Kings Mills Kings may go by the Knights, but right now, they feel more like Kings.
Confused?
Well, just know the Knights are coming off perhaps their biggest regular-season win ever, having defeated Harrison (28-21) last week for the first time in school history.
This week, the challenge is equally great for coach Andy Olds and the gang, as Kings (1-2) travel to undefeated Turpin (3-0) for Thursday’s FOX Sports Ohio High School Football Game of the Week. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.
The game is also the very first in the brand-spanking-new Eastern Cincinnati Conference -- meaning the winner will forever be remembered in league lore.
Of course, both teams are considerably more concerned with the here and now, and riding their current highs. Both have plenty of reasons to believe it’s possible, too.
For the Knights, it all starts with senior running back Nick Collado, who rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns last week. Collado is likely to receive plenty of help from senior running back Brady Vanover and junior quarterback Ryan Maguire, who’s a cool 14-for-20 passing on the season.
Receivers Austin Copeland, Justin Crull and Jamison Williams are Maguire’s favorite targets in the event the Knights elect to throw.
Meanwhile, coach Rob Stoll and the Spartans tend to go through the air significantly more, thanks in large part to senior quarterback Connor Jansen. In last week’s 34-7 win over McNicholas, Jansen completed 7 of 14 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior receiver JR Stoll caught three of those passes for 51 yards and a score, and is averaging a whopping 16 yards per reception on the season. Spencer Singh, Bobby Calder and Dylan Haller are three more of Jansen’s go-to guys.
Jansen can also get it done on the ground, as evidenced by his 95 yards rushing (on 15 carries) against McNicholas.
Kings has won five of the previous six meeting between the teams.
“I think the Thursday night lights and the fact that the game is being televised gives both teams plenty of incentive,” Rob Stoll told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “When it’s Kings and Turpin, you can throw the records out the window.”
