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 1. The Ohio High School Athletic Association doubled the number of teams that qualify for the playoffs, adding a week to the postseason, while keeping the 10-week regular season intact.
That meant one fewer week for practices and a scrimmage. After a week of live action, teams should be much sharper in Week 2, 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 10 years prior to that. Twinsburg visits Willoughby South, a 44-14 winner last Friday over Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin.
In central Ohio, Westerville Central was scheduled to take on Westerville South this week, but Westerville Schools announced Thursday afternoon that the game has been canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
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. 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
