BELLVILLE — It’s championship week for the Colts.
The outright Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference crown is on the line Friday when Clear Fork heads to southeastern Morrow County for a showdown with recent MOAC returnee Highland. Both teams are unbeaten in conference play.
Highland re-joined the MOAC this fall after spending the past five years in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference. Highland was a charter member of the MOAC in 1990 and stayed until the close of the 2016-17 school year.
Clear Fork joined the MOAC in the fall of 2017 and won MOAC titles in 2017 and 2018. Highland won MOAC Blue Division crowns in 2015 and 2016.
Clear Fork (8-1, 6-0) at Highland (7-2, 6-0): The Colts roughed up longtime nemesis Shelby 61-19 last week as quarterback Victor Skoog rushed for 223 yards and four touchdowns and completed 6-of-11 passes for 121 yards. For the season, Skoog has thrown for 1,118 yards and eight TDs and rushed for 822 yards and 13 scores. Pawie Ault has 648 yards and 11 TDs on 90 carries, while Trystyn Robison has 454 yards and six TDs on 52 attempts and a team-high 21 receptions for 190 yards. Tight end Milo Burgholder has 15 grabs for a team-best 310 yards and two touchdowns. Jay Jackson (12 receptions, 246 yards, 2 TDs) and Logan Anderson (14 catches, 224 yards, 2 TDs) have also been reliable targets for Skoog. Defensively, Kaden Riddle is an All-Ohio candidate with offers from Dayton and Ashland among others. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound defensive end has 53 tackles and three sacks. Linebacker Luke Schlosser has a team-high 55 tackles.
The Fighting Scots set up the championship showdown with a 42-21 win over River Valley. Running back Dane Nauman is one of the best underclassmen in the state. The 6-foot, 215-pound junior has rushed for 2,199 yards and 27 touchdowns on 254 carries, averaging 8.7 yards per attempt. With defenses focused on Nauman, Chandler Stevens has proven to be a good change of pace. Stevens has rushed for 252 yards on 28 carries, averaging a conference-best 9 yards per carry. Quarterback Kolton Stover has completed 59-of-103 passes for 567 yards and six touchdowns, but suffered an injury early in the fourth quarter of last week’s win. Zach Schmidt has a team-high 21 catches for 231 yards. Nauman is also a standout linebacker. His 45.5 tackles lead the team. Stevens has 10.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
Ontario (5-4, 2-4) at Shelby (5-4, 3-3): The Warriors have won two in a row after a four-game losing streak and need a win to secure a playoff spot. Quarterback Bodpegn Miller is the most accurate passer in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, completing 61% of his passes for 1,444 yards and 13 touchdowns. Dylan Floyd has a team-high 29 catches for 407 yards and four touchdowns. Speedy senior Braxton Hall has 26 grabs for a team-high 575 yards and eight TDs. Running backs Drew Yetter and Chase Studer have split carries this fall. Yetter has a team-high 669 yards and seven TDs on 100 carries. Studer, last year’s MOAC rushing king, has 626 yards and eight touchdowns on 125 carries. The defense is led by linebackers Drew Barnes and Grason Bias, who each have 73 tackles. Defensive end Bralen Boone leads the team with 12 tackles for loss and four sacks.
The Whippets struggled defensively in last week’s 61-19 loss to Clear Fork, surrendering 510 yards. Mason Vent leads the defense with 66 tackles. Issiah Beck has 58 stops and Cam Cline has 55. Vent ranks second in the MOAC with 12 sacks. Freshman quarterback Brayden DeVito ranks second in the conference with 2,156 yards on 121-of-211 passing and 20 touchdowns. Issaiah Ramsey has 47 catches for a MOAC-leading 1,023 yards and seven touchdowns. Grayson Heydinger has 29 catches for 390 yards and three TDs. Skyler Winters leads the ground attack with 537 yards and four touchdowns on 99 carries.
Lexington (3-6, 3-3) at Ashland (5-4, 3-3): The Minutemen will need some help to get into the postseason, but last week’s 28-10 win over Madison kept their playoff hopes alive. Dylan Jamieson threw a pair of touchdowns passes and A.J. Young tossed another. Freshman wideout Brayden Fogle caught two of those TD passes, a 32-yarder from Young and a 24-yarder from Jamieson. Mason Green added a 28-yard touchdown run. Hudson Moore returned from an injury to rush for 87 yards on 14 carries.
Ashland put itself in playoff position with a 26-21 win at Wooster. Quarterback Luke Bryant has completed 125-of-223 passes for 1,785 yards and 17 touchdowns. Jonathan Metzger became Ashland’s career leader in receptions and receiving yards earlier this season. The senior has 47 catches for 935 yards and 11 touchdowns while Landon McFrederick has 55 catches for 685 yards and five TDs. Grayson Steury has 30 grabs for 482 yards and four scores. Defensively, Parker Gissinger leads the way with 132 tackles, while Ethan Truax has been in on 114 stops with a team-best four sacks. Caiden Piatt and Connor Ohl each have three sacks.
