Maumee looks to make statement when Oak Harbor visits in Week 4

Maumee is off to its best start in 15 years. The Panthers look to keep it rolling Friday against Oak Harbor. / Pride of the Panthers

By JEREMY SCHNEIDER

IMA SPORTS

The Maumee football team has beaten Springfield, Bryan and Bowsher in running out to a 3-0 start, their first undefeated run through a non-league schedule in 15 years. 

If the Panthers want to go to 4-0 for the first time since 2008, it’s going to get much, much more difficult.

Maumee hosts defending Northern Buckeye Conference champion Oak Harbor (3-0) in the league opener for both teams.

Much like the Panthers, who have beaten their three opponents by a combined 153-40 score, the Rockets have similarly stomped their first three opponents. Oak Harbor has topped Port Clinton, Woodward and Bowsher, 134-13.

“Oak Harbor is a very good football team,” Maumee coach Evan Karchner said. “They lost a couple of guys, some wide receivers that were good for them and some offensive linemen. They still play physical, they still play tough.”

The Rockets have seven players back on defense and six on offense from a team that went 12-1 last year.

Oak Harbor won last season’s game against Maumee, 49-7. The Rockets rushed for 375 yards while holding the Panthers to 86 on the ground.

Rockets running back Carson Ridener, a fourth-year varsity starter, has totaled 280 rushing yards and eight touchdowns this season. Quarterback Michael Lalonde has thrown for seven scores and more than 550 yards.

Oak Harbor also features All-Ohio lineman Jacob Ridener (6-foot, 215 pounds).

“That’s who we’re chasing,” Karchner said of Oak Harbor. “You’d like to say we’re chasing a championship, but we’re chasing Oak Harbor. We want to be Oak Harbor, we want to be Eastwood, we want to be Liberty Center.

“We want to be those tough teams that are in the smaller leagues, and they go to the playoffs every year and they compete for league championships every year. That’s who we want to be.”

Through three games, the Panthers are averaging 51 points and 425 yards per game. Keishon Midcalf leads the team with 273 rushing yards (7.6 yards per carry) and four TDs. Cody Wulf adds 195 rushing yards and three scores.

Ben Kubicz has thrown for 627 yards and 10 TDs with only one interception. He’s completed 73 percent of his 41 attempts.

“I talk to a lot of the (NBC) coaches and I tell them, I think it’s going to be fun here, it’s going to be competitive,” Karchner said. “I think someone in our league is going to make a long playoff run, and I just hope it’s us.”

Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers

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