By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — We are approaching the halfway point of the high school football season as week five of the season will take place. Even with another half of the season left, there is one matchup this week that will significantly impact the WOAC. Here is a preview of each matchup around the county.

Ansonia (4-0, 2-0) vs Tri-Village (4-0, 3-0)

Once this season ends, everyone will look back at this matchup and how it helped decide the league winner. Last season, Tri-Village won 37-36 at home after Reed Wehr scored the game winning touchdown with just over a minute left in the game. It was a back and forth game as the Patriots had a 10-point lead at halftime. Ansonia came back in the second half to take a lead before Wehr scored the game winning touchdown.

Both teams have won their games by double digits so far this season. Unlike last season, both teams are entering this game undefeated. The Patriots win helped them claim a share of the title, sharing it with Ansonia. Right now, this is setting up to be a de facto WOAC championship game.

It starts up front for both teams. Ansonia wants to run the ball and control the line of scrimmage. For Tri-Village, they are more balanced and can find success running the ball and airing it out. Both teams entered this season needing to replace guys on the offensive line. Those guys are going to be the key to holding off tough defenses. The Ansonia defense has 10 sacks on the season with 54 tackles for loss. Tri-Village has 8.5 sacks and 33 tackles for loss on defense.

Arcanum (2-2, 1-2) at Tri-County North (2-2, 1-1)

The Trojans are coming off a 38-8 loss to Ansonia. Arcanum was without junior quarterback Landon Wagner. The team couldn’t run the ball against a stout defense. The Arcanum defense did make plays with senior Dakota Kendig getting an interception. The team also had a sack and three tackles for loss. So far this season, they have alternated between wins and losses. If the pattern continues, they are in line for a win.

Tri-County North has won two straight games with wins over Dayton Christian and at Dixie. They won 79-20 over Dayton Christian and 49-7 over Dixie. The Trojans will have to get their run defense in order again this week as the Panthers rushed for 414 yards as a team against Dixie last week. Senior Colten Vanwinkle had 266 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Senior quarterback Logan Flory had 115 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Tri-County North held Dixie to 185 total yards of offense.

Bradford (3-1) vs Sciotoville East (2-1)

The Railroaders are coming off their first home win on their new field over Bridgeport, 48-14. The team had a balanced attack on offense. They had 229 passing yards and 182 rushing yards. Junior Owen Canan had two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. Senior Tucker Miller had two rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown. Senior Trey Schmelzer had two receiving touchdowns and 130 yards receiving. The defense also held off Bridgeport multiple times once they enter Bradford territory.

Sciotoville East is coming off a loss heading into this matchup. They won their first two games, 42-30 and 46-14. They lost 27-20 to Miller on Sept. 1. The team only gave up 195 yards of total offense.

Greenville (0-4, 0-3) vs Piqua (0-4, 0-3)

Greenville is coming off a 45-6 loss at Butler and will get back to playing a home game this week. It was a tough game for the Green Wave as they only had the ball for just under 14 minutes of the game against Butler. The Aviators had over 43 minutes of possession in the game. The defense did hold Butler to 247 yards of total offense.

Piqua is coming off a 28-13 loss to Tippecanoe. The defense for Piqua gave up 346 yards of total offense. Tippecanoe did the job through the air and on the ground as the passing and rushing yards were pretty close to each other. Piqua did force three turnovers and did score on a fumble recovery. They also had a balanced attack as senior Ky Warner had 139 yards passing and the team rushed for 120 yards.

Mississinawa Valley (0-4, 0-3) vs Twin Valley South (1-3, 1-2)

The Blackhawks dropped a game against Tri-Village, 50-0, in which they were missing some key players. The team had 131 yards of total offense. Senior Anthony Ibarra had 51 yards rushing on six carries. Turnovers did cost the Blackhawks any chance of staying in the game as they had five turnovers.

It will be another test for the run defense this week. Twin Valley South averages 216.5 rushing yards a game. Last week, they had 111 yards rushing against Preble Shawnee. Seniors Brayden Koeller and Cais Kingsley are the main contributors in the run game. Both have over 300 yards rushing already and average over six yards a carry. Koeller averages 7.6 yards a carry. Junior quarterback Caden Bishop did throw for 165 yards.

Versailles (4-0, 2-0) vs Parkway (2-2, 1-1)

The Tigers rushed past the defending state champions in New Bremen last week, 34-7. They scored all of their touchdowns on the ground. It took until late in the fourth quarter for the defense to give up their first score of the season. The Tigers so far this season have won games in dominating fashion running the ball and playing suffocating defense.

Parkway is coming off a 35-23 win over St. Henry last week. The Panthers did start their conference slate with a 50-15 loss to New Bremen. Parkway had a hard time containing the running game from New Bremen. The Tigers can’t afford to look past Parkway. A win in this one could set up a match up of undefeated teams for next week as they travel to Marion Local to take on what could be an undefeated Flyers team.

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