No. 4 West Holmes Knights (10-2, 6-1) vs. No. 1 Perkins (11-0, 4-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday, Ohio Health Field at Harding Stadium, 1928 Sunset Blvd, Steubenville, OH
Enrollments: West Holmes (571), Perkins (577)
Coaches: West Holmes- Zach Gardner,
Streaks: West Holmes- 8 wins, Perkins- 11 wins
At Stake: West Holmes is coming off a tight, gritty win over Galion that was thanks to a bit of luck and a bit of heads up play. Both the Knights and Perkins are on a roll with huge winning streaks, but Perkins looks to remain undefeated.
What to Watch: West Holmes has been blowing out teams during their winning streak, but last week it took a miracle catch by Graham Martin to win in the final seconds.
Last week Martin was in the right place at the right time, but also used great heads-up skills to snag a catch that ricocheted of the hands of his own player.
Morgan Smith is the OCC player of the year and will be a force to be reckoned with. He had 219 yards passing and two touchdowns last week, and also carried the ball for 140 yards and a rushing score.
Lynn Cline had a larger role last week due to the injury of receiver Logan Zollars and then Kyle Maltarich, who went down in the first half of the last game and did not return to action. Cline, a sophomore receiver, has provided spark catching the ball and also on special teams throughout the postseason.
West Holmes has outscored opponents 483-302 this season.
Perkins is led by senior quarterback Logan Lesch. Over the first 10 games of the season, Lesch threw for 2,306 yards and had a 69.3% completion rate, with 29 touchdowns and four picks.
Running back Isaac Bunts has been a workhorse out of the backfield in his junior year. He had 187 carries for 1,426 yards and 24 touchdowns over his first 10 games.
Watch for junior receiver Braylon Collier to be a difference maker. Over the first 10 games he caught 53 passes for 920 yards and 14 touchdowns. Weston Sturzinger can also do some damage receiving the ball, as he had 37 catches for 764 yards and nine scores over the first nine games.
Last week was a close one for a team that has been blowing out their opponents, in a 28-21 win over Memorial. They have outscored opponents 541-140 this year.
