No. 4 West Holmes Knights (9-2, 6-1) vs. No. 5 Galion Tigers (8-3, 4-3)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday at West Holmes Stadium, 10909 State Road 39, Millersburg, OH
Enrollments: West Holmes (571), Galion (411)
Coaches: West Holmes- Zach Gardner, Galion- Matt Dick
Streaks: West Holmes- 7 wins, Galion- 3 wins
At Stake: West Holmes looks to make it eight in a row and advance in the Division IV, Region 14 football tournament.
What to Watch: QB Morgan Smith and the Knight offense has been absolutely on fire of late, coming off a 70-50 win over Bryan in the first round of the playoffs.
Smith tied the school record with seven touchdown passes and also ran for two more. On the day he was 26-for-35 for 404 yards, and had 17 carries for 59 yards. Smith has 41 passing touchdowns and 15 rushing scores this year.
His number one target has been Kyle Maltarich, who caught four touchdown passes last week. Maltarich has the ability to take off for a big play due to his speed and elusiveness, as he showed several times last game. Nate Fair caught two touchdown passes last week and has made outstanding catches week in and week out. Sophomore Lynn Cline is a player to watch, as he is coming off a game with a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a receiving touchdown where he used his legs to get to the end zone off a short pass.
The Knights are 6-0 at home and have not lost at West Holmes Stadium since 2019. This year they have outscored opponents 461-283.
Last week Galion beat No. 12 Firelands 36-6 in the opening round of the playoffs and are coming off two straight blowout wins. Look for Gabe Ivy and the running game to build off of what was a solid week in the lopsided win. Braxton Prosser is under center and looks to be a factor this game, as well. The Tigers have outscored opponents 334-240 this year.
