Keegan Collins takes a carry for a nice gain during the Southern Buckeye Warriors' Sept. 9 battle against Middletown Christian.
Keegan Collins takes a carry for a nice gain during the Southern Buckeye Warriors’ Sept. 9 battle against Middletown Christian.

Rockets rise to 2-1 with win over Finneytown –

By Wade Linville –
The Fayetteville-Perry Rockets rebounded from their week two loss to Bethel-Tate to dominate for a 48-0 victory over Finneytown, while the Western Brown Broncos and the Southern Buckeye Warriors would each suffer losses in week three on the gridiron.
“The players responded well by improving on some things that were a struggle with the previous week,” Fayetteville-Perry head football coach Kevin Finch said following the Rockets’ week three win. “The offensive line created big holes all night long behind Tay Call, Garhett Thompson, Andy Smith, Ryan Shaw, and Nate Parks; while Chase Jester ran for 221 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns. Austin Brockman added 62 yards on eight carries when he wasn’t blocking for Chase Jester. Luke Wiederhold (quarterback) threw for a touchdown and ran for another touchdown and had a 140.6 passing rating. The defense pitched a shutout while not allowing a passing yard.”
The week three win moved the Rockets to 11th in Division VI, Region 24 standings.
The Rockets are scheduled to take on the 2-1 Williamsburg Wildcats while on the road in week four on the gridiron Sept. 23, and they will begin Ohio Valley Athletic League play on Sept. 23, as they play host to Hillcrest Academy.
The Rockets are out to repeat as OVAL champs after winning the league in 2015 in their first year of competing in league play.
The Southern Buckeye Warriors are taking their lumps in their first year of varsity program, the first ever high school team fielded by the Southern Buckeye Youth Football League in Brown County. But with their bumps and bruises comes improvement for the team in which more than 90-percent of their players have no high school football experience.
Coming off a 38-8 loss to the West Union Dragons to start the season, the Warriors returned to the gridiron at Koehler Field outside of Russellville on Friday, Sept. 9 to host Middletown Christian. The Warriors would trail 39-0 at halftime to end up suffering a 46-0 loss in their second varsity game ever, but on a positive note it was a valuable learning experience for the Southern Buckeye high school team.
“We took a hard beating but there were some improvements,” said Southern Buckeye varsity head coach Chris Tomlin following the Warriors’ bout against Middletown Christian. “In the second half we played much better defensively. Our goal coming out in the second half was to hold them (Middletown Christian) scoreless for the rest of the game, and we almost accomplished that goal.”
The Warriors would give up only one touchdown in the second half after giving up 39 in the first half of play.
The Warriors were plagued by penalties in their first game of the season against the West Union Dragons, but they were able to cut down significantly on the number of flags thrown in game two.
“Each week there are small improvements,” said Tomlin. “Our offensive line is starting to understand pass protection. Our tackling is getting better. Each week they have made small progressions and are getting a better understanding of high school football. We have a lot of nice talent and when they start to do their individual jobs we will find success as a team. As a coach, my main focus right now is that I want these boys to fall in love with the game of football.”
The Western Brown Broncos suffered a 35-19 loss at Ross High School in week three to mark their second loss of the season.
The Broncos dropped to an overall record of 1-2 with the week three loss after falling to Little Miami 28-26 in a road game during week two on Sept. 2.
The Broncos trailed Ross 21-7 at halftime. The Broncos were able to cut the lead to 21-13, but another touchdown by Ross would leave the Broncos trailing 28-13 at the end of the third quarter.
The Broncos were able to cap off an 85-yard offensive drive with a short touchdown run by Zach Stacy in the fourth quarter to cut the Ross lead to 28-19.
The Broncos remained within striking distance until another Ross touchdown later in the fourth quarter widened the margin just enough to rule out any chances of a Western Brown victory.
Stacy led Bronco rushers in week three, taking 19 carries for a total of 81 yards to bring his total rushing to 305 yards on the season. Stacy has recorded six touchdowns in three games.
Western Brown quarterback Seth Becker completed 15-of-24 passes against Ross for a total of 239 passing yards, bringing his total to 848 passing years on the season.
The Ross offense totaled 357 yards, while the Bronco offense totaled 345 yards.
Among the Broncos’ leading receivers this season are Wyatt Fischer (358 yards), Carson Eyre (157 yards), and Jacob Daniel (148 yards).
The Broncos were on the road again in week four Sept. 16, as they take on Jackson with hopes of upping their overall record to 2-2.