Tough stretch ahead for FR

The goal is week 11.
Weeks seven through 10 will determine if the Indians get there.
So far, the season has been a dream for the Fort Recovery High School football team, which climbed to No. 6 in the Division VII Associated Press poll this week.
The Tribe (5-1, 3-1 Midwest Athletic Conference) has already guaranteed just its third campaign of .500 or better in school history, and the second since it started playing in the MAC. Its three-game league winning streak is the longest in the 23-year history of the program. And prior to this season, it had never started 4-1, let alone 5-1.
The offense has been exciting as it is averaging 33 points per game, more than five better than the school record of 27.7.
Running back Cole Hull is on pace to break the FRHS record of 14 rushing touchdowns that Mason Evers set in 2012. And, with 782 yards already, he is likely join 1998 graduate Greg Bretz and Evers on the Indians’ short list of 1,000-yard rushers.
The Schoen twins — Alex (59 tackles) and Evan (52) — have powered a stout defense that has given up just 12.5 points per game (the school record is 16.4). The Indians have held three consecutive MAC opponents to a single touchdown, and shut out Jay County in the first meeting between the state-line rivals.
It’s been a lot of fun for the Tribe players, coaches, fans and me, for that matter. (The Indians are 5-0 when I’ve been in attendance this year. Not that I’m responsible for any of the success; just thought it was worth mentioning.)
But it’s these next four games that will define the season. History tells us that.
Fort Recovery has been 3-3 or better through six games in seven of the last eight seasons, with 2010 as the lone exception.
That included a 4-2 start in 2007 on the way to a 5-5 campaign in which it finished 16th in Division VI Region 24 computer points and missed the playoffs. (The top eight teams in each region advance to the postseason.)
The Indians won a game after week six just twice — 35-21 over New Bremen in 2007 and 25-0 over St. Henry in 2011 — during that span.
Traditionally, the most difficult part of the FRHS schedule has been these final four games, during which it has posted a 7-69 record since 1995. That remains true this season, even though it gets to avoid playing Division V No. 1 Coldwater (6-0).
The Tribe’s first four MAC opponents have a combined record of 6-18. The final four — Minster, Division VII No. 1 Marion Local, St. Henry and Versailles — are a combined 17-7 and are all .500 or better.
According to the CalPreps.com computer simulator, the Indians will be double-digit underdogs in their next two games and then slight favorites in the final two. The message — there are no more easy wins on the schedule. Everything from this point on will be a dogfight.
But this is not news to the Indians.
“What we’re focused on is somehow clawing our way into a postseason game,” coach Brent Niekamp said prior to the season. “That’s what these kids have been working for and that’s what we really want.”
They knew getting into the playoffs would be no easy task.
Fort Recovery is likely to remain No. 2 in the Division VII Region 26 computer points this week, trailing only undefeated Marion Local and well ahead of Lehman Catholic. It’s possible, thanks in large part to the non-conference wins over North Union and Jay County, that it has already done enough to secure a playoff berth. But it’s more likely that they need at least one more win.
And that’s OK, because knowing the Indians, they have no desire to make the playoffs the easy way. They want to keep winning, earn just the second victory in school history over St. Henry and prove they can compete with the likes of three-time state champion Marion Local.
The season has been a blast so far. The Tribe, though, hopes the fun is just beginning.