Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets (2-7, 1-5) at West Holmes (7-2, 5-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday at West Holmes Stadium, 10909 State Route 39, Millersburg, OH
Enrollments: Mount Vernon (1,074), West Holmes (571)
Coaches: Mount Vernon- Jay Campbell, West Holmes- Zach Gardner
Last Meeting: West Holmes 49, Mount Vernon 14 (10/21/22)
Streaks: Mount Vernon- 2 loss, West Holmes- 5 wins
At Stake: Mount Vernon has been shut out for two straight weeks and face a West Holmes squad that is red hot and coming off a dramatic last second victory. The Yellow Jackets look to finish the season strong with a win.
What to Watch: The Yellow Jackets have not been able to get their offense working in recent weeks, losing to Madison Comprehensive on Oct. 6, 38-0, and then being blown out again in a 31-0 shutout to Mansfield Senior last week. These were both conference losses after they had a 35-28 win over conference rival Wooster three weeks ago.
Jonny Askew has had a good career at Mount Vernon, but the running back has not been able to produce in recent weeks. He had nine carries for 28 yards last week. Look for Askew to get touches coming out of the backfield and hope to turn things around for Mount Vernon. Mason Richards also needs to get going in the ground attack.
Jake Taylor is also a player to watch, as he was 9-for-12 for 59 yards with a pick last week. He needs to find receivers for big plays this week for them to beat a tough West Holmes squad.
West Holmes has a high powered offense led by Morgan Smith, who can go off at any time on the ground or in the air. Last week he had 207 yards in the air and 153 yards on the ground, and marched his team down the field for a comeback victory in an unusually low scoring battle with New Philadelphia. He hit receiver Nate Fair for a last second touchdown to win the game 9-8. Fair was a second-team All-OCC selection last season.
Kyle Maltarich, who won OCC Offensive Player of the Year in 2022, was the team’s top receiver last week with 10 catches for 127 yards in the win. Look for him to be once again a top player on the gridiron this week.
West Holmes has a 329-233 point advantage and are second in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.
