelly.
Published 8/20/26
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Lexington
With Confidence
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jacob Owens
Lexington makes the short trip to play Ontario in a non-conference
game on Friday night.
It will be the debut of Jacob Owens as the head coach at Lexington.
Owens says the kids are excited to get started and so is he.
“Our kids are excited, I'm excited, just for the opportunity to
play on Friday night again. We've
been game planning all day Sunday, Saturday and Sunday, and gave the kids
the gameplan (Monday). Just to
being able to say game week during the meeting is kind of cool again.
Just have the same fire and passion you know what I mean about game
week is what we're excited about,” he said.
Lexington won this game last year (36-16), but Ontario had won the
previous three meetings.
Owens says the Warriors are going to be very good, but he feels they
have a solid gameplan in hand. “Ontario
is a very well coached team. Coach
(Aaron) Eckert has done a great job with that program in his time being head
coach there. They're athletic,
they're fast, they're physical. They
have got a really good junior class back and they're athletic and they're a
really good opponent, so we're going to respect our opponent,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We also gave our kids a game plan
to attack them. So, they're well
coached, really good athletes, they've got a lot of kids that play multiple
sports, which is really good. They’re
athletic and fast, but at the same time we want to make sure we are
combating that with our game plan. So,
we'll see how it comes out on Friday night and may the best team win.”
Ontario will have some size on the offensive line too and Owens knows
they have to win up front. “Anytime
you go out there on Friday night you have got to compete in the trenches.
You have got to try to win that line of scrimmage battle.
I'll tell you they are big on front.
We have to be fast, physical and disciplined and do our job upfront
and across the board. Football
is a great sport because it takes all 11 guys and if all 11 guys are on the
same page being physical, being fast and disciplined playing our way I like
our chances,” said Owens.
Published 8/19/26
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Galion
Wants Big Plays
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Matt Dick
Galion travels to St. Mary’s Memorial for a non-conference football
game on Friday night.
Coach Matt Dick says they have done some good things here this month,
but they need to sharpen some things too.
“The Lexington scrimmage I thought went well.
I was really surprised with the effort, especially on the offensive
line. I thought they did a
really good job. Then went to
Tiffin and our offensive line struggled a little bit. I
think that's slowed our offense down. Defensively,
I think we played pretty lights out both scrimmages. I
like where they're at. We're
just trying to fix some things on the offensive line.
We keep wiggling some guys around trying to get them to jell, but I
like we're at going into St. Mary’s,” said Dick.
Dick says he really enjoys working with those kids in the trenches.
“I’m a big “O”-Line, “D”-line guy.
You just can’t get enough time with them.
There's a million things I need to teach them and sometimes they're
ready for it and sometimes not quite yet.
It's just a part of being in the beginning of the year things get
easier as you go,” he said.
On Friday night, Dick says they can’t let St. Mary’s Memorial
control the clock or it will be a long night.
“They want to get in a phone booth and just grind it out, smash
mouth football. I really like
#32 Compton, the fullback and Mic linebacker, he does a great job on both
sides of the ball. Fink kid #11
is really deadly out of the backfield on counters and just anytime he leaks
out, he’s a really special athlete. They're
kind of the opposite of us,” he told Swankonsports.com Tuesday afternoon,
“We're going to find a way to be explosive and they're going to find a way
to grind out with 20 play drives. So,
I think anytime you have two polar opposites of offense and mindsets.
If the team that's grinding out gets up it's going to be a good
night. If the team that is
trying to be explosive gets up it's going to be a good night for that team.
So, I think it's a tale of two different teams.
Last year we kind of jumped on them early.
If you let them hang around, they get scarier and scarier.”
Published 8/19/26
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Perkins
Ready for Talented Vikings
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jalen Santoro
Sandusky Perkins will be at home on Friday night for the Cleveland
Villa Angela-St. Joseph Vikings in a non-conference game.
Coach Jalen Santoro says after workouts and scrimmages he believes
they players are ready for some football that counts.
“It's a long preseason, always is.
At this point year we’ve had scrimmages.
Everybody always wants to go play somebody else and our guys are too
and really and truly do it for four quarters. We scrimmaged Liberty Center
last week and saw a lot of good things.
Tried different things out and like where we are right now, but now
everything starts counting. It
goes in the win loss column this point forward.
So, I think our guys are excited to go out and play and kind of
kickoff the season,” said Santoro.
Santoro says there has to be a different kind of energy now that
it’s game week and the kids understand that now.
“We had to get on our guys about that Monday.
Kind of break the habit of hey we're no longer in camp this is game
week everything counts moving forward. Obviously,
we have got one of the bigger games in the State of Ohio this week and a lot
of eyes are going to be on us. That’s
what we have been stressing to our guys.
It is going to be one of those games that people are checking to see
how it’s going. We have a
really talented team coming in this week in Villa Angela-St. Joe and we have
to be strapped up and ready to play,’ he said.
Santoro says that VA-St. Joe is a team with a whole lot of talent and
they know how to use it. “They
are good. They are a bigger
school. I think they have 32
seniors on their roster, that’s something I saw earlier and 26 of them are
expected to play college football. So,
they have got a lot of talent. A
lot of size and a lot of speed. They
have some bigger guys up front and they're going to try pound the rock,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “Offensively and defensively
they're not super, super complex in what they do scheme wise, but they are
good at what they do. A team
like that in my mind is more scarier than teams that try to do too much.
So, they're very good what they do and again they have got the guys
to go do it. So, we have to
match talent for talent here and play a physical football game.”
Published 8/19/26
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Lucas
Believes in Itself
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jim Sweat
Lucas will be down at Steubenville Catholic Central in non-conference
play to start the season on Saturday night.
They were originally set to play Plymouth, but the Big Red has
dropped traditional 11-man football in favor of eight man due to low
numbers.
Cubs coach Jim Sweat says they have been putting in the work required
here in the preseason. “The
kids have been working hard. We
still have some things to clean up. We're
not perfect. We wouldn’t
expect to be perfect at this point, but we have got to get out and take care
of some things and get better this week and get a win if we play hard and
take care of what we can control,” he said.
Sweat says they need to concentrate on what they do and he thinks
they kids are doing exactly that. “Making
sure that the kids believe it our system both on the offensive and defensive
side of the ball and they’re bought in.
We're pretty blessed here in Lucas to have a great group of
kids and a community that supports,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
evening, “Number one, the ultimate goal is all to be moving in one
direction together. You tell the
kids to prepare and work hard, but the other team gets a vote, so we have to
take care of what we control.”
Sweat says Steubenville Catholic is a solid overall team and they are
going to have to play well if they want to win.
“They are a playoff team from last year.
They’re in our region. They
come from a tradition rich program down there.
A lot of good football in that part of the state.
We have our work cut out for us.
They're got some good size up front and their skilled kids are pretty
solid. The quarterback is a
great leader. We're going to
have to be disciplined and try to be the more physical team and win the
trenches I know it seems pretty cliché, but that's high school football.
Limit mistakes and play physical football,” said Sweat.
Published 8/19/26
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St.
Paul to face Athletic Port Clinton
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Chris Doughty
Norwalk St. Paul will be up at Port Clinton Friday night to face the
Redskins in a non-conference football game on week one.
Coach Chris Doughty says the kids can’t wait to get a chance to
play a real football game. “Our
kids are really excited to actually get back into games.
The scrimmages are great. They
get you tuned up for the season. You
get the live playing in the preview, but there's something special about
that first game. That first
actual kickoff of the season. So,
the kids are pumped for that actual live contact and for a full game on
it,” he said.
Doughty says this year they are getting back to what has been a
traditional St. Paul football. “Honestly,
they've really embraced things. We've
talked about both our offensive identity and defensive as well.
Offensively, we're going back to some old school St. Paul football.
A little bit more of a ground and pound mentality.
The kids have really embraced it. very excited about it.
That's our brand, that's St. Paul football.
Smash mouth line of scrimmage football.
The same thing defensively, we've done a lot to simplify schemes and
make sure out kids are confident in exactly what they are doing in their
roles so they can fly to the football. I've
been really pleased with the development of things from the beginning of
summer through now,” said Doughty.
Doughty says on offense, Port Clinton has a combination of size and
athleticism. “Offensively,
they have their quarterback Landon Lies back from last year.
He is a very talented quarterback.
They've also got another kid, #12, that they have thrown in there as
well. He's a sophomore, a
really, really good athlete. That's
the thing that sticks out the most I think is the athletes that they can
spread the field out with. They've
got several guys that can go out and catch pass or they both run a jet sweep
with. Their offensive line has
some really good size. Their two
tackles both go about 6’, 280 and then their guards are 180 and 220 and
their center is 230. So, they've
got some good size across the board. They
do a good job of moving their feet,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
evening, “It's going to be really important that our defensive line shows
up and plays well both against the run and the pass.
Then our secondary and linebackers can do their job of covering the
field and stop the run first, but also being able to defend that pass.”
Doughty says they use that same athleticism on the defensive side of
the football. “Defensively,
not quite as big upfront but, what they lack in size they make up for in
skill. They have some really
skilled athletes that they put down on the defensive line.
The one defensive end, Liam Johnson, plays split end for them.
So, he's a wide receiver but also plays the defense end, so that's a
little bit of a rare combination. They
do a great job of slanting into gaps and penetrating to cause some
disruption to the offense. So,
that's something we're going to try and stimulate throughout the week of
practice. It's also tough to do
so you've see it against some varsity speed.
Their linebackers are active. They
can blitz and also get into coverage really well.
So, it's going to be important that our guards can fit in and get
some good blocks on them. Then
their secondary does a great job of defending the past, but they're also
aggressive run fillers on the edge as well,” said Doughty.
Published 8/19/26
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Carey
to Play State Power
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jonathan Mershman
Carey takes the trip to Marion Local to face the Flyers on Friday
night in non-conference play.
Over the years, Carey has shown the willingness to play a very tough
non-conference schedule and this is another example.
As far as the Blue Devils, who shared the title last season in the
Northern 10 Athletic Conference, are concerned, Mershman says they have been
making good progress. “I think
we've improved from the first scrimmage to the second scrimmage, especially
up front. I thought we've had a
lot of growth there and I'm excited about that.
I think our quarterback Tripp Phoenix has done a great job of taking
the steps in his progression as a leader and as a play caller and making
sure we're lining up correctly and things that he's doing and I'm super
excited about that,” said Mershman.
Mershman believes they have a good leadership team put together for
this season. “I think our team
picked the right five captains. I
think we have really good leadership from those five guys,” he said.
Marion Local has won 15 state titles since 2000 and is a well
established small school power in Ohio.
They lost in the division VII region final to St. Henry last year.
However, Mershman says they are not playing the teams of the past,
they are playing this year’s Flyers. “Yes,
they're going to be well coached. They're
going to be a really tough out, but like I told our guys (Tuesday).
Hey, we're not playing the 2018 or the 2021 Marion Local teams,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “We're not playing those
ghosts, we're playing this year's Marion Local team.
Focus on this year's team not all the things that they have done in
the past and they've done some great things in the past, but we have got to
look at what's in front of us right now.”
Published 8/19/26
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Bellevue
to Play Longtime Rival
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Alex Shepherd
It’s the annual installment of the “Route 20” rivalry as
Bellevue hosts Clyde on Friday night in game between teams in different
divisions of the Northern Ohio Conference.
Bellevue is in the Bay Division.
Clyde is a member of the Lake Division.
Redman coach Alex Shepherd says they are ready to strap it up on
Friday night. “We had the odd
experience playing them twice last year.
We actually played them week 11, the first week of the playoffs, but
it's still been 10 months so it feels like an eternity, especially when
you're 16 years old. So, our
kids are ready to go. We have
still got some more to do this week, but they're ready to play,” said
Shepherd.
The Redmen beat Clyde (33-23) in last year’s season opener and
edged them (12-6) in overtime in the playoffs.
Shepherd is in his second season at Bellevue and is just the fourth
head football coach in more than 70 years.
Eric Leuthold is now the coach at Clyde replacing longtime mentor
Ryan Carter.
Shepherd says this rivalry is more than just names.
“Clyde's Clyde just like Bellevue is always going to be Bellevue.
Similar communities with tough hardnosed kids and great parents and
great support for both programs. It's
always going to be battle. I
think no matter who's in charge of these two teams this game's going to be
what it's going to be no matter what. So,
it's going to be a battle and we're expecting a four quarter game,” he
said.
Obviously, there are going to be changes in approach at Clyde with a
new coach, but Shepherd says they have played these systems when Leuthold
was at Port Clinton. “We got a
look at their scrimmages. Their
doing a lot of similar things to what we saw from Port Clinton last year,
which obviously where coach Leuthold came from,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Tuesday afternoon, “We've seen it before.
It's not anything too terribly new because we have played against his
offensive and defense in the past. A
little bit different than what Clyde’s used to it certain schemes, but
nothing we haven't seen before.”
Published 8/19/26
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Upper
has to be Physical
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Russell Hall
Upper Sandusky begins its regular season on Friday night at Northmor
against the Golden Knights in non-conference action.
Coach Russell Hall likes the look of team, but as a coach always
does, he wants more. “This is
what you've been working towards all offseason and summer.
I mean I don't know if I've ever met a coach that’s been super
satisfied with where they are. I
think every coach I know, including myself, you're greedy and you always
wish that you could get just a few more little things shored up before
kickoff there on week one. I've
been very pleased with the work ethic, with the coachability of our team so
far this offseason and the summer practices there and the scrimmages,” he
said.
Hall says Northmor is a team that doesn’t rebuild, they just reload
and that is the case again this year. “They’re
a very well coached team. They
had their worst season in years last year, but it was still 6-4, which is
tremendous. So, hats off to
coach (Scott) Armrose and his staff and their players.
It seems like every year all they do is reload.
They lose some good offensive or defensive lineman and then all of
the sudden they're covered and they just go to the cupboard and there's more
good offensive and defensive lineman. Same
thing with running backs, same thing with corners, safeties, receivers.
