Coming into the season, most of the talk regarding the favorites to win the Ohio Heritage Conference North division centered around West Jefferson, Mechanicsburg, Fairbanks and Greeneview.
Few probably expected West Liberty-Salem, coming off a 2-8 season last year and tasked with filling some big holes, to be in the title hunt.
But that’s exactly where the Tigers are after two weeks of North division play.
WL-S and Northeastern are the only two teams in the division with 2-0 records. One of them will remain perfect and grab sole possession of first place in the division when they meet for a huge league game Friday at WL-S.
The unbeaten Jets (7-0 overall) enter as the 10th-ranked Division V team in Ohio.
On the season, Northeastern has piled up 323 points while only giving up 54.
What the Jets have accomplished hasn’t come as much of a surprise as they returned a large chunk of their roster from last year’s team that went 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the OHC.
“They are a veteran team and are well coached,” said WL-S head coach Dan McGill.
“Their quarterback is an explosive athlete who can make plays when the play breaks down. Defensively, they run to the ball well and they tackle well in space.”
Northeastern has faced only one close call this season, a narrow 21-20 victory over Greeneview in Week 5.
Aside from that game, the Jets have defeated their opponents by at least 21 points.
The Jets feature one of the league’s best quarterbacks in senior Cade Houseman, a 6-foot, 185-pound dual threat.
Houseman has thrown for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns with four interceptions. He has added 552 rushing yards and eight scores on 59 attempts.
In last Friday’s 42-21 win over Mechanicsburg, Houseman ran for 203 yards and two TDs on 10 carries and he was 8-of-12 passing for an additional 74 yards and one TD.
Houseman is surrounded by several other offensive standouts.
Senior wide receiver Dylan Haggy has made 37 catches for 637 yards and seven touchdowns.
Junior Cody Lookabaugh has been a threat both catching and running with the football.
He has 354 rushing yards and four TDs on 35 carries and has eight grabs for 149 yards and one TD.
Senior running back Hunter Allbright has contributed 286 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, while sophomore Garrett Chadwell has chipped in with 329 rushing yards and five TDs.
Defensively, Northeastern has been extremely stingy. The Jets have pitched four shutouts and are allowing only 7.7 points per game.
McGill said the Tigers must be sharp on both sides of the ball if they want to hand the Jets their first loss of the season.
“We have to take care of the football as we cannot give them any extra possessions,” said the WL-S head coach. “On defense, we have to play assignment sound and tackle well in space. Limiting their explosive plays will be key.”
Regardless of what happens Friday night, it has been an impressive turnaround this season for the Tigers (5-2).
They have used the recipe of physical rushing on offense and gritty defense to put together a four-game winning streak.
The Tigers have also shown a penchant for pulling out close wins. Six of their seven games this year have been decided by seven points or less.
“Our guys have continued to work hard to improve each week,” said McGill. “They’ve had to battle to the last possession in all of the games this season, so they’ve grown accustom to fighting until the last play. They’ve done a nice job of trusting the process and believing in each other.”
Elsewhere around the area on Friday:
Riverside at Miami East
The Pirates will look to stay in first place in the Three Rivers Conference on Friday when they travel to Miami East.
Riverside (5-2, 4-0) has reeled off five straight victories, including a 37-14 win over Lehman Catholic a week ago.
It has been a struggle for Miami East so far this season. The Vikings picked up their first win last week with a 21-14 victory over Troy Christian.
The Vikings’ offense is averaging a modest 181 yards per game.
They have not been especially successful running or throwing the football.
Senior quarterback Brock Ritchea is 39-of-99 passing for 409 yards and one touchdown against six interceptions.
The leading rusher for ME is senior Dylan Williams, who has 355 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 carries.
Senior Connor Dalton has added 303 rushing yards on 101 attempts.
SCHEDULE NOTE: Riverside has made a change to its Week 9 opponent. Instead of playing a league game against Covington next Friday, the Pirates will play Cincinnati College Prep in a non-league contest at home. Covington has struggled to maintain enough healthy bodies to play the last few weeks, cancelling games against Northridge and Milton-Union.
Ben Logan at Urbana
Benjamin Logan is coming off a 48-14 loss to North Union and the Raiders face another big hurdle Friday with a trip to red-hot Urbana in Central Buckeye Conference Mad River division action.
The Hillclimbers, who went 2-8 last season, have been one of the biggest stories in the CBC this year. They are currently 5-2 overall and 2-0 in league play.
Urbana has won three games in a row by an average score of 43-5.
The Hillclimbers rolled past Kenton Ridge 47-7 in Week 5, beat Graham 42-7 in Week 6 and shut out Indian Lake 41-0 last Friday.
Urbana’s offense is led by junior quarterback Will Donahoe. He has thrown for 1,389 yards and 15 touchdowns with only three interceptions.
Jonathan Hildebrand (27 catches for 638 yards, eight TDs) and Rayvon Rogan (36 catches for 494 yards, six TDs) have been big-time playmakers at receiver for the Hillclimbers.
Austin Hill has provided a threat in the backfield with 529 rushing yards and six scores on 98 carries.
Rogan has spearheaded an improved Urbana defense this year. He has a league-best 102 tackles.
Indian Lake at Northwestern
Indian Lake will try to break through for its first win of the season Friday when it travels to Springfield to take on Northwestern for a Central Buckeye Conference Mad River division football game.
The Lakers come in at 0-7 overall and 0-2 in the CBC.
Northwestern (1-6, 0-2) has faced similar struggles this fall.
The Warriors’ lone victory came against Miami East 34-20 in Week 3.
They have not been very competitive since, though. Northwestern was handed a 44-12 defeat by Graham last Friday.
Northwestern has found it tough sledding on offense. The Warriors are averaging only 172 yards per game.
The ground game is producing 85 yards per contest and the Warriors have thrown for an average of 87 yards per game.
Senior quarterback Brock Mansfield is the focal point of the NW offense. He has thrown for 559 yards and six touchdowns while leading the team in rushing with 343 yards and six scores on 94 carries.
Senior Austin Ernst has contributed 197 rushing yards and one TD and 167 receiving yards with three scores.
West Jefferson at Triad
Triad’s football team is hoping to continue its impressive turnaround Friday when it hosts West Jefferson in Ohio Heritage Conference North division play.
The Cardinals, winners of only two games last year, have already surpassed that total this year with a 3-4 mark through seven games.
Triad turned in its most dominant performance of the season last Friday in a 40-6 pasting of Fairbanks.
West Jefferson (3-4, 0-2) is coming off a 13-7 loss to West Liberty-Salem.
The Roughriders are led on offense by quarterback Ethan Hostetler. In last week’s game vs. WL-S, he passed for 145 yards and ran for 114 yards.
Hostetler leads the Roughriders in rushing this season with 626 yards and seven touchdowns on 93 carries.
The Roughriders feature a talented group of receivers, led by junior Mason Book. He has made 34 catches for 641 yards and eight TDs.
Ridgemont at Elgin
Ridgemont enters a key Northwest Central Conference football contest Friday at Elgin.
The Gophers (4-3) are coming off a 30-21 win over winless Perry.
Meanwhile, Elgin (3-4) beat Ridgedale 28-14 a week ago.