Knox Morrow Athletic Conference
Centerburg (D-VI)
2020 Record: 6-1 (5-0)
Offense: 38.4 PPG (3rd in area)
Defense: 18.7 PPG Allowed (37th in area)
Key Players: Jack Gregory, QB; Alex Johnson, DE/WR; Jarred Rings, WR/CB; Hunter Parker, WR/CB; Tyler Johnson, QB/FS; Tanner Hott, MLB/TE
Game to Watch: Week 3 @ Worthington Christian
The Centerburg Trojans enjoyed an undefeated season last year featuring the second best offense in the area.
Although they fell in just the first round of the playoffs, Coach Andrew Colella is excited to see how the team’s offseason work shapes up in the regular season.
“There's been a lot of work put in since January,” Colella said. “I'm really looking forward to see the fruits of that labor.”
Colella said that his offensive strategy will stay the same with a few adjustments due to the increase in the amount of three-man fronts among teams in the area.
A crucial game for the Trojans will be in Week 3 against Worthington Christian as while the Trojans have proven their ability to win in-conference games, they still need to prove themselves out of the KMAC.
Colella said that he has tried to foster a culture of hard work and understanding that there will always be more work to be done.
“It has been about outworking the opposition,” Colella said. Trying to make our team the best it can possibly be with the understanding there's a long way to go and a lot of work to do.”
East Knox (D-VII)
2020 Record: 6-2 (5-1)
Offense: 23.9 PPG (50th in area)
Defense: 11.6 PPG Allowed (7th in area)
Key Players: Shane Knepp, SS/WR; Nick Hornsby, RB/OLB; Trenton Comer, T/NG; Caiden Slone, T/DE
Game to Watch: Week 5 vs. Centerburg
East Knox produced a very successful 2020 campaign going 6-2 overall and only losing one game during conference play.
The Bulldogs also ranked in the top-10 in the area in terms of points allowed with 11.6 points per game.
This defensive guard will need to be replicated during the 2020 season if East Knox hopes to take down last year’s KMAC champion Centerburg.
Centerburg averaged 38.4 points per game on offense last year, so it would be interesting to see if this will stay consistent this year.
The Bulldogs’ Week 5 matchup against Centerburg will be telling as the 7th-ranked defense of East Knox will take on a 3rd-ranked offense from last year, possibly also deciding this year’s KMAC champion.
Danville (D-VII)
2020 Record: 6-3 (4-2)
Offense: 20.8 PPG (61st in area)
Defense: 18.1 PPG Allowed (36th in area)
Key Players: Walker Weckesser, SS; Kaiden Colopy, WR; Gavyn Lepley, T; Levi Lyons, G; Max Payne, QB; Aidan Burke, RB
Game to Watch: Week 10 vs. East Knox
Danville’s Blue Devils come into 2021 off a successful 2020 campaign where the team ended with a 6-3 record and had some key wins against in-conference rival Cardington-Lincoln and Highland.
Danville’s 7-6 loss to East Knox was unfortunate for the Blue Devils as this cemented their spot at third in the division behind Centerburg and East Knox.
This season the Blue Devils will meet the Bulldogs of East Knox yet again in the final week of the regular season.
This game should prove crucial as the conference title may lay in the balance and Danville looks for revenge against a team they only lost by one point to last year.
Cardington (D-VII)
2020 Record: 5-5 (3-3)
Offense: 29.0 PPG (26th in area)
Defense: 26.4 PPG Allowed (71st in area)
Key Players: Nate Hickman, QB/LB; Aiden Plowman, DE/RB; Ashton Plowman DE/RB; Joe Denney, LB/RB; Colin McAvoy, OL/LB; Josh Baker OL/LB
Game to Watch: Week 1 @ Fairbanks
Cardington-Lincoln enjoyed moderate success last year starting with a 2-1 record yet struggled down the stretch and ultimately losing, for the second time, to Danville in the second round of the playoffs.
Coach Tod Brininger said that the team focused on passing offensively last year, but in 2021 his team will focus on rushing a team off the field due to some players graduating.
“Run-heavy this year after pass-heavy last year,” Brininger said. “Grind it out versus big play because of graduations.”
An intriguing game for the Pirates comes in Week 1 against Fairbanks as the Panthers averaged 29.1 points per game last year just barely higher than Cardington-Lincoln at 29 points per game.
