Friday Four: Rivalries, new meetings provide interesting Week 1 mix

NOTE: Records and stats are from 2008

1. Marion Local (11-3) at Shawnee (7-3)

Last meeting: First meeting

When Marion Local has the ball

Honestly, who knows? The Flyers lost running back Ben Smith when he transferred to a school in Florida. During the 2008 regular season, Smith rushed for 1,212 yards and 13 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Jarren Griesdorn returns after throwing for 313 yards and a trio of TDs.

This is where Shawnee shines. The Indians punish opposing teams with lineman Isaiah Irons (77 tackles), linebackers Zac Rosenbauer and Nick Truesdale (58 tackles) and back Dillon Risser (81 tackles, five interceptions). The Indians gave up 11.7 points per game last year, including 6.3 in their wins.

Edge: Shawnee

When Shawnee has the ball

Again, who knows? The Indians lost star running back Brandon Stephenson to graduation. With 1,508 yards, he accounted for 39 percent of Shawnee’s offense, and his 140 points scored made up 49 percent of Shawnee’s output. The Indians will count on a rotation of backs, including Bath transfer Gavin Painter, who rushed for 1,077 yards two years ago.

The losses don’t stop on offense for the Flyers, where they lost backs Troy Prenger and Marcus Moeller (11 interceptions). Last year, they gave up 11.4 points in 14 games.

Edge: Draw

Odds and Ends: The Flyers have won their last four Week 1 games, against Elida (2-0) and Troy Christian (2-0). … Marion Local is 2-0 all-time against Western Buckeye League teams. … Shawnee is  0-4 in Week 1 games. … This is Shawnee’s first game against a Midwest Athletic Conference team since a 20-12 win over Coldwater on Nov. 5, 1965.

The Brass Tacks: A win over Marion Local would be great validation for a Shawnee team that’s been oh-so-close for the last three seasons.

The Picks

Jeremy Schneider’s pick: Shawnee

Tom Usher’s pick: Shawnee

Ross Bishoff’s pick: Shawnee

Mark Altstaetter’s pick: Marion Local

Todd Walker’s pick: Marion Local

Andy Young’s pick: Marion Local

2. Celina (2-8) at Lima Senior (2-8)

Last meeting: Aug. 22, 2008 — Lima Senior, 14-10

When Celina has the ball

The Bulldogs put up only 15.7 points in their wins last year, but that number jumped to 34 in their two wins. … Celina must replace QB Derek Gagle, who tossed 91 completions for 1,142 yards and nine scores. … The Bulldogs have scored 72 points in four games against Lima Senior.

The Spartans need to shore up their defense this year; they gave up 32 points per contest in 2008. … Da’Shon Bates has a career seven interceptions.

Edge: Draw

When Lima Senior has the ball

The Spartans turn things over to junior quarterback Adrian Hutchins. The 6-foot-2, 170-pounder is a good athlete, and the Spartans may add some options to their package. … Leading rusher Desmond Harvey is back. … Lima averaged just 14 points per game last year.

In 2008, the Celina defense gave up an average of four touchdowns per game. … They gave up 30 or more points in five of the last seven games. … They’ve allowed 88 points in four games against the Spartans.

Edge: Lima Senior

Odds and Ends: The Spartans are 11-0 against Western Buckeye League foes. Their seven games against Shawnee came when the Indians weren’t a member of the league. … Before the 0-4 start against Lima, Celina had won 17 straight openers.

The Brass Tacks: These programs are out to prove that recent history should be left in the past.

The Picks

Jeremy Schneider’s pick: Lima Senior

Tom Usher’s pick: Lima Senior

Ross Bishoff’s pick: Lima Senior

Mark Altstaetter’s pick: Lima Senior

Todd Walker’s pick: Lima Senior

Andy Young’s pick: Lima Senior

3. Allen East (2-8) at Bath (2-8)

Last meeting: Aug. 22, 2008 — Bath, 42-0

When Allen East has the ball

The Mustangs didn’t score a lot of points last year, averaging nine points per game, with a season high 21 in a win over Spencerville. … Allen East does return running back Levi Hoy, who rushed for 414 yards and three scores, and quarterback Grant Dues, who put up 382 yards and four scores.

