Derrick Webb

Derrick is SOSA's chief content coordinator and has worked for the Chillicothe Gazette, the Portsmouth Daily Times and Eleven Warriors. He's a 15-time award-winning journalist, a self-proclaimed baseball purist, a suffering Bengals fan and has never met a stranger.

Sideline to Sideline: Digging into Week 6 HSFB action

Our Derrick Webb takes a deep dive into his notebook after Week 6.

Derrick Webb, Staff Writer

Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.

Wheelersburg quarterback Eli Jones has helped his Pirates start the season 4-2.
CREDIT: *Derrick Webb/SOSA*

Offense. Offense. Offense.

That was the name of the game in Week 6 as 16 games within SOSA’s coverage area featured at least one team that scored 40 or more points.

To drive that point home, nine games featured a combined 65-plus points.

Gallipolis was where my crew decided to go in Week 6 — my dad and uncle tag along on Friday nights. We witnessed a track meet as the Blue Devils held on to win a 43-35 victory over Fairland.

But there’s plenty of other area excitement to highlight. Here’s this week’s edition of Sideline to Sideline.

Kickoff

1. The FAC title race may be the most competitive in the coverage area. Jackson, Chillicothe and Washington seem to be the conference’s biggest three contenders for the crown and each bring plenty of firepower. The Ironmen beat Miami Trace last week by a 49-28 final, the Cavaliers handed McClain a 50-14 drubbing and the Blue Lions beat Hillsboro, 42-0. After this week’s round of league play, each will have the chance to knock the other off. In Week 8, Washington goes to Chillicothe, in Week 9, Jackson hosts the Blue Lions, and to cap the season, the Ironmen visit the Cavaliers. Those three weeks will determine not only who wins the FAC, but they could also make a significant difference in playoff positioning. Buckle up. It’ll undoubtedly be a fun ride while featuring some of the best football our area has to offer.

2. Wheelersburg and West are on a collision course. The Pirates currently sit at 4-2 with losses to Ironton and Jackson while the Senators are 5-1 with a one-point loss to Fairland. Both teams have shown the ability to put points on the board at ease while both defenses have been superb up to this point. Eli Jones, Derrick Lattimore, Eric Lattimore, Ethan Glover and Creed Warren have led the Pirates’ offense to an average of 29.3 points per game while the team’s opportunistic defense has allowed just 15.8. Meanwhile, West, led by Ryan Sissel, Jeffery Bishop and Mitchell Irwin, is scoring 38 per game and allowing just 13. Through the next three weeks, Wheelersburg will play three teams with a combined record of 6-14 while the Senators will play opponents during that time with a collective mark of 8-10. The point? If all goes to plan, when these two meet in Week 10, the area will be seeing 8-2 vs. 9-1 with the SOC II title on the line. That would be just the latest installment in a long-standing rivalry between the programs.

3. Don’t look now but the Green Bobcats still haven’t lost. Through six games, the Bobcats have outscored their opponents 225-97 and used a stout ground game to do so. Altogether, Green has dialed up 300 rushing attempts for 2,318 yards — or an average of 7.7 yards per carry. Nathaniel Brannigan leads that charge with 143 carries for 1,096 yards and 12 touchdowns while Landan Lodwick follows with 61 rushes for 634 yards and 10 scores. The Bobcats have logged 18 pass attempts all season. What’s that mean? Opponents know what’s coming and they still haven’t been able to stop it. Northwest and Notre Dame have been the favorites to win the SOC I for quite some time. But rather quietly, the Bobcats have catapulted themselves into that conversation. They’ll have a chance to drive that point home this Saturday when they visit the aforementioned Titans.

