Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

Before you knew it, week four is already here. Conferences are starting to show who the better teams are while some teams are showing they are improving each week. Nothing is set in stone right now, but we are at the point of looking down the road and circling important match ups based on these first three weeks.

This week, Darke County is going to be a battle ground. The four WOAC teams around the area will be facing each other. Those games have the potential to change the early narrative of the WOAC. Ansonia looks like the early favorite, being the only undefeated team left in the conference. Tri-Village is a game back and bounced back last week.

Versailles and Greenville are on the road and both are looking to win for different reasons. Versailles is going up against another 3-0 team in New Bremen. They need a win to keep pace in the MAC race. For Greenville, they have improved on a week-to week basis. They were close to a win last week against Sidney. The next step in their improvement could be to get a win over an 0-3 Fairborn team.

Here is what to look for in each game this week.

Arcanum at Ansonia: The chess match

Matt Macy is making his return to Ansonia. Both teams are coming off big wins where their running games shined. Arcanum rushed for 289 yards as a team against Mississinawa Valley. Jacob Rayburn and Garrett Garno both rushed for over 100 yards. Ansonia rushed for 264 yards as a team with three players rushing for over 50 yards against Dixie.

Macy and Ansonia’s head coach Adam Hall have coached against each other before. It’s going to be different this time. Both coaches are with a new team. They will deploy different personal from their previous match ups. Both coaches told me during the off-season they will run similar systems to what the players ran last year, but add their twist to it.

Hall coached under Macy at Ansonia for a few years. Both coaches know each other’s styles. It will be a game where little will surprise each coach. It’s going to come down to who can get their team to execute better and not play into the other’s hands.

Tri-Village at Mississinawa Valley: The quarterback match up

It was two different performances by each quarterback last week. For Tri-Village, Braden Keating went 11 for 15 with 239 yards and five touchdowns. For Mississinawa Valley, Chastan Daniels was 6 for 15 with 77 yards and four interceptions. He was ejected from the game against Arcanum.

Daniels will not be playing Friday due to his actions last week. Dylan Wehrkamp filled in for Daniels after his ejection. He went 4 for 8 with 35 yards and an interception. Wehrkamp does lead the team in receptions with 11.

Tri-Village does have an advantage over Mississinawa Valley on offense due to their running game. Patriot’s running back Reed Wehr has 270 rushing yards on the season. Daniels leads the Blackhwaks in rushing with 104 yards. Both teams also didn’t run the ball well last week.

Mississinawa Valley will need a good performance out of their quarterback if they want to win this game. The most likely starter is Wehrkamp. However, the Blackhawks do have a freshman quarterback, Bryce Watson, on the roster. It’s unlikely they will turn to freshman, unless they feel confident in him after a week of practice.

Greenville at Fairborn: Carrying momentum

The Green Wave were close to their first win of the season last week against Sidney. They lost in double overtime after being down 28-7 late in the third quarter.

Greenville has looked better after each game. They clawed their way back into last week’s game with a total team effort. The offense had different skill players step up each drive. The offensive line gave their quarterback, Evan Manix, time to throw or space to move around.

The defense got the stops when the team needed them the most. They also helped keep the team in the game with two interceptions. The special teams also recovered the ball on a kickoff after scoring to get within eight points.

Head coach Bart Schmitz said he was proud of how his team responded during that game. The Green Wave will get the win this week if they can carry last week’s momentum with them into Fairborn.

Versailles at New Bremen: Defense

We have seen Versailles win at least one close game this season. New Bremen have blown out their three opponents so far this season. This is going to be a challenging game for the Tigers.

New Bremen has scored 30+ in their last two games. They scored 28 points in their first game.

The Tigers defense is coming off a shutout against Delphos St. John’s. The most points they allowed this year has been 21 points to Ft. Loramie. It’s going to take a great defensive performance to limit the Cardinals and give their offense the best field position possible. The defense has to act like a catalyst to get the team going during the game.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]