Week 9 Preview | Playoff positioning on the line for Colonel Crawford, Galion, Crestline

NORTH ROBINSON - Week 9 is here and while the Northern 10 title is out of reach now for Colonel Crawford, the Eagles are still battling for playoff positioning with the hopes of securing a home game in the first round.

Coming off a tough loss against Carey last week, Colonel Crawford currently sits 11th in Division VI Region 23 and has the potential to sneak into the top eight with a win against Division IV Upper Sandusky this week and another against rival Wynford (Div. VI) in the regular season finale.

But the Eagles have to get past the Rams before even thinking about the Royals. And Upper Sandusky is coming off the biggest upset of the season traveling to Sycamore and handing Mohawk its first league loss of the season in a 13-6 defensive battle.

Since getting throttled by Galion in Week 3 (42-0) and Carey in Week 4 (40-3), Upper has steadily been playing some of the best football around. The Rams knocked off Wynford in Week 4 by 17 points, battled Seneca East in Attica to a 14-7 loss, rebounded with a 56-12 drubbing of Bucyrus and carried that into the Mohawk win last week.

Quarterback Justin Heilman has settled into the position and boasts the second-best completion rate (59.4%), third-most yards (1,212) and fourth-most touchdowns (10). Four receivers have double-digit catches led by Kaleb Francis' 45 receptions for 463 yards and seven touchdowns. Max Martinez (27 receptions, 392 yards), Josh Heilman (16 receptions, 154 yards, one touchdown), and Brodie Cox (10 receptions, 122 yards) all need to have an eye kept on them during the game which is not a simple task. And you add Ethan Lewis in the backfield who has logged 119 carries for 633 yards and five touchdowns, and you can see how the Rams have been successful lately.

The defense, that typically has ranked toward the bottom of the league, is fourth overall allowing 25 points to opposing offenses and 294.4 yards per game. Colonel Crawford's offense ranks second in the N10 averaging 406.1 yards per game and 36.8 points, but has struggled at times finding consistency.

If the Eagles want to keep climbing up in the postseason, they'll need to get the offense clicking early in what will be the final home game of the regular season. Defensively, they'll need to take away one or two of the standout receivers the Rams boast, or just try to keep up in a high-scoring affair.

Galion (5-3) at River Valley (5-3)

The Tigers finally got their bounce back win after a three-game skid last week pulling away from Pleasant for a 31-10 victory. There was a quarterbacking change that saw Ayden Schmidt take over for Braxton Prosser early in the game, and it seemed to revitalize the offense. Schmidt rushed in a touchdown, Prosser took one in himself on a sweep and it might be just the change this team needed.

River Valley just took care of Highland 38-14 and are led by a strong passing attack featuring quarterback Chase Ebert and wideouts Eli Snyder, Luke Axline, and Carter Park. The Vikings also boast one of the best punters around in Hudson Polluck, and if anyone knows how valuable an elite punter is, it's Galion.

Galion is pretty set for a playoff spot, but where that is can vary a ton based on how the next two weeks go. Currently the Tigers are seventh in Division IV, Region 14 and have the benefit of playing fellow Div. IV River Valley this week before closing against Div. II Marion Harding. It's not a MUST WIN for Galion this weekend, but the Tigers will surely want to take a winning streak into the postseason and make sure they get to suit up in front of the home crowd in Week 11.

Wynford (2-6) at Buckeye Central (2-6)

The Royals halted a four-game losing streak last week beating rival Bucyrus 48-12 for the 27th consecutive season retaining the coveted Copper Kettle. The Bucks lost their fourth straight getting past a brutal stretch of the N10 featuring all four of the top teams.

This is going to be a battle of a run-heavy Wynford offense led by Anthony Evans (169 carries, 1,033 yards, 10 touchdowns) and Bryce Locker (83 carries, 588 yards, three touchdowns) and a Bucks offense that has shown numerous times this season it can break off the big play in an instant powered by Jack Phillips (907 yards passing, 11 touchdowns; 93 carries, 613 yards, three touchdowns).

In recent years the Royals have dominated this county rivalry, but this week's installment might be a bit closer than it has been. This one will likely come down to whoever can limit turnovers because both offenses can make you pay.

Seneca East (5-3) at Bucyrus (0-8)

The Tigers took out some frustrations on Buckeye Central last week bouncing back with a 56-21 win for their fourth in five weeks. Bucyrus, on the other hand, lost its 19th consecutive game dating back to Week 10 of 2022.

Seneca East's offense is dynamic led by quarterback Nicholas Parks (1,866 yards passing, 20 touchdowns; 81 carries, 294 yards, four touchdowns) and arguably the best skill player around in All-Ohioan Taylor Young (48 receptions, 804 yards, 10 touchdowns; 25 carries, 245 yards, two touchdowns).

A Northern 10 title is still in the cards for the Tigers, too, so that makes this game doubly difficult for host Bucyrus.

Crestline (4-4) at North Baltimore (3-5)

Former league foes the last few years, they now meet in a nonleague clash with both teams battling for playoff positioning. Crestline and North Baltimore are currently in, but control their own destiny with regards to staying in the postseason hunt.

That means the final two weeks for both programs are huge and essentially must win scenarios. They share some common opponents, but Waynesfield-Goshen is probably the best to compare to — and it's almost an identical final. The Bulldogs lost 49-12 in Week 2, the Tigers fell 49-14 in Week 5.

This should be a competitive game between two similarly talented programs and, like most key games, will come down to whoever takes care of the ball best because we know they can both move the ball.

zholden@gannett.com | 419-617-6018 | Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Week 9 Preview | Playoff positioning on the line for Colonel Crawford, Galion, Crestline