They are just a solid program. Extremely
physical on both sides of the ball.”
To have success on Friday night, Hall says they must be physical.
“If you're playing a physical team if you don't match that
physicality it's going to be a long game for you that's for sure.
This isn't a surprise to our players and team in any way.
We've played them before. They're
a solid, well coached team and they executed a very high level and they're
very physical. To beat them we
have to do those things as well,” said Hall.
Published 8/19/26
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South
Central Getting Ready for Different Willard
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Derek Fisher
South Central opens the season on Friday night at Willard against the
Crimson Flashes in non-conference play.
Coach Derek Fisher says you are never really sure, but he feels like
they are prepared for the opener. “We
feel like we are ready to go. There's
always some unique situations. I
was telling somebody the other day football is such a unique sport that
there's so many different positions and so many different scenarios.
You throw in special teams and all the other variables that could
happen. You can't go over every
possible situation and still have time to focus on the core offense and
defense, but we like where we're at so far,” he said.
Willard has a new coach in Eli Fisher and Derek says they are doing a
lot of different things. “They
have a new coaching staff. They've
got a a couple coaches that came over from Norwalk St. Paul, so a little bit
familiar there from being in our conference.
Also some different schemes, different techniques, different kind of
vision or things that were done at St. Paul versus Willard,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “The quarterback is experienced.
He’s kind of the one that leads the team.
They've got some speed on the outside, they've got size upfront.
They're doing some unique things on offense and on defense. Some things that
we've kind of tried to make our kids aware of.
You can see that they're starting a process kind of like we're going
through where they're trying to put the fundamental pieces in place and see
where they can go from there.”
Now the first game is a lot different because you don’t have any
game film and Fisher says you have to be able to adapt.
“You have to be ready to pivot.
Usually the weather kind of plays a factor with us playing one of our
two games of the year on turf at Willard this week.
We try to factor that in. There's
also things such as you can run all summer and it's different when you turn
the lights on and bring the band out and people start paying to get in and
they turn on the scoreboard. There's
game speed and there's playing yourself into shape.
So, there is a little bit of difference there compared to just
running 40s in the backyard or out of track when no one's around.
So, we try to account for those things, but you never really truly
can I think in that situation,” said Fisher.
Published 8/19/26
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Clear
Fork Taking Good Steps
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Aaron Brokaw
Clear Fork will be on the road for week one as they travel to
Granville to take on Blue Aces in a non-conference game.
The Colts are playing Granville after a one year absence from the
schedule.
Coach Aaron Brokaw says he likes where his kids stand coming into the
opening week of the season. “I
don’t know if anybody is really where they want to be especially going
into a lot of unknowns with week one. I
feel like after going over scouting reports and practice (Monday) guys we're
pretty focused, pretty locked in. So,
I mean as far as that goes I feel good where we're at there.
You always would like to be a little bit more prepared and as coaches
you're always overly critical of things,” said Brokaw.
The Colts have some returning talent from a team that went (6-5) last
season.
Brokaw says the opening week always has a lot of emotion and he wants
the kids to be patient. “We’ve
got a good mix of returning experience and some guys that are stepping into
new roles this year, but we've got a really solid group of young men.
Just preaching to them right now that it's a one day at a time, one
week at a time thing. We have
got to control the things that that we're in control of and those things
will take care of themselves on Friday night,” he said.
Granville is school with a program and Brokaw says they are
consistent in the things that they do. “Looking
at their scrimmage tape and then back to a couple years ago when we played
them. Personnel wise they're a
little bit different. Scheme
wise they appear to be doing a lot of the same things,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Going into week one it's always a
little bit tricky to say exactly what teams are going to hang their hat on
because most guys aren't trying to show a whole lot in their in their
scrimmages. They're going to be
a well coached team. I think our
guys are getting a week off to a good start preparing to go over there and
come away with the win.”
Published 8/18/26
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Madison
Excited to Get Ready for Shelby
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Kobi Johnson
Madison has its traditional opening week game again this year as they
are at Shelby against the Whippets in non-conference play.
Coach Kobi Johnson says they are just trying to get better as a team.
“I think every day you just keep trying to get better regardless of
where you're at right now. Our
guys have bought in to just trying to improve on a day-to-day basis and have
done a really nice job of that. It’s
good to kind of shift gears and really focus in on game plan.
You kind of show them all summer long just some different things that
you're going to see throughout the year and some things that teams do that
give you some problems. As we
shift gears to Shelby it is nice to get to focus on the game plan and really
start to kind of figure out what we need to do to try to be as successful as
we can come Friday night. The
guys are doing a nice job with day one and excited to keep working the rest
of the week,” said Johnson.
Johnson says there is always a special excitement for week one,
especially when you are playing Shelby.
“The guys are very well aware of who we're playing and the guys
that are coming back on their team, so it's kind of exciting as you go from
year to year see kids develop and really just get to shift gears each week
and focus on whatever it is that we're going to do to try to be as
successful as possible and compete at a high level.
The Shelby game is always a big one for us.
It's always that first game of the year and our kids get excited for
it, so we're excited and ready to go,” he said.
Johnson says Shelby has some different personnel, but they are still
going to be a very good football team. “We
know they're a great team. Any
team that makes a run and goes all the way to the state final last year and
competed at such a high level. They
got six extra weeks of practice in. So,
a lot of guys coming back. They
lose the DeVito kid who was a staple in Richland County there for a long
time, but they have got the Shepherd kid stepping in at quarterback and from
what we've seen on film he's done a really nice job,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “They do some good things in the
running game. Their offensive
line has good size. So, it's a
good challenge for us. We expect
that they're going to be ready over there in Shelby and we got to go over
and compete at high level and execute our stuff, tackle, do the right things
defensively and hopefully put ourselves into a situation to be in a ball
game late.”
Published 8/18/26
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Hillsdale
Ready to Play
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Trevor Cline
Hillsdale will play host to Black River in a non-conference football
game on Friday night.
Coach Trevor Cline says they are excited to get out there and see
what they can do. “It's been a
while since we actually played a game and it's one of those things that our
players are looking forward to. You've
had the whole offseason of just going up, and throughout camp, just going up
and get your teammates. It was
nice in the scrimmages go up against some other kids from other schools, but
this is what we've all been waiting for of the regular season to start up
and get ready to go with that. So,
everyone is looking forward to this week and get out there and play on
Friday night,” said Cline.
The Falcons have been to the state title game the last two years in
division VII. They are in
division VI this season.
Cline says expectations remain high, but they like that.
“I heard that quote a few years ago about pressure being a
privilege and I agree with that completely.
You don't have pressure on you if you're not expecting to be good,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “That's where we want to be as
a program. What we want to
continue to do is continue to have success.
So, we're okay with that pressure and we're looking forward to going
out there and competing and reaching our full potential again this year.”
Hillsdale throttled Black River (42-14) last year, but Cline says
this is an improved team. “Black
River is a team that they're consistently improving.
They have a young group of guys from last year that are back this
year. Watching them and filming
the two scrimmages I feel that they've improved from last year.
They are a solid team they have a quarterback that’s extremely
athletic. He will be one of the
better athletes that will go up against this year.
So, they have some playmakers. If
we can limit them, we'll put ourselves in a great position, but we also got
to find a way to limit them too,” he said.
Published 8/18/26
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Monroeville
to be Challenged Friday
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Tylor Nester
Monroeville, the defending Firelands Conference champs, opens the
regular season on Friday night at McComb.
Coach Tylor Nester says the Eagles have put in the work.
“Our kids have worked their tails off since last year throughout
the offseason and they're really proud of our seniors and how they stepped
up and continue to raise the standards for us.
We're gelling really well together and each practice we're getting
better and better,” said Nester.
Nester says the players are ready for a game when the score means
something. “Coaches say it all
the time, but it's always nice to go against a different color jersey.
The scrimmages are scrimmages, but week one is special for football
in Ohio and that's just right around the corner for us,” he said.
Monroeville beat McComb (46-20) in their opener last year.
The Eagles will have their quarterback back in Colt Clark, who was
the best QB in the Firelands Conference last season.
However, Nester says McComb has a playmaker too.
“Coach (Kris) Alge has been there for probably 20-30 years.
He is one of the best in the history of football, so he always has
guys ready. They do have some
nice size up front returning and then definitely a wide receiver in (Carter)
Frater that returned the opening kickoff against us, the first play last
year,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “He is a deep threat
potential and he also plays some quarterback for them, they rotate around.
So, they've got some threats. I
mean all the receivers are 6’1” or above and can move, so our secondary
will have a tall task this week.”
Published 8/18/26
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Seneca
East Improving
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ed Phillips
Seneca East is going to be young in some spots this fall, but they
are a team that can still have some success on the football field.
That is something they are used to in Attica.
Veteran coach Ed Phillips says they have shown improvement during the
preseason and he expects that to continue.
“Yeah, we've improved a lot in those couple weeks.
Our offensive line did a really good job in our preview against a
pretty tough defense to plan against with minimal scouting or whatever you
want to say,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “We made a
pretty big jump and hopefully we can continue that because we've got a good
mix of youth and veterans. With
that being the case I think that by nature of having some young mixed with
the old it gives you just because of the newness of it to them a great
chance to get better from day to day and week to week.”
Phillips says they have gotten good leadership.
He says the kids show up prepared and ready to work.
“One thing that has been good for us this summer is the kids come
to practice knowing what they're doing has been a big advantage for us.
Hopefully, that even gets kicked up a notch here headed inti the
season. When you know your stuff
when you step on the field on Monday it’s a big advantage and it can put
you ahead of the curve,” he said.
Seneca East opens with Gibsonburg, a school they lost to in 2023 and
2024, and Phillips says the Golden Bears will be good this year too.
He says they have some weapons. “They've
got a really good senior class. A
lot of these kids in their senior class played since they were freshmen.
So, they have got some of those seniors up front and then they’ve
got the (Reece) Walby kid and the (Grant) Smith kid in the backfield who
have been doing a while for them and they're really good at what they want
to do. So, it's a great
challenge for us for week one,” he said.
Published 8/18/26
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New
Philadelphia Where They Want to be
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Johnson
New Philadelphia, one of the preseason favorites in the Ohio Cardinal
Conference, will play at Louisville in a non-conference game on Friday
night.
Coach Mike Johnson likes the trend he is seeing with the team he has
this year. “I think things are
starting to come along. We did
some things nicely in our second scrimmage that we didn't do as well in our
first scrimmage, so you see a little bit of growth.
Anytime you get that and then your kids keep working hard at practice
I think you're on the right track when those things happen,” said Johnson.
Johnson laughed the kids are ready to put the helmets on and play.
The coaches not so much. “They're
ready to go. I think they're
probably more excited and ready to go and ready to be turned loose than the
coaches. We're wanting to make
sure we try to dot all the “I’s” and cross all the “T’s”
first,” he said.
The Quakers lost to Louisville (24-0) last and beat them (12-7) in
2004.
Johnson says they are going to need to be tough and play well in
trenches because Louisville is huge. “They
are very good at running the football. They
have a couple of offensive linemen who are just monsters.
They have a right tackle who's six foot eight and just signed, I
think he committed to UConn and he's just a mauler,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “He plays both ways and when you look
at the kid you're just in awe because you don't see many kids that size on
the offensive line on football teams here and in our county.
So, it's going to be a big fight in the trenches between us and them
I'm sure.”
Published 8/18/26
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Wynford
Making Adjustments for Cardington
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andrew Amlin
Wynford is at Cardington to open the high school football season on
Friday night.
Former assistant and new head coach Andrew Amlin says they have been
waiting a long time to play a football game that means something.
“Especially to start the season it's the hope and kids kind of
believe in that. They're ready
to go. Other than scrimmages,
we've been going against each other just like other teams.
You finally get that opponent that really matters.
40-some weeks it was for us we haven’t played a game.
So, those players are ready to go.
That week one is exciting. Starting
something new and hopefully we can turn that into something positive,” he
said.
Wynford was (3-7) last year and lost (32-27) at Cardington a year
ago.
Amlin says the kids are excited and he says they will see a different
Cardington team. “Sometimes
too you're preparing for that week one and you've looked at the past and
what have they done in the past. Then
you go to their scrimmage last Friday and they're like oh they're running
completely different defense,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
evening, “You have got to reevaluate some things.
It's time to go and kids are excited.
It’s something new. Some
of the kids are starting for their first year and they're looking forward to
that. I think sometimes too that
first game, the seniors are ready to lead.
They're ready to take for their senior year and try to get that
season off to a good start winning a football game.”
Amlin says the Pirates are doing a lot of the same things on offense,
but on defense they are totally different.
“Offensively, they are like they were last year.
They're in the gun. little pistol, a lot of wing-T stuff.
They run counter and they run sweep they run ISO and they run trap
and they run boot. So, some of
that stuff is very familiar to us to what they did last year.
They did lose her running back from last year. He
was a good player, but they still have a few guys that can hurt us.
Defensively, it's a little new. They're
running a 3-5 defense. So, we
haven’t worked a ton against that. So,
we just kind of have to adjust on the fly to that because we have we don't
see much of that. But that's
part of it. You put stuff in.
You have kids follow rules and in the end hopefully no matter what
defense you're seeing hopefully your rules work.
Generally, they do. You
just have to fund those few exceptions where they don't work,” said Amlin.
Published 8/18/26
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Centerburg
Excited About Game One
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Colella
Centerburg won the competitive Knox Morrow Athletic Conference last
year and they start this season in non-conference play at Utica on Friday
night.
Coach Andy Colella says they feel pretty good about their
preparedness heading into week one of the season.
“Yeah, pretty happy with how we did and how the kids did. I
think we had a plan and we accomplished what our plan was to get out of that
scrimmage. It was against
Columbus Academy, so obviously they're a premier program in Central Ohio.
We feel that we did pretty well against them considering the
circumstances. We should get a
couple kids back this week that we haven't had in a few weeks.
So, we feel pretty good. It's
always a time for optimism with the beginning of the season.
