Ohio Heritage Conference
Mechanicsburg (D-VI)
2020 Record: 10-1 (6-0)
Offense: 41.0 PPG (2nd in area)
Defense: 10.9 PPG Allowed (5th in area)
Key Players: Aaron Conley, QB; (Thomas) KIX Thiel, TE; Jake Hurst, OLB; Chayse Propst, RB; Jacob Thiel, C; Harley Mack Delong, WR; Tanner Frisby, MLB
Game to Watch: Week 10 vs. West Jefferson
In 2020 Mechanicsburg put on an incredible show on both offense and defense ranking higher than 5th in both categories among teams in the area.
The Indians’ defense allowed seven or less points in six games last year, three of which were shutouts.
Mechanicsburg’s score differential was by far the best of any team in the area at 30.1 meaning that they averaged a win by 30 points in any given game last year.
The Indians made it to the fourth round of the playoffs before falling to Coldwater 35-14.
This year Mechanicsburg will look to continue its offensive and defensive dominance by possibly going undefeated yet again in the regular season.
The Indians’ toughest opponent will be West Jefferson whose offense is ranked 4th in the area.
A win in this game would be crucial in securing Mechanicsburg the top spot in the OHC for the second straight year.
West Jefferson (D-VI)
2020 Record: 7-2 (5-1)
Offense: 37.4 PPG (4th in area)
Defense: 21.9 PPG Allowed (49th in area)
Key Players: Tyler Buescher, QB; M.J. Book, WR/DB; Adam Fry, WR/CB; Canyon Schneider, OL/DL; Jarret Simmons Senior OL/DE; Mike Pettry, OL/LB; Hayden Salyer, RB/CB; Garret Higgins, WR/DB
Game to Watch: Week 10 @ Mechanicsburg
West Jefferson put together a successful 2020 season only falling once during conference play to the juggernaut of Mechanicsburg that won the conference and ranked in the top-5 in the area in both offense and defense.
Coach Zachary Olson said that West Jefferson’s offseason has been filled with much conditioning while also trying to build up the team’s culture.
“In June we focused on continuing our strength and conditioning program,” Olson said. “Come July, we continued that part of our program but also added football camp days and cultural development.”
Olson said that his team will run the spread offense this year hoping to match the success they had last year averaging about 37 points per game.
Olson stressed that the veterans will be leaders this coming year and he said that he has been impressed with how his team has performed in practice.
“We are a Senior led football team,” Olson said. “Our practices have been high tempo with good execution for being so early in the year.”
Greenon (D-V)
2020 Record: 6-2 (5-1)
Offense: 29.8 PPG (21st in area)
Defense: 19.8 PPG Allowed (42nd in area)
Key Players: Clay Hough, WR; Arlie Benson Jr., FS; revor Stewart, RB; Zack Stevens, DE; Carson Rust, WR; Ashton Simison, NG
Game to Watch: Week 3 vs. West Jefferson
Greenon started last season off with a disappointing 41-7 loss to Mechanicsburg at home.
The Knights then quickly rebounded not only winning their next game, but going on a six-game winning streak before losing in the second round of the playoffs to Roger Bacon.
Last season showed that Greenon has great potential to be a contender for the OHC title especially if it can get momentum from some games early in the season.
One such game this year would be in Week 3 against their fellow OHC counterpart West Jefferson.
A Greenon win here would not only prove that their defense is capable of handling one of last year’s five best offenses in the area, but also that the Knights deserve to be close to the top of the conference.
Greeneview (D-VI)
2020 Record: 5-4 (4-2)
Offense: 24.2 PPG (49th in area)
Defense: 17.4 PPG Allowed (32nd in area)
Key Players: Craig Finley, RB; Carter Williams, WR; Rylan Hurst, RB; Hawkeye Hickman, G; Cole DeHaven, OLB; Clifford Henry, T
Game to Watch: Week 10 vs. Greenon
Greeneview started off very well last season with a 4-1 record in the first five games.
