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Much like Ohio State vs. Michigan, Harvard vs. Yale and Army vs. Navy, the Coldwater vs. Marion Local matchup has become a highly anticipated end-of-regular-season matchup in football.
Except for the COVID-19 hampered 2020 season and 2021, the game has been in the Week 10 spot, with the Midwest Athletic Conference being contended for over that span. The matchup between state powerhouses has drawn in fans from all over the state, and has caught the eye of folks over the annual 50-50 drawing that has often allowed the winner to take home over $10,000 over the years.
This year at Booster Stadium in Maria Stein, the teams match up again. While the Cavaliers are out of the running for a conference title with a 5-2 record in conference play, the Flyers are looking for not only a sixth MAC title in a row (2019, 2021-24 with no conference play in 2020 due to COVID-19), but a fifth straight outright, 8-0 conference championship season.
The series has been tight, with Coldwater holding a 35-34-4 series mark (not including the Cavaliers going 9-1 against Maria Stein St. John before consolidation in the 1950s), but Coldwater has dominated the past decade. Coldwater's last win came in Week 10 of 2018 in a 28-26 double-overtime victory. The Flyers then gained revenge in the regional final with a 40-19 win. Since then, the Flyers have posted three shutouts and outscored Coldwater 153-35 after last year's 35-0 win at Cavalier Stadium.
Marion Local's Kamden Eifert has rushed for 296 yards and seven touchdowns the past three games.
Tim Goodwin's squad has not missed a beat after graduating a number of seniors from last season's 16-0 Division VII title run, although a couple of times things have been interesting. A 20-19 win over Versailles on Sept. 26 was the closest the Flyers have come in losing a game since holding off Versailles 14-13 in 2023. Then two weeks ago against Anna, the Flyers needed double-overtime and a final defensive stand on a two-point conversion to win 28-27.
Sophomore quarterback Brennen Hess has been excellent this season, passing for 1,438 yards with 17 touchdowns to just six interceptions. His favorite targets have been Cale Nagel (22 receptions for 539 yards with eight touchdowns) and Brayden Mescher (34 receptions for 525 yards, seven touchdowns).
The running game has also been a 1-2 combination with Kamden Eifert (603 yards, 13 touchdowns) and Ben Meier (528 yards, 10 touchdowns) getting a combined 63.5% of the carries (174 of 274).
Defensively, Marion has allowed just 8.2 points per game, and only 13 points combined in the third and fourth quarters with an additional 13 in the overtime win over Anna. Seth Heitkamp leads the team with 57 tackles. Oliver Huelsman has six sacks with Jacob Muhlenkamp adding five sacks. Mescher has five interceptions as the team has tallied 13 total picks this season.
Coldwater's Cadin Obringer (6) leads the team in receiving yards and tackles.
Coldwater has had an up-and-down season after also having to fill spots left by graduation last spring. Chip Otten's squad is 6-3, the first time since 2010 the Cavaliers have entered Week 10 with three losses. Coldwater's three losses have been by nine points or fewer, losing 14-7 to both Clinton-Massie and Anna before taking a 16-7 loss to New Bremen in the Cardinals' first win over the Cavaliers since 1997.
Junior quarterback Karsyn Homan has been a two-way threat on offense, passing for 1,344 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions and leading the team in rushing with 675 yards and seven scores. With Braxton Taylor inactive due to injury, Derek Dues has stepped up in the backfield, After going for 101 yards and two rushing scores against Versailles last week (along with a receiving touchdown), Dues has 374 yards and seven touchdowns.
The receiving corps remains full of depth. Cadin Obringer leads the team with 454 yards and three scores while Caleb Schroer has 342 yards and six scores.
Obringer also leads the defense from a linebacker spot, tallying 79 tackles. Dues has 70 tackles and a team-best five sacks. Nolan Mescher recorded two interceptions against Versailles, raising his season total to five.
In this article we shall try to project the possible playoff matchups for each WBL and MAC team by predicting the final computer points for regions featuring local teams. Hopefully we can also show how an upset or two may change the projections.
Remember, this year 12 teams per region will qualify for the playoffs. That means the top four teams in the computer points will earn a first-round playoff bye. The bracket for the second round will look like:
No. 1 vs. Winner of No. 8 vs No. 9
No. 2 vs. Winner of No. 7 vs No. 10
No. 3 vs. Winner of No. 6 vs No. 11
No. 4 vs. Winner of No. 5 vs No. 12
If every game in the final week of the season yields the result predicted by Drew Pasteur's Fantastic 50 computer, here are the final rankings and first round playoff opponents of local WBL and MAC teams. Remember, any upsets can cause adjustments to these results.
