THE 10 BEST GAMES TO SEE IN WEEK FOUR
By Kyle Holsinger
The following are the five best high school football games played by schools within the Heart of Ohio Sports coverage area and the five best games throughout the state. This will be a weekly article that come out on Mondays.
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.
We’ll start with the local games first…
When: Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Bucyrus lost at Cardington-Lincoln, 46-8; Buckeye Central won at Fairport Harding, 21-14.
Previous Meeting: Oct. 13, 2023; Buckeye Central won 55-14.
Intrigue: Although last year was a blowout. This year looks to be more competitive. This is the best shot each team has for the remainder of the season to get a victory.
Bucyrus’ Demaris Munn-Page scored on a 70-yard fumble return and then ran in the two-point conversion to have the Redmen’s only points last Friday. Munn-Page had 14 rushes for 37 yards in the contest.
Buckeye Central’s Jack Phillips had a rushing TD, two passing TDs, and an interception for the Bucks.
When: Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: St. Francis beat Brother Rice [Bloomfield Hills, MI] at home, 49-28; Clyde won at Waite, 42-0.
Previous Meeting: Aug. 19, 2022; Clyde beat St. Francis at home, 22-18.
Intrigue: St. Francis had been one of the most improved teams in the state so far this year. After going 1-9 last season, the Knights have already notched two victories only three weeks into the season. They also need every victory they can get if they want to get a postseason berth this season.
Clyde has 538 yards passing after three games. Senior QB Brennan Wilson leads the way, completing 25-of-37 passes for 339 yards and six TDs.
Five different receivers for Clyde have five or more catches for 70+ yards on the year so the Fliers’ air assault has multiple weapons to whom they get the ball. Junior RB Adam Young has rushed 33 times for 192 yards with three TDs to lead the Clyde rushing attack.
Hector Garza is the Fliers' leading tackler with 24.5 tackles and a sack.
When: Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Watterson beat Westerville North at home, 41-6; Tiffin Columbian beat Shaw at home, 56-0.
Previous Meeting: Sept. 8, 2023; Bishop Watterson beat Tiffin Columbian at home, 33-14.
Intrigue: Watterson is performing at an extremely high quality and doing it against an incredibly tough schedule to boot. They’ve outscored their opponents 106-6.
Zach Shawberry leads Columbian in passing, going 32-of-57 for 396 yards, six TDs, and two INTs. Johnny Bremyer has nine receptions for 128 yards and three TDs.
The rushing workload is shared equally between Masen Seitz and Brady Bonnell. They each have carried the ball 29 times, Seitz for 143 yards and Bonnell for 136 yards and three TDs.
Jack Newlove leads the Tornado defense in tackles with 17.
When: Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Gibsonburg lost at Milan Edison, 12-7; Hopewell-Loudon beat Danville at home, 12-8.
Previous Meeting: Sept. 8, 2023; Hopewell-Loudon won at Gibsonburg, 26-7.
Intrigue: Gibsonburg’s Reese Walby and Grant Smith are the top performers on offense. Walby has rushed for 351 yards, passed for 39, and has 35 receiving yards as well with five TDs. Smith has rushed 339 yards and 3 TDs.
Defensively, the Golden Bears’ top playmakers are Antonio Salazar, Luke Foster, and Walby. Salazar has 27 tackles and an INT; Foster 17 tackles, a sack, and two fumble recoveries; and Walby 20 tackles and four INTs on the season.
Hopewell-Loudon has a dual-QB system with Jacoby Ellis passing for 569 yards, three TDs, and an INT; and Kellen Frankart whose thrown for 117 yards, rushed for 101, and has 38 receiving yards. Braylon Martinez has 172 yards rushing and 182 yards receiving with six total TDs.
The Chieftains defense is led by Mason Reinhart, who has 25 tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble. Will Nutter has 24 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Brayden Brickman has 20 tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery; and Jack Colatruglio has 18 tackles and two INTs for H-L in 2024.
When: Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Harvest Prep won at Ashland Blazer [KY], 26-10; Perkins won at Rocky River, 49-0.
Previous Meeting: first meeting.
Intrigue: This is one of the top games in the state this weekend.
