Ashland County Football Week 6 Power Rankings: Crestview starting to pick up steam

With another week in the books for high school football, let's examine Week 6 with the Ashland Times-Gazette Power Rankings.

9. Loudonville (0-6, 0-3)

Loudonville remains the only Ashland-area team to be winless, as the Redbirds fell to Danville 22-0 on Friday.

This week: vs. Fredericktown (3-3, 2-1)

More: Five Biggest Ashland County Football Games left at midseason point of the regular season

8. South Central (1-5, 0-2)

South Central didn't fare well against Crestview last week in a 47-6 road loss, where the Trojans struggled to contain the Cougars on the ground as they rushed for seven touchdowns.

This week: Mapleton (2-4, 1-2)

7. Northwestern (1-5, 0-3)

The Huskies suffered their fourth straight loss of the season to Dalton on the road 41-7 last week, as the offense was only able to muster up 157 total yards.

This week: vs. Smithville (4-2, 1-2)

6. New London (2-4, 0-2)

New London took a tough one on the chin to Monroeville at home, losing 71-0. The Eagles were a force running the ball, as 270 of their 338 total yards came in the rushing department.

This week: at St. Paul (2-4, 2-1)

5. Mapleton (2-4, 1-2)

Mapleton dug out its second win of the year with a 20-13 victory over Plymouth, in a game where the Mounties compiled 303 rushing yards.

This week: at South Central (1-5, 0-2)

4. Black River (2-4, 1-2)

Black River was shut out in a grind-out kind of game 14-0 to Keystone on the road. With the loss, the Pirates dropped to third in the Lorain County Conference standings, with the likes of Columbia, Keystone and Clearview leading the way.

This week: Oberlin (0-6, 0-3)

3. Crestview (2-4, 2-1)

Talk about a team rounding into form!

After starting 0-4, Crestview has outscored its last two opponents 114-6, that featured a resounding 47-6 home win over South Central last week. The Cougars’ work up front on offense led to seven rushing touchdowns and 317 rushing yards, including a game-high 111 rushing yards on 15 carries by Ayden Reymer and three rushing touchdowns by Gavin Barker.

This week: at Plymouth (1-5, 0-3)

2. Ashland (6-0, 2-0)

More: Ashland football, Nathan Bernhard escape Madison upset in 3OT

Ashland was victorious in quite the thriller on Friday.

After losing a 20-8 lead on the road in the second half, Madison Comprehensive unexpectedly pushed the Arrows into overtime, then a second overtime and eventually a third overtime, where Ashland came out successful 33-27 to stay undefeated. Ashland quarterback Nathan Bernhard produced 299 total yards and four total touchdowns (3 run, 1 pass), while wideout Gabe Baith caught six balls for 96 receiving yards and one touchdown catch. Especially key for the Arrows, was the three turnovers the defense forced.

An important Ohio Cardinal Conference game against a struggling Mansfield Senior team awaits Ashland this Friday.

This week: vs. Mansfield Senior (1-5, 1-2)

1. Hillsdale (6-0, 3-0)

For the sixth straight week, Hillsdale is your No. 1 team.

Hillsdale didn't run it up offensively against Smithville like it has done throughout this season but the defense did the job (forced two turnovers) in a 14-7 road win. That was the fourth game this year where Hillsdale held an opponent under 10 points. As the season progresses, the Falcons' defense is complementing their offense, with Hillsdale continuing to make noise through all of Division VIII.

This week: vs. Waynedale (1-5, 1-2)

jsimpson@gannnett.com

Twitter/X:@JamesSimpsonII

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland County Football Week 6 Power Rankings: Crestview starting to pick up steam