SPENCERVILLE-It’s week 10 and that means the 2025 football season will come to it’s conclusion on Friday night. It will be the battle of Route 66 as 1-8 Jefferson takes on 1-8 Spencerville.
Spencerville is coming off a heartbreaking loss last week at Crestview 33-27. The Bearcats grabbed their first lead since week 2 at 14-12 but the Knights put together a couple of key drives to pick up the victory.
“Last week, besides the outcome, was very encouraging,” said Spencerville head coach Kyle Koenig. “I think that it was our best all around performance all season. The guys battled until the very end and I was really proud of them.”
Jefferson picked up a win in week in week two against winless Parkway but have lost 7 straight. The Wildcats has grown since last season as they are up to 32 players and have been able to have a JV team this season.
“We are a very young team with only four seniors,” said Jefferson head coach Allan Pohlman. “Throughout the season, we suffered some key injuries and were forced to play a lot of freshman and sophomore. The positive in this is that many of our young players gained valuable experience and saw a lot of growth throughout the year. We believe this will carryover into next year very well for us.”
For Spencerville it was a heavy dosage of Zach Looser against the Knights last week. The senior carried the ball 33 times for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Jefferson has done a QB position battle and the Bearcats will see Colt Cross takes the snaps against Spencerville. Cross has completed 24 of 55 attempts for 288 yards with 1 touchdown and 7 INTs.
“Our numbers are growing,” commented Pohlman. “We have some classes coming up that have great numbers and we believe if we continue on the path we are on, we are heading in the right direction. Although having a lot of players on the team is important, we also value the quality of players we have on our team. It is just as important that every player is bought into the program and contributing to the team in a positive way on and off the field.”
Jaxon Buzard and Parker Shade are shared the load at the running back position. Buzard has 30 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown while Shade has 35 carries on 88 yards this season. Dean Trentman has also been featured at running back for 69 carries and 318 yards with 4 touchdowns on the season.
It is a rivalry week and both coaches talked about the Route 66 battle for both teams.
“This has been a long-standing rivalry between us, and our kids look forward to the challenge every year,” said Pohlman. “This year is no exception. Even though both teams are struggling this season, all of that doesn’t matter when it comes time for kickoff. Our kids are excited and ready for the challenge.”
“The best part of having this rivalry and it being at the end of the season is that it gives both teams something to play for at the end of the season,” commented Koenig. “I know the year may have not gone the way both teams would like but this game always means something to everyone.”
It will be final home game at Memorial field for seniors Neo Eutsler, Grady Smith, Zach Zerbe, Zach Looser, Austin McMichael, Ashdon Boyer, Reggie Jones, and Royce Kill. Koenig talked about what this group has meant to him.
“This group of seniors is really special to me,” said Koenig. “They were the part of the first group of students I had when I got hired here and they are the only class I’ve had for two years in the classroom. It’s hard to believe they are going to be gone, but I’m very proud of the young men they have become and myself and the team are very grateful for everything they have done.”
Spencerville leads the all time series 12-10 against the Wildcats and picked up their first win against those Wildcats 54-6 last season for the first time since 2021.
Both coaches talked about the keys to victory on Friday.
“It’s extremely important for us to end the season on a positive note,” concluded Pohlman. “The keys to success for us is to eliminate the self-inflicted mistakes. We need to hang onto the football and win the time of possession game. If we can play mistake, free football, we feel confident about our chances to win.”
“Keys for us will be similar for us last week,” concluded Koenig. “We have to control time of possession and finish those drives with points. We need to rally to the football on defense and swarm their back and receivers and keeping their quarterback bottled up will be key. Lastly, we need to be better on special teams and start getting some things going in our favor for field position.”
If you can’t make it tune in one final time this fall sports season on Zsports 3 as Nate Stidham and Brock Blythe will have all the action with the Miami Erie propane pregame show at 6:30pm followed by kickoff at 7pm.
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