Two Darke County football teams remain undefeated after the first two weeks of the season.
Greenville walloped Stebbins in its home opener 49-19 to improve to 2-0, while Tri-Village need two days of game time for a 27-19 win over host Dixie to remain unbeaten. (Greenville played Thursday night at Chaminade Julienne and the result was unknown at press time for this article.)
The Patriots had a lead on Friday night when storms forced the game to be postponed and finished on Saturday morning.
Versailles was the only other local team to emerge victorious last week after beating Delphos Jefferson 47-14 for its first win of the season.
The big game this week has Ansonia (1-1) on the road at Arcanum, which at 0-2 is looking for its first win. It’s been mostly a running attack for the Tigers led by Devyn Sink with 169 yards on the ground. But they also have two others over the century mark in Reece Stammen and Matthew Shook. Arcanum’s defense gave up 49 points to Greeneview in Week 1, but held National Trail to only 6 points last week, so the Trojans will be looking for repeat performance by its defense to hold off Ansonia.
With Greenville playing on Thursday night this week down at Chaminade Julienne, there are only four local games on the Friday night slate, so here’s a look at this week’s matchups.
Game of the Week
Ansonia at Arcanum
Records: Ansonia (1-1), Arcanum (0-2)
Last year: Ansonia 28, Arcanum 24
Last week: Tri-County North 34, Ansonia 21; National Trail 6, Arcanum 3
Outlook: The Tigers have three running backs with more than 100 yards rushing. Devyn Sink leads the way with 169 yards and one touchdown. Reece Stammen (136) and Matthew Shook (131) are the other two. It will be a challenge for the Arcanum defense to contain all three.
Up next: Bethel at Ansonia (Sept. 14), Arcanum at Bradford (Sept. 14)
Other games
Bradford at Mississinawa Valley
Records: Bradford (0-2), Mississinawa Valley (1-1)
Last year: Mississinawa Valley 21, Bradford 6
Last week: Troy Christian 42, Bradford 0; New Bremen 48, Mississinawa Valley 8
Outlook: A win over Bradford was the only win of the season in 2017 for Mississinawa Valley, snapping a losing steak that dated back three years. With a host of weapons on the 2018 squad that include Trent Collins and Will Hall, the Blackhawks look to make it two years in a row over the Railroaders.
Up next: Arcanum at Bradford (Sept. 14), Mississinawa Valley at Tri-Village (Sept. 14)
Coldwater at Versailles
Records: Coldwater (2-0), Versailles (1-1)
Last year: Coldwater 24, Versailles 10
Last week: Coldwater 31, Clinton-Massie 28, Versailles 47, Delphos Jefferson 14
Outlook: Versailles will need to score some points in this one, but it will count more on its defense to hold down the high-flying Coldwater offense, which took down Clinton-Massie last week. Evan Hiestand had an outstanding game for the Tigers last week with three sacks. He’ll need another one tonight.
Up next: Minster at Coldwater (Sept. 14), Versailles at Parkway (Sept. 14)
Tri-Village at Bethel
Records: Tri-Village (2-0), Bethel (2-0)
Last year: Bethel 64, Tri-Village 14
Last week: Tri-Village 27, Dixie 19; Bethel 41, Dayton Christian 7
Outlook: Freshman quarterback Layne Sarver is off to as a good a start as Patriots head coach Robert Burk could have hoped for. In Tri-Village’s first two games, Sarver has completed 20-of-25 passes for 297 yards and four touchdowns with only one interception.
Up next: Mississinawa Valley at Tri-Village (Sept. 14), Bethel at Ansonia (Sept. 14)
