By Joshua Morgret
On Twitter: @joshuamorgret
On Instagram: @joshuamorgret

Down to the final two.

There are just two weeks left in the regular season of high school football.

For some, the season and careers of seniors are almost over.

For some, things are just heating up.

More teams clinched playoff berths in the area last week.

There was some controversy in Attica, some wild happenings in Bellevue, and Carey did what Carey
does.

I want to give a big thank you to everyone for reading! Thank you to Nate Mullins at Heart of Ohio
Sports for letting me share my thoughts each and every week.
And with that said. Here we go…

High school football

Tiffin Columbian (7-1) – How about the Tornadoes? How impressive has this team become in the past
few weeks or so? Columbian went to Bellevue, got down 14-0, but answered and slipped past the
Redmen, 33-28. Two weeks of the three-week gauntlet are done after wins over Clyde and Bellevue,
but now perhaps the biggest task awaits in Perkins. I was actually in Norwalk last Friday when Perkins
barely slipped by the winless Truckers, 21-19. Perkins threw two interceptions, fumbled the opening
kickoff of the second half, had a bad snap on a punt that ended up a four-yard punt return touchdown
for Norwalk, and missed a chip shot field goal that would have put Perkins up 24-13 with about five
minutes to go. I’m sure Bellevue graduate Jalen Santoro will have the Pirates fired up to face
Columbian with first place in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake division on the line. The winner will
almost assuredly win the league title outright with Columbian facing Norwalk and Perkins taking on
Sandusky in Week 10. Despite the slow start against Bellevue, the Tornadoes have been outright
dominant in the first half of games, outscoring their opponents 239-87 in the first half across eight
games so far this season. Brayden Roggow has completed 111-of-175 passes for 1,422 yards and 19
touchdowns this season while Damien Brockington has 152 rushes for 1,210 yards and 20 TDs on the
ground for Columbian. With the win over Bellevue, the Tornadoes have secured at least a home game
in the first round of the playoffs and very well could be trending toward the No. 1 seed in Division III,
Region 10.
Current playoff look: 1st in Division III, Region 10 (unofficially clinched playoff berth and home game)

Tiffin Calvert (5-3) – The Senecas finally bucked the trend of being undefeated at home and winless on
the ground last week in curb stomping Buckeye Local, 55-7. It was a long, more than three-hour bus
ride for Calvert, but coming away with a convincing road win made it worth the drive. Quarterback
Jack Shultz accounted for seven touchdowns in the win for the Senecas. He has completed 95-of-192
passes for 1,438 yards and 14 touchdowns this season while Jacob Rombach has run the ball 85 times
for 500 yards. Schultz and Rombach each have six touchdowns on the ground. Billy Clouse is Calvert’s
top receiver with 29 rushes for 639 yards and six TDs. The Senecas return back to Frost-Kalnow
Stadium this week to take on a tough Hopewell-Loudon team. Calvert will be looking for a little bit of
payback after H-L trounced Calvert last year in Bascom, 49-7. Hopewell-Loudon is led by Evan
Kreais’ 1,691 yards passing and 16 touchdowns. The Chieftains have an explosive offense, so Calvert
will need to get in control early if it wants a chance.
Current playoff look: 11th in Division VII, Region 26

Carey (8-0) – Carey continues to be one of the top teams in Division VI throughout the entire state as it pounded Bucyrus last week, 54-0. It was the third shutout of the season for the Blue Devils, but over
the last five weeks, Carey has allowed a total of just 10 points. Offensively, the Blue Devils lead the
Northern 10 Athletic Conference with 2,165 yards rushing, getting more than 75 percent of their
offense from the ground. It’s not just one player racking up the yards either. Carey has six players over
100 yards rushing this season, led by quarterback Lance Rickle’s 77 carries for 501 yards and eight
touchdowns. Right behind him is Eli Steen, who has carried the ball 78 times for 447 yards and six
scores. The Blue Devils host upstart Upper Sandusky this week. The Rams have a chance to pull even
in the league standings with Carey if they can go on the road and pull the upset. If the Blue Devils win
and Seneca East tops Wynford, Carey and Seneca East would play in Week 10 with Carey looking to
win the league title outright. The Blue Devils win at least a share of the N10 with a win over Upper
Sandusky. Carey has also clinched at least a home playoff game in Week 11 and could very well finish
as the top seed in the region.
Current playoff look: 1st in Division VI, Region 22 (unofficially clinched a playoff berth and home
game)

