Football Preview | Trio of teams seeking perfect run through nonleague action
The final week of nonleague play is here for most of Crawford County, while one team dives into league play already.
Five of the six schools are home, which is always great for the area to have a ton of football for locals to choose from.
Let's break down Week 3 of football action.
East Knox (1-1) at Colonel Crawford (2-0)
The Eagles finally get to suit up on their home field this week after the first two weeks saw them log 600 miles and 11-plus hours of driving. And they'll be welcoming a traditionally strong East Knox team out of the meat grinder that is the Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference.
The Bulldogs beat Northwood 14-0 in their opener then dropped a tough one against Crestview last weekend 20-14. Following the transfer of Cole Delaughder to Danville, East Knox leans on a two-headed rushing attack of Blake Elliott (22 carries, 183 yards, two touchdowns) and Aaron White (28 carries, 149 yards) to get the offense going. Quarterback Jax Lester isn't afraid to throw it (18-of-34, 213 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions), but the Bulldogs are a run first team. Defensively, Elliott leads the KMAC with 35 tackles, but nobody on East Knox has more than one sack in the first two weeks.
Colonel Crawford's athleticism could cause this Bulldogs defense fits, and the Eagles defense has been great against the run allowing just 216 yards on the ground so far. Quarterback Trevor Vogt, Micah Thomas and Conner McMichael are a difficult trio to slow, evidenced by their 638 yards combined on the ground and three touchdowns. The Eagles might be a little too much for East Knox and starting 3-0 would be exactly what they need to build momentum heading into Northern 10 play.
More: Crawford County Football Power Poll: Galion, Colonel Crawford, Buckeye Central undefeated
Upper Sandusky (1-1) at Galion (2-0)
After back-to-back battles against Wynford and Carey, Galion finishes its run through Northern 10 teams hosting Upper Sandusky. The Rams were doubled up by Northmor in Week 1 (42-21) before bouncing back with a 26-12 win over Mount Gilead.
Galion has looked impressive in the opening weeks relying on a stifling defense and getting the offense to do enough to come away with the win. But that defense will be tested this week like it hasn't been before. Wynford and Carey love the pound the ball up the middle and wear down defenses — the Rams want to air it out as much as possible. Quarterback Kaden Holman has already attempted 60 passes this season completing 35 of them for 555 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He is also the team's leading rusher with 100 yards. Holman likes to spread the ball around with three players over 100 yards receiving, Gavin Frey (15 receptions, 179 yards, four touchdowns) and Ethan Hill (12 receptions, 156 yards, one touchdown) his favorite targets.
The Tigers' defense has been staunch the first two weeks, but Wynford scored two of its touchdowns on big pass plays, and Carey had a big reception late that put the Blue Devils in a position to tie before Galion held them. Offensively Galion should be able to keep up with Upper Sandusky, and the Tigers will be eager to go into league play with a 3-0 record.
Ada (1-1) at Buckeye Central (2-0)
The Bucks have been absolutely dominant the first two weeks of the season outscoring opponents 117-0 and totaling 855 yards of offense. This week, though, they should get a little more of a test as Ada comes to Dutchtown. The Bulldogs edged out Upper Scioto Valley 24-22 in their opener then fell 40-27 against a very athletic Riverdale team.
Ada has a dual-threat quarterback in Levi Green who isn't afraid to use his legs. He approached 300 yards of total offense in Week 1, then Jalee Bolden was the star in Week 2 rushing for 170 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. Green has a tendency to throw interceptions, so that could be an area Buckeye Central capitalizes on as the Bucks have four this season already.
As mentioned above, a 3-0 start would be huge. But it would mean even more for the Bucks who are the smallest team in the Northern 10, which means every game is a battle. With 16 teams making the playoffs, Buckeye Central would only need one or two wins in league play to solidify a spot in the postseason — but the Bucks wouldn't be content with that, they want to compete and have a chance to win in every game.
Wynford (1-1) at Western Reserve (2-0)
The Royals put last year in the rearview mirror the moment this season started. Two great performances against Galion and Pleasant have Wynford sitting at .500 with one heck of a challenge coming up in the final nonleague game.
Western Reserve has had an impressive start beating Wellington 33-10 then winning an overtime thriller at Margaretta 44-43. The Roughriders love to run the ball, evidenced by two backs combining for almost 800 yards already. Connor Dawson has 574 of those and Hayden Keith 203. And it's not like one is the bell cow, either, Dawson has 50 carries to Keith's 43. Oh, and the pair have 10 total touchdowns split six and four respectively.
Wynford has a pretty staunch front seven that will be put to the test this weekend. This is the type of game where it will likely come down to who has the ball last.
Cardington-Lincoln (0-2) at Bucyrus (0-2)
The first of two games in Week 3 featuring winless teams. Bucyrus welcomes the Pirates for the first time since 2018 when the schools played a two-year series. It has been a rough start for Bucyrus having been outscored 120-14 in a pair of running clock losses to Riverdale and Danville. Cardington-Lincoln hasn't done much better losing twice by a 63-8 margin to Elgin and Columbus Academy.
The Pirates returned eight starters on both sides of the ball this year and scored their first touchdown of the season against Columbus Academy last weekend. With tons of athleticism on the roster, C-L is just waiting for that spark and hopes it comes against fellow winless Bucyrus.
Bucyrus can air the ball out but hasn't been able to do much defensively. This could be a back-and-forth game between two teams that see this as one of the few wins left on the schedule.
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Perry (0-2) at Crestline (0-2)
Two more O-fers as the Commodores and Bulldogs kick off Northwest Central Conference play this weekend with both programs hungry for a win. The NWCC itself is a tough conference so winnable games are few and far between.
In three previous meetings, Perry has had a running clock on Crestline outscoring the Bulldogs 146-22 over that period. And in Crestline's first two games this season opposing teams have won by a 113-0 margin. Perry, on the other hand, has found the end zone a handful of times losing 76-6 in Week 1 and 62-28 in Week 2.
Like the previous game, both teams won't see many more winnable games on the schedule — if any — so a positive result in Week 3 is extra important.
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Football Preview: Week 3 sees five county schools suit up at home
