Derrick Webb, Staff Writer
This week’s key word: turnovers. Week 2 exemplified just how imperative it is to take care of the football.
My crew — my dad and uncle tag along on Friday nights — drove across our neighborhood to Unioto to see Amanda hand the Tanks a 32-14 loss in a a game that was much closer than the final score.
But there’s plenty of other area excitement to highlight. Here’s this week’s Sunday Morning QB.
CREDIT: Chad Siders
Week 2 Takeaways
A. If you haven’t heard, and I’m sure you have, turning the ball over still isn’t OK. That’s especially true if you want to win football games. It seemed like turnovers came in droves Friday night at multiple area contests. Unioto and Amanda both turned the ball over four times, Southeastern’ defense forced four turnovers in a 35-0 win over Vinton County, and Chillicothe forced four turnovers … while committing five of their own … in a 27-14 win over Mifflin. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. As a coach, it makes you want to pull your hair out — for those that have hair left. As a player, it can provide or strip away momentum. As a reporter, well, it’s fun to watch sometimes. However, I think we can expect to see less turnovers as we go deeper into the season. New coaches are still implementing offenses, there are still early-season jitters out there, and better decisions should be made.
MORE FOOTBALL COVERAGE
PHOTOS: Amanda-Clearcreek beats Unioto 32-14 … Waverly beats Zane Trace 49-14 … Wellston beats Piketon 44-22 … Southeastern beats Vinton County 35-0
GAME STORIES: Aces pull away from Shermans … Chillicothe wins first game in Pryor Jr. era … Wellston doubles up Redstreaks … Panthers use turnovers to blowout Vikings
B. So, Payton Shoemaker … remember him? He’s still really good. Waverly’s senior tailback continued a scorching start to the season with an 18-carry, 194-yard, three-touchdown performance in a 49-14 win over Zane Trace. His totals for the year after two games … 40 rushes, 401 yards, seven scores. He has Waverly looking like the cream of the crop in the area. With Wheelersburg at 0-2, and a lopsided 0-2 at that, you have start thinking this could be the year Waverly gets over the hump and wins an SOC title. Shoemaker will be the key on that journey. Feed. The. Beast.
CREDIT: Kent Sanborn
C. Speaking of SOC title contenders, how about Minford? The Falcons’ offense, led by quarterback Elijah Vogelsong and tailback Ty Wiget, has put up 97 points in its first two games — a 43-12 win over Rock Hill in Week 1 and a 54-21 victory over Chesapeake this past week. Oh, and here’s this tidbit: the Falcons put up 596 total yards of offense. Five-hundred-ninety-six. Next week, Minford travels to Greenup County (Ky). The Musketeers, at 2-1, will pose a good early season test, but they had better dial up pressure to get to Vogelsong and Wiget. If not, they could be Minford’s next victim.
D. Six area programs earned their first wins Friday or Saturday night. Chillicothe’s victory was the first under first-year head coach Doug Pryor Jr., Northwest’s 35-7 win over McClain was the first under coach Bill Crabtree, Huntington won a barn-burner over Eastern Pike by a 52-46 final, Westfall topped Logan Elm 38-20 in the two’s Tackling Cancer classic, Sciotoville East pounded Manchester by a 34-0 count, and Valley scratched and clawed its way to a 34-19 win over Coal Grove.
Hurry-Up Offense
In Chillicothe’s 27-14 win over Mifflin, running back Hunter Thomas didn’t score but he did gain 165 yards on 29 carries. He’s a name to watch as the season rolls along. The Cavaliers go to Watkins Memorial in Week 3.
Northwest had a trio of backs perform well in its win over McClain. Brayden Campbell had 15 carries for 182 yards and three touchdowns, Wyatt Brackman had 15 carries for 96 yards, and Nathan Rivers rushed for 96 yards on 11 rushes and scored once.
In Huntington’s track meet win, Huntsmen quarterback Seth Beeler scored four touchdowns, four through the air and two on the ground. He also led the team to 52 points and a 5-of-7 conversion rates on two-point attempts.
Jackson’s duo of Jayden Spires and Brice Graham each had big nights in a 31-26 win. Spires rushed for 126 yards on 25 carries and scored once while Graham found the end zone on three occasions, alongside 115 yards. In total, Jackson put up 376 yards of total offense. Graham and Spires had 241.
One Final Thought
I know I’m supposed to stay neutral, but man it’s hard not to root for Unioto’s Jamarcus Carroll. The young man embodies what it means to be a team player, a role model and a high school football player. If you didn’t know, Carroll rushed for 1,329 yards before tearing his ACL in Week 6 last season. He still finished second on the SVC’s rushing leaderboard. He’s now back, playing with a brace on that same knee. After Unioto’s 32-14 loss to Amanda this past Friday, I spoke with Carroll. It was an interview after defeat and, honestly, an interview I wouldn’t have wanted to participate in if I had just poured my heart out in an emotional loss. But Jamarcus took the loss on the chin, was accommodating as always, and discussed how proud he was of his team. That’s the type of teammate and senior leader I’d want to play with. Somebody raised that young man right.
Power Rankings
- Waverly (2-0) … 2. Jackson (2-0) … 3. Minford (2-0) … 4. Wheelersburg (0-2) … 5. Paint Valley (1-1) … 6. Southeastern (2-0) … 7. Adena (2-0) … 8. Unioto (1-1) … 9. Chillicothe (1-1) … 10. Washington (2-0)