SIDNEY — It’s a race to the finish this year for football teams across the state. It’s not an opponent squads are trying to outrun — it’s a COVID-19 cancellation.
Lehman Catholic’s second attempt at playing Waynesfield-Goshen last Friday ended with another cancellation, and the squad has no other games scheduled.
While the season may be done for the Cavaliers, every other area squad will take the field this weekend and try to get in games.
The mere act of playing has become an accomplishment in itself as coronavirus cases continue to spike statewide.
Twelve first-round playoff games resulted in forfeits due to cancellations the weekend of Oct. 16 and three were forfeited last weekend. That doesn’t include regular-season contests cancelled, like Lehman’s game against Waynesfield-Goshen.
Sidney (5-4) is scheduled to wrap up the season this Friday when it hosts Troy (5-3), which hasn’t played since Oct. 9 due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the squad.
The Trojans are also looking for an opponent for Week 11 in order to reach 10 games for the season.
Troy opened the playoffs with a 49-6 win over Columbus Franklin Heights but was forced to forfeit a playoff game scheduled against Edgewood for Oct. 16 after a player tested positive and contact tracing led to a large chunk of the team being quarantined.
“Getting to play in Week 10, not every program is doing that,” Sidney coach Adam Doenges said after a 14-8 win over Vandalia-Butler on Friday. “Just walking in here tonight and checking social media, there are games that are just getting canceled tonight because of COVID cases. We’re thankful and grateful for what we’ve gotten so far, and hopefully we can get Week 10 in.”
Anna (3-6) is slated to host Covington for a regular-season matchup this Friday. Minster (3-6) is scheduled to host Lima Shawnee this Friday and travel to Covington on Nov. 5.
Fort Loramie (7-1) is scheduled to host New Bremen (6-2) for a Div. VII regional semifinal this Friday while Riverside (7-1) is scheduled to travel to undefeated Marion Local. Versailles (5-2) is slated to travel to Roger Bacon for a D-V regional semifinal on Saturday.
Long leads Ohio rushing
Riverside senior running back Kale Long is the program’s new single-season rushing yardage record holder after racking up 185 rushing yards in a 14-12 regional quarterfinal playoff win at Tri-Village on Friday.
According to MaxPreps’ stats, he’s also the leading rusher in the state this season.
Long has gained 1,966 rushing yards on 189 carries and has scored 22 touchdowns with five fumbles. He also plays at linebacker and has made 58 tackles, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions this year.
Fort Loramie 3rd in final AP poll
Fort Loramie was ranked third in Div. VII in the final state Associated Press poll, which was released Monday. New Bremen earned votes in D-VII and Versailles earned votes in D-V, but neither were ranked in the top 10.
