OLIVESBURG — It’s the Firelands Conference game of the year — again.
For the second straight season, Crestview and St. Paul will meet for a share of the conference crown. Saturday’s winner will take over sole possession of first place in the conference standings and inherit a windfall of computer points.
A similar scenario played out in Week 9 last year. The Cougars dispatched the Flyers 28-7 at Scott Bailey Memorial Field en route to an outright league crown.
Crestview has won 19 straight regular season games dating to to the final week of the pandemic-altered 2020 season. The Cougars were ranked fifth in Division VI in the most recent Associated Press state poll.
St. Paul has won six in a row after opening the season with back-to-back losses to Huron and Ontario. The Flyers were ranked 14th in Division VII in this week’s poll.
Crestview (8-0, 4-0) at St. Paul (6-2, 4-0): The Cougars tuned up for Saturday’s game with a 39-13 win at Plymouth. Owen Barker ran for three touchdowns while Adison Reymer added a pair of rushing TDs. Reymer has rushed for 978 yards and 17 touchdowns on 149 carries. Quarterback Hayden Kuhn has completed 66-of-118 passes for 922 yards and seven touchdowns. Barker has a team-high 18 catches for 278 yards and four scores, while Caden Cunningham has 15 catches for 229 yards and a TD and Tyson Ringler has 14 grabs for 208 yards and a score. Reymer leads the defense with 75 tackles, while Barker has nine sacks. Cunningham has four interceptions and has broken up nine passes.
Longtime St. Paul coach John Livengood earned his 300th career win in last week’s wild 60-52 win over Edon. All-Ohio running back Quincy Crabbs broke St. Paul’s single-game rushing record with 408 yards and five touchdowns on 38 carries. The Flyers piled up 698 yards of total offense, with 635 yards and all eight touchdowns coming on the ground.
Shelby (5-3, 3-2) at Clear Fork (7-1, 5-0): The Whippets snapped a two-game losing streak with a 37-20 win over River Valley. Quarterback Brayden DeVito completed 16-of-27 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 125 yards and a score on 12 carries. DeVito ranks second in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference with 2,065 passing yards, completing 114-of-191 passes. Wideout Issaiah Ramsey leads the MOAC with 1,002 receiving yards on 46 catches with seven TDs. Skyler Winters has rushed for a team-best 512 yards on 94 carries. Mason Vent leads the defense with 58 tackles and 12 sacks.
The Colts blanked Marion Harding 35-0 for their sixth straight win. Clear Fork boasts one of north central Ohio’s best defenses, allowing just 233.8 yards and 18 points a game. Kaden Riddle is arguably the best defensive lineman in the area. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound senior has a team-best 51 tackles. Dual-threat quarterback Victor Skoog has rushed for a team-high 629 yards and nine touchdowns on 101 carries and completed 66-of-113 passes for 999 yards and eight TDs. Pawie Ault has rushed for 548 yards and a team-best 10 TDs on 78 carries, while Trystyn Robison has 379 yards and six TDs on 43 carries and Luke Schlosser has 226 yards and four scores on 40 carries. Robison has a team-high 18 catches for 173 yards, while tight end Milo Burgholder has 15 catches for 310 yards and two TDs.
Madison (1-7, 1-4) at Lexington (2-6, 2-3): The Rams snapped a 15-game losing streak with last week’s 35-0 win over Mount Vernon. Hunter Hutcheson rushed for a pair of touchdowns while Zach Glasgo returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown. It was one of two picks for Glasgo, a senior linebacker. Quarterback Cameron Kuhn attempted just nine passes, but had a 23-yard touchdown run. The defense limited the Yellow Jackets to 127 total yards.
The Minutemen made the long trip to Tuscarawas County and came home with a disheartening 10-7 loss. Lex tied the game 7-7 in the fourth quarter on quarterback A.J. Young’s 19-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Brayden Fogle with 6:40 remaining in the game, but the Quakers booted the game-winning 28-yard field goal with 2:06 showing. Young completed 20-of-31 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. Carter Newman rushed for 76 yards on 12 carries. Jamerrion Feagin had seven catches for 32 yards, while Cam Crago had six grabs for 41 yards and Jackson Windom had four receptions for 45 yards.
