By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — It is week seven of the high school football season. Team’s are gearing up for the final push for the playoffs next month. Here are a look at the matchups happening this week around the county.

Ansonia (6-0, 4-0) vs National Trail (3-3, 3-1)

The Tigers got past Twin Valley South, 30-19, last week after giving up 218 rushing yards to the Panthers. Ansonia had 330 rushing yards themselves as senior Keegen Weiss went for 196 yards on the ground with 32 carries and four touchdowns. In back to back games, Weiss has scored four touchdowns. Ansonia’s last eight touchdowns have been from Weiss.

The Blazers are coming off a 300-yard rushing performance against Arcanum in their 33-19 win over the Trojans. National Trail averages 252.3 rushing yards a game. Seniors Chase Ruebush and Jamison Watts take the majority of the carries. Ruebush has 94 carries and Watts has 67 carries on the season. The Blazers have given up 216.8 rushing yards a game.

Tri-Village (5-1, 4-1) vs Arcanum (2-4, 1-4)

Despite giving up 337 yards on the ground, the Patriots won 55-20 over Tri-County North last week. Tri-Village had 315 total yards of offense in the win. Senior Reed Wehr has had multiple touchdowns each game this season. So far, Wehr has 12 rushing touchdowns and seven receiving touchdowns. He only had five receiving touchdowns last season. The defense forced two turnovers and had 11 tackles for loss. They will be up against a more balanced attack this week.

Arcanum is coming off a 33-19 loss to National Trail. Freshman quarterback Bishop Cartwright continues to impress as he had 161 passing yards and a touchdown with zero interceptions. In the past two games, Arcanum has thrown for over 160 yards and rushed for over 140 yards. Including this game, the Trojans will have three road games in their last four games.

Greenville (0-6, 0-5) at Stebbins (3-3, 3-2)

The Green Wave will look to bounce back from a 49-7 loss at Sidney with another road matchup. Senior quarterback Evan Manix had an 80-yard touchdown run to get the Green Wave on the board against Sidney. The Yellow Jackets had 202 passing yards and 287 rushing yards in the game.

Greenville will face another offense that can get the job done on the ground and through the air. Stebbins freshman quarterback Devin McCormick had 238 passing yards and two touchdowns against Fairborn on Sep. 15. Last week, Stebbins rushed for 304 yards in their win over West Carrollton, 23-20. Senior Lavell Lyles had 236 rushing yards and three touchdowns. In the month of September, Stebbins is 3-1.

Mississinawa Valley (0-6, 0-5) at East Clinton (2-4, 1-1)

The Blackhawks fell to Preble Shawnee, 48-6, on the road last week. They gave up 205 passing yards and five passing touchdowns, but only gave up 70 rushing yards. Sophomore Kyle Wehrkamp had a rushing touchdown in the game. The team had four turnovers in the game.

The Blackhawks will go up against an East Clinton team that struggles to throw the ball. Their quarterbacks have combined for three passing touchdowns and 11 interceptions. East Clinton averages 177.2 yards a game on the ground. Senior Glenn Peacock leads the team with 746 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. The defense for East Clinton does have 18 sacks on the season and forced 11 turnovers. The team is on a three-game losing streak.

Versailles (5-1, 3-1) at Anna (3-3, 2-2)

The Tigers showed they will be the team to beat not only in their region, but in Division VI. They lost 14-13 to the defending state champions in Marion Local and were a few plays from getting the upset win. Senior quarterback Michael Osborne had two passing touchdowns and made many key plays with his legs. The defense stood strong with multiple fourth and one stops and forced a turnover.

Anna is coming off a 39-0 win over St. John’s last week. The Rockets had four interceptions in the game. They also only allowed 30 rushing yards on 21 carries by St. John’s. Anna’s win helped end a two-game skid as they lost 37-7 to Coldwater and 35-18 to Minster the previous two weeks.

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