It may be the most highly-anticipated non-conference game in north central Ohio since 2019.

All eyes will be on the Whippet Athletic Complex on Friday when Shelby hosts Lexington.

Both teams opened with impressive wins last week. Lex beat Ontario, 36-16, behind quarterback Joe Caudill’s two rushing and two passing touchdowns. It was Lexington’s first win in the long-standing series since 2021.

Not to be outdone, Shelby quarterback Brayden DeVito threw for 189 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 77 yards and a score in a 56-14 win over Madison.

Shelby has beaten Lexington eight straight times. Lex’s last win in the series came in 2015.

“We’re excited,” Lex coach Andrew Saris said of playing the highly-regarded Whippets. “We’re going to got out and get ready for Shelby.”

The Minutemen won last week despite themselves. Lex turned the ball over five times in the victory over Ontario, but picked off four passes.

“There’s a lot of things we’ve got to shore up. We can’t have those turnovers,” Saris said. “And penalties. I know it’s Week 1 but we’ve got to make sure we clean those up.”

There will be no shortage of major-college talent on the field Friday night.

Caudill is headed to Michigan State, while teammate Brayden Fogle verbally committed to Georgia over the summer. Dantrell Hughes, who caught a 49-yard touchdown pass last week, has an offer from Louisville, among others.

DeVito is on his way to the Air Force Academy in Colorado. Teammate Michael Shepherd, who caught a touchdown pass last week, has an offer from Miami University in Oxford.

“This team needs to continue to grow,” Shelby coach Rob Mahaney said after the win over Madison. “We have got to be better next week than we were this week.”

Clear Fork shows power in the Valley

Belief can be a powerful tool, especially for a high school football team.

If the Clear Fork Colts had any doubts about themselves, those were eliminated with last week’s 17-14 walk-off win over defending Division IV state runner-up Sandusky Perkins. 

Nash Evans booted a 29-yard field goal, his first at the varsity level, as time expired to send Clear Fork to its biggest win in coach Aaron Brokaw’s three seasons.

The Colts were 2-8 in Brokaw’s first season in 2023. Clear Fork won three of their final four games in 2024 to grab a playoff spot in Region 14 of Division IV and finished 4-7.

None of those six wins over two seasons compared to last Friday’s opener as Clear Fork avenged a 55-0 loss to Perkins in the 2024 lidlifter.

Quarterback Marcus Hoeflich completed 12-of-23 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, the defense limited the Pirates to 45 rushing yards.

Clear Fork hosts Zanesville on Friday and is looking to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2018. The Colts were 12-1 that year and reached the regional championship game.

KMAC is back on the attack

The Knox Morrow Athletic Conference is low-key one of the top small-school conferences in north central Ohio. The KMAC produced four playoff qualifiers last fall and two of them, Danville and Northmor, won regional championships and advanced to the state semifinals.

The KMAC did nothing to tarnish its reputation during Week 1. The eight conference schools were a combined 7-1 with the only loss a 25-24 setback for East Knox. The Bulldogs scored a touchdown with 25 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter in their game against Northridge, but the try for two was unsuccessful.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in Week 1 was Loudonville. The Redbirds, who scored just 72 points during a winless 2024 campaign, erupted for a 60-0 win over Mapleton.

It was the first victory at Loudonville for legendary coach Ed Honabarger and snapped a 12-game losing streak dating to Week 8 of the 2023 season. The 60 points were the most since a 62-0 win over Gilmour Academy in Week 9 of the 2015 season.

Individually, Centerburg receiver Hayden Love was unstoppable in the Trojans’ 34-0 win over Utica. The senior had five catches for 240 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 48 yards per reception.