»RELATED: Week 3 power rankings
Consider this: Graham beat Catholic Central 54-20 last week. In 2016, the Falcons didn’t surpass 54 points total until Week 5.
“We have some tough ones in front of us, but I think they are feeling confident,” Cahill said. “This kind of shows them we’re different from last year.”
Graham (1-1) finds out just how much separation it has put between itself and last season’s 2-8 record against Lehman (1-1). The Cavaliers beat the Falcons 63-14 in 2016. Saturday’s game will be played at Piqua High School’s Alexander Stadium.
To assist the offense Cahill brought in former Urbana University quarterback Cale Burdyshaw as an assistant coach. Burdyshaw and assistant coach Rich Clark have the offense off and running.
»RELATED: Graham duo 1-2 in CBC rushing
Brayton leads the CBC in rushing with 329 yards on 27 carries. That’s 12.2 yards per carry. Braun is second with 301 yards on 29 carries (10.4). Both have scored four rushing touchdowns.
Brayton also leads the league with 193 yards on seven receptions with three touchdowns. He had 10 catches for 136 yards and one touchdown all of 2016.
“Once he gets the ball in his hands, he’s quick. He’s made some things happen,” Cahill said.
“Watching film last year I thought he definitely had potential. He’s lightning fast and he’s fun to watch. After we saw him running around on the practice field a little bit we definitely thought we had something. And Gage complements him really well. You have to account for both of them.”
Braun ranks fourth in the CBC in passing with 289 yards. He’s completed 15-of-27 passes with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Last week against Catholic Central he threw for 191 yards and rushed for 208 more.
“When I came in on day one I met the seniors first,” Cahill said. “Those two guys, we pretty much told them they’re going to get the ball in their hands and we’re going to see what you do with it. Gage has been our guy. He’s leading the way right now.”
Braun also leads the team in tackles with 15. He’s also forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass in his first two games. Cahill is fine with Braun dishing out some hits on defense.
“I come from Mechanicsburg so Kaleb Romero pretty much led the team in tackling the last three years,” Cahill said of the Indians’ standout quarterback. “Gage is an aggressive football player. He flies around defensively as well. He’s a leader and we want him on the field as much as we can.”
Senior Zach Caudill is second on the team with 14 tackles, Brayton has 13 and senior Michael Shook and junior Caleb Horner both have 12.
“We’re trying to get better and make adjustments during the week. We’re not looking ahead,” Cahill said. “We just want to build on what we’re doing.”
Crushing it: Springfield senior Cameron Hoelscher has been a force at linebacker. Through two games he's led the team in tackles with 17 against Lancaster and 18 against Princeton. Hoelscher, who led the Wildcats with 88 tackles last season, leads the Greater Western Ohio Conference with 35.
Hoelscher, a verbal commitment to play football for Army next season, also has two sacks and two forced fumbles.
Stepping up: Urbana turned to senior Kaleb Bowdle at quarterback last week with the Hillclimbers' starter injured in Week 1. Bowdle responded with a solid effort — including the game-winning touchdown — in a 27-24 comeback victory against Stebbins.
Bowdle completed 6-of-11 passes for 52 yards and a 10-yard touchdown to Brandon Vogel. He also completed a two-point conversion pass to Logan Rooney. Bowdle also rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
Tough stretch: Few teams can boast a tougher start than the Shawnee Braves first three games.
Shawnee opened with Thurgood Marshall at Welcome Stadium, played rival Tippecanoe last Friday and travels to Clinton-Massie on Friday. To put that in perspective, Marshall is likely the biggest and most athletic team Shawnee will face this season, followed by two teams that have reached the playoffs 12 straight seasons (Tipp) and 15 straight seasons (Clinton-Massie).
Shawnee’s defensive line of seniors Billy Forbes, Ka’rell Knox, Cole Vasileff, Billy Lord, Jackson Smith and junior Treyvaughn Whitaker held Marshall to 100 yards rushing and 194 yards in total offense in the 19-16 win. Tipp beat Shawnee 38-0.
Clinton-Massie (2-0) beat perennial state power Coldwater 24-14 last week.
Rams tough: Greeneview's 35-7 win against Waynesville was quite the rush. The Rams picked up 425 yards rushing with a four-headed attack.
Griffin Mangan had 140 yards on 20 carries, Nick Clevenger had 123 yards on 18 carries, Clay Payton added 72 yards on eight carries and Tyler Robinette chipped in 68 yards on three carries. Payton also led the team with 13 tackles.
WEEK 3 GAMES
Thursday
Bellbrook at Tecumseh
Friday, all at 7 p.m.
Bellefontaine at Troy
Ben Logan at Upper Scioto Valley
Catholic Central at Triad
Cedarville at West Liberty-Salem
Fairbanks at Greeneview
Greenville at Urbana
Lima Senior at Springfield, WIZE-AM (1340)
Mechanicsburg at Southeastern
Northeastern at Madison Plains
Northwestern at Milton-Union
Spg. Shawnee at Clinton-Massie
Stebbins at Kenton Ridge
West Jefferson at Greenon
Saturday
Graham vs. Lehman Catholic at Piqua, 7 p.m., ChampaignSportsAuthority.com
About the Author