8B THE DAILY STANDARD, Celina, Ohio GOAL LINE

8B

THE DAILY STANDARD, Celina, Ohio

Thursday evening, September 1, 2016

GOAL

LINE

The Weekly Area High School Football Preview Section

Celina looks to rebound at Elida

By GARY R. RASBERRY

grasberry@

Two sets of Bulldogs on opposite sides of the spectrum will

meet Friday night at Kraft Stadium in Allen County to open

Western Buckeye League play.

While Celina allowed Versailles to score 13 unanswered

points in the second half in a 13-7

loss to the Tigers in last Friday¡¯s

season lidlifter, Elida took the

lead over Lima Central Catholic

late in the third and held off several LCC drives late to pick up a

40-33 win on Saturday night at

Spartan Stadium in Lima.

The victory was an emotional

one for the Elida program. In early

August, a car accident had taken

the lives of Elida football players

Drew Duhlebon and Jakob Sexton. Bill Speller, who takes over

as Elida coach this season after 14

seasons at Wayne Trace, had just

one scrimmage before starting the

season with the Thunderbirds.

¡°They bring a lot of players

back from last year¡¯s game (a 35-34

Celina win) that came down to the

end,¡± Celina coach Trent Temple

said. ¡°Hopefully, we can put ourselves in position again to win at

the end and find a way to keep the

drives going.

¡°They¡¯re physical on defense.

That¡¯s for sure,¡± Temple said. ¡°I

More Previews,

page 7B

don¡¯t remember (lineman Noah

Meeker) last year, but when I

watched them Saturday night, he

stood out. A physical player that

we have to know where he¡¯s at all

times on the defensive line. He

also plays center. He¡¯s a physical

presence out there.

¡°They changed their defense to

a 4-3. We¡¯ve seen that a couple of

times this year. They made some

mistakes like everyone else did in

Week One. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll get that

corrected. We¡¯ll have our hands

full.¡±

Speller has a veteran group

returning. Quarterback Isaac McAdams and versatile back Cole Harmon

are the main cogs of the offense.

Baylen Stinson, Peyton Smith and

Sam Quaintance are also potential

offensive threats.

¡°They do a lot of different

things and a lot of different things

well,¡± Temple said. ¡°They¡¯re going

to go hurry-up most of the time.

We just have to make sure we¡¯re

sound on defense and on offense

take care of the ball.¡±

Celina struggled after its best

offensive drive of the game last

week. Ryan Harter completed an

eight-play, 80-yard drive with a

25-yard scamper for six with just

under three minutes left in the first

quarter to put Celina up 7-0. However, on the ensuing kickoff, offensive guard Austin Boeckman, the

leader of the offensive line, went

down with a leg injury and never

returned. Boeckman¡¯s loss, as

well as an injury

to wide receiver/

defensive back

Dillon Hoying,

hampered Celina¡¯s offense the

rest of the game.

The team had

just 43 yards of

Huston

offense and one

first down over

the final 27 minutes of the game.

Boeckman is out for this week

pending further diagnosis. After

having had to fill the spot on the

fly last Friday, Temple and his staff

will platoon the spot this week.

Rob Delgado, the regular backup

at all five line spots, will share

time with Seth Huston, who will

play some while also starting on

the defensive line.

¡°When you have a young quarterback like we do (in Bret Schwieterman), he¡¯s trying to develop

that faith and trust of his line.

When you have a person out like

Austin, that plays a key factor,¡±

Temple said. ¡°This week, we¡¯ve

Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Celina¡¯s Ryan Harter, 5, and Bret Schwieterman, 1, will look for a stronger effort from their team

this week as they open Western Buckeye League play at Kraft Stadium against 1-0 Elida.

been able to put someone in there

all week so that person¡¯s got all the

reps and everything that you need

to be productive on Friday night.¡±

The Celina defense did all it

could against the Tigers. Versailles

quarterback Alex Wendel was

sacked seven times, four by Lance

Orick, and Isaac Daniels picked

off a pass to end another Tiger

drive. But the defense wore down

as Celina¡¯s offense was unable to

stay on the field for more than

four plays per series, allowing the

Tigers to come back for the win.

