Fort Frye, Waterford test second-round waters in Ohio playoffs
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BEVERLY - After earning a well deserved week-one bye in the Division V, Region 19 playoffs, the No. 2 seeded Fort Frye Cadets will open up their 2026 postseason Friday night when they welcome in the No. 10 Piketon Redstreaks.
The Cadets finished the regular season 9-1 with their lone loss coming to the undefeated Barnesville Shamrocks in week number seven.
The Eric Huck-coached Cadets rebounded nicely after that loss as they finished the season on a three-game winning streak to earn their number two seed in the playoffs.
The Cadets have a whole lot of talent on offense led by senior quarterback Grady Hesson.
Hesson has completed 51-of-86 pass attempts for an even 1,100 yards on the season.
The senior quarterback has fired 11 touchdown passes compared to just two interceptions.
Clayton Tullius has become Hesson's favorite target as the sophomore has hauled in 27 receptions for 586 yards and seven touchdowns.
As always the Cadets have found success on the ground led by Gavin Rauch who has carried the ball 102 times for 811 yards.
Tytan Waller has run the ball 65 times for 390 yards.
Huck has had a chance to see Piketon on tape and is quite aware of the challenges his team will face.
"They're (Piketon) a similar team to us. They really like to establish the run game," said Huck, in his 19th year as head coach at Fort Frye. "Our defense is going to have to play very well and come up with some stops. Offensively we have to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball like we always want to."
The Cadets played a brutal schedule early on and picked up wins over four playoff teams in the first half of the season.
The schedule lightened a bit down the stretch allowing the Cadets to get healthy as they prepare to make a playoff run.
The Redstreaks opened the playoffs last week with a thrilling 14-13 upset win over Meigs.
An interception by Breylan Oliver in the closing minute of the game brought an end to the Marauders bid to score a last second win.
In addition to Oliver, the Tyler Gullion-coached Redstreaks are led by quarterback Nolan Childers, running back Tanner Loar and receiver Tristan Bodiker.
WATERFORD (9-2) at WEST JEFFERSON (9-1)
WEST JEFFERSON - The opening round of the playoffs just seemed like a regular old game to the red-hot Waterford Wildcats.
Waterford scored 55 or more points for the fifth consecutive game as they rolled to a 61-0 win over Berne Union.
That win for the No. 6 seeded Wildcats earned them the right to travel to West Jefferson to take on the No. 3 seeded Rough Riders Friday night.
The Wildcats shutout last week was their fifth in the last six games and their seventh in 11 contests this season.
Waterford has allowed more than one score in a game just twice all season long and those two times resulted in losses to top-seeded Barnesville and Fort Frye.
The win over Berne Union was also a special night for senior quarterback Avery Pottmeyer and running back Hayden Jones, who both broke records on what would be the final home game of their careers.
Pottmeyer broke the Wildcats single season record for most passing yards with 1,499, a record that was previously held by Jones in his freshman season.
Jones passed Braden Bellville to become the all-time leading rusher in Waterford history with 4,475 yards.
Pottmeyer has also fired a school record 25 touchdown passes while completing nearly 74 percent of his pass attempts.
Receivers Gavin Hiener, Brayden Smith and Finn Pennock are all capable of making big plays for the Wildcat offense.
Jones has rushed for 1,234 yards on the season, the third time in his Waterford career he has gone over the 1,000-yard mark in a season.
Defensively the Wildcats are led by Dylan McCutcheon and Maddux Antill with four sacks apiece and Pennock with five interceptions including one for a touchdown.
Jones also leads the Wildcats in tackles.
West Jefferson comes into the game the winners of eight straight including a 50-12 win over Fairbanks in their regular season finale.
Waterford head coach Eric McCutcheon knows his team will have to play perhaps their best game of the year to have a chance to knock off the Rough Riders.
"It's going to be one of our toughest matchups so far," said Coach McCutcheon. "They're (West Jefferson) really good again but they are not the same team they were last year. They're a little bit more balanced offensively,"
McCutcheon feels like his defense could have its hands full trying to slow down a very quick Rider team.
"They are fast and we are going to have to adjust to their speed," said Coach McCutcheon. "We feel like we match up well. We're playing at a high level now and we hope we can keep that rolling Friday night."
The Shawn Buescher-coached Rough Riders are led by running back Memphis Book, quarterback Evan Switalski and receiver Jeremy Jester.
NEWCOMERSTOWN (9-2) at MONROE CENTRAL (7-3)
WOODSFIELD - Coming off a spectacular finish to the 2026 regular season, the Monroe Central Seminoles will look to keep things rolling when they host the No.5 seeded Newcomerstown Tigers in a District 6, Region 23 quarterfinal.
The Jonathan Calder-coached Seminoles won their final four games of the season by a combined margin of 120-8.
The 'Noles held their opponents scoreless in three of those four games to carry a whole lot of momentum into the postseason.
Two of the Monroe Central losses came at the hands of unbeaten Barnesville as well as Wheeling Central Catholic.
Key players for the Seminoles include receivers Max Demchak and Jett Kaiser as well as quarterback Cooper Howell.
The Trojans opened playoff play last week with a convincing 58-7 win over Centerburg.
The win was the first home playoff in school history for the Trojans.
Among the key players to watch for Newcomerstown are Lukas Justice and Mason Shalosky, who rushed for 214 yards and 3 touchdowns in last week’s win over Centerburg.
SHADYSIDE (9-2) at EASTERN (8-2)
REEDSVILLE - The No.4 seeded Eastern Eagles will play host to the No. 5 seeded Shadyside Tigers Friday night in Division VII, Region 27 playoff action.
The Tigers downed South Gallia (41-6) last week to advance to take on an Eagles squad that has won four straight games.
The Jason Jackson-coached Eagles have won four games in a row since they were shutout by Waterford back in week number six.
Key players for Eastern include a pair of 1,000 yard rushers in Parker Durst and Kyler Basham.
Durst has rushed for over 1,500 yards on the season while Basham has carried the ball 113 times for 1,460.
Both backs are averaging over 12 yards per carry.
Basham also excels on the defensive line as he has registered five sacks, one off the mark set by teammate Jake Parker for the team lead.
The Tigers have had a great season as well and picked up a 41-6 win last week over South Gallia.
Shadyside is paced offensively by quarterback Jayden Johnson, running back Colt Cook and receiver Michael Hendershot.
Defensively the Tigers are led by Ace Nelson and Kolton Wallace.