There's not a whole lot that's better than high school football, so
we're super excited,” said Colella.
Being defending champions the Trojans have a target on their backs,
but Colella says pressure is a privilege.
“That's the truth and we know that.
We talk about it, so our kids are aware of it, but also at the same
time it's a new team, it's a different year, different circumstances,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “In the same breath, we do
tell our kids that it's a product of the work that they've put in and then
the product of the work that kids before them have put in to put us in that
conversation and category. So,
it's something that not maybe a whole lot of people get to experience and
it’s something to kind of embrace and be thankful for the fact that we're
in a good spot right now.”
Centerburg has one of the best backs in the area in Miles Marshall.
He was all-Swankonsports.com last fall in our small school division.
The Trojans smoked Utica (34-0) in their opener last year.
Colella says they need to stop the quarterback run game and handle
the attacking Utica defense. “They’re
always a tough opponent week one. They've
got kids that play super hard they, they're going to present some different
challenges, they have got a really good quarterback and a receiver that's
going to create some mismatches because of his size.
They like to run the quarterbacks and that has a different element
their offense. Then on defense,
they're pretty aggressive and like to come after you.
So, that's something that we have got to work on.
We struggled with that before, but it gives us something to kind of
focus on as we move forward through the week,” he said.
Published 8/18/26
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Huron
Coming Together
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Sam Hohler
Huron kicks off the season on Friday night on the road at Oak Harbor
in non-conference play.
They lost (52-46) in overtime last year to the Rockets last year in a
season in which they finished (3-7) and failed to make the playoffs in
division VI.
Coach Sam Hohler says their execution is starting to be where it
needs to be here on week one. “I
think we are progressing very well. We
had a practice with Toledo Scott a couple weeks ago and this past weekend we
had a scrimmage with Millbury Lake. I
think our team is heading down the right path.
Starting to see guys learning their plays a little bit better, a
little bit better with their technique and things like that.
So, excited for the opportunity to get to play at Oak Harbor this
week,” Hohler.
Huron looks like they have the potential to score some points, but
they need to be better on defense than they were a year ago.
They gave up more than 20 points in seven of their 10 games, only one
of those was a win.
Hohler says they need to get healthy in the trenches.
“I think we're still kind of working on some of that stuff.
We do have some starters back on both sides of the ball.
Our skilled guys are very talented, but you know you have a few
passes that just kind of slip off the fingertips or a ball maybe wasn't
thrown exactly where it needed to be,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
afternoon, “I think if we just keep working at it, I think we're going to
have a pretty good group of skilled guys.
Also, up front we've got some big kids.
A couple guys coming back from injury, so hopefully we get them
healthy and ready to roll here soon.”
Oak Harbor was (9-3) last season, losing in the second round of the
playoffs.
Hohler says they need to be able to contain the Rocket running game.
“Oak Harbor traditionally been a strong program.
They're very physical, they have got good size up front, they run the
ball very effectively and they play solid on defense.
So, we definitely have our hands full in dealing with what they
do,” he said.
Published 8/18/26
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Ontario
to Open Against Ashland
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Larry Atkinson
Ontario, always one of the better girls’ soccer programs in North
Central Ohio, kicks off the season on Friday night by hosting Ashland in a
non-conference game.
Veteran coach Larry Atkinson says there have been some challenges,
but they are ready to go. “It's
just a little over a week that we've had practice, so it's just under two
weeks and we have a game. So, we
try to get practices in, try to get some scrimmages in.
We were able to get some scrimmages in and we've performed pretty
well in the scrimmages. The
unfortunate thing is we've got three girls that are out.
Three varsity players that are out.
One will be back and the other two won't be.
So, it's been a little trying experience over this week trying to do
some scrimmages and try to find out who we've got and who we can play and
what position they can play and just make sure we have the depth that we
need to have going into the start of the season,” said Atkinson.
Atkinson says they train their players with the idea of building
depth in position groups. “It’s
something that we do, and some other schools do, and some don't do it, is we
multi train players to play different positions because you never know when
somebody's going to get hurt. If
you get a lot of freshmen and stuff coming, I'm a forward, or I'm this or
I'm that well that's not something we need,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Thursday evening, “We need you to be able to play numerous positions.
So, we try to train players to play different positions.
I would say we have probably five or six players that can play
three to four different positions on the field.
So, it makes us a more complete unit because if something does
happen. Like somebody's just not
up on their game or somebody's sick or somebody's injured then it's not so
hard to replace or move people around to where we don't lose anything as a
team.”
Atkinson says Ashland is a balanced team.
He says they will be counting on their defense.
“They are going to be a scrappy team.
They play a good formation to where they're going to play solid
defense and then they're going to attack with numbers. They're going to get
it out wide and try to get it to the end.
They have some speed. They
have got a really tall girl that plays up top that we have to be concerned
about. I think one thing we do
have is most of our defenders are back from last year.
I think that's something that we're going to ride for a while is our
defense. The offense will come.
We lost the three girls from last year that accounted for 75 to 80
percent of our scoring. So,
we're going to have to manufacture goals in a different way than what we
have the last four years,” he said.
Published 8/14/26
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Hillsdale
Wants to Continue on
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Trevor Cline
Hillsdale has been the runner-up in the state in division VII the
last two years and this month the Falcons have been solid in their
preparation.
The Falcons will be division VI this year.
Coach Trevor Cline says they have been getting better every day this
month. “I've been really happy
with the progression because we return a few players from last year, but a
lot of our guys on offense and defense they were ready to play varsity last
year, but due to the senior class that was in front of them they played
another year of JV. So, we're
inexperienced in some spots but throughout the first two scrimmages they
showed that they're ready for their opportunity.
From the first scrimmage to the second scrimmage, they've gotten
better. I'm looking forward to
seeing them continue to progress the rest of this year,” said Cline.
Cline says they have done a good job of limiting the mistakes they
were making earlier in the preseason. “Some
of the mistakes that you sometimes make when you're a young team. I
like the improvement that they made from the first scrimmage to the second
scrimmage in those areas such as sometimes coverage is breaking down or on
the offensive side of the ball just sometimes not execute in the way that we
should,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “From scrimmage
one to scrimmage two I feel that we really improved on those.
Obviously, there's still plenty of things that we didn't get better
at, but you are just hoping that your program, or your team, makes a jump
from each week and improve each week and if you do that, we can be a pretty
good football team. So, that's
what we're looking to do.”
Hillsdale opens the season with Black River next Friday.
Cline says they continue to have high expectations.
“It’s cool because for multiple years now are football program
has had a lot of success, so expectations are going to be there each year.
That is cool for a program because you don't have expectations if
you're not having success. So,
our players who it is finally their opportunity to get to play they're
looking forward to continue on with the tradition and continue on with the
success that we've had for 15 to 20 years, but the last two where it's been
at the statewide area,” he said.
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Fredericktown
Needs More Consistency
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Spitler
Fredericktown has now completed its scrimmage play and they are
headed for game week as they prepare to open the season next Friday at
Highland in non-conference play.
The Freddies have a lot of experience in the trenches, but they are
breaking in some new kids in the skilled positions.
Coach Scott Spitler says they need to become more consistent in their
execution. “We are doing
things better, but still not happy with our inconsistencies and that's
something that we have definitely got to get fixed before next Friday when
we head over to Highland,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night,
“Very similar to last Saturday, (last) night with our scrimmage with a
very good North Union team that has probably 90% of their playoff run team
back this year. We got really
tested and we did some really good things at times and we did some things
where we have just got to get better. So,
I'm not really happy with our consistency, but we'll learn from it in film
(Friday) and get back to work.”
Spitler says they are now going to make the decisions on who gets on
the field for the Freddies. “I
think it's a greater focus as far as the way you prep for a game week versus
a scrimmage with your rotations and things like that.
Your rotations maybe different now that the regular season is going
to start after we take a look at film (Friday).
We'll see who we feel gives our team the best chance to be successful
on Friday night and then we'll get to work game planning for Highland and
making sure the Freddies are better than next Friday than they were (last)
night,” said Spitler.
Now preparations will start being made for Highland with a different
level of energy and with the kickoff of season Spitler says they need better
focus. “I think sometimes it
gets really easy to say scrimmages don't count so you don't maybe
necessarily have that consistent edge on the entire time.
Where now it's for keeps, so we have got to batten down the hatches,
roll our sleeves up, and get better this week,” he said.
Published 8/14/26
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Orrville
Doing Good Things
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Brent Besancon
Orrville, a playoff team a year ago, is working towards being a good
team this season too.
They open the season against arch rival Wooster next Friday.
They play Tuslaw in their first game in the Principal’s Athletic
Conference on September 11.
Coach Brent Besancon says they have some guys back from a team that
went (7-5) and lost to Shelby in the second round of the division IV
playoffs. “Overall, there's a
lot of experience returning. We're
a little green up front in some spots and pretty good kids to fill them, but
we going to have to fight it out this second scrimmage and kind of level out
and see who gets those jobs,” he said.
Besancon says with reps they have been getting, he thinks they are
becoming a better football team. “The
more you get out there and practice and stuff like that.
I always talk about muscle memory, so the more you get that done,”
he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday evening, “We're in our second year,
so I think that there are huge strides to be made in that second year.
So, this year I just have been pretty pleased with how it progressed.
You're always getting a new crop of freshman and that's where I want
to see the most progression, especially during these two a days.”
Orrville is going to find out how good of a football team they are
building on Friday when they meet Indian Valley, who won a state title in
2025 and made it to the semifinals last year, in a scrimmage.
Besancon has some things he would like to figure out through the
scrimmage. “The first
scrimmage I'm always looking for a physicality, being a player, maybe a
little bit of football brains and stuff like that.
Then the second scrimmage you want to put it together.
Which groups work well together, which line groups alignment work
well together and trying to get those things solidified.
A lot of times those things you don't get all those answers in the
second scrimmage, but that's what I'm looking for,” said Besancon.
Published 8/14/26
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New
Philadelphia Has Building Blocks
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Johnson
New Philadelphia looks like a team that can contend in the Ohio
Cardinal Conference this year.
Coach Mike Johnson says they have some kids returning that were a big
part of their team last season. “We
have a decent number back. As
far as our returning starters or letterwinners I think we have 14
letterwinners back. A couple
more on offense compared to defense. Offensively
our quarterback is back. We ran
two running backs last year one of those guys is back,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon,” Parker Rueger, our quarterback,
is back. Kolston Fox is the
running back. Two guys who
played some wideout for us Lincoln Murphy and T.R. Harriman are both back.
Then up front three of our five linemen are returners. So, we have
Matthew Hughes, we have Jack Kolat and Carter Korns. all returning starters
on the offensive side. So,
there's a little sense of familiarity there and those guys have done a nice
job here in this early season.”
Johnson says on the defensive side of the ball they have some more
holes to fill in their lineup. “On
the defensive side, not quite as many. We
have Kolston Fox and Jaxson Rice, our two safeties, are returning to our T.R.
Harriman played corner for us last year. C.C.
Crowthers is our inside linebacker, who had 100 tackles last year, but other
than that we're probably going to see some more new faces on the defensive
side of the ball,” he said.
New Philadelphia will play at Louisville in their first game of the
season next Friday. They open
Ohio Cardinal Conference play on September 11 at Ashland, in a key early
season game with the Arrows.
Johnson says the kids have been making the required improvements this
month. “I've been very
pleased. In July, you get some
camp days, you get some seven on sevens, there's camp days.
Our guys have learned what the scheme and what we're trying to do.
Then there's seven on sevens you get things timed up a little bit
offensively and defensively. Last
week we had our first scrimmage and our defense ran to the ball well, which
is one of those things that we expect. I
didn't really expect them to do it quite as well as they did last Saturday
against Northwest. So, we're
hoping to continue to build on that as we move forward,” said Johnson.
Published 8/13/26
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Mt.
Gilead With Talent to Work With
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Mike Reid
Mt. Gilead made a big step in the right direction last year and the
Indians hope to have another successful season this fall.
The Indians were (9-2) last season.
Coach Mike Reid says they have some players back with experience to
work with this year. “We did
lose 11 seniors to graduation. That
was a great group last year, but not all of those seniors were starters.
A lot of my guys coming back that are seniors this year were starters
last year and if they weren’t starters they got on the field quite bit.
Like any other coach we are trying to develop whatever depth we can
at these small schools, so we don’t have a big drop off.
We have some guys coming back that are pretty solid and have been
great leaders in the weight room, they have great leaders in the off season,
our summer drills, seven on sevens, and such, and I like what I see out of
our senior group,” said Reid.
Reid says he liked a lot of what he saw in their first scrimmage last
Saturday. “I was kind curious
to see how we would do in our first scrimmage out.
The guys came out and we made mistakes like most teams do in their
first scrimmage. Everybody makes
mistakes now and again anyhow. What
I saw was a very confident team that was confident in their assignments,
confident in each other, and we got after it last Saturday.
You never know talent wise as far as matchups, we don’t game plan
for those things, but I saw the intangibles that I wanted to see.
One hundred percent we are getting better every day and that’s all
we can ask,” he said.
Mt, Gilead hosts Martins Ferry in their non-conference opener next
Friday. Their first Knox Morrow
Athletic Conference game is September 11at home against Loudonville.
Reid says they will use their second scrimmage this week to get ready
for the opener. “The first
scrimmage we want to evaluate a lot of different guys in a lot of different
spots. We still don’t really
game plan for this one. We share
with the other coach what we run and that sort of thing to get an idea, but
we really don’t game plan, but we do look at probable starters a little
bit longer in this one as well as try to develop some depth with the younger
kids,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “We gave a lot
of personnel different looks last week in our first scrimmage and we
probably won’t show as many in this one.
It will be more like a real game.
We are going to treat it like a real game.
At the end we are still all undefeated.”
Published 8/13/26
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Upper
Getting There
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Russell Hall
Upper Sandusky is part of the expanded Northern 10 Athletic
Conference and they are going into this year with a good level of
experience.
The Rams are still the largest school of the 12 teams playing
football.
