By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — We are now getting into October football and the upcoming games are going to have big playoff and league implications. This week, most teams around the county have games that will help or hurt their playoff chances. Here are the games for this week around the county.

Oct. 4: Arcanum (4-2, 4-1) vs Tri-Village (4-2, 3-2) 7 p.m.

This is one of the games that will have big playoff implications for both teams. Both teams are 4-2 and a win will help them move up within their divisions. Both teams also had their games moved last week from Friday to Saturday morning due to weather. Arcanum mounted a comeback at National Trail to win 14-13. The Trojans, down 13-6, scored a touchdown and got the two-point conversion to win on the road. Sophomore Bishop Cartwright threw for 114 yards and threw a touchdown to sophomore Lucas Miller. Miller also rushed for a touchdown. The defense did give up two passing touchdowns.

The Patriots took care of business at Tri-County North, 37-7. Junior Trey Sagester threw for five touchdowns and had 234 yards. Sophomore Griffin Richards and senior Lane Bierly both had two receiving touchdowns. Sophomore Hayden Hunt had the other receiving touchdown. The defense only allowed 139 total yards with only two yards coming from the Panthers passing game.

The Patriots will have to rely on Sagester play making ability to get the win on the road. That could help open up the run game that has been struggling lately. The Trojans showed they can win in a close game. The secondary will face another tough test this week against the Tri-Village passing attack. It should be a close one at Arcanum this week.

Oct. 4: Ansonia (5-1, 5-0) at National Trail (3-3, 3-2) 7 p.m.

In the rain on Sept. 27, Ansonia won 32-0 over Twin Valley South at home. Senior Zane Henderson and sophomore Jacob Schmitmeyer both had over 100 yards rushing and each had two rushing touchdowns. The team totaled 353 rushing yards.

National Trail had 190 total yards in their 14-13 loss to Arcanum. Freshman Talon Bousman had three catches for 97 yards and two receiving touchdowns. Bousman leads the team in receiving yards 149 yards. The team has rushed for 1,150 yards so far this season. The Tigers will have to be disciplined on defense to slow down the Blazers offense.

Oct. 4: Bradford (1-5, 1-4) vs Mississinawa Valley (1-5, 1-4) 7 p.m.

This is another big game for playoff implications. With 16 teams being able to get into the postseason, a win here could help one of these teams sneak in. Bradford shrugged off a slow start offensively to win 27-10 at home against Dixie on Sept. 26. The defense held the Greyhounds to 165 total yards and only allowed three points. Head coach Chuck Cantrell said it was the best the defense has played so far this season.

“They wanted it bad. Hardest hitting I’ve seen them all year long. Those guys were playing lights out. The energy was awesome from start to finish,” Cantrell said.

Mississinawa Valley fell to Preble Shawnee, 35-0, at home on Sept. 27. The offense was limited all game long and couldn’t get going against the Arrows. The team did recover a fumble in the game.

Both teams have defeated Dixie this season. A win here would help either team’s playoff chances. The quarterbacks will play a big role in this game. Bradford senior Owen Canan had over 100 yards passing and rushing against Dixie. Mississinawa Valley freshman Caleb Spradling is fifth in the WOAC in passing yards with 672. Canan rely on his rushing ability while Spradling will rely on his receivers to make plays in space to win the game.

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

Oct. 4: Greenville (0-6, 0-5) vs Stebbins (3-3, 2-3) 7 p.m.

Greenville was only down 14-6 at halftime before the Yellowjackets exploded for 29 points in the second half. Junior Gabe Rammel had 179 yards and scored a touchdown. Sidney senior Ethan New had 209 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. New also threw for four touchdowns.

Stebbins has won back to back games against Fairborn and West Carrollton the last two weeks. Against the Pirates last week, sophomore Devin McCormick threw for three touchdowns. Junior Andrew McConnell had three rushing touchdowns and 189 yards. Greenville will face another team that can get going on the ground and compliment it with a capable passing attack. The Green Wave will have to take one away from Stebbins to give them a better chance at getting a win.

Oct. 4: Versailles (5-1, 3-1) vs Anna (4-2, 2-2)

The Tigers lost to a dynasty in Marion Local, 41-0, at home on Sept. 28. The team had trouble moving the ball offensively all game long and the defense couldn’t slow down the Flyers in the rain. Head coach Ryan Jones said there’s no way around it, it was a bad loss for the Tigers.

“There’s no silver lining in a game like that. It’s unacceptable. We didn’t play well offensively, defensively or special teams. That’s not the standard that we want. We got to get better as coaches, get better as players. I don’t question the effort. But, effort only gets you so far. We got to have better technique and better focus,” Jones said.

Things won’t be easier for Versailles. They’ll face a tough Anna team. Anna quarterback Alex Shappie was second in the MAC in passing with 1,001 yards and had nine touchdowns with two interception. Zach Osborn is coming off a five-touchdown day against St. John’s last week in a 34-0 win. Three Rocket players are in the top 10 in receiving in the MAC. It will be another test for the Versailles defense. The two losses by Anna came from Coldwater and Minster on back to back weeks. The Tigers need to make this their kind of game, low scoring and slow paced, to get a win.

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