By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Week one of the high school football season is upon us. Two teams will open the season at home while the rest of the teams will start the season on the road. Here is the preview for each game for week one.

August 22: Greenville at Eaton 7 p.m.

The Green Wave will open the season under the Thursday night lights at Eaton. Greenville is returning their leading rusher junior Gabe Rammel and have experience coming back on the offensive line in senior Andrew Winner and junior Landon Noble.

Eaton went 8-3 last season. The Eagles will have a new quarterback under center and have to replace their top two receiver. They do return their leading rusher in senior Cordis Berard who had 746 rushing yards. They also return junior Brycen Simpson who led Eaton in rushing touchdowns with 10. On the defensive line, they return seniors Preston Orr and Cooper Wilson and junior Presley Stewart who all had 4+ sacks.

August 23: Ansonia at Riverside 7 p.m.

The Ansonia Tigers will be fielding a new core of players this season. They will have to replace two WOAC Player of the Year players and a host of player contributors. The team will take a committee approach at running back as they will stick to being a running team. Head coach Adam Hall said guys like senior Asher Shives have stepped up to be leaders on the team and they will need to step up on the field as well.

Riverside went 9-2 last season and won the Three Rivers Conference. One of their two losses came to Ansonia in a 30-14 loss week one last season. Riverside lost their senior quarterback, leading rusher and leading receiver and sack leader. The top rusher returning in senior quarterback Gavin Orsborne. Senior Braylon Dunn is back and was third in tackles with 63 at linebacker.

August 23: Arcanum at Covington 7 p.m.

The Trojans open the season on the road at Covington with an experienced group of offensive line, but new skill position players. The top two rushers from last year graduated. Sophomore MJ Macy is the top returning rusher with 348 yards on 58 carries. Senior Truman Knaus returns and was first in receiving yards last season with 216 and had 14 receptions.

Covington went 0-10 last season, but were a very young team last season. They only had two seniors on the roster last year and have five seniors this season. They only lost their leading rusher but return essentially everyone else. They will be an improved team from last season.

August 23: Bradford vs Catholic Central 7 p.m.

Bradford opens the season at home against Catholic Central. The Railroaders only have three seniors on the roster with all being at skill position. Senior quarterback Owen Canan is back after throwing for 14 touchdowns and rushing for eight touchdowns last season. There is experience along the offensive and defensive line even with the groups being made up of sophomores and freshmen.

Catholic Central went 2-8 last season. They do return their leading rusher in junior Xavier Brown who had 539 yards and seven touchdowns. They have leading receiver junior Berkley Little back who had 17 catches and 196 receiving yards. Junior Brody Adams is back after leading the team in tackles for loss with 15.5.

August 23: Mississinawa Valley at Waynesfield-Goshen 7 p.m.

The Blackhawks will be on the road at Waynesfield-Goshen. They will have a freshman quarterback running the offense in Caleb Spradling. They do have experience at wide receiver in guys like junior Kyle Wehrkamp and senior Leland Kauffman. They also have returning starters along the offensive and defensive lines.

Waynesfield-Goshen went 10-1 last season. They had 15 players make the Northwest Central Conference All-Conference teams last season. They did graduate a special senior class.

August 23: Tri-Village at Troy Christian 7 p.m.

The Patriots open the season with a new core group of players at Troy Christian. Leaders in Braden Keating, Tanner Printz and Reed Wehr all graduated. They do have four of the five starting offensive linemen from last season back. Junior Noah Finkbine returns after making the All-WOAC First Team at defensive back. He had 141 total tackles, three fumble recoveries and an interception.

Troy Christian went 3-8 last season. They graduated senior quarterback and leading rusher Paul McDonald. They return senior Lin Current who had 24 tackles for loss and senior Jacob Orange who had 13 tackles for loss.

August 23: Versailles vs Milton-Union 7 p.m.

The Tigers open the season going up against the Bulldogs of Milton-Union at home. Versailles will be replacing MAC Offensive Player of the Year and Division VI Ohio Offensive Player of the Year quarterback Michael Osborne. They also lost leading rusher Joel Gehret and many key defensive players. A lot of players who sat behind that senior class will have their shot to show what they can do in this game.

Milton-Union finished 7-4 last season and were runner-ups in the Three Rivers Conference. They lost their leading rusher in Jordan Foose who had 1,403 years and 14 rushing touchdowns and was a First Team All-Conference player. Senior Payton Mayfield returns after leading the team in receiving yards and total tackles. Senior Wyatt Kimmel returns after being the starting quarterback last year. He threw for 1,056 yards and had a 10 passing touchdowns with only three interceptions.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected].