MOUNT VERNON — Nothing has come easy for the Ohio Cardinal Conference’s three new head football coaches this fall, but Mount Vernon’s Jay Campbell, Lexington’s Andrew Saris and Madison’s Scott Valentine are doing their best to stay the course.
The Yellow Jackets, Minutemen and Rams were a combined 1-8 during the non-conference portion of the schedule. They will look for fresh starts as conference play begins this week. Mount Vernon visits Lexington, while Madison hosts Wooster.
“Our goal every week is to go 1-0, and that’s all there is to it,” Campbell said after last week’s loss to Delaware Hayes. “So as we get back into film, our goal is to evaluate, see where we’re at, and get ready to go beat Lex.”
Saris is delivering a similar message to his Minutemen.
“We gotta get back to the workshop,” Saris said after the Minutemen fell to backyard rival Clear Fork 38-7 last week. “We have got to get back to the grind, but we can’t be happy with this feeling.
“We can’t be comfortable with this feeling. It’s important that we work through it. And we understand that to be a winning football team these are not feelings we should get used to, excited with or comfortable with.”
Mount Vernon (1-2) at Lexington (0-3): After a couple of nail-biters to open the season, the Yellow Jackets ran into a buzzsaw last week in a 45-10 loss to Delaware Hayes — a steadily improving Division I program and one of just six unbeatens in Region 2.
Mount Vernon junior tailback Jonny Askew is one of the most dynamic players in the Ohio Cardinal Conference. Askew hauled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Joel Hubbard in the first half against the Pacers. But the Jackets turned the ball over four times.
The Minutemen struggled to get anything going in last week’s 38-7 loss at Clear Fork. Quarterback A.J. Young completed 12-of-28 passes for 145 yards and rushed for 82 yards and a 46-yard, third-quarter touchdown. Freshman wideout Brayden Fogle had three catches for 57 yards. The Minutemen gave up 438 yards to Clear Fork, 289 on the ground.
Fredericktown (2-1) at Danville (2-1): The Freddies are coming off a 39-13 win over Utica and are a three-point loss in the opener to Highland away from being undefeated. Fredericktown built a 32-0 lead last week, thanks largely to running back Teegan Ruhl. The senior rumbled for 202 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Ruhl has 583 yards and seven TDs on 60 carries through three games. Quarterback Ben Mast has completed 19-of-42 passes for 225 yards.
The Blue Devils fell to highly-regarded North Union 28-0, surrendering 435 yards of total offense while managing just 78 yards of their own. Danville had four turnovers and five first downs. Quarterback Walker Weckesser has completed 13-of-33 passes for 118 yards. Max Payne ranks among Knox Morrow Athletic Conference leaders with 32 points. Payne has four touchdowns and is 8-for-10 on extra-points. Ryan Lucas and Bryer Boeshart rank among KMAC leaders with 26 tackles apiece. Weckesser, Boeshart and Kaiden Colopy each have an interception.
Centerburg (2-1) at East Knox (1-2): The Trojans are coming off a 34-28 win over Worthington Christian and have won two straight. Tyler Johnson completed 10-of-13 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 118 yards on 14 carries, with first-quarter scoring runs of 69 and 4 yards. Mason Turske had two catches for 58 yards and a touchdown, while Jesse Rings had a pair of grabs for 51 yards and a score. Trevin Harris added two catches for 35 yards and a TD.
The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back losses to a pair of state-ranked Division VI opponents in Crestview (sixth) and Colonel Crawford (11th). Carson Steinmetz is the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference’s leading receiver with 19 catches for 249 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Bracen Davis has completed 29-of-58 passes for 343 yards and four TDs. Cole Delaughder is the team’s leading rusher with 301 yards and a touchdown on 49 carries. Blake Elliott has a team-best 23 tackles while Jacob Neighbarger has a pair of sacks.
