BATAVIA, Ohio — There is plenty on the line Friday night as Batavia travels to New Richmond for an intriguing Week 8 high school football matchup.
The Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference (SBAAC) showdown is the WCPO 9 Friday Football Game of the Week. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
The teams have their sights set on a potential American division championship in a few weeks. There are also plenty of computer points at stake for Batavia (Division III) and New Richmond (Division IV).
“If we have any chance to win the conference title we need to win Friday night,” Batavia coach Wayne Stacy said. “If we want to host a home playoff game, we need to win Friday night. So I don’t think I’m going to have any trouble getting our guys motivated.”
Batavia (6-1, 2-0 SBAAC) is tied with Clinton-Massie (6-1, 2-0) atop the SBAAC American division. New Richmond (5-2, 1-1) is tied for second in the division with Goshen (2-5, 1-1).
Batavia has won six consecutive games this season after a five-point loss (26-21) to visiting Madeira Aug. 23. The Bulldogs are No. 5 in the Division III, Region 12 computer points standings.
“Just an exciting time to be here at Batavia and the future looks really bright for us,” Stacy said.
The Bulldogs are led by several players including junior quarterback Carson Harris, who is closing in on the program’s single-season passing yards record. He has thrown for 2,352 yards and 28 touchdowns. Jess Roller, a 2024 graduate, threw for 2,651 yards last season.
“The quarterback is the engine that makes it go offensively,” New Richmond coach Brian Pitzer said of Batavia's offense.
Junior Xavier Ison has rushed for 357 yards and eight touchdowns. He has 22 receptions for 226 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior wide receiver Marcus Hughbanks has 44 receptions for 913 yards and 11 touchdowns. He is less than 100 yards away from the single-season receiving yardage record in the program, according to Stacy.
“Our defense has given us great field position all year,” Stacy said. “And since they’ve done that, we haven’t had to do anything crazy on offense. We just stay within our system. We play pretty fast. And so we’re able to line up and snap the ball and not give the defense a lot of time to make adjustments.”
The Bulldogs have scored a conference-best 331 points and allowed just 103 points — the fewest in the SBAAC.
The defense is led by several players including senior defensive lineman Tristain Sparks, who has set a single-season program record with 14 ½ sacks.
“He’s really worked hard in the weight room,” Stacy said. “He’s improved his athleticism. He’s almost 6-4. He’s very fast, long arms and he is relentless. He just never stops until the whistle blows.”
Junior linebacker Vontay Calloway has eight sacks and senior defensive lineman Jamirez Grant has 7 ½ sacks.
Senior wide receiver/defensive back Max Mehlman has eight career interceptions which is one behind the school record. He is also Batavia’s career receiving yards leader, kickoff career yards leader and career punt return yards leader.
“The defense is aggressive and intense,” Pitzer said. “We need to match that aggressiveness in the box Friday night.”
New Richmond is No. 9 in the Division IV, Region 16 standings.
The Lions went on the road to defeat Western Brown 38-16 last week. Pitzer said New Richmond got back on track on after two straight losses.
“Our defense played really well,” Pitzer said.
It was also New Richmond’s first win over Western Brown since 2020.
The Lions are led by several players including sophomore running back Dylan Wolf, whose explosiveness has big play potential each time he touches the football. Wolf has 525 yards rushing and eight touchdowns. Junior running back Braylon Patchell has 472 yards rushing and five touchdowns.
Defensively, senior linebacker Silas Jacob has 71 tackles (53 solo). He has 284 career tackles since starting as a sophomore.
Senior defensive lineman Kade Loper, a Monroe transfer, has a team-leading 12 tackles for loss. Senior defensive back Kaden Colwell has five interceptions – just two shy of the single-season program record set by Ethan Gundler (seven interceptions in 2016).
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