Seneca East (6-2) – Speaking of the Tigers, I spoke of a bit of controversy at the end of Seneca East’s
game with Mohawk last week. Seneca East was driving, down 31-28 with about six seconds to go. A
pass over the middle from Blake Foos was caught and the defender was dragged down. The clock hit
0:00, but a timeout was awarded to SE coach Ed Phillips and one second was put back on the clock.
After the timeout, Foos ran it in from a yard out to secure the walk-off win. Controversy? Was the
timeout justified? Did the clock stop at 0:01 for too long? That’s what you can debate, but there is no
changing that Seneca East left the field with a win to keep Northern 10 Athletic Conference title hopes
alive. Foos is up to 122-of-208 passing for 1,611 yards and 169 carries for 909 yards and 28 total
touchdowns. I would think Foos is trending toward the player of the year in the league. Seneca East
travels to Wynford this week riding a three-game winning streak. Again, if the Tigers take care of
business, they will get the chance to go to Carey in Week 10 and play for the league championship. The
Tigers also unofficially clinched a playoff berth in their region. Two wins to end the regular-season
would likely get Seneca East a home playoff game in Week 11.
Current playoff look: 10th in Division VI, Region 22

Mohawk (3-5) – Man, what a tough loss if you are the Warriors. They really needed one big win over
the final couple weeks of the season to secure a playoff spot. After a one-sided loss to Carey, Mohawk
had the win at Seneca East in its grips before the loss in the final second. Now, the Warriors have to get
back on a bus and go to Colonel Crawford in what will be a very tough game that might almost have to
win to get in the playoffs. Mohawk currently sits 16 th in their region and the top-16 get in. There won’t
be a ton of playoff points to get in a Week 10 game with Bucyrus (1-7), so the Warriors’ playoff hopes
almost squarely sit on the shoulders of topping CC. For the season, Ben Bogner has completed 90-of-
186 passes for 1,131 yards and seven touchdowns while running 82 times for 426 yards. Zaiden Fry
adds 49 rushes for 307 yards and 44 receptions for 567 yards. It won’t be easy for Mohawk against the
Eagles, who are second in the league with 1,895 yards on the ground in eight games.
Current playoff look: 16th in Division VII, Region 26

Lakota (2-6) – The Raiders finally got the big win they needed last week, dispatching Fremont St.
Joseph, 42-7. The game was tied in the second quarter before Lakota took over. It may be too little, too
late for the Raiders’ playoff hopes, but big matchups against Edon and Tiffin Calvert await for Lakota.
If the Raiders can win those last two, you never know what might happen. CJ Biddle continues to play
strong for Lakota, completed 50-of-102 passes for 609 yards while adding 109 rushes for 706 yards on
the ground. He also leads the team with 87 tackles on the season. Micah Williams has run the ball 67
times for 345 yards while Chase Dussel has 25 receptions for 355 yards for the Raiders. They will have a long bus ride this Friday to Edon and face a high-powered offense that has been kept under 22 points
just once this season. The Bombers enter after scoring 51 and 52 points in their last two games, but are
coming off of a 60-52 home loss to Norwalk St. Paul.
Current playoff look: 21st in Division VI, Region 22

For other high school football teams in the area:
Clyde (5-3) took care of work against Sandusky, 34-7… Hopewell-Loudon (6-2) slugged past
Northwood, 40-27… Upper Sandusky (4-4) made it two in a row by trouncing Buckeye Central (3-5),
42-13… Fostoria (1-7) picked up its first win of the season over Woodmore, 34-28… and Bellevue (5-
3) lost its second in a row, this time to Columbian, 33-28.

