By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

It is week nine and there’s still a lot to play for this week. Conference and playoff seeding is still up in the air.

At a minimum, everyone is trying to shake up the playoff picture with two weeks left. Teams are trying to sneak in or trying to get a higher seed. There are a few matchups with big playoff implications this week.

This is also a big WOAC week. Ansonia is hosting Preble Shawnee with the loser essentially is out of the WOAC race. Both teams have one loss on the season. It will be a playoff-type game at Ansonia.

With the weather getting colder and the postseason approaching, here is what to watch for during this week’s games.

Greenville at Troy: Defense performance

Greenville and Troy are close together in the offensive stats. The Green Wave averages 340.3 yards per game, second in the MVL. The Trojans average 311.3 yards per game, third in the MVL. Both teams also do most of their damage on the ground.

Troy has the edge on defense, they limit opponents to 277.3 yards per game. Greenville is at 392.1 yards allowed per game. The Green Wave have played better defense in the past couple of games. Outside of Piqua, they limited West Carrollton to eight points and they limited the Butler’s offense to seven points.

Coming off a big win over Butler, look for the defense to build on last week’s game and try to limit the Troy rushing attack.

Preble Shawnee vs Ansonia: Creating turnovers

So far this season, Preble Shawnee as shown to win games in different ways on offense. They rushed for 343 yards against Arcanum last week. The week before, their quarterback Brody Morton threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns against Tri-County North.

With a multiple offense, Ansonia will have trouble taking away one part of the offense and limit the other part. The best way to stop the offense will be to take the ball away. In their loss against National Trail, Preble Shawnee had three turnovers. Ansonia is good with limiting their own turnovers. If they can steal possessions away from Preble Shawnee, their running game should be able to capitalize on them.

Arcanum at Dixie: Running game

The Trojans just finished up their three game stretch against: National Trail, Tri-Village and Preble Shawnee. During that stretch, they struggled to get the running game going. Arcanum won when they found success on the ground.

Dixie struggles to stop the run on defense. For the Trojans, this is a chance to get their rushing game back up and running. In their two wins, the Trojans ran, as a team, for 289 and 199 yards. Look for Jacob Rayburn and quarterback Garrett Garno to take the bulk of the carries.

Mississinawa Valley at Tri-County North: Passing game

As mentioned before, Preble Shawnee was able to throw for 330 yards against Tri-County North a few weeks ago. Mississinawa Valley wants to be a pass first offense.

The Blackhawks had 145 total yards last week against National Trail. Out of those 145 yards, 140 were through the air. They will challenge Tri-County North with the passing game.

If they can limit the turnovers, they have the receivers to put up some big numbers this game. A win could help the Blackhawks be in contention for a playoff spot in their region.

Blanchester vs Tri-Village: Offensive showcase

This will be a matchup of two very good offenses. The Patriots average 47.5 points per game. The Wildcats average 35.4 points per game. In their last four games, Blanchester has scored at least 45 points. The offense for them is riding high entering this game.

Tri-Village is coming off a 70 point game against Dixie last week. The Patriots should be able to win this game with their offense. Blanchester has allowed at least 20 points in their last four games.

If the Patriot defense has an off night against the Wildcats’ offense, the Patriot offense should be able to keep the team in the game. This should be a game full of big plays on offense.

Coldwater vs Versailles: Containing the rushing game

This game will have some playoff implications for both teams. Both are firmly in the playoffs, but a win here will give them a chance to shoot up the rankings or extend their lead for a top three seed.

Last week against New Bremen, Coldwater scored all of their touchdowns on the ground. The Cavaliers will more than likely look to do the same thing against Versailles. In the Tigers last loss to Marion Local, Versailles was able to bottle up the run until the last quarter of the game.

This should be another game where possessions will be limited. Versailles will need to stop the run often and early in drives to have as many possessions possible.

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