Bath’s Mikey Hale ran straight into the state record books with a 99-yard rushing touchdown last Friday night against Elida.
File photo, Richard Parrish | The Lima News
We’ve officially reached the halfway point of the regular season.
It’s that time of the year when the great teams begin to separate themselves from the good teams, and contenders start to emerge over the pretenders.
Plenty of possible perfect seasons are still in play, namely from teams like Bluffton, Columbus Grove, Lima Senior, Wapakoneta, Coldwater, Versailles and Marion Local.
The numbers behind those programs, among others, have been impressive in the first half.
Let’s take a look at what stood out after Week 5:
23.5, 50% — Kaiden Werntz of Celina might be one of the best under-the-radar weapons in the Western Buckeye League. The 6-0, 165-pound senior has 12 receptions on the season, which isn’t spectacular. It’s more about what he does once he has the ball in his hands. Werntz has 283 yards and six touchdowns on the season. That means he averages a league-leading 23.5 yards per completion, and 50 percent of the time Werntz catches the ball, he winds up in the end zone. Celina is definitely more of a running team behind quarterback Bobby Morris’s 506 rushing yards, but Werntz provides an important wrinkle to the offense.
309-168 — Ottawa-Glandorf did almost everything right in a 21-16 loss to St. Marys. The Titans were the first team this season to keep the Roughriders from having a 100-yard rusher, even with Colton Mabry (15 carries, 58 yards, TD) back in the fold after missing time with a concussion. Ottawa-Glandorf even out-gained St. Marys in total yards 309-168, but St. Marys still found a way to win behind Mabry and Dominik Osborne (13 carries, 40 yards, TD). Sometimes the numbers just don’t make sense, including the fact that Ottawa-Glandorf controlled time of possession 21:13-18:40.
5/5 — Wapakoneta has been nearly perfect on offense in the first half of the season. One thing that’s become a given for the Redskins is the connection between quarterback Caleb Moyer and wide receiver Kaden Page. Page has caught exactly one touchdown in every game this season, meaning he’s accounted for half of Moyer’s 10 passing touchdowns. Moyer, Page and running back Jarrett Mullen have Wapkoneta’s offense averaging 34.8 points per game, second only to Bath (42 ppg) in the WBL.
99 — It’s hard to pin down one specific number from Bath’s wild 62-56 win over Elida, but Mikey Hale’s 99-yard touchdown run has to be it. Hale became the 45th player in the OHSAA record books to record a 99-yard rushing touchdown. Other notable names on that list include Tyler Frieson of Shawnee (2012 vs. Wapakoneta), Chad Schulte of Delphos St. John’s (1998 vs. Marion Local) and Troy Jolliff of Bluffton (1984 vs. Ada). Hale finished the night with 233 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win.
31 — With the fate of Coldwater’s MAC title hopes in the balance on Friday night, kicker Bryce Couchot stepped up and hit a game-winning 31-yard field goal with 1:40 left against Minster. Some might say that Couchot has ice (Cold)water in his veins. All kidding aside, game-winning field goals aren’t a common occurrence in our area, and having a reliable kicker on the team is a valuable piece of the puzzle. Hats off to the young man.
2254-675 — Bluffton is 5-0, and it isn’t hard to find stats that show how dominant the first half has been for the Pirates. Perhaps the most impressive among them all is Bluffton’s 2,254 yards of total offense compared to just 675 yards allowed to opposing teams. Both marks lead the Northwest Conference, and not by a small margin. The Pirates also average 52 points per game and have only punted the ball five times this season.
193, 3 — Through five games, Nolan Hopson of Hardin Northern has been unstoppable with the ball in his hands. The 5-9, 180-pound senior has racked up 968 yards and 15 touchdowns on 119 carries. That averages out to 193 yards and three touchdowns per game. Hopson’s 1,067 all-purpose yards also account for about 55% of Hardin Northern’s total offense. Hopson also serves as the team’s kicker, which means he’s scored 111 of Hardin Northern’s 151 total points.
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter/X at @Lima_Howell
