Indians will face Eastern

Ft. Recovery Indians

Fort Recovery, 6-5

Coach: Wes Wenning, first year

Conference: Midwest Athletic

Last week at Cincinnati College Prep: The Indians had a dominant first quarter to run away with a 34-8 victory over the Lions in the OHSAA Division VII Regional 28 opener. Breaker Jutte rushed in two TDs and caught another in the opening quarter while Alex Gaerke connected with Reece Wendel and rushed in a final score. The defense also forced five turnovers.

Season leaders: Passing — Alex Gaerke – 65-of-127 for 756 yards and six touchdowns. Rushing — Reece Wendel – 158 carries for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns. Receiving — Colson Post – 14 catches for 302 yards and two touchdowns.

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Eastern Eagles

Beaver, 10-0

Coach: Scott Tomlison, 12th year

Conference: Southern Ohio 1

Week 10 at Green: The Eagles stompped the Green Bobcats 56-0 in the regular season finale to earn the first-round bye in the postseason. Eric Manley Jr. went 4-for-6 for 111 yards and two touchdowns  before two more quarterbacks tossed three more.

Season leaders: Passing — Eric Manley Jr. – 107-of-160 for 2,243 yards and 30 touchdowns. Rushing — Jack Montgomery – 134 carries for 1,038 yards and 15 touchdowns. Receiving — Boston Webb – 48 catches for 1,218 yards and 20 touchdowns. Defense — Jack Montgomery – 41 tackles and four sacks.

Last regional quarterfinal: The Indians have never played Eastern before, but the last time they made the regional quarterfinal came in 2021 when they lost to Anna 33-14. It was the second year in a row that the Tribe lost to a Midwest Athletic Conference team in the regional quarterfinal.

Game notes: This is the first meeting between Eastern and Fort Recovery ... Coach Scott Tomlison started the Eagles’ program back in the  2014 season and has built a 4-4 postseason record ... The Tribe has made the postseason nine times and boasts an 11-7 record, including a state title in 2015 ... Eastern had its best season in program history last year, going 13-1 with a loss in the regional final to Danville. It has continued that success with a 10-0 record to this point ... Fort Recovery sits 10th in MaxPreps’ rankings for Division VII, while Eastern is 15th ... While Eastern is 10-0 on the season, MaxPreps rates its strength of schedule at -25.5, while Fort Recovery’s is 9.4 ... The Eagles did not have to play last week as they had a first-round bye tournament ... Fort Recovery has never lost to a team outside of the Midwest Athletic Conference in the postseason ... Eastern has outscored opponents 448-170, while averaging 44.8 points per game ... The winner will likely have to face No. 1 Marion Local in the regional semifinal. The Flyers have won the last four state championships and have built a 74-game winning streak. They haven’t lost since falling to New Bremen in the 2020 postseason.