BVC rivalry renewed as Arlington takes on unbeaten L-B

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… Arlington (4-1, 2-1 BVC) at Liberty-Benton (5-0, 3-0 BVC)The 2025 Liberty-Benton express continues to roll, rattling of five straight wins by an average winning margin of 47.0-2.4. The Eagles do not lead the BVC in total offense. Leipsic owns that stat at 384.2 yards per game. L-B is sixth in the league at 303.0. The Eagles, though, have more weapons than Fort Bragg. Zach Elchert (221 yards, 7 TDs), Austin Collert (101 yards, 4 TDs) and quarterback Connor Barbara (164 yards, 4 TDs), provide plenty of depth and talent in the backfield. Barbara also leads the league in passing accuracy (73.4 percent), passing efficiency (235.7) and QB rating (147.7) and in Seth Elchert, a University of Toledo recruit averaging 21.4 yards per catch, he has the BVC's top receiver (26 receptions, 557 yards, 9 TDs). Arlington has a number of weapons as well, especially running back Ayden Cavinee (447 yards rushing, 320 receiving, 9 TDs), and senior quarterback Trenton Heathcock (672 yards, 10 TDs passing, 201 yards 4 TDs rushing). The two teams ranks 1-2 in the league in defense, with L-B allowing averages of 89 yards and 2.4 points and Arlington 190.2 yards and 9.6 points. Collert (30 tackles, 9 tackles for loss), CJ Barbara (28, 13 tfl) and Will Granger (27, 9 tfl) led L-B in tackles; Dawson Weihrauch leads Arlington with 33 total tackles. Liberty-Benton has dominated the series over the past 20 years, but Arlington stunned the Eagles 16-13 in a 2022 thriller.Allen East (1-4, 0-2 NWC) at Columbus Grove (2-3, 2-0 NWC)After three straight trips to the Division VI state semifinals, Columbus Grove's 0-3 start to the 2025 season obviously raised some eyebrows. Those losses came against some pretty stout opposition, though in Pandora-Gilboa (3-2) and 5-0 powers Liberty-Benton and Patrick Henry. Once Northwest Conference play began, the Bulldogs have looked like the Bulldogs of old with dominating wins over Spencerville (48-0) and Delphos Jefferson (49-0). Usually a ground-and-pound team, Grove is doing it more through the air this season behind senior quarterback Landon Best (49-of-85, 783 yards, 9 TDs) and receivers Gavin Barraza (23 receptions, 266 yards, 3 TDs), Trevon Baxter (14, 248 1 TD) and Gavin Baxter (7, 181, 3 TDs). Brody McCluer (320 yards, 5 TDs) leads the running attack. Grove's defense will be tasked with containing one of the top running backs in the league in Miles McDorman. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior averages 9.7 yards per carry and has rushed for 788 yards and 11 touchdowns in five games. St. Marys Memorial (2-3, 2-2 WBL) at Ottawa-Glandorf (0-4, 0-5 WBL)Neither team is challenging Wapakoneta for top-spot bragging rights in the Western Buckeye League. But the Titans and Roughriders have over the years developed a healthy rivalry reflected in down-to-the-wire battles likes St. Marys' 21-16 victory a year ago or O-G's 27-20 double overtime win in 2020. First and foremost a strong running team, St. Marys leads all WBL offenses in yards per carry (6.3) and rushing yards per game (268). Spearheading that attack is Caleb Schmidt, a 5-9, 185-pound senior who leads the WBL in rushing yards (618) and TDs (13). Schmidt generated a bunch of those stats in a 42-14 win over Celina where he churned out 293 yards and scored a single-game school record six touchdowns. Headlining O-G's defense will be senior linebacker Will Kuhlman, who entered last week's game with 41 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack. On the other side of the ball, 6-4 junior Deegan Miller was tenth in the WBL in receiving (216 yards, 1 TD) and all-purpose yards (436).