Offensive Juggernauts

Keep doubting Unioto’s Newton Hoops. It’s your loss. Hoops’ Shermans are 6-0 after a 42-0 win over Adena this past week. In that victory, the junior was 13-of-22 passing for 167 yards and four touchdowns. He also added three rushes for 38 yards and a fifth score. Through six games, he’s completing 64 percent of his passes, and has thrown for 980 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Chillicothe’s Mason Doughty continues to heat up as the season rolls along. In a 50-14 rout of McClain, Doughty was 14-of-17 passing for 281 yards alongside three scores. He added a rushing score for good measure. The Cavaliers are 5-1 and have won three straight.

Chillicothe’s Mason Doughty passed for 281 yards and scored four total touchdowns in Friday’s win at McClain.
CREDIT: *Derrick Webb/SOSA*

Jackson is four points away from 6-0. And, after two straight losses, the Ironmen have won three straight. In last week’s win over Miami Trace, Jacob Winters was 17-of-23 passing for 310 yards and three touchdowns. The Ironmen had 555 yards of total offense in the contest.

How about Blayton Reid? Logan Elm’s tailback is as good as they come. The senior needed 36 carries to pick up 310 yards and two touchdowns, setting the Braves’ new single-game rushing record.

Thrice as Nice

Braylon Robertson was Paint Valley’s poison of choice on Friday as the Bearcats rode the sophomore back to a 42-8 win over Piketon. Robertson tallied 25 carries for 199 yards and three touchdowns, pacing his team to their fourth win.

The beat goes on for Zane Trace. Quarterback Carter Langley led the Pioneers to their sixth straight win — a shutout victory over Westfall — with 99 rushing yards and 106 more through the air. Langley threw touchdown passes to Blake Phillips, Aden Dunn and Austen Ison.

Northwest’s running attack is still alive and well. Wyatt Brackman led the charge Friday night in a 48-18 win over Notre Dame, logging 27 carries for 172 yards and three scores. Feed him.

Portsmouth’s Jayden Duncan was lights out in an important 43-42 win over Coal Grove. Duncan caught seven passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Trojans pick up their third win this fall.

Double Duty

Rock Hill’s Kordell French was a one-man wrecking crew on Friday. In a 21-7 victory over South Point, French rushed for 244 yards and a touchdown while recording an interception and a fumble recovery on the defensive side. The Redmen now sit even at 3-3.

In Gallia’s win over Fairland, Brody Fellure did a little bit of everything. The Blue Devils’ quarterback finished 7-of-9 passing for 94 yards, added 13 carries for 82 yards and three touchdowns — including the eventual game-winning 30-yard score — and added a pair of interceptions on the defensive side.

Weird Stat of the Week

There was no doubt as to who the winner of Washington and Hillsboro’s matchup would be. The Blue Lions were on cruise control throughout a 42-0 victory. But the box score is a wacky one. Hillsboro ran 55 plays and had possession for 36:18, compared to the Blue Lions’ marks of 31 and 11:42. However, the Indians’ play calls went for a total of 169 yards, all on the ground, while Washington racked up 277 yards of offense and logged punt return and fumble recovery scores.

Long story, short? The Blue Lions were so good on Friday that they barely needed to trot their offense onto the field.

Did you know?

Coal Grove and Portsmouth’s 85 combined points on Friday weren’t even the most the two have scored in the past three years. In 2020, the Hornets beat the Trojans by a 66-63 final. In the past five seasons, if you’re keeping count at home, the matchup has produced a total of 387 points — final scores of 43-42, 42-20, 66-63, 28-13 and 36-34.

Shot of the Week

Huntington beat Southeastern by a 36-0 final on Friday. The Huntsmen, at 3-3, now have their largest win total since 2018.
CREDIT: *Marissa Spradlin/SOSA*

Power Rankings

1. Ironton (6-0) … 2. Washington (5-1) … 3. Jackson (4-2) … 4. Chillicothe (5-1) … 5. Wheelersburg (4-2) … 6. West (5-1) … 7. Unioto (6-0) … 8. Zane Trace (6-0) … 9. Logan Elm (5-1) … 10. Gallia Academy (6-0)