Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Among the 10 teams within The Press coverage area, the group of Clay, Eastwood, Genoa, Gibsonburg, Oak Harbor, and Woodmore qualified for the state playoffs.
Eastwood, Oak Harbor get rematch
Among the local matchups, the one with potentially the most intrigue is an opening round matchup between No. 8 Eastwood (8-2) and No. 9 Oak Harbor (8-2), where the winner will travel to No. 1 Liberty Center for a regional quarterfinal on Nov. 7.
The Eagles previously knocked off the Rockets 42-6 on Oct. 3 in Drew Luidhardt’s season debut at quarterback. It was the second of back-to-back conference losses for Oak Harbor, which accounted for their only two defeats in nearly three seasons in NBC play.
In five games at quarterback, Luidhardt has completed 82-of-120 passes for 1,150 yards and 17 touchdowns. Brayden Brown has been the featured back, compiling 632 yards on 131 carries with four 100+ yard performances. Trace Johnson has added a pair of scores while rushing for 289 yards with a team-best 7.4 yards per carry.
Eastwood’s group of receivers have totaled 29 touchdowns on the season. They’re led statistically by Cam Schumaker, who has 603 yards and 10 touchdowns, although Edmund Opfer has a team-best 604 yards and six touchdowns. Since shifting back out to wide receiver following his brother’s return at quarterback, Brayden Luidhardt has compiled 507 yards and eight touchdowns in just five games. Brady Ramlow also has 198 yards receiving with three touchdowns.
Landen Simon leads Eastwood’s defense with 53 tackles, while Opfer (48), Ramlow (32), and Landon Weemes (32) are next in line. Hunter Lauer has 17 tackles, including a pair of sacks. Logan Miesmer also has a pair of sacks. Brayden Luidhardt has six of the team’s 12 interceptions, while Weemes and Opfer also have two each.
For Oak Harbor, Blake Nickel leads a talented backfield with 1,399 yards and 19 touchdowns over 202 carries. Travis Bouyer is second in yardage with 636, along with 10 touchdowns. Kason Marshall has nine touchdowns while accumulating 365 yards, and Brennan Butzin has 248 yards along with five touchdowns.
The Rockets have compiled 49 of their 53 offensive touchdowns on the ground. Quarterback Breydan Porath has thrown for the other four scores while compiling 767 yards on 69-of-98 passing. Wyatt Augsburger leads the receivers with 44 catches, 444 yards and three touchdowns. Cooper Schultz has the other touchdown, and he’s compiled 179 yards.
Clay gets Brecksville-Broadview in opener
In Division II, No. 9 seed Clay (6-4) travels to No. 8 Brecksville-Broadview Heights (6-4) on Oct. 31 for an opening round matchup. With a win, they would advance to face No. 1 Highland on Nov. 7 in a regional quarterfinal.
Landon Echelberry leads Clay’s offense with 1,436 yards passing while completing 129-of-228 attempts with 14 touchdowns. He has also compiled a team-best 569 yards on the ground over 103 carries with three touchdowns. Bryce Besgrove (398) and Collin Greenawalt (317) have combined for 715 yards and 11 touchdowns, including six from Greenawalt.
Jimmy Derr leads the receivers with 32 catches for 432 yards, while Max Morrison has 29 catches for 381 yards and three touchdowns. Carter Walendzak has a team-best four touchdowns along with 249 yards receiving, while Brodi Ostrander has 218 yards and three touchdowns.
Greenawalt leads the Clay defense with 62 tackles, including five for loss. Jonny Kamelesky (48), Corey Bobbs (46), Chase Vriezelaar (44), and Kyle Henneman (40) also have at least 40 tackles each. Brannan Vargas leads the Eagles with nine tackles for loss, while Bobbs and Kamelesky have seven each. Bobbs has a team-best seven sacks, and Anthonio Gianino has three interceptions.
Woodmore hosts Seneca East
In Division VI, No. 11 Woodmore (7-3) will host No. 6 Seneca East (7-3) in an opening round matchup. A win would advance the Wildcats to the regional quarterfinal round, where they would travel to No. 3 Archbold on Nov. 7.
One interesting storyline for Woodmore is Landon Rich’s chase for 2,000 yards on the ground. The senior has 1,897 yards on 228 carries with 30 touchdowns. Quarterback Calvin Lipstraw is 62-of-110 for 1,001 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Wesley Kayser has 525 yards receiving and six touchdowns on 31 receptions. Michael Seeger (213) and Robert Seeger (190) have also combined for 403 yards receiving.
Defensively, Michael Seeger has a team-best 59 tackles, while Keegan Strong (49), Rich (39), Kayser (38), and Bailey Jendrzejak (38) are next in line. Kayser has six interceptions along with a defensive touchdown, and Bradley Allgier has a team-best five sacks.
Gibsonburg hosts Morral Ridgedale
In Division VII, No. 5 Gibsonburg (7-3) will host No. 12 Morral Ridgedale (6-4) in an opening round matchup. The winner gets to travel to No. 4 Columbus Grove on Nov. 7 for a regional quarterfinal.
Gibsonburg’s talented offense has been spearheaded by Grant Smith, who has rushed 202 times for 1,517 yards and 19 touchdowns. He isn’t alone, though, as Aiden Nims (653 yards), Aiden Morant (461 yards), and Reece Walby (368 yards) are all averaging at least eight yards per attempt. Among those three, Walby has seven touchdowns, while Nims (5) and Morant (4) have combined for nine.
Walby has also compiled 471 yards passing with seven touchdowns. Morant leads the receivers with 176 yards and three touchdowns, while Luke Foster has 133 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Smith also has a team-best 102 tackles, just ahead of Walby (86.5). Hunter Wasserman leads the Golden Bears with 7.5 sacks, while Morant (6) and Walby (5) have combined for 11 interceptions. They also have five defensive touchdowns as a team, including two apiece from Foster and Walby.
Genoa gets bye, awaits home quarterfinal
Genoa (9-1) was the lone local team to earn a first-round bye, and the No. 3 Comets will open their Division V playoff run Nov. 7 with a regional quarterfinal matchup at home against the winner of No. 6 Edison and No. 11 Port Clinton.
The Comets went undefeated in NBC play, claiming the program’s first league title since 2018, which included ending Oak Harbor’s two-plus-year-long NBC winning streak in late September. They have persevered through a season-ending injury to Luke Clement, who rushed for 608 yards on 85 carries with 12 touchdowns. He suffered the injury in week five against Maumee.
In his place, Alex Materni has toted the ball 86 times for 676 yards and eight touchdowns, while Logan Routson has 49 carries for 338 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Myles Mollenhauer is 107-for-167 passing with 1,482 yards and 17 touchdowns. Jaxon Magnone has 51 catches for 764 yards and seven touchdowns, while Ryan Routson has 23 catches for 329 yards and four touchdowns.
