SYCAMORE (Crawford County Now) — With the football season steaming along apace, we have reached Week 4.
League play begins this week in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference, and the schedule is dotted with games of significance.
Colonel Crawford (3-0) at Mohawk (3-0)
In an early-season matchup with probable N10 title implications, the preseason favorite Eagles take on the defending champion Warriors.
Mohawk is a surprise to many, as they lost 11 seniors to graduation, including quarterback Ben Bogner and key receivers Kahne Hayman and Kaleb Bish.
The Warriors are proving they can reload with the best of them. Mohawk leads the league in total offense at 442 yards per game. Second? You guessed it: Colonel Crawford at 436.7 ypg.
Defensively, Mohawk is second in the loop, allowing 181.3 ypg. The Eagles are third surrendering 252 ypg. Warriors only allow 9.7 points per game, and the Eagles give up 13.
The winner will have a leg up even at this early stage.
Buckeye Central (2-1) at Bucyrus (1-2)
While this game will not impact the race for first place, it will feature two evenly matched teams trying to turn their fortunes around.
Bucyrus is counting on youth at key positions with the result so far being the Redmen snapping their 22-game losing streak with a win over Triad in Week 2.
Freshman quarterback Isaac Makeever is second in the N10 in passing with 440 yards and six touchdowns. His favorite target is senior Christian Neal with 17 catches for 170 yards and three touchdowns.
For the Bucks, senior quarterback Jack Phillips leads the way. Phillips has passed for 350 yards and four TDs and rushed for 247 more and four scores.
Brother Alec Phillips is fourth in the N10 in receiving with 14 receptions for 177 yards.
Seneca East (2-1) at Wynford (1-2)
Seneca East was projected to be in the upper echelon of the league and Wynford was not. However, teams have not had much success traveling to Holmes Center Road in the past two decades.
The Tigers sport the N10’s top defense, permitting just 164.7 ypg. and 9.7 points per contest. The Royals counter with the league’s leading rusher in Bryce Locker with 407 yards and three touchdowns.
Nicholas Parks returns at quarterback for Seneca East. He has thrown for 339 yards and two scores and rushed for 311 more with two touchdowns.
Carey (0-3) at Upper Sandusky (1-2)
Carey, playing a tough non-league schedule and hampered by injuries, is having an atypical start for a solid program.
The Blue Devils offense is dead last in the N10 at 172.7 ypg. The defense is moderately better, standing at sixth in the league in allowing 269 ypg.
Upper Sandusky is next-to-last offensively at 224.7 ypg. The Rams are slightly better defensively, giving up a stingy 13.7 ppg.
The winner will have bragging rights in Wyandot County.
Galion (3-0) at Shelby (3-0)
Galion invades Shelby for a battle of Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference titans in another contest with league title implications.
The host Whippets come in as the No. 1 ranked team in Division IV. The Tigers are being shown respect as well with their No. 8 ranking.
Division I college quarterback recruit Brayden DeVito leads Shelby with a whopping 13 touchdowns in three games — eight passing and five rushing. He has piled up 599 yards through the air and 323 more on the ground.
For Galion, Ayden Schmidt has passed for 441 yards, and two touchdowns Camden Kuhlman has rushed for 193 yards and two scores.
It’s an old time Northern Ohio League game. Both teams are destined for the post season. The winner will have a leg up in the MOAC title race.
Crestline (1-2) at Ashtabula St. John (1-2)
St. John was outscored 54-20 in the first two losses but rebounded last week with a 35-0 win over Division V Beachwood.
After a 48-6 win over Vanlue in Week 2, Crestline lost a 35-28 heartbreaker to Mapleton last week.
Both the Bulldogs and Hearlds are in Division VII, albeit in different regions. Crestline is in Region 27 and St. John is in Region 25.
Both are currently outside the top 12 in their respective regions, but the winner could vault back into the playoff picture.