By Dan Messerschmidt
CCN Sports Director

Whoever said regular season football is the fastest 10 weeks of the year wasn’t exaggerating.

It’s Week 4 already and the local teams will be entering league play, for the most part.

Some critical — and interesting — games are on tap.

Seneca East (3-0) at Bucyrus (1-2)

Seneca East rolls into Bucyrus as hot as any team in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference. The Tigers, with signature wins over Newark Catholic and Elmwood over the past two weeks, find themselves leading the computer poll race in Division VI, Region 22.

The Redmen will try to rebound from a disappointing 25-14 loss to Sandusky St. Mary last week. To do so, they will have to try to contain the leading rusher in the N10 in the person of Blaine Swartzmiller.

Swartzmiller is averaging a whopping 181 yards per game on the ground and has scored seven touchdowns. Quarterback Chase Foos has a 71 percent completion rate, compiling 403 yards.

On offense, Bucyrus will have to get potential game-breakers Harley Robinson and Keaton Naufzinger the ball in space early to be able to say with the explosive Tigers.

Upper Sandusky (2-1) at Colonel Crawford (1-1)

This is a key game for both teams, both in the league and in the computer rankings. Upper Sandusky is 11th in Division V, Region 18 and Colonel Crawford is 11th in Division VI, Region 22.

The Rams are coming off their first loss of the year, 34-0, to Galion, while the Eagles bounced back from a loss North Union in week 2 to hold off scrappy Cardington, 28-12.

The game features the top two quarterbacks in terms of yards in the N10. The Eagles’ Zye Shipman has thrown for 472 yards and three touchdowns, while the Rams’ Levi Malone has 467 yards passing with five scores.

The teams also boast the second and third leading rushers. Dylan Knisely has 414 yards and four TDs for Colonel Crawford and Nate McMillan has 327 yards and two scores for Upper Sandusky.

This one has the makings of a shootout with the winner cashing in on computer points.

Wynford (2-1) at Buckeye Central (0-3)

On the surface, this one looks lopsided. But it is an old county rivalry and current N10 rivalry, so Wynford cannot afford to overlook Buckeye Central.

The Royals are using offense-by-committee. Quarterback Dustin Brady is fifth in the league in passing yards with 357 and Kendall Blair is seventh in rushing yards with 191, yet Wynford is averaging 21 points per game.

Buckeye Central has struggled to move the ball on offense. Avery Baldosser, BC’s Mr. Everything, has rushed for 162 yards and a touchdown, has 110 yards receiving and a score. Baldosser has all three of the Bucks’ touchdowns, with the other coming on a kickoff return.

A defense that has allowed 120 points will have to show dramatic improvement for Buckeye Central to be able to hang around.

Pleasant (3-0) at Galion (3-0)

If your schedule is clear Friday night, this might be the game you’ll want to go see.

Pleasant is seventh in a strong Division V, Region 18. All six teams ahead of the Spartans are also undefeated. Galion is second in Division IV, Region 14. So, this one has significant Mid-Ohio Athletic League and computer points implications.

Quarterback Elias Middleton has led Galion’s offense with 872 yards of total offense, rushing for 401 yards and five touchdowns and throwing for 471 yards and five more scores. The Tigers are averaging 35 points per contest.

However, they will be dealing with a Pleasant team that has allowed only 14 points in three games while averaging over 40 points on offense.

Crestline (1-2) at Dayton Christian (1-2) (Saturday)

Crestline makes a trip into the unknown when the Bulldogs travel to Dayton Christian on Saturday.

After an opening-season win over Buckeye Central, Crestline has allowed a combined 73 points in losses to Fisher Catholic and South Central, while managing only 20 points on offense.

The Warriors gave up 83 points combined to Troy Christian and Bethel in starting 0-2, but both opponents are 3-0 now. Dayton Christian got its first win in Week 3, defeating Ponitz Tech, 20-14.

If the Bulldogs can weather the trip to Dayton and score early, they could get back on the winning track.

Other games

Mohawk (3-0) hosts Carey (2-1). This rivalry goes back to the defunct Midland Athletic League and beyond and neither team cares for the other.

The Warriors currently sit No.1 in Division VII, Region 26 and the Blue Devils are third in Division VI, Region 22.

The winner gets mega computer points and the loser falls off the pace in the N10 race.

Ridgedale (1-2) will try to bounce back from a 24-0 shutout loss at Waynesfield-Goshen last week when the Rockets entertain Fisher Catholic (2-0).

The Irish had a bye last week due to a cancelation, but they beat Crestline 35-7 in Week 2. Ridgedale will have to hope for some home cooking to reverse fortunes from last week.