Nolan Hopson, of Hardin Northern, breaks off a run against Perry earlier this season. Hopson has rushed for 1,510 yards and 25 touchdowns on 189 carries this season.
Chris Howell | The Lima News
Difficult conditions in Week 6 hampered some teams but brought out the best in others.
It was an opportunity for some of the area’s best running backs to put on a show and even leveled the playing field toward some upset victories.
The weather might not have been pretty, but the numbers certainly were.
Let’s take a deep dive into what stood out in Week 6.
2,543 — Running for more than 1,000 yards in a season is an impressive accomplishment. Two area players have done that in just six weeks. Trenton Barraza, the Northwest Conference’s leading rusher (1,033 yards), and Nolan Hopson, the Northwest Central Conference’s leading rusher (1,510 yards) have combined for 2,543 rushing yards this season and 38 touchdowns. Hopson averages 251 yards per game and has found the end zone 25 times. Barraza ran for 308 yards and four touchdowns against Allen East in Week 5. To say both have impressive numbers would be an understatement.
121, 2 — Crestview has sorely missed Braxton Leeth’s production since the former all-conference running back was injured in Week 2 against McComb. In his first game back, Leeth rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-0 win over Delphos Jefferson. Leeth is a fantastic player who belongs in the conversation with Barraza, Bluffton’s Landen Worcester and the NWC’s top running backs, and he’s just a junior. If Crestview can get starting quarterback Bryson Penix healthy, they have some interesting matchups ahead against Bluffton, Columbus Grove and Lima Central Catholic.
27 — Elida has had a rough go of things so far, but a 17-14 upset victory in Week 6 brightened things up a little. According to fantasti50.net, Elida was a 27-point underdog to beat Celina, but this is exactly why games are played and not decided on paper. It was a nice way for Elida to bounce back after a wild 62-56 loss to Bath last week. A’mari Wash and Parker Crim are, without question, two of the best athletes in the Western Buckeye League. Hopefully, this gives the Bulldogs something to build on moving forward.
35-0 — In a game between two teams who love to run the football, St. Marys and Van Wert were tied 14-14 at the break. The second half was a completely different story, as St. Marys outscored Van Wert 35-0 the rest of the way, putting up a season-high 49 points against the Cougars. The Roughriders also had nearly three 100-yard rushers between Colton Mabry (19 carries, 126 yards, 2 TDs), Dominik Osborne (15 carries, 123 yards, 2 TDs) and Caleb Schmidt (10 rushes, 81 yards, TD). The St. Marys team we saw in Week 6 looked a lot more like the one that started the year 2-0 against St. Henry and Celina before stumbling through the previous three weeks.
763 — Lima Senior shut out Woodward 56-0 to stay perfect on Friday. It was the first time in 763 days that the Spartans held their opponent scoreless, dating back to a 42-0 win over Rogers on Aug. 26, 2022. Lima Senior opened that season with two-straight shutouts and a three-game winning streak before finishing 3-8. In the final four weeks, Lima Senior’s scheduled opponents have a combined record of 6-18. Maybe this time, the gap between shutouts won’t be so long.
4 — Starting the season 0-2 isn’t the end of the world, but it can create a sense of urgency to turn things around. Two teams have responded to that adversity with four-game winning streaks. Pandora-Gilboa and Defiance each improved to 4-2 after wins over Elmwood and Kenton, respectively. The Rockets had arguably their two toughest opponents of the season in the first two weeks with Columbus Grove and Bluffton. Defiance played its opener without quarterback Brez Zipfel and faced Wapakoneta in his first game back. Head coaches Matt Hershey and Travis Cooper deserve a lot of credit for staying the course after tough starts.
334-63 — Perry was great on both sides of the ball in a 34-0 win over North Baltimore. The Commodores gained 334 yards and allowed just 63 yards on defense. Isaiah McFadden played a huge role in that with 182 rushing yards and a touchdown, along with a 93-yard kickoff return TD. The speedy Kimari Glenn added 157 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on seven carries. It was a nice bounce-back victory for Seth Evans’ club after losses to Upper Scioto Valley and Hardin Northern.
Reach Chris Howell at 567-242-0468 or on Twitter/X at @Lima_Howell
