The Daily Standard
Sports Preview
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
Or for the Celina Bulldogs, also 10 miles away from home.
Celina enters Friday's Western Buckeye League football matchup with Shawnee at 4-0, the first time since 2013 the program has been at that mark. A win over the Indians on Friday would be the first 5-0 start in over a quarter-century.
For the fans Green and White, it will be the last look at the team at Celina Stadium until Oct. 9 when the Bulldogs celebrate homecoming against Bath in what will be the final home regular season game.
While the four home games - and only road trip being to St. Marys - has been beneficial, the road warrior test comes as Celina's is in the long trip cycle of road games this season. After this Friday, Celina heads to Kenton and Elida before returning home to face Bath. The final two weeks of the regular season means trips to Ottawa-Glandorf - currently 4-0 as well, which sets up a possible WBL title matchup in Week 9 - and to Defiance before the second season begins.
The Celina defense sacked Van Wert quarterback Zach Crummey six times last Friday. The Bulldogs will need a solid defensive effort on Friday in facing a pass-heavy Shawnee squad.
Shawnee, under the helm of Hall of Fame coach Bob Olwin, who has had stints at Fairview, Versailles, Ada and Edon among other stops over the years, is 2-2 after losing to Bath last week 34-28.
Olwin brings his trademark pass-friendly shotgun offense to Shawnee Township this season. The Indians are third in the WBL in passing offense with over 275 yards per game - and eighth in rushing offense at 78 yards per game.
Quarterback Brogen Rayer is one of three WBL quarterbacks with 1,000 or more yards this season, throwing for 1,045 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. Jarin Bagley leads the WBL in receiving at 610 yards
Celina is coming off another dramatic win. Van Wert tied the game at 28-all in the third quarter before quarterback Jett Warner threw two touchdown passes and Trey Anderson ended the Cougars' comeback try with an interception return for a touchdown in a 49-28 win at Celina Stadium.
The Bulldog defense came up big, sacking Van Wert quarterback Zach Crummey six times in the game, four sacks courtesy of junior defensive end Zane Boley.
Noah Talmadge and Warner are a solid 1-2 punch running the ball. Talmadge leads the WBL with 510 yards with Warner adding 315 yards. The Bulldogs could be challenged as Shawnee leads the WBL in rushing defense, allowing just 49 yards per games, but Shawnee has faced mainly passing teams like Bath (tops in WBL in passing at 1,167 yards), Elida (1,138 yards) and Kenton (925 yards).
We are still one game away from the season being halfway complete. That is usually when you can really start to take seriously the position a team is placed in the computer point standings and figure out what needs to be done in the second half of the season. However, it is deep enough into the schedule to tell when a certain region is going to be especially difficult or especially easy as far as playoff qualification.
This week we take a close look at Region 28. There are four Midwest Athletic Conference teams (Minster, Marion Local, New Bremen and Fort Recovery) in this region. Other quality teams include Ansonia, Fort Loramie and possibly Riverside.
The problem is, 12 teams qualify for the playoffs, so we need to find five more worthy squads. The Fantastic 50 computer says these teams will probably be Cincinnati County Day, Waynesfield-Goshen, Upper Scioto Valley, Tri-County North and Manchester.
But are these teams playoff quality? Cincinnati Country Day just forfeited their last game for not having enough healthy players to compete. Who knows how many games they will actually play?
Waynesfield-Goshen has beaten two winless teams. Upper Scioto Valley has beaten three teams with a combined record of 1-11. Tri-County North has defeated one winless opponent and Manchester took a week off and defeated opponents who were 1-3 and 0-3.
What this means is that Minster, Marion Local and New Bremen are already a lock for the playoffs, while Fort Recovery needs two more wins to join them. It also means there are going to be a lot of ugly games in the first two rounds of the playoffs in this region.
The only Western Buckeye League game that is projected to be close this week is Wapakoneta visiting St. Marys. The Roughriders can pretty much assure themselves of a playoff berth with a win in this contest. For Wapakoneta, it is crunch time. A loss here and the Redskins will have to win their final five games and hope it is good enough.
The closest projected MAC game involves undefeated Coldwater traveling to play at undefeated Minster. As a beneficiary of being in Region 28, Minster is playing for better playoff seeding and a potential MAC title. Coldwater faces a tougher field in Division V Region 18 and will need up to three more wins to reach the postseason.
The computer points for the entire state, and especially the regions involving area teams can be found throughout the season at: user.nktelco.net/bdmonnin/football.htm
Celina - 1st (9.25)
St. Marys - 7th (5.58)
Shawnee - 11th (3.60)
Wapakoneta - 16th (1.88)
Defiance - 19th (1.25)
Celina is 4-0 for the first time since 2013, when they lost to Wapakoneta in Week 5. The Bulldogs are heavily favored to reach 5-0 this year against Shawnee. Last week Celina not only clinched a playoff berth, but also a home playoff game. Celina is favored by between three and five touchdowns for their next four games before their Week 9 showdown at Ottawa-Glandorf.
