Ohio high school football notebook: Lexington hands Ashland first loss to clinch OCC title

Lexington's Seven Allen put up a performance to remember in a 43-35 Ohio Cardinal Conference championship-clinching win over Ashland. Allen caught five passes for 149 yards and a touchdown, ran four times for 30 yards and a score and returned an interception 63 yards to house to lead the Minutemen to the outright championship for the first time since 2008 and the first title overall since sharing with Ashland in 2016. Joe Caudill also had a crazy night, running for 140 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries while also completing 9-of-12 passes for 199 yards that included a touchdown of 94 yards to Allen. Bradey Triplett broke the St. Marys Memorial's record with three field goals in a 29-7 win over Elida. Triplett, who earned first team All-Western Buckeye League honors in soccer, connected from 36, 30 and 29 yards to raise his season total of eight makes in nine attempts. Triplett also made both of his extra points and recorded four touchbacks in six kickoffs. Memorial would play at Buckeye in the Division III, Region 10 quarterfinals if it beats Copley in the opening round. Ontario's Gavin Miller was at it again, as he completed 9-of-13 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns in a dominant 44-14 win over Caledonia River Valley. He also added 60 rushing yards on 12 attempts, while Kooper Kilgore put together 225 rushing yards and two TDs on 20 attempts. Shelby's Brayden DeVito put up more big statistics in the final regular-season game of his career. The Air Force recruit completed 14-of-24 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns while running for 72 yards and three scores on 18 carries. He is now the program's career rushing touchdowns leader with 68, passing Brennan Armstrong's 65. Liam Kuhn broke Ashland Crestview's game record when he tossed six touchdowns in a 50-8 win over Ashland Mapleton. Kuhn completed 15-of-31 passes for 279 yards. Karter Goon caught five passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Wyatt Barber led the defense with 12 tackles (3 for loss) and a forced fumble, while Durbin had six tackles (3 for loss, sack), two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. Wapakoneta secured the outright Western Buckeye League championship with a high-scoring 61-34 victory over Lima Bath, moving it to 10-0. Quarterback Caleb Moyer rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries while also completing 8-of-10 passes for 170 yards and three TDs. Jarrett Mullen, who ran back a kickoff 97 yards for a score in the second quarter, rushed for 103 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. Wideout Kaden Page had four receptions for 98 yards and two TDs. One week after setting school records for receptions in a game (18), season (52) and career (103) in a pivotal Northwest Conference win over Lima Central Catholic, Columbus Grove's Trevon Baxter was in the spotlight again. In a 48-38 win over D-VI No. 5 Bluffton that earned Grove the outright NWC championship, the 6-foot, 190-pound senior receiver/defensive back returned kickoffs 99 and 89 yards for touchdowns and, for the second straight week, intercepted a pass in the final minute to preserve the win. Bluffton junior quarterback Tayte Giesige had 362 yards total offense (226 passing, 136 rushing) and accounted for five touchdowns. North Baltimore senior Cooper Clark had 123 receiving yards, 119 rushing yards and four TDs in a 49-8 win over Upper Scioto Valley that made the Tigers 10-0, the school's first unbeaten regular season since 1995. Findlay Liberty-Benton almost had three 100-yards rushers in a 49-7 win over Van Buren that capped a 10-0 regular season by the fifth-ranked team in D-V. Zach Elchert rushed for 174 yards and four touchdowns, Connor Barbara had 154 and two and Asher Norman had 94 and one. Andrew Schmackers' 98-yard kickoff return touchdown proved to be the difference as Maria Stein Marion Local held off Coldwater 7-6 to capture its seventh consecutive Midwest Athletic Conference title at Booster Stadium. After a scoreless first half, Bryce Couchot kicked a 40-yard field goal with 1:39 to play in the third quarter to give Coldwater a 3-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Schmackers took the ball to the house. Couchot added a 27-yard field goal with seven minutes remaining, but the Flyers held possession for the rest of the game for their nation-leading 74th straight victory. Quarterback Max Miller threw for more than 200 yards for the fifth time this season as Springboro blew out Miamisburg 35-7. Miller completed 19-of-25 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Noah Billinski had a 118 receiving yards on five catches. Kolby Morgerson completed 14-of-21 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns as Carlisle routed Eaton 35-16. Morgerson, a junior, hit three receivers for touchdowns and connected with six total. Jackson Kaufman ran wild with nine carries for 147 yards and two touchdowns in