H.S. football coming down to an exciting finish
- col-aaron-dorksen
- October 12, 2022
- 2235
A few thoughts from the week in sports …
It’s week nine of the high school football season, and exciting things are happening at all of the Wayne-Holmes schools in The Bargain Hunter coverage area.
West Holmes and Dalton have both clinched playoff spots and control their own destiny in league title races.
Wooster, Orrville, Triway and Smithville all enter the week in the top 16 or better in their playoff regions.
Waynedale is an extreme playoff longshot but will pass out championship rings to its state title baseball team prior to the game against Chippewa.
Here’s a two-minute drill to catch up fans on what to watch for area teams:
—Wooster (4-4, 3-3 OCC) is 16th in Div. II, Region 7 and should qualify for the playoffs if it can close with wins at home against Ashland and Villa Angela-St. Joseph.
The Generals are coming off a 31-11 loss at Mansfield Senior while the Arrows (4-4, 2-3) showed impressive fight in a 63-39 loss against unbeaten West Holmes.
At this point last year, Wooster also was 4-4. The Generals then lost to Massillon and beat Ashland, setting the stage for two upset playoff wins.
“For us, it is playoff season now,” Wooster coach Austin Holter said. “The reality is they do take 16 teams, and we're sitting at the bottom of that 16 right now, so every game is a playoff for our kids. Beyond that it's about trying to improve.”
Senior Seth Chamberlin leads Wooster with 163 carries for 815 yards and eight TDs. Junior Luke Snowbarger is 80 for 151, passing for 968 yards, 10 TDs and seven interceptions. Bronson Morgan has been the top receiving target with 27 catches for 350 yards and four scores.
AJ Likowski also has seen time at quarterback, carrying the ball 27 times for 157 yards and four scores and passing for 110 yards.
Michael Howman-Williams leads the defense with 79 tackles, with Tyler Boreman, Julian Franklin and Hayden Meese also topping 50 stops.
Mansfield Senior forced four straight turnovers to pull away from Wooster in the second half, and Holter has focused this week on eliminating mistakes.
“What we're finding is we're just not consistently doing our job,” Holter said. “We're trying to find ways as coaches to provide as many platforms as we can to understand their assignment, their execution. We had a great Monday practice, and hopefully we can continue to expand on that and get better.”
Wooster’s pass defense will have to be on its A-game. Ashland QB Luke Bryant was 33 for 52, passing for 448 yards against West Holmes.
—West Holmes (8-0, 5-0) will host New Philadelphia (5-3, 4-2) as it tries to take another step toward a second straight 10-0 season and lock up a third straight OCC title. The Knights are ranked second in Div. IV, Region 14 behind Cleveland Glenville.
Sam Williams-Dixon rushed for a career-high 316 yards and five TDs on 33 carries against Ashland. It boosted his season totals to 1,142 yards rushing and 21 TDs.
Quarterback Mason Wolfe has 25 TD passes on the season, and WR Kyle Maltarich is as good as it gets in this area.
Coach Zach Gardner has focused a lot on defense this week, trying to shore up a unit that gave up 555 yards against Ashland.
—The Wayne County Athletic League has not one, but two first-place matchups between 4-1 league teams.
Norwayne (6-2, 4-1) will visit Dalton (6-2, 4-1) while Northwestern (6-2, 4-1) will go to Hillsdale (5-3, 4-1). All four teams have clinched playoff spots and are in good position to host first-round games.
The Bulldogs’ Sammy Tomlinson rushed for 145 yards and four TDs last week in a 55-14 win over Rittman while Norwayne blanked Chippewa 66-0.
This is the matchup most people thought in the preseason would decide the WCAL title, but the winner might have to settle for a co-title. The Bulldogs will host Chippewa (2-6, 1-4) in the regular-season finale, and the Bobcats will host Smithville (5-3, 2-3).
Northwestern and Hillsdale will play to maintain a share of the lead, and both will be favored in week 10. The Huskies will travel to Waynedale (2-6, 1-4) while the Falcons will visit Rittman (2-6, 0-5).
—In the PAC, Orrville (4-4, 3-2) moved ahead of Triway (4-4, 2-3) in the standings after a 39-38 upset of CVCA (5-3, 3-2).
Orrville junior quarterback Sawyer Hamsher passed for 202 yards and four TDs and also rushed for the game-winning TD.
—Triway will visit Fairless (6-2, 3-2) and controls its own destiny at 12th in Div. V, Region 17. The Titans dropped a 28-7 game against PAC leader Northwest, cutting the margin to 14-7 with 8:55 left in the fourth quarter when Cale Drown threw a 5-yard TD pass to Cooper Barton (12-124 receiving).
Orrville is 14th in that region and will visit Triway for a week 10 rivalry game that will have big playoff implications.
—Smithville will rename Smithies Stadium as Keith Schrock Stadium during a halftime ceremony in honor of their legendary former football and track coach. They also will recognize their 2022 Hall of Fame inductees and the 2002 state runner-up football team. Past players, students and fans also are invited to a pregame reception that Schrock will attend in the Smithville weight room.
The Smithies lost to Northwestern 22-7 but will try to rebound against Rittman in front of what’s expected to be a big crowd.
Parting shots
It’s not a stretch to call the Guardians vs. Yankees ALDS a David vs. Goliath matchup.
The Yankees payroll is $250 million compared to $69 million for the Guards.
New York jumped out to a 1-0 series lead with a 4-1 win on Tuesday and exposed Cleveland’s biggest weakness. The Guards are short on experience and power bats, but they never quit. Whatever happens, it’s been a fun season, and the future is bright.
If Cleveland is to advance, it can’t squander chances like leaving the bases loaded.
—The ending of the Chargers’ 30-28 win over the Browns was par for the course for one of the most inept franchises in pro sports. Cleveland was gifted a second chance and still managed to blow it by not getting closer for a field goal and then missing a game-winning attempt. I didn’t even get mad because — as written in a previous column — I don’t trust the Browns.