Coach Russell Hall says they have a solid number of guys back that
have Friday night experience. “We
actually have quite a bit back from last year.
We had a solid senior class last year, but we didn't have a lot of
them, so we had a lot of underclassmen stepping up last season and getting
some experience. So, when you
actually look at our offense and defense right now there's a ton of juniors
and seniors at almost every single position, which is nice,” said Hall.
Hall says with just over a week left until their opener with Northmor
next Friday they have been taking steps in the right direction.
“A lot less mental mistakes, better reads on defense, better
assignment execution, whether running the ball, throwing the ball, better
execution on special teams techniques,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday night, “It's kind of my favorite part of the year.
It's kind of like Christmas when you get through these install summer
camp days because you get to see that growth.
Especially to growth from week 10 last year until fast forward a
bunch of months to all of a sudden we're starting over.
A lot of the kids look like completely different kids.
Hats off to them for working hard in the offseason and competing in
other sports and just developing themselves and their skills.”
They play Wynford in their first “N10” game September 4.
They do play Hopewell-Loudon and Willard this season.
Two new members of the conference.
Hall says he likes that. “It's
kind of nice, like one assistant coach really pointed out is what's nice is
we play a couple new teams that we haven't played before.
So, that's just a great opportunity to expand it and get some
experience playing some new guys,” he said.
Published 8/13/26
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Shelby
Continuing to Make Progress
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Robert Mahaney
Shelby was the best football team in North Central Ohio last year and
they are working at being able to stay good.
They graduated a four year starter at quarterback and most of their
starting defensive players.
Coach Robert Mahaney says they have been making progress as a
football team this month. “I
think our kids have continued to take steps, continued to be process driven
and continue to do what we've asked them.
We want to continue to see growth.
We went through the first week of mandatories, had our first
scrimmage and asked our kids to play hard and play physical and I thought
our kids did that. Then also to
continue to learn and continue to try to execute with as little mistakes as
possible as you get ready for our second scrimmage and again be better.
Then get ready for week one. We
talk all the time you don't want to be the same team we are now at the end
of the season. We want to
continue to get better every week. So,
that process is still ongoing, but our kids have embraced that and so far,
we're taking the steps that we need to,” he said.
Mahaney says they certainly have things they have to clean up before
opening the season against Madison next week.
“I think maybe just the operation.
With some different pieces here and there we have got to continue to
build the operation. Get in the
signals, get lined up, get where we need to be and then making sure the pre
snap penalties are erased. We
want to make sure that we're not giving the defense to advantages with pre
snap penalties,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday night, “On
offense, we don't want to give the opponent any advantages.
So, I just think we still have to clean up the operation.
I think that’s the good thing about the second scrimmage that your
running the first half and you get to work on a lot of those things.
So, hopefully we can continue to improve and by the time we get to
week one those pre snap penalties and all this kind of things we won't have
to worry about them.”
Mahaney says they are working on being in the right stop and
understanding what they need to do on every play.
“You have got to understand offensively what your job is, your
rules, you have got to understand what you're doing pre snap.
Defensively, aligning is a huge thing because misaligning causes
disadvantage for yourself. So, I
think there's a ton. We haven't
necessarily got to that at this point because a lot of the pre snap stuff
comes along with the opponent and the scouting report of what we think and
those kind of things. I think a
lot of that still even now we can start to work on some of that stuff.
Just basic tendencies or offensive things and strengths and
offensively some different things that we'll see.
So, I think there's a lot of thinking pre snap with how we control
that and then be able to once the ball snapped you want to be able to play
super fast,” said Mahaney.
Published 8/12/26
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Crestview
Young, Improving
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Steve Haverdill
Crestview is going to be a young football team this year, but they
have already shown improvement in the preseason.
Coach Steve Haverdill says they don’t have much experience back and
almost half of their players are freshmen.
“Not a whole lot to be honest.
We have got 36 on the roster and 17 of them are freshmen.
So, we are trying to teach as we go and we've got five seniors, five
or six seniors, that are working with the young guys a little bit.
We have some juniors that are helping out.
It's a slow process and we're working a lot on technique and getting
kids ready for high school football,” he said.
Haverdill is happy with the improvement that the players have shown
during the summer and camp. “We've
improved every day. When you are
as young as we are and the kids work extremely hard and we're seeing that
improvement. It’s slower than
normal because it's new to them, a lot of them,” he told Swankonsports.com
on Tuesday morning, “It's coming across a little bit slower, but we've got
a good, patient group of coaches that work extremely hard.
So, every day we're getting better and we look forward to continue
that throughout the entire season.”
Crestview plays its first game next Friday at home against the
Northwestern Huskies. They open
Firelands Conference play at New London on September 11.
Haverdill says the young players are getting their feet wet.
“We just scrimmaged Cloverleaf and Black River, two good programs.
Cloverleaf being a D3 school and Black River being the same as us.
We got a good taste of a bigger school and small school.
We had some rough moments and we had some good moments.
So, we're all trying to build on that showing the kids where our
mistakes were and now we're going to try and capitalize on them to get
better on those areas this week from this week's scrimmage,” said
Haverdill.
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Centerburg
Expects to Excell
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Andy Colella
Centerburg is the defending champion in the Knox Morrow Athletic
Conference and it appears they can be pretty good again this year.
Coach Andy Colella says they have some good experience back and also
some kids new to varsity football. “A
little bit of both, we have about half back on both sides of the ball and
some guys who played a lot of football games over the last couple years.
Jackson Ballinger and Miles Marshall and Clarke Redd, one of our linemen,
our lone returning offensive lineman, but he's been started since he was a
freshman. So, we will lean on
those guys who've been around you know for a couple years and have
experienced that success on Friday night will be really important for us
early on to kind of get the other guys up to speed,” he said.
Colella says this is a group is has gotten better as we get closer to
the regular season. “There has
been a lot of growth with the group that we have had.
Their willingness to work and be coachable.
You're not sure what you're going to get, but we scrimmaged on
Friday, this past Friday, and there was just a lot of energy and a lot of
fight from our guys. Offensively,
when you lose four starting offensive linemen you're not really sure kind of
what you're going to get there. In
the end, was really impressed with how they played and the physicality with
which they played with. The
execution, and some of those other things, are going to take care of itself
as they get more experience there. So,
yeah, it's been a good camp and summer so far,” said Colella.
The Trojans first game with be next Friday at Utica in non-conference
play. Their first game in
defense of the “KMAC” title will be September 11 at home against East
Knox.
Colella says they understand expectations are high, but they don’t
mind that. “They always are
for us. We feel that we should
be competing at the top of the league every year, that's kind of where we
have our standards set and kind of what we work towards,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Last year's done and over with
though. It's a completely
different team. You have some of
those kids back, but the makeup of your locker room is different.
So, how well do those kids gel together.
What's your leadership like. All
of those things are big factors. A
lot of those kids have had success, but it’s a different year.
Every team in the league's different, and there's a lot of really
good coaches, and some highly competitive teams that you're going to face
week in and week out.”
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Willard
With Good Kids
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eli Fisher
Willard has a new leader in its football program this year.
Eli Fisher is the head coach, it’s his first such assignment, and
he thinks Willard is a good place to get started.
“Obviously, I love football. I
think that I've always thought that Willard's got a great community, a lot
of community support for all their sports.
The product on the field for football hasn't been there last couple
of years, but the community support is great nonetheless.
We just thought it was a great opportunity to get into a great
community that that backs their athletics and really supports their kids,”
said Fisher.
Fisher says there is some talent back for Willard, but they wanted to
take a fresh approach with the kids. “There
is some back. A lot of the guys
that they had last year had some pretty key injuries, some guys went down
last year. Their quarterback
Jake Rothhar, who will be the quarterback again this year, didn't play in
about seven of the games last year due to injury,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Tuesday evening, “He's kind of back, he'll be a real
good player for us. A couple
guys here and there, but really we've tried to go in with a clean slate and
really just evaluate talent with our own eyes and see who we thought our
best 11 were and how we could make them most successful.
We tried not to get too caught up on what they did last year and
whatnot.”
Willard will play host to South Central, of the Firelands Conference,
in their opener next week. On
week two, Willard will play Brooklyn. They
were added after Plymouth made the decision not to play 11 man football.
They are now members of the Northern 10 Athletic Conference and will play
their first game in that league September 4 versus Bucyrus.
Fisher says he likes the way his kids are progressing this month.
“They're a really good group of kids.
We're very fortunate, have got a lot of really good kids, a lot of
hard workers. Our goal is just
to get better every day and they've been coming in and putting one step in
front of the other and getting better every day and that's all we can
ask,” he said.
Published 8/12/26
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Mansfield
Senior Making Progress
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach David Phillips
Mansfield Senior has a new head football coach this year in David
Phillips and he sees a lot of potential in his group.
The last two seasons have not been good ones for the Tygers, but they
have some younger kids that have had success at the lower levels.
Mansfield Senior was (1-9) last season and finished next to last in
the “OCC.”
Plus, Phillips says they have gotten good leadership from the seniors
they have on the team. “I have
been happy with this group. We
have got a lot of seniors, so there's a lot of leaders on the team,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “I have got 14 seniors on the
team. They've been helping the
young guys out. We are a little
banged up over the last few weeks, but it’s going well.”
They had their first scrimmage last weekend against Stow-Monroe Falls
and Phillips says their goal is to learn from that experience.
“We’re going to watch the film on (Monday).
We're going to break everything down.
We have got a few young guys that are playing, so they grew up pretty
fast on the field and we are going to watch film,” he said.
Mansfield Senior will face Fremont Ross in a scrimmage on Friday
night. They open the season
August 21 at Hilliard Davidison. Their
first Ohio Cardinal Conference game is at West Holmes on September 11.
Phillips believes the young kids that he has are taking the right
steps. “They are doing well.
Everybody gets the older guys in practice and they are catching on to
it. They have done really good.
They are adjusting faster than I thought and that's a good thing, but
they are still 14 years old, they are still freshmen.
It’s going to go well, it’s going to be good,” said Phillips.
Published 8/11/26
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Northmor
Taking Steps
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Scott Armrose
Northmor is a football program that is just petty solid every year
and they hope that is the case again this year.
Coach Scott Armrose says they have some experience returning this
year and some kids that are coming up from lower levels to play on Friday
night. “We’re a good mix of
guys that have Friday night experience and guys that don't.
So, we've got guys that had some positive JV experience as sophomores
and are going to have to play some varsity football this year.
At the same time, on the offensive line we have got a lot of
experience back that started a lot of games for us,” said Armrose.
The Golden Knights will get their second and final tune up for the
season Thursday night against Wynford.
Armrose says they have done a nice job so far of just getting better
every day. “We have improved
gradually and that's wat you want to see this time of year,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “I think at each seven on seven we got
a little bit better every time, we've improved in practice, and we got a
good scrimmage in last week at Western Reserve, and saw Firelands, and we
just hope to be a little bit better on Thursday night against Wynford.
We’ve kind of gradually improved with every practice every week and
that's exactly what you want to see.”
Northmor’s first game will be at home against Upper Sandusky next
Friday. They play their first
Knox Morrow Athletic Conference game on September 11 at home versus
Cardington.
Armrose believes with what they have back up front, they are going to
be able to run and pass the ball this year.
“We want to be a balanced football team.
We're an offense that’s going to take what you give us.
I think with our experience on the offensive line we will be able to
run the football and that will allow us to open things up downfield in the
passing game,” he said.
Published 8/11/26
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Perkins
Where They Need to be
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Jalen Santoro
Sandusky Perkins, the defending champion in the Lake Division, is
making progress towards and their opener on next Friday when they take on
Cleveland Villa-Angela St. Joseph.
Coach Jalen Santoro says their roster is a good mix of veterans and
younger kids that will be getting their first experience under the lights.
“It's a good mix. I
think over the last two years we kind of had a change of the guard with
certain position groups. Last
year, we had a decent amount coming back up front.
With some new guys and some additions coming into this year we have a
lot of new faces. We have gotten
a good response from some guys up front.
A lot of experience returning the skilled positions, a lot of depth
of positions right now,” said Santoro.
Santoro says it is kind of a normal year for a school their size.
“It’s like any other division IV high school football team, we
don't got 80 or 90 kids in our program right now, so you're going to have
some young kids playing no matter what year it is,” he said.
Santoro says they kind of got off to a late start this summer, but he
likes the progress that they have made.
“The last two summers our baseball team has been to the state
finals, so we kind of got off that late jump and didn't really get started
to the first week in July there with a full squad.
So, in June there trying to get all the guys back up going and trying
to hit the ground running in July,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
night, “It’s been a good summer. A
lot of guys doing a lot of different things with college and recruiting
camps. Overall, I think we are
right where we need to be. Obviously,
we're not where we want to be yet, but at the end of the day we have got a
few more weeks to kind of get everything prepped and ready to go.
So, we're right where we need to be at the moment though.”
Published 8/11/26
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Clear
Fork Ready to Get Started
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Brittany Bechtel
Clear Fork opens the girls’ soccer season next Friday at home in
match against longtime rival Madison.
Veteran coach Brittany Bechtel says she is very happy with the
improvement she has seen in the preseason.
“We just played a really good program in Chippewa and we were able
to battle out several goals and kept our net blank.
Chippewa is division V and they're typically in the state tournament
in a deep run, state level, regional level.
So, we definitely built a little confidence off that.
We were struggling earlier on this season losing a good amount of
seniors, a lot of quality seniors, and we have a lot of incoming freshmen,
15 freshmen, multiple up to five plus making the varsity field.
We have a lot of youth and a lot of people in new positions and it
took some time over the summer,” she told Swankonsports.com on Thursday
night, “I knew we were athletic enough.
There was just a lot of skill based things that took some time to
develop and being patient and recognizing there's a lot of athleticism on
this team. If they just kept
their heads up that things would start to fall and over time that's exactly
what has started to happen. So,
I'm really proud of them, really excited for the year as always and can't
wait to get rolling here.”
