Crescent-News.com - BIG GAME: Archbold (7-0, 5-0 NWOAL) vs. Patrick Henry (7-0, 5-0 NWOAL)

By JASON STEIN

cnsports@crescent-news.com

Friday night football doesn't get any better this late in the season than two teams like Archbold and Patrick Henry going helmet to helmet with both teams completely in control of their own destiny.

When these two Northwest Ohio Athletic League teams collide in Hamler, there will be a lot at stake.

Both teams enter with perfect 7-0 records. Both are state ranked. Both are the only remaining undefeated teams in the conference. And as of now, both would be hosting a first-round playoff game in the ultra-tough Division V, Region 18.

"It's nice to be at 7-0 and you're in control and you dictate what happens and PH is in the same boat," remarked Archbold's head coach John Downey. "You wouldn't want to have it any other way, this is why you play the game on Friday night. Bottom line is, this is a huge game for the league, this is a huge game for the playoffs."

A Patrick Henry victory would mean a seventh-straight league crown for the Patriots with just one league game remaining on the schedule, a week 10 meeting with Wauseon, as every other team would have at least one loss.

"One of our goals all year has been to get a 7-peat, and we can definitely accomplish that Friday night if we do it," noted PH mentor Bill Inselmann. "That is definitely one of our goals."

Archbold can't clinch the title with a win because they still have two league games (Liberty Center and Wauseon) left to play but it would certainly give the Streaks a leg up at ending their title drought.

"It's nice to be 7-0 but that all goes down the drain if we don't take care of business the last three weeks and it starts with Patrick Henry," said Downey. "No matter what happens, this isn't the end of the season, we have two tough games that will go a long way in determining our success but as far as the league race is concerned, this is basically for the league title, especially for PH."

For the Blue Streaks to be successful, their defense, which allows an average of 17.7 points per game, is going to have to contain a PH offense that has averaged a league-high 44.4 points.

Jared Leininger leads the Streaks with 68 tackles and six sacks, followed closely behind by David Dominique's 57 tackles and those two will be big components in slowing up the Patriots' leading rusher, Justin Buenger (853 yards on 66 carries, 12 for touchdowns).

"We have to slow down their running game," said Downey. "And they attack all areas of the field both with their running and their passing game and they spread the ball around. You just have to play 48 minutes of good hard-nosed solid football."

In addition to Buenger's ground attack, PH quarterback Luke George (66-for-82, 982 yards, 11 TDs, 0 interceptions) will look to find and find receivers like Mitch Leonard (24 catches, 398 yards). But the strength of the PH arsenal lies in its offensive and defensive lines and the Streaks are going to have to neutralize PH's lines with their speed on both sides of the ball.

"No doubt, they have got the most speed in the league and it's very hard to simulate that speed in practice," Inselmann said of his opponent. "We have got to really work on our form tackling. We have to have kids get to the ball. We're going to assume there's always going to be a chance they're going to break tackles. We have to tackle well, work hard on the fundamentals and get to the football.

"We think we're playing good football but we also think we haven't played a team as good as Archbold with this much speed. We're cautiously approaching the game, we know we're playing good but we also know that we haven't played a team this good."

Defensive tackle Cody Pettit leads the stingy PH defense (10.9 points allowed per game) with 50 tackles and the senior and a host of other Patriot defenders will have to slow up, among others, Jacob Fidler (1,069 rushing yards, 215 receiving yards, 18 touchdowns), quarterback David Rupp (657 rushing yards, 795 passing yards, 14 touchdowns scored) and leading receiver Breon Price (16 receptions, 167 yards).

"I definitely think that any time in football that you have your whole season to play for this late in the season, that's a big, big bonus," remarked Inselmann. "People forget that in all the other sports, you're guaranteed to get in the playoffs."