St. Marys has a toss-up game against Auglaize County rival Wapakoneta. A win puts the Roughriders into the playoffs, probably earns them a home game and gives St. Marys an 80% chance at a first-round playoff bye. The computer still says the Redskins are big touchdown favorites during their final five games, and that now looks like it should be enough even if they lose to St. Marys.
Shawnee suffered a huge upset at the hands of previously winless Lima Bath. The Indians will need their own upset over one of four WBL teams where they are at least a three-touchdown underdog. The first opportunity is Friday at 4-0 Celina.
Defiance almost has to defeat Van Wert to keep realistic postseason hopes alive.
Ottawa-Glandorf - 2nd (7.28)
Van Wert - 8th (4.78)
Kenton - 13th (1.85)
Elida - 13th (1.85)
Ottawa-Glandorf just about clinched a postseason berth by defeating Wapakoneta 27-24. They are very heavily favored over Elida. St. Marys and Celina are the last main obstacles to prevent Ottawa-Glandorf from making a 10-game improvement on last season's 0-10 record.
Van Wert lost to Celina to drop three places in the standings. A win as a two-touchdown favorite over Defiance just about earns the Cougars a postseason berth. They may want to grab that result now, as they are underdogs the following three weeks.
Kenton upset Elida last week and now both teams are tied at 13th, one spot below the cut line. Both teams are underdogs the rest of the season.
Coldwater - 4th (7.35)
Lima Bath - 18th (2.38)
Coldwater can virtually secure their playoff spot with a victory as a 10-point favorite at Minster. The Cavaliers may make the postseason with just five wins but will need seven to be 100% certain. Seven wins also makes a home playoff game likely for Coldwater.
Bath stayed alive with a 34-28 upset over Shawnee. The Wildcats can only afford to lose one more game but are favored this Friday hosting Kenton.
Parkway - 19th (2.13)
Parkway needs a miracle (or 4-5 more wins) to reach the postseason, and upsetting St. Henry this week is only a small part of what needs to occur.
St. Henry - 14th (3.70)
Versailles - 15th (3.65)
Anna - 19th (2.45)
St. Henry crushed Anna 39-0. They are 39-point favorites against Parkway but after would still need at least three wins against the final five of Marion Local, New Bremen, Minster, Coldwater and 1-3 St. John's.
Versailles lost 27-3 to Marion Local but still has a very good chance at the playoffs, especially if they defeat Fort Recovery, where they are favored by 16 points. A loss makes the postseason slightly less than a 50% chance.
Anna has almost no postseason chance unless they upset Marion Local this week.
Delphos St. John's - 18th (0.88)
Delphos St. John's needs many major upsets to stay in playoff contention.
Minster - 2nd (6.45)
Marion Local - 3rd (5.98)
New Bremen - 5th (3.93)
Fort Recovery - 9th (2.60)
Minster held the second position with a win over Parkway. The Wildcats are now 99% sure of finishing in the top eight and getting a home playoffs game. They are looking at a top four finish and a playoff bye with an upset of 4-0 Coldwater, though that is still quite possible even with a loss.
Marion Local hopes Anna's woes continue for another week, though their chances at a first round playoff bye would only drop from 98% to 61% with a loss.
New Bremen is newly playoff bound, despite its record. This is due to its non-conference victims, Wayne Trace and Covington, both being expected to finish 7-3. If the Cardinals would lose their last six games and finish the season, it is estimated they would have a computer point average of 6.50, good enough to finish eighth in the region. The Cardinals are big favorites to grab a third win over Delphos St. John's, which raises their floor to about a sixth-place finish in the final standings.
After a solid win over Delphos St. John's, Fort Recovery has an interesting home game against a Versailles squad seemingly still struggling to find its new identity. A loss means the Indians probably need to defeat 2-2 Anna the following week.
For more computer point analysis for teams across west central Ohio, listen to my weekly podcast. Search your favorite streaming platform for Bruce Monnin's computer points.
Last Season: Karsyn Homan rushed for 109 yards and two scores as the Cavaliers were five seconds away from posting a shutout before Minster scored to make it 34-7 at Cavalier Stadium for the Cavs' seventh-straight win over the Wildcats.
Coldwater continues to play solid football, holding off New Bremen's comeback try and get a 37-22 win to move to 4-0. Braxton Taylor's big day with 245 yards and five touchdowns helped settle a squad that has been battling through injuries. Homan played exclusively on defense last week, keeping Hugh Hemmelgarn at quarterback. Hemmelgarn passed for 145 yards.
Minster led 41-6 at the half and never looked back in beating Parkway 48-19 at Memorial Field. Quarterback Carson Kaylor passed for 285 yards and four touchdowns and added a touchdown run as the Minster defense held Parkway to 261 yards of total offense.
