The Daily Standard
Sports Preview
By JOE SCHATZ and GARY R. RASBERRY
sports@dailystandard.com
After an opening week where the league went 6-4 overall, the Western Buckeye League gets underway on Friday with a full slate of games.
Celina, fresh off an emotional win over reigning Division VII state champion St. Henry, hosts defending league champ Wapakoneta, which enters having won 26 straight WBL games.
The Bulldogs trailed 21-14 after losing starting quarterback Parker Wynk to a neck/spinal injury. Backed by running back Noah Talmadge's 132 yards on the ground and backup quarterback Jett Warner rushing for 82 yards and a score, the Bulldogs rallied to win 38-35.
St. Marys heads into league play at 1-0 after avenging last year's loss to Galion with a 36-12 win at Grand Lake Health System Field.
The Roughriders will look for another payback win in traveling to Bath Township to face a Wildcats team that lost in a shootout to Indian Lake 54-43. Last season in St. Marys, Bath won 56-36 to drop St. Marys to 0-2.
St. Marys rushed for 313 yards against Gailon with Taylor Compton rushing for 72 yards and two scores and Dyllan Fink adding 80 yards and a touchdown.
Wapakoneta has won at least a share of the WBL title every year since 2020, but the Redskins have to rebuild for success this season. They have won 18 league games in a row entering Friday's game at Celina, and are led by coach Travis Moyer, who has led the program since 2014.
The Redskins lost a lot of production from last year's team that fell in the regional semifinals, including quarterback and WBL offensive skill player of the year Caleb Moyer. In the trenches the team lost both co-offensive lineman of the year Mason Ludwig and WBL first-teamer Austin Van Rooyen and will have to find some rhythm on the line.
Daron Houser, who was a state honorable mention at linebacker last year, led the offense in their week one loss at Clay. He was 8-of-20 in the air with a touchdown and an interception, with 94 yards and a score on the ground against the Eagles.
The big concern for the team is on the line of scrimmage as both their ability to run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense depends on some new players. Ethan Becher will try to lead the unit after he was a WBL honorable mention last year. Clay was able to rush for 307 yards against the Redskins as the Eagles won 27-21.
Celina quarterback Jett Warner hands off to running back Noah Talmadge (0) during last Friday's game. The Bulldogs will look to open Western Buckeye League play with a win on Friday as they host Wapakoneta.
While the core might have changed, the expectations do not for Moyer and Wapakoneta, and this week's road trip to Celina could be an early season must-win if one of the WBL's winningest programs wants to remain on top.
After spending most of the 2000s around the mid-to-lower end of the standings, highlighted by a last-place finish in 2022, Lima Bath found its footing in 2026 under coach Frank Russell and finished 9-3 overall and 7-2 in league play. It was good enough to finish in a three-way tie for second place but the Wildcats lost a lot of talent and will try to take that next step with new faces.
The biggest loss is quarterback Zach Welsch, who was a WBL first team member a season ago and threw for 2,776 yards and 20 touchdowns. Daniel Cole certainly played the part well to open the 2026 season and threw for 380 yards and five touchdowns, but the team suffered a 54-43 loss to Indian Lake and gave up over 600 total yards.
That will be the key for Bath this season. Last year the team had the most penalties (60) and gave up the most penalty yards (575) in the WBL with a ranking right in the middle for total defense. While the Wildcats' 40 points-per-game offense was enough last year, week one showed that this year's team might need more.
Josiah Clark will try to help that cause at receiver. The senior was fourth in the WBL in receiving yards (974) last year to make the second team and finished as an All-State honorable mention. In week one, he had six catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
One of the most intriguing stories of the WBL season resides just down the road from Bath at Shawnee. OHSAA Hall of Fame coach Bob Owlin takes over the team that finished 8-4 overall and 7-2 in WBL play. Owlin comes into the program with a 268-156 record after 40 years as a head coach at various stopes, including his most recent stop at Eden.
The team loses JJ Spyker at quarterback after the WBL first-team member threw for 1,771 yards with 14 touchdowns, while adding 808 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. Brogan Rayer took over the reigns of the offense in their week one loss at Lima Central Catholic, and was 14-of-26 with 159 yards and a touchdown with three interceptions.
The strength of the Indians last year was their defense, which led the league in interceptions with 12. That should be the case this year as linebacker Isaac Meeks and Jarin Bagley return. Meeks was a WBL first team member, while Bagley made the honorable mentions list.
The Indians host Kenton to open league play and will need that defense to step up against the pass-heavy Wildcats.
Van Wert tied Celina for fifth in the WBL at 5-5 overall and 4-5 in league play, and was the first team in the WBL to miss the playoffs. For coach Keith Recker, he hopes that his 15th season leading the Cougars ends with a postseason birth and a winning season, which has not happened since 2023.