leading Franklin Bishop Fenwick to a 35-8 win over Carroll. Quarterback McCaffrey Halcomb completed 7-of-10 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown, with Hudson Kreke catching four passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. Leipsic finished the regular season 9-1 with a 47-14 victory over Ada. Marquis Williams ran nine times for 186 yards and four touchdowns. Aaron Hazelton toted the ball 17 times, gaining 169 yards and catching a 34-yard pass. Marc Kirkendall threw for 276 yards and two TDs, with Avery Paris hauling in five catches for 119 yards and a touchdown. A non-scoring, 19-play drive that took 9:21 helped McConnelsville Morgan score a 21-12 Muskingum Valley League Large School Division victory at Duncan Falls Philo, clinching a playoff spot for the third time in four years. A Philo TD early in the fourth quarter made the score 21-12. The Raiders took over with 11:02 left at their own 19-yard line and turned the ball over on downs at the Philo 13 with 1:43 remaining. It was quite a senior night for Beverly Fort Frye's Tyce Beardsley in a 46-14 Tri-State League win over Pt. Pleasant (W. Va.). Beardsley surpassed the 1,000 rushing yards for the second consecutive season with 200 and two touchdownson on 12 carries (16.7 average). He also had two interceptions. Gavin Rauch had 133 yards on just nine rushes. Erique Robertson had an amazing game for Maple Heights in a 52-24 win over Gilmour Academy with eight catches for 223 yards and four touchdowns. Triway dual-threat quarterback Luke Starr showcased his skills in a 27-21 Principals Athletic Conference championship victory against Orrville, accumulating a total of 266 yards total offense. He completed 13-of-25 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown while also rushing for 124 yards on 16 carries. Senior kicker Landric VanderMade set the Sherwood Fairview season extra point record with 46 while also setting a game mark with a 10-for-10 performance in a 70-22 win over Defiance County rival Hicksville. Apache senior QB William Zeedyk had a hand in eight TDs, completing 18-of-25 for 295 yards and five scores while rushing seven times for 142 yards and three TDs. Zeedyk is now just 52 passing yards from 9,000 in his career and 113 from 2,000 on the ground. Paulding completed its first perfect 10-0 regular season in 37 years by pulling away from Paulding County rival Antwerp 33-6 with three fourth-quarter touchdowns. Junior Jordan Manz broke the school season record for receiving yards with 995 and 11 TDs on 43 receptions. Though Defiance fell 17-14 in its regular-season finale at Celina to miss out on the D-III, Region 10 playoffs, senior star running back Kelten Gibbs closed with a flourish. Gibbs rushed 27 times for 237 yards and one TD, bringing his season total to 1,717 yards and 15 scores on 186 carries. Gibbs had five 200-yard games in his last six outings, and the 1,362 yards in those six games alone would rank as sixth in school history. Thanks to a 26-carry, 280-yard, three-TD rushing effort in Napoleon's 49-0 win over Toledo Waite, junior running back Hayden Groll set a school season record with 1,635 rushing yards, breaking the 2001 mark of 1,627 set by Lamar Green. Senior teammate George Eggers had two rushing TDs, bringing his career overall TD total to 42, two away from the record of 44 (Tom Weaver, 1975-77). Kolby Morgerson (245 passing yards, 3 TDs) and Alex Collins (128 rushing yards, TD) led Carlisle to a 35-16 win over Eaton. Dayton Belmont's Aaron Dandrea passed for 302 yards and four TDs while also rushing for 75 yards and a score in a 38-22 win over Dayton Ponitz Tech. Nile Hudson threw for 197 yards and two TDs and Ryder Hooks had a career day (290 rushing yards, 4 TDs) as Lakota East defeated Lakota West 42-28. Portsmouth Notre Dame senior quarterback Luke Cassidy carried only eight times against Sciotoville East but amassed 249 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-0 shutout at East in Southern Ohio Conference Division I action. Cassidy also completed 4-of-7 passes for 56 yards. Cassidy was converted from wide receiver, when 2024 first-team all-league pick Ethan Kingrey suffered a broken collarbone in the season opener. Senior running back Bryce McGraw also carried eight times, going for 115 yards that included a 1-yard TD. Wheelersburg senior quarterback Braylon Rucker completed 12-of-18 passes for 217 yards and five touchdowns and rushed seven times for 72 yards in two touchdowns in a 49-12 Southern Ohio Conference D-II win over Portsmouth West. Rucker accounted for all seven Pirate touchdowns, while fellow senior Brady Doss made six receptions for 128 yards and four TDs. Wheelersburg scored the final 35 points in the final 28 minutes to go 10-0 for the 10th time and qualify for the playoffs for the 37th time. Eastern of Pike County finished its third straight 10-0 season with a 56-0 triumph at Franklin Furnace Green, extending its regular-season winning streak to 32 games. It also wrapped up the fourth straight Southern Ohio Conference D-I title.