L-B travels to Leipsic in pivotal BVC game

When it comes to high school sports, northwest Ohio has some of the strongest, staunchest fan support in the state.The local team obviously draws the most interest in this rural-rich, small-town area of the state. But there are also some games every week that coaches counting Harbin points and fans lining the fences and packing the stands will want to check the morning paper just to see "Who Won?"Here's a look at a few of them…WEEK 8 Liberty-Benton (6-1, 5-0 BVC) at Leipsic (5-2, 4-1 BVC)When this game is over, the Blanchard Valley Conference title could be all but locked up. Or it could be up for grabs with four schools reaching for the prize …. Liberty-Benton has won five straight since a Week 2 loss to state-ranked Columbus Grove. A win Friday would make the Eagles 6-0 in the BVC with home games against Arcadia (0-7) and Van Buren (4-3) in the final two weeks …. Leipsic has won three in a row, and wraps up the regular season with roads games at Arlington (4-3) and at Ada (6-1) …. Friday's matchup features the top two quarterbacks and top two receivers in the league. L-B senior Trevin Lieb has completed 85-of-124 passes (68.5 percent) for 1,254 yards and 14 touchdowns with six interceptions and a 118.8 quarterback rating. Leipsic freshman Marc Kirkendall has completed 108-of-165 passes (65.5 percent) for 1,518 yards and 14 TDs with eight interceptions and a quarterback rating of 103.0 ….Leipsic's Jayce Brecht leads BVC receivers with 40 receptions for 677 yards and six TDs. Teammate Ty Lammers is close behind with 23 catches, 365 yards, and five scores …. L-B's Seth Elchert ranks second in the BVC with 33 catches for 489 yards and five touchdowns. Brayden Lemire (18 receps., 233 yards, 3 TDs), Connor Barbara (14 receps., 206 yards, 2 TDs) and Zach Elchert (10 receps., 184 yards, 3 TDs) are among the top 20 receivers as well …. Both teams can go three-deep at running back. Zach Elchert (621 yards, 10 TDs), Barbara (163 yards, 2 TDs) and Austin Collert (162 yards, 3 TDs) have carried the load for L-B. Leipsic's top backs are Quin Westhoven (258 yards, 4 TDs), Aaron Hazelman (277 yards, 3 TDs) andLammers (106 yards, 2 TDs) …. Collert has also led Liberty-Benton defensively with 63 total tackles and 14 tackles for loss. Zach Elchert (62 tackles, 10 TFL), CJ Barbara (47 tackles, 18 TFL) and Will Granger (44 tackles, 9 TFL) all have over 40 tackles as well. Seth Elchert has intercepted three passes ….Westhoven (11 TFL) has 42 tackles and Colin Niese and Lammers have 40 each for Leipsic. Aaron Hazelton and Tommy Offenbacher both have 35 tackles, with Offenbacher tied for the BVC lead in interceptions with four …. In addition to the BVC ramifications, Friday's game will do the winner considerable good in the rankings that determine playoffs pairings. Liberty-Benton is currently eighth among Division V teams in Region 18. Leipsic is 13th among Division VII teams in Region 26. Van Buren (4-3, 3-2 BVC) at Ada (6-1, 4-1 BVC)Ada may be one of the new kids on the BVC playground, but the Bulldogs aren't backing down from anyone. The Bulldogs 6-1 record includes a 35-20 win over McComb, they are No. 5 in the Division VII Region 26 rankings, and this week they were ranked 18th in the state in Division VII. Only a 44-43 loss to Arlington stands between Ada and a 5-0 BVC record …. Ada went 8-1 in 2020, the year of COVID. Until this season, that was the schools only winning record in eight years. Fourth-year head coach Toby Smith returned nine players on both sides of the ball for this season, including senior quarterback Levi Green. Green has produced 1,756 all-purpose yards (980 rushing, 776 passing) and is the trigger man in an offense that averages a BVC-best 368.3 yards and 35.6 points a game. Kaine Fisher is another dual threat with 697 yards and 12 TDs rushing, and 179 yards and three touchdowns receiving. Fisher also leads the league in kickoff returns (39.3 ypr) …. Ada will challenge a Van Buren defense that has allowed the fewest yards (183.6 ypg) and second fewest points (13.4 ppg) in the BVC. Senior linebacker Lucas Harrington leads that defense with 67 total tackles and a league-leading 23 tackles for loss. Brady Lance (14 TFL) has 46 tackles and Mason Thorla-Lopez has 43. Junior defensive back Will Rampe shares the BVC lead with four interceptions. Carey (3-4, 3-1 N10) at Colonel Crawford (6-1, 3-1 N10)Carey has only three wins but all three have come in Northern 10 Conference play and the Blue Devils – along with Colonel Crawford and Seneca East – are one of three teams sitting just one game back of Mohawk (4-0 N10) in the N10 standings. Mohawk plays Upper Sandusky on Friday, Carey next week and Seneca East in Week 10 …. Usually one of the top offensive teams in the N10, Colonel Crawford is again among the league leaders in total yards (1st, 425.6 ypg) and scoring (2nd, 40.6 ppg). Eagles' running back Connor McMichael leads the league in yards (937), yards-per-carry (11.6) and rushing touchdowns (14) .... Carey's Eli Steen is right behind McMichael in rushing yards (897) and TDs (12). Brandon Tanner and Kyler Boes have added around 450 yards and six TDs to the Blue Devils ground game …. Defensively, Carey is third among N10 schools in yards (248.6 ypg) and points (17.7) allowed. The Blue Devils' secondary has also picked off a league-beat eight interceptions.