THE 10 BEST GAMES TO SEE IN THE AREA IN WEEK TWO
By Kyle Holsinger
The following are the ten best high school football games to watch in Week 2 within the Heart of Ohio Sports coverage area. This will be a weekly article that comes out on Mondays. Here is a link to last week's article: https://heartofohiosports.com/the-10-best-games-to-see-in-the-area-this-week-6-10/
The games are picked through a combination of analysis, rankings, competitiveness, and statistics. If you’d like us to cover your region, please contact us at heartofohiosports.com. Any recruiting rankings are from 247sports.com.
When: Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Vanlue lost at North Baltimore, 56-14; Millersport lost at New London, 34-20.
Previous Meeting: Aug. 25, 2023, Vanlue beat Millersport at home, 56-28.
Intrigue: These are two teams that don’t get to win much.
According to MaxPreps, Vanlue and Millersport are rated 709th and 718th out of 720 schools that field an 11-man football team in Ohio, respectively. That being said, this is best chance that the Wildcats have to win a game all season. Neither Millersport nor Vanlue have many players so every player is a ‘player to watch’!
When: Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Norwalk won at Toledo Start, 26-7; North lost at home to Ashtabula Lakeside, 21-14.
Previous Meeting: Aug. 25, 2023, North won at Norwalk, 35-0.
Intrigue: Norwalk has a good chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020. A win on Friday against the Rangers would go a long way towards that cause.
The Truckers’ season gets tougher later in the year so they would be wise to maximize the opportunities they do get for victories if they want to see the postseason. Although the game with North was a blowout last year, it appears the teams are more evenly matched this season.
The game features a couple week one 100-yard rushers. Norwalk junior Nico Helton ran for 149 yards and three TDs in last week’s game win, and North’s Drake Martinez rushed for 168 yards and a TD in his team’s loss.
When: Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Edison won at Oberlin Firelands, 47-16; St. Paul lost at Huron, 38-0.
Previous Meeting: Aug. 25, 2023, Edison won at St. Paul, 42-6.
Intrigue: The Chargers had a lights-out performance in their opener at Firelands. Last year, Edison beat St. Paul in a similar fashion. Injuries added insult to an already tough contest against Huron for the Flyers in their first game.
This looks to be one of the more challenging games on St. Paul’s tough schedule. There’s a good chance that the winner of this game will get two home games to start the playoffs.
When: Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Lima Senior beat Piqua at home, 35-20; Findlay lost at Toledo Central Catholic, 54-21.
Previous Meeting: Aug. 25, 2023, Findlay won at Lima Senior, 43-0.
Intrigue: Lima Senior racked up 489 yards of total offense against Piqua last week. Quarterback Ja’niaus Hall was 29-of-49 for 294 yards and four TDs through the air, and Isaiah Wilson led the Spartans in both rushing (12 carries, 81 yards, one TD) and receiving (7 receptions, 120 yards, 2 TDs) as Lima looks to continue last season’s success.
Findlay senior QB Ryan Montgomery, the ninth-rated QB in the nation who is committed to Georgia, left the game in the first quarter last week with a season-ending ACL injury. This is a rivalry that dates back decades.
This is likely the toughest game on Lima Senior’s schedule.
When: Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Sandusky lost at home to Oregon Clay, 38-21; Fremont Ross lost at Tiffin Columbian, 27-11.
Previous Meeting: Aug. 25, 2023, Fremont Ross won at Sandusky, 21-15.
Intrigue: Both teams would like to get into the win column and both need this victory if they want to earn a playoff berth. It really is that simple.
When: Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
Previous Meeting: Unknown.
Last Week: Perkins defeated Clear Fork at home, 55-0; Padua Franciscan won at Alliance, 34-6.
Intrigue: Perkins held Clear Fork to 37 total yards last week. After that dominating performance last week, the Pirates will get more of a contest from the Bruins. Perkins has one of the toughest schedules in Division IV this year with the majority of the teams on their opponents likely playing in Week 11.
This is one of the biggest games in the state as both teams look to make deep playoff runs.
When: Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Galion beat Wynford at home, 49-13; Carey lost to Hopewell-Loudon at home, 27-22.
Previous Meeting: Aug. 25, 2023, Galion beat Carey at home, 21-14.
Intrigue: This was a hard fought game last year. After Carey’s tough loss last week, they’ll be itching to get into the win column this week. However, I feel that the Tigers are an even better team than Hopewell-Loudon. That doesn’t mean that Carey can’t win this game. They’re just going to have to bring their A-game. Both of these teams are gunning for two home playoff games this season, and the points earned from this win could help clinch that opportunity in late October.
Carey’s Eli Steen ran for 138 yards and two TDs against Hopewell-Loudon last week.
Galion dual-threat QB Braxton Prosser threw for 131 yards and two TDs while also running for two TDs as well. Running back Jacob Chambers ran for 129 yards and three TDs in the Tigers’ victory last Friday.
When: Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Columbus Grove beat Pandora-Gilboa at home, 35-7; Liberty-Benton won at Ottawa-Glandorf, 34-6.
Previous Meeting: Aug. 25, 2023, Columbus Grove won at home against L-B, 24-14.
Intrigue: This is likely the toughest game on either team’s schedule this year, and one of the biggest games in the state this week.
Both teams dominated last week. Columbus Grove hopes to repeat as victors on Friday as well as hoist another regional championship trophy late in the season. They’ll be battle-tested with one of the toughest schedules in Division VII.
Bulldog running back Trenton Barraza rushed for 100 yards (all in the first half) against P-G in week one.
This will be a great one to watch!
When: Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Tiffin Columbian beat Fremont Ross at home, 27-11; Chardon won at Orlando [FL] Timber Creek, 29-7.
Previous Meeting: Aug. 25, 2023, Tiffin Columbian edged Chardon, 50-49, at home.
Intrigue: This game went down to the wire last year. Chardon is also primed to make another run at a regional title again this year. This is easily one of the biggest games in the state this week. This will likely be the Tornadoes toughest opponent of the regular season.
Rushing duo Brady Bonnell and Masen Seitz combined for 194 yards rushing last week for Tiffin Columbian.
Chardon has a rushing duo of their own with Vinnie Columbi rushing for three TDs, and Caleb Hewitt going over the century mark rushing in the contest.
When: Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Hopewell-Loudon won at Carey, 27-22; Pleasant won at North Union, 44-0.
Intrigue: Pleasant performed phenomenal last week. Hopewell-Loudon wasn’t perfect in week one, but they got the job done against a top-tier program in NW Ohio and Division VI. The Spartans may even be more of a challenge for the Chieftains than the Blue Devils were.
H-L’s Braylon Martinez was the spark plug for the Chieftain’s offensive engine against Carey last week. He had over 200 all-purpose yards and two total TDs (including the go-ahead TD with 17 seconds remaining).
There’s a chance that both of these teams represent NW Ohio in the state semifinals this season.
Honorable Mention - Gibsonburg (1-0) @ Seneca East (1-0)…Two local teams started their season off right, but only one can go to 2-0.
I recommend catching one of these games this weekend. I hope to see you back next week, and thank you for reading.
Good article very informative.