Staff report
news@wbcowqel.com
Week 4 of the high school football season is upon us and it’s full of rivalries, title chases and valuable playoff points.
Wynford (2-0, 3-0) at Colonel Crawford (2-0, 3-0)
Even without unblemished records, this figured to be a hotly contested game between two Crawford County rivals with a 50-year-plus history between them. These two state-ranked teams are battling for first place in the N10, playoff off points in Region 22 of Division VI and the Iron Plow.
Wynford is led by arguably one of the top football players in the area, quarterback Zach Hoffman. Hoffman leads the N10 with 414 yards passing and seven touchdowns. He has yet to throw an interception. Hoffman is also his team’s leading rusher and third-best in the N10 at this point with 483 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. He is averaging better than 10 yards per carry.
Hoffman is far from a one-man band for the Royals. Speedster Robbie Miller is also averaging 10 yards a carry and Brandon Shutler is a real threat with two receiving touchdowns, both in a breakout game last week. Nine different Wynford receivers have caught a pass in just three weeks.
Cole Heinlen leads a stout Wynford defense with 38 tackles, including eight behind the line of scrimmage and a sack.
The Eagles’ offense is a based on a brutal rushing game with a one-two punch of big running 
backs – Blake Treisch and Trevor Shawber. Treisch leads the league in rushing with 564 yards that include nine rushing touchdowns. Shawber actually has a better yards per carry average than Treisch – 7.4 yards to 7.1.
Colonel Crawford hasn’t found a consistent connection through the air yet and will need to balance its offense Friday night to keep the Royals from stacking the box.
Shawber and Owen Kocher lead a rapidly improving Colonel Crawford defense that shut out Mohawk for the final three quarters last week to hand the Warriors their first loss of the season. Shawber has 34 stops and Kocher has 30 through three games. The two have combined for 12 tackles behind the line and four sacks.
PICK: Until an N10 team defeats Wynford, you have to pick the Royals with their balanced offense and tremendous team speed.
Buckeye Central (0-2, 0-3) at Crestline (1-3)
It’s been a rough start for the Bucks who head to Crestline Friday night in search of the first win for their new coach, Rob Detterman. But to be fair, the Bucks had to replace a very talented graduating class who left a lot of vacancies in the lineup when they picked up their diplomas last spring.
Add in some key injuries and opponents who have a 7-2 record in the early going and it’s easy to see the hurdles the Bucks are trying to get over.
Tyler Trapp is the new quarterback for the Bucks and has had some success with nearly 100 yards per game in passing yards and four touchdowns. However, he’s also had five interceptions in the early going.
Buckeye Central doesn’t have a running back who has 100 yards rushing for the season after three weeks which makes it tough to control the clock.
Bryce Lutz, 34 tackles, and Kidron Wechter, 30, are the top tacklers for the Bucks.
While Crestline may have been the medicine needed for a struggling team to get healthy in past years, not so in 2016. The Bulldogs are 1-2 through three weeks and just as easily could be 2-1 if not for a late turnover that led to a South Central win over the Bulldogs last week.
The Bulldogs have an offensive line that is beginning to jell, an experienced quarterback in J. R. Wolfe and a stout running back in JC Clark. Add in a big-play threat in talented wideout Davon Triplett who took one 93 yards last week, and the Bulldogs are nobody’s patsy.
PICK: This is going to be an incredibly competitive game between two young teams. Kinda like the Bulldogs at home in this one.
Bucyrus (0-1, 0-3) at Seneca East (0-2, 0-3)
The first three weeks of the season have been a rough row to hoe for the Redmen and it won’t be any easier Friday when Bucyrus travels to Attica to face the undefeated Seneca East Tigers.
The Redmen, with quarterback Gavin Lewis, can hurt teams through the air. Lewis has found 
three dependable receivers in Harley Robinson, Haden Jonston and Gram Dick. The trio has combined 25 catches and 269 yards.
But the Redmen are averaging less than two yards per carry running the football and just over 42 yards per game. They have just one rushing touchdown which belongs to Lewis.
Defensively, Bucyrus is giving up more than 50 points per game.
Seneca East is undefeated for good reason. The Tigers are potent and dangerous on offense.
Running back Brock Martin averages over 11 yards per carry and has found the end zone seven times. He also a threat in the passing game with seven receptions that go for more than 21 yards per catch and three more scores.
Quarterback Brennan Martin has thrown for six touchdowns and been picked off only twice.
Defensively the Tigers give up about 13 points per game.
PICK: Look for Seneca East to stay undefeated.
Other N10 games: Carey at Mohawk, Upper Sandusky at Ridgedale