By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — It is now the second to last regular season week of high school football this week. Some teams already have a playoff spot locked up while others are still fighting for a spot in the postseason. Here are a preview of this week’s games around the county.

Oct. 19: Ansonia (7-1, 7-0) vs Preble Shawnee (8-0, 7-0) 7 p.m.

Ansonia will battle for what could be the WOAC title against Preble Shawnee in a game that was moved to Oct. 19 due to not being able to get a full referee crew. The Tigers are coming off a 52-7 win over Tri-County North on Oct. 11. Head coach Adam Hall said the team was focused on their game against the Panthers to set up a potential winner takes all game against the Arrows.

“Every week you’re playing to win the conference. If we lose this week, it messes everything up that we want to do. You’ve got to be focused on this one. The guys did a good job of doing that. And now that we’re passed it, we’re thinking about the big game next week,” Hall said.

The Arrows are coming off a 34-0 road win at Arcanum on Oct. 10. Preble Shawnee had four rushing touchdowns with four different players rushing for one touchdown. They had 361 yards of total offense in the win and held Arcanum to 38 rushing yards. This is the time for the Ansonia offense to have their best game of the year. They can control the game if their run game can keep their scoring drives long. Defensively, the game will be easier for them if they can make the Arrows a one-dimensional team.

A full game recap of Ansonia vs Tri-County North can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Oct. 18: Arcanum (4-4, 4-3) at Dixie (0-8, 0-7) 7 p.m.

The Trojans lost 0-34 to Preble Shawnee at home last week. The offense had trouble moving the ball with only 38 rushing yards. The defense did hold the Arrows scoreless in the first and fourth quarter. Senior Luke Midlam and sophomore Lucas Miller both had an INT in the game.

Dixie is coming off a 55-17 loss at Tri-Village. They had 145 yards of total offense with 100 yards passing with four different players completing a pass. The Greyhound defense did get two interceptions in the game. Arcanum is currently the 14th seed in their region in Division V. A win here will help keep them in a playoff spot. If they can get the run game back up and running, they should be able to come away with the win.

Oct. 18: Bradford (1-7, 1-6) vs Tri-Village (6-2, 5-2)

The Railroaders lost 43-6 on the road at Twin Valley South last week. The Panthers got out to a fast start and Bradford couldn’t recover. Senior Owen Canan had 153 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception. Five different players caught a pass, including freshman Doolin Puterbaugh with a receiving touchdown. The team did give up 283 rushing yards. While a long shot, the Railroaders aren’t officially out of a playoff spot. Head coach Chuck Cantrell said he wants to see his team continue to play with resiliency and play for their three seniors.

“We only got three seniors on the team. Those boys only have two games left. From this point, you play for those guys. Those three seniors have done everything I’ve asked them to do this year. But three guys can’t carry a team,” Cantrell said.

Tri-Village cruised through Dixie 55-17 at home last week. The Patriots scored 41 points in the first half against the Greyhounds. Tri-Village is sitting at the ninth seed in Division VII. According to the Joe Eitel website, the Patriots control their own destiny. A win here will keep them on track to stay in the playoffs. Both teams will have to contain the opposing quarterback to win this game.

A full game recap of Bradford vs Twin Valley South can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Oct. 18: Greenville (0-8, 0-7) vs Xenia (8-0, 7-0)

The Green Wave lost 27-0 at Fairborn last week. They will play their last home game of the season against Xenia this week. They will go up against some Xenia record breakers as quarterback Gavin McManus set the all-time passing record last week against Piqua with 5,622 yards. McManus also has completed 29 straight passes, the third most all-time in Ohio. Running back Deaunte White broke the single season rushing touchdown record with 25 last week.

According to the Joe Eitel website, Greenville is the only 0-8 team not mathmatically eliminated in their division. If the team can play turnover free football and force Xenia into some third and longs, they can pull off the upset and give them a shot at sneaking into the playoffs.

Oct. 18: Mississinawa Valley (2-6, 2-5) at Tri-County North (2-6, 2-5)

The Blackhawks lost 50-14 at home to National Trail last week. A 28-point second quarter gave the Blazers what they needed to seperate themselves from the Blackhawks. Freshman Caleb Spradling had 169 passing yards with two touchdowns, both to junior Bryce Watson. Junior Kyle Wehrkamp had an INT on defense.

The Panthers lost 52-7 to Ansonia on the road. Both teams are currently tied for 20th in Division VII in the same region. Both teams need some help to reach the postseason, but aren’t eliminated yet. Both teams have both of their wins coming against Dixie and Bradford. In their wins, the Panthers had success running the ball and the Blackhawks had some trouble defensively against the run. If they can limit the Panthers on the ground, they have the offense to come away with a road win.

Oct. 18: Versailles (5-3, 3-3) vs Coldwater (8-0, 6-0)

The Tigers lost 35-0 at Minster last week. In the last three weeks, the offense has only scored seven points. Minster built up an early lead and didn’t let up. In the Ohio Maxpreps Division VI polls, Coldwater is ranked number one. They also have the one seed right now in Division VI in their region and have a top four seed locked up. Coldwater is third in the MAC in yards per game on offense with 343.43 a game. Through seven weeks, they have scored 40 points a game. They are coming off a 24-7 win over New Bremen. The Tigers have the ninth seed right now in Division V in their region. They do control their own destiny. If the Tigers defense can make Coldwater uncomfortable and make some plays to give the offense some short fields, they can come away with the home win.

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