Week 8 and teams are bracing for the final push of the regular season with conference title and playoff hopes on the line.
Lima Senior (5-2, 3-0) at Toledo Waite (1-6, 1-3)
Lima Senior has not had a winning season since 2016 but the Spartans can change that Friday when they face Toledo Waite in a Toledo City League encounter.
The Spartans have put up impressive numbers in their inaugural year in the Toledo City League and are coming off their second straight game scoring more than 50 points with a 58-6 win against Toledo Rogers last week.
In its last two games, Lima Senior has outscored its opponents 114-12.
Spartan quarterback Ja’niaus Hill was in the zone against Rogers as he went 23 of 31 for 440 yards and 7 touchdowns. Receiver Chance Sanders had 7 catches for 164 yards and 2 Touchdowns and Boog Wilson had three catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.
Lima Senior’s defense put in another impressive outing by limiting Rogers to 108 yards of total offense as well as recording a defensive touchdown when Jamall Webster had a pick six.
Waite has struggled this season and is coming off a 34-26 loss to Toledo Start.
Waite averages 18 points a game and is giving up an average of 40 points a contest.
Richmond Heights (1-6) vs. Lima Central Catholic (4-3)
Late game heroics by LCC lifted the T-Birds past a tough Lucas squad, 34-27, and they will look to continue that momentum Friday when they face Richmond Heights at Spartan Stadium.
T-Bird signal caller Carson Parker, who punched in the late score to give LCC the victory, passed for three scores with two of them going to sure-handed Billy Bourk.
The T-Birds are also looking to move up in the computer rankings and hope to secure a home game for the playoffs.
Richmond has had a rough season and dropped its sixth game of the year when it was blanked by Harvest Lake 47-0.
Richmond Heights is playing its first varsity season since 2019 after the school suspended its football operations due to lack of numbers and returned with a junior varsity team in 2022.
Elida (5-2, 4-2) at Wapakoneta (5-2, 5-1)
It has been more than a decade since Elida has beaten Western Buckeye League opponent Wapakoneta and that came in 2012 when the Bulldogs upended the Redskins 21-14.
But the Bulldogs, who are coming off an emotional 19-18 win over Defiance last week, will have their hands full against Wapakoneta which is riding a five-game win streak and is one game behind Celina in the race for the Western Buckeye League championship.
In the hard-fought win against Defiance, Elida’s Isaac Earl completed 20 of 31 pass attempts for 255 yards and 3 TDs and A’Mari Wash had eight catches for 111 yards. Jackson Covault had six receptions for 101 yards also for Elida.
Wapakoneta is coming off a 35-0 shutout of Kenton and in its past two wins, the Redskins have outscored Shawnee and Kenton, 77-6.
After week 6 both of these two teams were ranked No. 1 and 2 in the WBL in total team defense with the Bulldogs giving up an average of 208.7 yards and Wapakoneta yielding 237.3 yards a contest.
Elida’s two WBL losses were to Bath, 21-17, followed by a 24-12 defeat to Celina.
Perry (3-4, 3-3) at Waynesfield-Goshen (7-0, 6-0)
Waynesfield-Goshen is riding high after bumping off Elgin in the battle of unbeatens with a 57-20 win against the Comets and the Tigers will look to take one step closer to a second consecutive Northwest Central Conference title when they face rival Perry.
The Tigers’ 57 points against Elgin marks the second straight game W-G eclipsed the 50-point mark.
W-G scored five touchdowns in the final 10 minutes to pull away from the Comets.
In the win against the Comets, W-G senior receiver Dalton Jordan caught 12 passes for 323 yards and five touchdowns. Quarterback Drew Breitigam was 19-for-26 for 452 yards passing.
Perry opened the year going 1-4 but has put together back-to-back wins coming into the clash against W-G.
In the win against Cory-Rawson last week, Perry’s Jason Thomas had two touchdown receptions and returned an interception for another score. Braylon Ardner had 10 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown and Isaiah McFadden had a TD run also for the Commodores.
Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