Improvement starts with the defense on this team. The Cougars were the league's worst rushing defense last year and gave up an average of 213 yards on the ground. They were also sixth in total defense, allowed 363 yards-per-game and gave up 28 points-per-game. Micah Cowan was a first-team defender in the secondary last year and highlights the list of returners. The senior will hope that week one's 41-6 win over Bryan is a sign of things to come for his unit.
An advantage Van Wert does have is a returning quarterback. Zach Crummey threw for 2,339 yards and 19 touchdowns last year, and was an efficient 22-26 for 350 yards and three scores in the season-opener. Xavier Kelly is the primary target, and had 82 yards with two touchdowns in week one. He finished last year with 1,193 yards and 16 touchdowns to earn a WBL second-team appearance.
The Cougars open WBL play at home against Elida.
Elida and Defiance did not only share a name last year, but the pair of Bulldog squads also shared even records of 4-6 with 3-6 marks in league play. Elida opened its season with a 48-6 win over Rogers in Toledo.
Elida was third in total defense last year, but loose first-team lineman Parker Crim. Shane Goebel will look to lead the unit as a linebacker after he was part of the WBL second-team defense. The defense looked the part in week one as Rogers finished with just four rushing yards and 134 total yards.
Quarterback Jonah Snyder played well to begin his junior season with 335 yards and four touchdowns through the air. He was fifth last year in WBL passing yards with 1,817, with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Leading rusher Cameron Kaufman is gone after he had 801 yards on the ground, and week one looked like it would be a team effort between Dalton Shaffer, Joseph Reddick, and Gavin Kirk. The trio combined for 80 yards on eight carries in week one.
Defiance will look to get back toward the top of the conference after a tough 2026, and a 9-8 win over Napoleon in the River Rock Trophy took the young team and coach Steve Rittenour in the right direction. The team was second only to St. Marys in rushing yards and had the league's top rusher in running back Kelton Gibbs.
While Gibbs is gone, the Bulldog's looked to Jack Foster at quarterback for production in week one. While he only threw it 12 times, he completed seven passes for 174 yards with a touchdown and one interception.
The defense came to play in that opener, which is a stark contrast for a unit that gave up 30 points or more six times last year. Evan Fogle led the way with 14 tackles and Cameron Schultz added 10. They gave up just 10 passing yards to Napoleon, but were gashed for 279 yards on the ground.
Rittenour hopes that this year could see the rare mix of youth and talent come together, and with a wide open WBL it could be the Bulldogs' year to make some noise. They open league play against Ottawa-Glandorf.
Kenton won just one WBL game last year and finished toward the bottom in team defense, but coach Zach Turner hopes that the pass-heavy offense can guide the Wildcats to more wins this season.
They opened with a tough 28-20 loss against Eastwood, and a five-turnover day did the Wildcats no favors. Xavier Gammon returns as quarterback, but was up-and-down in week one. He was 16-29 for 263 yards and three scores, but had three interceptions.
Maddux McFarlin and Maddox Hommel combined for 215 receiving yards and three touchdowns in week one, and should lead the way in the passing game. McFarlin was a WBL honorable mention a season ago.
Jayden Mustain led the defense with 13 tackles, but the unit was often playing in short fields due to turnovers and allowed 262 total yards in week one.
The defense will be the key for Kenton, as is normally the case with an air raid team, but if the Wildcats can be average or above on that side, watch out for the team to surprise a few teams down the stretch.
Ottawa-Glandorf hit rock bottom a season ago, going 0-10. But a 52-7 week one win against Liberty-Benton certainly got new coach Ben Kaufman to a flying start in charge of the Titans.
Tanner Vogt was 10-of-12 passing with 178 yards and three touchdowns in week one, a stark improvement after last year's team averaged just 132 yards-per-game in the air. The lead receiver was Deegan Miller, who had 82 yards and two scores after he was a WBL honorable mention last year. Oscar Salsbury did not get the ball much on the ground, but used his five carries to get 76 yards and a touchdown.
The defense, which was second to last in total yards last year, forced two fumbles against Liberty-Benton and allowed just 110 total yards. Despite losing WBL second-teamer Will Kuhlman, the defense could see a surprising turnaround. If Vogt and co. can control the turnovers, look for O.G. to have a much improved 2026.
A good thing for the Titans is their early conference schedules. They travel to Defiance and then host Kenton to open league play, which could lead to a 2-1 start on the year if they split those games. Trips to Wapakoenta, St. Marys, Bath and Shawnee will be tough, but the only place to go is up for the team after last year.
The high school football season has begun and with it comes our initial numbers to analyze.
Over the previous 17 years, the Western Buckeye League had a record of 90-80 (53%) in their opening games of the season, and a 5-5 mark last season. This year saw the WBL improve a bit with a 6-4 record in the opening week.
