Keystone vs. Wellington tonight

Critical PAC Stars Division match-up takes place this evening in Wellington, Ohio as the Dukes host the Keystone Wildcats. I will be covering the high school football game for WOBL. You can tune in to 1320 AM or listen online (replay will be available online as well). I'll be working with play-by-play announcer Bob Karlovec and sideline reporter Dave Andrews.

Looking at the division standings, all but one team is still alive with three weeks remaining:

Black River (3-4, 3-1, 4 points)
Firelands (2-5, 2-2, 4 points)
Buckeye (2-5, 2-2, 3 points)
Keystone (3-4, 2-2, 3 points)
Wellington (2-5, 2-2, 3 points)
Brookside (0-7, 0-4, 0 points)

A team earns two points for each victory going forward which means every school can earn an additional six points. This means despite a current losing record, a school can win games down the stretch and still win their division championship.

Keystone

The Wildcats had their two-game winning streak snapped last week with a 14-7 defeat at home against Firelands. After falling behind 14-0, Keystone pulled to within 14-7 and had the ball late in the game before turning it over on downs.

The key to Keystone's offense is the play of junior quarterback Marcus Gunter, who is 67 of 119 for 709 yards passing and 8 touchdowns. He has missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle including the Brooklyn game. Gunter returned to practice this week and is questionable for the game tonight. If he is unable to play, sophomore Kobe Whalen will start for the third straight game. Whalen is 12 of 36 (33%) for 141 yards against Brookside and Firelands.

Whomever is at quarterback, he will have senior running back Greg Howard (507 yards rushing, 5 touchdowns) and sophomore receiver C.J. Conrad (589 yards receiving, 10 touchdowns). Junior OLB Pierce Young (37 tackles), Conrad (59 tackles, 2 INTs) and Kendle Steiner (52 tackles, INT, 2 TD on fumble returns) lead the Wildcat defense.

Wellington

The Dukes have had an uneven season thus far. They started the year 0-4 before a convincing victory against Clearview. Then, they lost at home against Firelands and are coming off a surprise 7-0 victory last week against the Black River Pirates in a bad weather game.

The biggest problem for Wellington is mistakes. The Dukes have a minus 11 turnover differential which is the worst in Lorain County. The Dukes are still looking for their first win at home in 2012.

Wellington has some good news this week. Their starting running back, junior Chase Bealer, will return to action for the first time since suffering a stress fracture in his right leg in week 2. Junior Quin Dendinger and senior captain Alex Rush have shared the running load in Bealer's absense. The most dangerous player in the Wellington offensive backfield is senior captain quarterback Dylan Weidrick. In the ankle-deep mud last week, Weidrick scored the only touchdown against Black River on a 56-yard run midway through the 3rd quarter.

The Dukes have owned Keystone in recent years winning eight of the last ten meetings including a 55-6 victory a year ago. The Wildcats last victory in the series was at Dukes Stadium in 2010.

Here are the 2012 schedule for the two schools. Both teams have a showdown against Buckeye remaining.

Wellington Dukes Lost 47-7 vs. Norwayne Lost 33-0 @ Avon Lost 35-20 @ Edison Lost 20-6 vs. Columbia Won 43-13 @ Clearview Lost 32-29 vs. Firelands Won 7-0 @ Black River vs. Keystone @ Brookside vs. Buckeye

Keystone Wildcats
Won 19-13 vs. Monroeville
Lost 47-13 @ Norwalk
Lost 46-28 @ Galion
Lost 42-21 vs. Clearview
Won 34-13 @ Brooklyn
Won 34-8 vs. Brookside
Lost 14-7 vs. Firelands
@ Wellington
@ Buckeye
vs. Black River