BELLVILLE — Nothing has come easy for Clear Fork through the first half of the season and veteran coach Dave Carroll doesn’t expect that to change any time soon.
Clear Fork is 4-1 overall and tied atop the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference standings at 2-0 after last week’s 36-10 win over Galion. The Colts share the top spot in the MOAC with three-time defending champ Shelby and conference newcomer Highland.
There were a few anxious moments for the Colts in last week’s win over Galion. After Clear Fork scored on its opening possession, the Tigers marched the length of the field only to be stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line.
“That was a little concerning, them taking it down there on us,” Carroll said afterward. “We knew it would be a battle up front. Those guys are big. That’s a massive offensive line.”
Carroll and the Colts expect another stern test when they visit Ontario on Friday. The Warriors have dropped two in a row after opening the season with three straight wins, but Carroll knows his team will have its hands full.
“I’m never comfortable,” Carroll said. “There’s no resting in this league. We’ve got to see what we did wrong and what we did right and get back to work.”
Clear Fork (4-1, 2-0) at Ontario (3-2, 0-2): Everybody got involved for the Colts in last week’s 36-10 win over Galion. Running back Pawie Ault rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown while Luke Schlosser rumbled for 110 yards and two TDs on 10 carries. Dual-threat quarterback Victor Skoog has completed 43-of-75 passes for 597 yards and four touchdowns and run for 313 yards and six TDs on 67 carries. Trystyn Robison averages a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference-best 8.8 yards per carry, piling up 245 yards on just 28 attempts with three TDs. Robison is also Clear Fork’s leading receiver with 15 catches for 148 yards and a score. Defensively, Kaden Riddle is a handful along the line of scrimmage. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound senior has 34 tackles and a sack. Schlosser leads the way with 39 tackles, while Logan Anerson and Mason Sansom are tied for the MOAC lead with two interceptions apiece.
The Warriors came unglued in the second half of last week’s 48-34 loss to River Valley. Ontario led 31-21 at the half only to be outscored 27-3 in the second half. Quarterback Bodpegn Miller has completed 56-of-94 passes for 760 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 224 yards and four TDs on 50 carries. Ontario boasts the MOAC’s second-best rushing attack behind Clear Fork. Drew Yetter has run for 344 yards and two touchdowns on 48 carries, while Chase Studer has rushed for 337 yards and four scores on 72 carries. Studer has caught 13 passes for 145 yards out of the backfield. Dylan Floyd has a team-high 16 catches for 247 yards and two TDs. Braxton Hall has 14 catches for a team-best 258 yards and five scores. Grason Bias is Ontarios leading tackler with 38 stops. Bralen Boone and Drew Barnes each have 33 tackles. Boone also has four sacks.
Lexington (2-3, 2-0) at Mansfield Senior (3-2, 1-1): The Minutemen stunned Wooster 22-21 last week, scoring all 22 points in the fourth quarter. Quarterback A.J. Young hooked up with freshman wideout Brayden Fogle on a 15-yard scoring strike to cut Wooster’s lead to 21-20 with less than a minute remaining, then again connected with the rangy freshman for a two-point conversion pass. Young completed 10-of-21 passes for 98 yards and rushed for a touchdown. Lexington’s other score came when Mason Green recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown. Fogle had four catches for 52 yards, while Carter Newman had eight carries for 36 yards.
Mansfield Senior snapped its two-game losing streak with a 21-10 win at New Philadelphia. The Tygers were clinging to a 14-10 fourth-quarter lead when Keontez Bradley intercepted a pass near his own goal line. Two plays later, quarterback Duke Reese hooked up with Amarr Davis on a 97-yard scoring strike to put it away. Reese completed 12-of-21 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown while Davis had four catches for 125 yards. Ricky Mills rushed for 30 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. Senior High’s defense limited the Quakers to 204 yards. Leo Hess had 13 tackles, while Mills and Ahmaad Thomas each had eight stops. Thomas had a pair of sacks, while Mekhi Bradley and Aaron Thornton each had one.
Shelby (4-1, 2-0) at Galion (2-3, 1-1): The Whippets’ defense came up big in last week’s 33-3 win over Marion Harding, limiting the Presidents to 10 yards of total offense and negative-32 yards rushing. Defensive end Mason Vent is having a huge year with a team-high 43 tackles and 10 sacks. Issiah Beck and Kam Wheeler each have 30 tackles, while Cam Cline has 5.5 sacks among his 29 tackles. Offensively, freshman quarterback Brayden DeVito is the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference’s most accurate passer. DeVito has completed 61.3 percent of his passes (68-of-111) for 1,206 yards and 11 touchdowns. His favorite target is Issaiah Ramsey, who ranks second in the MOAC with 32 receptions for 670 yards and five touchdowns. Grayson Heydinger has 15 catches for 180 yards. Skyler Winters has rushed for a team-best 214 yards on 61 carries.
Galion boasts one of the top defenses in the MOAC, allowing 248.4 yards per game. The Tigers have forced a conference-high 13 turnovers. Defensive lineman Landon Kurtzman leads the MOAC with 12 sacks among his 60 tackles. Linebacker Landon Campbell has 51 tackles and seven sacks. Offensively, running back Gabe Ivy ranks second in the MOAC with 610 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 88 carries. Sophomore quarterback Braxton Prosser has rushed for 202 yards and a pair of scores on 64 carries. Prosser also has six catches for 82 yards and a score, while Elijah Chaffin has a team-high 13 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown.
Lucas (3-2) at Crestview (5-0): The Cubs couldn’t stay out of their own way in last week’s 18-14 loss to highly-regarded Mogadore, turning the ball over three times in the fourth quarter. The Lucas defense made things difficult on the Wildcats, but tight end and Division I recruit Mason Williams threw for a touchdown on a gadget play late in the first half and rushed for a pair of short TDs in the fourth quarter. Andrew Fanello had a big night for Lucas, rushing for 172 yards on 14 carries. His 49-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the Cubs a 14-6 lead. Logan Toms ran for 77 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Andrew Smollen completed 4-of-8 passes for 32 yards.
The Cougars encountered little resistance in last week’s 48-6 victory over winless Monroeville. Running back Adison Reymer has rushed for 600 yards and 12 touchdowns on 88 carries, while quarterback Hayden Kuhn has completed 52-of-87 passes for 684 yards and four TDs. Owen Barker and Tyson Ringler each have 12 catches on the season. Barker has 185 receiving yards and a pair of scores, while Ringler has 162 yards and a TD. Caden Cunningham has 11 catches for 155 yards. Crestview’s defense is among the best in the area, allowing just 169.8 yards and 9.8 points per game while forcing 11 turnovers. Reymer leads the defense with 51 tackles and two interceptions from his safety spot. Barker has 30 tackles and five sacks, while Shawn Bailey has 31 stops.