Early benefits for non-league victories

High school football season

is finally underway, and with it

begins the 10-week long pursuit of

the playoffs.

Though much still has to happen before we can identify individual teams who will make the

postseason, the first week offers

some hints as to how many teams

from each conference will still be

playing during week eleven.

The WBL won just four of their

10 games during the first week

of the season in 2014 and only

earned two spots in the playoffs.

Last year, the league went 7-3 and

earned three postseason berths.

This year, the league went 5-5. Best

early guess? The WBL gets either

two or three teams (I lean towards

three) finishing in the top eight of

their regions once again.

After going 3-7 in Week One

three years ago and earning three

CM

YK

playoff spots, the MAC bounced

back the next two seasons with

matching 7-3 opening weeks and

sent six teams to the playoffs in

2014 and four teams in 2015 (the

difference being the MAC had a

better second week of non-conference play in 2014). With another 7-3

mark this year in Week One, the

MAC should have between four

to six playoff qualifiers, depending

on next week¡¯s results.

However, another factor in

making the postseason is the quality of the competition in the individual regions. Celina, St. Marys

and Wapakoneta¡¯s region 12 saw

15 teams win and only 12 lose in

week one, giving the impression

it will be a tougher than average

region. In contrast, Coldwater, Versailles and Anna¡¯s region 20 had

only 11 winners while 16 teams

suffered setbacks.

Computer

Points

In Review

By Bruce Monnin

In looking at Divisions VI and

VII, area teams each year seem

to battle for the playoffs against

teams from the Northwest Central

Conference (Lehman Catholic, Fort

Loramie, etc.) and the Cross County Conference (Covington, Miami

East, Tri-County North, etc.). In

good news for the locals, both

leagues were under .500 last week,

with the NWCC going 3-5 and the

CCC going 3-6. Those teams in

Region 24 had a combined record

of 2-4 while the schools in Region

28 went 3-7.

We will start listing actual computer point numbers next week.

This week we will highlight how

many winners were found in each

region. The computer points for the

four regions involving most area

teams can be found throughout

the season at .

net/bdmonnin/football.htm

the 15 teams that had won their opener

in 2014). That means Celina once again

needs at least seven wins in WBL play,

while St. Marys and Wapakoneta have a

slightly larger margin for error.

Region 14

Winners - Lima Bath, Ottawa-Glandorf

Losers - Kenton, Van Wert

Here is another region where 15 teams

won their first game, up from the 12 wins

last year. It will be a little tougher, therefore,

to find a WBL playoff team or two here.

Region 10

Winners - Elida

Losers - Defiance, Shawnee

Under half (11 of 27) of the teams won

their opening game in this region. This

gives Defiance and Shawnee a decent

chance to recover from their opening game

losses.

Region 20

Winners - Coldwater, Versailles, Anna

Losers - None

Only 11 winners were in this region.

Non-MAC teams only won eight and lost 16

Week-One contests. This is great news for

Coldwater, Versailles and Anna, who will

be hoping to see good runs this season by

Kenton, Celina and Arlington, respectively.

Region 12

Winners - St. Marys, Wapakoneta

Losers - Celina

Unfortunately, 15 of the 27 teams in this

region were victorious, but this number is

two fewer wins than last year (and it equals

Region 24

Winners - Marion Local

Losers - Parkway, St. Henry

A little under half, 12 of 26, of the teams

won in this region, which provides no special advantage or disadvantage for these

squads. Marion Local will hope Chaminade-Julienne improves on last year¡¯s

2-8 record, while Parkway and St. Henry

will need to grab that first win this week.

