I have completed my spread sheet for the teams I will follow during the HS season. I had a bit of a brain fart when figuring this out. Week 1 starts on Thursday, 8/29 - and runs thru Saturday 8/31. The following Monday is 9/2 - making that weekend Labor Day Weekend. Somehow I had in my mind that Week 2 was Labor Day weekend - oops wrong again!
The weekly format I will follow is Tuesday or Wednesday prior to the games of that weekend I will post 3 games I am thinking of seeing. If I post a single game- it will mean I am locked into that game. As always, feel free to let me know if you want to get together for a game. Anywhere in Summit, Stark, Cuyahoga, Portage, and Medina counties is within range - and maybe others.
Week 1 Possibilities
Friday 8/30 7PM Barberton at Norton
Talk about a lid lifter with a bang! This series had to be discontinued for a while because of the passion of both teams boiled over.
Both teams are now on their way back to prominence. Barberton is a force to be reckoned with in the tough Suburban League. Norton has had a couple of their best years recently. Last year they just missed the R9 playoffs, despite finishing with an 8-2 record.
The other reason this game is attractive to me is Norton built a new high school with a new (turf) athletic complex a couple of years back, and I have yet to see it in person.
Friday 8/30 7PM Buckeye at Revere
This game is appealing for one reason - and it is one very LARGE reason. Revere has this kid anchoring the left side of their offensive line. You may have heard of him. His name is Ben Christman. A few weeks ago, he accepted Ryan Day's offer to spend Saturday's in the fall for the next four years in Columbus - after only playing two years of high school football. He is a bit undersized though. But he is just 16 years old, so he does have time to grow into his adult body. He currently is 6'6" and 295 lbs - as a soon to be high school junior! Yes, that was sarcasm on.
When you watch this kid's tape - I swear he is a clone of Orlando Pace, 20 years later. It will be exciting to see this kid under live action.
Friday 8/30 7PM Lake Catholic at Stow
Stow will be loaded for bear for this rematch. The Bulldogs, a consistent winner in previous seasons, may have been caught off guard in the opener last year. Highly successful coach Mark Nori had been lured away to Columbus to coach Olentangy Berlin, and Tom Phillips had an adjustment period. Stow traveled to Mentor and were soundly defeated 31-7. That was the first step in an unusually difficult 5-5 season. They will be looking to wash that bad taste out of their mouth ASAP at home.
Lake Catholic is a member of the tough North Coast League. Their league schedule means they are playing a lot of larger schools. They also welcome that challenge in the pre-league portion of their schedule as well. Even though they are a D3 school, they have no trouble scheduling the bigger schools due to the number of D1 and D2 schools they do play.
Let me know.
Well, Week 1 location is confirmed.
For all you young whippersnappers out there; here's a piece of sageful 411. If you are going to brown nose, make sure you do it with the boss. Seeing how our boss is a Medina Buckeye alum; and that was one of my possibilities........
Bossman and I will be at Joe Pappano Stadium on 8/30 to see the Buckeye Bucks take on the host Revere Minutemen and Ohio State commit Ben Christman. Give us a honk if you want to tag along.
Little late this week - been busy keeping tabs on relatives and friends in Dorian's path. Thankfully, no injuries or property damage.
Week 2: We will be be staying very local tonight. I will be parking at Matt's house, and walking the 5 or 6 blocks over to Clifford Stadium to see the Cuyahoga Falls Black Tigers host the Springfield Spartans of Akron. (The parking at Clifford can get to be nuts).
To say the last few seasons have not been kind to Black Tiger football would be a classic understatement. There have been a few oh-for-the-seasons mixed in among their very few wins.
So you can imagine my surprise as I scrolled through last week's scores to not only see that the Falls had won, but they took their opponent, Parma Normandy, to the woodshed and shellacked them by a final of 62-0. Whaaatttt???? Does the Falls actually have a team this year? Or is Normandy that bad? That's what we will find out tonight.
It should be a fun night. We add an honorary junior member to the Friday Night Express this week. Young Mr. Caden is a first grader in the Falls system. I think that he is old enough now that he can follow the game to a degree, and his attention span now greater than that of a gnat. I have been telling his mother that I would like to take him to a game. So it's early in the year, the weather is good, and since Springfield has had issues of their own the last few years, there is an even money chance Falls comes out on top.
I always, always, always will have a ton of respect for, not only the players and coaches, but the student musicians that make up the marching band. Ever since I was in high school back in the stone age, I have admired and respected what marching bands add to the Friday Night experience. And since that time, I cannot remember one year where the Falls High Marching Black Tigers weren't regarded as one of the elite units in the area. My nephews were part of that tradition that carries on today. It will be cool to see Caden's reaction to seeing them on the field as well.
I already know next week's destination. Spoiler alert......
You wanted a battle of the heavyweights? You got it.......
Week 3 Location is confirmed..........
Well, I kind of teased this at you all last week. If anybody knows anything about HS FB in Ohio, all they had to do was look at this week's schedule, and they could figure it out.
ELEVEN time D-1 State Champion Cleveland St. Ignatius will make the 45 min. drive down I-77 and land at reigning FOUR CONSECUTIVE time State Champion (D3 - 2015-16; D2 - 2017-18) Akron Hoban.
Hoban graduated so much talent from the 2018 squad that I thought, they have to take a step down this year. And yet, here we are. They appear to not have rebuilt, but reloaded. Many people have attached the phrase "best team in the state - regardless of division" to this year's team.
It will be a packed house. Listed capacity for Dowed Field is 2500. I beg to say this game could be played at InfoCision Stadium, and easily put 8000 butts in the seats.