Don’t call it a tradition. Call it a goal.
Even though Delphos Jefferson (8-1, 7-0) has established a small tradition by winning the last three Northwest Conference titles, Wildcat head coach Chris Sommers said his players, particularly his seniors, are not thinking about adding to the history but rather making their own.
“Each year the goal is to win the NWC title,” Sommers said. “We try to separate from what we have done in the past year and focus on what we want to do this year. I think the one thing we have done is not to look at it as a tradition but to achieve a goal. These players want to go out on their own as NWC champs and be a part of the winning.”
Standing in Jefferson’s way this year is Spencerville (8-1, 7-0). The Bearcats, who have not won a NWC title since 1996 and are looking to start a tradition of their own.
However, Bearcat head coach John Zerbe said, like the Wildcats, its not so much bumping off the defending three-time champs, but simply achieving their goal of winning the title.
“Kids forget about that stuff more than coaches do,” Zerbe said. “Coaches forget about the wins and dwell on the losses a lot where kids remember the good times. For our kids it’s not a huge deal. Obviously it is something they want to achieve and do but at the same time they are not looking back and rehashing the last few years.”
Expect a lot of running in this game from both teams.
Jefferson is first in total offensive yards in the NWC with 3,551. However the Wildcats are second behind Spencerville in yards rushing on the the season. Spencerville, which has 3,037 total yards, is averaging 337.4. Jefferson is averaging 311.2 yards a game and has amassed 2,801 yards on the ground.
Sommers said the offense has continually improved throughout the season and early questions about the inexperience on the offensive line have been answered with the way the line has been opening holes for the Jefferson running backs.
For the Wildcats, Hunter Binkley, who is the leading rusher in the NWC with 1,538 yards on 221 carries and 13 touchdowns, is part of Jefferson’s one-two punch backfield that also features the sixth leading rusher in the league, Brenen Auer, who has rushed for 895 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The two defenses will be keying on stopping the run. The Wildcats have been dominating against the run. Jefferson has held opponents to 946 total yards for the season with an average of yielding 105.1 yards a game.
Spencerville ranks fourth in the league against the rush, allowing an average of 165.6 yards a game.
Bearcat Calvin Wilson, who has rushed for 1,105 yards and 17 touchdowns, ranks third in the league in rushing. Teammates Chris Picker and Keaton Lotz rank seventh and eighth in the league in rushing. Picker has 810 yards and 11 touchdowns and Lotz has accumulated 704 yards and 7 touchdowns.
The two quarterbacks, Jefferson’s Jace Stockwell and Spencerville’s Dakota Prichard, are also threats to run. Even though the two have thrown the least amount of passes in the league (Stockwell with 60 attempts and Prichard with 20) each can toss the ball when called on.
Both coaches agree the game will be decided in the trenches.
“We can’t allow them to sustain drives and chew up the clock,” Sommers said. “At the same time that is what we want to do. We want to have ball control and chew time off the clock.”
Zerbe echoed Sommers sentiments.
“If we are going to score on Friday night, we are going to have to move their people,” Zerbe said. “We have to be more physical than they are but that can be said for both teams.”
Zerbe added the Bearcats need to take care of the football and have all three units, special teams, offense and defense, playing at their very best.
“You have to be mistake free to beat a good team,” Zerbe said. “They are a run dominated team. We’ve done a fair job of containing them but they have beat us on a big play or a turnover. We allowed something to happen that we shouldn’t have and that is something you cannot do against a good team.”
In other games in the NWC, Ada (6-3, 4-2) and Allen East (6-3, 3-3) renew their longtime rivalry and this time a possible playoff spot is on the line. The Bulldogs are sixth in their region and the Mustangs are clinging to the No. 8 spot. Crestview (6-3, 3-3), entrenched in the No. 4 spot in its region, will travel to Paulding (1-8, 6-0). Columbus Grove (3-6, 1-5) faces Bluffton (3-6, 1-5)
Western Buckeye League
After posting a thrilling 13-7 win over Wapakoneta, St. Marys (9-0, 8-0) is poised to capture its first outright Western Buckeye League title since 2003 when it plays Ottawa-Glandorf (8-1, 7-1). The Roughriders shared the title in 2004 and 2008. The Titans will look to prevent that and get a share of the title if they can upset the Roughriders.
The Titans, coming off a win over Elida, will have to stop the combo of Eric Spicer, the leading rusher in the WBL with 1,023 yards and 11 touchdowns and Julius Fisher, the fifth leading rusher in the league with 909 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Ottawa-Glandorf has a number of weapons in its arsenal. Titan signal caller Jay Kaufman is the third leading passer in the WBL with 1,707 yards and 19 touchdowns and has rushed for 668 yards. Kaufman’s 2,375 yards rank second overall in individual total offense.
Second in the league in receiving yards is Titan receiver Richie Knowlton, who has caught 34 balls for 762 yards and 5 touchdowns.
In other WBL action, Van Wert (0-9, 0-8) travels to Wapakoneta (8-1, 7-1), Bath (3-6, 2-6) heads to Elida (5-4, 4-4) and Defiance (2-7, 2-6) takes on Shawnee (1-8, 1-7).
Lima Senior
A big 40-27 win over Clay on Friday night kept Lima Senior in the playoff hunt. However, the Spartans, ranked No. 11 in their region, will need a win this week and that won’t be easy.
Toledo Central Catholic (9-0, 6-0), the No. 1 team in the state in the latest Division III AP high school poll, stands in the Spartans’ way.
In their last three games, the Fighting Irish have outscored their last three opponents 127-14. TCC is averaging 43.2 points per game.
In their win last week where the Irish captured at least a share of the Three Rivers Athletic Conference title, Michael Warren, the standout running back, rushed for 217 yards on 18 carries and scored 5 touchdowns. For his career, Warren has amassed 6,529 yards that ranks 13th in state history. He has scored 31 touchdowns this season.
Lima Central
Catholic
The Thunderbirds (2-7) endured a tough 56-0 loss last week to state0ranked Bishop Hartley. LCC will try to end this season on a high note when the T-Birds travel to Huron (2-7). The Tigers are riding a three-game losing streak coming into the game.
Northwest Central
Conference
Upper Scioto Valley (6-3, 5-1) is riding a five-game winning streak and will try to not only secure a share of the NWCC title but a playoff berth when it closes out the regular season with Ridgemont (3-6, 1-5). The Rams, who are tied for first in the NWCC with Sidney Lehman (6-3, 5-1), are seventh in their region for a playoff spot.
In other NWCC action, Perry (3-6, 2-4) finishes its season with a trip to Fort Loramie (4-5, 4-2) and Waynesfield-Goshen (0-9, 0-6) battles Lehman Catholic (6-3, 5-1)
Delphos St. John’s
Delphos St. John’s (5-4, 4-3) will close out its season with a tough trip to Coldwater (8-1, 6-1). Delphos would need to beat Coldwater in order to make the playoffs. The Blue Jays are coming off a 27-7 win over Parkway. Coldwater is coming off a 34-0.
In other MAC games, Fort Recovery (6-3, 4-3) is at St. Henry (6-3, 5-2), Marion Local (8-1, 6-1) is at Parkway (1-8, 1-6), Anna (5-4, 3-4) is at Minster (5-4, 3-4) and Versailles (4-5, 3-4) is at New Bremen (2-7, 0-7).
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