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, August 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, August 27
Northeast: Twinsburg at Willoughby South
Central: Westerville South at Westerville Central
Southwest: Clarksville Clinton-Massie at Cincinnati Anderson
Week 3, September 3
Northeast and Southwest: Canton McKinley at Huber Heights Wayne
Central: Dresden Tri-Valley at Zanesville
Week 4, September 10
Northeast: Avon Lake at Avon
Central and Southwest: Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller at Ironton
Week 5, September 17
Northeast: Medina at Strongsville
Central: Hilliard Bradley at Pickerington Central
Southwest: Morrow Little Miami at Cincinnati Turpin
Week 6, September 24
Northeast: North Royalton at Stow-Munroe Falls
Central: Groveport-Madison at Reynoldsburg
Southwest: Springboro at Centerville
Week 7, October 1
Northeast: Cleveland Benedictine at Brecksville-Broadview Heights
Central: Marysville at Dublin Jerome
Southwest: Liberty Township Lakota East at Cincinnati Colerain
Week 8, October 8
Northeast: Aurora at Barberton
Central: Hilliard Darby at Lewis Center Olentangy
Southwest: Cincinnati Sycamore at Cincinnati Princeton
Week 9, October 15
Northeast and Central: Columbus Bishop Hartley at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary
Southwest: Springfield at Miamisburg
Week 10, October 22
Northeast: Strongsville at Brunswick
Central: Lewis Center Olentangy Orange at Powell Olentangy Liberty
Southwest: Ketter Archbishop Alter at Dayton Chaminade Julienne
