Week 8 Lookahead: Pleasant, RV will try to rebound against Galion, Highland in football

MARION — The Tigers may be wounded, but they are still dangerous.

Galion is a team that won its first four games of the football season, but it has since lost the last three it's played.

"They are a good team. They’ve just played some tough competition," Pleasant head coach C.J. Westler said. "They played Shelby and Ontario and Highland which are no slouches. They’re coming off three losses, but it’s their homecoming, so I’m sure they’re going to be excited."

What's Week 8 look like? Check out the Marion-area high school football standings entering Week 8

Photos: Gallery: Ontario and Pleasant meet in an MOAC football elimination game Friday in Week 7

After beating Clear Fork 41-21, the Tigers lost to undefeated Shelby 35-6, unbeaten Ontario 49-0 and last week to Highland 24-21.

Galion averages 25 points per game and gives up just over 21 per contest, but those numbers change to 17 points on offense and 32 points on defense in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference. The Tigers are next-to-last in passing yards with 873 this season, but fourth in rushing with 882 yards. The defense gives up 300 yards per night.

"Their quarterback is their player, and in our league that seems to be the case every week," Westler said of Braxton Prosser, who leads the team in rushing, too. "He makes a lot of plays in the run game and pass game. They have a really good receiver (in Jacob Chambers) and a bunch of team speed. We’ve got to contain their quarterback and not let their receiver beat us deep.

"Defensively, they like to blitz and bring pressure, so we have to be able to execute up front and make sure we’re playing with our eyes up and picking up all those blitzes so we can be effective in the run game and pass game."

The Spartans counter with a 50-50 run-pass split on offense and the league's stingiest run defense with only 386 yards allowed on the ground all year.

River Valley, like Pleasant, has a tough Week 8 challenge, too. Since a 31-7 loss to Pleasant, Highland has won two of its last three games, beating Marion Harding 28-9 and Galion last week, sandwiched around a 41-6 loss to Shelby.

"They are a physical football team," RV coach Matt Waddle said. "They are a little more spread than they have been. Their offensive and defensive lines are pretty physical. Obviously, Stover is a three-year starter, and he presents some issues. He can run it and throw it. They have some decent receivers, so they have some talent there."

The Scots have thrown for 1,400 yards so far, plus run for 803 more yards. The Highland defense is next-to-last in the MOAC in passing and rushing yards allowed, giving up 1,055 in the air and 1,195 on the ground.

"We view them similar to a Pleasant or Buckeye Valley as far as schematics," Waddle said. "We had success against both of those football teams, so if we can do the same things we did against BV and Pleasant, we should have some success."

River Valley beat BV 34-7 and Pleasant 35-0.

The rest of Week 8's schedule

● Marion Harding at Ontario.

● Upper Scioto Valley at Elgin.

● Cory-Rawson at Ridgedale.

● Benjamin Logan at North Union.

● Loudonville at Cardington.

● Mount Gilead at Northmor.

Stars of Week 7

● Pleasant's Drew Neiderhouser ran 22 times for 139 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Ontario.

● River Valley's Chase Ebert ran 14 times for 123 yards and a touchdown, plus threw for 232 yards and two TDs on 17 of 40 passing in a loss to Shelby.

● Marion Harding's Lucas Keller rolled up five sacks in a loss to Clear Fork.

● North Union's Nickolas Hajjar picked off a pass and threw for a touchdown in a loss to Northwestern.

● Northmor's Jax Wenger caught seven passes for 203 yards with three for touchdowns of 51, 59 and 25 yards, plus he added an interception on defense in a win over East Knox.

● Ridgedale's Evan Ricketts ran in a 62-yard touchdown and recovered a fumble on defense in a loss to North Baltimore.

● Highland's Kolton Stover was 18-for-29 passing for 243 yards and an 82-yard TD pass, plus he added a pick-6 on defense in a win over Galion.

● Elgin's Landon Shepard ended with 11 tackles and three tackles for loss in a loss to Waynesfield-Goshen.

● Mount Gilead's Carson Barnum ran 18 times for 129 yards in a loss to Centerburg.

● Cardington's Wyatt Denney reached 1,000-plus rushing yards after going 22 times for 129 yards, while also getting 14.5 tackles and two tackles for loss in a loss to Danville.

● Honorable mention: Highland's Kadyn Reichenbach, Highland's Gavin Wiggand, Elgin's Quinten Harrison, Cardington's Christopher Kinsey, Cardington's Kalin Briggs, Mount Gilead's Cam Vickers, Mount Gilead's Carson Trainer, Marion Harding's Ray J Scot Harbolt, North Union's Gavin Potts, North Union's Griffin Osborne, Northmor's A.J. Bower, Northmor's Carson Campbell, Pleasant's Brennan Ringer, Pleasant's Sam Mentzer, River Valley's Eli Snyder.

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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Week 8 Lookahead: Pleasant, RV will try to rebound against Galion, Highland in football