At least on paper, New Richmond has a chance to do something it hasn’t done since 2001.
Beat Clinton-Massie.
The Lions (0-0, 2-3) host a Falcons (0-0, 1-4) team struggling to muster enough offense under first-year head coach Kevin Scholz. Clinton-Massie has scored more than 35 points just once this season — a 40-18 Week 4 win over Blanchester. The 1-4 start is the Falcons’ worst since opening the 2022 campaign with a 1-4 record. That team beat New Richmond, 42-21, in a Week 9 meeting. The Lions are 0-12 against the Falcons dating back to 2002. The teams have played each other every year since 2017, and had a hiatus from 2016-2005. New Richmond’s last win over Clinton-Massie was a 30-29 victory in 2001 and a 30-0 win in 2000.
Even with a new coach, the Falcons are still a run-first team, led by Brady Gray, who leads the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference with 910 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Ty Martin has 244 yards and averages 6.3 yards a carry on 39 rushes, and Brody Webb has 164 yards on 45 attempts.
Clinton-Massie fell behind 35-0 in last week’s loss to Monroe. The Falcons rallied for 34 points after that, but the Hornets still hung 55 points on the American Division squad. Despite the Falcons’ 1-4 record, their first five opponents have a combined 16-9 record, including 4-1 Waynesville and Coldwater. So in some ways, the 1-4 record could be misleading in the Sept. 25 divisional opener.
However, the Lions return a major weapon in the backfield in running back Dylan Wolf.
Wolf transferred to Hillgrove High School in Georgia entering his senior season, but opportunities were very limited, with one carry for 2 yards in one game. Wolf returned a couple of weeks ago, but had his first game action in last week’s win over Purcell Marian when he rushed for a game-high 128 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns.
The addition of Wolf is huge for New Richmond, which averaged 104.3 yards on the ground through the first four games of the season and 3.6 yards per carry. It’s a great complement to quarterback Brady Young, who enters the Week 6 meeting second in the SBAAC in passing with 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns.
A win over Massie would bolster the Lions’ chances at making the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season. The team enters sitting 13th in the Division IV, Region 16 rankings. The top 12 teams advance to the playoffs.
GOSHEN (0-0, 5-0) AT BATAVIA (0-0, 1-4)
The Bulldogs are coming off their first win of the season against Bethel-Tate, but turn their attention to the Warriors, who have their eyes on their first American Division title since 2009.
The Warriors get a big boost with the return of running back Gage Croley, who didn’t play in the team’s last two games. He rushed for 225 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries in last week’s win over Blanchester and is still second in the conference in yards with 592.
BETHEL-TATE (0-5) AT NORWOOD (0-5)
Norwood has scored just 18 points this season, giving the Tigers a prime opportunity to notch win No. 1 of the season.
Quarterback Braylin Evans has thrown five interceptions and 269 yards, and the team has a combined 159 rushing yards on 90 carries among nine rushers for a 1.8-yard average.
Meanwhile, the Tigers are coming off their best offensive performance in last week’s 24-20 loss to Batavia. Freshman quarterback Tanner Armacost is still improving. He threw for 85 yards and a touchdown against the Bulldogs and added 26 yards and another score on the ground.
Despite the loss, the Tigers saw great contributions on defense, behind Landen Collins’ 16-tackle, one-sack performance. Armacost also had a pick. Expect the Tigers’ defense to gain more confidence this week against Norwood.
WILLIAMSBURG (0-0, 4-1) AT CLERMONT NORTHEASTERN (0-0, 2-3)
Both teams enter the National Division matchup on winning streaks. The Wildcats have won four straight — all against 2025 playoff teams. Albeit Hillsboro — last week’s opponent — is certainly not the same team as last season. Still, Williamsburg has taken care of business in a tougher schedule with wins against New Richmond, Mairemont and Portsmouth West — the latter coming on the road in Week 4.
The Wildcats moved Landen Brandenburg back to quarterback and Gray Robinson back to running back when healthy, but the team has seen contributions from Zayne Walker, who is third on the team in rushing after a career-high 151-yard, three-touchdown performance in the win over Hillsboro. Manning Dilley also has been effective on the ground with 198 yards and three scores over the last three games.
Williamsburg’s defense remains stout by not allowing more than 14 points a game during its four-game win streak.
Someone else who has been stout lately is CNE back Tyler Watkins. The bruising senior back has rushed for 216 yards and six touchdowns the last two weeks in the team’s wins over Shroder and Cincinnati Country Day. The Rockets will rely on Watkins to get the offense going against the talented Williamsburg defense.
ANDERSON (4-0, 4-1) AT MILFORD (1-3, 1-4)
It doesn’t get any easier for the Eagles.
This week begins a three-game stretch of Milford facing the top teams in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference following its last-second loss last week to rival West Clermont.
The Eagles allow 379 total yards per game, ahead of West Clermont for most yards surrendered in the conference. More gut-wrenching are the back-to-back fourth-quarter defeats the Eagles have had to endure against Loveland and the Wolves.
Anderson also allows a lot of yardage, averaging 296 yards per game. Quarterback Aiden Wehrum will look to build on an already successful sophomore season for the Eagles. Wehrum is behind Anderson quarterback Owen Scalf in passing with 1,321 yards and an ECC-leading 16 touchdown passes.
WEST CLERMONT (1-3, 2-3) AT TURPIN (2-2, 2-3)
The Wolves’ thrilling home win last week might be the shot in the arm that they need to go on a late-season run and make the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons.
They have seemed to unlock something, with quarterback Colton Abner having success running the ball following a season-high 10 carries for 52 yards last week against Milford. Coupled with running back Caleb Abshire — also fresh off a career-high 204 rushing yards last week — the Wolves could very well be a dangerous dual-threat, balanced team.
Turpin’s offense is balanced behind 1,000-yard passer Will Schmittauer and a three-headed backfield. Schmittauer has thrown for eight touchdowns and five interceptions, but he’s also run for 180 yards and four scores on 21 carries.
He joins backs Guerwens Smith and Holden Gerth as capable runners for the Spartans. Smith has 111 yards on 32 carries, and Gerth has 153 on 27 rushes. CJ Elliott is the team’s leading receiver with 24 catches for 296 yards and two scores. Callan Polland has hauled in 18 receptions for 422 yards and a team-high six touchdowns.