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A pair of Monroe County teams will host OHSAA high school Division VI, Region 23 football quarterfinal playoff games Friday night.
Top-seeded River (10-0) welcomes No. 8 Fredericktown (9-2) to Martin Flannery Field in Hannibal, while No. 4 Monroe Central (7-3) entertains No. 5 Newcomerstown (9-2) to Monroe Park in Woodsfield.
Fredericktown at River
HANNIBAL - The Freddies defeated No. 9 Newark Catholic 20-16 last week while the Pilots enjoyed a week off.
River comes into the contest averaging 35.9 points a contest while giving up 14.6. The Pilots have scored at least 40 points in six games.
Senior Wyatt Stalder (6-0, 165) leads the Pilots' wishbone attack with 131 carries for 1356 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also has 10 catches for 212 yards and 4 touchdowns. Classmate Peyton Weese (6-2, 185) has carried the ball 46 times for 479 yards and seven touchdowns, while fellow senior Trey Larrick (5-11, 200) has gained 440 yards on 80 carries and scored seven touchdowns.
Sophomore quarterback Cam Abbott (5-10, 150) has completed 77 of 110 passes for 1393 yards and 16 touchdowns to just three interceptions. His completion percentage is 70 percent. He has also rushed 31 times for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
His top target is senior Evan Longwell (5-11, 150) who leads the team in receiving with 32 catches for 500 yards and five TDs. Classmate Ayson McBride (6-2, 210) has 12 receptions for 288 yards and a trio of touchdowns.
Defensively, Larrick and Weese lead the Pilots in tackles from their linebacker spots. Longwell has five interceptions.
Newcomerstown at Monroe Central
WOODSFIELD - The Seminoles are led by senior Cooper Howell (6-1, 185) who has completed 79 of 131 (60.3) for 1,045 Yards and 11 touchdowns. He has thrown eight INTs. Howell has also logged 150 carries for 972 yards and scored 14 rushing TDs. He has racked up 90 total points.
Sophomore Jett Kaiser (5-9, 190) has 97 carries for 564 yards and half-a-dozen TDs. He has also caught 23 passes for 287 yards and a pair of TDs.
Senior Max Demchak is the leading receiver with 33 receptions for 537 yards and seven TDs.
Senior linebacker Owen Howard (5-10, 205) is the leading tackler with 96 total tackles, nine for lost yardage, two quarterback sacks and a fumble recovery.
- In West Virginia regular-season action, Wheeling Central (5-4) treks to Yellow Jacket Field to meet Williamstown (9-0) in a game with playoff implications; Cameron (5-4) heads to Pendleton County (7-2) in a Class A clash that also has playoff implications; and No. 16 Brooke (4-5) needs a win against visiting Weir (0-9) and some help in order to remain in the Class AAA top 16.
The Maroon Knights are No. 6 in the latest WVSSAC ratings, while the Yellow Jackets check in at No. 2 in Class AA. The Dragons are No. 10 in Class A, five spots behind the Wildcats.
- In other Mountain State games, Richwood (2-7) visits Pine Grove to face Valley (2-6); Oak Glen (4-5) welcomes Hampshire County (4-5); Clay-Battelle (6-3) visits Magnolia (3-6); Madonna (1-8) hits the road to Tucker County (3-6) and Linsly (3-6) journeys to Wyoming Seminary (3-5).