BELLBROOK — Tavien St. Clair is the name Bellbrook players will remember playing against long into the future.
The Bellefontaine quarterback is 6-foot, 4-inches, and 228 pounds. He is the No. 1 or 2 rated quarterback in the country for the Class of 2025, according to 247sports.com, Rivals, and several other recruiting websites, and is a verbal commit to Ohio State.
And Bellbrook will travel north to face one of the nation’s top recruits in a non-league matchup Friday.
It’s easy to pick out who the Golden Eagles will need to stop, but the struggle will be to actually try and get the job done.
St. Clair has a new receiving target in Braylon Newcomb who transferred from Centerville and set the school receiving yards record in a blowout win against Sidney in week one. Even if he is shut down, St. Clair ran for nearly 10 yards per carry in that win to create a dynamic offensive attack.
Bellbrook struggled to move the ball against Tippecanoe last week, which was an unusual occurrence. It would be surprising if it encountered similar issues again, and the Chieftains defense could be a nice pick me up as it allowed more than 200 yards in both the rushing and passing game to Sidney despite Sidney missing one of its best players during the second half.
This one has the potential to be high scoring, but may be better suited for Bellbrook if it can hold Bellefontaine under 25 points.
The start time has been delayed by one hour due to high expected temperatures. It will now kickoff at 8 p.m.
Ponitz CTC (0-1) at Beavercreek (0-1)
Beavercreek has never lost against Ponitz CTC in four previous meetings.
In its first game, Ponitz had issues with handling the snap on multiple occasions and needed to work on its substitution numbers. It’s tough to get a read on how the group plays until it works those kinks out.
Both sides run an option-type offense, but Beavercreek’s size up front should give it control of the line of scrimmage.
Carroll (1-0) at Tecumseh (0-1)
Carroll looked crisp in week one but never was tested in needing to sustain drives after producing several turnovers to give its offense short field. The Patriots cashed in every time, which will make them tough to beat for anyone.
The Arrows struggled to stay on schedule against Fairborn and ended that game just 1-for-9 on third down chances. Tecumseh passed much more than expected but were only 5 of 13 for 40 yards and threw two interceptions.
Tecumseh has won three straight in this series but the edge is heavily on Carroll’s side this time.
East Clinton (0-1) at Cedarville (1-0)
Cedarville has a chance to start its season 2-0 for just the fifth time since 2000.
East Clinton couldn’t catch up late in the game during a two-touchdown loss against Huntington to open its season. Dameon Williams for East Clinton is a two-time district honoree at running back and has a pair of experienced blockers in front of him. Owen Roberts had three tackles for loss on defense.
Cedarville moved the ball well on offense in this matchup last year and could have a size advantage again in the run game. The Indians had seven stops in the backfield a week ago and will be primed to match that number against another running offense.
Fairborn (1-0) at Tippecanoe (1-0)
This game will have its start time pushed back to 8 p.m. due to the high temperatures expected in the area.
Tippecanoe continued rolling along despite needed to replace almost its entire starting group from last year’s regional semifinalist team. In the win against Bellbrook, its defense allowed fewer than 100 yards and forced three turnovers as Collin Isaac and Chris Preece were all over the field to lead their group.
Fairborn has not shut out its opponent in back-to-back games since the season ender in 1990 into the season opener of 1991 but the chance to do so will be in front of them at Tipp. Whether the Skyhawks can do it again or not, getting big plays on offense again will be a good counter to Tipp’s strong defense. Fairborn had four plays of at least 20 yards against Tecumseh last week.
West Carrollton (0-1) at Xenia (1-0)
Xenia will look to make four straight seasons winning its home opener at Doug Adams Stadium against a West Carrollton squad which struggled mightily in week one.
The Pirates only completed 2 of 17 pass attempts and were shut out against St. Charles Prep of West Virginia. WC used two quarterbacks and ran with both of them, while Kenyon Perkins got the majority of handoffs and had the team’s longest play from scrimmage on a 20-yard run.
Xenia’s trio of Ronnie Butler, Cecil Piner and Kale Webb produced half of the league’s 10-plus tackle games in week one and should have the opportunity to put together repeat performances.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Our top performer from Greene County for Week 1 of the season is Xenia senior Ronnie Butler. He made 14 total tackles, eight of which were solo, in the win at Beavercreek.
Contact Steven Wright at 937-502-4498 and follow on X (formerly Twitter) @Steven_Wright.