Region 26

Winners - None

Losers - Delphos St. John¡¯s

In an unusual show of strength, 11 of 28

schools won their opener (only eight teams

had won in the first week last year). This

historically weak region will give the Blue

Jays the opportunity to move into contention quickly with a few wins.

Region 28

Winners - Minster, New Bremen, Fort

Recovery

Losers - None

For the second year in a row, this region

saw 14 of its 28 teams earn a victory in their

opener, including all three MAC teams.

New Bremen may not earn many computer

points from its win over Bradford, but Minster and Fort Recovery should from defeating Fort Loramie and Lehman, respectively.

Judging from scores, several teams in this

region look to be improved, so six wins

looks to be the magic number to reach the

playoffs.

THE DAILY STANDARD, Celina, Ohio

Thursday evening, September 1, 2016

FORT LORAMIE AT

FORT RECOVERY

Last meeting: Fort Recovery, 34-6. Running back Kyle Schroer went over the 100yard mark and scored three times as the

Indians lit up the scoreboard for 27 points

in the second quarter en route to victory.

About the Redskins: Coach Whit

Parks¡¯s squad has bought into his singlewing offense. Running back Jake Ward

ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns as

Loramie had 222 rushing yards as a team in

last week¡¯s loss to Minster. Last season, Fort

Loramie started 0-4 and

then won six straight

games to earn the last

playoff spot in Region

26 before having its season ended with a loss to

Minster in Week 11.

Homan

About the Indians:

The Indians had a battle

last week against Lehman at Sidney Memorial Stadium. The Cavaliers led 20-14 late in

the game before Will Homan punched

in from a yard out to finish an eight-play,

58-yard scoring drive with Jason Roessner¡¯s PAT providing the game-winning

point. Homan, who became the primary

back in the postseason when Kyle Schroer

went down with a broken leg, picked up

from where he had left off with 122 yards

rushing and a score. Toledo-bound quarterback Caleb Martin was 12-of-24 for 183

yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore

wideout Payton Jutte had six catches for

100 yards and a score for the Indians.

McCOMB AT

MARION LOCAL

Last meeting: Marion Local, 24-22. Cole

Griesdorn hit Hunter Wilker for the gamedeciding 92-yard strike to extend the Flyers¡¯ winning streak to 38 games. Marion

Local ended up in the state final (Division

VI) for the fifth consecutive season and

McComb marched on to the state semifinal (Division VII), where it fell to Fort

Recovery.

About the Panthers: Veteran coach

Chris Alge¡¯s squad opened the season

with a 45-0 win at Carey. Quarterback

Malachi Abbott rushed

for 107 yards and threw

for 116 yards and two

touchdowns. Backup

running back Kheaghan

Loe rushed for 104 yards

and starting running

back Jake Crouse rushed

for 83 yards and two

touchdowns. The Panthers held the Blue DevLeugers

ils to just five first downs

and 118 yards of total offense.

The Panthers have plenty of size on the

offensive line, highlighted by twin brothers Matt Cherry (6-foot-4, 295 pounds) and

Mike Cherry (6-5, 296) bookended at the

tackle spots.

About the Flyers: Quarterback Duane

Leugers had touchdown runs of one, 15,

27 and 35 yards and Marion Local opened

the season with a victory over ChaminadeJulienne in the debut game at Roger Glass

Stadium in Dayton. Henry Keller rushed

for 98 yards and Nate Moeller contributed

Two

Minute

Drill

51 yards on the ground. The line of scrimmage matchup will be big, literally. Both

teams boast sizable offensive/defensive

lines for small-school football. McComb

has the Cherry twins, and on the line

Marion has the highly-recruited John Dirksen (6-6, 295), along with returnees Luke

Moorman (5-11, 235) and Nick Heckman

(6-1, 195).

COLDWATER AT

DELPHOS JEFFERSON

Last meeting: Coldwater, 35-6. Jack

Hemmelgarn threw for 289 and four TDs

as the Cavs beat the Wildcats in the first

meeting between the teams since 1945.

