It’s hard to believe, but we’re exactly six weeks away from the beginning of high school football here in Ohio. It seems like just yesterday Ursuline was playing for a state title at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, but it’s on to another high school football season. So with that in mind, starting...
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Week 4
Harding at Massillon
Like many of Harding’s 2021 contests, the Raiders’ matchup with Massillon was a thriller.
Harding trailed by as much as 21 in the second quarter and 16 in the second half before staging a late rally. In the end, the Raiders came up just shy in a 49-46 loss to the Tigers.
The Raiders will enter having faced Medina, Buchtel and Hudson in Weeks 1-3, providing plenty of time for Harding to sharpen before it seeks its first win over Massillon since 2016.
Also aiding Harding is the return of dynamic quarterback Dalys Jett, who picked up a handful of Division I offers during the offseason. He threw for 1,672 yards and 22 touchdowns, the latter of which marking a WGH record, and also tallied 545 yards and 11 touchdowns on 99 rushes, according to statistics compiled on wghfootball.com.
He’ll be without receivers Tyirq Ivory and Dom Foster, but does have tailback Ryan Powell at his disposal. Powell, a 3-star recruit according to 247Sports, also has a number of D1 offers to his name, including a few at the Power 5 level. He ran for 308 yards and four touchdowns on 45 rushes last year, according to the team’s statistics kept on DigitialScout.
Week 6
Austintown Fitch at Massillon
This one may have felt like a missed opportunity for Fitch a season ago at Falcon Stadium.
Fitch led 14-0 one play into the second quarter and took a 21-17 lead into the fourth before the Tigers rallied with a 14-point quarter to win the game, 31-21.
Fitch will feature one of the area’s best tailback tandems this season in Jamell James and D.J. Williams, providing a steady ground game for the Falcons as they look to replace starting quarterback Devin Sherwood, who graduated.
Fitch also has playmakers out wide and on defense, particularly in Cam Smith, a 3-star safety committed to Iowa State. He features at receiver, too.
In the trenches, Brian Robinson has picked up plenty of impressive offers during the offseason and will figure to be a wrecking ball for the Falcon defense.
Given the sort of firepower Fitch does return, the Falcons could be in the mix against always-talented Massillon again this season. A win would figure to be a massive boost for Fitch’s playoff seeding, as well.