1. Medina Buckeye (10-0) 32.70
2. Wapakoneta (10-0) 29.45
3. Rocky River (8-2) 20.70
4. Copley (8-2) 20.26
5. Lexington (8-2) 19.20
6. Shawnee (7-3) 16.90
7. Richfield Revere (6-3) 16.78
8. St. Marys (7-3) 16.45
9. Toledo Central Catholic (5-5) 15.64
10. Parma Heights Holy Name (6-4) 14.56
11. Ontario (6-4) 11.85
12. Maumee (5-5) 9.65
14. Defiance (4-6) 9.32
17. Celina (4-6) 7.10
First Round Playoff Games
No. 2 Wapakoneta bye (plays No. 7 vs. No. 10 winner)
No. 6 Shawnee vs No. 11 Ontario
No. 8 St. Marys vs. No. 9 Toledo Central Catholic
No. 14 Defiance is likely out
No. 17 Celina is out
Medina Buckeye upset Rocky River last week to now be the No. 1 team in the region instead of Wapakoneta.
The above matchups assume Wapakoneta defeats Bath, Shawnee defeats Ottawa-Glandorf, St. Marys defeats Elida and Defiance defeats Celina.
If Bath upsets Wapakoneta, then the Redskins will fall to 24.85 points, still safely at No. 2 in the final standings.
Shawnee will gain few points from playing winless Ottawa-Glandorf. There is a decent chance the Indians can fall one spot in the standings, as they are barely ahead of No. 7 Richfield Revere and No. 8 St. Marys in the final projections.
If Elida upsets St. Marys, the Roughriders will have 13.85 points. That would drop St. Marys to No. 10 and send them on the road to start the playoffs, probably to play No. 7 6-3 Richfield Revere.
If Defiance can defeat Celina, their computer points rise to 11.35. That ought to improve Defiance to the No. 12 seed and they would travel to play No. 5 8-2 Lexington.
1. Shelby (10-0) 31.00
2. Galion (9-1) 24.05
3. Napoleon (8-2) 22.20
4. Bath (8-2) 20.70
5. Bellevue (7-3) 17.20
5. Sandusky Perkins (7-3) 16.85
7. Bay Village Bay (6-4) 15.65
8. Clear Fork (6-4) 13.30
9. Seville Cloverleaf (6-4) 11.99
10. Orrville (6-4) 11.84
11. Clyde (4-6) 10.55
12. Vermillion (5-5) 10.50
14. Van Wert (5-5) 8.70
18. Elida (4-6) 5.75
24. Kenton (1-9) 0.50
25. Ottawa-Glandorf (0-10) 0.00
First Round Playoff Games
No. 4 Bath bye (plays No. 5 vs. No. 12 winner)
No. 14 Van Wert is likely out
No. 18 Elida is likely out
No. 24 Kenton is out
No. 25 Ottawa-Glandorf is out
This assumes Bath loses to Wapakoneta, Van Wert beats Kenton and Elida loses to St. Marys.
If Bath upsets Wapakoneta, they rise to the No. 2 seed with 26.05 points. The Wildcats would then play the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 10 game in the second round.
Van Wert has almost no route to reach No. 12 and be in the playoffs. However, if Elida upsets St. Marys, they will have 9.45 points and can make the playoffs if Clyde loses their game against 3-6 Norwalk.
5. Graham (8-2) 18.45
6. North College Hill (8-2) 18.24
7. Preble Shawnee (9-1) 14.95
8. North Union (6-4) 12.35
9. Greeneview (7-3) 11.80
10. Arcanum (7-3) 10.30
11. West Liberty-Salem (5-5) 8.80
12. Waynesville (4-6) 8.65
15. Versailles (4-6) 7.90
First Round Playoff Games
No. 15 Versailles is out OR
No. 10 Versailles at No. 7 Preble Shawnee
Versailles is out of the playoffs if they lose to St. Henry. Should they overcome the 23-point favored Redskins, Versailles will have 11.40 computer points. This would bump the Tigers up to No. 10, and they would then travel to play No. 7 9-1 Preble Shawnee.
