By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Another week of football, another key WOAC matchup this week. After Ansonia stayed undefeated in WOAC play against Arcanum, they will have another key game against Tri-Village this week on September 19. Here is a preview of each game this week.

September 19: Tri-Village (3-1, 2-1) vs Ansonia (3-1, 3-0) 7 p.m.

The Tigers held off the Trojans, 28-14, to stay a top the WOAC standings. Ansonia head coach Adam Hall said while there is still a lot for the team to clean up, he is proud of his team for competing for all four quarters and did see a lot of good things in the win.

“Arcanum is a tough football team. They’re very physical, they’re big up front, their backs run hard. We knew coming that it was going to be a tough game,” Hall said. “Our guys did a good job of stepping up to the challenge. I thought we played our best game effort wise tonight.”

Senior Zane Henderson led the way with 232 rushing yards on 39 carries and had three rushing touchdown. He also had the fumble recovery in the endzone on a bad snap from Arcanum on a punt to give them a two-possession lead in the fourth quarter. The defense held the Arcanum rushing attack to 98 yards as Arcanum scored on two big plays.

Tri-Village won 41-6 at Mississinawa Valley last week. Junior Trey Sagester had 236 passing yards and four passing touchdowns. Junior Lathen Wehr had 127 rushing yards on nine carries and scored a touchdown. Senior Lane Bierly had two receiving touchdowns and 89 receiving yards.

It will be a battle to two contrasting offensive styles. Tri-Village will try to attack the Ansonia secondary with their passing game. Ansonia will challenge Tri-Village on the ground with their rushing attack. No matter how each team attacks, the tougher team will be the winner in this one.

A full game recap of Ansonia vs Arcanum can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

September 20: Arcanum (2-2, 2-1) vs Tri-County North (2-2, 2-1) 7 p.m.

The Trojans are coming off a tough loss at Ansonia. They kept it close the whole game, but couldn’t get that one score to take a lead. Head coach Matt Macy said the team did a great job defensively keeping them in the game. Time wasn’t on their side in the game, especially after the bad snap on a punt that led to an Ansonia touchdown.

“We just can’t help ourselves. We get within a touchdown and we snap the ball out of the back of the endzone. That was the end of it,” Macy said. “They controlled the ball the rest of the game. We did a good job defensively to get some stops, but it took us too long to stop them. They’re, as always, a well oiled machine.”

Sophomore MJ Macy had 84 rushing yards with 60 of them coming on a rushing touchdown. The Trojans scored on big plays and couldn’t put together a long scoring drive. Senior Truman Knaus had a great game at defensive end as he didn’t allow Ansonia to get outside of him. Macy said Knaus is a force on defense and he had a great game.

The Panthers have won back to back games as they won 15-14 over Dixie at home. Junior Franklin Filbrun had 113 rushing yards and a touchdown. They held Dixie to 168 yards of total offense. Tri-County North only completed one pass in the game. The Trojans defensive line stepped up against a great rushing attack in Ansonia. They will have to show up again to stop the Panthers offense. If the Arcanum offense can put together some scoring drives, they can come away with the win.

September 20: Bradford (0-4, 0-3) at Preble Shawnee (4-0, 3-0)

Bradford fell to National Trail on the road, 47-7, last week. The Blazers ran for 258 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Owen Canan threw for 164 yards and touchdown to senior Griffin Trevino. Bradford had two turnovers with one of them being returned for a touchdown.

Preble Shawnee is looking like the favorite to win the WOAC. They cruised through Twin Valley South, 48-7. They rushed for 206 yards and threw for 158 yards. Senior Lane Lovely had three rushing touchdowns on 10 carries. The secondary also had two interceptions. The Railroaders will face a tough challenge going against the athletes the Arrows have at the skill positions on both sides of the ball. Winning the battle on the front lines could give them a chance at a win.

September 20: Greenville (0-4, 0-3) at Piqua (1-3, 1-2) 7 p.m.

The Green Wave hit the road again after falling to Butler, 41-7. Juniors Gabe Rammel and Lukas Thorp did return for the Green Wave. Thorp did have a receiving touchdown in his return. The team was held to 29 yards rushing. Butler did throw for four touchdowns in the game.

Piqua lost 35-10 at Tippecanoe last week. They let up 235 passing yards as sophomore Larkin Thomas had three passing touchdowns for the Red Devils. Piqua had 145 rushing yards on 40 carries. Stopping the run will be a key for the Green Wave.

September 20: Mississinawa Valley (1-3, 1-2) at Twin Valley South (0-4, 0-3)

The Blackhawks are coming off a home loss to Tri-Village. Sophomore Michael Bell had 72 yards on five carries. Freshman Caleb Spradling had a passing touchdown to senior Leland Kauffman. The defense had 2.5 sacks against the Patriots.

Twin Valley South lost 48-7 to Preble Shawnee. The Panthers were held to 86 total yards and five total first downs. Seniors Conner Mowell and Carson Hurst both had 11 carries. The Blackhawks will have to have their run defense ready in this game. If the offense can continue to improve, they can come away with an important win for them.

September 20: Versailles (4-0, 2-0) at Parkway (1-3, 0-2)

The Tigers won a close 18-17 game at New Bremen last week. They were down 11-10 at halftime. Sophomore Landyn Knapke had two rushing touchdowns for the Tigers. The defense held strong as they stopped a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter to keep the lead. Parkway is coming off a 42-21 loss to Minster. They were down 42-0 at halftime.

Parkway is towards the bottom in the MAC in offensive categories. They are last in rushing stats yards and seventh in passing yards. They have also allowed 351.3 yards a game on defense while Versailles has allowed 162.3 yards a game on defense. Versailles can win this game if the defense continues to be as dominate as they’ve been so far this season.

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