The Daily Standard
Sports Preview
The last few weeks for the Marion Local football team could rival Gillette for the close shaves.
After a last-minute regulation win over Versailles three weeks ago, then last week needing a stop on a two-point conversion try in double overtime to overcome Anna, the Flyers head into the final two weeks of the season still unscathed in the last 72 contests and facing two traditionally tough foes.
This week, the Flyers head to Memorial Field in Minster to face a Minster team that, gave Marion its two closest contests during last season's run to a fourth straight state championship.
Minster's Noah Schwieterman leads the team in receiving yards on offense and shares the lead in interceptions on defense.
Much like the Flyers, albeit with not as much drama, Minster had a close matchup at H.B. Hole Field against Versailles, winning 14-12 after the Tigers scored at the start of the fourth quarter, but missed the tying two-point conversion. Minster then had a fumble recovery and interception to fend off Versailles' comeback tries.
Also like the Flyers, Minster had to fill key roles on both sides of the ball due to graduation, most notably at quarterback with reigning Division VI state Offensive Player of the Year Brogan Stephey.
Sophomore quarterback Carson Kaylor has been solid in taking over for Stephey. Kaylor enters Friday having thrown for 964 yards with a 58.7% completion rate and 11 touchdowns to six interceptions. Kaylor also has rushed for 371 yards and a team-best six scores.
Running back Dominick Meyer has been the go-to back, rushing for 604 yards and five touchdowns. In the receiving corps, four have at least 120 yards on the season. Noah Schwieterman leads the team with 322 yards on 19 receptions and three scores with Tyler Bergman adding 295 yards and three scores.
The Wildcat defense has recorded 12 interceptions this season with Schwieterman and Bergman recording four picks each and Andrew Ketner recording his third on Friday that turned into a pick-six.
Marion Local's Brennen Hess looks to help the Flyers maintain their MAC lead when they travel to Minster to face the Wildcats.
The 27 points given up by Marion last week was the most allowed since the 2023 opener when the Flyers held off Wapakoneta 29-26.
The balanced offense features a 1-2 rushing combination of Ben Meier, who leads the team in rushing with 478 yards with 10 touchdowns. Kamden Eifert, fresh off a 155-yard, four-touchdown effort in the win over Anna, is up to 462 yards with 10 scores.
Quarterback Brennen Hess continues to be sharp, passing for 1,407 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 69.2% of his passes this season. Just like the rushing game, the Flyers have a solid tag team in receiving with Cale Nagel catching 22 passes for 539 yards and eight touchdowns and Brayden Mescher adding 519 yards on 33 catches for six scores.
On defense, Marion has recorded 13 interceptions, with Mescher leading the team with five interceptions. Jacob Muhlenkamp leads the team with five sacks with Oliver Huelsman adding four sacks. Seth Heitkamp has 54 tackles to lead a balanced lineup. Derek Knapke adds 51 tackles.
In this article we shall try to project what the possible playoff matchups for each team in the WBL and MAC may be. Next week we shall try to include most of the teams in each of our main regions so it is easier to see how an upset or two may change the projections.
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 two weeks of the season yields the results predicted by Drew Pasteur's Fantastic 50 computer, here are the final rankings and first round playoff opponents of WBL and MAC teams. Remember, any upsets can cause adjustments to these results, especially for teams hovering around the playoff cut line.
No. 1 Wapakoneta bye (10-0)
No. 6 Shawnee (7-3) vs No. 11 Ontario (6-4)
No. 8 St. Marys (7-3) vs No. 9 Toledo Central Catholic (5-5)
No. 12 Defiance (5-5) at No. 5 Lexington (8-1)
No. 20 Celina (3-7)
This assumes Wapakoneta beats Elida and Bath. As the No. 1 seed, Wapakoneta would get a bye week and play the winner of the matchup between No. 8 St. Marys and No. 9 Toledo Central Catholic in the second round. If Wapakoneta loses to Bath, they fall to a No. 3 seed, still get their bye and play the winner of No. 6 Shawnee vs No. 11 Ontario.
This also assumes that Shawnee beats both Van Wert and Ottawa-Glandorf. A loss to Van Wert could drop Shawnee to No. 10, perhaps sending the Indians to play the Roughriders at St. Marys.
St. Marys is favored to defeat both Kenton and Elida. A loss in one game probably just drops the Roughriders to No. 9 and they would then play No. 8 Toledo Central Catholic on the road.
