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Fort Frye going for second straight 10-0 season

JORDAN HOLLAND The Marietta Times Fort Frye’s Clay Baker (32) carries the ball during a high school football game against Belpre earlier this season at Ralph Holder Stadium.

BEVERLY — For the second consecutive season, the Fort Frye Cadets will look to complete a perfect regular season as they host Wirt County in a non-conference season finale Friday night.

The Cadets have barely been tested in 2016 as they come into the game averaging nearly 42 points per game while surrendering just over 10.

Fort Frye has won every single game by at least 21 points and wrapped up their second consecutive Pioneer Valley Conference championship last week with a 31-8 win over the Shenandoah Zeps.

Offensively the Eric Huck-led Cadets sport a very balanced attack led by senior running backs Casey Lewis and Garrett Lochary and sophomore quarterback Tate Engle.

Lewis is averaging just shy of 10 yards per carry as he has totaled 1334 stripes and 22 rushing touchdowns on the season on 139 touches.

Lochary has accounted for 574 rushing yards (58 carries) and 201 more through the air on 10 catches while reaching the end zone a combined 12 times.

Engle is yet to lose a regular season game since opening the season last year as a freshman as he has tossed 15 touchdown passes while passing for 1136 yards.

The Fort comes into the game ranked number two behind River in the Division 6, Region 23 standings and are almost assured of hosting a first round playoff game next week.

The 2016 campaign got off in grand fashion for the Tigers as they opened the season with a 33-6 win over Calhoun County but has been a major struggle since as they have lost seven straight games while scoring six or fewer points in five of them.

The Cadets defeated Wirt County 33-12 in last year’s final regular season game.

FRONTIER (1-8) AT RIVER (9-0)

HANNIBAL — The upset-minded Cougars make the short trip to Hannibal looking to end their season on a high note while perhaps spoiling a perfect regular season for the undefeated Pilots.

The Johnny Schmidt-coached Cougars got their first win of the season two weeks ago with a thrilling double-overtime win over Valley Wetzel (28-22) before being the victim last week in the first win of the season for the Monroe Central Seminoles (37-0).

Frontier has been quarterbacked all season long by junior Toby Minder who leads them in rushing with 370 yards and five touchdowns on 81 carries while freshman Joel Lewis has 363 stripes on 73 tries.

River comes into the game on top of the Division 6, Region 23 standings thanks to a perfect 9-0 season that includes wins over potential playoff teams Bellaire (20-17), Shadyside (39-7), Toronto (38-31) and Buckeye Trail (22-7).

Quarterback Lukas Isaly led the Pilots in last weeks win over Trail as the senior carried the ball 35 times for 150 yards and all three River touchdowns.

Isaly also completed 4-of-6 pass attempts for 138 yards in a steady rain.

Last season in New Matamoras, River crushed the Cougars 39-8.

LOGAN (2-7) AT WARREN (2-7)

VINCENT — Warren plays host to Logan Friday night as the Warriors look to finish the season with three wins which would be quite a step in the right direction after a winless 2015 campaign.

The Tim Carver-led Warriors own victories over Beallsville (65-0) and Oak Glen (28-0) but come into the game looking to snap a four-game losing skid.

Last week Warren dropped a 55-26 decision to Parkersburg in a game where quarterback Casey Adams threw four touchdown passes in his first start of the season.

Ronald Hill, who quarterbacked the Warriors in their first eight games, and Bishop Ford each caught two touchdown passes apiece for the royal blue and white.

Junior running back Cole Riffle leads the Warriors with 1103 yards and nine touchdowns on 147 carries.

Logan come into the game on a high note after shutting out Ross last week (23-0) to notch their second win of the year.

Senior receiver Jenson Wallace caught a pair of touchdowns from junior quarterback Brady Walsh in last weeks win while freshman kicker Charlie Kline drilled a 41-yard field goal.

The game may be the last time the two Southeastern Ohio Athletic League schools see each other for sometime as the league is ending at the end of the season.

Last year in Logan, the Chieftains blanked the Warriors 39-0.

CALDWELL (3-6) AT SHENANDOAH (4-5)

SARAHSVILLE — Though neither host Shenandoah or visiting Caldwell will make the postseason in 2016, the annual “Noble County Superbowl” has the potential to be the most competitive in several years between the two PVC rivals.

The Zeps have taken another step forward this season under the direction of second- year head coach Jesse Wells as they own wins over Frontier (42-0), Buckeye Trail (27-26),Monroe Central (34- 8) and Belpre (48-13).

Shenandoah saw their three-game winning streak come to a close last week as they dropped a 31-8 decision to undefeated Fort Frye.

Running back Nick Miller leads the Zeps with 792 yards and nine touchdowns on 125 carries while both Christian Bond and Boone Jones have played effectively at quarterback.

After making the playoffs the past three seasons, the Redskins got off to a miserable start in 2016 as they dropped five of their first six games before recovering nicely to win two of their last three games.

Caldwell owns victories over Monroe Central (36-8), Frontier (28-6) and West Muskingum (44-16).

Running back Dalton Ivey, who was a part of those three playoff teams, is having an incredible season as the senior has rushed for 1634 yards and 18 touchdowns on 219 carries.

Ivey’s younger brother Drew has proved to be a nice compliment as he has racked up 385 rushing yards on just 85 tries.

Last season in Caldwell, the Redskins scored a 21-6 win over the Zeps.

MORGAN (4-5) AT WEST MUSKINGUM (0-9)

ZANESVILLE — Morgan will look to finish the season 5-5 Friday night when they make the trip to Zanesville to take on winless West Muskingum.

The Raiders had their modest two-game winning streak snapped last week against one of the areas best defenses in the Philo Electrics (40-8), but the 2016 campaign has been a big step in the right direction for Morgan football.

With wins over New Lexington (40-19), Shenandoah (29-22), Maysville (28-12) and Crooksville (20-14), the Derek Bragg- led Raiders have already equaled their win totals for the past four years combined with one game yet to play.

Quarterback Dakota Leopold leads the Morgan offense with more than 1100 passing yards while Wes Pauley, Cole Earich and Dylan Johnson have all played key roles as well.

West Muskingum comes into the game looking to snap a 16-game losing streak including last week’s 44-16 loss to Caldwell.

Jaden Gilaneltino led the Tornadoes last week with 84 yards on just five touches.

Last season in McConnelsville the Raiders doubled up the Tornadoes 28-14.

BUCKEYE TRAIL (5-4) AT MONROE CENTRAL (1-8)

WOODSFIELD — After finally getting off the snide last week with their first victory of the season over Frontier (37-0), the Monroe Central Seminoles aim to wrap up their season on a positive note when they host playoff hopeful Buckeye Trail.

In a season where they played as many as five playoff teams with a very young roster, the Jay Circosta-led Seminoles have struggled throughout the 2016 campaign.

Last week against Frontier, Bobby O’Donnell opened the game with a kick-off return for a score and then added a pair of long touchdown runs on a very muddy field in New Matamoras.

Quarterback Jarett Hooper and all purpose back Ryan LaFollette also play key roles in the Seminole offense.

The Warriors currently sit just one spot out of the Division 7, Region 27 standings and would need a win over the ‘Noles and a little help to work their way into the post season.

Buckeye Trail has dropped three of their last four games including last week’s 22-7 loss to undefeated River.

Last year in Lore City, Monroe Central rolled to a 21-7 win.

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