WEEK 8: Armstrong will carry the load for Blue Streaks

Sandusky's Maurice Armstrong made his mark as a wide receiver in the first six games this season. In Week 7, he left a mark as a running back. Armstrong, a powerfully compact junior, carried 29 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns in the Blue Streaks' win at Norwalk last week. He has taken over as Sandusky's top running back. Sandusky coach Mike Franklin said his coaching staff discussed the switch, and the math was easy. "I can't remember the exact numbers, but when a guy touches the ball 22 times and has seven or eight touchdowns he should probably get the ball a little more," Franklin said of giving Armstrong more touches. "And he grew up as a running back. I thought for the first time playing that position at Sandusky I thought he did a great job. No balls on the ground, took the wildcat for a touchdown." The Blue Streaks have other capable runners. Desmond Williams and Michael Pisarsky have both had big games this past two years. And quarterback Michael Franklin is the team's leading rusher with 350 yards, although that likely will change if Armstrong — who has caught 24 passes for 312 yards and six TDs — remains the featured back. The Blue Streaks are 3-4 and need another win to qualify for the Division III playoffs in Region 10. Sandusky hosts Clyde on Friday and both teams are 1-1 in the SBC Lake Division. The Fliers are No. 4 in the Division IV Region 14 computer ratings. Clyde and Sandusky have split four regular-season games since joining the revamped SBC in 2017. The winning team has scored 33 or more points in each of those games. The Fliers also own a 35-0 playoff victory over the Streaks in 2017, when Sandusky star quarterback JaVez Alexander exited early with a knee injury. Clyde is coming off a 42-39 road win over Tiffin Columbian in which running back Michael Daniels carried 40 times for 207 yards. A look at Friday's other area games: Norwalk (1-6, 0-2) at Perkins (5-2, 1-1) -- Perkins looks to rebound after a loss to Bellevue. The Pirates must cut down on turnovers; they have a minus-8 margin this season. Collin Nemitz has rushed for a Lake Division-best 1,227 yards and has 13 TDs on the ground. QB Logan Lesch has thrown for 1,388 yards with 17 TDs and 10 interceptions. The Truckers also have had trouble holding on to the football. They are a Lake-worst minus-9 in turnover margin. Norwalk will need to slow down the Pirates to pull off an upset. The Truckers have been shut out twice and have scored more than 20 points in just two games. Bellevue (6-1, 2-0) at Columbian (4-3, 1-1) -- Bellevue is playing in its second straight highly charged road game. The Redmen responded last week with a 26-0 win at Perkins. Bellevue leans on QB Deegan Horn (1,537 total yards, 18 TDs) and a stout defense that has allowed only six points in the first quarter this season. Carter LaPata (48) and Justin Smythe (47) lead Bellevue in tackling. Columbian has thrown an average of 35 passes per game, but the Tornadoes also can hand off to Kesean Jackson, one of the top track sprinters in northern Ohio. He averages 6.3 yards per carry and also has nine receiving TDs. Versatile Brody Conley has eight rushing TDs on just 35 carries and leads the Tornadoes with 90 tackles. Huron (4-3, 2-0) at Vermilion (1-6, 0-2) -- Huron and Port Clinton are trying to maintain their perfect SBC Bay Division records in matchups in which they're heavy favorites. The Tigers head to geographical rival Vermilion for what shapes up as a mismatch. Huron quarterback Dylan Hohler has thrown for 1,330 yards and has run for 750 in his standout junior season. Edison (3-4, 1-1) at Oak Harbor (4-3, 1-1) -- This is a huge swing game in the SBC Bay. The winner should have a shot at the title, while the other will be out of contention. More so, a victory could cement the Rockets' playoff positioning, while Edison probably needs this win to have a chance of making it into the Region 14 field. Jaqui Hayward's dual-threat quarterback play gives Oak Harbor an advantage at that position, especially after displaying brilliant running ability on a 50-yard score against Huron. Edison's got Marcus Medina playing QB now after Thomas Simon was injured. Medina threw a touchdown pass and ran for two in Week 7 against Willard. Port Clinton (6-1, 2-0) at Willard (0-7, 0-2) -- Port Clinton's offense should find plenty of room against Willard, which has allowed 49.6 points per game. PC is averaging 49.0 points per contest. The Redskins are led by quarterback Cam Gillum, who's thrown 23 TDs, 12 of which have gone to Josh Hurst and four to the Bay's leading receiver, Tyler Webb (30 catches for 541 yards). Monroeville (3-4, 2-1) at Western Reserve (5-2, 2-2) -- The Eagles and Roughriders need wins to improve their playoff status entering the season's final two weeks. This game features a matchup of multi-sport standouts at quarterback: Isaac Roeder for Monroeville and Jude Muenz for Western Reserve. Injured in Week 4, Muenz missed two games before returning last week to play wide receiver in a 10-0 loss at St. Paul.