After putting up the shutout in Week 1, the Wildcats gave up 297 points in the next nine games. … There is some experience back, with five starters returning, led by strong safety Matt Hefner.

Edge: Allen East

When Bath has the ball

The Wildcats are a run-first team, with their hopes hinged on sophomore Aaron Smith. He rushed for 117 yards on 10 carries with two scores in last year’s meeting. After that, though, he gained just 221 yards the rest of the year. … They return three starters along the offensive line, though one is injured.

The Mustangs are led by ’backer Casey Rex, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior. … They will also benefit  from the return of back Aaron Swaney. … They gave up 31 points per game last year.

Edge: Bath

Odds and Ends: Bath is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings, though just 1-4 in the last five. … This has been a staple of week 1 games since 1987, when they started their consecutive matchups. In that time, Bath has won 15 of the games.

The Brass Tacks: Coming off difficult seasons, both of these programs need this win for some sunshine.

The Picks

Jeremy Schneider’s pick: Allen East

Tom Usher’s pick: Bath

Ross Bishoff’s pick: Bath

Mark Altstaetter’s pick: Allen East

Todd Walker’s pick: Allen East

Andy Young’s pick: Bath

4. Columbus Grove (4-6) at Pandora-Gilboa (10-2)

Last meeting: Aug. 22, 2008 — Pandora-Gilboa, 27-6

When Columbus Grove has the ball

The Bulldogs went 3-0 in their final three games of 2008, scoring an average of 30 points. … The Bulldogs return their entire starting backfield. Sophomore quarterback Jordan Travis started the final five games of his freshman year. The Bulldogs averaged 22 points and went 3-2.

The Rockets have Division VI state defensive player of the year Josh Lee back at defensive end. He racked up 93 tackles and 16 1/2 sacks a year ago. … The Rockets gave up 17 points per game last year. In six contests, they yielded fewer than 10 points, with three shutouts. In the other six games, though, they gave up 185 points.

Edge: Pandora-Gilboa

When Pandora-Gilboa has the ball

Gone is do-everything quarterback Sam Maag. But they do return Nathan Lee, who rushed for 450 yards and two TDs before being injured midway through the year, and Lee, who caught a team-high 56 passes for 803 yards and 10 TDs. … The Rockets topped 40 points five times last year.

In their three-game winning streak at the end of 2008, the Rockets gave up 26 points, including a shutout. … The Bulldogs have two linemen returning, 225-pound Evan Kile and 230-pound Dylan Vogt.

Edge: Pandora-Gilboa

Odds and Ends: Last year was the Bulldogs’ first losing season since a 3-7 mark in 1996. … Columbus Grove is 10-2 in the last 12 meetings, but 2-2 in the last four years. … These schools have meet in week 1 every year since 1978.

The Brass Tacks: For quite some time, P-G looked up to its rival. Now, the Rockets are the bully, pushing around the Bulldogs.

The Picks

Jeremy Schneider’s pick: Pandora-Gilboa

Tom Usher’s pick: Pandora-Gilboa

Ross Bishoff’s pick: Pandora-Gilboa

Mark Altstaetter’s pick: Pandora-Gilboa

Todd Walker’s pick: Pandora-Gilboa

Andy Young’s pick: Columbus Grove

Welcome back!

It’s another year for The Lima News Friday Four Pick ‘Em contest. It’s the same game with the same rules, and many of the same people. Each week, we’ll pick the winners of each game with the results tabulated at the end of 10 weeks. The winner will receive … ummmm …

So anyways, the pickers include sports editor Ross Bishoff and sports writers Tom Usher, Jeremy Schneider, Mark Altstaetter, WIMA-AM sports director Todd Walker and WLIO-TV sports anchor Andy Young.

This week, our game of the week is Delphos St. John’s traveling to Lima Central Catholic for their Saturday night game.

Let the selections begin:

Jeremy Schneider’s pick: Delphos St. John’s

Tom Usher’s pick: Delphos St. John’s

Ross Bishoff’s pick: Delphos St. John’s

Mark Altstaetter’s pick: Delphos St. John’s

Todd Walker’s pick: Delphos St. John’s

Andy Young’s pick: Delphos St. John’s