Bechtel says they know a little about Madison, but not a lot.
“We played them in a summer league game June 1 and that was a long
time ago. At that time their
softball program I think was still rolling.
Our track program was still rolling.
We were missing pieces, they were missing pieces.
Summer league games are also summer league games.
The level, it's not leveled up like it is in season.
We got to see a little bit of pieces here and there for Madison.
We are completely different team and knowing Madison they have really
leveled up probably as well through the summer and put a lot of time and
energy into the game. So,
there's really not much coming into the season in terms of that.
You don't want to overlook anything.
Just dial and play your game and as the season unfolds we're going to
win and we're going to learn,” said Bechtel.
The Lady Colts are defending Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference champions.
Bechtel says their goal is to be playing their best soccer at the end
of the season. “Our goal is to
be playing the best soccer at the end of the season and continue a nice
tournament run. Always the goal
is to be playing in November, a “MOAC” championship, that is always
something that we're looking to gear towards.
So, a game like Madison doesn't really harm us in the “MOAC”.
It can only be a confidence builder or being a learning lesson and
that's kind of how we look at a lot of those games,” she said.
Published 8/07/26
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Mohawk
Finding Things
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Eric Daniel
Mohawk is another of the good football team in the remolded Northern
10 Athletic Conference.
They were (9-3) overall last year and coach Eric Daniel says they do
return some talent from that team. “We
have got some really good players coming back and we have got a lot of
opportunities for some guys to step up as well.
We graduated a lot up front, our leading tackler and our leading
tackler in the secondary. So, we
certainly have some big holes to fill as well.
It's just good opportunity for some of our young guys to kind of step
up as well that have made some leaps. So,
we have got a lot of good players coming back, but we have got some holes
that we need to fill and we'll find out more about that over the next couple
weeks,” said Daniel.
Daniel says these scrimmages and practices they have coming up are
important, especially for the young players.
“It's a huge difference between eighth grade and varsity or even
“JV” and varsity. It's kind
of the maturation of a year's worth of growth for some of these guys.
You get your first shot of what they looked like a year ago and the
jumps that they made over the course of the year physically and really
mentally. So, just looking
forward to getting some of these guys on film and evaluate and make sure we
have got all the right pieces in all the right spots as we work towards game
one,” he said.
Mohawk opens the season at Margaretta on August 21.
They have second non-league with Cardington and then open the league
schedule with Buckeye Central on September 5.
Daniel says he likes the competitiveness of the “N10”, but he
does have some concerns. “I'd
be remised if I said I loved it. I
don't like the fact that we don't get to play everyone in our conference.
If I'm being honest I just I wish we had the ability to play
everybody because I think what you're ultimately going to run into is the
loss of some really good rivalry games and maybe ties to the top of the
league championship for two really good teams that that weren't scheduled
together. Us playing Carey,
we've played for the last 70 years. We
don't want to lose that, Carey didn’t want to lose that.
Now we're at the mercy of a rotating schedule potentially.
So, it's just stuff like that kind of worries me as we work through
it,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “At the same time
it is exciting. You play some
teams that you haven't played. We
have got some teams in our conference that obviously weren’t in there.
So, I think with the small schools around here I think it's a really
good conference. Top to bottom I
think there's a lot of parity where at any week I think there's five or six
teams at the top that can beat anybody and beat up each other.
So, I think it's going to be a very competitive league.
I think it's going to be a really good league and excited on that
side of it.”
Published 8/07/26
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West
Holmes Working Form a Good Base
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Keaton Leppla
West Holmes has a lot of experience back and at least the potential
to be a pretty good football team.
Coach Keaton Leppla says they have a lot of guys that have played on
Friday nights. “It’s
definitely an experienced group. Depending
on how things shake out at end the camp and after our scrimmages we should
be returning seven guys on the defensive side of the ball and eight guys on
the offensive side of the ball. Returning
our quarterback and four out of five offensive linemen.
So, we do have an experienced group, a heavy senior group. I
think we're at 17 seniors, which has been the biggest class in the last at
least two years that I've been here. You
can't replace experience and we're leaning on those guys this year.
There's a lot of two year, three-year starters coming in.
So, we have high expectations for ourselves and we're ready to hit
the ground running,” he said.
Leppla says they have to turn that potential they have into
productivity on the field. “There's
expectations on paper, yeah sure. You
can write down the number eight and write down the number seven as guys who
are coming back, but the biggest thing that we focus on as a program is we
have to be able to take that next step.
You’ve got your year of experience under your belt.
You know what Friday night football is like,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Thursday afternoon, “You know what it's like in the
“OCC”. Now what are we going
to do to take that next step. Coaching
wise, what are we going to do when in our scheme.
Let's take that next step. Players
what are we going to do take that next step execution wise.
Right now, we've have only played ourselves, so we've seen those
instances of us taking the next step. We
have got a scrimmage on Saturday. Our
two scrimmages are against two great programs, so we should be able to see
if we're ready to take that next step or not here in the next two weeks.”
West Holmes plays Wooster Triway in their first game on August 21.
Their “OCC” opener is against Mansfield Senior on September 11.
Leppla says the scrimmages they have coming up before that are
important when it comes to finding some answers.
“In the State of Ohio now you can have 13 practices over the summer
and you can have five acclimation days before August 1.
We've been going at it. We've
been playing against ourselves, so I think biggest positive about the
scrimmage is you finally get to hit somebody else.
You don't have to worry about whether we're live or we're thud.
You get to go out and play against somebody else.
You're going to hit somebody in a different color jersey.
The second part of that with the scrimmages is you get to see where
your team's at. You get to see
where your scheme’s at and you really start to settle on what your depth
chart looks like. From scrimmage
one to scrimmage two you have an idea. Then
after scrimmage two, you're writing that depth chart down and you're moving
into week one. So, you're
getting a lot of tape, you're getting a lot of reps, you're getting a lot of
eyes on how these guys are going to perform going into week one,” said
Leppla.
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Ashland
Working Fundamentals
Click
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Ashland, the runner-up last year in the Ohio Cardinal Conference, and
consistent football power is attempting to find out what they have this
season.
They open the campaign August 21 against Bay Village in non-league
action. Their first “OCC”
game is September 11 against New Philadelphia.
Veteran coach Scott Valentine says they are kind of still in a
discovering area right now. “I
think the big thing with us is finding out what guys can do.
I think you really don't know until that first scrimmage.
You practice against yourself, but now you're starting to see
contact. Defensively, we have
got to see if we can get off blocks and how we can tackle.
Offensively, how we'll block because tackling and blocking are big
keys when it comes to playing football,” said Valentine.
Valentine says they will concentrate on the fundamentals of football
because that is the bed rock of any good team.
“We've got to be great tacklers on defense and then the other thing
is you can be good tacklers, but if you can't get off blocks you're not
going to be very good defensively,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday
afternoon, “Offensively it’s the blocking. I
mean we tell our guys that we have got to be in contact with people because
we have got guys who can carry the ball, but it will make you right as long
as you're in contact, but if you're on the ground and you're not in contact
with who you're supposed to then that's going to make it tough on us so
offensively.”
Nathan Bernhard, now at the University of Maryland, was the Arrows
quarterback the last three seasons. Valentine
says now they are looking for someone to step up.
“When you’ve had a guy like we've had for the last three years.
You now have a guy coming in and those guys didn't get very many reps
except in practice. So, they've
got opportunity wise now to find out and make their case on them being the
guy. So, those are the things
we're looking at,” he said.
Published 8/06/26
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Western
Looking to Grow
Click
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Western Reserve is a solid football program that does not have a lot
ups and downs.
This year they are replacing a quarterback and a lot of their guys in
the trenches.
They had their first scrimmage on Tuesday night and coach Ty
Stevenson says they saw some good and the not so good.
“As far as first scrimmages goes, it was kind of what you expect.
Our backs did a good job. Our
running backs I that are both back did and did a really good job.
Our offensive line is a bunch of rookies. I
thought we looked really good at times,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Wednesday afternoon, “Sometimes It looked like we're a bunch of rookies,
so we'll keep getting after it here. We
watch a lot of film and it showed a lot of corrections and things we need to
do better. As long as you
improve from scrimmage one to scrimmage two.
You always talk about game one to game two and it is really the same
thing from scrimmage one to scrimmage two.
As long as you make those jumps and those improvements then you're on
the right track.”
Stevenson says guys in the trenches have specific things they have to
improve as the preseason unfolds. “Understand
hand placement, understand when you're pulling on a counter, understanding
where your head should be, understanding who's wrapping up the backer,
understanding when we're double teaming how to get to the backside guy.
Just so those things and part of it too is just kind of the
aggressiveness. Understanding
the varsity game is different than a Saturday morning JV game.
We will have to bring a little more fire with us.
So, just kind of those things. Get
back to game speed,” said Stevenson.
The Riders open the season at Wellington in a non-conference game on
August 21. They play at Mapleton
on September 11 in their first Firelands Conference game.
Stevenson says by the time the opener gets here they want to be
playing fast. “If you’re
setting there thinking, then you're not going to play fast and you're not
going to be beat very many good teams. So,
you have got to know what you're doing, you have got to be able to react
quickly to get to where you're going,” he said.
Published 8/06/26
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Columbian
Taking Steps
Click
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Tiffin Columbian has new leadership and the potential to have a good
football team this year.
Former assistant Ryan Ottney takes the head coaching job after Judd
Lutz left this spring to accept the job at North Royalton.
Ottney says it’s a job he really wanted.
“I've been with Judd almost the entire time he was here at Tiffin. I
was the offensive coordinator. I
have a whole family here now. I
have been an educator here since 2014. My
wife's a teacher here as well. It
was kind of just an easy transition. The
players wanted me to step in and take that role, so I was very eager and
excited to have the opportunity to take this program over and continue the
success that we did have under coach Lutz,” he said.
Ottney says they have good experience on the roster this year.
“We have got a lot seniors that are back from last year’s team
that played a lot of reps. So,
we feel really, really good about our starters and we know we're developing
more and more depth every day so very, very excited about that,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Wednesday night, “We have got great experience,
especially at the quarterback position, which is always important to have.
Having a healthy running back in Masen Seitz is going to be helpful
for us offensively. Defensively,
we know we bring back a good amount of our secondary and our linebacking
corps and some of our defensive line. So,
I feel really good about the program and where we're at right now with the
starters and the depth that we are building.”
Tiffin Columbian opens the season with Fremont Ross on August 21.
That will be followed by non-league games with Mansfield Senior and
Ontario.
Ottney says the kids are showing some good things right now.
“I love what I'm seeing. The
guys are working hard, they're buying into the philosophy that we have here.
Our standards and expectations. I
know they're developing every day. It's
something that we're doing. They
bought into the concept of the culture that we're bringing forward with
them. Our biggest thing is that
we want to make sure that we honor the golden helmet.
Those that played before us and make sure that we bring honor to
those individuals in the program. I
feel really, really good about where we're at right now,” said Ottney.
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Lexington
Primed to be Good
Click
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Lexington had their best football season in a number of years last
year when they won the Ohio Cardinal Conference title.
There have been a lot of changes over the last nine months, including
the graduation of a very talented senior class.
They also have a new head coach in Jacob Owens.
He was named to the position after the death of coach Andrew Saris in
June.
Owens says he likes what he has seen from the Minutemen.
“We've had good numbers show up for our two a days starting on
Saturday, so the kids are excited. We've
got good numbers, so that's half the battle getting kids out. getting them
excited, so we've done that so far. I've
been very excited for our kids and ready for the opportunity,” he said.
Lexington opens the season with Ontario on August 21 and then plays
Shelby and Clear Fork in non-league games.
Their first “OCC” game is September 11 versus Dover at home.
Owens says they did graduate a lot of players from a team that went
(9-2) last year, but he believes very much in the culture that has been
created. “Our senior class was
very strong last year and they did some very amazing things for us.
What they really did was help build that culture.
They showed that younger guys what playing fast, physical,
disciplined football looks like,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
evening, “Those younger guys were able to practice against them every
single day. We were able to get
those younger guys in the varsity game a lot last year during our conference
play. We went on a really good
run when we went undefeated in the conference.
So, that really helped our younger guys get some type of varsity
experience last year.”
Another plus is the kids on the roster this year understand what it
takes to be winners because they were around it last year.
“Part of our culture is already embedded in what we want to do.
We have a lot of our same coaching staff back.
A lot of our same kids back. So,
they know our system. They know
our defensive scheme. Winning
does breed winning, so I think our culture is just that playing fast,
physical, and disciplined Lexington Minutemen football.
We want to bring that to every game,” said Owens.
Published 8/05/26
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St.
Paul to be More Traditional
Click
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Norwalk St. Paul is going to look like a more traditional St. Paul
offensive attack this fall than they did last year.
Coach Chris Doughty says they will bring back some kids, but they are
going to be playing different roles. “Overall,
in the three years since I've taken over this will be the one of the more
experienced groups we've had. We've
got 10 seniors this year after graduating seven last year and five the year
before. So, a bigger senior
class and a lot of guys back. A
lot of guys that were one way starters last year that are going to end up
being two way starters for us this year, so we are a little bit more
experienced,” said Doughty.
Doughty says they like to run practice at the pace of a real game and
he believes that gets the kids in shape.
“The way we handle that a lot in our practice is the pace of our
practice. We'll do some
conditioning drills and things, but a lot of it is just getting a lot of
plays in and a short amount of time. The
pacing from one drill to the next and just get the kids ready to go for
multiple plays in a row,” he said.
St. Paul was (5-6) last year, kind of un-Flyer like, and Doughty says
they like going back to running the ball a little more and they think they
have the kids to do it. “Offensively
we're going to be back a little bit more to a traditional St. Paul offense
this season. I think our kids,
and our coaches, are excited about that.
I think it's going to give us some good opportunities running
the ball and controlling that clock a little bit more this season,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “We feel really good about
our backfield with Abel Couch and Casey Fries, they're both sophomores for
us this year, but you know they're built more like upperclassmen.
