FAC High School Football Preview: Week 8
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
With Week 8 of the high school football season comes three new matchups in the Frontier Athletic Conference. This week’s games feature the Hillsboro Indians hosting the Jackson Ironmen, the Washington Blue Lions at the McClain Tigers and the Chillicothe Cavaliers traveling to take on the Miami Trace Panthers.
Here is a look at the games for Friday, Oct. 13:
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• Jackson Ironmen (2-0, 6-1) at Hillsboro Indians (1-1, 5-2)
With a win, the Hillsboro Indians will help their playoff hopes, plus jump into a tie for first place in the FAC, as their opponent — Jackson — is currently tied with the Chillicothe Cavaliers for the top spot in the conference at 2-0.
This is an important game for both teams this Friday night as the Indians are having their best season in nearly a decade by entering this game at 5-2 overall, coming off a a 41-34 victory over the Washington Blue Lions on homecoming.
As for facing Jackson, this is their first meeting against each other since 1996 in a playoff game where the Ironmen won 7-3 as both teams in 1996 entered the playoff game undefeated.
This year, the Indians are playing their best football in years, as they are guaranteed a .500 record or better for the first time since the 2009 season. This year, Hillsboro has scored 40 or more points four times, and in that, they’ve put up at least 50 points twice. In ’17, the Indians have used their rushing game to control the pace of games, and lately it has been their power rushing attack that has been the difference maker with the likes of Deon Burns and Josh Keets having most of the carries.
Jackson has just one loss this season, coming in Week 5 against Wheelersburg by a 38-14 score. Besides that loss, the rest of the season has seen the Ironmen score 235 points in seven games, while allowing just 107.
Something will have to give in this game with the high-powered rushing offense of HHS against a Jackson defense that doesn’t give up a lot of points.
Kickoff is 7 p.m at Richards Memorial Field in Hillsboro.
• Washington Blue Lions (0-2, 3-4) at McClain Tigers (0-2, 0-7)
The Washington Blue Lions are coming off a loss to the Hillsboro Indians last week, while the McClain Tigers are still looking for their first win of the season Friday night as these two teams will battle in Week 8 at McClain Field in Greenfield.
McClain continues the rebuild their program, but the past two games have been really tough on their team, as they’ve not scored a point since Week 5 and have 34 points on the season. They are led by Darius White in rushing with 401 yards, as he averages 4.4 yards per carry. As a team, the Tigers average 127.7 yards per game rushing.
The Blue Lions enter this game losing their past two games, and besides the forfeit win over St. Charles, they haven’t gained a win on the field since Week 2. With a 3-4 overall mark and 0-2 record in the FAC, one of the two teams will leave McClain Field with their first conference win this season.
Washington has scored 178 points this season and allowed 192.
Kickoff of this game at McClain Field is scheduled for 7 p.m.
• Chillicothe Cavaliers (2-0, 5-2) at Miami Trace Panthers (1-1, 1-6)
The first-place Chillicothe Cavaliers will be on the road following six consecutive home games from Weeks 2 through 7 as they’ll face the Miami Trace Panthers at Panther Stadium in Week 8 play.
Chillicothe has been cruising through the first two games of the FAC, defeating the Hillsboro Indians 42-20 and last Friday night taking down the McClain Tigers by a 56-0 score. This season, through seven games, the Cavaliers have outscored their opponents by a 233-159 differential, resulting in a current three-game winning streak.
This season, the Cavaliers are averaging 235.9 yards rushing per game and 97.7 passing yards per game. Most of that yardage comes from senior quarterback Branden Maughmer, who on 60 completions has passed for 657 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions. Where he’s really dangerous for the opposition is within the rushing game, with the senior having 129 rushes for 1,083 yards and 16 touchdowns. Maughmer averages 8.4 yards per carry and 154.7 yards per game rushing.
The second leading rusher for the Cavaliers is Connor Mathis, who has 60 carries for 269 yards and three touchdowns. He also has seven receptions on the season for 79 yards and one touchdown.
For Miami Trace, this season hasn’t gone as planned with their lone win coming in Week 6 when they defeated McClain, 46-0. They’ve scored 137 points this season and have allowed 237 as they are 0-4 at home and 1-2 on the road.
Last season, CHS defeated Miami Trace, 56-21, and in 2015 the Cavs also won by a score of 45-14. The Cavaliers and Panthers have played each other every year since the 2013 season, with CHS having won each of the meetings, making them 4-0 against MT the past four seasons.
