Anna’s Zach Osborn runs as Delphos St. John’s Riley Mueller tries to tackle during a Midwest Athletic Conference game on Friday at Booster Field. Osborn has run for 322 yards and six TDs this season.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
ANNA — After lopsided losses in Weeks 4 and 5, Anna bounced back with a big win over Delphos St. John’s on Friday. The Rockets will try to bring improvements made in the last week to a Midwest Athletic Conference game against Versailles this Friday.
Anna (3-3, 2-2 MAC) is scheduled to host the Tigers, which are the top-ranked team in this week’s Division VI Associated Press state poll.
Anna’s 39-0 win over the Blue Jays was its first shutout of the season.
“We’ve been playing a little bit better on defense overall,” Anna coach Nick Marino said. “We’re definitely working on that. We’ve got a real good running team we’re going to see this week, so we’ve got to make sure we can take care of that. They’ve got a really athletic quarterback who can scramble and make things happen through the air.”
The Tigers (5-1, 3-1 MAC) lost their first game of the season last week when they were edged 14-13 by Marion Local. A missed field goal and extra point in the loss were costly to Versailles’ hopes.
Versailles averages 322 yards per game and allows an average of about 165 yards per game. The Tigers have given up just 28 points all season, a MAC-low. They’ve also forced 14 turnovers.
Versailles senior quarterback Michael Osborne has run for 439 yards and six TDs and thrown for 697 yards and eight TDs with four interceptions. Senior running back Joel Gehret has run for 284 yards and 6 TDs; he also handles the squad’s kicking duties.
“(Osborne) is a really, really good athlete,” Marino said. “We’ve got to try to contain him. He can move well in scramble situations or in designed runs, too. We’ve got a mixture of things we can and can’t prepare for with him, but we’ve got to make sure we’ve got our eyes on him, for sure.”
Anna lost by 30 points to Coldwater in Week 4 and 17 points to Minster in Week 5. The team dominated St. John’s, though; it massed 443 yards of offense and started a running clock in the fourth quarter.
Anna junior quarterback Alex Shappie has thrown for 921 yards and eight touchdowns with six interceptions. Junior Aaron Shappie has run for 449 yards and six TDs while junior Zach Osborn has run for 322 yards and six TDs.
The Rockets have been boosted offensively by the recent return of senior Trey Heitkamp. He caught eight passes for 108 yards and two TDs against the Blue Jays. Noah Aufderhaar has 321 receiving yards this season and has caught three TD passes; he caught four passes for 106 yards against St. John’s.
“I think we’ve been throwing the ball a little better. Overall, we’re seeing more maturity from (Alex Shappie),” Marino said. “He’s starting to understand things a little bit better.”
Anna averages 320 yards of offense and 29 points per game. The squad allows an average of 300 yards and 22 points per game. The Rockets have forced 14 turnovers, five of which came against St. John’s
Both the Rockets and Tigers are in Division VI, Region 24, and could face off again in postseason play. Versailles is currently ranked second in Region 24 while Anna is ranked seventh.
Sidney has big MVL game with Tippecanoe
After rolling the last three weeks, Sidney has its biggest challenge in nearly a month’s time scheduled for this Friday at Tippecanoe.
The Red Devils won their first overall Miami Valley League title last year and are in a four-way tie for first place in overall standings with Sidney, Troy and Vandalia-Butler. Tipp (4-2, 4-1 MVL Miami Division) edged Troy 13-12 in Week 5 and lost 24-19 to Butler last week.
The Red Devils average just under 300 yards of offense per game, with about an even split between rushing and passing. They allow an average of just under 250 yards per game.
Senior quarterback Payton Schultz is in his first year as a starter and has thrown for 746 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. Senior receiver Evan Liette has caught a team-high 33 passes for 351 yards and four TDs. Senior RB Cael Liette has run for 468 yards and five TDs; he averages six yards per carry.
The Red Devils’ have forced 10 turnovers this season. Liette, also a linebacker, leads the squad with 45.5 tackles.