Both of them started on defense last year as freshman for us.
So, excited to see what they can do running on the ball.
Like I said, more than anything I think our kids are excited to get
back to that ground and pound football.”
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Highland
Showing Good Stuff
Click
here to listen to an interview with coach Ty Stover
Highland, of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, is working to put a
good product on the field this fall.
They were (3-7) on the season last year and (2-5) in the conference.
Coach Ty Stover says they have some experience, but they are going to
have some youth on the field too. “We're
about dead in the middle to be honest with you I were to tell you we bring a
lot back or no we don't bring any, we're almost dead right down the middle
of with experience. I love our
kids that have right now. We
have some guys though that are going to have to play in some different
positions than last year. So,
that'll be a little bit tricky. So,
it’s kind of a midway of experience for us,” said Stover.
Stover says this group needs to be challenged a little bit in the
August, so they are ready for the season.
“Honestly, they have got to get as many reps as they can.
They have got to go up against guys that are more experienced, which
is great on the other side of the football.
So, that's what we try to do. Try
to put guys in new spots that fit them the best to their ability and then
also challenge them during the summertime, here in the preseason, to get
them ready to go for Friday night,” he said.
Highland plays traditional rival Fredericktown in their opener on
August 21. There are two more
non-league games against Heath and Mt. Vernon.
They open play in the “MOAC” on September 11 against Marion
Harding.
Stover says they are a little smaller group, but one that works very
hard. “Everybody tells the old
question that all the coaches gets is how many kids have you got.
We are down in numbers this year, but our numbers being down, I'm saying
like maybe four or five kids, but the kids that have stayed with our program
are just awesome kids,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon,
“They are workers, their physical, and they'll do anything to ask them to
do. I really do like this group
a lot, our senior class. Our
senior class has the most personality I think we've had here in the building
for a while and it makes practice and it makes hard work fun and we'll see
where it goes.”
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Norwayne
is Building
Norwayne, the defending Wayne County Athletic League champion, is
working on being what they normally are, which is a very good football team.
Coach Adam Indorf says they have some solid returners to the lineup,
but they are also working in some new guys.
“I think we are a little bit in the middle. I
mean we have experience at some positions, like a few of the receivers and
then a couple linemen. We're going to be fresh, new, in the backfield with a
quarterback and then up front couple guys are going to be new. So,
I would say it’s mixture. I
don't say it's extremely experienced or extremely young, so somewhere in the
middle,” said Indorf.
Indorf says they will work with what they have and mold those kids
into being the best players they can be this year.
“I think it’s good. We're
going to work with whomever we have got and do our very best to make them
better ballplayers and hopefully be successful each week,” he said.
Norwayne opens the season Keystone, another traditional power,
followed by Wooster Triway and Garaway, another pretty tough non-conference
schedule. They open play in the
“WCAL” with Rittman on September 11.
Indorf says he likes what he sees from the Bobcats so far this
summer. “We got fired up
(Monday) and it was a pretty brisk and efficient practice. I
thought that we had a lot of energy and the kids are moving around,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “The guys in the starting
roles, the first team per se, they're getting out there and moving really
quickly, which is what we want to see. That
doesn't mean they're mistake free, but we're seeing a lot of good effort.
A lot of good things. I
mean they're doing a lot of things. So,
just the little things we are going to continue to coach them on and fix.”
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Colts
Showing Good Things
Clear Fork has been making steady progress the last couple of years
and they hope to take it to another level this year.
They open the season on August 21 at Granville and then play at
Zanesville and home against Lexington in non-conference games.
Their first Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game comes September 11
versus Ontario.
Coach Aaron Brokaw, in his fourth year as head coach, says they have
some veterans coming back, but will also have some younger players seeing
time. “I think we have a
decent mix of returners and some newcomers.
We will be a little bit more experienced in the skilled positions and
a little bit lighter in experience on the front.
I think we return six starters on each side of the ball and a couple
other guys that played some significant minutes last year.
So, we're excited about the group that we have,” said Brokaw.
Clear Fork (6-5,4-3) shared third in the conference last with Ontario
behind Shelby and Galion.
Brokaw says right now he is looking for some more vocal leadership
from the seniors on the team. “We
had a really group of seniors last year as far as leading by example guys,
but also really setting the tone within the locker room.
The senior class that we have this year they're really good lead by
example guys. I'm just kind of
trying to challenge them right now to take that next step and kind of take
over that locker room and make it their own,” he said.
Brokaw terms this as a normal preseason so far.
He says they have very good attendance during practice sessions.
“There's obviously been some really high moments and there's been
some moments of disappointment, but that's always the case with the summer
and installs and all that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night,
“We've had really, really good attendance.
The kids are getting after it. Saturday
was fun getting to have that the first contact of the year since we're
allowed to use those last couple days of July as acclimation days.”
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Lucas
Excited for the Future
It’s new territory for the Lucas Cubs as this year they begin play
in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference.
Coach Jim Sweat says they are going to be replacing a lot of their
lines, but they have all their skilled kids returning.
“Well, it's going to be a little bit of mix.
The guys in the trenches, we have some experience coming back there
with a couple of kids, but we're going to be breaking in some new kids at
some positions up front. Really
the most depth that we're bringing back from last season’s squad is going
to be our skilled positions. We're
bringing back almost all of our skilled positions.
So, it's going to be a little bit of a mix for us this year,” said
Sweat.
Sweat says he is very impressed by the attitude the players have
brought to practice and workouts. “We're
really blessed. Our kids uh come
to us with a really good work ethic. I
think that a lot has to be said about their parents and the community that
we live in. They come to work
every day expecting to be pushed to their limits.
We’re working right now to find out what those limits are going to
be for us,” he said.
Lucas will play at Plymouth in their first game August 21 and follow
that up with a game at state runner-up Hillsdale.
Their first “N10” game will be against traditional power Carey on
September 4.
As far as the “N10” goes, Sweat says it is an exciting
opportunity for the Cubs. “Well,
first of all you know we're really happy that we were allowed to join the
“N10”. I believe it's one of
the top small school football conferences in the State of Ohio,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday evening, “Just look at the success that they
had last year. They had a couple
final four teams, state runner up, several region championship teams.
So, quite a few teams that are at the top end and that's where we
want to be. We're going to have
to work hard. We're going to
find out where we stack up this year and we're excited to see where that
leads.”
Published 8/04/26
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Buckeye
Central Being Positive
This might be a year of transition of the Buckeye Central Bucks
football program.
They are now part of a four tier system in an expanded Northern 10
Athletic Conference, which will affect their schedule.
Coach Jordan Phillips says they will have some experience on the
field this season. “It's a
good mixture. We did a good job
last year of getting younger guys in, getting them some experience, so even
though a lot of those kids didn't start they were rotational players,” he
told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Some of them started on just
one side of the ball. Some of
them were just in specific personnel packages.
So, a lot of these guys have experiences even if it isn't a two way
starter kind of experience.”
Phillips says the players have worked hard this summer and accepted
the challenge of implementing some new stuff.
“They've done a really nice job.
They've worked hard. We’ve
installed some new concepts on offense and they've been excited about them.
They really, really done a good job just progressing within those
schemes,” he said.
Buckeye Central plays Crestline and South Central in their two
non-conference games. They play
Willard and Lucas as part of their “N10” schedule.
They do not play Colonel Crawford and Seneca East, two longtime
rivals, and bordering districts, or Carey.
Phillips says it is a better schedule for them.
“I'm anxious to see how it shakes out.
Our schedule, we'll play more division VII opponents, which is good
for us. I wish you could have
kept a non conference team, but the teams that we added in our tier
especially will help us to be more competitive for us.
So, we're excited about the way things are trending,” said
Phillips.
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Norwalk
Headed in the Right Direction
Norwalk has only won eight games in the last three years, but it
appears they are perhaps headed in the right direction.
Coach Keith Morra says they have kids back, especially on offense,
that can do some things. “We're
experienced in a couple ways. On
our offensive line, we graduated a couple starters, but we bring back five
guys who have experience playing on the varsity football field on the
offensive line. We bring back a
tight end, who was second team all league.
We bring back our quarterback for his third year starting for us.
Then we bring back an offensive backfield, who's pretty varsity
experienced,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “Ayden
Hudson-Brown had a lot of minutes for us on the offensive side of the ball
last year and had some really big games.
He will be one of our featured backs this year. Lyric
Ship was a freshman who kind of came on strong for us towards the back end
of the year and provided us a little bit of support with substitutions and
now he'll be the guy who kind of takes over the fullback position for us.
So, on offense we’re pretty experienced and bring back quite a few
guys who have varsity playing time. Then
on defense it's a little more of a mix, but definitely a lot more
inexperienced on defense and that's kind of the area that we have to grow
very quickly.”
Morra says their numbers are still pretty low for a school in a
league like the Northern Ohio Conference.
“Our numbers are still building. Norwalk
is as small as it's ever been and as small as it ever will be just based on
our class sizes. So, we're kind
of going through some those difficult times, which is our class size to be a
small and not getting a ton of kids out,” he said.
Morra says the players have been giving great effort and that is what
they are looking for. “The
kids that are here have been battling all summer long.
We are at about 35 kids and of that number half of them didn't miss a
single day the entire summer, which is something we’re thankful for and
happy about. There's a handful
of others who missed just a day or two throughout the summer.
We've seen some really good strength and growth throughout the entire
summer. Even back into the
spring, we saw some guys who really put on some size and some serious
strength through the course of the off season.
So, we're excited about that,” said Morra.
Published 8/04/26
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Ontario
Looking Good
Ontario is now a school with a football program and not just a
football team and they are ready to be competitive here this fall.
They open the season against their traditional rival Lexington,
followed by non-league games with Norwalk and Tiffin Columbian.
They play their first Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on September
11 at home against Clear Fork.
Ontario was (6-5) last year and coach Aaron Eckert says they have
some quality back and kids that have worked hard at getting better.
“We had a good mix of older kids and younger kids last year, but
some of the guys that touched the ball more were young.
Anytime you have that you probably have some little growing pains and
things like that. I think we're
really excited with the guys that we have back and the guys that developed
in the offseason to see what can do this season,” said Eckert.
Eckert says he likes what he sees from the kids on the roster this
summer. “I think we are way
ahead of where we were at last year at this point.
I think our guys have really taken a step of maturity and kind of
owned that hey this their time. It's
their team and it's our time to show out and do those things.
So, I've been pleasantly surprised at how well we've kind of come
together in the month of July. I
really like what I've seen in terms of just competing day in and day out in
practice,” he said.
Eckert says they are working this summer at building not only
athletes, but leaders. “I
think that is something we have to grow and be better at as a program.
Get some older kids, even though we don’t have a ton of seniors
this year, we do have a lot of kids playing.
For us, we are still looking for guys to step up into those roles.
We are trying to mold some young men just assuming those roles and
taking them over,” he told Swankonsports.com, “Anytime you have a team
that's player led and the players kind of set the boundaries, the players
set the rules, the players develop what's tolerable and what's not, you're
going to be in a way better spot from a program perspective and that's
something that we're looking to instill in these young men.”
Published 7/31/26
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Monroeville
is in Development
Monroeville, the defending Firelands Conference champion, is going to
have some building blocks again this year.
They open season against McComb on August 21.
Their first conference game is September 11 versus South Central.
Coach Tylor Nester says this is a new year and they have to have that
attitude. “Right now, we just
finished up summer camp and this week for us is a real heavy strength focus
and conditioning focus. The
focus for us this season is one day at a time.
We won the conference last year, but doesn't need anything this year.
We kind of came into this season with that kind of attitude that it's
a new season. We do have a
target on our back and we've got to work harder than we ever had before,”
he said.
Nester says they have some talent returning, but they have to add
some depth too. “We do have
our starting quarterback Colt Clark back there under center.
We have got Cooper Cleary that started at the middle linebacker and
rotated in for Conner Bores at running back.
We do have some depth at offensive line.
We did lose Bryce Dunlap and Conner Dixon and a bunch of skilled
guys,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “We're going to replace
some skilled guys. We do have
some nice experience coming back. Every
year is a new year with the leadership that we have got to figure out what
makes a kid tick and that is a cool thing as a coach trying to mix and match
pieces and cards. With two a
days coming up next week will help clear the picture up for us.”
Nester says they are learning what this team in about and that is
very important. “If you try to
go into year in year out with the same kind of stuff you're not going to be
successful because every group of seniors is different and when that group
leaves the dynamics change and leadership changes and personalities change.
The coaching staff one of our top priorities is figuring out what
makes the kids tick. Obviously,
we want to get them more mentally tuff, in condition, in shape and what
continues to motivate them. What
works for each team is different with their emotional state.
So, figuring that out is always the fun task,” said Nester.
Published 7/31/26
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Carey
Ready to Get Going
The first official day of practice for football teams in Ohio is
Saturday and the Carey Blue Devils, the defending “N10” co-champions,
are ready to get prepared for what will be a challenging schedule.
Coach Jonathan Mershman says they lost some really good kids to
graduation, but they return some talent too.
“We lost a lot of really good seniors, especially in the backfield
on offense. We lost a couple
db’s and stuff like that, but we've got some guys back.
Our quarterback is back. We
have got one of our running backs back, some linebackers back and defensive
line back,” he told Swankonsports.com, “I would say we got like half of
our defense back and half of our offense back.”
Mershman says they are working to become a more consistent football
team before season starts. “I
mean it's just getting consistent. Some
days we look like we’re okay, like we’ve got this and then we come back
the next day and we have got to start all over.
So, it's July. We have
just got to get back to being consistent and it just takes times and
reps,” he said.
Carey opens the season at defending state champion Marion Local on
August 21. They play talented
Galion week two and then open play in the expanded “N10” week three at
Lucas.
Mershman says he looks forward to what is going to be a tough
schedule this year for the Blue Devils.
“We got put in the higher tier, so our schedule for the “N10”
is pretty brutal. We play all
the big heavy hitters this year. so it should be a really tough schedule for
that and then our non league schedule is a pretty tough one as well.