Finally we have Defiance who is shown here as losing to Lima Bath and beating Celina. A loss to Celina knocks Defiance out of the playoffs.
No. 4 Bath (8-2)
No. 13 Van Wert (5-5)
No. 18 Elida (4-6)
No. 24 Kenton (1-9)
No. 25 Ottawa-Glandorf (0-10)
This assumes Bath defeats Defiance but loses to Wapakoneta. As the No. 4 seed, the Wildcats would earn a first-round bye and host the winner of No. 5 Sandusky Perkins and No. 12 Ben Logan in the second round.
If Van Wert can upset Shawnee, they would become the No. 11 seed and travel to play No. 6 Bellevue to start the playoffs.
If Elida can upset St. Marys in Week 10, the Bulldogs have a slim chance to slide into the No. 12 seed and travel to No. 5 Sandusky Perkins.
No. 15 Versailles (4-6)
A Versailles upset of Coldwater should earn the Tigers a No. 11 seed and a trip to play at No. 6 Indian Lake. An upset of St. Henry in Week 10 gets Versailles a No. 10 seed and a trip to No. 7 Preble Shawnee. Two wins and Versailles hosts their first-round playoff game as the No. 8 seed against No. 9 Richwood North Union.
No. 25 Parkway (0-10)
Parkway cannot mathematically reach the Top 12.
No. 4 Coldwater (6-4) bye
No. 7 Anna (7-3) vs No. 10 Dayton Christian (6-4)
Coldwater is assumed to defeat Versailles and lose to Marion Local. As the No. 4 seed, the Cavaliers would host the winner of No. 5 Springfield Northeastern and No. 12 Blanchester. A loss to Versailles drops Coldwater to the No. 6 seed and hosting No. 11 Deer Park.
Anna is favored to defeat both Fort Recovery and Parkway. A loss to Fort Recovery would drop the Rockets to No. 11 and have them travel to play No. 6 7-3 Ironton Rock Hill (or Coldwater?).
No. 24 Delphos St. John's (1-9)
Delphos St. John's cannot mathematically reach the Top 12.
No. 1 Marion Local (10-0) bye
No. 2 St. Henry (9-1) bye
No. 8 Minster (6-4) vs No. 9 Lehman (9-1)
No. 10 New Bremen (6-4) at No. 7 Ansonia (8-2)
No. 12 Fort Recovery (5-5) at No. 5 Cincinnati College Prep (8-2)
Marion Local will be the No. 1 seed and after their bye week will play the winner of No. 8 vs No. 9, currently projected to be either Minster or Lehman.
This assumes St. Henry defeats both New Bremen and Versailles. The Redskins would earn a bye week and then host the winner of No. 7 Ansonia vs No. 10 New Bremen.
A loss in either game drops the Redskins to No. 4. St. Henry would still get a bye week, then host the winner of No. 5 Cincinnati College Prep vs No. 12 Fort Recovery. Two losses and St. Henry drops to No. 5 and could face Fort Recovery in the opening round.
Minster is projected to lose to Marion Local before beating Fort Recovery. A loss to Fort Recovery drops the Wildcats to a No. 9 seed and a trip to Sidney instead of a home game against Lehman.
New Bremen is favored to lose to St. Henry then defeat Delphos St. John's. An upset of St. Henry moves the Cardinals up to a No. 7 seed and the opportunity to host Lehman.
Fort Recovery should be the No. 12 seed with losses to both Anna and Minster. A win in either game makes the Indians a No. 11 seed who would travel to face No. 6 Portsmouth Notre Dame.
With the playoffs likely out of reach, Celina will look to finish 2025 on a high note with two home games to end the season.
The Bulldogs gave Bath a battle last week in Allen County, battling back from a 21-7 deficit to tie the game before the Wildcats pulled away again for a 49-35 loss. Quarterback Parker Wynk had one of his best performances of the season, throwing for 279 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. Brodee Schulte-Arnold had seven catches for 128 yards and three of Wynk's touchdowns while Parker Bertke had 133 yards and a touchdown rushing.
The Titans have struggled this season in going 0-8. Ken Schriner's club has scored 20 or more points in three games this season and was only shut out once - 35-0 to Liberty-Benton in the lidlifter. The defense has allowed 30 or more points five times and fewer than 21 points only once. Freshman quarterback Tanner Vogt was 18-for-30 for 194 yards in the 38-20 loss at Van Wert. Receiver Deegan Miller had four receptions for 102 yards while Jordan Schumaker rushed for two touchdowns.
