When Greater Catholic League Co-Ed play starts, the Patriots can expect to be tested weekly.
“Truthfully, in my years at Carroll — and even before that — the truth about our league is the best team in our league is usually in that state championship game, or they run into the state champion along in the playoffs, and they might get knocked out, or they win the state championship,” Byrd said. “We’ve got a phenomenal league, so we know that each week, from Week 6-10, we get some great competition to sharpen the iron and see where we fit among the playoff teams in Ohio.”
Coming off a 2-8 season, the Patriots have already doubled their win total from 2023, and Byrd credited a new defensive approach under coordinator David Bowens and a ground-based attack built around quarterback Josh Holzinger and running backs Tayshawn Brown and Jayden Crawford.
“I’m really proud of the way our leaders are leading and proud of our coaching staff really,” Byrd said. “We’ve had some success running the ball this year behind a really great offensive line, and we’ve been kind of able to scheme our guys in positions to force defenses to make tough choices, and our kids just take advantage of them. They’re executing extremely well. They’ve really grown fond of our identity as a run-first team, and defensively, we’ve been able to simplify.”
At Eaton, coach Brad Davis’ team has won every game by more than two touchdowns, but he also sees the Eagles’ greatest challenges still ahead.
“A football team is typically only as good as its seniors play and our guys have produced so far,” said Davis, who starts senior Aaron Rogers at quarterback while classmate Preston Orr headlines the defense.
“I think there’s a few keys to our early season success: We’ve stayed relatively healthy throughout camp and our non-conference schedule, we’ve done a nice job playing complementary football, and our kicking game has given opponent offenses long fields so defensively we’ve been able to get some stops,” Davis said. “And the offense has been able to take advantage of short fields.”
The Patriots and Eagles are among several area teams to enter Week 5 with perfect records.
Here’s a look at five of them:
Butler
The Aviators are aiming for a second straight MVL Miami title, and they already beat Troy, one of the teams they shared the honors with last season. Senior linebacker Brayden Crump is second in the MVL with 39 tackles, and he has 113 yards receiving.
They play host to fellow-unbeaten Xenia on Friday night with Tippecanoe (also 4-0) up next.
Carroll
The Patriots went on the road to beat Ponitz then Tecumseh to start the season and won close games against Columbus Northland and Cincinnati Northwest the last two weeks.
Quarterback Josh Holzinger keys the attack while junior lineman Garon Draughn anchors the defense.
Carroll goes to Talawanda on Friday night before opening GLC Co-Ed play next week at home against rival Alter.
Eaton
The Eagles have beaten Greenville, Richmond (Ind.), Talawanda and Oakwood, all by at least 16 points. They put their perfect record on the line at Valley View on Friday night.
Quarterback Aaron Rogers is third in the SWBL with 542 yards passing while senior defensive lineman Preston Orr is second with 5.5 sacks.
Tippecanoe
The Red Devils have won all four of their games comfortably, including a Week 1 win at Bellbrook. They have the MVL’s leading passer in Larkin Thomas and leading tackler in Collin Isaac.
They play at Miami County rival Troy on Friday night then host Butler.
Xenia
The Buccaneers have been one of the most dominant teams in the area so far, outscoring opponents 189-20. Deaunte White is the area’s leading rusher with 721 yards, and he already has 14 rushing touchdowns, but the Buccaneers also have a four-year starter at quarterback in Gavin McManus.
They play at Butler on Friday night and finish the regular season with Tipp.
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