KNOX COUNTY – After 10 weeks of regular season football, only two Knox Morrow Athletic Conference teams advanced to the playoffs – Highland (the conference champion) and Northmor (the runner-up).

But the 2018 regular season featured several thrilling matchups as well as some standout individual performances. Here is a look back at who led the conference statistically, and how each team stacked up by the numbers:

Standings:

  1. Highland (7-0, 9-1) … earned five seed in Division IV Region 14. Will play at four-seed Clearview (9-1) in the first round of the playoffs.
  2. Northmor (6-1, 9-1) … earned three seed in Division VI Region 23. Will host Southeastern (7-3) in the first round of the playoffs.
  3. East Knox (5-2, 8-2)
  4. Danville (4-3, 4-6)
  5. Centerburg (3-4, 5-5)
  6. Cardington-Lincoln (2-5, 2-8)
  7. Fredericktown (1-6, 1-9)
  8. Mount Gilead (0-7, 0-10)

Conference champion: Highland Fighting Scots (second straight year)

Season in one sentence:

  • Highland – Knocked off East Knox and Northmor in back-to-back weeks to end the regular season, clinching its second straight KMAC title and playoff berth.
  • Northmor – Fell one game short of a conference title, but earned its second straight (and second ever) playoff bid.
  • East Knox – Finished ninth in Region 23 for the second straight year, just one spot away from a playoff berth, but beat arch-rival Danville for the first time since 2005.
  • Danville – Missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010, but won four of its last five games.
  • Centerburg – Improved its overall record by three wins from last season, but couldn’t contend with the conference’s top four.
  • Cardington-Lincoln – Despite the Pirates’ record, they were rarely ever blown out, and they finished the season strong with consecutive wins.
  • Fredericktown – Struggled against everyone but Mount Gilead, as the Freddies’ lack of depth proved costly against bigger teams.
  • Mount Gilead – Went winless for the second straight season (the streak is now at 22 games) and only came close to beating two teams – Centerburg and Cardington.

Points scored:

  1. Highland (42.7 points per game)
  2. East Knox (42.1)
  3. Northmor (35.5)
  4. Danville (26.5)
  5. Cardington-Lincoln (17.2)
  6. Centerburg (15.1)
  7. Fredericktown (11.5)
  8. Mount Gilead (7.4)

Points surrendered:

  1. East Knox (13.5 points per game)
  2. Highland (14.2)
  3. Northmor (16.5)
  4. Centerburg (23.5)
  5. Danville (24.4)
  6. Cardington-Lincoln (31.9)
  7. Fredericktown (36.2)
  8. Mount Gilead (42.7)

Non-conference strength of schedule (by opponents’ combined record):

  1. Danville (25-5)
  2. Northmor (20-10)
  3. Fredericktown (20-10)
  4. Highland (14-16)
  5. Mount Gilead (14-16)
  6. Centerburg (13-17)
  7. Cardington-Lincoln (12-18)
  8. East Knox (3-27)

Individual passing:

  1. Kadden Lester (East Knox) – 2,378 yards (110-of-182), 21 TDs, 6 INTs
  2. Dalton David (Danville) – 1,569 yards (106-of-184), 16 TDs, 5 INTs
  3. Hunter Mariotti (Northmor) – 1,280 yards (87-of-129), 16 TDs, 3 INTs
  4. Nate Rodgers (Mount Gilead) – 818 yards (84-of-177), 5 TDs, 10 INTs
  5. Terry Fearn (Fredericktown) – 748 yards (72-of-147), 7 TDs, 8 INTs
  6. Ian Taylor (Highland) – 544 yards (38-of-71), 8 TDs, 4 INTs
  7. Nate Hickman (Cardington-Lincoln) – 509 yards (37-of-94), 6 TDs, 10 INTs
  8. John Sheasby (Centerburg) – 476 yards (53-of-108), 5 TDs, 2 INTs

Individual rushing:

  1. Conor Becker (Northmor) – 1,931 yards (8.4 yards per carry), 29 TDs
  2. Mason Goers (Cardington-Lincoln) – 1,456 yards (6.2 yards per carry), 14 TDs
  3. Kasson Krownapple (East Knox) – 1,379 yards (8.7 yards per carry), 29 TDs
  4. Brody Matthews (Highland) – 914 yards (6.7 yards per carry), 11 TDs
  5. John Sheasby (Centerburg) – 810 yards (4.2 yards per carry), 7 TDs
  6. Tate Tobin (Highland) – 771 yards (7.9 yards per carry), 19 TDs
  7. Brock Veley (Highland) – 746 yards (9.3 yards per carry), 6 TDs
  8. Chris Greenawalt (Danville) – 698 yards (5.3 yards per carry), 7 TDs
  9. Jack Weaver (Highland) – 677 yards (8.8 yards per carry), 4 TDs
  10. Terry Fearn (Fredericktown) – 470 yards (3.6 yards per carry), 3 TDs

Individual receiving:

  1. Corbin Hazen (Danville) – 49 receptions, 690 yards, 6 TDs
  2. Caleb Gallwitz (East Knox) – 44 receptions, 973 yards, 9 TDs
  3. Gavin Ramos (Northmor) – 28 receptions, 275 yards, 2 TDs
  4. Alex Holt (Danville) – 24 receptions, 410 yards, 7 TDs
  5. Stephen Schmitt (Centerburg) – 22 receptions, 209 yards, 0 TDs
  6. Jack Fitzpatrick (Fredericktown) – 21 receptions, 285 yards, 0 TDs
  7. Dawson Moreland (East Knox) – 18 receptions, 357 yards, 3 TDs
  8. Cole Dille (Northmor) – 18 receptions, 283 yards, 2 TDs
  9. Blake Miller (Northmor) – 17 receptions, 311 yards, 4 TDs
  10. Conor Becker (Northmor) – 17 receptions, 282 yards, 4 TDs
  11. Trey Brininger (Cardington-Lincoln) – 17 receptions, 280 yards, 5 TDs
  12. Mason Finnell (Fredericktown) – 17 receptions 190 yards, 3 TDs
  13. Weston Melick (East Knox) – 16 receptions, 374 yards, 3 TDs
  14. Langon Johnson (Danville) – 16 receptions, 216 yards, 1 TD
  15. Kasson Krownapple (East Knox) – 15 receptions, 342 yards, 2 TDs

Defensive statistics, such as tackles and sacks, were not included due to stat-keeping inconsistencies from school to school. Season stats were collected from each school’s coaching staff. All-conference honors will be released at a later date.

In playoff action, Northmor will host Southeastern on Friday night, while Highland will face Clearview on Saturday night. Both games will kick off at 7 p.m.

Looking back at 2017:

  • Danville and Highland split the inaugural KMAC title.
  • Northmor finished third, East Knox placed fourth in the conference.
  • Seniors Skyler Durbin (Danville) and Demetrius Johnson (Northmor) led the conference in passing and rushing, respectively.
  • Hazen led the KMAC in receiving (53 receptions for 820 yards).
  • Danville lost in the state semifinals, while Highland and Northmor both lost in the first round of the playoffs.

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