An occupant of the Ohio Heritage Conference football cellar for much of the last 10 years, Cedarville is no longer the pushover it used to be.
The Indians, who won a combined eight games over the last four years, are off to a 2-2 start this season.
West Liberty-Salem head coach Dan McGill is well aware of the Indians’ improvement as his team prepares to host them for an OHC crossover game Friday night.
“This is the best Cedarville team in a decade,” said McGill. “They have good size up front, they play really hard and they have some really talented football players. Their coaches are doing a good job of putting their guys in positions to be successful.”
Cedarville opened the season with a 28-12 victory over Middletown Christian and followed that up with a 54-6 rout of East Clinton in Week 2.
The Indians lost to Triad, another very improved OHC squad, 38-14 in Week 3 and then fell to West Jefferson 55-26 a week ago.
Cedarville’s offense has shown an ability to make plays both through the air and on the ground.
Junior Jackson Pyles has thrown for 703 yards and six touchdowns with six interceptions. He has also rushed for 110 yards and four TDs.
Junior Jackson Howdyshell has been a big play threat at receiver for the Indians with 18 catches for 291 yards and three TDs.
The team’s leading rusher is sophomore Colt Coffey, who has gained 250 yards and four touchdowns on 49 carries.
WL-S will look to have success against a Cedarville defense that has given up some big yardage at times. The Indians allowed 504 yards to West Jefferson last Friday.
“We must take care of the football and establish our running game on offense,” said McGill. “Defensively, they throw the ball well, so we must make sure we are in the correct positions to leverage their route concepts. Additionally, we have to win special teams.”
It has been a roller coaster of emotions so far this season for the Tigers.
They dropped a 27-24 decision to Graham in the season opener, then held on in the closing seconds to beat Benjamin Logan 42-41 in Week 2.
The Tigers lost to Springfield Catholic Central 33-26 in double overtime in Week 3 before bouncing back to pull out a 22-21 win with a late touchdown and two-point conversion against Greenon last Friday.
“We have had four games in a row come down to the last possession and in three of those, it essentially came down to the last play,” said McGill. “Being able to come away with a win against Greenon was huge. Once again, it illustrated the resiliency and toughness of our team’s character. They have been doing a great job of continuing to fight no matter what the scoreboard says. I am hoping these lessons will carry us into the second half of the season more prepared.”
Elsewhere around the area Friday:
Riverside at Northridge
Riverside is coming off back-to-back wins and the Pirates will try to make it three in a row against a talented Northridge squad on Friday.
After an 0-2 start, the Pirates have rebounded with wins over Indian Lake (24-0) and Bethel (34-7).
The Pirates face a big challenge Friday, though, as the Polar Bears feature an offense that has scored 164 points through four games and a defense that has allowed only 29 points.
Northridge has two of the top three rushers in the Three Rivers Conference. Senior running back Jeremy Henry (6-1, 205) leads the league with 715 yards and seven touchdowns on 71 carries and senior quarterback Jayden Kelly is third with 421 yards and seven TDs on 28 rushes.
The Polar Bears have not done a lot of passing. They have thrown the ball just 28 times, with 15 completions for 188 yards and two TDs.
Northridge is coming off a 46-7 win over Miami East.
Tecumseh at Benjamin Logan
Benjamin Logan will try to snap a three-game losing skid when it hosts Tecumseh for a Central Buckeye Conference crossover football game Friday night.
The Raiders (1-3) are coming off a 41-3 loss to Bellefontaine.
Tecumseh comes in with a 2-2 record. The Arrows opened the season with wins over Fairborn (48-13) and Carroll (35-3) before losing to Bellbrook (14-7) and Graham (25-22).
The Arrows have been a run-heavy offense so far this season. They have rushed for 1,015 yards on 155 attempts while passing for 243 yards.
Leading the Tecumseh rushing attack is senior Lucas Berner. He ranks second in the Central Buckeye Conference with 502 yards on 82 carries. He has five touchdown runs.
Junior Tim Moore Jr. has contributed 205 rushing yards and two TDs on 22 carries.
Ben Logan will look to get its offense back on track after being limited to 214 yards against Bellefontaine.
Greenon at Triad
A home game against a solid Greenon squad provides Triad with another chance to make a positive statement Friday night.
The Cardinals are just 1-3 but that record is deceiving. They gave Springfield Catholic Central (4-0) everything it could handle last week before losing 27-20.
The Cardinals led 20-19 in the fourth quarter, but the Irish escaped with the win after getting a late touchdown run.
Greenon is also 1-3. Like the Cardinals, though, the Knights have been very competitive this season. They led West Liberty-Salem late in the fourth quarter last week, but allowed a touchdown and two-point conversion in the final minute of the game to suffer a one-point loss.
Greenon features one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the Ohio Heritage Conference. Senior Kaden Wooten is completing 76 percent of his passes (41-of-54). He has thrown for 341 yards and three touchdowns.
Senior Zack Stevens has been productive in the running game for the Knights with 360 rushing yards and five TDs on 59 carries.
Greenon’s leading receiver is senior Wade Davis, who has hauled in 27 passes for 222 yards and a pair of TDs.
Ridemont at Ridgedale
Ridgemont will look to push its record above .500 when it travels to Ridgedale on Friday.
The Gophers are 2-2 on the season after a 56-0 win over Crestline last Friday.
Ridgedale has struggled to a 1-3 start. Its lone win was a 38-36 victory over Vanlue, a team Ridgemont roughed up 52-16 in the season opener.
Ridgemont has relied on its rushing attack this season. Senior Wade Gamble has 223 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries and freshman Mason Howard has rushed for 215 yards and one TD on 20 attempts.