Current playoff look for those other teams in the area:
Bellevue – 8th in Division IV, Region 14
Buckeye Central – 18th in Division VII, Region 25
Clyde – 6th in Division III, Region 10
Fostoria – 20th in Division IV, Region 14
Hopewell-Loudon – 7th in Division VI, Region 22
Upper Sandusky – 14th in Division IV, Region 14

This week's schedule:
Tiffin Columbian at Perkins
Hopewell-Loudon at Tiffin Calvert - LIVE on Heart of Ohio Sports
Upper Sandusky at Carey
Wynford at Seneca East
Lakota at Edon
Bellevue at Sandusky
Bucyrus at Buckeye Central
Clyde at Norwalk
Fostoria at Eastwood

College football

Heidelberg (4-2) – Heidelberg took on what will be its toughest opponent of the season last week with
a trip to Mount Union. The Student Princes played well in spurts of the game, but ultimately fell, 28-6.
Heidelberg trailed just 7-6 more than two minutes into the second quarter and was down 21-6 with 5:30
to go in the game, but had trouble offensively throughout the game. The Student Princes again played
without starting quarterback Drew Sims and starting running back Montavious Yearby. In their places,
Chayne Treharn completed 12-of-26 passes for 147 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. On
the ground, TJ Rhamy tallied 14 carries for 26 yards. Everything is tough and magnified when you face
Mount Union. Heidelberg will get a chance to rest and regroup this week with a bye week before a
game against Marietta.
Next up: BYE

Tiffin (4-2) – The Dragons made it two big wins in a row by thumping Hillsdale, 41-0. That’s 93 points
over the last two games for Tiffin. Against Hillsdale, Tiffin led just 7-0 early in the second quarter
before pouring on 34 points in the middle two quarters. The Dragons’ defense was just as good as the
offense, holding Hillsdale to just six first downs and 164 yards of total offense. The statistic that stands
out even more than that is Hillsdale was 0-of-12 on third down. 0 FOR 12. Hillsdale never got a first
down once they got to third down. That is wicked and highly unheard of. Ohio State is blowing out teams by 30, 40, or 50 points and yet giving up third down conversions. Offensively, Christian Carter
completed 14-of-21 passes for 183 yards for Tiffin while Darius Pinnix ran 13 times for 116 yards.
Anthony Lowe topped the Dragons with six receptions for 61 yards. Tiffin also has a bye this week. On
one hand, it might be a good thing as the Dragons travel to No. 6 Ashland on Oct. 22. On the other
hand, the offense and defense are playing impeccable right now and you don’t really want to slow that
down by 12 or 13 straight days of practice.
Next up: BYE

Volleyball

We have almost reached the end of the regular season and I will take a look at what is coming up next
for each of the 14 area teams at the end here. Tiffin Calvert (20-2) and Mohawk (20-1) continue to
prove to be the two best teams in the area by far. I know I say it every week, but they very well could
be on a collision course for a regional final Nov. 5 in Elida.

Let’s lead with the Senecas as I was at Liberty-Benton on Tuesday night when the Senecas made a
Division II, top-10 L-B team look average in a rather comfortable sweep. Calvert won a close first set,
kicked it up a notch in the second set, and went full throttle in the third set. The Senecas only have six
non-league matches on their schedule every year and with three coming at the Norwalk Invitational,
Calvert really only gets to pick three teams they play in the non-league portion every year. There’s no
denying why they want two-time recent state champion Liberty-Benton on the schedule, but the
Senecas made it look like just another match. Calvert wrapped up the regular season last night with a
win over Lakota and now awaits next week’s postseason action.

Mohawk took their first loss of the season Tuesday night when they fell at home to Colonel Crawford,
a team the Warriors beat on the road in five sets earlier this season. I was actually surprised when
Mohawk dropped a set to a really bad New Riegel team on Monday night, so I’m not sure if something
has slipped just a little bit for Mohawk or what. The Warriors were also in danger of going down 2-0 to
Monroeville last Saturday, loosing the first set before trailing 10-1 in Set 2. But, Mohawk came all the
way back and topped Monroeville in four sets. I was in Sycamore for that one and it was a great match.
Mohawk finishes the regular-season tonight at Carey, who is a formidable opponent that pushed
Mohawk the first time around.

