It was a mixed bag for county teams in Week 1. Buckeye Central, Bucyrus and Wynford lost, while Galion, Colonel Crawford and Crestline won.

The losers can ill afford to start the season 0-2 while the winners look to build on early success. Four of the six teams will have to do it on the road.

Bucyrus (0-1) at Cardington (0-1)

Bucyrus starts a run of four straight road games at Cardington. The Redmen are coming off a 42-7 loss to Galion to begin the season, but the score is somewhat deceptive as they managed 271 yards of offense against a good Galion defense.

The Pirates struggled in a 48-18 loss at Plymouth and have been hampered by a couple of key injuries to the offense. Cardington is coached by long-time Bucyrus assistant Tim Plumley, now in his second year, so he will still be familiar with the Redmen personnel.

Bucyrus and first-year coach, Matt Makeever, will try to duplicate last year’s performance, a 38-17 victory. Makeever will lean heavily on senior quarterback Ben Seibert, who threw for 183 yards and a touchdown against Galion.

Buckeye Central (0-1) at Dalton (1-0)

Buckeye Central has a new coach in Chad Jensen. No doubt Jensen’s number one priority is to end the current 23-game losing streak but traveling to Dalton is not necessarily where he’d choose to do so.

The Bucks lost their opener to Crestline at home, 12-0. Numbers are up a little this year for BC, but depth and experience are still problems for the offense.

Dalton, no stranger to the playoffs, defeated Tuslaw, 48-21, in Week 1. The Bulldogs beat the Bucks, 47-7, in New Washington a year ago. Buckeye Central will need to generate more than the 165 yards of offense it had against Crestline to stand any chance of ending the losing streak this week.

Tiffin Calvert (1-0) at Wynford (0-1)

Wynford started the season with a tough 34-29 road loss at Liberty-Benton. The Royals piled up 420 yards of offense, but the defense gave up 392 yards to the Eagles.

Calvert defeated Monroeville, 31-7, and was a preseason favorite in the River Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. The Senecas were 9-2 last year and made the Division VII playoffs.

Wynford is led by junior quarterback Dustin Brady, who completed 20 of 41 passes for 264 yards and two scores a week ago, though he had three interceptions.

The Royals will have to minimize turnovers and maintain a running game that generated 156 net yards last week. This is a key game for Wynford’s hope of returning to the playoffs.

Colonel Crawford (1-0) at North Union (1-0)

Colonel Crawford got the season off to a great start with a 31-0 win over Mount Gilead, scoring all 31 points by halftime. Tristan Cross rushed for 105 yards and three touchdowns to lead the way.

The Eagles’ defense stepped up and held the Indians to 111 yards of total offense. They will need more of the same as they travel to North Union on Friday. The Wildcats defeated Colonel Crawford, 55-20, in North Robinson in 2018.

North Union showed the same explosive ability by opening the season with a 53-20 win at Fairbanks. The Eagles will need to slow down the Wildcats on defense and control the ball with a solid ground game to win.

Carey (0-1) at Galion (1-0)

Galion presents offensive issues for Carey. The Tigers passed for 300 yards and ran for 122 more in their win over Bucyrus. Wilson Frankhouse threw for 281 of those yards for three touchdowns. Isaiah Alsip caught eight balls for 153 yards and two scores.

Carey fell on the road at Leipsic, 28-20. Another daunting game on the road could put the Blue Devils in an 0-2 hole and make a return to the Division VI playoffs a big uphill climb.

Galion needs to win out in its non-league games before entering the rugged Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference schedule if the Tigers can entertain any hope of making the post-season.

Crestline (1-0) at Fisher Catholic (1-0)

Crestline struggled on offense but managed 12 points and the defense did the rest in the Bulldogs’ win over Buckeye Central. The running duo of A.J. Wadkins and Enyce Sewell combined for 93 of Crestline’s 118 rushing yards.

The Bulldogs will no doubt need a strong running game to have a shot at winning on the road Saturday night. Fisher Catholic dropped Tuscarawas Central Catholic, 28-14, to open the season. The Irish also qualified for the Division VII playoffs last year.

If Kaden Ronk can throw enough to keep the Fisher Catholic defense honest, the Bulldogs could move to 0-2.

Other games

Upper Sandusky at Mount Gilead

Ridgedale at Vanlue

Milan Edison at Seneca East

Hopewell-Loudon at Mohawk