Onto Week 13!
Two teams still stand in Crawford County and they’re gearing up for regional semifinals Friday night.
Let’s break down the matchups as Galion suits up in front of the home crowd one final time, and Colonel Crawford adds another stop to its road trip.
WEEK 12: Galion’s ground game starts slow, then finds groove against Cloverleaf in quarterfinals
WEEK 12: Fast start propels Colonel Crawford against Mount Gilead in OHSAA football playoffs
Division IV, Region 14 #6 Perkins (9-3) at #2 Galion (10-1)
The Sandusky Bay Conference hasn’t been kind to Galion in recent playoff history as Bellevue knocked the Tigers out of the postseason in 2020 and 2022, Clyde did so in 2021. Now the Tigers welcome a Perkins team fresh off a 31-0 dismantling of No. 3 Napoleon oh, and the Pirates are the most recent state runner-up in Division IV.
Quarterback Sam Schweinfurth has completed 67.9% of his passes for 2,538 yards, 27 touchdowns and one interception. His favorite target has been Blake Parker whose 75 receptions for 1,332 yards and 11 touchdowns all lead the SBC Lake Division. Perkins doesn’t rely on the run game much with Jojo Martin (60 carries, 512 yards, 7 TD), Braxden Martin (81 carries, 484 yards, 7 TD) and Levi Jackson (78 carries, 484 yards, 9 TD) all operating by committee.
Defensively, the Pirates have two shutouts and an additional five games allowing no more than seven points. Linebackers Landon Flores and Braxden Martin leads the way with 128 and 112 tackles respectively, defensive lineman John McGlashan has 62 tackles and 3.5 sacks, and defensive back Kaden Legando has six interceptions.
Perkins started the season 1-3 before reeling off eight consecutive wins and has been playing really great football in recent weeks. And they’ll get to try and break down a Galion defense allowing fewer than 10 points a game and limiting teams to just over 200 yards of offense.
Division VI, Region 23 #5 Colonel Crawford (11-1) at #1 Centerburg (10-1)
On paper, this almost looks like a mirror match. Two offenses capable of putting up a ton of points in a hurry through the air or on the ground, two defenses that make you work for every single yard gained exactly the matchup you’d want with 16 teams remaining.
Centerburg throttled Division V Utica in the season opener then suffered its only loss of the season the following week to Division IV Johnstown. From that point on, the Trojans have pitched three shutouts and averaged 44 points per game with six running clocks.
The offense is averaging more than 400 yards per game, most of that on the ground. Dual-threat quarterback Blane Ball is 82-of-130 for 1,295 yards and 14 touchdowns with four interceptions, while also rushing 106 times for 1,101 yards and 11 touchdowns. Miles Marshall is averaging 10.1 yards per carry with 154 attempts for 1,548 yards and 25 touchdowns to make up one heck of a dynamic duo. If Ball does have to throw, expect it to go to either Jackson Ballinger (23 catches, 411 yards, 4 TD) or Hayden Love (26 catches, 517 yards, 7 TD) Miles also has 18 receptions for 180 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, the Trojans are allowing 11.3 points per game and opposing offenses have been mustering 233.2 yards 144 on the ground, 89.2 through the air. Linebacker Hagen Bryant leads the team with 107 tackles, five for loss and four sacks, while position-mate Tommy Hause has 92 tackles, five for loss, four sacks and three interceptions.
One area that isn’t eye-popping, though, is special teams. Hayden Love has a kick return touchdown and punt return touchdown, but nobody else does much in the return game. And kicker Bran Fravel is just 13-of-15 kicking extra points this season, largely because the Trojans go for two quite often Miles has 15 successful attempts, Ball six, Ballinger three.
Colonel Crawford’s offense has been averaging 420.9 yards and 37 points per game while the defense allows just 219.5 yards 111.3 rushing, 108.6 passing and 12.1 points to opponents. Something has to budge for one of these teams, right?
Galion’s Zach Sallee will need to create chaos that leads to Schweinfurth rushing decisions. He has proven he is more than capable of getting into the backfield as he ended the regular season atop the MOAC with 12.5 sacks along with 65.5 tackles, 17.5 for loss and a forced fumble. How often he can break through the Perkins offensive line, or draw double coverage allowing a teammate to slip through, will be key to Galion’s success.
Colonel Crawford’s linebacking corps of Connor McMichael (51 tackles, 4.5 for loss), Gabe Stratton (78 tackles, 4.5 for loss, 3.5 sacks), Dom Dean (47 tackles, 4.5 for loss, 2 sacks) and Walker Cramer (46 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks) will be up for their toughest challenge yet trying to contain Ball while also making sure Marshall doesn’t break off big runs. The defensive line is going to have their hands full, so it’ll be up to the second line of defense to make a lot of plays limiting this powerful Centerburg offense.
Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50 has Galion losing by two points and Colonel Crawford losing by seven. As great as your predictions have been Mr. Pasteur, I have to disagree with you here.
Galion’s defense looked phenomenal against Cloverleaf’s pistol offense in Week 12 and the run game was unstoppable, something that Perkins struggled with a few tomes this season. As long as the Tigers can get the ground game moving and the defense can get pressure on Schweinfurth while also locking down Parker, a rematch with Shelby should be in the cards for Week 14.
Colonel Crawford moved the ball however it pleased against Mount Gilead and the defense allowed virtually nothing. The final scores between that game and Centerburg’s win over the Indians is pretty close, but this is an Eagles team with years of playoff experience. And when you get this fast in the postseason, that alone is a massive advantage.
zholden@gannett.com | 419-617-6018 | Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Ohio High School football Week 13 preview for Galion, Colonel Crawford