It is often said that the biggest improvements for high school football teams are made going from Week 1 to Week 2.
With one live game under their belts, many teams in northwest Ohio made big strides on Friday night.
Here is a look at some of what we learned from Week 2.
TRAC vs. NLL: There will be a partial merger between the Northern Lakes League and the Three Rivers Athletic Conference next season with Clay, Fremont Ross, Findlay, and Whitmer joining the NLL for the 2023-24 school year.
On Friday, the NLL went 2-1 in head-to-head matchups with teams from the TRAC. Anthony Wayne defeated St. John's Jesuit 10-7 and Perrysburg beat Findlay 49-21. However, Clay shut out Northview 41-0.
The Clay Eagles (2-0) posted the most eye-opening win of the night. Quarterback Mason Heintschel completed 15 of 18 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown against Northview. Wide receiver Christian Mays caught five passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles have outscored two NLL foes, Maumee (40-13) and Northview, 81-13.
At St. John's, the Titans had a chance to duplicate their heroics from last season when they rallied for a dramatic 22-20 last-second win at AW. The Titans got the ball back down three points at their own 21 with 1:41 left in the game. Senior QB Blake Lichtenberg completed five passes and drove St. John's to the Generals' 42. It appeared the Titans had kept the drive alive on a fourth-down play but receiver Justyn Toler made the catch out of bounds. That duo had connected on the winning TD pass vs AW last August.
“Our message was to never surrender,” AW coach Andy Brungard said. “It didn't look pretty or perfect but nobody on this team backed down.”
The Generals, which started the 2021 season 0-2, are off to a 2-0 start.
“We're definitely building off of this. It's just the start,” said senior running back Joe Caswell, who rushed for 117 yards and the game-winning TD.
AW next hosts another TRAC foe, Whitmer (1-1), on Friday night. The Panthers trailed Dublin Jerome 21-16 in the third quarter and rallied to take a 23-21 lead before falling 36-30 at home. Whitmer sophomore quarterback Brady Ford completed 13 of 21 passes for 291 yards.
St. John's (0-2) plays at Perrysburg on Friday.
“It's early in the season,” St. John's coach Larry McDaniel said. “There will be some good things we see on tape. It doesn't get any easier. We just have to go right back to work.”
Clay, Fremont Ross, and Lima Senior are the only undefeated teams in the TRAC.
Fremont Ross (2-0) has outscored its foes 98-14 behind the stellar play of QB Kaden Holmes, who threw for 168 yards and four TDs in a 54-0 win vs Start on Friday.
Lima Senior, which will join the City League next fall, has wins over two CL foes: Bowsher (36-6) and Rogers (42-0).
AW and Southview are the only undefeated teams in the NLL.
The Cougars have rolled over two city League teams, Rogers (70-7) and Waite (72-0), under first-year coach Steve Hardy. Anthony Wayne opened the season with a 9-6 win vs Findlay.
Statement win for Perrysburg: A week after falling by three points on the road at Dublin Jerome, the Yellow Jackets evened their record up in impressive fashion.
Perrysburg (1-1) knocked off Findlay 49-21 on the road behind a sensational performance by All-Ohio running back Connor Walendzak. The University of Toledo commit scored a career-high five touchdowns and accounted for 303 total yards. The 5-foot-11 and 205-pound back rushed for 218 yards on 28 carries (7.9 per tote) and three TDs. He also caught three passes for 85 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s as good as any [running back] I’ve seen,” Findlay coach Stefan Adams said. “Strong guy. He’s shifty and he runs extremely hard.”
The Perrysburg defense also was stellar, limiting Findlay's highly recruited sophomore QB Ryan Montgomery to 104 yards with two interceptions. The Jackets forced seven punts and limited Findlay to just 10 first downs.
Eastwood rolls again on the ground: The Eagles' trademark Wing-T offense ran roughshod in a 28-0 blanking of Wood County rival Bowling Green.
Eastwood ran the ball 50 times for 328 yards and three TDs. QB Case Boos led the ground attack with 105 yards along with Bryce Hesselbart (77 yards), Bryce DeFalco (75), and Isaac Reynolds (59). The misdirection attack is led by an experienced Eagles OL.
Boos rushed for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 17-0 win at Ottawa-Glandorf.
The Eagles (2-0) have outscored their first two opponents 45-0.
Elmwood rolls behind RB Oliver: The Royals (2-0), who are the preseason favorite to win the Northern Buckeye Conference and expected to battle Eastwood for the title, have outscored their first two foes 81-19. In a 45-3 win over Van Buren in Week 1, senior RB Mason Oliver rushed for 155 yards. Then in a 36-16 win over Edison on Friday, Oliver ran for 244 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries.
Rossford offense rolling: The Bulldogs' offense figured to be explosive behind dual-threat senior quarterback Alex Williams and it has. Rossford (1-1) has scored 84 points in two games (42.5 per game). On Friday, Rossford fell behind Port Clinton 30-7 after the first quarter and then outscored the Indians 44-28 but lost 58-51 in a shootout.
Williams completed 23 of 33 passes for 379 yards with six touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Brenden Revels, who did not play football last fall, caught 11 passes for 250 yards and five touchdowns. In a 28-0 shutout over Swanton in Week 1, Williams completed 19 of 27 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns. Williams has thrown for 596 yards and eight TDs thus far.
Top NWOAL teams perfect so far: In the Northwest Ohio Athletic League, four teams are off to 2-0 starts: Archbold, Evergreen, Liberty Center, and Patrick Henry.
LC, which is the slight favorite to win the NWOAL, has wins over Tinora (31-0) and Napoleon (35-21).
Defending champion Archbold has defeated Genoa (35-14) and St. Henry (34-10).
PH, which was picked to finish third, has wins over Hicksville (56-8) and Wayne Trace (12-0).
Evergreen, which was picked to finish seventh in the league, has outscored its first foes North Baltimore (48-0) and Montpelier (41-7) 89-7.
First Published August 28, 2022, 9:52 p.m.