Division VI Region 24
1. Tri-Village (10-0) 18.40
2. Northeastern (9-1) 17.10
3. Mechanicsburg (8-2) 16.35
4. St. Bernard-Elmwood Pl. (9-1) 13.70
5. Coldwater (6-4) 13.40
6. Anna (7-3) 11.15
7. Rock Hill (7-3) 10.83
8. Summit Country Day (5-5) 9.96
9. Chillicothe Huntington (7-3) 9.94
10. Portsmouth West (5-5) 9.40
11. Dayton Christian (6-4) 9.05
12. Deer Park (5-5) 8.25
13. Covington (5-5) 7.30
First Round Playoff Games
No. 5 Coldwater vs. No. 12 Deer Park
No. 6 Anna vs. No. 11 Dayton Christian
This assumes Coldwater loses to Marion Local. A win by Versailles, Parkway or Delphos St. John's would move the Cavaliers up to the No. 4 seed and earn Coldwater a first-round playoff bye. If Coldwater upsets Marion Local, they would have 17.15 points and would be either No. 2 or No. 3 in the final standings, thus earning a first-round bye.
Anna is projected to defeat Parkway and finish with the No. 6 seed. If Purcell-Marian beats Roger Bacon, this could allow Ironton Rock Hill to pass Anna and drop the Rockets to the No. 7 position.
1. Marion Local (10-0) 26.45
2. St Henry (9-1) 20.75
3. Cincinnati Country Day (9-1) 20.07
4. Beaver Eastern (10-0) 19.93
5. Cincinnati College Prep (8-2) 17.02
6. Portsmouth Notre Dame (8-2) 13.92
7. Ansonia (8-2) 12.85
8. Sidney Lehman (9-1) 12.44
9. New Bremen (6-4) 10.20
10. Minster (5-5) 9.90
11. Fort Recovery (6-4) 8.75
12. Cedarville (5-5) 7.25
13. Manchester (7-2) 6.06
First Round Playoff Games
No. 1 Marion Local bye (plays No. 8 vs. No. 9 winner)
No. 2 St. Henry bye (plays No. 7 vs. No. 10 winner)
No. 9 New Bremen at No. 8 9-1 Sidney Lehman
No. 10 Minster at No. 7 8-2 Ansonia
No. 11 Fort Recovery at No. 6 Portsmouth Notre Dame
These results assume wins by Marion Local over Coldwater, St. Henry over Versailles, New Bremen over Delphos St. John's and Fort Recovery over Minster.
Marion Local will be the No. 1 seed regardless of their result against Coldwater. The Flyers will host the winner of the No. 8 vs No. 9 game in the second round, and there is a 99% chance that opponent will be either Sidney Lehman, New Bremen or Minster.
If St. Henry wins over Versailles, they will almost definitely be the No. 2 seed. It would take two upsets of second level point games to drop the Redskins to No. 3, though Celina losing to Defiance is about a 50-50 shot to be one of those two upsets.
If St. Henry loses, the Redskins drop to 18.60 points and right into the No. 4 seed. In that case St. Henry would start the postseason in the second round hosting either No. 5 8-2 Cincinnati College Prep or the No. 12 seed, which would probably be 4-5 Cedarville or 5-5 Fort Recovery.
Now, since it is such a tossup of a game, here are the standings if Minster defeats Fort Recovery.
5. Cincinnati College Prep (8-2) 17.02
6. Portsmouth Notre Dame (8-2) 13.92
7. Ansonia (8-2) 12.85
8. Lehman (9-1) 12.44
9. Minster (6-4) 12.30
10. New Bremen (6-4) 10.20
11. Cedarville (5-5) 7.25
12. Fort Recovery (5-5) 6.45
13. Manchester (7-2) 6.06
First Round Playoff Games
No. 9 Minster at No. 8 Lehman
No. 10 New Bremen at No. 7 Ansonia
No. 12 Fort Recovery at No. 5 Cin. College Prep
Let's start with New Bremen, who is projected to defeat Delphos St. John's. The Cardinals should finish No. 9 if Fort Recovery beats Minster and No. 10 if Minster defeats Fort Recovery. That means a likely road playoff game against either No. 8 Lehman or No. 7 Ansonia. A home game is possible if both Lehman and Minster lose.
Fort Recovery should finish No. 11 if they defeat Minster or No. 12 if they lose. The Indians will be on the road, most likely at No. 6 Portsmouth Notre Dame or No. 5 Cincinnati College Prep.
Minster should finish No. 9 with a win over Fort Recovery or No. 10 with a loss. However, note that the Wildcats are barely behind the team ahead of them in each case, so it only takes one upset to move Minster up a spot in the final standings. Most likely the Wildcats will hit the road to face either No. 8 Lehman or No. 7 Ansonia.
There is one last fly in the ointment. Lehman is playing Covington. Lehman's nine victims only have a combined 13 wins between them, and they have not defeated a team with a winning record. Covington's strength of schedule is not much better, but they are on a five-game winning streak. If Covington upsets Lehman, the Cavaliers' computer points drop to 9.87 and they fall below New Bremen in either scenario and behind Minster if the Wildcats beat Fort Recovery. In either case, the result would be a New Bremen-Minster rematch.