Sidney senior quarterback Tucker Herron has thrown for a league-high 1,010 yards with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions. Junior receiver Tank Fleming ranks first in the MVL in receiving yards (371); he has caught 21 passes, seven of which were touchdowns.
Junior running back Isaiah Foster has run for at least 100 yards in each of the last two games; he has scored two TDs this season.
Fleming isn’t the only target Herron has; four other receivers caught passes against Greenville last week, including Ethan New and Dylan Kelly, who scored on TD receptions.
The Yellow Jackets (4-2, 4-1) average an MVL-best 349 yards of offense per game and are holding opponents to an average of 253 points per game.
Sidney has recovered eight fumbles and intercepted four passes this year. Senior linebacker Rylee Vestal led the squad in tackles last week; he has made 25 tackles this year.
Sidney last lost on Sept. 1 in a 24-15 defeat to Xenia. The squad has outscored its last three opponents 147-13.
The Yellow Jackets are in first place in MVL Valley Division standings, though, ahead of the Buccaneers. Xenia lost 28-21 to Butler in Week 5 and 28-21 to Fairborn last week; Sidney beat Fairborn 56-6 on Sept. 8.
Lehman to try to hand Riverside its first TRC loss
The Cavaliers have won two straight games and will try to keep the streak alive on Friday when they host Riverside at Sidney Memorial Stadium.
Riverside is tied with Milton-Union for first place in the Three Rivers Conference. The Pirates (5-1, 3-0 TRC) haven’t lost since a 30-14 defeat at undefeated Ansonia in Week 1.
Riverside averages 317 yards of offense per game and is holding opponents to an average of 135 yards and 18 points per game.
Senior quarterback Myles Platfoot is in his fourth year as a starter. He ranks fifth in the TRC in passing yards (849) and has thrown for 11 touchdowns with three interceptions. He has also run for 357 yards and five TDs.
Senior running back Dominik Stotler has run for 553 yards and seven TDs and caught 12 passes for 216 yards and three TDs. Junior tight end Ayden Clary leads the team with 18 receptions for 336 yards and six TDs.
Clary, who also plays at defensive end, leads the team with 32 tackles. Stotler has intercepted two passes; the Pirates have eight total interceptions and have recovered three fumbles.
Lehman averages 390 yards per game and is holding opponents to an average of 22.5 points per game.
Senior quarterback Donovan O’Leary leads the TRC with 1,083 passing yards. He has thrown for nine touchdowns with five interceptions and has completed 51 percent of his passes.
O’Leary has also run for 664 yards and 14 TDs; he ranks second in the TRC in rushing yards and averages 7.2 yards per carry. Junior Da’Ron Pride has run for 460 yards and four TDs; he averages 8.8 yards per carry.
Sophomore receiver Turner Lachey has caught 43 passes for 457 yards with three TDs. He’s intercepted two passes this year, while O’Leary has intercepted four, two of which he’s returned for a touchdown. The Cavaliers have intercepted 10 passes and recovered seven fumbles.
Lehman beat Bethel 31-27 on the road last week. Riverside also had a close battle with Bethel; the Pirates won 28-24 at Veterans Memorial Field on Sept. 8.
Fort Loramie to host Norwalk St. Paul
Fort Loramie (3-3) won its second consecutive game on Friday and will try for a third this Friday when it hosts Norwalk St. Paul (3-3) at Redskin Stadium.
The Flyers lost their first three games of the season to opponents that have a combined record of 15-2. They’ve won three straight since, including a 28-14 victory over previously undefeated Western Reserve last Saturday.
St. Paul, a Catholic school that plays in the seven-team Firelands Conference, gets most of its yards on the ground. It amassed over 400 yards of offense in Weeks 4 and 5 and had at least 345 rushing yards in both wins.
The Redskins kept up their offensive improvement in Week 6. Junior QB Max Maurer threw for 167 yards and ran for 58. The squad had 149 rushing yards on the ground.
St. Paul will have about a two-and-a-half-hour drive to reach Fort Loramie on Friday.
Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.