The Rams then struggled down the stretch losing three of their last four games on their way to the fourth spot in the OHC.
These Greeneview losses included a one-point defeat to its in-conference rival Greenon 21-20.
The Rams’ Week 10 game against Greenon will be crucial as Greeneview looks for revenge and an important OHC win to end the season.
This game could very well mean the difference in one level of standing in the conference, so it should be a competitive matchup.
Fairbanks (D-VI)
2020 Record: 4-3 (4-2)
Offense: 29.1 PPG (24th in area)
Defense: 29.9 PPG Allowed (90th in area)
Key Players: Riordin Stauffer, TE; Ethan Kise, QB; Brogan Green, WR; Cade Ziegler, K; CJ Swartz, WR
Game to Watch: Week 10 @ Northeastern
Fairbanks began the 2020 successfully with a four-game winning streak and were tied for first in the conference with Mechanicsburg.
The Panthers then met Mechanicsburg and were defeated 62-14 leading to a three-game losing streak to end the season.
The potential for postseason success was certainly present, yet Fairbanks ended up being knocked out in the first round.
Although they could not be beaten early in the season, Fairbanks still needs to show that they are still the same team later in the year.
So the Panthers’ Week 10 matchup against Northeastern will be crucial as it will show how capable Fairbanks is of pulling off late-season wins.
Madison Plains (D-V)
2020 Record: 5-5 (3-3)
Offense: 30.1 PPG (20th in area)
Defense: 32.6 PPG Allowed (98th in area)
Key Players: Tyson Guiette, MLB; Evan Coil, QB; Chase Howland, RB; Drake Goings, C; Kevin Bentley, G
Game to Watch: Week 7 @ Greeneview
Madison Plains put together a fairly successful season last year going an even 5-5 including a 3-3 conference record.
The shining part of the team was its offense that averaged 30 points per game and helped the Golden Eagles to a number of wins.
This was lost in Madison Plains’ game against Greeneview last season when they scored under 15 on their way to a 41-14 loss.
During the 2021 season, the Golden Eagles can redeem themselves in a Week 7 game against Greeneview by putting that high-scoring offense on full display.
This win would not only move them up in the OHC standings, but boost the team’s morale as they would be beating a team that ranked higher than them in the conference last season.
Triad (D-VI)
2020 Record: 5-5 (3-4)
Offense: 23.6 PPG (48th in area)
Defense: 20.3 PPG Allowed (43rd in area)
Key Players: Mason Harper, CB; Jackson Cordell, RB; Tyson Brown, K; Rodney Avery, QB; Michael Warner, C; Hayden Simpson, RB
Game to Watch: Week 5 @ Greenon
Triad had a disappointing start to the 2020 season going 1-4 in the first four games putting them last in the conference at the time.
The Cardinals then came back in the second half of the season flipping their record and going 4-1.
This momentum stretched into the playoffs as Triad was able to win its first game before being defeated in the second round by Coldwater.
The defense of this team certainly stood out as it allowed less points per game than both Fairbanks and Madison Plaines who both finished higher in the OHC standings.
To show off this defense, as well as their offense that averaged 23.6 points per game last year, the Cardinals will look to defeat Greenon in their Week 5 matchup.
With a win in this game Triad might find itself toward the top of the conference standings by the end of the season.
West Liberty-Salem (D-V)
2020 Record: 3-4 (2-3)
Offense: 23.9 PPG (49th in area)
Defense: 27.4 PPG Allowed (81st in area)
Key Players: Isaac Lee, DT; Jayden Temple, WR; Miles Hostetler, QB;
Jonny Stoner, WR; Payton Knight, TE
Game to Watch: Week 6 @ Fairbanks
The West Liberty-Salem Tigers started last season off strong winning their first two games.
The middle of the season was not so kind as the Tigers went on a five-game losing streak before winning their last game against Dohn Community.
One loss during the losing streak came at home against Fairbanks when West Liberty-Salem fell 49-48 to the Panthers.