Kickoff for the game will be 7 p.m.
Here is a look at the games for Friday, Oct. 13:
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• Jackson Ironmen (2-0, 6-1) at Hillsboro Indians (1-1, 5-2)
With a win, the Hillsboro Indians will help their playoff hopes, plus jump into a tie for first place in the FAC, as their opponent — Jackson — is currently tied with the Chillicothe Cavaliers for the top spot in the conference at 2-0.
This is an important game for both teams this Friday night as the Indians are having their best season in nearly a decade by entering this game at 5-2 overall, coming off a a 41-34 victory over the Washington Blue Lions on homecoming.
As for facing Jackson, this is their first meeting against each other since 1996 in a playoff game where the Ironmen won 7-3 as both teams in 1996 entered the playoff game undefeated.
This year, the Indians are playing their best football in years, as they are guaranteed a .500 record or better for the first time since the 2009 season. This year, Hillsboro has scored 40 or more points four times, and in that, they’ve put up at least 50 points twice. In ’17, the Indians have used their rushing game to control the pace of games, and lately it has been their power rushing attack that has been the difference maker with the likes of Deon Burns and Josh Keets having most of the carries.
Jackson has just one loss this season, coming in Week 5 against Wheelersburg by a 38-14 score. Besides that loss, the rest of the season has seen the Ironmen score 235 points in seven games, while allowing just 107.
Something will have to give in this game with the high-powered rushing offense of HHS against a Jackson defense that doesn’t give up a lot of points.
Kickoff is 7 p.m at Richards Memorial Field in Hillsboro.
• Washington Blue Lions (0-2, 3-4) at McClain Tigers (0-2, 0-7)
The Washington Blue Lions are coming off a loss to the Hillsboro Indians last week, while the McClain Tigers are still looking for their first win of the season Friday night as these two teams will battle in Week 8 at McClain Field in Greenfield.
McClain continues the rebuild their program, but the past two games have been really tough on their team, as they’ve not scored a point since Week 5 and have 34 points on the season. They are led by Darius White in rushing with 401 yards, as he averages 4.4 yards per carry. As a team, the Tigers average 127.7 yards per game rushing.
The Blue Lions enter this game losing their past two games, and besides the forfeit win over St. Charles, they haven’t gained a win on the field since Week 2. With a 3-4 overall mark and 0-2 record in the FAC, one of the two teams will leave McClain Field with their first conference win this season.
Washington has scored 178 points this season and allowed 192.
Kickoff of this game at McClain Field is scheduled for 7 p.m.
• Chillicothe Cavaliers (2-0, 5-2) at Miami Trace Panthers (1-1, 1-6)
The first-place Chillicothe Cavaliers will be on the road following six consecutive home games from Weeks 2 through 7 as they’ll face the Miami Trace Panthers at Panther Stadium in Week 8 play.
Chillicothe has been cruising through the first two games of the FAC, defeating the Hillsboro Indians 42-20 and last Friday night taking down the McClain Tigers by a 56-0 score. This season, through seven games, the Cavaliers have outscored their opponents by a 233-159 differential, resulting in a current three-game winning streak.
This season, the Cavaliers are averaging 235.9 yards rushing per game and 97.7 passing yards per game. Most of that yardage comes from senior quarterback Branden Maughmer, who on 60 completions has passed for 657 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions. Where he’s really dangerous for the opposition is within the rushing game, with the senior having 129 rushes for 1,083 yards and 16 touchdowns. Maughmer averages 8.4 yards per carry and 154.7 yards per game rushing.
The second leading rusher for the Cavaliers is Connor Mathis, who has 60 carries for 269 yards and three touchdowns. He also has seven receptions on the season for 79 yards and one touchdown.
For Miami Trace, this season hasn’t gone as planned with their lone win coming in Week 6 when they defeated McClain, 46-0. They’ve scored 137 points this season and have allowed 237 as they are 0-4 at home and 1-2 on the road.
Last season, CHS defeated Miami Trace, 56-21, and in 2015 the Cavs also won by a score of 45-14. The Cavaliers and Panthers have played each other every year since the 2013 season, with CHS having won each of the meetings, making them 4-0 against MT the past four seasons.
Kickoff for the game will be 7 p.m.