Week two of the high school football season was filled with fantastic finishes and dominating performances as teams ease into the season.
The Western Buckeye League and Northwest Central Conference saw some early jockeying for position and this week the Midwest Athletic Conference opens play. The Northwest Conference teams have one more “tune-up” before beginning league action.
Lima Senior (1-1) at Withrow (2-0)
Lima Senior soared high in week one with a big win against Piqua but was brought down to earth by rival and former Three Rivers Athletic Conference foe Findlay 43-0 in week two.
The Spartans were limited to 121 yards total offense by Findlay. In week one, the Spartans threw for 429 passing yards against Piqua, but managed 96 against Findlay.
Lima Senior faces another tough test this week when the Spartans travel to Cincinnati to face unbeaten Withrow University High School which has a wealth of talent on both sides of the ball.
Withrow opened the year with a 42-0 blanking of Walnut Hills and followed it up with a win against Springboro 29-10 in week two.
Two transfers bolstered the Tigers’ roster this season with quarterback Luke Dunn, who came from Moeller, and Chris Henry Jr., son of the former NFL and Bengals wide receiver.
In the Tigers’ first victory, Dunn passed for 232 yards and 4 touchdowns. Henry had five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.
Versailles (2-0) at Delphos St. John’s (2-0)
Delphos St. John’s pulled off the miracle victory over Lima Central Catholic, 42-40, in week two and will look to continue that momentum when the Blue Jays enter Midwest Athletic Conference play against Versailles.
The Blue Jays were down 42-28 with a little less than nine minutes left in the game and rallied for the win.
Led by the legs of T.J. Werts and the arm of signal caller Grant Ulm, Delphos manufactured a 99-yard drive to pull out the win. Werts, who scored the winning touchdown, had two scores. Ulm was 14 of 24 for 192 yards passing and rushed for two touchdowns. He was 5 of 6 passing for 57 yards on the final drive.
The Blue Jays face a tough test in Versailles which have dominated its first two games with back-to-back shutouts. The Tigers silenced Celina, 26-0, in the opener and followed it up with a 35-0 blanking of Ft. Loramie.
Lima Central Catholic (1-1) vs. Carey (0-2)
A loss like LCC endured against Delphos can define the Thunderbirds for the rest of the season. Do they come back with a vengeance or do they dwell on the heartbreaking defeat to the Blue Jays?
LCC head coach Scott Palte will find out when the T-Birds battle Carey.
Carey, which was 26-2 the previous two seasons, including a state title in 2021, finds itself winless after two weeks. The Blue Devils, who were picked to win the Northern 10, got beat by Galion 21-14 last week and opened the year with a 36-19 loss to Hopewell-Loudon.
Like LCC, the Blue Devils ended up on the wrong end of a close game as Galion’s defense came up big in the fourth quarter to hold off Carey and secure the win.
In the loss to Delphos, the T-Bird offense, led by Carson Parker, continued to produce. The senior standout signal caller was 12 of 17 for 210 yards and had a 42-yard touchdown pass to Mylen Cowens and ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Matthew Quatman collected 101 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 carries.
Celina (1-1) vs. Van Wert (2-0)
Celina showed it was a force to reckon with last year by making a big run and it appears the Bulldogs are ready for a run at the Western Buckeye League title after downing Grand Lake rival St. Marys 37-15.
It marked the first time since 2015 Celina has recorded a win against St. Marys and now the Bulldogs look to end a four game losing streak to Van Wert. The Cougars have dominated the last four contest, including a 43-7 win over the Bulldogs last year.
In the last four meetings, Van Wert has outscored Celina 168-41. The Bulldogs won 63-21 in 2017.
Celina’s offense was grounding out big yards against St. Marys as its ground game garnered 313 yards. Lutz led the way with 93 yards on 11 carries.
Van Wert’s quarterback position continues to produce as Brylen Parker has stepped into that role in Friday night’s 64-42 win against Bath in week by accounting for nine touchdowns as he ran for five scores and passed for four. He was 16 of 21 for 366 yards. He rushed for 215 yards on 24 carries.
In week one, Van Wert downed Bryan 47-21.
This week’s games
(kickoffs scheduled for 7 p.m.; subject to change)
Friday
MAC
Anna at St. Henry
Fort Recovery at Coldwater
Marion Local at Minster
Parkway at New Bremen
Versailles at Delphos St. John’s
NWCC
Hardin Northern at Cory-Rawson
Perry at Crestline
Ridgedale at Ridgemont
Waynesfield-Goshen at Upper Scioto Valley
WBL
Shawnee at Bath
Celina at Van Wert
Defiance at St. Marys
Kenton at Elida
Wapakoneta at Ottawa-Glandorf
Elsewhere
Ada at Buckeye Central
Allen East at Indian Lake
Bluffton at Ayersville
Columbus Grove at Patrick Henry
Crestview at Wayne Trace
Lima Senior at Withrow
Lima Central Catholic at Carey
Pandora-Gilboa at Leipsic
Riverside at Spencerville
Saturday
Paulding at Delphos Jefferson
Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
