Week 1 - Best game?

pcbuck said:
Walsh returns 8 starters including the QB from a team that averaged 40 points per game. Ursuline average 35 points per game last year. If you like high scoring games, this one’s for you.
Plus it’s on Thursday night so you can go to another game on Friday.
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I'm biased to the Walsh vs Ursuline matchup, especially with it kicking off the season on Thursday night at Youngstown State Stadium. Both have great coaching and skilled players, and it shapes up to be a fun one.
Friday I definitely think the Iggy vs Avon game is where it's at. Ignatius will be much better this season and should give Avon a damn good game.
 
Moneyline said:
I'm biased to the Walsh vs Ursuline matchup, especially with it kicking off the season on Thursday night at Youngstown State Stadium. Both have great coaching and skilled players, and it shapes up to be a fun one.
Friday I definitely think the Iggy vs Avon game is where it's at. Ignatius will be much better this season and should give Avon a damn good game.
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Both games are definitely great matchups to kickoff the season. Definitely looking forward to making the trip to Stambaugh Stadium for Week 1.
 
bkmk1 said:
Thanks for the feedback. Especially since I did not know it was a week 1 Thursday game. And you're right, I can go to that Thursday, then go Friday to Avon vs. Ignatius. Sweet!

And week 2 is looking like Friday - Mentor at Ignatius.

Saturday - THE GAME I HAVE WAITED 5 YEARS FOR. LONG OVERDUE: St. Joe's Prep from Philadelphia PA - I think 4-5 time in row PA state champions in (6A) (which is like Ohio's Division I - and always nationally ranked) at St. Ed's. 3 in a row Ohio state champions.
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That's going to be a banger 🔥🔥🔥🔥
 
bkmk1 said:
What is the best week 1 games? Not what game are you going to, just what games are the marquee match-ups for week 1 around Ohio. (in your opinion).
In the areas that I would travel to and know about: I have

Avon vs. Ignatius
Highland at Hudson
Walsh at Ursuline
Mass. Jackson at Mentor (not sure I should put this in the marquee level).

Have at it!!!!
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I'm picking Avon over Ignatius. I'm so over Ignatius. Franzinger didn't impress me much last year. Also talked to some parents - based on what I saw, the team culture seemed to be pretty bad. Lots of highly opinionated parents, lots of doubting of who should be the QB, etc. I won't go deeper out of fear of being targeted by the Iggy Mafia. :) Avon is the model for what Ohio public school football should be. Great students, great coaching. If I were from Avon, I'd be really proud of that program.

I'll go with Highland here. Highland will probably roll Hudson. They would've last year except for the Hudson RB and left tackle. Both are gone with no one at that level to step up to anywhere close to their level. I have heard that Hudson has a difference maker in the making at RB in the sophomore class. Some say he won't be ready to make that much of a difference this year though. And until he's done it, he hasn't done it. Probably will be RB by committee there until he is ready to take it over. While they aren't great, he will still have the best OL that he will likely ever have as long as he is at Hudson. I like Highland quite a bit this year. I seriously think they can compete to win Region 6. They are all similar type players - strong, aggressive, high motor. Hudson wins a lot of the time because they are more well conditioned than their opponents. That won't happen with Highland.

Walsh should easily beat Ursuline. Walsh lost a lot from last year, but Alexander has seemed to reload every year that he's been there. They're not at Hoban's level (yet, maybe they will never be), but they are closing the gap a bit. The Walsh QB is small, but really good. One of the best in NE Ohio this year, IMO. He throws well and has great instincts. Seems to struggle when he gets hit a lot though. If Walsh can protect him well, he should have a fantastic year. Like western PA, Youngstown's football talent is on a downward trend. I'm not really impressed by any of the teams there, including Ursuline. Cleveland, Canton and Akron have the superior talent bases. If I'm a College D3 football coach in Western PA (and there are tons of them there), I'd try to bring in 5 to 8 kids from the Route 71/271/8 corridor every year.

And finally, I will go with Mentor here, but Massillon Jackson seems to be rising. I haven't heard much about Mentor this year. But I'm coming to the conclusion that they are not a well run program and have succeeded because of the shear number of kids to choose from. They should be the top public in NE Ohio and close to on par with everyone except Hoban and Eds. They're not... But they'll still probably beat Jackson. This one should be the closest of the 4.
 
David Wooderson said:
Walsh should easily beat Ursuline. Walsh lost a lot from last year, but Alexander has seemed to reload every year that he's been there. They're not at Hoban's level (yet, maybe they will never be), but they are closing the gap a bit. The Walsh QB is small, but really good. One of the best in NE Ohio this year, IMO. He throws well and has great instincts. Seems to struggle when he gets hit a lot though. If Walsh can protect him well, he should have a fantastic year. Like western PA, Youngstown's football talent is on a downward trend. I'm not really impressed by any of the teams there, including Ursuline. Cleveland, Canton and Akron have the superior talent bases. If I'm a College D3 football coach in Western PA (and there are tons of them there), I'd try to bring in 5 to 8 kids from the Route 71/271/8 corridor every year.
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The Youngstown area has had 10 teams that played for or won state championships over the last 9/10 years. Youngstown has 10,000 less population than Canton, 3 x less than Akron and almost 7 x less than Cleveland. "Downward trend" isn't the term I'd use.
 
