MOUNT VERNON — Fredericktown, Centerburg and Danville will represent Knox County when the Ohio High School football playoffs begin on Friday night.
Here’s how those teams will match up with their playoff foes, and a couple of other school’s just beyond the county’s border:
Division IV, Region 14
No. 12 Upper Sandusky (5-5) at No. 5 Clear Fork (9-1): The Rams won three of their final four, including a key Northern 10 Athletic Conference win over Colonel Crawford in Week 7. Upper Sandusky tied for fourth in the N10, but nearly shocked defending Division VI state champ Carey before falling 20-14 in Week 9. Quarterback Kaden Holman was the N10’s leading passer, completing 181-of-297 passes for 2,225 yards and 16 touchdowns, but was intercepted 15 times. Wideout Evan Hill caught 57 passes for 754 yards and seven touchdowns, while Ethan Hill has 38 catches for 684 yards and six TDs. Gavin Frey has 57 receptions for 493 yards and three scores. Running back Levi Lamb has rushed for 715 yards and five TDs on 165 carries. Levi Allen led the N10 with 151 tackles while Damon Ward was in on 91 stops. Nathan Lewis led the conference with 8.5 sacks.
Clear Fork hasn’t been seriously tested since a 44-42 win over River Valley in Week 4. The Colts pounded Highland 42-7 in last week’s Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship game behind 144 rushing yards and three touchdowns by Pawie Ault. Ault has rushed for 792 yards and 14 touchdowns, while dual-threat quarterback Victor Skoog has rushed for 860 yards and 14 touchdowns while completing 75-of-128 passes for 1,161 yards and eight TDs. Trystyn Robison has rushed for 505 yards and eight TDs on 55 carries and caught a team-best 21 passes for 190 yards and a score. Tight end Milo Burgholder has 15 catches for 310 yards and two TDs. Logan Anderson has 14 catches for 246 yards and two touchdowns and Jay Jackson has 12 grabs for 246 yards and two TDs. Two-way lineman Kaden Riddle is an All-Ohio candidate on either side of the ball. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound senior has 59 tackles and three sacks. Linebacker Luke Schlosser has a team-best 61 tackles. Skoog and Mason Sansom each have three interceptions.
Division V, Region 18
No. 14 Fredericktown (6-4) at No. 3 Eastwood (10-0): The Freddies boast the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference’s top rusher in Teegan Ruhl. The senior gained 1,739 yards and collected 23 touchdowns on 240 carries during the regular season. Quarterback Ben Mast has connected on 53-of-111 passes for 686 yards and six touchdowns. Mason Hoeflich leads the defense with 85.5 tackles. Two of the Freddies’ four losses were by three points.
Eastwood won the Northern Buckeye Conference and is led by quarterback Case Boos. The senior rushed for 241 yards and five touchdowns on 24 carries in last week’s 42-7 win over Otsego. The Eagles rely on a rugged defense, which has three shutouts and has allowed seven or fewer points six times. Meanwhile, the offense averages 45.7 points a game and has scored 58 or more points four times.
Division V, Region 19
No. 13 Columbus Academy (4-5) at No. 4 Centerburg (9-1): The Trojans have won nine in a row after a season-opening loss to Utica. Centerburg is led by dual-threat quarterback Tyler Johnson, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior and the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference’s second-leading rusher. Johnson produced 1,501 yards and 29 touchdowns on 229 carries and completed 101-of-182 passes for 1,287 yards and 17 touchdowns. He had three rushing touchdowns and two passing TDs in last week’s win over Fredericktown. Running back Caylan LeMaster has run for 1,184 yards and 10 touchdowns on 146 carries, averaging 8.1 yards per attempt. Receiver and defensive back Jesse Rings had a team-best 33 catches for 422 yards and three TDs and tied for the KMAC lead with five interceptions.
Columbus Academy has won three in a row, including last week’s playoff-clinching 20-19 overtime win over Division III Whitehall-Yearling. Running back Jake Calodney has rushed for 870 yards and eight touchdowns on 159 carries, while quarterback Cole Spalding has completed 34-of-58 passes for 354 yards and five TDs. E.J. Jenkins is the Vikings’ leading receiver with 11 catches for 211 yards and three scores. Linebacker Harold Hacker leads the defense with 48 tackles. Carson James and Parker Knapp each have 36 stops.