So, we have a pretty good little schedule put together,” said
Mershman.
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Triway
Working Things Out
Wooster Triway, the winner of the Principal’s Athletic Conference
last year, is working on finding out what kind of team they can be this
year.
They play West Holmes in their first game on August 21.
They open play in the “PAC” on September 11 versus Northwest.
Coach Cody Kelly says they lost some talent to graduation, but they
have some guys back that can play. “We
only graduated six seniors from last year.
Although low in numbers they were key guys that we have to fill for
this year coming up. Quarterback,
top defensive lineman and player of the year in the district.
A couple of really good receivers and some lineman,” he told
Swankonsports.com, “All of those six seniors need to be replaced, but
coming up we should need be more of a veteran group.
We're going to have around 14 seniors on the team.
A lot of juniors and seniors playing and so it is a good sign in your
program when you have got more of the veteran players playing on Fridays and
letting those young guys kind of develop on Saturdays.”
Kelly says every year you have to find out what fits together.
“It’s a puzzle, it’s always different every year.
You've got to fill holes, fill gaps, find out what can we do this
year that we couldn't do last year or that what we can do.
It’s definitely a puzzle and we're in the middle of figuring that
out,” he said.
Kelly says they have a general plan of what they want to do on both
sides of the ball, but there have to be tweaks.
“I think we have our systems on offense and defense, but they are
at the point that you can mold them each and every year.
Whether we are heavy in linemen team or more of a skilled team or
young team. You definitely have
to adapt to what you have got. You
can't just put a square peg in a round hole.
It's not going to work. You
will be fighting against it. So,
right now during the early camp we're just trying to figure out what we can
do. What we are like.
What are our guys are fighting for starting roles are capable of and
designing some schemes off of that,” said Kelly.
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Bellevue
Has Skill Back
Bellevue has some key players back in skilled positions, but in the
trenches there are going to be a lot of new guys manning positions.
They kick off the season August 21 with rival Clyde.
Their first game in the Northern Ohio Conference Bay Division will be
September 25 against Edison.
Coach Alex Shepherd, in his second year at Bellevue, says they will
bring some playmakers back. “A
lot of our skilled positions we return from last year outside of couple of
our receivers. The biggest thing
we're replacing is some of the guys up front.
Our defensive line from last year was all seniors for the most
part,” he told Swankonsports.com, “I think we only have two or three
guys that got some rotation minutes from last year that are going to be
players again this year. We're
about half and half. We return
some key spots last, but we’re replacing a decent amount too, so it's a
good mixture.”
Shepherd says once fall practice begins on Saturday, they need to get
a lot of work for the guys up front. “Our
receivers and our quarterbacks get a lot of work in in the summer and can do
a lot of things. Our offensive
line works hard works too and our defensive line works hard too, but until
you put pads on you're really not getting much of a simulation.
So, I'm excited for that to happen for those big guys up front to
start to get a little bit more recognition,” said Shepherd.
Now it is no longer the Sandusky Bay Conference, but really other
than the name nothing has changed for the Redmen, according to Shepherd.
“It’s identical to last year.
Obviously home and away has changed.
Our schedule in terms of who we play and the date that we play has
not changed. So, for us we
didn't really notice much with the conference changes.
Basically, a name change and that's about it,” he said.
Published 7/30/26
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Some
New at Wynford
Wynford has a new head football coach in longtime assistant Andew
Amlin as the Royals prepare for the 2026 season.
Cyle Skidmore left the program to become assistant high school
principal and assistant football coach at Clyde.
Amlin says he knows the kids and thought taking the job would be a
good fit. “They know me and
that was kind of one of the reasons I took the job.
Cyle (Skidmore) took a better position at Clyde and I just figured
this late in the year the kids knew me and they were comfortable with me and
it was an easy transition,” he told Swankonsports.com, “This would be my
12th year at Wynford. My
first year was 2015, that was when coach Gabe Helbert was there and there
was some good times. Gabe is a
good coach and I learned a lot. He's
a really good offensive guy. I've
been here since then and obviously I was there with Cyle the last four or
five years helping him with the defense.
So, I have been there about 12 years.”
Amlin says the Royals are going to be a little young in the trenches.
“We have seven seniors. Some
of the seniors have got quite a bit of experience.
We are a little inexperienced on the offensive line.
We only have one senior on the offensive line, but we have a couple
other guys that played last year a little bit.
So, I would say there's some experience with our skilled kids, but
not a ton. We have about 32 kids
right now, so sometimes it’s difficult to figure out who's going where,
but the experienced kids there are there and we will use them to our
advantage,” said Amlin.
Wynford will kickoff the season on August 21 at Cardington in a
non-conference game. Their first
game in the reformed Northern 10 Athletic Conference will be September 4 at
Upper Sandusky.
Amlin says they have tried to be patient with the players.
“We got a little late start too, but we've been kind of just
focusing on not trying to put too much in and getting good at stuff.
Some things are new, so I don't want to overwhelm the kids.
Time is limited, so you try to get what you get in and try to get
them to do it right and if they don't do it right just keep repeating it.
The next thing you know August is here,” he said.
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Wooster
Moving Forward
Wooster hopes to make a jump in the standings in the Ohio Cardinal
Conference this year.
They were (0-10) and last in the conference standings a year ago.
Coach Ray Leek, in his second year as the Generals head coach, says
they have a lot of guys that have played varsity football.
“We'll be experienced as far as playing time and experience on
Friday nights. We’ll still be
young as far as age and the grades that we have playing.
So, while we have some experience back we're going to have some youth
on the field, but they got a couple Friday night lights under their belt
last year. So, we're excited to
see what this group can do and moving forward here with everybody back,”
said Leek.
Leek says he likes what he has seen in July.
“Extremely happy with the offseason at this point.
We don't have shoulder pads or anything like that on yet, but the
amount of work the kids put in with our attendance in the weight room and
everything they've done up to this point in seven on sevens, camp,
acclimation days, been very proud of where we've grown and where we've done
this offseason,” he told Swankonsports.com, “That's all you can ask for
is the kids get bigger, faster, stronger, they mature.
Going into year two with the same offense and defense.
They know the terminology and expectations, so I think we've had a
great offseason up to this point and I'm super excited for the year.”
Wooster opens August 21 against rival Orrville.
They play their first “OCC” game September 11 at home against
Madison.
With it being the second year of his program, things are going a lot
more smoothly than they did a year ago.
“Our kids have done well as far as the playbook, expectations and
practice and what we expect in the weight room.
It's just a lot easier going into year two after you've had a year
under your belt with the kids you build relationships and start to trust
each other. I think that they
have really worked hard to get to this point in the year, so we're ready to
go and get after it,” he said.
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Galion
With Different Standard
Galion finished as the runner-up in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference
last season and they are ready to have a strong season again this fall.
They were (11-2) last year and lost to Shelby in a regional final.
Coach Matt Dick says the kids they have this year understand what it
is going to take to be successful. “I
think that last year's team kind of raised the standard of how we do our
work every day, every play, bounce back from losses and winning the next
week. It was a tough game that
week five at Ontario. So, some
of that grit and stuff they demonstrated, but the truth is every year it's a
new team. We hope to live up to
that standard, but there's definitely different kids that are trying to do
it,” said Dick.
Dick says they have some excellent talent back on the roster with
which to build. “Maybe
one-third is back. Guys like
Blake Blubaugh, who played a lot as a sophomore on both sides of the ball is
back on the offensive line. I
think about Dom Capretta, a tight end, he's an All-Ohio kid, is the back. Kane
Hay, an All-Ohio guy, coming back, his brother Kurt has played a lot. Jamesen
Glew played a lot of good receiver and good safety for us, especially in the
regional final game he had some big plays,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Tuesday afternoon, “We have got guys back.
It's kind of like it's their time.
A lot of those guys would rotating with somebody last year and now
that they kind of own the position, so they're going to play a little bit
more both ways and grow into fulfilling when that role a little bit
bigger.”
The season starts on August 21 when the Tigers play at St. Mary’s
Memorial. They open “MOAC”
play on September 11 against defending champion Shelby.
Dick says the kids are putting in the work that is required with what
feels like a short preseason. “It's
felt that way for about two or three years.
I think we've kind of adjusted. We
have a real set schedule how of we finish the end of July and then headed
into August. It's not two a days
yet or old mandatory practice, but the last week or two of July starts
becoming really important. We
just kind of tell our kids that. We
had really. really good attendance this week and hopefully that continues
with the rest of the week,” he said.
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Seneca
East Has Pieces
Seneca East is one of the teams that is going to be a factor in the
Northern 10 Athletic Conference this season.
The Tigers were (8-4) overall last season.
Coach Ed Phillips says they have younger guys that have already been
under the Friday night lights. “I've
got four or five guys that started on the offensive line and that's good
place to start. So, we’ve got
some good experience there. I
played a lot of young guys last year. There
were times when you look on the field we'd have five or six freshman and
sophomores out there playing,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday
evening, “The nice thing was they were playing because they earned it and
because they are really competitive not necessarily because we had to put
them out there. So, that puts us
in a pretty good spot. We've got
a lot of people who've played Friday nights and some of them
freshmen-sophomores some of them are junior-seniors.”
Phillips says with the experience they have this season the staff
doesn’t have to teach so much. “(Tuesday)
was good example that. We had a
practice and to this point we probably emphasize a little bit more of the
seven on seven stuff and (Tuesday) we really dug in deep in the run game and
we had a really good night there. So,
that was good to see,” he said.
This year the Northern 10 moves from eight members to 14 schools and
in football there are 12 of them and they will be placed in four teers.
Phillips predicts it will be very competitive.
“it's interesting, it's obviously very competitive.
I’m not going to lie it’s strange being in a league where you
don’t get to play everybody, but we're not the only ones doing it.
I do think that the fact that we have some numbers, more teams might
be good for the longevity of the league, but it's different.
When you add a team like Hopewell and Calvert and Lucas and Willard
you have added a lot of tradition. You
have added a lot success. So,
there’s no doubt when you do that the league will be better from a
competitive standpoint,” said Phillips.
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Huron
to be Competitive
Huron has the potential to be a pretty good football team here this
season in what is now called the Northern Ohio Conference.
The Tigers are in the Bay Division.
Coach Sam Hohler says they have quite few kids returning from a team
that was (3-7) last season. “Well,
we have 15 seniors coming back this year.
Most of them played for us. Some
of them got injured though, so they didn't get a full year in last year or
the previous year. We feel like
we've got good experience coming back. We've
got five starters on offense and five starters returning on defense as well
as our kicker coming back from last year.
So, we feel like we're in a pretty good spot with that,” said
Hohler.
Hohler emphasizes that a kicker is very important in high school
football these days. “A couple
years ago we had a kicker named Cameron Manner.
Cam was a first team All-Ohio kicker.
Most of the time he would kick off, he would put it in the end
zone,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Forcing the
other team to go 80 yards on most of their drives makes it challenging for
the other team. Plus, he was
pretty good at making field goals from 50 yards out as long as the weather
wasn't too bad. So, having a
good high school kicker is a big deal.”
Huron opens the season August 21 against Oak Harbor.
Their first Bay Division game is September 25 at Port Clinton.
Hohler says really their schedule isn’t much different than it was
last year. “Most of our
schedule is the same as last year. We
only have one team that changed because of all these schools having to
adjust and things like that we actually were fortunate to get Margaretta
back on our schedule, which is a long time rival of ours.
The rest of the schedule remains the same.
It's the Lake and Bay schools. We
play Tiffin Colombian and Perkins out of the Lake, which are no slouches.
So, for us we're kind of gearing up again for another tough season.
Another tough schedule and we'll make the most of it,” he said.
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Madison
Eager to Start Learning
Madison has some building blocks as we head into the high school
football season that starts on August 21, so not far away,
The Rams begin with their traditional rival in the Shelby Whippets
then have non-league games with River Valley and Norwalk before beginning
the Ohio Cardinal Conference schedule September 11 at Wooster.
Coach Kobi Johnson knows there is not a lot of time to get ready.
“Oh, it's coming up fast and we're trying to utilize our camp days
now to just get all of our installs in and try to have our kids as prepared
as we can going into this weekend and next week with that first week of
practice leading up to scrimmage time. So,
it's going to be on us here really quick,” he said.
Madison was (3-7) last year and ended on a good note a (21-7) win
over rival Mansfield Senior.
Johnson says they will have some guys back with experience.
“There's a decent amount of guys back from last year's group.
Up front we're replacing a couple guys that played a lot of football
for us, but I think part of being a high school football coach is constantly
trying to build depth. We've had
some young guys that have kind of stepped into those roles and a lot of guys
that are just program kids that are taking that next step from maybe being a
sophomore or junior and playing some JV and learning the game and now being
prepared to either step into a starting role or be prepared to be an
immediate backup. So, just
really proud of our guys on both sides of the football learning and really
trying to develop themselves in our scheme and figure out where they're
going to fit best trying to help us win football games,” said Johnson.
Johnson says he looks forward to seeing how these guys are going to
compete. “I think you go into
those scrimmages and you have a little bit of an idea of your older guys
that maybe they've played for you in the past as an underclassman and
they're taking that next step. You
have a little bit of an idea going in, but it's that first real chance to
see your guys compete and compete against other, whether you're looking to
varsity level, how do they compete against those older guys,” he told
Swankonsports.com on Monday night, “I think it's one thing to go against
the scout team, but I want to see who's ready to go when the fire's on and
you're playing against another high quality opponent.
So, definitely a learning tool. We're
going to record everything and watch the film and learn from it.
I like to see who's going to play and who's going to get after it and
compete because we know that's what we need to do to start winning at a high
level here.”
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Colonel
Crawford With Nice Blend
Colonel Crawford advanced all of the way to the state semifinal in
division VI last year and they have a chance to field a good football team
again this season in the newly configured Northern 10 Athletic Conference.
The season starts for them in a non-conference game against Fairbanks
on August 21. Their first league
game is versus juggernaut Hopewell-Loudon on September 4.