David Wooderson said:
I'm picking Avon over Ignatius. I'm so over Ignatius. Franzinger didn't impress me much last year. Also talked to some parents - based on what I saw, the team culture seemed to be pretty bad. Lots of highly opinionated parents, lots of doubting of who should be the QB, etc. I won't go deeper out of fear of being targeted by the Iggy Mafia. :) Avon is the model for what Ohio public school football should be. Great students, great coaching. If I were from Avon, I'd be really proud of that program.

I'll go with Highland here. Highland will probably roll Hudson. They would've last year except for the Hudson RB and left tackle. Both are gone with no one at that level to step up to anywhere close to their level. I have heard that Hudson has a difference maker in the making at RB in the sophomore class. Some say he won't be ready to make that much of a difference this year though. And until he's done it, he hasn't done it. Probably will be RB by committee there until he is ready to take it over. While they aren't great, he will still have the best OL that he will likely ever have as long as he is at Hudson. I like Highland quite a bit this year. I seriously think they can compete to win Region 6. They are all similar type players - strong, aggressive, high motor. Hudson wins a lot of the time because they are more well conditioned than their opponents. That won't happen with Highland.

Walsh should easily beat Ursuline. Walsh lost a lot from last year, but Alexander has seemed to reload every year that he's been there. They're not at Hoban's level (yet, maybe they will never be), but they are closing the gap a bit. The Walsh QB is small, but really good. One of the best in NE Ohio this year, IMO. He throws well and has great instincts. Seems to struggle when he gets hit a lot though. If Walsh can protect him well, he should have a fantastic year. Like western PA, Youngstown's football talent is on a downward trend. I'm not really impressed by any of the teams there, including Ursuline. Cleveland, Canton and Akron have the superior talent bases. If I'm a College D3 football coach in Western PA (and there are tons of them there), I'd try to bring in 5 to 8 kids from the Route 71/271/8 corridor every year.

And finally, I will go with Mentor here, but Massillon Jackson seems to be rising. I haven't heard much about Mentor this year. But I'm coming to the conclusion that they are not a well run program and have succeeded because of the shear number of kids to choose from. They should be the top public in NE Ohio and close to on par with everyone except Hoban and Eds. They're not... But they'll still probably beat Jackson. This one should be the closest of the 4.
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Great input. Thanks.
 
Jaws31 said:
The Youngstown area has had 10 teams that played for or won state championships over the last 9/10 years. Youngstown has 10,000 less population than Canton, 3 x less than Akron and almost 7 x less than Cleveland. "Downward trend" isn't the term I'd use.
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It is not what it once was.
 
Jaws31 said:
Maybe but honestly most of Ohio is not what it once was.
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I don't mean it as a shot. It is more of a testament to how deep the talent was for long time. It is probably now "right sized" as far as the talent level goes. I feel the same about Western PA. That area just oozed football talent. It is many steps behind where it once was. Times change, demographics change. I am still pretty high on the talent in the greater Cleveland area and into Canton. But I would be lying if I said I didn't sense a bit of a decline there as well. Regardless, all three areas, greater Cleveland, WPA and Youngstown are all still very special places for high school football and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Other than Texas, I don't think Friday Nights are more exciting anywhere else in the country.
 
David Wooderson said:
I don't mean it as a shot. It is more of a testament to how deep the talent was for long time. It is probably now "right sized" as far as the talent level goes. I feel the same about Western PA. That area just oozed football talent. It is many steps behind where it once was. Times change, demographics change. I am still pretty high on the talent in the greater Cleveland area and into Canton. But I would be lying if I said I didn't sense a bit of a decline there as well. Regardless, all three areas, greater Cleveland, WPA and Youngstown are all still very special places for high school football and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Other than Texas, I don't think Friday Nights are more exciting anywhere else in the country.
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No worries. Im from western pa and played during the height of talent. It has most definitely declined over there. I believe more so than Ohio. Walsh very well could win week one but I know the Irish will be ready.
 
Jaws31 said:
No worries. Im from western pa and played during the height of talent. It has most definitely declined over there. I believe more so than Ohio. Walsh very well could win week one but I know the Irish will be ready.
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Sweet. I'm a bit tuned into Western PA football too (especially SWPA) as well because it has historically been so similar to NE Ohio for football. Big fan of schools like Aliquippa, TJ, South Fayette. Great programs at those places. They seem to do well every year regardless of who is on the roster. Hope you didn't play for one of their rivals. :)
 
David Wooderson said:
Sweet. I'm a bit tuned into Western PA football too (especially SWPA) as well because it has historically been so similar to NE Ohio for football. Big fan of schools like Aliquippa, TJ, South Fayette. Great programs at those places. They seem to do well every year regardless of who is on the roster. Hope you didn't play for one of their rivals. :)
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No. I played on the state title team at Hickory. Sharon, Farrell and the like were my rivals, especially Sharon. Still can't stand them. Lol
 
cjb5656 said:
Canton McKinley is at Avon in Week 2, as well.
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That could be a very interesting game. Possibly a Week 2 headliner. Especially after Avon opens up with Ignatius and Canton McKinley opens up with Warren Harding. An Avon home game, high expectations. Look for the Eagles to beat the Bulldogs.
 
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