Over those same 17 years, the Midwest Athletic Conference has won 69% (118-52) of its non-conference games during the initial week of the season and went 8-2 last year. This year's record of 9-1 will bring that percentage up a bit.
Non-conference play is what I use to get an idea of how a league as a whole will do in the computer points. Of most importance is wins earned by teams that are going to end up near the bottom of the conference standings. For instance, last year Elida ended up 3-6 in the WBL, which means six WBL teams benefited from Elida's non-conference win over Toledo Rogers. As for the MAC, last year Versailles finished 2-6 in league play, so its two non-conference wins were of great benefit to those six teams who defeated the Tigers.
Of course, we do not know who will finish near the bottom of the standings for these leagues. However, opening week wins by teams who finished last season 0-10 such as Ottawa-Glandorf and Parkway plus by Delphos St. John's who ended 2025 with a 1-9 mark, bode well for the computer points of their conference mates this season.
The WBL averaged 5 teams in the top 12 in their regions in the last four years, including just four teams last year. With a slightly better week one this year, it seems five (possibly six) playoff teams are a good prediction.
The MAC has fared better, averaging 6.60 teams in the top 12 in their regions between 2021 and 2025, including seven teams last season. This year's 9-1 mark in the opening week probably makes the expected number of MAC playoff teams this year to be seven.
There are several intriguing games next week. Celina continues its tough early schedule by hosting Wapakoneta. The Elida at Van Wert game will likely tell us who will be the top WBL dog in Region 14.
The 10 MAC teams face opponents who were a combined 6-4 last week. In games that are expected to be most interesting, St. Henry hosts Archbold, Parkway hosts Delphos Jefferson and Fort Recovery hosts Allen East.
The computer points for the entire state, and especially the regions involving most area teams can be found throughout the season at user.nktelco.net/bdmonnin/football.htm
Winners - Celina, St. Marys, Defiance
Losers - Wapakoneta, Shawnee
Under half (9 of 26) of the teams in this region won their opening game, so Wapakoneta and Shawnee are in 10th place despite losing. Celina hosts Wapakoneta in a tough second week game as the Redskins hope to bounce back after having their 28-game regular season win streak (fifth longest in the state) snapped against Oregon Clay.
St. Marys hopes to go on the road at Bath, as does Defiance as they host Ottawa-Glandorf.
Winners - Van Wert, Elida, Ottawa-Glandorf
Losers - Kenton
The teams in this region that won openers was also fewer than half (11 of 26) of their week one games. Again, this is good news for Kenton if they can get back on the winning track.
Van Wert plays Elida this week with the winner earning an early high placing in the computer points. Ottawa-Glandorf surprised us with their dominating first week victory over Liberty-Benton. Can they do it again at Defiance?
Winners - Coldwater
Losers - Bath
A tough region where 14 of the 25 teams were victorious to open the season. Coldwater is currently No. 1 in the computer points after defeating Division IV Valley View. Clinton-Massie looks like a lesser challenge on paper.
Bath lost a defense optional game 54-43 to Indian Lake. Expect St. Marys to provide a tougher defensive test.
Winner - Parkway
Another tough region with 17 of the 27 teams winning last week. Parkway handled Brookville 27-14 to open the season, so Parkway has now won more games than they did last year, and Brookville has equaled last year's total number of losses.
Winners - Anna, Versailles
Loser - St. Henry
Over ⅔ of the teams in this region (11 out of 27) won last week, thus leaving few opportunities for teams with a loss. That makes St. Henry's game against Archbold very important this week. An record will leave the Redskins with a lot of ground to regain the rest of the season.
Anna destroyed Spencerville 60-0 in a game that may not yield many computer points as the season moves along. The Rockets will also gain few points in the short term from playing Fort Loramie. Versailles, however, may gain big computer points from their defeat of Harvest Prep with another big computer point opportunity awaiting the Tigers on the road at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy.
Winner - Delphos St. John's
Half of the 26 teams in this region won last week. St. John's defeated a Lehman squad that graduated much of its top players 40-6. Lima Central Catholic will be a much greater test on Saturday evening.
Winners - Fort Recovery, Marion Local, Minster, New Bremen
Half of the 26 team in this region earned a Week 1 win, with four of those victors being from the MAC. All four are favorites this week, with Fort Recovery perhaps having the toughest challenge as they host Allen East. New Bremen also hosts a team who won last week, Covington.
Marion Local travels to play an Harvest Prep team who gave Versailles a fight last week. Minster hosts Crestview, another team who graduated most of their skilled players from last season.
The Midwest Athletic Conference, 9-1 in last week's first week of non-league play, gets another week of prep before entering the conference battles.
