Tri-Valley, Crooksville ready for week four matchup

DRESDEN, Ohio – A week four matchup in Dresden will feature two teams heading in different directions.

Tri-Valley (2-1, 2-0) lost their season opener but has won both their games since then. The Crooksville Ceramics (1-2, 0-2) won their first game at Fisher Catholic but have fallen in back-to-back weeks since then.

Scottie head coach Justin Buttermore knows better than to sleep on the Ceramics though.

“The Crooksville kids always play incredibly hard. I’m never shocked by them competing with anybody. I know we went down there last year and struggled mightily the first quarter before we got things going,” said Buttermore.

Both teams feature athletic quarterbacks who can burn you with both their legs and arm. For TV it’s Andrew Newsom, who through three weeks has thrown for eight touchdowns and rushed for four more. His counterpart is a four-year starter in Landon Hinkle.

The Ceramics have a big senior class of 17, but Crooksville head Chad Mickey knows they’ll have their hands full Friday night in Dresden.

“They’re just athletic. There’s nobody else in our league that has a free safety that is 6’6″ or an inside linebacker that is 6’5″. Credit to Justin (Buttermore) with what they get done and how they run their program. We hope to go up there and play well,” said Mickey.

The game kicks off Friday at 7 p.m. at Jack Anderson Stadium and it will air on Z92 radio. Pre game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.

Other big week four matchups include 3-0 Licking Valley at winless Utica. Panther head coach Randy Baughman is looking to win his 299th career game. According to ohssa.org, only 15 coaches in state history have won 300 or more games.

Philo will host John Glenn at Sam Hatfield Stadium. Both teams will be looking to move to 3-0 in MVL play. The Little Muskies are the last overall undefeated team in the conference.

For a complete list of all the area matchups this week you can click here.