Last Season: Charlie Werling threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more as the Redskins rolled to a 56-7 win in Rockford.
The Redskins dominated the first half to take a 32-0 halftime lead on Anna and cruised to a 39-0 win in Shelby County. The Redskins got touchdowns from rushing, passing, blocked punt return and kickoff return against the Rockets. Austin Zimmerman had 158 yards receiving on four catches and two scores in the win.
Parkway had its second-best offensive output of the season, but 13 of the 19 points came after Minster took a 48-6 lead. Perry Schwieterman threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns, both going to Issac Beveridge, who had six catches for 153 yards, raising his season total to 293 yards on 11 catches and five touchdowns.
Last Season: Kamden Eifert's three-yard run and Thomas Winner's PAT put Marion in front 28-21 in the second overtime, but the Flyers needed a stop on Anna's two-point conversion to keep their winning streak alive in a 28-27 win in Maria Stein.
Anna struggled last week against St. Henry, suffering its first shutout loss since Oct. 11, 2024 when Marion won 42-0 in Anna. Logan Ziegenbusch was intercepted and sacked twice and the Rocket offense was held to just 192 yards of offense. Anna is averaging 252.8 yards of total offense per game and has committed eight turnovers while forcing six takeaways.
The Flyers cranked up the defense once again in winning 27-3 at Versailles, making it three out of four games Marion has held the opponent to single digits. Quarterback Brennen Hess continues to be efficient, averaging a touchdown every 4.17 completions this season.
Last Season: Caleb Moyer threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns and ran for three more as the Redskins won 42-7.
Wapakoneta gave undefeated Ottawa-Glandorf a battle before taking a 27-24 loss at Mercy Health-Wapak Ford Field. The Redskins rank ninth in the WBL in total offense with 284.3 yards per game and ninth in scoring in averaging 20.0 per game, but rank second in total defense in allowing 265.8 yards per game.
Th Roughriders bounced back from the loss to Celina with a 35-21 win at Defiance. Dyllan Fink rushed for 167 yards and Tyler Holsinger added 112 yards and St. Marys finished with 394 yards on the ground against the Bulldogs. Logan Payton threw a touchdown on his only pass of the game.
Last Season: Jacob Kelly rushed for 128 yards and four touchdowns in the Cardinals' 42-7 win over the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays will try to stay focused as longtime assistant coach Dan Metzger takes over as interim head coach. St. John's only trailed 16-7 with under three minutes remaining in the first half before Fort Recovery won 37-20. St. John's was held to just 144 yards of offense.
New Bremen trailed Coldwater 24-7 before cutting the margin to 24-22. Then Coldwater scored the final 13 points of the game for a 37-22 win. Kelly rushed for 84 yards and caught a 77-yard touchdown pass to lead the Cardinals.
Last Meeting: It's the first meeting between the schools since Sept. 17, 2021, when Landon Henry rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-12 Versailles win at Barrenbrugge Park. Cale Rammel threw for both Fort Recovery touchdowns, hitting Logan Homan and Reece Guggenbiller.
The Tigers suffered an offensive power failure in being held to three points against Marion Local. Versailles managed just 181 yards of offense and had just six first downs in the contest.
Fort Recovery bounced back with the win in Delphos over St. John's. Brady Evers rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns, while Vince Wenning had seven tackles, 2 1/2 tackles for loss and a sack in the win over the Blue Jays.
Braxton Taylor, RB, Coldwater
Zane Boley, DE, CelinaShawnee at Celina
Wapakoneta at St. Marys
Kenton at Bath
Defiance at Van Wert
Elida at Ottawa-Glandorf
Anna at Marion Local
Coldwater at Minster
St. John's at New Bremen
Versailles at Fort Recovery
St. Henry at Parkway
| WBL | Overall | |
| Celina | 3-0 | 4-0 |
| Ottawa-Glandorf | 3-0 | 4-0 |
| St. Marys | 2-1 | 3-1 |
| Van Wert | 2-1 | 3-1 |
| Shawnee | 2-1 | 2-2 |
| Bath | 1-2 | 1-3 |
| Kenton | 1-2 | 1-3 |
| Wapakoneta | 1-2 | 1-3 |
| Defiance | 0-3 | 1-3 |
| Elida | 0-3 | 1-3 |
| MAC | Overall | |
| Coldwater | 2-0 | 4-0 |
| Marion Local | 2-0 | 4-0 |
| Minster | 2-0 | 4-0 |
| St. Henry | 2-0 | 2-2 |
| Anna | 1-1 | 2-2 |
| Fort Recovery | 1-1 | 2-2 |
| New Bremen | 0-2 | 2-2 |
| Versailles | 0-2 | 2-2 |
| Parkway | 0-2 | 1-3 |
| St. John's | 0-2 | 1-3 |
