Kenton Ridge (6-0) hosts Urbana (5-1) in a key Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division matchup at 7 p.m. Friday.
“I’m not so sure our guys wouldn’t be more comfortable playing on the road right now,” Kenton Ridge coach Jon Daniels said.
Over the final four weeks of the season, the Cougars play teams with a combined record of 19-5. Kenton Ridge travels to Jonathan Alder (4-2) next week and hosts London (6-0) and Bellefontaine (4-2) in weeks 9 and 10, respectively.
“We’re playing playoff caliber football the rest of the way and our guys understand that,” Daniels said.
The Cougars are focused on taking it one game at a time — regardless of where they play, Daniels said.
“We set the goal way back when to be 1-0 each week and take each week as they come and it’s worked out well for us in that regard,” he said. “We’ve been able to reset, refocus and understand the moment of where we’re at each week. We were able to get back to it this week.”
The Cougars have one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the CBC. Senior running back Jackson Patton leads the conference with 676 rushing yards and junior quarterback Julian Daniels ranks first in the CBC in touchdown passes (16) and third in passing yards (981). Senior wide receiver Caleb Gutierrez ranks fifth in receiving yards (281). The key over the last several weeks has been moving the chains, Jon Daniels said.
“We probably lived early on with some big plays and we’re trying to become more efficient right now,” he said.
Urbana has won the last two meetings between the programs. The Hillclimbers won the CBC Mad River title in 2022 before moving to the big school Kenton Trail Division last season.
They’ve also won playoff games in back-to-back seasons under coach Carleton Cotner.
“They do a good job with their kids,” Daniels said. “They play to their strengths and their kids have really bought into the program.”
Kenton Ridge’s last victory over the Hillclimbers came in 2021. Urbana is led by sophomore quarterback Grady Lantz (1,127 yards, 12 TDs) and junior running back Austin Hill, who ranks second in the CBC with 10 rushing TDs.
“We’ve got to survive the homecoming stuff and all the stuff that comes along with homecoming,” Daniels said. “It can be a distraction, but it can also be a good motivator, too. We’ve got to be able to survive that stuff and the emotions that come along with it, go out and do what we do. We’ve got to play really well with what they do, too.”
PREP FOOTBALL
WEEK 7
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Wayne at Springfield
Urbana at Kenton Ridge
Northwestern at North Union
Northeastern at Triad
Tecumseh at Bellefontaine
Shawnee at Graham
Catholic Central at Cedarville
Southeastern at Greeneview
Mechanicsburg at Fairbanks
Madison Plains at Greenon
West Jefferson at West Liberty-Salem
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