Two Knox County teams remain alive in the Ohio high school football playoffs.
Danville will play at home, while Fredericktown has one of the longest journeys in the state on Friday night.
Here’s a closer look at each team, and their foe:
Division VII, Region 27
No. 10 Lucas (6-5) at No. 2 Danville (10-0)
When the Cubs have the ball: Lucas runs a double-wing, double-tight offense and relies almost exclusively on its rushing attack. The Cubs ranked third in the Northern 10 in rushing offense, averaging 251.9 yard per game during the regular season.
Brady Guegold has rushed for 1,102 yards and 13 touchdowns on 193 carries after torching Beaver Eastern for 127 yards and two scores in last week’s 14-0 win. Quarterback Brady Anschutz isn’t asked to throw often, but rushed for 481 yards during the regular season.
Danville boasts north central Ohio’s best defense, led by Knox Morrow Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year Owen Gronberg. The Blue Devils allowed just 58 points and 144.3 yards per game and pitched four shutouts during the regular season.
Linebacker Jacob Byers made 107 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss. Chris Mosher has 103 stops. Gronberg tied for the KMAC lead with 23 tackles for loss.
When the Blue Devils have the ball: Operating out of a balanced attack, Danville averaged 186.5 rushing and 168.3 passing yards per game.
Sophomore quarterback Parker Proper has completed 99-of-145 passes for 1,596 yards and 25 touchdowns with just two interceptions. His favorite target is Briggs Wallace, who has 37 catches for 594 yards and eight touchdowns. Brycen Burke (24-335, 7 TDs) and Aidan Mickley (18-373, 6 TDs) are also threats.
Junior running ack Cy Wallace has rushed for 898 yards and 16 touchdowns on 72 carries and needs 128 yards to become the program’s career rushing leader. Wallace was selected the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Nolan Ridgway has rushed for 261 yards and five scores.
The Lucas defense is led by Guegold, who made 71 tackles and 15 tackles for loss from his linebacker spot during the regular season. Carter Cox had 70 stops, while Ben Hockensmith had 65 tackles.
Extra Point: Lucas and Danville have a long history, with the Blue Devils owning a 31-8-2 advantage in the all-time series. … The two programs have combined for 40 playoff appearances, 25 for Danville and 15 for Lucas.
Division VI, Region 23
No. 8 Fredericktown (9-2) at No. 1 Hannibal River (10-0)
Know Your Foe: Hannibal River earned the top seed in the region, a first-round bye, and a home playoff game by going undefeated for the fifth time in school history.
The Pilots are an offensive juggernaut, scoring 40 points or more in eight of their 10 wins. River boasts a punishing running game featuring a big offensive line and running backs Wyatt Stalder, Payton Weese and Trey Larrick.
Stalder ripped off a 96-yard touchdown run, one of his two TDs, and had 169 yards in the first half alone during a 26-20 win at Caldwell in Week 9.
The top vicory for coach Mike Flannery’s squad was a 22-13 come-from-behind victory over playoff participant Shadyside. In a tilt before a standing-room only crowd at Martin Flannery Field, the No. 1-ranked visitors raced to a 13-0 lead.
But River’s defense shut the door after that. Stalder’s 47-yard scoring dash began the comeback, and sophomore quarterback Cam Abbott’s 13-yard TD pass on fourth-and-goal finished it. Stalder notched 157 yards, and was the receiver on the clinching touchdown catch.
“Their size up front eventually wore us down,” Shadyside coach Mike Kernik told the The Times Leader.
Abbott threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns in River’s last outing, a 53-21 pounding of Frontier in Week 10.
Fredericktown outlook: The Freddies are coming off a thrilling, 20-16 victory over perennial powerhouse Newark Catholic in last week’s playoff opener.
Running back Parker Saunders and quarterback Jonny Ashcraft give the Freddies a dual-threat running attack.
Saunders has gained 945 yards (7.7 yards per carry) with six touchdowns, while Ashcraft has totaled 850 yards (6.4 avg.) and nine TDs.
Ashcraft had a big game against the Green Wave, ripping off runs of 80, 69 and 36 yards, two of those scampers were for touchdowns. He also fired a 26-yard TD pass to Laken Hunter to help Fredericktown overcome a double-digit first-half deficit.
Coach Scott Spitler prefers to keep the ball on the ground, but Ashcraft has hit 30-of-46 passes for 320 yards and six touchdowns.
Defensively, Aidan Ebersole and Kamdyn Clutter have each recovered a pair of fumbles.
The Freddies lost their season opener, a 28-7 decision at Highland, but recovered to finish runner-up in the KMAC. Their only other loss of the season was to KMAC champion Danville, 52-7 in Week Four.
Fredericktown averages 24.2 points per game, while allowing 28.5. But this team has won seven straight and flashed a penchant for finding a way to claim tight contests. The Freddies beat Utica 30-27, Loudonville 35-34 in overtime, and won three more games decided by single digits, including their playoff opener.
Extra Point: Freddie Nation will have a three-hour bus ride for this game.