Harvest Prep has beaten some stiff competition so far as they play one of the toughest schedules in Division V. The Warriors will likely face their toughest competition this week. They’ll need a win Friday if they’d like to qualify for two home games in the postseason.
Perkins QB Sam Schweinfurth is 27-of-39 for 383 yards, four TDs, and one pick. Isaac Bunts leads the team in rushing with 275 yards and seven TDs. Braylon Collier has 10 catches for 130 yards and three TDs, and Brady Legando has four catches for 102 yards and a TD.
Honorable Mention - Calvert (2-1) @ Lakota (1-2) … Coach Lento back to his old stomping grounds.
Wynford (1-2) @ Seneca East (1-2) … bonus pick this week because of the reduction from top ten to top five. I just think this’ll be a close game.
When: Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Manchester won at Marlington, 40-0; Northwest beat Louisville at home, 35-28.
Previous Meeting: Sept. 8, 2023; Northwest won at Manchester, 42-21.
Intrigue: Manchester was 1-9 last season, and have rattled off three straight wins to start 2024. There’s a good shot the Panthers will make the playoffs, but if they want to get a home game then they’re going to have to win this one.
Northwest QB Chase Badger threw for 268 yards and four TDs while rushing for a fifth TD last week.
This is one of the tougher opponents either team will face in the regular season.
When: Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Harvest Prep won at Ashland Blazer [KY], 26-10; Perkins won at Rocky River, 49-0.
Previous Meeting: first meeting.
Intrigue: This is one of the top games in the state this weekend.
Harvest Prep has beaten some stiff competition so far as they play one of the toughest schedules in Division V. The Warriors will likely face their toughest competition this week. They’ll need a win Friday if they’d like to qualify for two home games in the postseason.
Perkins QB Sam Schweinfurth is 27-of-39 for 383 yards, four TDs, and one pick. Isaac Bunts leads the team in rushing with 275 yards and seven TDs. Braylon Collier has 10 catches for 130 yards and three TDs, and Brady Legando has four catches for 102 yards and a TD.
When: Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Olmsted Falls beat Canfield at home, 35-6; North Ridgeville beat North Royalton at home, 31-0.
Previous Meeting: Sept. 8, 2023; North Ridgeville won at Olmsted Falls, 10-3.
Intrigue: Olmsted Falls RB Owen Singleton rushed for 101 yards on 13 attempts and three TDs in last week’s win.
North Ridgeville has outscored their opponents, 128-13, after three weeks. The Rangers defense held North Royalton to 69 total yards and created five turnovers last week.
If the Rangers want any shot at getting two home playoff games then they will need to beat the Bulldogs on Friday.
When: Saturday, Sept. 14 at 2 p.m.
Last Week: Elder beat Springboro at home, 30-6; St. Edward lost at home to Boyle County [KY], 38-21.
Previous Meeting: Sept. 9, 2023; St. Edward won at Elder, 34-33.
Intrigue: Elder QB Kaden Estep has completed 32-of-46 passes for 341 yards with fours TD and an INT this year. Estep also has 121 yards rushing. Joey Thamann had 160 total offensive yards and two TDs last week. Christoper Paff has 10 catches for 138 yards and two TDs in 2024.
Defensively, Joey DiTullio had two INTs and a fumble recovery for the Panthers.
DiTulliohas 16 tackles on the season. Senior OLB George Guidugli leads the defense with 34 tackles, and Maddox Arnold has 28 tackles and two sacks.
St. Edward RB Brandon White had 69 yards rushing to leads his team in last week’s defeat.
Their defense has given up 42 points over the last two weeks, but after last week’s home defeat. The Eagles will be wanting nothing more than to get back to their winning ways on Saturday.
When: Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Liberty beat Gahanna Lincoln at home, 31-0; Berlin beat New Albany at home, 40-14.
Previous Meeting: Berlin won at Liberty in overtime, 24-17.
Intrigue: Liberty has outscored their first three opponents, 83-13. A win against their crosstown rival could help set up a deep playoff run.
If Berlin wants two home playoff games then a win Friday is essential to that goal.
There’s also a chance for a rematch in the postseason between these two teams. It should be a good one.
Honorable Mention - St. Ignatius (1-2) @ Walsh Jesuit (3-0) and Chesapeake (3-0) @ Dawson-Bryant (2-1) … both should be great games.
