By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — The playoff push officially begins this week. By the end of this month, playoff draw would have happened and the first round would be played. But before we get there, there’s still three weeks left of the regular season.

Here are the games for this upcoming week around the county.

Ansonia (7-0, 5-0) at Tri-County North (3-4, 2-3)

The Tigers were able to win the battle of the rushing teams last week in a 30-0 win over National Trail. Ansonia rushed for 292 yards while they held the Blazers to 154 yards rushing. Senior Garrett Stammen had two rushing touchdowns. Seniors Keegen Weiss and Nick Burns both had a rushing touchdown as well. The defense had two interceptions with junior Zane Henderson and senior Landyn Bowman both grabbing one.

Tri-County North will also look to run the ball as they average 287.3 rushing yards a game. Senior running back Colten Vanwinkle has 1,176 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Senior quarterback Logan Flory has 702 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. It will be another week of the Tigers needing to control the line of scrimmage to slow down the Panthers rushing attack.

Arcanum (2-5, 1-5) at Preble Shawnee (5-2, 4-1)

The Trojans will look to build off their play in the second half of their 43-0 loss to Tri-Village as they face another daunting task on the road. The Trojans had 116 total yards of offense last week. So far these last few weeks, they have been able to move the ball on the ground and through the air. Since filling in as the starter quarterback, freshman quarterback Bishop Cartwright has averaged 115.3 passing yards a game. The team averages 138.6 rushing yards a game.

The Arrows are coming off a 52-22 win over Tri-County North. Sophomore quarterback Brody Morton had 286 passing yards and five passing touchdowns on seven completions. The team had 141 rushing yards. They did give up 328 rushing yards to the Panthers. The Trojans will have to eliminate the big plays from the Arrows to win this one. Four of Morton’s touchdown throws went for 50+ yards.

This game has been moved to Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Bradford (4-2) vs Twin Valley South (3-4, 3-3)

After an off week, the Railroaders return to action against their second WOAC foe in Twin Valley South. The Railroaders lost to Dixie, 29-28, in their last game. Twin Valley South is coming off a 61-6 win over Dixie.

Panthers senior running back Cais Kingsley had 199 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Senior Brayden Koeller had 108 yards rushing and two touchdowns on six carries. The team had nine rushing touchdowns in the game. Bradford gave up 197 yards rushing to Dixie. The Railroaders’ run defense will be tested in this one. The Panthers can break off those big rushing plays for touchdowns.

Greenville (0-7, 0-6) vs Fairborn (2-5, 2-4)

The Green Wave will host Fairborn as they look for their first win of the season. The defense is coming off their best game yet as they only allowed 30 points to Stebbins. Fairborn only averages 17.7 points a game. The Skyhawks will look to run the ball as they average 167.7 rushing yards a game compared to 69 passing yards a game. Junior Jay Kidd leads the team in rushing with 490 yards. Sophomore Zyaire Cavitt and senior JT Smith both have 337 rushing yards. When they do throw the ball, senior Sean Townsend is the main target. He leads the team with 15 receptions, 226 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Mississinawa Valley (0-7, 0-5) at National Trail (3-4, 3-2)

The Blackhawks will return to WOAC action after they lost 35-0 to East Clinton. The team did have 125 yards rushing in the game. They did give up 179 rushing yards in the game.

The Blazers will look to get back into the win column after their loss to Ansonia. They average 238.3 rushing yards a game and will continue to run the ball. The Blazers defense will get after opposing offenses as they have 24 tackles for loss and seven sacks. They also recovered 10 fumbles this season, but don’t have an interception on the season.

Tri-Village (6-1, 5-1) at Dixie (3-4, 2-4)

The Patriots will look to get off to another hot start, this time against Dixie. Tri-Village scored 27 points in the first quarter against Arcanum. The team played a near perfect game from start to finish. Senior Reed Wehr had 196 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns along with a scoop and score. They still are playing for the possibility to win at least a share of the WOAC title if Ansonia slips up.

Dixie finished out their September going 1-4. They are coming off a 61-6 loss to Twin Valley South where the running game of the Panthers gave them fits. The Greyhounds have vastly improved from a season ago. They went from zero wins to three already this season. The Dixie defense will be hungry for more turnovers. They have seven fumble recoveries and seven interceptions.

Versailles (6-1, 4-1) vs St. Henry (2-5, 1-4)

The Tigers bounced back in a big way from their loss to Marion Local as they won 41-14 against Anna. After a scoreless first quarter, Versailles scored 21 in the second quarter and finished the job from there. The defense continues to be sharp this season. The 14 points against Anna ties for the most points given up this season by the Tigers.

St. Henry is coming off a 13-10 win over New Bremen last week. The Redskins have been playing better football lately as they only lost to Minster, 7-2, the week before New Bremen. The Tigers are still in the hunt for a possible share of the MAC title if Marion Local slips up. They also need wins to move up the computer rankings for the one seed in their region.

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