FAC Football Preview: Week 9
There are two regular-season games remaining on the 2017 schedule, and for the six teams in the Frontier Athletic Conference the order of how they will stand once those two weeks are complete can still change, making the final two weeks very important for all involved.
The two FAC undefeated teams going into Week 9 are the Chillicothe Cavaliers and the Jackson Ironmen, as both are 3-0 in the conference and have shown thus far they are the two best teams in the FAC. If they make it out of this week with each gaining a win, the Ironmen and Cavaliers will meet up undefeated for the FAC title next Friday night in Jackson.
Chillicothe hasn’t won any conference championships since 1990 when they won the OCC championship, and the Ironmen were the champs of the SEOAL last season, which is now defunct.
The rest of the conference has just two games left, meaning they are mathematically eliminated from playing in the playoffs, but they still all have something to play for this week and next week as the season winds down.
Here is a look at this week's games for the FAC.
• Miami Trace (1-2, 1-7) at Hillsboro Indians (1-2, 5-3)
This season has been the most productive for the Hillsboro Indians since 2009, and a win Friday night guarantees a winning season, their first since that same ’09 season. HHS is coming off a 28-6 loss to the Jackson Ironmen last Friday night, but are facing a Miami Trace program they’ve defeated the past two seasons.
HHS has never in the history of their program defeated Miami Trace three straight years, and that is what the Indians are playing for this week, plus the winner of this game will stay ahead of their opponent in the FAC standings.
Last season, the Indians defeated the Panthers, 54-27 at Panther Stadium and in 2015 the HHS team won over Miami Trace by a 35-27 score.
Thus far, Hillsboro has scored 279 points and allowed 197, while MT has scored 139 points and allowed 279. Both teams are coming off losses from Week 7, so both will be looking to get back in the winning column as the season nears a close.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Richards Memorial Field.
• McClain Tigers (0-3, 0-8) at Jackson Ironmen (3-0, 7-1)
This is not the ideal situation for the McClain Tigers to be going into in Week 9, a situation where they are still looking for their first win of the season, and facing a team that is two wins away from most likely earning a berth in the playoffs, and if that occurs, a conference championship, too.
Jackson fended off the Hillsboro Indians last Friday night, and this week take on a second Highland County team in McClain that hasn’t won since last season and has scored less than 50 points for the season.
JHS, on the other hand, has scored 263 points in the 2017 season and has allowed just 113 points. In FAC play through three games, the Ironmen have defeated the Washington Blue Lions (24-14), Miami Trace Panthers (48-28) and the Hillsboro Indians (28-6) all on the the road.
The Ironmen finish out the ’17 regular season with two home games, including the game Friday vs. McClain and next Friday when they host Chillicothe.
McClain in the rebuild of their program is averaging 124 yards per game rushing per game this season.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
• Chillicothe Cavaliers (3-0, 6-2) at Washington Blue Lions (1-2, 4-4)
The Chillicothe Cavaliers are the favorites to win this FAC contest and for good reason, but the Blue Lions do have some solid athletes and are back to full force offensively which could make a difference for Week 9.
Washington is coming off a 48-10 win over the McClain Tigers last week, stopping what was a two-game losing streak.
As for the Cavaliers, they are maybe the best team in the conference. Wins this week and next week would but put them into the playoffs for a third straight season and make them the FAC champions. Last week the Cavs won over the Miami Trace Panthers, 42-7.
This will be an interesting game for sure with two of the most athletic quarterbacks in the conference playing this week in the same game, and making for some big moments on the field this Friday night.