Lehman Catholic’s Evan O’Leary powers upfield as Covington’s Jack Blumenstock tries to make a flying tackle during a Three Rivers Conference game on Friday at Sidney Memorial Stadium. O’Leary had 170 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a 35-7 win.
Rob Kiser | AIM Media Midwest
SIDNEY — Lehman Catholic kept rolling in a 35-7 victory over Covington on Friday and remains tied for first in the Three Rivers Conference.
Lehman (7-1, 5-0 TRC) has won seven straight since losing 54-27 to Delphos St. John’s in a season opener. The squad looks to be on a collision course with Northridge (5-3, 5-0) for a Week 10 matchup in north Dayton to determine the TRC title. The Polar Bears have to deal with Milton-Union (5-3, 4-1) this week, though; Lehman edged Milton 35-17 in Week 4.
Lehman junior quarterback Turner Lachey threw for 395 yards and five touchdowns in Friday’s win. He has thrown for a TRC-best 2,202 yards and 26 TDs with five interceptions this year. He’s also run for 398 yards and five TDs.
Lehman junior receiver Evan O’Leary caught three of Friday’s TD passes; he has caught 58 passes for a TRC-best 991 yards with 10 TDs. Junior CJ Olding has caught 27 passes for 603 yards with eight TDs; he ranks fifth among TRC players in receiving yards. Olding also intercepted two passes on Friday; he has intercepted four this season and is tied for first among TRC players.
Lehman is scheduled to host Troy Christian this week at Sidney Memorial Stadium. The Eagles (0-8, 0-5) have struggled; a 29-0 loss to Riverside in bad weather in Week 6 is the smallest margin they have lost by.
Sidney looks for 2nd straight win against rival Piqua
After losing a heartbreaker to Vandalia-Butler on Friday, Sidney is hoping to beat archrival Piqua on Friday in a Miami Valley League at Alexander Stadium.
Sidney senior receiver Tank Fleming returned for the Yellow Jackets in Week 8 after missing the previous three games. He caught three passes for 118 yards; one reception was a 76-yard touchdown catch. Despite missing three weeks, he ranks second among Miami Valley League players with 602 receiving yards, two yards behind Tippecanoe’s Jackson Davis, who is first.
Sidney senior quarterback Ethan New ranks third among MVL quarterbacks with 1,520 passing yards. He has completed 66 percent of his passes and has thrown 19 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has also run for 560 yards and 12 TDs on 85 carries.
The Yellow Jackets (4-4, 4-3 MVL Valley Division) had 400 yards of offense against Butler but will be looking for more consistency against Piqua; they built a 36-13 lead late in the second quarter but were outscored 33-7 down the stretch.
Sidney ranks first among MVL teams with an average of 404.6 yards per game and ranks third with an average of 35.3 points per game. The squad ranks last of the 10 teams in defense, though; it is giving up an average of 378 yards and 35.8 points per game.
Piqua’s strengths are reversed. The Indians (3-5, 3-4 MVL Miami) rank in the top half in the league in defense; they are holding opponents to an average of 262.4 yards and 19 points per game. They are in the bottom half of offense, averaging 268 yards and 21 points per game.
Sidney beat the Indians 21-17 last year, the first time the team had won the Battered Helmet since 2017.
Anna looks to get win back after shutout loss to Marion Local
The Anna Rockets lost 42-0 to Midwest Athletic Conference leaders Marion Local on Friday at Booster Field in Anna.
This marked the teams first loss in nearly a month and moved the Rockets into a three-way tie for fourth place in the MAC.
Entering Friday’s game, Anna averaged just over 26 points a game before being held scoreless.
The Rockets will take on Fort Recovery at Fort Recovery on Friday
Fort Loramie’s offense stays strong in loss to Bluffton
Fort Loramie lost 42-28 to Bluffton on Friday at Fort Loramie high school in a Northwest Conference matchup.
Entering Friday’s game, Bluffton had only given up 24 total points all year. Quarterback Gabe Hart helped his team outdo that in just one game with the help of three passing touchdowns to Thomas Hoying.
The performance boosted Hart’s already strong numbers. Entering Week 8, he had thrown of an NWC-best 1,607 yards and had completed 65.8 percent of his passes. Senior Max Maurer led the league with 604 receiving yards entering the contest, while Hoying ranked second with 363.
WEEK 9 AREA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sidney at Piqua
Anna at Fort Recovery
Fort Loramie at Delphos Jefferson
Troy Christian at Lehman Catholic
Minster at Marion Local
St. Henry at New Bremen
Coldwater at Versailles
Covington at Riverside
All games are scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m.
Billing is editor of the Sidney Daily News and Harless is assistant editor. Billing can be reached at [email protected] and Harless can be reached at [email protected].
