By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Football teams around the county are settling into their conference schedule with at least a conference game or two under their belts. There’s still a lot to play for not matter what the record is right now. Here is a look at the upcoming week of games around the county.

September 13: Ansonia (2-1, 2-0) vs Arcanum (2-1, 2-0) 7 p.m.

Both teams are coming off a big win to make this one an important game this season. Ansonia won 46-6 at Dixie after scoring 30 points in the first half and shutting out the Greyhounds in the second half.

Arcanum won 42-6 over Mississinawa Valley behind sophomore MJ Macy’s 204 rushing yard game. He also had two rushing touchdowns in the game. Arcanum head coach Matt Macy after the game said even with the penalties and mistakes the offense made during the game, they were able to move the ball and showed they are starting to click.

“I feel like I say this every year, but we’re young. I feel like I’ve said that for three years. We’re still young. It’s starting to click though,” Macy said.

The run defense will be key for Arcanum if they want to pull off the road win. They allowed 106 rushing yards to the Blackhawks, but 65 of them came on a sophomore Michael Bell touchdown run. The offense will also need to bounce back from their mistakes if they want to win. For Ansonia, the defense will need to continue to improve. They held Dixie to 12 yards rushing. Since giving up 256 passing yards and four passing touchdowns to Riverside week one, the Ansonia pass defense has given up 281 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in the last two games. Ansonia just needs to play their brand of football to win, control the time of possession and play suffocating defense.

September 13: Bradford (0-3, 0-2) at National Trail (1-2, 1-1) 7 p.m.

Bradford lost a close 21-18 game to Tri-County North at home last week. The Panthers scored 14 points in the third quarter to pull away as Bradford couldn’t get a lead in the game. Senior Owen Canan had a passing and rushing touchdown in the game. He threw for 159 yards and ran for 79 yards. Senior Griffin Trevino did return a kickoff for a touchdown.

The Blazer lost 39-6 to Preble Shawnee last week. They gave up 251 yards passing to junior quarterback Brody Morton. They did limit Morton to only three yards rushing, though he did rush for a touchdown. National Trail had 157 yards of total offense. The Blazers lone win of the season did come against Tri-County North. Bradford will have a chance to get a road win if they can stop the run and get the offense going early.

September 13: Greenville (0-3, 0-2) vs Butler (3-0, 2-0) 7 p.m.

Things won’t get easier for the Green Wave. Greenville lost 72-7 to Tippecanoe in their home opener on the newly renovated Harmon Field. A positive from the game was junior Aiden Manix threw for 151 yards and a touchdown. The Green Wave were without two of their best offensive players in juniors Gabe Rammel and Lukas Thorp and lost more players to injury during the game.

They welcome the Aviators who are coming off a 21-13 home win over Troy. Butler forced two turnovers while playing turnover-free offense. Butler was outgained 181-260 in the game and had less first downs than Troy. Greenville did lose to Troy earlier in the season. The Greenville defense will need to be on their game and the offense will need to take care of the ball if they want to pull off a win.

September 13: Mississinawa Valley (1-2, 1-1) vs Tri-Village (2-1, 1-1) 7 p.m.

The Blackhawks will try to bounce back from their loss to Arcanum as they host the Patriots. Mississinawa Valley head coach Steven Trobridge said the team started out fine, but hit a wall in the second half. It’s been a common theme so far this season.

“We call it the third quarter curse. The first half we’re good, fresh. That third quarter we come out and the injury bug bit back to back to top players. We’re already thin on the offensive line and we got thinner. Hats off to Arcanum and Coach Macy,” Trobridge said.

The team was without senior offensive lineman Levi Staver and had to replace him with an inexperienced lineman. The offense was held to 121 total yards. They did give up 377 rushing yards to the Trojans, but only 54 passing yards.

Tri-Village bounced back from their Preble Shawnee loss with a 38-6 win over Twin Valley South. Junior Trey Sagester threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran in for a touchdown. Junior Lathen Wehr and sophomore Hayden Hunt both ran for a touchdown. Hunt also caught a touchdown. The defense held Twin Valley South the 144 yards rushing on 30 attempts. Ninety of those yards came on a touchdown run by junior Parker Weldy.

For Tri-Village, as long as the offense continues to improve they can win this game. For Mississinawa Valley, they can win if the offense can stay ahead of the chains and get into situations that lets them stick to their gameplan.

September 13: Versailles (3-0, 1-0) at New Bremen (3-0, 1-0)

The Tigers won a close one at home, 17-7, over St. Johns. Senior Ross Francis and sophomore Landyn Knapke both rushed for a touchdown in the game. The defense only let up a nine-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the second quarter. Knapke also had an interception in the game.

New Bremen won 30-0 at Parkway last week. It looks like it will be a defensive battle in this one. New Bremen has only give up 10 points all season, with all 10 being scored by Lima Bath in week one. The Cardinals are have shutout their last two opponents. Versailles has only given up seven points all season. If the Tigers can win the turnover and field position battles, they should come away with a win.

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