Know your foe: Aces looking for third straight playoff appearance

for LoganFootball.com
Logan will travel to Amanda on Friday for the first ever meeting between the Amanda-Clearcreek Aces and the Chieftains.
The Aces are one of the most decorated small school football programs in Ohio and certainly in the southeastern portion of the state thanks to the longtime success of former Coach Ron Hinton. Under Hinton A-C reached the state semi-finals five times and won state titles in 1999 and 2000.
Overall, the Aces have made 21 playoff appearances including each of the last two seasons under coach Steve Daulton. Last fall A-C finished 9-3 overall including a playoff win over Columbus Academy.
Last Friday, the orange and black opened with a 35-7 win at Fairfield Union in a game that started on Friday but was postponed in the first half and finished on Saturday afternoon.
Last week against the Falcons quarterback Nathan Hunter (5-11, 175, junior) completed 9 of 13 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for a score in his first career Varsity start.
In the backfield, Hunter Matheny (5-11, 165, junior) paced the infantry with 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground and also added a 6-yard touchdown reception.
Most of the skill players for the Fairfield Countians are versatile and will line-up as running backs, tight ends, or split receivers. Connor Lafferty (5-10, 167, senior) led the Aces with 2 catches for 40 yards last week while Peyton Casserly (6-2, 181, junior) caught a pair of passes for 29 yards.
Tight end Cade Young (6-2, 193, junior) and receiver Tayvon Miller (5-11, 155, junior) both caught a single pass for 26 yards. Other skill players include Grant Guiler (5-11, 160, junior), Andrew Harber (5-9, 153, senior), Tim Smith (5-10, 182, senior), and Andrew Metzger (6-0, 168, senior).
Up front A-C will hope to have tackle Anthony Buckley (6-4, 265, senior), a Division I recruit, back in the lineup. Against Fairfield Union the Aces’ forward wall featured Cole Bryan (6-3, 261, senior) and Lane Stevens (5-11, 245, senior) as tackles, Kaleb Steinmetz (6-2, 208, junior) and Dalton Stump (5-11, 196, senior) as guards, and Darren Byers (5-11, 241, junior) at the center post.
Defensively the Aces held Fairfield Union to only 146 total yards of offense last week operating out of a 4-2-5 defensive alignment.
Young and Stevens play on the ends while Nick Wall (5-11, 294, junior) and Bobby Pieratt (5-8, 159, junior) played at the tackle posts. Morgan Metzger (5-9, 180, sophomore) will see time at end while Bryan will see time at tackle.
The linebackers are Quintin Lott (6-0, 207, junior) and Stump. Lott was regarded as one o the Mid-State League’s top linebackers a year ago and was outstanding in the Aces win last weekend.
The secondary sees Smith, Miller, and Jarod Black (5-10, 174, senior) all play at the two strong safety positions while Guiler roams as a free safety. Casserly, Lafferty, and Andrew Harber (5-9, 153, senior) will all see time at cornerback.
Jonathan Weaver (6-0, 156, junior) handles the kicking chores while Lott will do the punting for the Aces. Guiler is a dangerous return man on punts and kicks.
Spencer Waugh is the founder of LoganFootball.com and the historian for Logan Chieftain athletics. He is a former contributor to 98.3 FM in Logan and the Logan Daily News.