The matchup of Bulldogs features a battle between two of the top running backs in the WBL.
Defiance's Kelten Gibbs has an eight-yard lead on St. Marys' Caleb Schmidt in rushing (1,477 to 1,469) as Defiance ranks second in the league in rushing offense with 2,339 yards. Celina counters with Parker Bertke, whose 241-yard effort put him over the 1,000 yard mark on the season.
Defiance ranks 21.7 points per game, ranking ninth in the WBL. Celina's defense ranks ninth in the WBL in scoring defense in allowing 36.2 points per game.
The Roughriders look to wrap up the regular season with a five-game winning streak and to try and move into a Week 11 home game. The last three games has featured close wins over Van Wert, Shawnee and Kenton by an average of 6.3 points. St. Marys' Caleb Schmidt's 22 touchdowns and 134 points (including a two-point conversion) ranks best in the WBL with his 1,469 rushing yards just behind Kelten Gibbs of Defiance.
Elida is led by quarterback Jonan Snyder, who has thrown for 1,711 yards with 14 touchdowns. Cameron Kaufman leads the Bulldogs with 720 rushing yards and seven scores.
The Redskins will look to finish the regular season strong before a potential postseason bye week against a Tigers squad that has hit the wall with four straight losses after a 5-1 start.
St. Henry quarterback Charlie Werling is at 1,163 yards with 20 touchdowns this season and is 55 yards away from 1,000 passing yards. The Redskin defense has three pick-sixes this season with Jack Huelsman recording two.
Versailles played tough against Coldwater for just over a quarter before the Tigers scored 15 straight points to take a 21-point lead at the half en route to a 44-14 win. The Tigers are minus-2 in turnover ratio.
The Wildcats look to bounce back from a rough loss to Marion Local to solidify their playoff spot. Minster was held to 112 yards against Marion Local with quarterback Carson Kaylor being sacked seven times.
Fort Recovery's have five wins for the first time since 2017, looking for a sixth win after seeing a 17-7 halftime lead disappear in the second half in a 28-24 loss at Anna. Running back Reece Wendel went over the 1,000-yard mark with 125 yards against the Rockets.
The Blue Jays will try for a second straight win after opening 0-8 in facing the Cardinals, who are looking to get a first-round home game.
After scoring 49 points through the first eight games of the season, 35 of which came in the season opener, the Blue Jays nearly matched the total in winning 48-13 over Parkway.
The Cardinals lost a tough battle at St. Henry last week. Jacob Kelly is at 1,101 yards rushing on the season,
The Rockets rallied for a big win over Fort Recovery to keep playoff chances alive. Logan Ziegenbusch overcame throwing three interceptions to throw for two touchdowns, including the game-winner, and rush for another.
Parkway will look to avoid its first 0-10 season since 2012 and third winless season since the MAC formed in 1973, having gone 0-10 in 1979. Jacoby Triplett has thrown for 1,165 yards with Cohen Korte (353 yards, five TDs) and Isaac Beveridge (321 yards) being the main receivers.
Parker Bertke, RB, Celina
Nolan Mescher, CB, ColdwaterDefiance at Celina
Elida at St. Marys
Wapakoneta at Bath
Kenton at Van Wert
Shawnee at Ottawa-Glandorf
Coldwater at Marion Local
St. John's at New Bremen
Minster at Fort Recovery
St. Henry at Versailles
Anna at Parkway
| WBL | Overall | |
| Wapakoneta | 8-0 | 9-0 |
| Bath | 7-1 | 8-1 |
| Shawnee | 6-2 | 6-3 |
| St. Marys | 6-2 | 6-3 |
| Defiance | 3-5 | 4-5 |
| Elida | 3-5 | 4-5 |
| Van Wert | 3-5 | 4-5 |
| Celina | 3-5 | 3-6 |
| Kenton | 1-7 | 1-8 |
| Ottawa-Glandorf | 0-8 | 0-9 |
| MAC | Overall | |
| Marion Local | 7-0 | 9-0 |
| St. Henry | 6-1 | 8-1 |
| Coldwater | 5-2 | 6-3 |
| Anna | 4-3 | 6-3 |
| Minster | 4-3 | 5-4 |
| Fort Recovery | 3-4 | 5-4 |
| New Bremen | 3-4 | 5-4 |
| Versailles | 2-5 | 4-5 |
| St. John's | 1-6 | 1-8 |
| Parkway | 0-7 | 0-9 |