Division VI, Region 23
No. 10 Rock Hill (5-5) at No. 7 Loudonville (6-4): Loudonville was 2-4 after a 19-7 loss to Danville in Week 6, but closed the season with four straight wins. The Redbirds earned a home playoff game thanks to last week’s 28-21 victory over fellow Region 23 playoff qualifier Northmor. Quarterback Matt Sprang ran for 134 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, while rugged running back Peyton Regan rumbled for 122 yards and two TDs on 30 attempts. Slippery return man Camdyn Beachy returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Sprang was the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference’s second leading passer, completing 137-of-240 passes for 1,802 yards and 17 touchdowns. Zach Frankford has 59 receptions for 709 yards and four touchdowns. Senior linebacker Aidan Wolford ranks third in the KMAC with 95 stops to go with a team-best three interceptions, while defensive end Micah Simpson has a team-high nine sacks.
Rock Hill High School is located just north of Ironton in extreme southern Ohio, more than three hours away from Loudonville. Rock Hill competes in the Ohio Valley Conference. Rock Hill had its two-game winning streak snapped in the regular season finale, falling 56-28 to Coal Grove. Running back Kordell French has rushed for 1,112 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. French rushed for 227 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carries and returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score in last week’s loss to Coal Grove. Quarterback Brayden Adams triggers an offense that averages 22.9 points a game. He tossed a 31-yard touchdown pass to Chanz Pancake in the regular-season finale.
Division VII, Region 25
No. 14 Windham (4-5) at No. 3 Danville (8-2): Windham is located near Warren in northeast Ohio, a two-plus hour drive from Danville. The Bombers secured their spot in the postseason with last week’s 39-8 win over North Baltimore. Senior quarterback Chase Eye ran for 117 yards and a pair of touchdowns and tossed three TD passes in the win. Eye has completed 47-of-108 passes for 814 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season and rushed for 1,078 yards and 13 scores on 108 carries. Carlos Bruton has collected 440 yards and a touchdown on 58 carries and caught 10 passes for 242 yards and three TDs. Jack Eye has 12 receptions for 174 yards and four TDs.
The Blue Devils tuned up for Friday’s playoff opener with a 42-21 win over East Knox in the annual Devil-Dog Game. Quarterback Walker Weckesser completed 13-of-21 passes for 131 yards and three touchdowns against East Knox, while Max Payne rushed for 186 yards. For the season, Weckesser has completed 84-of-157 passes for 1,030 yards and 10 touchdowns. Kaiden Colopy caught seven passes for 74 yards and tied for the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference lead with five interceptions this fall. Ryan Lucas has a team-high 85 tackles and eight sacks.
No. 10 Lucas (4-6) at No. 7 Toronto (6-4): The Cubs have lost two in a row and five of six, but still qualified for the playoffs for the ninth straight season. Lucas will head for Toronto and Red Knight Stadium, which sits on the banks of the Ohio River not far from Weirton, W.Va. The Cubs led Arlington 21-7 at the half last week but surrendered 22 unanswered points in the second half of a 29-21 loss. Quarterback Andrew Smollen completed 8-of-17 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. Corbin Toms caught three passes for 95 yards and a TD, while Andrew Fanello hauled in three passes for 52 yards. Lucas managed just 91 rushing yards on 23 carries while Arlington piled up 344 rushing yards on 54 attempts.
Toronto had to forfeit its 54-0 win over rival Steubenville Catholic Central in Wee 10 for using an ineligible player, but the forfeit didn’t change the playoff picture. Zane and Zeb Kinsey did a little bit of everything for the Red Knights in the win over SCC. Zeb Kinsey completed all three of his pass attempts for 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns and rushed for 125 yards and a pair of scores on just four carries. He also returned an interception 33 yards for a score. Zane Kinsey rushed for 97 yards and two TDs, caught a 77 yard touchdown pass and returned the second half kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown.
