After the first month of high school football action, there have been plenty of ups and downs.
However, all of the area teams find themselves at 2-2 on the season.
Bellefontaine returns home Friday after three straight games on the road. The Chieftains found their groove last Friday with a 28-10 win over Benjamin Logan.
This week, they will welcome their other neighbor, Indian Lake, which fell to London 44-14 last week, in a Central Buckeye Conference crossover game.
Against the Raiders, Bellefontaine piled up 386 yards of offense, split almost perfectly between the ground (191) and the air (195).
For the season, Reign St. Clair is 57 of 96 for 697 yards with three touchdowns and two INTs.
Carter Caudill, who had three scores against the Raiders along with 160 yards, has 413 for the season with 10 touchdowns on 68 carries.
Spencer Stolly (22 for 226) and Sutton Daring (14 for 128) lead the receiving corps.
Coach Jason Brown of Bellefontaine said, “I’m proud of the way we responded. We came ready to play.”
He said that Indian Lake has a very balanced attack on offense and they will look to limit big plays by receiver Brodey Reisinger.
“We are grateful to have home game, and excited,” said Brown. “We will control what we can control.”
As noted, the Lakers are coming off a loss to the Red Raiders.
They had 234 yards, but allowed 379 rushing by London.
Brady Golliday is 61 of 96 passing for 826 yards with nine touchdowns and one pick for the year.
Noah Shirk has 49 carries for 413 yards, and Golliday has run 44 times for 174.
Reisinger is the leading receiver with 27 catches for 424 yards and six scores. Colin Bendler (14 for 164) and Gavin Henry (10 for 130) are other options.
Coach Jonn Rapp said, “It’s a big rivalry week. We want to make sure we are at the top of our game.” He added that it will be very important to keep control of emotions.
Rapp said the Lakers defense will work on containing Caudill and making him work for yardage, while staying in coverage on the receivers and tight ends.
Next week, Bellefontaine will celebrate Homecoming against Kenton Ridge, while Indian Lake travels to North Union.
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Ben Logan (2-2) at Tecumseh (2-2)
Ben Logan will look to bounce back as they visit Tecumseh in a crossover game.
Ben Logan’s Wyatt Predmore was 14-of-24 for 130 yards and ran 14 times for 60 yards against the Chiefs.
For the season, he is 43 of 72 passing for 524 yards with three scores and four interceptions.
He has run 58 times for 273 yards and two scores. Diesel Baughman has 248 yards on 45 carries, and Jordan Pender has 215 on 43 attempts. Alex Hassell has 17 carries for 55 yards. Baughman and Hassell each have four TDs.
Cayden Brown is the top receiver with 16 catches for 280 yards, two for scores.
The Arrows’ leading rusher is Devin Berner, with 580 yards and five scores on 95 carries. Noah Carl has 44 runs for 251 yards.
Quarterback Reid Olinger is 4 of 14 for 37 yards in the four games to date.
Tecumseh lost to Fairborn (41-6), then got wins over Carroll (30-16) and Shawnee (14-12) before a 42-20 loss to Northwestern last Friday.
Next week, the Raiders will stay on the road, with a trip to Graham.
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West Liberty-Salem (2-2) at Greenon (2-2)
West Liberty-Salem, which began the year with two losses, evened its mark with a 31-7 win over Springfield Catholic Central last week.
Beckett Sullivan has completed 34 of his 65 attempts for 323 yards on the year. He has four touchdowns and four passes picked off.
Corbin Wallace has 60 carries for 310 yards, and Reese Oder leads the air attack with 18 catches for 176 yards. Each has one TD.
Greenon started with a win over Shawnee (34-14), then lost to Northwestern (42-7) and West Jefferson (24-21). Last Friday, they shut out Triad 34-0.
The Knights’ quaterback is Teagan Henry, who has 53 completions on 79 throws for 718 yards with seven TDs and three interceptions.
Kai Ricks (57 for 318, 4 TD), Ethan Rychnovsky (18 for 130, 2 TD) and Caden Johnson (11 for 127) are the main ball carriers.
Those with double digit receptions are Colton Workman (12-156), Mason Ropp (11-93) and Ricks (10-104).
Next Friday, the Tigers are back home against Fairbanks.
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Riverside (2-2) at Covington (0-4)
The Pirates opened Three Rivers Conference play with a dramatic 28-23 win over Milton-Union last Friday.
This week, they face the winless Buccaneers on the road.
Covington has fallen to Arcanum (14-13), New Bremen (49-0), Graham (49-8) and Miami East (22-21).
For Riverside, Gunner Carpenter (59-246, 5 TDs); Tony Robinson (48-212, 4 TD) and Dylan Trimble (41-222) have found success on the ground.
Brody Orsborne is 22 of 51 passing for 348 yards. Carpenter (6-60) and Robinson (6-121) are the main targets.
The Bucs’ QB is Landin Cassel, who has season totals of 263 yards passing and 263 yards rushing. He is 26 of 62 in the former department, and has run 40 times.
The next highest rushing total belongs to Day’Lynn Garrett with 129 yards on 22 carries.
Next Friday, Riverside is back in front of the home fans against Bethel.
