Waterford going for 5th win of season vs. Eastern
WATERFORD — After already toppling long-time nemesis Trimble two weeks ago, the Waterford Wildcats will look to stay in the hunt for a Tri -Valley Conference Hocking Division championship Friday night when they host the (3-2) Eastern Eagles.
Wateford is currently tied with Southern at the top of the TVC standings with perfect 3-0 records while Eastern comes into the game with a 2-1 conference mark.
Last week the Wildcats rolled to a 54-14 victory over the Frontier Cougars in a game that saw running backs Braden Bellville and Tyler McCutcheon run for three touchdowns apiece.
Waterford is allowing less than 14 points per game while averaging 38 thanks to a very balanced offense led by Bellville and McCutcheon along with senior signal caller Isaac Huffman.
Huffman has completed 26-of-50 pass attempts on the season for 483 yards and seven touchdowns while rushing for 237 yards on 40 touches.
McCutcheon leads the ‘Cats in rushing with 356 yards on 54 carries, just ahead of Bellville who has 36 carries for 345 yards.
Eastern got off to a slow start as the Eagles dropped their first two games to River Valley (51-27) and Miller (20-14) before going on a three -game win streak against the likes of Green (40-0), Federal Hocking (37-0) and South Gallia (40-15).
Quarterback Jeff Facemyer was outstanding for Eastern in last week’s win as he passed for four touchdowns and ran for two more.
Facemyer completed 13-of-18 pass attempts for 283 yards while carrying the rock 23 times for 155 yards.
WARREN (2-3) at JACKSON (3-2)
Warren will look to make it three wins in four games Friday night when they travel to Jackson to open South Eastern Ohio Athletic League play against the Ironmen.
The Warriors snapped a long losing streak with a week two win over Beallsville (65-0) and after losing to Parkersburg South (39-16) in week four, recovered last week to score a convincing 28-0 win over Oak Glen.
Cole Riffle carried the ball 26 times for 184 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s win and the Big Blue defense limited the Golden Bears to just 86 total yards of offense.
Warrior quarterback Ronald Hill carried the ball seven times for 40 yards and a touchdown last week and place kicker Matthew Modesitt made good on all four extra points attempts.
Jackson figures to be a tough matchup for the Warriors as their only two losses of the season came against a pair of teams in Chillicothe (24-21) and Wheelersburg (38-13) that sport a combined record of 9-1.
The Ironmen owns wins over Wellston (51-8), West Jefferson (49-9) and Western Brown (52-27).
BELPRE (2-3) AT SOUTH GALLIA (2-3)
The Golden Eagles travel to Crown City looking to even their record at 3-3 in what figures to be a must win game if Belpre has any plans of returning to the playoffs for the third straight season.
Belpre had a two-game winning streak snapped last week by red-hot Southern (34-18) in a game that saw the Tornados score 34 unanswered points before the Eagles scored three second half touchdowns to make the score respectable.
The Greg Adams-led Eagles own victories over Wahama (28-20) and Federal Hocking (51-6) while also coming out on the short end against Fort Frye (35-0) and Trimble (49-6).
Running back Tojzae Reams leads Belpre on offense with 337 yards on the season on 44 carries.
The Rebels have played a pair of the same teams as Belpre has with similar results as they were also beaten soundly by Trimble (42-0) and rolled to a 42-24 win over Federal Hocking.
SHENANDOAH (1-4) AT BUCKEYE TRAIL (4-1)
The Zeps hope a return to Pioneer Valley Conference action will bring an end to their four-game losing streak as they travel to Lore City looking to upset a Buckeye Trail squad that has won four games in a row
The season got off to a great start for the Jesse Wells-led Zeps when they routed Frontier (42-0) in week one but since then Shenandoah has lost to non-conference opponents River (41-21), Newcomerstown (34-28), Morgan (29-22) and Barnesville (50-16).
Running back Nick Miller leads the Shenandoah offense with 373 yards on 59 carries despite playing injured while both Boone Jones and Christian Bond have seen time behind center.
Dalton Cowgill and Caden Trenner have proved to be the primary targets for both Shenandoah quarterbacks.
After losing to Ridgewood (21-0) in their season opener and rolling to wins over Caldwell (50-13) and Frontier (55-18) in weeks two and three respectively, the Warriors have won a couple of shootouts the past two weeks against Barnesville (54-50) and Meadowbrook (39-38).
Troy Pontius and Austin Snodgrass lead the high powered Trail offense.
JOHN GLENN (1-4) AT MORGAN (2-3)
The Raiders will look to regain the momentum they gained with back-to-back wins over New Lexington (40-19) and Shenandoah (29-22) before being demolished by Sheridan last week (49-0) when they host John Glenn Friday night in McConnelsville.
The Raiders have gotten solid play all season long from quarterback Dakota Leopold who has completed 43-of-84 pass attempts for 667 yards and six scores.
Dylan Johnson has been Leopold’s favorite target as he has hauled in 13 catches for 316 yards.
The Little Muskies have gotten off to a rough start as they own only a week three win over West Muskingum (57-18), while falling to Meadowbrook (47-40), Cambridge (17-13), Sheridan (42-14) and Philo (35-7).
MAGNOLIA (0-5) AT MONROE CENTRAL (0-5)
A pair of teams not used to struggling will do battle in Woodsfield Friday night looking to get off the snide when winless Monroe Central hosts another winless team in Magnolia.
The Seminoles have been beaten soundly by Union Local (48-8), Shadyside (62-24), River (41-8), Caldwell (36-8) and Fort Frye ( 48-20) in the first half of the season.
Quarterback Jarett Hooper has completed 35-of-67 pass attempts for 356 yards and three scores to lead the ‘Noles while running back Bobby O’Donnell has rushed for 157 yards while totaling 255 receiving yards.
Magnolia has played a very tough schedule in the first half of the season as the combined records of their opponents in the first five games is 22-3.
The Blue Eagles has played a pair of common opponents as the ‘Noles as they have lost to Shadyside (41-14) and River (60-27).
CALDWELL (1-4) AT BISHOP ROSECRANS (3-2)
The Caldwell Redskins open the second half of the season looking to get back on track when they travel to Zanesville to battle Bishop Rosecrans.
The ‘Skins gained their first win of the season in week four with a 36-8 win over Monroe Central but got pummelled last week on the road at Waverly (48-0).
Senior running back Dalton Ivey has been a bright spot for the Grant Gaydos-led Redskins as he has rushed the ball 107 times for 735 yards on the season. Rosecrans opened the season with three consecutive victories over Fisher Catholic (40-13), Malvern (43-6) and Harvest Prep (54-47) before losing the past two weeks to Coshocton (44-14) and Claymont (39-15).