Week 3…League Play, And Time To See How Much You’ve Got….!

A coach once shared that the non-conference games as much as tell you who can play, and the conference games tell you how they’re going to play with something on the line.  If that’s true, that time is at hand in Week 3.

Former Piqua coach Chuck Asher once told me, “I don’t get a lot out of pre-season scrimmages, except injuries I don’t need.  The first two non-conference games are the ones that tell you who can play.  And when you start playing Troy and Sidney you find out how they’re going to play.”

Well, Chuck, those games are here now in Week 3 of the 2026 schedule as conference play starts in area football.  Some will ease into it, while others, trying to kick start their seasosn, amount to jumping from the frying pan into the fire – none more than in the MAC Conference.

As always, the Friday ‘Picks’ are sponsored by the Orthopedic Associates of Southwest Ohio, with offices in Centerville, Dayton, Fairborn, Troy, Sidney, Hamilton, Greenville, Springfield, and Eaton – nine of them – to best serve you if and when you need orthopedic care.  Their reputation for care and compassion is second to none, and the convenience of an office near you makes your journey to an optimum result that much more pleasant.  Call them when you need them…the Orthopedic Associates of Southwest Ohio, sponsors of the Friday Night ‘Picks’ on Press Pros.

Week 2 was a ringing success, hitting on 11 of 12 picks, and missing only the Anna-Loramie game by a single point as the game clock expired in the fourth quarter.  And once again, what Chuck Asher believed in was never more evident.  “You really don’t know what you’ve got until you play at least a couple of regular season games,”  he would say.  “But when you started playing the conference games, that’s when you find out HOW MUCH you’ve got.”

Let’s get started with these….

Minster @ New Bremen…Both are 2-0, but Minster, it’s safe to say has been the more challenged with what’s now a more impressive win over Fort Loramie in Week 1.  Loramie knocked off Anna last week, 13-12.  And it’s also safe to say that Minster is playing to prove that they may have been subject to out of sight, out of mind by those touting other MAC teams as pre-season favorites.  New Bremen is coming off a thrashing of Covington last week, but again, both Cardinal wins (Wayne Trace and Covington) were against teams seeking to find their way.  Expect a physical challenge when you play Minster, and another exciting finish.  The best challenge for both teams so far, and I’m picking Minster to win, by a score.

Valley View @ Bellbrook…Valley View coach Matt King said it two weeks ago following his team’s loss to Coldwater.  We have some tough games coming up and some things to prove, and this was the game he was specific about.  Bellbrook has beaten a Tipp team that was missing some parts, and a Bellefontaine team last week that needs a couple of years to build.  Valley View thumped Franklin, who’s missing a lot of parts, and has this game to prepare for their annual run through the SWBL.  For whatever reason, the team I saw lose to Coldwater is not the Valley View team I expect come season’s end, and I don’t expect Bellbrook push around the Spartans on the line of scrimmage as they did Tipp and Bellefontaine.  Last week was the real Valley View, and this week they just play a better team.  If they bring the full package of size and skill,  I like Valley View, by a couple of scores.

Tipp @ Fairborn…So which Fairborn (2-0), and which Tipp (1-1), someone asked this week?  Well, Fairborn is 2-0 against Tecumseh and Sidney, and Tipp is 1-1 against Bellbrook and Piqua.  That should answer your question.  Presumably, Tipp is getting closer to full strength and Larking Thomas is a difference-maker in any game he’s playing quarterback.  No more pre-season hype, you’ll see the real Tipp for a second week in a row.  Red Devils win by four scores.

West Carrollton @ Troy…This is more about Troy than it is about West Carrollton, who’s lost badly to Oakwood and Greenville.  Some questioned our picking Troy to win so soon on the road against Xenia last week, but Xenia was simply no Pickerington North, who they remembered from Week 1.  If they’re healthy this Troy team will be competitive in every remaining game they play in 2026.  But you can’t say that about West Carrollton.  Take the Trojans and Colton Akins to go 2-0 in league play, at home, by three scores.

Piqua @ Greenville…Being a Piqua grad, there’s a soft spot in my heart for the Indians to get a win, and then get to .500 by season’s end.  And this is one they have to get to do it.  The league (MVL Miami) is susceptible and the Indians have no choice but to win the winable games.  Greenville last lost to Eaton and won against West Carrollton, and this game will be more like playing Eaton than the Pirates.  Big week for the Indians ’cause they need a win, and they haven’t lost many against the Green Wave.  I think they get it, by two scores on the road.

