OHIO — Much of the first week of the high school football season was touted as a “return to normalcy” as teams were able to play in front of crowds, bands performed, and Friday nights just felt familiar.
While the pandemic still casts a shadow on this season, one significant change really impacted week one. The Ohio High School Athletic Association doubled the number of teams that qualify for the playoffs, adding a week to the post-season, while keeping the ten-week regular season intact.
That meant one fewer week for practices and a scrimmage. Which means teams should be much sharper in week two, bringing us to Friday’s OHSAA Game of the Week on Spectrum News 1.
Viewers in Northern Ohio will see a game that will impact the Region 5 standings. Twinsburg opened its season with a 34-27 victory over Copley in overtime. The Tigers — like all Ohio schools — made the playoffs in 2020, but last appeared ten years prior to that. Twinsburg visits Willoughby South, a 44-14 winner last Friday over Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin.
Speaking of pandemic shadows, due to COVID protocols, the highly anticipated match-up between neighbors Westerville South and Westerville Central was canceled.
Spectrum News 1 has rerouted its crew to New Albany, where the Eagles were 50-7 victors over Watkins Memorial to open the season. New Albany hosts Westerville North, which fell to the aforementioned Westerville Central, 14-7. There’s plenty of familiarity here, as the Warriors lost a 34-7 playoff game to the Eagles last season.
It will be a historic evening at Anderson High School in Cincinnati. The newly named Raptors will be playing their first ever home football since retiring the school’s former nickname (Redskins). Anderson dropped a 58-45 shootout at Princeton to open the season. On the visitor’s sideline will be Clinton-Massie, making its 2021 debut. The Falcons are a perennial contender in Division IV, reaching the state championship game back in 2017.
Live coverage begins at 7 p.m. for all three games on channel 1, and on the Spectrum News App.
Spectrum News 1 Game of the Week schedule:
Week 2, Aug. 27
Northeast: Twinsburg at Willoughby South
Central: TBD
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