FAC Football Preview: Week 7

Week 7 is here, and with just four games remaining in the conference and regular season, all games matter a little more with positioning in the Frontier Athletic Conference and for the playoffs still on the line.

This week’s games feature the Chillicothe Cavaliers hosting the McClain Tigers, the Hillsboro Indians having their homecoming against the Washington Blue Lions and the Miami Trace Panthers hosting the Jackson Ironmen.

The games this week feature one matchup that will be very exciting to watch, as the “Game of the Week” for the FAC should be Hillsboro vs. Washington. Last season at Gardner Park in Washington Court House, the Indians made a fierce comeback at the end and had a chance to tie the game with a two-point conversion in the very late stages of the contest, but Washington held on for a 35-33 win.

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One can only hope for another competitive game and atmosphere, with this game beginning what is a three-game home stretch for the Indians as they’ll host Miami Trace and Jackson in the ensuing weeks.

In the first week of FAC play, there was one final score that was by 11 points or fewer, being Jackson’s 31-20 win over the Blue Lions, so it will be interesting to see where teams stand in the conference once all is said and done in Week 7.

Here is a look at the games for Friday, Oct. 6:

• Washington Blue Lions (0-1, 3-3) at Hillsboro Indians (0-1, 4-2)

On paper, this should be the most competitive game of the week for the FAC, as the Hillsboro Indians will not only be celebrating homecoming while having a winning record, but a win would guarantee them their first non-losing season since 2009 and would give them their first FAC victory.

Hillsboro enters the game ranked 12th in the Division III, Region 11 computer rankings and have yet to lose consecutive games on the season. The Indians are coming off a tough loss to the Chillicothe Cavaliers last week, but the Cavs are no pushover as they are ranked seventh in the Division II, Region 8 football computer rankings.

What this game will bring for the Indians is the possibility of another strong rushing attack with Josh Keets, Deon Burns, Devon Gallimore and quarterback Mason Swayne behind a strong offensive line that has produced quality results in nearly every game this season.

There is also the fact the Indians are just playing a lot of solid football this season — especially compared to previous seasons — and have played very well through six weeks. One part of their game that has hampered momentum this season is unwanted penalties, but those come with the game of football and are fixable.

Now for the Blue Lions, they’ve had an interesting few weeks, first by having a new quarterback under center for the past few games, plus losing a game on the road, only to have a win awarded to them as their non-conference opponent St. Charles had issues with their roster, forcing them to give back the win.

Entering the game with 144 points scored and 151 allowed, the Blue Lions are coming off a 24-14 home loss to Jackson. In two of their past three games (not counting the forfeit win against St. Charles), the Blue Lions have scored a total of 22 points. Against the Ironmen, the Blue Lions shared their running game with quarterback Richie Burns and Jacob Rice.

Kickoff for the game is 7 p.m. at Richards Memorial Field.



• McClain Tigers (0-1, 0-6) at Chillicothe Cavaliers (1-0, 4-2)

The Chillicothe Cavaliers showed they were one of the top teams to beat in the FAC with their 42-point performance over the Hillsboro Indians last week. The Cavaliers are very athletic and used a mix of the run and pass to control the tempo over HHS last week. They have scored 40-plus points in each of their post two games and in all four wins have scored no less than 28 points. For the six games thus far this season, CHS has totaled 177 points and allowed 159, winning their past two games.

Again, the player that controls the Chillicothe offense is Branden Maughmer, with the quarterback having 942 yards rushing on 123 carries (7.7 yards per carry) this season with 14 touchdowns. He’s also passed for 534 yards and three touchdowns.

As for the Tigers, they need to take away the football from the Cavs, with the CHS offense having seven interceptions and five fumbles (three lost) on the season.

McClain is coming off a 46-point loss to Miami Trace as they are continuing to rebuild their program this season. The Tigers have had troubles finishing drives and scoring points in 2017 but have a running back in Darius White who has rushed for 401 yards on 92 carries through six games. Also, Patrick Fout is averaging 7.5 yards per carry (19 carries) with one touchdown. For the season, the Tigers have totaled 844 yards rushing and 413 yards passing.

This will be a very challenging game for the Tigers on the road at Chillicothe, but any team that has to play at the home of the Cavaliers will face a tough challenge.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Herrnstein Field in Ross County.


• Jackson Ironmen (1-0, 5-1) at Miami Trace Panthers (1-0, 1-5)

Though they are completely opposite in overall standings, Jackson and Miami Trace each enter Week 7 with 1-0 records in the FAC, and they will be separate of that distinction once this conference match is completed on Friday night at Panther Stadium.

The Panthers had a dominant performance in their first win of the season last Friday when they defeated the McClain Tigers on the road, but facing Jackson this week is a tougher challenge as the Ironmen have already won five times through the first six weeks and are sixth in the Division III, Region 11 computer rankings this week.

Jackson is the favorite entering this game, especially after last Friday when they totaled 360 yards of offense against the Blue Lions. Miami Trace totaled 418 yards of offense in their win last week at McClain, while holding the Tigers to 179 yards of offense.

Kickoff for this game is 7 p.m. at Panther Stadium in Fayette County.