This will give the fans a chance to see two similarly-ranked defenses play in the first week of the season in what should prove to be a high-scoring affair.
Highland (D-IV)
2020 Record: 4-5 (3-3)
Offense: 25.6 PPG (45th in area)
Defense: 23.7 PPG Allowed (59th in area)
Key Players: Cody Matthews, RB/DB; Eli Grandstaff, MLB/SB; Jay Melchiori, WR/DB; Dane Nauman, RB/MLB; Layton Shaffer, RB/LB; Chandler Stevens, RB/DT
Game to Watch: Week 1 vs. Bloom-Carroll
The Fighting Scots of Highland enjoyed a few wins last season, yet ultimately ended the year with a losing record after failing to defeat St. Clairsville and Galion in back to back playoff games.
Highland comes into this season led by first-year head coach Ty Stover who hopes to create a culture of work, respect, and dedication to the program.
Stover did not say much about his specific strategy on offense and defense, but he suggests an approach based on history and misdirection.
“We will throw in a few wrinkles here and there to throw tribute to our past,” Stover said.
Stover said that his offense will be tested in the first week as they face the Bulldogs of Bloom-Carroll who only allowed an area-best 4.9 points per game last year.
“Coach Bartholomew down there has done a great job,” Stover said. “We know they had a great season this year and have a lot of talent coming back.”
Northmor (D-VI)
2020 Record: 2-8 (1-4)
Offense: 14.8 PPG (89th in area)
Defense: 20.7 PPG Allowed (45th in area)
Key Players: Max Lower, RB/DE; Duston Sanders, OL; Marcus Cortez QB/DB; Gavin Whited, OL/DL; Garrett Corwin, RB/LB; Trenton Ramos, WR/DB
Game to Watch: Week 5 @ Danville
The Golden Knights from Northmor struggled offensively last year, and it showed with a losing record including losses in the final five weeks of the 2020 season.
With that said, one bright spot for the team is its large core of players returning which allows Coach Scott Armrose to keep last year’s game plan while still improving.
“We have not had to change much,” Armrose said. “We have focused on doing what we do but better.”
Armsose said that his team has worked hard in the offseason to improve on a disappointing 2020 season, and hopes that this could put the Golden Knights in contention to make the playoffs.
Week 5 at Danville will be an especially important test for the Golden Knights as it ends a three-week span on the road and also is against a team that narrowly beat them 14-12 in September of last year.
Armrose said he cannot wait for his team to start playing and to improve on last year’s mistakes.
“We are excited to get back on the field to see how all the hard offseason work has paid off,”
Fredericktown (D-VI)
2020 Record: 3-7 (1-5)
Offense: 22.1 PPG (57th in area)
Defense: 31.9 PPG Allowed (96th in area)
Key Players: Trevor Jobes, SB; Kaid Carpenter, WR/DB; Logan Small, WR; Mason Hoeflich, WR; Billy Woodring, RB; Ben Mast, QB
Game to Watch: Week 8 vs. Highland
Fredericktown had a fairly successful campaign in 2020 although it was unable to gain its footing in the conference going 1-5.
This included a brutal start where the Freddies went 1-6, yet they did not give up and ended up winning two of their last three games.
Fredericktown will hope to improve this year on both offense and defense to try to compete with their KMAC counterparts like Daville and Northmor.
One important game for the Freddies will be in Week 8 against Highland as Fredericktown lost in this matchup last year in a shutout and will look to redeem themselves with a win in this season’s game.
Mount Gilead (D-VI)
2020 Record: 0-5 (0-4)
Offense: 8.2 PPG (107th in area)
Defense: 30.8 PPG Allowed (93rd in area)
Key Players: Elijah Chafin, QB; Judah Reid, DT; Paul Butterman, CB; Troy Likens, T; Owen High, WR
Game to Watch: Week 5 vs. Fredericktown
Mount Gilead had a rough 2020 losing each of its games during its heavily shortened season.
This year the Indians will put last season behind them as they attempt to win a couple games in the competitive KMAC.
One in-conference game that will be interesting is Mount Gilead’s Week 5 matchup against Fredericktown.
In this game last year the Indians fell 28-22 in their closest game all season.
So a win in Week 5 this year would somewhat redeem Mount Gilead and give them a much-needed morale boost in the middle of the season.