Both teams marched on to the playoffs ¡ª

Coldwater claimed the Division V state

title for the fourth consecutive season and

Jefferson was ousted by Mechanicsburg

in the second round of the Division VI

playoffs.

About the Cavaliers:

Dylan Thobe¡¯s debut at

starting quarterback was

rather solid to say the

least. Thobe ran for 116

yards and five touchdowns and threw for 317

yards and three more

scores in the Cavaliers

58-39 shootout win over

Kenton at Robinson

Field. Neal Muhlenkamp Muhlenkamp

had three receptions for

130 yards and two touchdowns and was

6-of-6 on PATs. The Cavaliers will go from

defending the pass-oriented spread offense

of Kenton to the Wing-T of Jefferson this

week and then face another run-based

squad in Week Three at Marion Local.

About the Wildcats: Hunter Binkley

rushed for 195 yards and a touchdown in

the Wildcats¡¯ 34-6 win over Shawnee on

Saturday night at Stadium Park. Fellow

back Brenen Auer carried the ball 22 times

for 179 yards and two rushing touchdowns

and caught two Jace Stockwell passes for

118 yards and two more TDs. The Jefferson defense held Shawnee to just 31 yards

rushing and 160 passing.

EATON AT ST. HENRY

Last meeting: St. Henry, 28-6. Lightning

postponed the game on Friday night but

the Redskins came back to finish the job

the following morning, thanks to a stout

effort from the defense and four touchdowns by running back Jesse Niekamp.

About the Eagles: Eaton spotted Greenville a 20-0 lead on Friday night before

storms suspended play. On Saturday, the

Eagles scored twice but still fell 20-14. Lew

Bowsher threw for 249 yards and both

Eagle touchdowns and led the team with

49 rushing yards. Ghye Wilson had 10

catches for 101 yards and a score.

About the Redskins:

St. Henry took the lead

on Covington when play

resumed on Saturday,

but the Buccs scored 21

unanswered points and

ended a two-game losing streak in the series.

Jarren Fishbaugh had a

second-half touchdown

against the Buccs. The

Fishbaugh

Redskins totaled 316

yards of total offense in the loss. Covington

totaled 326 yards on offense and outscored

St. Henry 14-0 in the fourth quarter. The

Redskins have won their last three of four

over Eaton and enter on a two-game winning streak in the series.

SPENCERVILLE AT

PARKWAY

Last meeting: Spencerville, 35-12. Two

running backs rushed for more than 100

yards for the Bearcats as they rolled to

a win in the first meeting between the

schools in 20 years.

About the Bearcats: The Bearcats will

bring a heavy-duty running game to Panther Stadium. All 314 yards of offense

by Spencerville in last

week¡¯s 34-7 loss to Patrick Henry came on the

ground. Kenton Lotz

rushed for 89 yards

and Calvin Wilson had

88 yards and the lone

Bearcat score. Spencerville allowed 318 rushing yards to the Patriots

last week.

Baker

About the Panthers:

Parkway and Crestview were tied at

20-apiece at halftime of Friday¡¯s opener,

but the Knights outscored the Panthers

20-7 in the final half for a 40-27 victory. The

Panthers had just 158 yards of offense and

allowed the Knights 423 yards of offense,

with 304 coming via the ground. West

Point-bound Justin Barna and Andrew

Baker each threw for touchdown passes

in the game as Parkway had just 75 yards

rushing in the contest.

ST. MARYS AT

VAN WERT

Last meeting: St. Marys, 21-20. The

Roughriders rallied from a 20-point deficit

for the victory. Dustin

Howell¡¯s

two-yard

TD plunge and Gabe

Vandever¡¯s PAT with

32 seconds left gave the

Roughriders the win.

