Northeastern ready for OHC North opener vs. West Liberty-Salem

SPRINGFIELD — The Northeastern High School football program is seeking its second Ohio Heritage Conference North Division title in three seasons.

Friday night’s division opener against West Liberty-Salem will play a key role in the conference moving forward. Northeastern hosts the defending co-champion Tigers (4-1) at 7 p.m. Friday night at Conover Field. The Jets (4-1) have won four straight games since a season-opening loss at Urbana.

“We know what to expect,” said Jets coach Jake Buchholtz. “They’ve had an established coaching staff the last couple years. Last year they put it to us and we know they’ve brought a lot of dudes back especially upfront. The way they control the line is impressive. We know it’ll be a good slugfest.”

A year ago, the Jets finished 3-2 in the division, one game back of both the Tigers and West Jefferson. They fell at West Liberty-Salem 42-7.

“It’s something we’ve talked about every day this week,” Buchholtz said. “We remember what it felt like just — to be quite honest — just getting our teeth kicked in. It had been awhile since that had happened. Obviously we had won (the OHC North) the year before and the past couple years we were always competitive. Things didn’t go our way and I felt like we played well the back half of last season. We don’t want them to forget those feelings and why we worked so hard in the offseason for redemption and for our kids to be ready to go.”

The Tigers return 17 seniors from last year’s team, including quarterback Nick Shifflet (841 passing yards) and Jack Bahan, the OHC’s leading receiver through five weeks with 499 receiving yards. West Liberty-Salem’s lone loss came against Greeneview in Week 3. They fell to the Rams 42-14.

No matter what happens this week, the Jets know the OHC North will be a tall order. Mechanicsburg (4-1) has won four straight since a season-opening loss to Kenton Ridge. Fairbanks is 3-2 under new coach Dave Carroll. The Panthers have already surpassed their win total from last season when they finished 2-8. West Jefferson is 2-3 and Triad is 1-4.

“It’s not one of those things where either way if you win or lose it makes or breaks your season, but I think it’s an opportunity to go 1-0,” Buchholtz said. “That’s what we’ve focused on for the past couple years is not looking at the big picture. We want to go 1-0 this week and we’ll start again the following week. … It’s a big game. These are the games you work for. These are the games you want.”

Here’s a look at the other division races throughout Clark County in both the OHC and the Central Buckeye Conference:

OHC South Division

Defending champion: Greeneview

The Rams have won 15 straight OHC South Division games dating back to the 2020 season. Greeneview is seeking its fourth straight division title and its seventh overall OHC football conference championship.

This year, the Rams are off to a 5-0 start, averaging 35.4 points per game. They host Greenon (0-5) in their division opener this week.

Southeastern finished second last season with a 4-1 division record, falling to the Rams 20-13. It was the closest games the Rams had played since its loss to Greenon in 2020. The Trojans host Catholic Central (2-3) to open divisional play, while Cedarville (2-3) travels to Madison-Plains (2-3).

CBC Kenton Trail Division

Defending champion: London

The Red Raiders (5-0) have won three straight titles in the ultra competitive Central Buckeye Conference, sharing one with Bellefontaine in 2022. They host the 4-1 Chieftains and Ohio State University recruit Tavian St. Clair on Friday night at Bowlus Field in one of the most anticipated games of the season. London won the regular season matchup a year ago, but the Chieftains knocked the Red Raiders out of the Division III Region 12 playoffs.

The remaining contenders in the CBC are as strong as ever.

Kenton Ridge and Urbana are both 5-0, while Jonathan Alder is 3-2. The Cougars are seeking their first title since 2014, while Jonathan Alder last won back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020.

The only school without a winning record is Tecumseh (0-5). The Arrows host KR on Friday night at Spitzer Stadium.

Urbana hosts Jonathan Alder in another key matchup. The Pioneers beat the Hillclimbers 41-33 last season.

CBC Mad River Division

Defending champion: Shawnee

Shawnee won its first division title since 2011 last season, finishing a perfect 5-0 in the division. The Braves were dominant, beating their division rivals by an average of 29.4 points per game.

This year, the division race is wide open. Northwestern and Indian Lake are both 3-2 this fall, the only teams in the division with winning records.

The Warriors are seeking their first division crown since 2018. They’ve lost two games this season by a total of seven points. They open with back-to-back road games against Benjamin Logan (0-5) and North Union (1-4) and host Graham (0-5), Indian Lake and Shawnee (1-4) in their final three games of the season.

Shawnee will look to make a run at their second straight division title. The Braves haven’t lost to a Mad River Division opponent since 2018. They host North Union to open divisional play.

PREP FOOTBALL

WEEK 6

FRIDAY’S GAMES

Springboro at Springfield

West Liberty-Salem at Northeastern

Kenton Ridge at Tecumseh

Catholic Central at Southeastern

North Union at Shawnee

Greenon at Greeneview

Cedarville at Madison Plains

Northwestern at Benjamin Logan

Graham at Indian Lake

Jonathan Alder at Urbana

Triad at Fairbanks

West Jefferson at Mechanicsburg

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