High School Football Week 5 preview: New Miami County rivalry brewing?

“I know it’s weird to say in Week 5 but we’re playing for a league title,” Red Devils coach Matt Burgbacher said. “The winner of Friday night’s game is the winner of the MVL Miami division. There’s no you know ifs, ands, or buts about it. It’s two teams that are undefeated, and the winner take all, so you know there’s obviously a lot of a lot to play for on Friday night, and we’re just excited for the opportunity. We’ve put ourselves in this position, and we want to obviously make the most of it.”

Piqua opened the season by defeating defending division champ Troy, a feat Tippecanoe replicated last week.

While Piqua-Troy will likely never be topped in terms of Miami County rivalries, Burgbacher hopes his squad can carve out its own tradition against the tradition-laden Indians.

“It’s kind of like a just a backyard rivalry, and it’s going to continue to build momentum, very similar to the Tipp-Troy,” said Burgbacher, a Tippecanoe alumnus whose father Charlie was the head coach of the Red Devils for 16 years. “You know there was for a long time Tipp did not play Piqua or Troy or Vandalia. You know back when I was in school back in the 90s, to be honest with you, we wanted no part of them. Our program wasn’t there yet. But it’s not like Troy or Piqua’s programs have gotten worse, they have been consistently good throughout for many, many years — but I think with our program here at Tipp has been built. We’re still not there yet, but we’re getting close, and I think with last week’s big win against Troy our program took another step.”

The 3-0 Red Devils are headlined on offense by Nick Kawecki, a sophomore who has rushed for 473 yards and averages 9.1 yards per carry, while their defense features junior linebacker Cayd Everhart, the MVL’s leading tackler.

Piqua counters with a balanced offense that includes three running backs averaging at least 5.0 yards per carry — Jasiah Medley, Ca’Ron Coleman and Tanner Kemp — while quarterback Brady Ouhl is second in the league with 590 passing yards in his first season as a starter.

“Everything we’ve seen from him has been expected,” long-time Piqua coach Bill Nees said of Ouhl, a sophomore whose father Brady is a former Indians player and a member of Nees' staff. “He’s not failed the test. He’s got a really good receiving corps with the two big tall outside receivers and the quick guys on the inside, and he’s just a great decision maker. You tell him something once and it’s in the memory banks, and he works it. He’s one of those guys that helps everybody else. He raises everybody around him’s levels.”

Burgbacher noted the way Piqua shares the ball makes the Indians tough to defend and the way they play defense is no surprise.

“When you turn on the tape, the first thing that comes to mind is that’s a Bill Nees defense,” Burgbacher said. “That is a true 4-4 with three DBs, and those guys are physical and they get to the football. So we’ve got to sustain blocks. We can’t just hit somebody and think we’ve got them blocked because they do a great job of getting to the football.”

Nees, who has been in charge of the Piqua program since 1992, agreed there is a potential for a rivalry to develop with the Red Devils.

“We’ve got a rivalry with Sidney, we’ve got a rivalry with Troy and the games we’ve had with Tipp City indicate they’re gonna be very competitive,” Nees said.

“As we see them on film they are very balanced. They’ve got a lot of athletic kids and they’re pretty versatile in everything they do.”

On the other side of the MVL, the game of the week is Fairborn at Stebbins.

The 2-0 Skyhawks are coming off a two-week COVID-19 quarantine triggered by a positive test on the West Carrollton team in Week 2 while the Indians (3-1) are looking to bounce back from a 27-0 loss to Piqua last week.

Meanwhile, Piqua-Tipp is not the only battle of unbeatens this week. In the SWBL, Brookville hosts Bellbrook in a matchup of teams that have allowed only 23 and 21 points, respectively.

In the GWOC, Springfield hosts Springfield in a matchup featuring the league’s No. 2 passer (Te’Sean Smoot of Springfield) and the leading rusher (Moise Armbruster of Springboro).