About the Roughriders: St. Marys battled

Sidney right down

to the wire in Friday¡¯s

62nd meeting between

Fisher

the traditional openinggame rivals. The Yellow Jackets were up

as many as 19 points in the third quarter

before the Roughriders came back with

touchdowns by Julius Fisher, Eric Spicer

and Dustin Howell to put St. Marys in

front 36-33. After Sidney scored with 4:14

left, Fisher scored his second TD of the

night with just 68 seconds left to make

it 43-39. Spicer ended the game with an

interception of Sidney QB Andre Gordon.

Fisher rushed for 151 yards and Spicer

added 141 in the victory.

About the Cougars: Key turnovers hampered Van Wert in its 28-19 loss to Bryan at

Eggerss Stadium on Friday. Sophomore

quarterback Lawson Blackmore threw for

210 yards and a touchdown but had three

interceptions. Running back Jacoby Kelly

had just 37 yards rushing but snagged 11

catches for 81 yards.

7B

Players of

the Week

OFFENSE

HOLGATE AT

NEW BREMEN

Last meeting: Holgate, 25-14. Dylan

Szabo threw for 271 yards and accounted

for four touchdowns (two passing, two

rushing) as Holgate knocked New Bremen

from the unbeaten peg.

About the Tigers: Holgate was held to

just a third-quarter touchdown in Friday¡¯s

40-6 loss to North Baltimore. Jacob Harris,

who plays running back, split end and

defensive back, rushed for 112 yards on

14 carries. Tallon Meyer added 60 yards

and the lone Tiger score.

Coach Jesse Santos¡¯ team

has just 22 players on the

roster.

About the Cardinals:

The first 10 points for

the Cardinals came via

the defense thanks to

two safeties (by Logan

Dicke and Max Messick)

and a pick-six by Jake

Alig

Hemmelgarn made it

10-0 early. The Railroaders got as close

as 10-7 before the Cardinals¡¯ Caleb Alig

caught back-to-back touchdown passes

from Nolan Bornhorst and Avery Powers. Powers rushed for 72 yards and two

touchdowns.

Dylan Thobe, QB

Coldwater

¡ª¡ª¡ª

16-of-23 for 317 yards and three

touchdowns, 18 carries for 116

yards and five touchdowns

in the Cavaliers¡¯ 58-39 win at

Kenton.

DEFENSE

LEHMAN AT MINSTER

Last meeting: Minster, 31-13. The

Wildcats¡¯ defense was suffocating, holding the Cavaliers to 188 yards in the win.

About the Cavaliers: Lehman is coming off a near upset of defending state

champion Fort Recovery. In that game,

two Lehman players went over the 100yard rushing mark in Jacob Earhart (16

carries, 141 yards) and Elliott Gilardi (14

carries, 125 yards). The Cavaliers lost

despite having outgained the Indians

in total offense, 443-323. Gilardi, a firstyear starter at QB, also proved capable

with his arm, throwing

for 169 yards.

About the Wildcats: Minster dug deep

last week to defeat Fort

Loramie 26-20 in overtime. Jared Huelsman

shined in his debut at

quarterback, passing

for 130 yards and two

touchdowns and rushHuelsman

ing for 211 yards. His

one-yard run in OT was the game-winner.

Minster surrendered 317 yards of offense

in the win. The Wildcats have won the previous two games with Lehman by two or

more touchdowns. Lehman¡¯s last win was

a 33-18 result in 2013.

Lance Orick, LB

Celina

¡ª¡ª¡ª

Four sacks in the Bulldogs¡¯ 13-7

loss to Versailles

This Week¡¯s

Schedule

WBL (7 p.m. starts)

Celina at Elida

St. Marys at Van Wert

Shawnee at Wapakoneta

Ottawa-Glandorf at Bath

Kenton at Defiance

Non-Conference

(7:30 p.m. starts unless indicated)

Delphos St. John¡¯s at LCC

Coldwater at

Delphos Jefferson (7 p.m.)

Fort Loramie at Fort Recovery

McComb at Marion Local

Minster at Lehman

Holgate at New Bremen

Spencerville at Parkway

Eaton at St. Henry

Valley View at Versailles

Brookville at Anna

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