Among the matchups is a battle of 1-0 teams that were a combined 1-19 last season as Parkway hosts Delphos Jefferson.
The Panthers were 0-10 last season while the Wildcats' only win came in Week 2 against Parkway at Stadium Park in Delphos.
Parkway gave new coach Keenan Leichty his first win in a 27-14 win over Brookville. Isaac Beveridge had 91 yards receiving with a touchdown and locked up the win with a 65-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter that ended the Blue Devils' comeback try.
A week after rolling past Carey in the opener, Marion Local looks to make it two straight wins in facing a familiar past foe as the Flyers head to Canal Winchester to face Harvest Prep.
The Warriors and Flyers have played each other on three previous occasions, when Harvest Prep was known as World Harvest. Marion is 2-1 in those matchups.
Prep is facing a MAC team for the second straight week after losing 21-18 to Versailles at Hole Field last Thursday. Quarterback Collin Boff has committed to Bowling Green State University after getting offers from Cincinnati, Miami, Syracuse and Kent State.
Camden Griesdorn rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns in Marion's 34-7 win over Carey.
After a tough loss at Celina, St. Henry opens the home slate at the Wally Post Athletic Complex against a tough Archbold team that won its opener 38-7 over Genoa.
St. Henry had a 21-14 lead on the Bulldogs at halftime, then tied the game at 28-all early in the fourth before Celina got a touchdown and field goal to hang on for the 38-35 win. Drew Langenkamp rushed for 106 yards and three scores and Landon Schwartz passed for 216 yards in the loss.
The Blue Streaks turned a slim 10-7 lead into a blowout with two touchdowns each in the third and fourth quarters.
After winning its backyard battle with Fort Loramie, Minster hosts Crestview for the programs' third meeting and first since 2018. Both matchups came in the postseason as Minster won 35-32 in 2017 en route to a state title before losing 28-14 in the regional semifinals a season later.
Taylor Fancher rushed for 126 yards to set up the offense and Carson Kaylor overcame getting sacked three times to pass for 173 yards and two scores
The Knights opened the season with an 18-6 loss to Paulding. Cooper Miller passed for 180 yards with the lone touchdown with two interceptions. Beau Lichtensteiger had four catches for 96 yards with Evan Brincefield rushing for 63 yards.
New Bremen, fresh off shutting out Wayne Trace for the second straight season, will look to do the same this week in hosting Covington, which lost 49-0 to the Cardinals last season at Smith Field in Covington.
The Buccs went 5-6 last season, but overcame an 0-4 start to win the next five games before losing to a tough Lehman squad in Week 10, then getting shut out by Coldwater in the first round of the playoffs.
Last week, Covington rolled past Arcanum 31-7 in a meeting of former Cross County Conference members. Landin Cassel rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown and Tyler Palsgrove had 86 yards as the Buccs rushed for 329 yards.
New Bremen won 35-0 over the Raiders thanks to Gavin Dicke rushing for 103 yards and two touchdowns and passing for two more in the win. The Cardinals outgained the Raiders 311-122 in the win.
After a big win over Valley View, Coldwater travels to Clarksville to take on a Clinton-Massie squad that has given the Cavaliers some games over the years. Coldwater is 3-2 lifetime, but the Falcons got the 14-7 win last season at Cavalier Stadium.
The Falcons lost 20-17 to Waynesville last week after leading 17-6 at the half.
Coldwater used a 23-point second quarter to pull away for the 37-21 win over Valley View, a year after hanging on to beat the Spartans 49-48 in overtime. Karsyn Homan passed for 154 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another in the win. Karter Freed had five receptions for 90 yards and two scores.
Fort Recovery, fresh off a 35-14 win over Ponitz Tech last Friday, hosts an Allen East squad that won big over Perry 49-0 last week in Perry Township.
Former Mustang Shane Wireman earned his first win as coach of his alma mater as quarterback Keegan Jones threw for 173 yards and three touchdowns on 10-of-10 passing while Miles McDorman rushed for 102 yards and two scores.
The Indians outgained the Golden Panthers 263-209 and forced four turnovers in the win. Breaker Jutte rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown and Brady Evers added 70 yards and two scores in the win.
Noah Talmadge, RB, Celina
Isaac Beveridge, DB. ParkwayWapakoneta at Celina
St. Marys at Bath
Ottawa-Glandorf at Defiance
Elida at Van Wert
Kenton at Shawnee
Coldwater at Clinton-Massie (7:30 p.m.)
Allen East at Fort Recovery
Marion Local at Harvest Prep
Crestview at Minster
Covington at New Bremen
Delphos Jefferson at Parkway
Archbold at St. Henry
Versailles at. CHCA
Fort Loramie at Anna
Delphos St. John's at LCC (6 p.m. Saturday)
