The final week of the regular season is upon us.
The National Division crown will be worn this season by Blanchester, two games ahead of four teams in the division. The Wildcats also still have hopes for a Week 11 matchup.
On the American Division side, Clinton-Massie has a piece of the crown but wants the entire headband all to itself. Goshen and New Richmond play each other this week and the winner can share with the Falcons if Wilmington pulls off the upset.
LAST WEEK
Clinton-Massie 45 New Richmond 16: Massie rolls up 553 yards of offense with Brendan Lamb, the top offensive player in either division in the SBAAC, piling up 193 yards and 5 rushing TDs.
Blanchester 35 Fayetteville-Perry 0: The Wildcats ran up 290 yards rushing, with Colt Conover getting 116 on 10 tries. BHS passes just enough to keep defenses honest, completing 5 for 97 yards and a 41-yard strike to Kadin Berwanger. Conover was a thorn in the Rockets side defensively, recovering two fumbles, one he returned for a TD.
Western Brown 24 Wilmington 21: The Broncos with a shocker for their first win.
Clermont NE 35 East Clinton 18: Cole Joslin was too much for EC, gaining 257 yards and scoring 2 TDs on the ground for the Rockets. Skyler Schmidt, playing fullback, averaged 21.8 yards per carry and scored 2. Damien Bowen averaged 28.3 yards per carry and scored once. In all, the Rockets had 600 yards rushing on 41 carries. David Pride had 5 sacks to lead a BT defense that was credited with 16 sacks in league stats. Branson Smith caught six passes for 184 yards and two scores for the Astros.
Williamsburg 35 Bethel-Tate 33: The Tigers seemingly had everything under control, up 26-14 going to the final period but Loghan Kelley and Braden Kelley of WHS had other ideas, hooking up for 3 fourth quarter TDs and the win. Loghan was 7-13 passing for 158 yards and 4 TDs. Alex Manz, BT’s league leading passer, completed 30 for 285 yards and 4 TDs. He also rushed for 82 yards and a score. Dakota Roberts of WHS had 145 yards on the ground and a TD. Braden Kelley caught 4 for 89 and 3 TDs. For BT, Dylan Poff caught 13 for 114 while Gauge Dunn was held to 6 for 59 but he did score 3 TDs.
Goshen 48 Batavia 0: Jack Webster completed just nine passes but had four touchdowns, to four different receivers in the romp. Hunter Slusher had 75 yards and 2 TDs rushing and another 44 yards and a touchdown receiving.
THIS WEEK
East Clinton at Blanchester: The division has been decided but plenty rides on this battle between Clinton County schools.
Batavia at Western Brown: Could the Broncos enter the 2020 football season with a 2-game win streak?
Goshen at New Richmond: The winner can hope for a Wilmington upset thus giving them a share of the American crown.
Clinton Massie at Wilmington: Massie doesn’t want to stub its toe heading into the playoffs.
Clermont Northeastern at Williamsburg: The winner could have a better overall record than Blanchester and still not win the title.
Bethel-Tate at Fayetteville Perry: Gotta believe the Tigers will want to win big in this one given their misstep last week against Williamsburg.
LEADERS
Scoring: Brenda Lamb (CM) 180 pts; Luke Lytle (NR) 150 pts; Hunter Slusher (G) 110 pts; Alex Manz (BT) 78 points; Cole Joslin (CNE) 72 pts; Gauge Dunn (BT) 68 pts
Passing: Alex Manz (BT) 185-304 for 2,157 yards, 20 TD; Drew Novak (WB) 133-231 for 1,619 yards, 7 TD; Luke Lytle (NR) 102-171 for 1,184 yards, 12 TD; Cam Coomer 66-126 for 979 yards, 8 TD; Jared Smith (EC) 48-111 for 779 yards, 14 TD
Rushing: Brendan Lamb (CM) 180-1465, 30 TD; Cole Joslin (CNE) 100-789, 12 TD; Hunter Jester (FP) 103-763, 8 TD; Jacob Duty (NR) 115-942, 9 TD; Todd Wedding (EC) 163-839, 7 TD; Loghan Kelley (Wbg) 86-814 10 TD
Receving: Gauge Dunn (BT) 63-898, 9 TD; Yani Williams (WB) 61-797, 4 TD; Branson Smith (EC) 27-453, 5 TD; David Pride (CNE) 18-440, 5 TD; Dylan Poff (BT) 44-434, 3 TD; Carter Huffman (Wil) 19-429, 5 TD
Sacks: Dylan Poff (BT) 9; Kyle Smith (BT) 8.5; David Pride (CNE) 8.5; Patrick Dotson (EC) 7; Eric Eickenhorst (G) 6.5; Sklyer Schmidt (CNE) 6; Braxton Green (CM) 5; Brady Phillips (Bl) 5
Fumble Recoveries: Patrick Dotson (EC) 3; Colt Conover (Bl) 3; 9 tied with 2, including Phillips Davis (EC), Christian Stubbs (Bl), Braxton Green (CM).
Interceptions: Loghan Kelley (Wbg) 4; Seth Anderson (G) 4, Carter Abbott (Bl); Gauge Dunn (BT) 3; Branson Smith (EC) 3; Adam Frump (Bl) 3; 13 tied with 2, including Kaleb Kingery (EC), Devon Noble (CM), Cayden Clutter (CM), Gage Huston (Bl), Tanner Creager (Bl).
Kicking: Trevor McGuinness (CM) 50 PAT 5 FG, 65 Pts; Connor Bucksath (G) 25 PAT 4 FG 37 Pts; Luke Lytle (NR) 30 PAT 2 FG 36 Pts; Rory Bell (Wil) 21 PAT 3 FG 30 Pts; Jasper Damewood (Bl) 21 PAT 3 FG 30 Pts; Willow Kenneda (Wbg) 24 PAT 2 FG 30 Pts.
Punting: Alex Manz (BT) 38.1 ave; Jared Smith (EC) 37.9 ave; Seth Anderson (G) 37.4 ave; Tate Olberding (CM) 33.8 ave; Jasper Damewood 32.4 ave
PLAYOFFS
Div IV Region 16: The Falcons are assured of a Week 11 home game at Frank Irelan Field. It’s unlikely they’ll be the top seed in the region and could be No. 3 if Indian Hill defeats No. 1 ranked Wyoming. Bethel-Tate, a stunning loser last week to Williamsburg, now is on the outside looking in at the playoffs. The Tigers could still make it with a win this week and lots of help. The Washington Blue Lions also are in the mix for a berth.
Div V Region 20: Blanchester is currently seventh but if Summit Country Day wins and Greenon wins and gets help, BHS could be out. Madeira and Mariemont are right behind Blanchester but play each other this week, so the winner there is in and the loser likely out. Suffice to say, Blanchester must win this week to have any chance but if they can manage a victory over visiting East Clinton, Jon Mulvihill and Co. can watch the scoreboard after the game.
Div III Region 12: Goshen is 11th and is still among the playoff hopefuls in the region. However, Goshen has to beat New Richmond and would likely need a Wilmington win over Massie to advance.