In the N10, Carey, Colonel Crawford, and Seneca East are each 9-4 in the league and tonight will
determine who finishes second or co-finishes in second place. SE and CC are both 17-4 while Carey is
15-5. Remember of Carey’s five losses, three came in less than a week and the Blue Devils have played
really great volleyball the rest of the season. Carey has just two seniors on their roster. Buckeye Central
is keeping its head right at sea-level at 10-10 overall. A win tonight against Wynford would allow the
Bucks to finish above .500 in league play.

In the SBC River, Calvert has won the league title for the fifth year in a row and it looks like Danbury
and Fremont SJCC will be finished tied for second. Danbury faces Sandusky St. Mary in its final
league match of the season while SJCC takes on Gibsonburg. Lakota, Old Fort, and Hopewell-Loudon
trailed close behind. The interesting thing about this conference is Calvert, Danbury, SJCC, Old Fort,
and Lakota are all in the same district. Danbury, OF, SJCC, and Lakota are all on the same side of the
bracket, desiring to avoid Tiffin Calvert until the district title game. One of those four will likely be a
district finalist.

In the SBC Lake, Columbian picked up a huge road win over Lexington this past Saturday, but also lost in straight sets to Bellevue on Tuesday night. The Tornadoes will face Sandusky at home tonight to
wrap up the regular-season in a match it should win. Bellevue looks like it will take second-place in the
league as Perkins faltered down the stretch a bit. After a hot start, Clyde settled in as a .500 team under
coach Shelley Rogers.

Here’s a look at who each team plays NEXT in the OHSAA tournament:
Calvert: vs. Cardinal Stritch/Sandusky SMCC winner, next Thursday, 6 p.m.
Mohawk: vs. Hardin Northern/Ridgemont winner, next Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Carey: vs. Arcadia/North Baltimore winner, next Thursday, 6 p.m.
Seneca East: vs. South Central/Mansfield St. Peter’s, next Thursday, 6 p.m.
Buckeye Central: vs. New London at Monroeville, next Thursday, 6 p.m.
Upper Sandusky: at Bucyrus, Monday, 6 p.m.
Lakota: vs. Woodmore, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Old Fort: vs. Emmanuel Christian, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Hopewell-Loudon: vs. McComb/Cory-Rawson winner at Carey, next Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
New Riegel: at Arlington, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Columbian: at Findlay, Monday, 6 p.m.
Bellevue: vs. Oak Harbor, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Clyde: vs. Ontario, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Fostoria: at Celina, Tuesday, 6 p.m.

SBC Lake
Team – conference record – overall record
Vermilion – 11-0 – 17-3
Bellevue – 7-3 – 11-8
Perkins – 8-4 – 14-8
Clyde – 5-6 – 11-10
Norwalk – 4-7 – 7-14
Columbian – 3-7 – 8-12
Sandusky – 0-11 – 4-18

SBC River
Team – conference record – overall record
Calvert – 16-0 – 20-2
Danbury – 10-5 – 15-6
Fremont SJCC – 10-5 – 13-8
Lakota – 9-6 – 11-9
Old Fort – 9-6 – 11-10
Hopewell-Loudon – 8-7 – 10-11
Gibsonburg – 2-13 – 2-20
Sandusky SMCC – 2-13 – 3-17
New Riegel – 2-13 – 3-18

Northern 10 Athletic Conference Team – conference record – overall record
Mohawk – 12-1 – 20-1
Carey – 9-4 – 15-5
Seneca East – 9-4 – 17-4
Colonel Crawford – 9-4 – 17-4
Buckeye Central – 7-6 – 10-10 Wynford – 4-9 – 8-12
Upper Sandusky – 1-12 – 7-14
Bucyrus – 1-12 – 9-12