OHIO — The final Friday of the regular season for high school football brings many rivalry games, and very few can match the tradition, history and competitiveness of Ironton and Portsmouth.
The two Ohio Rivers towns first met in 1899, and the 130 games played in the series are right up there with Piqua-Troy (136 games) and Massillon-Canton McKinley (132) as the most-played in Ohio high school football.
The 131st affair is the Ohio High School Athletic Association Game of the Week on Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News App in central and southeast Ohio this week.
While the Fighting Tigers (9-0) have won 16 of the last 20 meetings (including a 17-6 playoff win a year ago), Ironton holds a slight 63-60-7 advantage all-time.
Both teams will be in the Region 19 (Division V) playoffs this year, too, as the Tigers are first in the computer points (and ranked second in the state in the Associated Press Division V poll). The Trojans (6-3) currently sit eighth in the region entering Friday’s game.
Ironton, coached by former Michigan State fullback Trevon Pendelton, has plenty of talent, with two players (linebacker Trevor Carter & wide receiver Ty Perkins) committed to play at Cincinnati next year, while running back Jaquez Keyes has pledged to Wisconsin.
In southwest Ohio, it’s another team ranked second in the AP poll that is featured. Lakota West (9-0) is the only remaining undefeated team in Division I and welcomes Colerain (4-5) in a Greater Miami Conference game.
The Firebirds have replaced the Cardinals as that league’s top team, and have won the last three meetings in the series, after winning just once previously. It should be noted that Lakota West opened in 1997 and hasn’t played Colerain each year.
Further connecting the schools is the Firebirds’ head coach, Tom Bolden. A Colerain graduate, he was the longtime head coach of the Cardinals before moving over to Lakota West following the 2018 season. That year, Colerain lost in the Division I state championship game.
Both schools are in Region 4, and will be extending seasons next week. The Firebirds are currently third in computer points, eight spots ahead of the Cardinals. It will be the 12th straight postseason appearance for Colerain.
Lakota West’s secondary might be the best in the state, with three members committed to play in college next year: safety Malik Hartford to Ohio State, safety Ben Minich to Notre Dame, and cornerback Joshua Fussell to Northwestern.
Rounding out the OHSAA Game of the Week schedule is Stow (1-8) at Hudson (9-0) in northeast Ohio.
The Bulldogs are sitting in the 16th and final spot in Region 1 (Division I), so they’ll punch a playoff ticket with a win. A loss—combined with a Euclid loss—would also mean an 11th week for Stow.
The Explorers are third in Region 5 (Division II), and ranked eighth in the state in this week’s AP poll.
Stow has won four of the past six meetings, going back to 2015, but Hudson has won 15 of the previous 22, extending the series history out to 1999.
Some of the other big games to conclude the regular season across the state includes Canton McKinley (5-4) at Massillon (7-1), Marion Local (9-0) at Coldwater (9-0), Wyoming (9-0) at Madeira (9-0), Hoban (9-0) at St. Edward (8-1), Mason (7-2) at Princeton (8-1), Bellbrook (8-1) at Valley View (8-1), Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (6-2) at Walsh Jesuit (7-2) and Wayne (6-3) at Centerville (7-2).
The playoffs begin next week, and Spectrum News 1 is your exclusive home for live games, beginning at 7 p.m. We’ll set the table with High School Blitz five minutes before, and wrap-up the night immediately following each game.