BUCYRUS — Week 6 of the high school football season in north central Ohio is full of rivalries and championship contention as teams battle in the heart of conference play.
No game picked by the Fanatics received unanimous votes for one team to win its game.
The fans were looked to to break two ties in the picks, one a fight for first place, and the other a bitter rivalry.
Wynford (3-2, 2-0 N10) and Seneca East (5-0, 2-0 N10) both come into Friday night’s game with hopes to become the front runner for the Northern 10 Athletic Conference title. After not winning the title in 2018, the first time not being the conference champion since the conference’s inception in 2014, the Royals look to reclaim the crown. Seneca East is coming off a state tournament appearance in 2018, but is still chasing a title after the Tigers’ only regular-season loss came from conference champion Mohawk.
The Fanatics were split on the issue with the fans breaking the tie and giving the nod to Seneca East to stay undefeated on the season.
The next evenly split pick is one of the area’s fiercest rivalries involving long-time county, and more recently conference, rivals Upper Sandusky (2-3, 1-1N10) and Carey. When Carey (1-4, 1-1 N10) travels 11 miles down Ohio 199 the Blue Devils are looking to bounce back from a loss in Week 5 to Bucyrus, while the Rams are looking to put together a winning streak after a close win against Buckeye Central.
Upper Sandusky was the fans’ pick to jump the Blue Devils and break the tie in the N10 standings.
A battle for the top spot in the Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference pits Northmor (5-0, 2-0 KMAC) against East Knox (5-0, 2-0 KMAC). The Bulldogs will seek revenge after a 1-point loss to Northmor in 2018. The majority, however, sided with the Golden Knights while Iconic Rock Q92.7 WQEL morning host Will Beard, news director James Massara and Country Legends 1540/107.5 WBCO color commentator Tim Birie think East Knox will claim victory.
Just two Fanatics think Crestline (2-3, 1-2 BVC) can upset Blanchard Valley Conference leader Leipsic (5-0, 3-0 BVC), who is in a tie for first place with McComb. The fans think Leipsic will be too much for Crestline when the Vikings come to town.
Six of the 10 games picked by the Fanatics had a loner pick to, in many cases, give the underdog a vote.
After a promising Week 5 performance against Upper Sandusky, Buckeye Central (0-5, 0-2 N10) was given the nod by Beard while the field took Bucyrus to collect its second N10 win of 2019. Beard was also the lone pick for Clear Fork (3-2, 0-1 MOAC) against Galion (5-0, 2-0 MOAC), New London (1-4, 1-1 Firelands) against Plymouth (3-2, 0-2 Firelands) and for Marion Harding (2-3, 1-1 MOAC) against Shelby (4-1, 2-0 MOAC).
Iconic Rock Q92.7 WQEL play-by-play analyst Josh Stallings was the lone pick for Mohawk (2-3, 0-2 N10) against Colonel Crawford (3-2, 1-1 N10) as the Warriors look to for their first conference win.
Country Legends 1540/107.5 WBCO play-by-play analyst Jared Moore picked Danville (0-5, 0-2 KMAC) to pick up the Blue Devils’ first win of the season as Cardington-Lincoln (1-4, 1-1 KMAC) looks for its second conference win.
A new leader is atop the record board after Week 5. Birie jumped Coaches Corner East host Mike Sparks for first place and Sparks is now in a tie for second with Massara. After a 5-5 week, Beard fell into sixth place as Stallings moved into fifth. The fans jumped Moore as Moore fell into a tie for eighth with sports director Dan Messerschmidt.
STANDINGS (Week 5 record):
Tim Birie – 42-8 (8-2)
Mike Sparks – 41-9 (6-4)
James Massara – 41-9 (8-2)
Davey Jones – 40-10 (8-2)
Josh Stallings – 38-12 (8-2)
Will Beard – 37-13 (5-5)
The Fans – 37-13 (8-2)
Jared Moore – 35-15 (6-4)
Dan Messerschmidt – 35-15 (8-2)
The fan pick is made by the results of the majority of the voting.
FAN PICKS:
Bucyrus – 79%
Seneca East – 81%
Upper Sandusky – 61%
Galion – 100%
Leipsic – 94%
Colonel Crawford – 75%
Cardington-Lincoln – 80%
Northmor – 75%
Plymouth – 82%
Shelby – 85%