LEXINGTON — The Minutemen need a win to extend their season.
Lexington is one of 10 teams fighting for the five remaining Region 10 playoff bids up for grabs this weekend. The Minutemen would likely secure one of those spots with a win over Ashland.
Lex is currently 20th in the Division III, Region 10 rankings. The top 16 teams in each region earn a postseason invitation.
“In order for us to make it, we have to treat them like playoff games,” Lexington coach Andrew Saris said after last week’s win over Madison. “So we’re going to go into Week 10 the same way.”
Ashland (5-4, 3-3) at Lexington (4-5, 3-3): The Arrows kept their playoff hopes alive with a 34-0 win over Wooster. Running back Cayden Spotts rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns on just 16 carries, including an 85-yarder midway through the third quarter. Quarterback Nathan Bernhard completed all four of his pass attempts for 115 yards and a 57-yard touchdown pass to Michael Franz, who has eight TD grabs on the year. Meanwhile, Ashland’s defense pitched its first shutout since Week 6 of the 2018 season, a span of 53 games. Josh Pancake had 2.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Gunner Lacey recovered a fumble and Gavin Hoffman intercepted a pass.
The Minutemen stayed in playoff contention with a come-from-behind 31-21 win over Madison. Quarterback Joe Caudill threw for 151 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 112 yards and a score, helping Lex overcome a 13-6 halftime deficit. Mason Green and Markale Martin each rushed for a TD. Seven Allen caught a 28-yard TD pass.
Ontario (8-1, 5-1) at Highland (5-4, 2-4): The Warriors saw their perfect season slip away in the closing seconds in last week’s 37-31 loss to Shelby and need a win to secure at least a share of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference crown. Ontario boasts the top scoring defense and total defense in the MO AC, allowing 13.4 points and 233.7 yards per game. Linebacker Chase Studer leads the defense with 60 tackles, while Grason Bias has a team-high 19 tackles for loss and six sacks. Offensively, quarterback Bodpegn Miller has completed 64.3% of his passes (117-182) for 1,789 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed for a team-best 797 yards and 12 TDs on 97 carries. Studer has rushed for 774 yards and 12 TDs on 142 carries. Tight end Dylan Floyd has caught a team-high 35 passes for 407 yards and three touchdowns. Quin Frankhouse averages 26.8 yards per reception, tops in the MOAC among receivers with at least one catch per game. Landon Foltz has a team-best five TD catches.
Highland’s Dane Nauman continues to lead the MOAC in rushing attempts (168) and yards (1,337) and is tied for the league lead with 16 rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Kolton Stover has completed 100-of-186 passes for 1,448 yards and 10 TDs. Receiver Kadyn Reichenbach has seen TDs catches among his 31 receptions and ranks third in the MOAC with 723 yards. Defensively, Ladon Hayes leads the way with 80 tackles and is tied with Nauman for the team lead with five sacks. Sam Hernandez is tied for the MOAC lead with four interceptions.
Pleasant (6-3, 4-2) at Shelby (7-2, 5-1): The Spartans are the surprise of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference after going winless in MOAC play in 2022. Pleasant already has secured a playoff spot in Division V, Region 18 and is coming off a resounding 36-0 win over Marion Harding. The Pleasant defense limited Harding to two first downs, minus-24 yards rushing and 35 yards of total offense. Linebacker Conner Smith ranks second in the MOAC with 135 tackles. Jace Trachtenberg has 127 stops, while Sam Mentzer is tied for the MOAC lead with 13 sacks. Offensively, dual-threat quarterback Owen Lowry makes the Spartans go. The junior has completed 126-of-223 passes for 1,736 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 521 yards and 11 TDs on 118 carries. Jake England has run for 365 yards and three touchdowns on 60 carries. Aiden Smith leads the team with 38 catches for 633 yards and four TDs.
The Whippets handed Ontario its first loss of the season in dramatic fashion last week as Issaiah Ramsey took a lateral from Casey Lantz on a hook and ladder and scored the game-winning touchdown with less than a minute to play in the 37-31 victory. Ramsey sealed the victory with an interception in the end zone in the closing seconds. Ramsey leads the MOAC with 1,024 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches, while Lantz has six TD receptions of his own. Quarterback Brayden DeVito is the MOAC’s most accurate passer, competing 136-of-206 passes (66%) for a conference-high 2,584 yards and 23 scores. Skyler Winters is tied for the MOAC lead with 16 rushing touchdowns. He has run for 964 yards on 134 carries, while DeVito has 946 rushing yards and 11 TDs on 106 attempts. Defensively, Shelby’s ball-hawking secondary is among the best in the league. Nic Eyster is tied for the MOAC lead with four interceptions while Ramsey and Maverick Noel each have three. Cohen Sturts leads the team with 63.5 tackles, while Miles Swisher has 61 stops. Mason Vent and Karsen Homan each have five sacks.