Coach Jake Bruner says that seems like it’s really soon.
“Well, it does feel that way. We
had a longer run in our season last year thankfully and so it was a shorter
off season and this seems like everything's kind of here already.
It’s exciting at the same time, but it's crazy because we put a lot
of work in. The kids and the
community and our coaches,” he said.
Bruner says they lost a lot of kids off that team from last year, but
they still have quite a bit back. “We
lost 17 seniors, so you're in a small school and to lose 17 seniors you're
losing a lot of kids and a lot of those kids are some really, really good
players. We do have a nucleus
back that we really like, but there's going to be some youth in that too.
So, it's kind of a combination of some kids back.
As I tell our kids all of the time it's about classes together.
It's not one group, it's not one class, it's a group of classes
together than make a good football team,” he told Swankonsports.com on
Monday evening, “You are always going to have sophomores that play with
seniors and juniors that play a seniors.
Like I said, graduated some really talented kids and guys that played
for a long time for us and broke a lot of records.
You can't replace them right away, but a lot of those kids that are
going to be seniors for us were big role players for the last three years
and now are going to kind of lead us that way. They're going to be with some
youth, but I think the youth is good there.
With any young, small high school team you are always going to worry
about depth and those things. Our
numbers are good, but experienced depth is what I'm talking about.”
Bruner is pretty excited about the talent that he has.
“I like what I see. When
you've been coach in the same place for a while, like I have, you know the
kids, they know you and the expectations.
I like our experience at some of the positions and I like that we've
got some kids that have been tremendous players that are back and that they
can lead. Our young kids are
doing a really good job and there's some talent there too.
So, we’re excited for them moving forward.
Honestly, there's some seniors that have been really, really small
role players who are going to play big roles now.
They've waited their turn to play because of the talent they had in
front of them, which is tough to do in this time in the world.
A lot of kids don't want to wait their turn to get the chance to play
and some of these kids have and we're looking for them showing what they can
do,” said Bruner.
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South
Central Lacks Experience
The football season is right around the corner.
It starts August 21 and South Central will be at least starting the
season with little experience.
Coach Derek Fisher says they can’t wait for practice to get started
on Saturday. “We get stated
August 1, Saturday morning. We
are chomping at the bit. We're
ready to go. So, it's my
favorite time of the year, so we're ready to go.
We're anxious to get started,” he said.
Fisher says they will not have a lot of players with varsity snaps.
“I'll be honest, we're going to be younger.
We have three kids returning as seniors, three seniors with
experience. This is one of our
smaller graduating classes. We
went from last year's class that was one of the largest classes in school
history to one of the smallest classes in school history, so right now we
don't boast a lot of experience,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday
evening, “We have been able to recruit the hallways a little bit and we've
actually had our numbers go up believe it or not, but we've got some more
kids that are green, younger kids that are starting to buy in.
We've increased our numbers, but as far as returning on field
experience it's not much.”
Fisher says the preseason is going to be about finding out what kids
can play where. “We're anxious
to see what we can do. We kind
of look at the scrimmages and the seven on sevens as a stress test.
It lets us reevaluate and see if our systems that are in place are
working. If we have got guys in
the right position or we need to move this guy over, this guy up.
Being in a smaller school you don't always have a two deep or a three
deep roster. It's more about how
can we accentuate this guy's strengths and find a way to get this guy on the
field. We're trying to get our
best 11 out there. It may not
necessarily be their best position, but the position that best suits out
team and helps us field a competitive roster, a competitive team to put on
the field so that we can put a good product on the field Friday nights,”
said Fisher.
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Tough
Loss for Calvert
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Tiffin Calvert Senecas as
they lost (5-3) to Delphos St. John’s in a division VII state semifinal on
Friday at Thuman Munson Stadium in Canton on Friday.
St. John’s scored a run in the top of the first and added three in
the fifth on four hits, including two triples to go up (4-0).
It became (5-0) Blue Jays on two hits and an error in the top of
sixth.
However, the Senecas (28-3) weren’t about to give up, they
responded. A.J. Shoemaker walked
with one out in the bottom of the sixth, Charlie Palm singled to right.
Shoemaker them scored on a wild pitch. Cameron
Moyer singled home a run to make it (5-2), but the Senecas left them loaded
when they had a chance to add more.
In their last at bats, Logan Ritzler tripled and scored on a ground
ball by Vincenzo Lyons. Shoemaker
would reach on an error, but the Senecas couldn’t move him.
Coach Matt Coleman says
they didn’t go away in bringing the tying run to the plate twice.
“We gave ourselves a chance in the end.
I think we fought, just like, especially these seniors have for four
years. We just dug a little too
big a hole against really good really pitcher and a good defense and
opportunistic offense, so it didn’t fall our way,” he said.
Coleman says they were able to adapt as the game went on.
“They were scrapping at bats. I
felt like early we were maybe pressing a little bit falling into a little
bit of a hole. We were chasing
the off speed down, out of the zone, which is uncharacteristic for us,” he
told Swankonsports.com after the game, “That was unfortunate, but yeah I
loved to see the fight. We talk
a lot about fortitude and that they showed it.”
Calvert has lost in the state final four in three of the last four
years.
The core of the Senecas are seniors and Coleman says they defined the
program in a positive way. “An
unreal record, something like 108-17. Four
league titles here, here three times. The
time we weren't here we lost in 10 innings.
So, they've got some fight and they've got some good things ahead of
them. Their lives won't be
defined by these losses, but they could help how you respond to failures is
a lot of my life just every day. We'll
be alright,” said Coleman.
Published 6/13/26
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Northmor
Falls in State Semis
Northmor was in the state baseball tournament for the first time
since 1995, but Thursday they were turned away (5-3) by Lake Center
Christian in the division VI state semifinals at 7 17 Credit Union Park in
Akron.
Coach Buck Workman says if you have to lose a tournament game, Akron
is where you want to lose it. “We're
doing our little senior thing that we always do and it's better to do it
here in Akron than it is at a sectional or at district.
So, the further you get away from home the better,” said Workman.
Lake Center Christian got four hits and scored three runs in first
inning Thursday and the Golden Knights were battling from behind all day,
however, Workman says they never gave up.
“It kind of got us in the hole, but we've dealt with that this
whole tournament run. We didn't
stop. The guys kept competing
and that's all you can ask from them,” he said.
The Tigers added another run in the second inning, but Northmor
scored single runs in the third and fourth to make it (4-2) after four.
Lake Center Christian added a run in the fifth and the Golden Knights
one in the sixth.
Northmor more left a couple of guys in scoring position.
Workman says they just couldn’t get the big hit.
“I thought we did a good job of having really good at bats, but
they're just loaded with pitching. They
got two or three more guys that we didn't see (Thursday) that could do the
job,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game on Thursday, “I thought
our kids gave us a chance. We
just hit some at them balls and beat some balls into the ground, but at the
end of the day I don't think we laid down.
We gave everything we had.”
Northmor’s runs came on two balks and a wild pitch.
Workman says Lake Center Christian has a deep staff.
“The first guys going to Ohio State.
He tops these tops out at 91. The
last guy, the lefthanded kid, he's 87, 88.
I mean for what they bring table I thought we did a good job.
We put the ball in play, we just couldn’t find enough holes.
I think we only had four hits, something like that,” he said.
If you are going to win these kinds of games you must been good, but
you have to be lucky too. An
example was the third inning where the Golden Knights already scored a run
and had runners on the first and second.
Brady Chapman hit a ball as hard as Northmor did all day, but it was
right at the shortstop and it was turned into a double play.
Workman says that’s baseball. “He
hit hard, they were just playing at double depth and he happened to be right
there by the bag. I thought that
when he first hit it I thought it was slip through there.
If it gets through. who knows what happens, but that's the breaks of
the game and we have been getting them. When we get these big innings.
if that gets through maybe that's our big inning, but it just
wasn’t meant to be,” said Workman.
Published 6/12/26
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Local
Athletes Star at Jessie Owens State Track & Field Meet
Most of them had to wait out a four hour weather delay, but once
athletes from North Central Ohio hit the track atm the Jessie Owens Stadium
on Saturday night they were spectacular.
Clear Fork junior Taylor Bly won the girls’ 400 meters in 55.13,
beating her nearest rival by almost half a second.
She finished eighth last year as a sophomore, but this year she says
she has much better mental discipline. “I
think maturing and figuring out my running form and my body and what I'm
capable of doing. You're not
going to die. At the finish line
you may feel like you are, but you're not going to.
It's just that mental toughness that I developed throughout the last
year,” said Bly.
Ontario won the girls 4x400 meter relay with the team of Kamryn
Pelphrey, Sasha Bulakovski, Tessa Crum and Audry Mahon.
They were timed in 3:53.43. Clear
Fork would finish second in the race.
Shelby’s team of Princess Timko, Ashley Montgomery, Karlie Walp and
Madison Henkel cross the finish line first the girls’ 4x100 meter relay in
a time of 47.76.
After being disqualified last year, Henkel says they had a mission
this spring. “We came out with
a chip on our shoulder. We
really proved ourselves, so I'm proud of us.
I went here with the 4x1 my freshman year.
Since then, we have not been able to come back with the 4x1 and
coming back (Saturday) and winning it all really just shows how mentally
tough we are,” said Henkel.
Henkel also won the long jump 19’11 ½ “.
In a third relay on the night, the 4x200 meters, Ontario was third
and Clear Fork was fifth.
Also in the girls’ division III competition, Lexington’s Mia
Twedt was third in the 800, Lex was third in the 4x800 relay, Gabriella
Schirg of Perkins was third in the shot and Katrina Neal of Clear Fork was
fourth in the 3200 meters.
The Lady Colts would finish fourth in the team competition.
Shelby and Ontario were tied for ninth.
Oakwood won the team title.
In the boys’ division III competition, Shelby set a meet record in
the 4x100 meter relay timed in 41.30.
The team was made up of Brady Bowman, Brayden DeVito, Renner Gano and
Gavin Baker.
DeVito, one the best athletes this area has ever seen, was very happy
to end his varsity career with a state title.
“I just knew the opportunity we had in front of us and the
brotherhood we have. I owed it
to them. Everything they've
worked for to get us here. I
wasn’t able to run districts, regionals and they worked their butts
off,” he told Swankonsports.com after the race, “I mean huge shout out
to Luke Blevins to replace me and get us here. I
knew I had to lay it out on the line. For
me and my last race. I have been
blessed to have a lot of accomplishments and there's one thing I didn't have
and that’s a state championship and it was great to do it with this great
team. I’m just so, so happy to
do it with these guys. So, I had
to run as hard as I can.”
Clear Fork was third in the 4x100.
Orrville’s Mark Lorson won the boys’ high jump clearing 6’9”.
Davis Hoeflich of Clear Fork was fourth in the high jump at 6’5”.
In the 3200 meters, Joel Smelcer of Perkins was second and Owen Lacy
of Orrville was third. Dekin
Crockett of Clyde finished third in the 300 hurdles.
Nash Evans of Clear Fork was sixth in the long jump.
Orrville finished ninth in the boys’ team standings.
Clear Fork and Shelby tied for 13th.
The team title was won by Cleveland Glenville.
The division II competition, which was started Saturday will be
finished on Sunday due to two weather delays on Saturday.
However, on Saturday afternoon after Lexington won the 4x800 relay in
7:47.50.
Latrell Hughes passed three teams with a tremendous anchor leg.
He says it motivates him when he is behind when he takes the baton.
“When somebody pushes me I do a lot better.
I want to a good first 400 going into my second lap.
When somebody is ahead of me like that it pushes me to run a good
four and also win the race,” said Hughes.
The other team members were Nathan Reed, Trevor Reed and Will Hooper.
Published 6/06/26
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“Sports Saturday” every week
10 AM to 1 PM
“Your first choice for All Things Sports”
Calvert
Clobbers Kidron CC
Tiffin Calvert has now qualified for the state tournament in four of
the last five years as they smoked Kidron Central Christian (10-0) in a
division VII regional final on Thursday afternoon at Oberlin College.
They will play Delphos St. John’s in a state semifinal next Friday.
Coach Matt Coleman says they got off to a good start on Thursday and
that was important. “It was a
fun one. It was great to have
our ace on the mound in Logan Ritzler, the senior, who came out and set the
tone in the first inning much better than we did in the first inning in the
semifinal. We played some
defense and he's a competitor. Then
we got our bats going on the offensive side.
So, it was fun,” he said.
Calvert has three times this season scored more than 20 runs in a
game and 19 times has scored at least 10.
Coleman says they hit one through nine, an example was their (16-5)
regional semifinal win over Maplewood. “I
will say, I kind of knocked our guys there for the semifinal, but going back
to that game. Our first time
through the order I think we got through one and half times and everybody
had a hit. The first 14 batters
that came to the plate everybody had a hit, so that that was fun.
That makes the game really fun to kind of execute and understand the
situation. You need to do that
this time of year,” said Coleman.
It’s going to be an outstanding matchup in the semifinals with
Calvert (27-2) and St. John’s (19-7).
The Blue Jays, who won their regional final (3-0) over Newton on
Wednesday, they also won the state D7 state title in basketball.
Coleman says they understand what they’re up against.
“You can't win two without winning one, so we're focused on Delphos
St. John’s. They're very good
team, capable team, and the state championship pedigree coming off the
basketball season. We're focused
on that next Friday,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday night, “We
have got to wait now. We haven't
played a lot of baseball recently, but a lot of good weather finally.
Now we have to wait for eight days, but it'll be a long wait, but
it'll be here before we know it. We'll
try to get things in order. Four
out of the last five years it's special.
We're not taking it for granted, but we're not satisfied either.
Our guys have worked hard to get to this point.
We're going to make sure we have a blue collar business like approach
to it.”
Published 6/05/26
© Swankonsports.com
“Out of Bounds” airs every
Friday night 10 PM to midnight
“Sports Saturday” every week
10 AM to 1 PM
“Your first choice for All Things Sports”