Wayne Allen | Daily Times

Valley quarterback Will Howard, left, and his Indians start defense of their SOC II title Friday against Waverly.

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PDT Sports Report

For the first time in school history, Valley (5-0) has the target on its back as the defending SOC II champions.

The Indians take the first step in defense of their division crown Friday night as Waverly (1-4) ventures into Lucasville for Homecoming. Valley extended its regular season winning streak to 15 games after knocking off host South Point 61-19.

The Tigers try to rebound from last week’s 67-14 loss at Athens. The Indians were the beneficiaries of last year’s 54-14 decision in Waverly.

According to JoeEitel.com., Valley is fourth in Division V, Region 19 while the Tigers stand tied for 22nd in Division IV, Region 15 with Portsmouth.

West (2-3) at Minford (5-0)

Minford looks to stay unbeaten this season as the Falcons play their second-straight home contest, hosting West to start SOC II play.

The record remains unblemished for Minford but the Falcons cut it close, blocking a PAT in the third overtime to defeat previously-unbeaten Oak Hill 20-19. The Senators are looking to even their overall record after taking out visiting Chesapeake 21-12 in last week’s action.

West shut out Minford 40-0 in last year’s contest held on the West Side. This will be a big points game for either team as the Falcons are third in Division IV, Region 15 and the Senators check in the Division V, Region 19 standings at No. 20.

Northwest (0-5) at Wheelersburg (4-1)

It’s Homecoming Week at Wheelersburg as the Pirates play their second-straight home contest and entertain Northwest in the SOC II opener for both schools.

Wheelersburg is riding a four-game winning streak after a 40-14 smashing of visiting Jackson. The Mohawks will try again for their first win of the season after their fifth try resulted in a 33-15 loss to visiting Green.

The Pirates won last year’s meeting in McDermott, 34-7. Currently, Wheelersburg is third in Division V, Region 19 and Northwest is tied for 28th in Division IV, Region 15.

Oak Hill (4-1) at East (3-2)

With sour tastes in their collective mouths, Oak Hill and East meet in Sciotoville to start their respective quests for the SOC I crown.

The visiting Oaks are coming off a heartbreaking 20-19 road loss a week ago to Minford. The game ended when Oak Hill’s attempt to send the game into a fourth overtime went unsuccessful.

After back-to-back road losses, the Tartans will be looking for some home cooking when they return to the friendly confines of Allard Park. East fell 34-18 to host Dayton Jefferson in a contest that had to be finished on Saturday because lightning suspended play.

The Oaks look to make it four straight in the series after winning last year’s match-up in Oak Hill 54-41. Despite last week’s losses, Oak Hill is fifth in Division V, Region 19 and the Tartans are 10th in Division VI, Region 23.

Symmes Valley (4-1) at Green (3-2)

The ground game of Symmes Valley looks to continue its assault on opposing defenses Friday night as the Vikings defend their SOC I crown at Green.

The Bobcats returned to the winning column a week ago with a 33-15 road victory over Northwest. Symmes Valley had no issues with visiting Southern as three Viking rushers finished with more than 145 yards on the ground in a 62-18 thumping.

A 50-6 result in favor of homestanding Symmes Valley was the result of last year’s contest. Both teams will look to use this game in the Division VI, Region 23 standings. The Vikings are eighth and Green is 15th.

Manchester (0-5) at Notre Dame (4-1)

Notre Dame returns home for a Saturday night affair with Manchester as the Titans are playing their final game before going into the SOC I portion of the schedule.

It’s the third-straight Saturday contest for Notre Dame, which defeated host Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph 14-6. The Greyhounds come into the game looking for a signature victory for the program, which has one victory in 45 games since the program was recognized by the OHSAA in 2008.

Since the 14-7 victory Oct. 15, 2008 at Fayetteville, Manchester has been mired in a 17-game losing streak. The drought includes the 55-27 victory by the Titans when the two teams last met a season ago in Adams County.

After this weekend’s game, next weekend’s contest at Oak Hill will be the final road game as well as the final Friday night game for the rest of the regular season for Notre Dame, who enters this week fifth in Division VI, Region 23. The Greyhounds are in an eight-way tie for 26th in Division VI, Region 24.

Ironton (5-0) at Paintsville (Ky.) Johnson Central (4-1)

Ironton may face a stiff road test this weekend when the Fighting Tigers venture into Kentucky to take on Paintsville Johnson Central.

The Golden Eagles are no strangers to playing teams outside of the state. They have defeated Hayesville (NC) 39-7 and Logan (WV) 46-12. Johnson Central also defeated Ashland (Ky.) Boyd County 37-6.

After checking into this week’s Division IV AP poll at No. 4, Ironton is using the momentum from last week’s 61-34 victory at arch rival Portsmouth to maintain the stranglehold at the top of Division IV, Region 15. This is the first meeting between the two schools.

Piketon (3-2) at Zane Trace (2-3)

After snapping a two-game skid a week ago against Chillicothe Huntington, Piketon goes on the road to battle Zane Trace.

The Redstreaks, who stand seventh in the latest Division IV, Region 15 computer rankings, defeated the Huntsmen 34-13 after they were on a three-game winning streak. The Pioneers come off a 34-13 setback at Adena.

Piketon won last year’s affair 32-19 at home.

Morehead Rowan County (2-4) at Greenup County (0-5)

Greenup County returns home to Lloyd as the Musketeers welcome in Morehead Rowan County in for the first district game of the season.

It’s another attempt for Greenup County to win the school’s first game in two years. Last week’s attempt was unsuccessful as the Musketeers fell 72-0 at Ashland (Ky.) Fairview.

The Vikings are on a two-game losing streak after last week’s 48-0 outcome against Ashland (Ky.) Paul Blazer went against them. Rowan County won last year’s contest 48-18.