GOSHEN
There’s some resemblance to Goshen’s 2017 team and the 2026 Warriors.
The 2017 squad started the season 9-0, won the American Division and hosted a playoff game as the No. 4 seed in the Division III, Region 12 rankings.
Then New Richmond handed the Warriors some humble pie on a Week 10 night, forcing a three-way tie for first place in the division and Goshen endured an early exit from the playoffs a week later.
The 2026 team is determined not to let history repeat itself after years of trying to get back on top.
Goshen’s Jomar Berg returns the opening kickoff for a touchdown in the first quarter of a Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference American Division game Oct. 2, 2026, against New Richmond at George Rise Field at Jim Brown Stadium in Goshen.
Jake Dowling/The Clermont Sun
Goshen running back Gage Croley breaks a tackle during a Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference American Division game Oct. 2, 2026, against New Richmond at George Rise Field at Jim Brown Stadium in Goshen.
Jake Dowling/The Clermont Sun
“From the beginning, we struggled as a program, and the only way we were going to be better was to take it one game at a time. That has been our mantra,” Warriors coach Shane Elkins said. “The thing with our guys now is, I don’t know how good we are. We beat some teams who don’t have very good records.
“We can’t take anyone lightly; we can’t look at ourselves as undefeated because that doesn’t mean anything. That’s the past. We have to go week to week.”
For a program that has owned Goshen over the last 19 seasons and the best team the Warriors had faced entering Week 7, the Warriors cruised past New Richmond, 48-7, Oct. 2 in a pivotal American Division showdown, bringing hope that the Warriors are bound for better results than that 2017 campaign.
“We came into this game with a lot of nerves,” Goshen safety Cam Telinda said. “New Richmond is a good team, so I would say this was the most nervous I have been in my whole high school career. But when Jomar took that thing to the house, we were right back where we have been the past six weeks.
“But our o-line and d-line. They win games, they are the reason why we are here.”
Like the Lions did the week before in its first win over Clinton-Massie in a quarter century, Goshen had contributions from all three phases in their convincing homecoming night victory at George Rise Field at Jim Brown Stadium. The win pushed Goshen to fifth in the Division III, Region 12 rankings. Seeds 1 through 4 earn a first-round bye while teams seeded fifth through eighth host a first-round playoff game.
“That’s a good football team. I was nervous going into this game,” Elkins said. “I really wanted it to rain all night so they wouldn’t throw the football because they do a great job of throwing the ball.”
The Warriors’ win, coupled with Wilmington’s loss to Massie, gives Goshen sole possession of first place in the division with three games remaining. However, Elkins preached taking it week by week, and the Warriors’ next game is a road trip to Clarksville, followed by back-to-back home games against Wilmington and Western Brown.
“I told them at the beginning of the week, ‘I’m not sold yet, gentlemen,’” Elkins said. “’You haven’t beaten anybody yet. Tonight is the night that we’ve got to beat somebody good.
“I’m pleased with the score, but the kids are drinking the Kool-Aid, they’re buying in, they’re getting better every day and they are doing the best that they can do.”
Elkins was Goshen’s defensive coordinator when the 2017 team, the last Goshen squad to win an American Division title, beat Clinton-Massie in a Week 8 matchup, en route to a 9-0 start to the regular season. However, the Warriors were pummeled two weeks later, 51-14, by New Richmond to force a tri-divisional championship. Goshen lost the first round of the playoffs the next week.
“We were rolling, but we lost our running back,” Elkins said. “Gage (Croley) is like (running back) Jimmy (Strunk). We talked to them about how New Richmond took it to us, and that goes back to getting better week by week and day by day.”
KING BERG
On homecoming night, the homecoming king, Jomar Berg, took his crown and ran with it.
Like in last year’s regular-season finale against Western Brown, Berg took the opening kickoff for a touchdown to give the home team a quick 7-0 lead.
“New Richmond is a solid team after their win last week against Massie, so I knew they had the momentum coming in,” Berg said. “We got the ball first, and I knew I had to return it (to the end zone). And then the defense locked up again. Our defense is rolling this year. Gage is doing his thing, and Cam is making plays on offense and defense.
“I don’t like to say too much, but we are doing really well.”
Berg also was instrumental in not letting the Lions back into the game late in the first half.
In last week’s win over Massie, New Richmond had a promising drive end in an interception in the end zone with 5:17 to play in the second quarter. After Eric Miller’s blocked punt, the Lions took advantage of the short field and reached the end zone as part of the Lions’ 28 straight points.
New Richmond saw another promising drive against the Warriors end when Telinda forced a fumble on Dylan Wolf with 5:08 in the first half. A 25-yard run by Croley set up the Warriors in Lions’ territory. Quarterback Caden Slusher then found Telinda for a 25-yard reception, and Croley, who finished with three rushing touchdowns and had 100 yards before halftime, did the rest for a 20-0 lead.
With 1:23 left, New Richmond marched down the field but settled for a 38-yard field goal, which Berg blocked to keep the score at 20-0.
Goshen led 27-0 after another forced fumble recovered by the Warriors led to Slusher’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Telinda. Lions quarterback Brady Young heaved the ball to Waylon Willis, but Berg high-pointed the underthrown ball, and Goshen activated the running clock four plays later on Telinda’s 1-yard wildcat run.
“We’ve had a young secondary this whole season and one of the worries coming into the season was how the secondary was going to step up,” Telinda said. “In practice, things have just been different. We’ve been going one-on-one and forcing each other to get good.
“We have gotten our coverages down so well; the biggest thing has been communication. Coach likes to say that even if you are in the wrong coverage, as long as you guys are on the same page, you’re fine. We always make sure we are on the same page.”