The matchup could also turn into a scouting event as both teams are in Region 28 and have the chance to meet depending on seeding.
The Cardinals are coming off their first win over Coldwater since 1997 in winning 16-7. Kicker Aidan Eastham kicked three field goals and was solid on his kickoffs as the Cavaliers had just 18 return yards to go with just two punt return yards.
St. Henry continues to roll after jumping out 35-0 at the half up at Delphos against St. John's. Charlie Werling threw for 144 yards in roughly one half of work and added 84 rushing yards. The Redskin defense held St. John's to just 80 yards of total offense and forced two turnovers
Both teams are coming off stinging losses that make the last two games for each key to find a decent seed in the playoffs. The game will be the 69th meeting with the series tied 38-28-2 with the Cavaliers winning the last 19 meetings.
Versailles had a chance to tie Minster early in the fourth quarter, but missed a two-point conversion, then had two turnovers late to take a 14-12 loss to the Wildcats. Landyn Knapke rushed for 104 yards and a late score, but the Tigers were picked off three times, one going for a touchdown, and lost a fumble.
Coldwater suffered its first loss to New Bremen since 1997 as the Cardinals forced four turnovers, including three interceptions. The Cavaliers suffered their first three-loss regular season since 2014 when Coldwater finished 7-3 before finishing 9-4.
The battle of the best running game in the WBL against the most prolific passing game in the league has had some classic battles over the years.
The Roughriders had a second straight close game in beating Shawnee 31-28 last week. Caleb Schmidt rushed for 134 yards and scored his 21st and 22nd touchdown of the season. Bradey Triplett added another field goal last week to raise his season total to 5-of-6.
Kenton dropped its fifth straight game in falling to WBL leader Wapakoneta 37-6. Quarterback Xavier Gammon has been impressive in his freshman season, throwing for over 2,300 yards with 13 touchdowns to nine interceptions. Gammon threw for 206 yards last week in the loss to Wapak.
Fort Recovery picked up its fifth win of the season in defeating winless Parkway. Reece Wendel had 287 yards rushing and three touchdowns as the Indians had 493 yards of total offense. Brodie Hart had 13 tackles and a pass breakup as Fort Recovery pulled away in the second half.
Anna came within a completed two-point pass from ending Marion Local's win streak in a hard-fought 28-27 loss in Maria Stein. Logan Ziegenbusch passed for 206 yards and three touchdowns and Zebadiah Pleiman had two receiving touchdowns and a rushing score.
Both teams are looking for their first win of the season as the teams look for positives for the remainder of the season.
Parkway looked sharp at times against Fort Recovery. Luke Booher had 90 yards rushing and a touchdown and added a fumble recovery score and Jacoby Triplett passed for 177 yards and two scores. The Panther defense forced and recovered three fumbles. The offense was 4-of-10 on third down conversions and 1-of-2 on fourth down tries.
The Blue Jays were held to under 90 yards of total offense as St. Henry pulled away for a 41-0 win.
Reece Wendel, RB, Fort Recovery
Tyler Bergman, DB, MinsterCelina at Bath
Shawnee at St. Marys
Defiance at Elida
Kenton at Wapakoneta
Ottawa-Glandorf at Van Wert
Anna at Marion Local
Coldwater at New Bremen
St. Henry at St. John's
Fort Recovery at Parkway
Minster at Versailles
| WBL | Overall | |
| Wapakoneta | 7-0 | 8-0 |
| Bath | 6-1 | 7-1 |
| Shawnee | 5-2 | 5-3 |
| St. Marys | 5-2 | 5-3 |
| Elida | 3-4 | 4-4 |
| Defiance | 3-4 | 4-4 |
| Van Wert | 3-4 | 4-4 |
| Celina | 2-5 | 2-6 |
| Kenton | 1-6 | 1-7 |
| Ottawa-Glandorf | 0-7 | 0-8 |
| MAC | Overall | |
| Marion Local | 6-0 | 8-0 |
| St. Henry | 5-1 | 7-1 |
| Coldwater | 4-2 | 5-3 |
| Minster | 4-2 | 5-3 |
| Anna | 3-3 | 5-3 |
| Fort Recovery | 3-3 | 5-3 |
| New Bremen | 3-3 | 5-3 |
| Versailles | 2-4 | 4-4 |
| Parkway | 0-6 | 0-8 |
| St. John's | 0-6 | 0-8 |
