OHIO — The best careers in football end up with enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, where the National Football League was founded more than 100 years ago.

Similarly, the best high school football seasons in the state of Ohio finish in Stark County as well. Once again in 2021, the OHSAA state football championships will be held just steps from the very same Hall of Fame.

Those journeys begin this week, and the OHSAA Game of the Week returns on Spectrum News 1 to take you along. Games featuring some of the top teams and players in the state begins Friday at 7 p.m. live on channel 1, and the Spectrum News App. The state championships will be played 16 weeks later on Dec. 2-4 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

However, the regular season begins roughly five miles due north at Hoover High School, where the Vikings will host Cleveland Heights. Both teams are coming off winning records in the disjointed 2020 season, with the Tigers 5-3 and the Vikings 6-3. One of the top offensive lineman in the entire state, West Virginia commit Maurice Hamilton, hopes to take Cleveland Heights to new heights in ’21.

In central Ohio, Columbus DeSales finished 2020 in Stark County, losing a heart-breaker in the Division III state final played at Massillon, 31-28 (to Chardon in double-overtime). The Stallions travel to Olentangy Berlin on Friday, but will be without injured star linebacker/running back Jonathan Thompson (committed to Cincinnati). The Bears have only been in existence for four years, but have posted winning records in each of the last two seasons after a one-win debut.

St. Xavier won its fourth state title last year and needed a come-from-behind 10-7 win over Lakota West in the Region 4 championship game to keep its season alive. The Bombers pulled out the victory, throwing a touchdown pass with less than 30 seconds remaining to hand the Firebirds their only loss of the season.

It was arguably the Cincinnati area’s best game of 2020, and the new regular season is ushered in the same way. Lakota West has three of the state’s top 15 players, according to www.247sports.com in Ohio State commits Jyaire Brown (DB) and Tegra Tshabola (OL), and safety Alex Afari, a Kentucky pledge. St. Xavier is a perennial contender for a state crown.

While there’s a lot that can happen between now and November, the expectation is these two would meet again in the playoffs this year.

A lot can happen between now and December, when the state championships are held. Spectrum News 1 will be there with you every step of the way.

Here is the regular season schedule:

Week 1, Aug. 20

   Northeast: Cleveland Heights at North Canton Hoover

   Central: Columbus St. Francis DeSales at Delaware Olentangy Berlin

   Southwest: West Chester Lakota West at Cincinnati St. Xavier

Week 2, Aug. 27

   Northeast: Twinsburg at Willoughby South

   Central: Westerville South at Westerville Central

   Southwest: Clarksville Clinton-Massie at Cincinnati Anderson

Week 3, Sept. 3

   Northeast and Southwest: Canton McKinley at Huber Heights Wayne

   Central: Dresden Tri-Valley at Zanesville

Week 4, Sept. 10

   Northeast: Avon Lake at Avon

   Central and Southwest: Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller at Ironton

Week 5, Sept. 17

   Northeast: Medina at Strongsville

   Central: Hilliard Bradley at Pickerington Central

   Southwest: Morrow Little Miami at Cincinnati Turpin

Week 6, Sept. 24

   Northeast: North Royalton at Stow-Munroe Falls

   Central: Groveport-Madison at Reynoldsburg

   Southwest: Springboro at Centerville

Week 7, Oct. 1

   Northeast: Cleveland Benedictine at Brecksville-Broadview Heights

   Central: Marysville at Dublin Jerome

   Southwest: Liberty Township Lakota East at Cincinnati Colerain

Week 8, Oct. 8

   Northeast: Aurora at Barberton

   Central: Hilliard Darby at Lewis Center Olentangy

   Southwest: Cincinnati Sycamore at Cincinnati Princeton

Week 9, Oct. 15

   Northeast and Central: Columbus Bishop Hartley at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary

   Southwest: Springfield at Miamisburg

Week 10, Oct. 22

   Northeast: Strongsville at Brunswick

   Central: Lewis Center Olentangy Orange at Powell Olentangy Liberty

   Southwest: Ketter Archbishop Alter at Dayton Chaminade Julienne