Winning this game would have moved the Tigers up into the standings and may have pulled them out of the slump they would be in as they continued the losing streak in the following three weeks.
With a win in this year’s midseason matchup against Fairbanks, the Tigers might just get enough momentum to take on West Jefferson and Mechanicsburg who they play in Week 7 and Week 9 respectively.
Southeastern (D-VII)
2020 Record: 4-6 (2-4)
Offense: 15.9 PPG (81st in area)
Defense: 20.7 PPG Allowed (45th in area)
Key Players: Wade Eriksen, QB; Thomas Sulfridge, CB; Austin Yoder, TE; Koby Hayner, FB; Caleb Finney, MLB
Game to Watch: Week 1 vs. Worthington Christian
Southeastern Local’s record of 4-6 does not reflect how well the team actually played in 2020.
The Trojans began 2020 with two losses against Triad and Greeneview which would hurt their record especially within the OHC.
Southeastern Local stayed strong and ended up winning four of the next eight games.
One important matchup came in the second to last week when the Trojans narrowly lost to Worthington Christain 21-20.
This close game showed the potential Southeastern Local had last season.
The Trojans meeting Worthington Christian in the first game of this season would be an opportunity to show this potential coming to fruition.
Northeastern (D-VI)
2020 Record: 4-5 (1-4)
Offense: 27.0 PPG (39th in area)
Defense: 24.3 PPG Allowed (60th in area)
Key Players: Hunter Albright, RB; Gunnar Leonard, WR; Dylan Haggy, WR; Cade Houseman, QB; Cody Lookabaugh, RB
Game to Watch: Week 9 @ Triad
Northeastern’s Jets won their first game of the season in 2020, but struggled thereafter losing their next five games.
The Jets did not give up, though, and won their last three games to end with a 4-5 record overall.
Northeastern’s real issue is that it only had one win in their conference, putting them third to last in the OHC.
In 2021 the Jets will hope to change that by winning against their fellow OHC members.
One game Northeastern would especially like to win is in Week 9 at Triad as the Jets only lost to the Cardinals by one possession last year and could be redeemed with a victory here.
Cedarville (D-VII)
2020 Record: 3-7 (1-6)
Offense: 17.7 PPG (76th in area)
Defense: 32.1 PPG Allowed (98th in area)
Key Players: Hunter Baldwin, QB; Max Pollander, WR; Tyler Cross, RB/CB; Liam John Harris, DE; Masin Bowen, DB
Game to Watch: Week 2 @ East Clinton
Cedarville struggled to find its footing to begin last season as the Indians lost their first four games.
They were then able to win three games including one in their conference, yet this did not help them much and they ended up second to last in the OHC.
One issue the Indians had was that they failed to win a game on the road.
This season could be a new opportunity for Cedarville to change that statistic and start winning some away games.
An early opportunity for just this comes in Week 2 when the Indians travel to play East Clinton’s Astros.
A Cedarville win here would give them a morale boost and show that these Indians are capable of winning on the road.
Catholic Central (D-VII)
2020 Record: 2-7 (1-6)
Offense: 14.8 PPG (87th in area)
Defense: 28.8 PPG Allowed (87th in area)
Key Players: Ashton Young, WR; Tre’von King, WR; Ty Myers, QB; Lonnie Brown, WR; Jaeden Threats, RB
Game to Watch: Week 3 vs. West Liberty-Salem
Much like their OHC counterpart Cedarville, Catholic Central began last season with a losing streak.
The Irish’s winless streak was snapped in Week 9 when Catholic Central defeated Ridgedale in a non-conference game.
This season the Irish will hope to play better on both offense and defense as they ranked 87th in the area on both sides of the ball.
One way that Catholic Central can do this is with an early-season win against West Liberty-Salem.
The Irish did not play the Tigers last year, so it is unsure which team would have won.
A Catholic Central win in this game would improve their standing in the division and also show that they have potential to rise even higher in the OHC.