By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — The final stretch of the high school football season has arrived. With October now here, playoffs are just around the corner.

It’s time for teams to make the most out of their remaining schedule to get a spot in the playoffs. Most have a spot realistically locked up and are playing for seeding. Other teams are trying to sneak in.

This week will be a quiet week in the standings, as long as the top teams take care of business. You never know what can happen each week.

As the weather will drop to the perfect football weather this week, here is what to watch for during this week’s slate of games.

Butler vs Greenville: Brock Short rushing record

Greenville is on record watch this week. Two weeks ago, Short broke the school record for yards in his career and points scored in his career. He passed Zach Melling in the record books. This week, he could pass Melling again.

Short currently sits at 1,480 rushing yards this season. Melling rushed for 1,646 yards in the 2008 season. Short is 167 yards away from breaking the record. He has only failed to reach that mark in two games this season. It was against Eaton in week one and just last week against Piqua. Short rushed for 78 yards against Butler last season.

With the offense flowing through him this season, he will likely look to break the record this week for his team to get a win.

Ansonia at Tri-County North: Avoiding the let down

The Tigers are coming off a huge win over National Trail. The 44-17 win has them still in the race for a WOAC title. To continue being in the race, they will have to not overlook Tri-County North.

The Panthers have been able to move the ball well on the ground, like Ansonia. Their running back, Colten Vanwinkle, leads the conference in rushing yards with 945 this season. Their quarterback, Logan Flory, is fourth with 622. Ansonia will need to bust out the run defense again this week to get the win. Along with their strong running game, they should be able to pick up the win and stay in the WOAC title hunt.

Preble Shawnee vs Arcanum: Running game

Arcanum is at the tail end of their three-game gauntlet. They traveled to National Trail two weeks ago and just hosted Tri-Village. They now have to face WOAC champion hopeful in Preble Shawnee.

The Trojans will have to take a page out of National Trail’s playbook and get the running game going. Arcanum rushed for 119 yards in their game against Tri-Village. For a rushing team, they need to get more yards on the ground. The Blazers ran for 259 yards in their win over Preble Shawnee earlier in the season.

If Preble Shawnee can’t stop the run game, Arcanum will have control over the game easily.

National Trail vs Mississinawa Valley: Rushing defense

The Blackhawks will have a great chance to win the game if they can take away the running game from National Trail. Ansonia did that last week and let the Blazers have what they wanted through the air.

As long as they can put up points, Mississinawa Valley can compete with the Blazers in the passing game. The running backs are the key to National Trail’s offense. The defensive line will have to eat up blocks and let their linebackers fire into the rushing lanes. A few plays by the defensive line will help the Blackhawks keep the Blazers in third and long. If they don’t let the Blazers convert on those downs often, the Blackhawks could walk away with a win this week.

Dixie vs Tri-Village: Avoiding the let down (part two)

This is another game where the WOAC champion hopeful can’t look ahead. For the Patriots, they have two important games ahead of them. They can’t get caught looking ahead and ignoring Dixie.

The Patriots have been playing more turnover free football the last few weeks. They also have not let penalties disrupt their game. Those things will start to hurt the team if they lose focus. Tri-Village has to stay on task and get the home win before they can worry about their next two games.

Versailles at St. Henry: Another week to keep the offense rolling

Last week against Anna, the Tigers put up 49 at home. This is an opportunity for the Tigers to build on their offensive performance against St. Henry to prepare for their showdown next week against Coldwater.

Quarterback Connor Stonebraker had 102 yards passing on 7 for 11 throwing. The team rushed for 255 yards. Running back Joel Gehret had 153 rushing yards himself with four touchdowns. The offense moved the ball well.

If they focus on improving their offense, they will leave St. Henry with a win. It will also be a confidence booster for the unit as they finish out the regular season.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]