MORROW, Ohio– The Anderson Raptors will travel to Little Miami High School to take on the Panthers on Friday, September 5th at 7 p.m. Anderson will look to stay unbeaten, coming off dominant wins against Cooper and West Clermont. Little Miami is looking for their first win, losing both of their games by one score or less against Jackson and Turpin.
Anderson is 2-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Raptors have outscored their opponents 101-17. They are currently ranked #71 nationally, #3 in Ohio, #1 in Division 2, and #2 in Cincinnati according to MaxPreps. They opened their season with a 52-10 win against Cooper High School. They beat West Clermont by a score of 49-7 this past Friday night. The Raptors are led by quarterback Owen Scalf, who currently leads the ECC with 684 passing yards. Scalf has completed nearly 80 percent of his passes and has thrown six touchdowns to just one interception. Running back Jordan Davis is a threat on the ground and through the air. Davis has rushed for 163 yards and four rushing touchdowns, while also adding 48 receiving yards to go along with a touchdown catch. He is averaging over seven yards per carry this season. The passing attack for Anderson features a trio of productive wide receivers. Tegan Jallick has totaled 185 yards on 14 receptions and two touchdown catches through the first two games. Tysin Weaver has also added two touchdowns to go along with 158 yards. Cooper Kathman has 125 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Brady Kuhn has tallied 18 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Cornerback Ke’Maury Tye has 17 tackles and a fumble recovery. Ace Alston has also added an interception for the Raptors. The Raptors are coached by Evan Dreyer and have had a very successful run since he has taken over back in 2016.
Little Miami is desperately looking for their first win after dropping a pair of close contests by a combined margin of just 11 points. They are 0-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play. The Panthers started the season on Saturday, August 23rd with a 21-14 road loss to Jackson. They came back home the following Friday and lost a close 26-22 battle against Turpin. Little Miami is led by their quarterback Camden Fox. Fox went 6 for 15 for 73 yards and an interception against Jackson. He is also a focal point of the Panthers rushing attack, carrying the ball 12 times for 51 yards and a touchdown against Jackson. Senior running back Lucas Basta rushed for 44 yards on 8 attempts and a touchdown. Basta also caught the ball twice for 25 yards. Andrew Trapp added 41 yards on 11 carries on the ground. Wide receiver Carter Stewart led Little Miami with three receptions for 38 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Carter Hainey led the Panthers with 11 tackles. Little Miami is coached by Nate Mahon. It’s his first season of his second stint with the program. Mahon’s first stint was from 2016-2019 and included back-to-back winning seasons.
How Anderson Can Win: Maintain the offensive and defensive momentum of the first two games. The Raptors have displayed a nice balance of a passing and rushing attack with their plethora of weapons. The defensive side of the ball has been just as impressive, allowing only 17 combined points in two games.
How Little Miami Can Win: The Panthers had two interceptions in their last outing against Turpin. Forcing turnovers early can give Little Miami some momentum and keep their home crowd energized. Rushing the ball effectively can also chew up some clock and keep Anderson’s high powered offense off of the field for long stretches of the game.
Recent History: Anderson leads the series 5-0 against Little Miami since 2020. The Raptors shutout the Panthers 64-0 last season. Little Miami is a new addition, joining the ECC in 2020. Anderson won a 43-42 overtime thriller against Little Miami back in 2021.
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Written by Eli Altherr
Sources: https://eccsports.com/fbStandings.aspx?sat=5, https://eccsports.com/fbStatistics.aspx?sat=5,https://eccsports.com/confSchedule.aspx?sat=5, https://www.maxpreps.com/oh/cincinnati/anderson-raptors/football/schedule/, https://www.wcpo.com/sports/high-school-sports/little-miami-names-nate-mahon-as-football-coach-pending-board-of-education-approval,https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/2016/01/25/anderson-finds-new-football-coach-west-side/79326286/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z114224e006000v114224b0047xxd004765&gca-ft=149&gca-ds=sophi&sltsgmt=0154_B