LCC @ Urbana…Want a good football game?  And one, as Jeremy says, that a blind man can’t pick?  LCC has been impressive at 2-0, but against a suspect Lima Shawnee team, and an overmatched team at Delphos St. John.  Neither will be the case when the Thunderbirds go to Urbana on Friday night.  The ‘Climbers are for real, it’s just a matter of how real because of their lack of depth.  But the eleven they put out there are capable against anyone on their schedule until they get to Jon Alder and London.  If you like some fireworks you might get some here because LCC never backs down from anyone, and neither will Urbana.  The consensus is that LCC has too much, and this is their first real test.  I won’t argue…yet.  Take them by a score.

Graham @ Covington…If you haven’t thought of the Graham Falcons in a while it’s time that you do.  They are the legitimate sleeper team in the CBC, a notch beneath Jon Alder and London, no doubt, but so much more than the Falcon teams you remember from a decade ago.  Credit to coach Rich Clark.  And the reason we’re picking their game with Covington this week is to set up a telling matchup for the Falcons next week at Urbana.  Be aware.  People were expecting Covington to show a bit more in their first two weeks after last year’s .500 rebound, and they got some of it in an opening win against Arcanum.  But last week they had no shot against New Bremen, a team too far.  And this week Graham, even at Covington, will be a handful for coach Austin Morgan, who is, we repeat, a great football coach and a former disciple of Geron Stokes when they coached together at Minster.  These are two teams on the rise, just at different rates.  Graham by three scores, over Covington.

Vandalia Butler @ Xenia…Clearly, this is a Butler team that playing for people’s attention, and playing pretty well against teams like Stebbins and Franklin.  And clearly, this is not the Xenia team that featured Deaunte White for all those yards and touchdowns the last three years.  What’s going on?  Well, clearly Butler quarterback Drew Seuss is playing well, averaging 150 yards and two touchdowns a game through the air.  And when you can do that in high school it opens up room for the running game.  Troy found success against Xenia last week without that kind of passing game, and nothing makes me believe that Butler will not do more than Troy did…with a passing game.  I think Butler wins this by two scores.

Jonathan Alder @ Bloom-Carroll…I think that Jonathan Alder is a pretty good football team, and I don’t know much about Bloom-Carroll outside of being 1-1 against teams with Valley in their names.  They’ve beaten River Valley, and lost to Teays Valley.  Jonathan Alder simply showed too much against Columbus Academy last week for me to doubt them.  Pioneers by two scores on the road.

Anna @ Parkway…Much has been written and said about how good the Anna Rockets should be in 2026, Press Pros included.  And I still believe that they’ll be a big contender by season’s end.  I really believe that quarterback Logan Ziegenbusch is a special talent.  But any football team can have a bad game, as witnessed by what Anna presented last Friday against Shelby County rival Fort Loramie.  They were dominated on the line scrimmage, they didn’t tackle well, and physically Loramie was the better team come winning time.  That will all change this week, and by a matter of degrees.  How much will they rebound?  Because they will.  A lot of people from outside the area wrote to question.  Some said that it’s obvious that Marion Local and Coldwater are still the teams to beat in the MAC.  And one who watched from the end zone questioned if the height of the grass on Anna’s field had something to do with why they looked so slow.  “For [Logan] Ziegenbusch’s sake,”  he said, “Cut the grass shorter.”  Or, just play better football.  And they’ll do that on Friday, I have no doubt.  Anna will be Anna again at Parkway, by three scores!

Coldwater @ Fort Recovery…Simply put, Fort Recovery is probably the sleeper team in the MAC in 2026, and a 1-1 lost to a better-than-expected Allen East last week.  There’s respect here for what Wes Wenning has done in a short amount of time, but for those who claimed we were guessing at Coldwater beating Valley View and Clinton-Massie on back-to-back weeks…who’s guessing now?  Recovery will be heard from over the next seven weeks, but this week it’s Coldwater taking another step in what I anticipate as an impressive season.  Coldwater to win, by two scores.

Versailles @ St. Henry…And a game that no one could have imagined in April, eh?  St. Henry is 0-2, fighting the injury bug, along with being young…and Versailles is proving that the ‘Tigerball’ that they coveted from the Al Hetrick days is just as effective now as it was then.  To the surprise of many coach Scott Broerman (aka ‘Scooter’) has the Tigers believing that they can play winning football in 2026, like they did in 2003, Al’s last state title team at Versailles – Kyle Gehle and Ryan McNeilan.  All it takes, he’s said all along, is hard work, belief, and discipline.  The Tigers’ win over Cincinnati Hills Christian last week pretty much proved that as they outlasted the Eagles and wore them down in the second half.  This week’s game has long been a marquee game in the MAC, and Redskins’ coach Josh Werling needs to find a way to score against what’s been a very tough Versailles bunch, that hits.  St. Henry’s loss against Archbold last week simply exposed some of their issues, and some that may not be addressable in a matter of seven days.  Based on what we’ve seen, for the ‘guessaholics’ our there…Versailles is the favorite again this week, by two scores.