ONTARIO — Like a couple of run-away freight trains, Shelby and Ontario have been on a collision course for weeks.
The Whippets and Warriors will decide things Friday at Copeland Field in what is the defacto Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship game.
Ontario is unbeaten and can clinch the outright MOAC title with a win. Shelby needs a victory to pull into a first-place tie with a week to play.
Shelby is no stranger to conference championships. The Whippets won MOAC crowns in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The Warriors last won a conference championship in 2004 in the now-defunct North Central Conference. It was the third NCC title in four seasons for Ontario.
The Richland County rivals have met 13 times since 2008 (they didn’t play in 2017 or 2018). Shelby owns a 9-4 advantage in the series and won five straight from 2015 to 2021. Ontario won last year’s meeting 35-28 at Shelby.
Shelby (6-2, 4-1) at Ontario (8-0, 5-0): The Whippets had their hands full with Clear Fork, pulling away from a halftime tie for a 36-21 win. Nic Eyster had a big game for Shelby, picking off a pair of passes and hauling in a long touchdown pass to pull the Whippets into a 14-14 halftime tie. Eyster is tied for the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference lead with four interceptions while Mav Noel, who picked off a pass last week, has three on the season. Cohen Sturts leads the team with 54.5 tackles. Mason Vent and Karsen Homan share the team lead with five sacks apiece. Offensively, quarterback Brayden Devito leads the MOAC in completion percentage (117-175, 66.86%), yards (2,244) and touchdown passes (19) and also has rushed for 865 yards and 11 TDs on 91 carries. Issaiah Ramsey has 42 catches for a conference-leading 900 yards. Ramsey and Casey Lantz each have six TD receptions. Running back Skyler Winters ranks second in the MOAC with 891 rushing yards and is tied for the conference lead with 15 rushing TDs.
The Warriors tuned up for Friday’s showdown with a 34-0 win at Marion Harding — Ontario’s fourth shutout of the season. Grason Bias leads the defense with six sacks among his 17 tackles for loss. Braylon Wilson leads the team with 53 tackles. Quarterback Bodpegn Miller has completed 104-of-156 passes for 1,.598 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 700 yards and 10 touchdowns on 79 carries. Running back Chase Studer has been a workhorse, rushing for 698 yards and 11 TDs on 125 carries.
Fort Loramie (5-3) at Lucas (5-3): Fort Loramie’s three losses are to teams with a combined record of 22-2. Running back Will Holland had a night in last week’s 35-12 win over Van Buren. Holland rushed for more than 200 yards, caught three passes for 53 yards and scored three touchdowns. Fort Loramie is averaging more than 300 yards per game during its current four-game winning streak.
The Cubs opened the season with back-to-back losses but have win five of six since, including last week’s 49-14 win over Plymouth. Running back Zach Diehl rushed for 76 yards and a pair of touchdowns on six carries and caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Bobby Grover. Tim Daley had TD runs of 9 and 71 yards. Lucas piled up 454 yards, including 368 rushing yards.
Lexington (3-5, 2-3) at Madison (1-7, 1-4): The Minutemen dropped their third straight last week, falling 21-14 to New Philadelphia. Quarterback Joe Caudill ran for a pair of touchdowns while completing 15-of-27 passes for 224 yards. Brayden Fogle caught four passes for 65 yards, while Markale Martin had four receptions for 64 yards.
The Rams picked up their first win in resounding fashion, blanking Mount Vernon 38-0. Madison limited the Yellow Jackets to 158 yards. Quarterback Cameron Kuhn completed 7-of-9 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown, while Chris Atkins rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns.