In a battle of SBAAC unbeatens, Batavia of the American Division manhandled Fayetteville-Perry of the National Division 42-8 last week.

Kaleb Moell, the Batavia QB, passed two touchdowns and ran for two more in the win. Jason Griffin averaged 13 yards a carry on 10 attempts.

• Headed in to Week 6 and the start of league play, each of the six American Division teams are coming off at least one win while all six of the National Division teams are coming off losses.

• Goshen was outgained by Blanchester 441 to 279 last week but finished on top on the scoreboard 32-13. The Wildcats had three turnovers and were just 1 of 6 on fourth down conversions. Goshen’s Hunter Slusher was a thorn in the side of the Wildcats in multiple ways. He ran for 114 yards and two scores on offense and had a team-high 10 tackles on defense.

• New Richmond’s Josh Anderson continues to dazzle. The quarterback again led the Lions on the ground (9-95) and in the air (212 yards, 2 TDs) in a win over Norwood last week. Jack McDonough went 8-133 receiving but did not reach the end zone except maybe to celebrate with teammate Randy Hammons who caught two passes both for scores.

• Here’s to a team sticking to its game plan. Williamsburg trailed 14-0 after one quarter en route to a 34-0 loss to Minford last week. Rather than switch gears and throw the ball to play catch-up, the Wildcats rushed 44 times while passing just 15 times. Newspaper guys on tight deadlines like us appreciate the keep-the-clock running mentality instead of passing futility in the wake of certain defeat.

• In a shootout, Western Brown outlasted Bethel-Tate 49-23. The teams combined for 924 yards, with the Broncos accounting for 563. Josh Taylor is rivaling New Richmond’s Anderson as the top offensive threat in the league. He had 275 yards on the ground and two scores while passing for 219 yards and three more scores.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Taylor and Anderson are going head-to-head to earn top QB honors in the league. Taylor has 1,436 yards and 11 touchdowns passing and 650 yards and eight scores rushing. Anderson has 638 yards and eight scores on the ground and 675 yards and five touchdowns in the air. Brady Evans of Wilmington has 1,127 yards passing with a 15-2 TD to interception ratio. Brayden Sipple of Blanchester has thrown for 998 yards and seven scores.

• On the ground, Brendan Lamb of Clinton-Massie has 677 yards and 11 touchdowns. Jester, the next non-QB in the league, has 630 yards and 13 scoress. Jason Griffin of Batavia has 595 yards and 7 TDs.

• Cameron Coomer is in the midst of a monster receiving season with 29 receptions for 616 yards (21.2 average) and nine touchdowns. Dylan Poff of Bethel-Tate is 23-543 receiving with just one score. Yani Williams of Western Brown is at 40-497 with six TDs.

• Hunter Jester of Fayetteville-Perry has 13 touchdowns and 11 extra point runs to top the loop with 100 points. Brendan Lamb of Clinton-Massie has scored 66 points as has Mitchell Williamson of New Richmond.

• Tackle numbers can be misleading. Teams use their own methods to determine how many players are credited for a tackle when a ball carrier goes down. With that in mind, Gabe Kilgore of Bethel-Tate has 52 and Austin Graves of Goshen 51.

• Grant Avey of Clinton-Massie and Brady Henry of Wilmington continue to duke it out as the top kicker in the SBAAC. Avey is 26-29 on extra points with two field goals for 32 points. Henry is 20-21 on extra points with three field goals for 29 points.

PLAYOFF OUTLOOK

Going in to last week’s game, Fayetteville was sitting at 4-0 and perhaps on schedule to not only win the National Division but make a run at the playoffs.

Then came a 42-8 loss to Batavia, granted a bigger school but still a sound defeat.

While the Rockets may very well still be the favorites in the National Division, the loss took them out of the playoff discussion. Even if they finish 9-1 it is unlikely they’ll play in Week 11.

To show just how faulty Fayetteville’s 4-1 record is one only has to look at the Division VI Region 24 playoff outlook. The Rockets at 4-1 are 18th in the region, just three spots ahead of 1-4 Williamsburg. There is a 2-3 Fort Recovery team ahead of Fayetteville at No. 14 in the region.

The top eight teams in each of Ohio’s 24 regions advance to the playoffs.

The rest of the SBAAC current playoff rankings are Batavia 4th in Div. IV Region 16, Clinton-Massie 5th in Div. IV Region 16, Clermont Northeastern 10th in Div. V Region 20, New Richmond 13th in Div. III Region 11, Wilmington 17th in Div. III Region 11, Western Brown 17th in Div. II Region 8, Bethel-Tate 17th in Div. V Region 20, Goshen 19th in Div. III Region 11, Blanchester 21st in Div. V Region 20, East Clinton 21st in Div. V Region 20.