Football Preview | Bottom of the table county clash in Week 9
Just two weeks remain in the regular season and although league titles aren't really in reach anymore for anyone, that means teams can focus on staying healthy and building momentum should they be in a position to qualify for the postseason.
Let's tackle the Week 9 slate of games in Crawford County.
Bucyrus (1-7, 0-5) at Buckeye Central (3-5, 0-5)
7 p.m. at Buckeye Field
A game circled on both teams' calendars, Bucyrus makes the trek to New Washington this year to face the Bucks with neither team in particularly good form. The hosts have lost five straight since league play began after running through nonleague, while the visitors are on a seven-game skid, having not won since the season opener. Combined, these two have had just one league game finish a one-score difference, so they're desperate for a win.
Bucyrus likes to air it out with Malachi Bayless ranking third in the Northern 10 with 1,461 yards passing and 11 touchdowns to three different receivers — Randy Banks (five), Joe Rager (four) and Blayne Barto (two) — while leaning on Barto in the rushing game to switch things up at times.
Buckeye Central's Derex Dean is right behind Bayless with 1,310 yards and 12 touchdowns to six different receivers, and Manny Mullins is second in the league in rushing with 735 yards and eight touchdowns on 131 carries.
Neither defense is stout, but the Bucks do have 10 interceptions and six fumble recoveries to Bucyrus' six and four, so if it comes down to winning the turnover battle Buckeye Central has the edge at home. Two years ago this was the game that snapped the Bucks' 35-game losing streak, but Bucyrus got its revenge last season.
Mohawk (3-5, 3-2) at Colonel Crawford (6-2, 3-2)
7 p.m. at H.J. Gary Field
Colonel Crawford got back in the win column after consecutive losses and will look to close out the season strong starting this week when it hosts the Warriors. Mohawk has steadily trended upward as the season has progressed, winning its first three league games against Wynford, Bucyrus and Upper Sandusky before back-to-back losses to Carey and Seneca East in a controversial thriller.
The Warriors go as far as Zaiden Fry will take them. He has 874 yards of total offense with 10 touchdowns while also ranking third on the team defensively with 62 tackles. Ben Bogner and Jace Margraf are quality runners, and Brayden Chester is the team's No. 2 option out wide for Bogner.
Colonel Crawford relied on its aerial attack last week against Wynford and thrived as quarterback Kam Lohr played a part in five of the team's seven touchdowns. And if anyone knows the Eagles, they know the run game is already at an elite level, so Lohr's play last weekend is just a testament to how dangerous this offense can be.
The Northern 10 title is out of reach for the Eagles, so now focus shifts to improving their postseason seed to possibly host at least one game. A win over the Warriors would be one step closer to that new goal.
Pleasant (1-7, 0-5) at Galion (4-4, 3-2)
7 p.m. at Unckrich Stadium
The Tigers' hopes of playing for potentially a share of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title were quashed last weekend in a loss to Highland and, like the Eagles above, focus shifts to building momentum heading into the postseason. Galion is No. 11 in Division IV Region 14 with a .500 record and welcomes in a Pleasant team riding a six-game losing streak.
Pleasant hasn't been too competitive in any of its league games so far and it'll take something special out of the Spartans for that to happen in Week 9. The offense averages a paltry 239 yards and the defense is allowing 356.8 yards to opposing offenses — both are second worst in the league.
Galion, meanwhile, has an offense averaging 322.7 yards and has scored 451 points this season, second best in the MOAC. And the defense has proven itself to be capable, limiting Shelby a few weeks ago and slowing Highland for most of last week's game.
After the loss last week, Galion will be eager to bounce back and Pleasant is the perfect team for that. Getting into the top eight of postseason seeding is crucial as it means home field in Week 11.
Wynford (2-6, 2-3) at Seneca East (6-2, 4-1)
7 p.m. at Seneca East Stadium
Wynford's two-game win streak came to an end last weekend against rival Colonel Crawford while Seneca East came away with a late victory over Mohawk.
Priority No. 1 for the Royals is finding a way to slow the dynamic Blake Foos. Seneca East's quarterback is a textbook dual-threat, ranking second in passing with 1,611 yards and 17 touchdowns with a 58.7% completion rate, while also leading the league in rushing with 909 yards and 11 touchdowns, making him the only player averaging 100-plus yards per game rushing. If he's not doing it all, he's likely finding Austin Perry (41 catches, 501 yards, four touchdowns) out wide or handing off to Laine Dixon or Blake Martin.
Anthony Evans has been the surprise of the season for Wynford, leading the team with 515 yards and a touchdown on 101 carries. Alongside him has been Kaiden Blair (465 yards, two touchdowns) and Kohan Keith (332 yards, three touchdowns). Ashton Warren is capable of slinging the ball downfield with 474 yards passing and three touchdowns, as well as hurting you with his legs (109 yards, five touchdowns). But the real star of this team has been a defense led by Kalen Skidmore (60 tackles, 17 for loss) and Kobie Naufzinger (30 tackles, 3.5 sacks) up front.
If the Royals are able to slow Foos early and get the rushing attack moving, this one could turn into a fun back-and-forth affair.
Lima Perry (0-8, 0-5) at Crestline (0-8, 0-5)
7 p.m. at Hutson Stadium
This is the Bulldogs' chance to put a 17-game losing streak behind them. Fellow winless team Perry makes the long drive to Crestline with someone guaranteed to come away with their first win of the season.
Both teams have had somewhat similar results in league play — on the wrong end of one-sided games — but the one game to focus on is Ridgemont. The Commodores gave the Gophers a battle, falling 30-21 two weeks ago, while the Bulldogs were walloped 56-0 in Week 4.
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Week 9 Football Preview: County clash the featured game
