Here’s a look at the Ohio Heritage Conference and Central Buckeye Conference division championship races heading into Week 9:
OHC North
Defending OHC North champion Northeastern (6-2, 2-1 OHC North) sits in a second place tie with West Liberty-Salem (7-1, 2-1). The Jets control their own destiny in the division title race, but face a tough road over the last two games of the season against perennial powers Mechanicsburg (4-4, 1-2) and West Jefferson (8-0, 3-0).
With two victories, Northeastern could earn a share of its second straight OHC North title.
“We’re definitely proud of our guys and what they’ve accomplished,” said Northeastern coach Jake Buchholtz. “I’m not sure what the expectations were for other teams looking at Northeastern with the kids that we graduated, but this is where we wanted to be. … All of our goals are still within reach, which is something that I can’t ask much else for.”
First, the Jets will have to earn a victory at Mechanicsburg — something the program hasn’t done since 2010.
“We know exactly how they’re going to be coached and that they’re going to be a physical team,” Buchholtz said. “If we don’t come out and match their physicality early on, that’s not a good sign for us. We have to come out and be physical and go punch-for-punch with those guys early on, especially in the trenches. We know that if they establish their run game that they’re going to be in the game come the fourth quarter. We’ve got to be able to get some stops early on first down to kind of get them out of their comfort zone.”
The Jets have won back-to-back games against Triad and Fairbanks. After a nearly 20-year conference title drought ended last season, Northeastern understands winning the OHC North is “something special,” Buchholtz said.
“There are a lot of good football teams, a lot of really good coaches in this conference,” he said. “The fact that we’re going into Week 9 and all of our goals are still within reach is definitely something we’re excited about as a program, but we know we’ve got two big weeks ahead of us. We know what we’re up against (at Mechanicsburg).”
OHC South
Southeastern (5-3, 2-1) beat Cedarville 21-13 last Friday night to move into a second-place tie with both the Indians (6-2, 2-1) and Greenon (2-6, 2-1).
Southeastern, however, will need some help to bring home a share of their first conference championship since 2001 — the inaugural season of the original eight-team OHC.
With wins against Madison Plains in Week 9 and Greenon in Week 10 combined with a Greeneview loss, the Trojans can earn a share of the OHC South title.
“The big thing now is to focus on Madison Plains and keep going 1-0 every week,” said Trojans coach A.J. Woods. “Our goal every week is to go 1-0. We take every game like it’s the biggest game of the year and right now that’s Madison Plains.”
The two-time defending league champion Rams travel to Catholic Central this week and host Cedarville in Week 10. They’ve won 13 consecutive OHC South games, including a 55-0 win against Madison Plains last week.
While the Trojans may need to root for a few of their rivals to beat the Rams, they know they’ve got their own business to take care of, Woods said.
“We’ve got to focus on our team here and let the chips fall where they may,” he said.
Greenon (2-6, 2-1) has won back-to-back games since starting the season 0-6, beating both Madison Plains and Cedarville. With wins over Cedarville in Week 9 and Southeastern in Week 10, the Knights could earn a share of the OHC South title. Greenon won the division title in both 2019 and 2020.
CBC Mad River
Shawnee, ranked 10th in the state in Division IV, needs one more victory to earn at least a share of the division title in its first season in the Mad River. The Braves (7-1, 3-0) travel to Benjamin Logan (1-7, 1-2) on Friday night for the first time since the 2006 season.
With two more division wins, Shawnee would earn the outright title. The Braves, who host Northwestern (3-5, 1-2) in Week 10, are seeking their first CBC title since winning the Kenton Trail division title in 2011.
After falling to unbeaten London 26-14 four weeks ago, Shawnee has won four straight games, outscoring their opponents 129-20. The Braves beat second place Indian Lake (5-3, 2-1) 35-0 last week.
WEEK 9 SCHEDULE
Friday’s games
Springfield at Miamisburg
Shawnee at Benjamin Logan
Northwestern at Indian Lake
Kenton Ridge at London
Tecumseh at Urbana
Greeneview at Catholic Central
Greenon at Cedarville
Northeastern at Mechanicsburg
Madison Plains at Southeastern
Graham at North Union
Triad at West Liberty-Salem
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