See what the Wooster Daily Record's Football Power Rankings look like after Week 1.
Alright Wooster — and all the Wayne/Holmes County readers out there — I'm sure you've been waiting for this. It's Week 1 of the Wooster Daily Record's Football Power Rankings! There are 14 Wooster-area schools that play football, so we're going to produce a Top 10 every week in reverse order, which should make it pretty challenging for teams to fight their way into those rankings.
It's early, but here's what we got so far.
On the outside this week: Chippewa (0-1), Northwestern (0-1), Waynedale (0-1) and Tuslaw (0-1).
Week 1 Football Power Rankings
10. Wooster (0-1)
Wooster gets into the No. 10 spot this week, despite falling hard to Orrville in the opener. The Generals were able to sustain some offensive drives in that first half but were not able to score an offensive touchdown. In the game, they were able to score two kickoff returns for touchdowns. We'll have more to say about Wooster later in the week before Week 2, but there's potential for improvement.
This Week: at home vs. North Royalton (0-1)
8. Rittman (1-0)
9. Loudonville (1-0)
We'll go ahead and lump these two together this week. Both Rittman and Loudonville won their opener by more than 50 points. Rittman beat John F. Kennedy 63-0. Loudonville beat Mapleton 60-0. Both won at home. Why is Rittman higher? We'll give them the edge because they were a playoff team last year, plus one can make the argument that we need to see more from Loudonville, especially after going winless last season. But nice start for both.
This Week for Rittman: at Coventry (0-1)
This Week for Loudonville: at home vs. Richmond Heights (0-1)
7. Smithville (1-0)
Coming off an 8-4 season last year where they won a playoff game, Smithville found themselves in a hassle of a game versus Tuslaw. The Smithies were able to pull out a 3-0 win at home behind a defense that recorded three interceptions and runnng back Mason Haines' 132 rushing yards on 22 carries.
This Week: at Claymount (1-0)
6. West Holmes (0-1)
West Holmes-Triway on Friday was quite a good football game, with the Knights going down 23-21 at home. West Holmes trailed most of the game before rallying in the second half. There's no shame in losing to another very good football team in the first game, so if I'm a West Holmes fan, I wouldn't fret. They look like they are still breaking in their new quarterback Brayden Parson after losing All-Ohio quarterback Morgan Smith last year. Expect the Knights to grow, but they will have another test on their hands this week against Orrville.
This Week: at home vs. Orrville (1-0)
5. Triway (1-0)
Triway was able to get out to an early lead versus West Holmes and held on for a 23-21 road win. The Titans produced 340 total yards of offense and did just enough on defense to hold on. Quarterback Luke Starr (189 passing yards, three TD passes, one INT, 69 rushing yards) and wideouts Bruin Flinner and Olley Krupp (each had one TD catch) did it on offense, while guys like Grayson Smith (six tackles, two TFL, one pass deflection) and Gavin Duncan (team-high eight tackles) led the defense.
There's a lot to like about this Triway team. Friday's matchup against Norwayne will give us an idea of how good Triway is or could be.
This Week: at home vs. Norwayne (1-0)
4. Dalton (1-0)
It wasn't the most pretty of performances for Dalton in their opener, yet got the job done 20-6 at home against Bishop Ready out of Columbus. While Dalton had eight penalties in the game and didn't go off in the passing game (Carter Hignight threw for 164 yards and one INT), running back Jaxon Ryder was a key difference with 103 rushing yards and one touchdown run on 20 carries.
This Week: at Marengo Highland (0-1)
3. Orrville (1-0)
Choosing the top three was tricky but we settled on Orrville in the No. 3 spot after their thumping of Wooster 56-23 at home. The Red Riders pounded the football on the ground with Parker Hostetler (20 carries, 145 rushing yards, two TD runs) and were able to feed wideout Breylon McDuffie (eight catches, 67 receiving yards, two TD receptions), while playing active defense on the defensive line, to go along with two pick-sixes.
Orrville had it clicking and it's going to be interesting to see just how far they can reach under first-year head coach Brent Besancon.
This Week: at West Holmes (0-1)
2. Hillsdale (1-0)
Last year's Division VII state runner-up's strolled into Sullivan and took care of business against Black River, earning a 42-14 victory. The Falcons took a 35-0 lead into halftime and they were on cruise control for pretty much the entire second half. The defense gave up just 189 yards of offense, while quarterback Kael Lewis (170 passing yards, one TD pass, two TD runs on QB sneaks near the goal line) and running back Owen Sloan (15 carries, 133 rushing yards, three TD runs) were the producers on offense.
The team in the top spot just gets by them.
This Week: at home vs. Lucas (1-0)
1. Norwayne (1-0)
So why Norwayne over Hillsdale for the No. 1 spot this week?
Norwayne's win over a Division IV St. Clairsville team that went 13-1 last year and was a regional finalist was the leg up for the Bobcats over the Falcons for the first week. After dropping a close one 28-21 on the road last year to the Red Devils, the Bobcats got them on Friday at home with a strong 47-27 win. What was working for last year's WCAL champs? I'd say the the quarterback-wide receiver play between Jacob Bruner and Ryder Ingold.
Bruner completed 13 of 22 passes, threw for 253 passing yards and four touchdown passes with zero interceptions in the game. All four of those touchdown passes were to Ingold, who caught seven balls, for 180 receiving yards and four touchdown receptions. Even though St. Clairsville won the time of possession (37:28 to Norwayne's 20:30), the Bobcats made it count more when the had the ball.
Next up will be Triway. More on that matchup later in the week.
This Week: at Triway (1-0)
Twitter/X: @JamesSimpsonII
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Wooster-area football power rankings: Orrville show out in opener
Category: General Sports
