High school football: Week 3

East Cleveland Shaw at ColumbianRecords: 0-2, Columbian 1-1Last year: Didn't playOutlook: There's a bad taste in Columbian's mouth after a tough loss last week at Chardon. According to TC coach Judd Lutz, there's no better way to get that taste out your mouth than taking out some frustrations on the next opponent. If that is the case, unfortunately it's East Cleveland Shaw, who has only won four games in the last three seasons.However, it is an unfamiliar opponent for the Tornadoes, so it might take a minute to adjust and see what the Cardinals are doing."Yeah, we went to a really good team's back yard and didn't play well. We didn't play terrible, but we didn't make the key plays early in the game to keep us in it," Lutz said after the 42-0 loss at Chardon Friday. "The score got away from us, but I don't think the score depicted what kind of game it was, but it did give us a bad taste in our mouths."We just had to tweak some things and the kids are hungry to get that taste out of their mouths and take some frustrations out on the next one."Shaw is 0-2 this season is coming off a 56-6 loss to Erie, Pennsylvania. But Lutz said the Cardinals have some playmakers that could make things interesting if the Tornadoes don't execute."They haven't had success recently, but they do have a new coaching staff and they want to be successful and I think they have the means to do that, but hopefully it isn't against us this week," he said. "They have athletes, but they just have needed to execute better so far this season from what we've seen. They have some guys that can make some highlight plays, so if we don't execute and make plays, we could be in a dogfight."Offensively, they are more of a spread team, but do like to establish the run. They have played multiple quarterbacks and running backs and all can run the ball. They have a good group of receivers and they have one big kid who pops off on tape who has done some good things after the catch, so it should be a good challenge to see if we've fixed some things after last week." Calvert at Norwalk St. PaulRecords: Calvert 1-1, St. Paul 0-2Last year: Calvert, 35-25Outlook: Calvert and coach Mike Lento know better than anyone to not underestimate a Norwalk St. Paul team. So far this season through two games, St. Paul is 0-2 and has been outscored 79-2.But that was to two bigger SBC Bay teams – Huron and Edison, who are both 2-0.So, Calvert will definitely not take the Flyers lightly, especially coming off a loss itself to a good Monroeville team last week 23-9. "We just had to get back to work and sharpen the saw. Nobody likes to lose, but we had to reevaluate some things and we need to do the small things right," Lento said. "We missed some things and we need to make some adjustments to better as a team top to bottom, and we're gonna be back to be physical and do what we do. We just have to make sure our guys are comfortable with what we do."Despite the 0-2 record, Lento said he has seen a typical St. Paul team on film."St. Paul is St. Paul, so you throw out the scores and the records because this is a rivalry where St. Paul has had the better of us really," Lento said. "They always fire off the ball hard, come after you play after play and you have to match their physicality and limit mistakes in a game like this."Also offensively, if we have the chance to score some points we need to do so because they like to get those 10-15 play drives going to keep the ball out of your hands, so we have to be efficient with the ball."Kickoff is 7 p.m. Saturday night. Danville at Hopewell-LoudonRecords: Danville 2-0, Hopewell-Loudon 2-0.Last year: Did not play.Outlook: Hopewell-Loudon finally gets a home game after two weeks on the road, but the challenge gets no easier.Unbeaten Danville, a Division VII regional runner-up last year, heads to Bascom with a lot of tradition in tow — 47 conference titles, 22 playoff appearances and four trips to the final four."They present some issues, for sure. They went 10-0 last year as well (in the regular season) and played in the regional final," H-L coach Brian Colatruglio said. "Neither one of us has lost a regular-season game in quite a while. It's two of the better small-school programs anywhere in the state of Ohio, and for them to be willing to come up here and play us is awesome."The Blue Devils ended 13-1 last year and graduated key offensive threats in running back Cole Delaughder (25 TDs, school-record 1,772 yards rushing) and quarterback Walker Wekcesser (1,429 passing yards, 19 passing TDs).Aidan Burke now heads up the run-oriented offense (averaging 289 rushing yards per game), providing 305 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Quarterback Jacob Hackman has run for 123 yards and three scores and thrown for 175 yards and another touchdown. The TD toss covered 39 yards to Burke, his lone catch this year.Joshua Byers (2-38) and Caleb Lucas (3-33) have combined for another five catches and 71 yards, but the ground game is where Danville starts, Colatruglio said."We have to slow their run game down. That's their bread and butter. They run the ball about 85 percent of the time," he said.The Chieftains have been a bit more pass-centric this year, with Jacoby Ellis throwing for 354 yards and two scores.Jack Colatruglio leads the receivers with 11 catches and 223 yards. Braylon Martinez has seven catches for 116 yards and a TD, while also running for 98 yards and three more scores.Each defense also has standouts.Joshua Byers tops Danville with 27 tackles, with Blake Colopy (19), Greg Wilson (16), Wesley Payne (12), Caleb Lucas (12), Hackman (11) and Ashton Spaulding (11) each adding double-digit stops so far this year.Spaulding and Lucas also each had three tackles for loss, and Levi Furay has two of the team's five interceptions.Mason Reinhart tops H-L's defense with 22 tackles, with Will Nutter (18), Brayden Brickman (17), Scott Turco (15), Luca SanGregory (13), Jack Colatruglio (12), Thomas Daniel (10) and Eli Benner (10) registering at least 10 each.Nutter (fumble recovery) and Jack Colatruglio (interception return) also scored on defense last week."They're not going to back down from a challenge and neither are we," coach Colatruglio said. "I think it's going to be a great environment. There's going to be some violence on the line of scrimmage on Friday night, there's no doubt. They really get after it." Carey at Lima Central CatholicRecords: Carey 0-2, LCC 1-1Last year: Carey, 28-14Outlook: Yes, Carey is 0-2. It was 0-2 to start last year too, which the Blue Devils did end the season with 10 straight wins and a N10 title before a playoff loss. So there is some optimism for the Blue Devils, but coach Jonathon Mershman knows a game at Lima Central Catholic is going to be a huge challenge to get that first win."We've lost two really close games and we didn't close them out how we wanted to," Mershman said. "We have a younger inexperienced team, so these will only be disappointments if we don't lean and grow from them. We have to take steps forward and we have to learn how to finish these games out. "LCC is a really tough opponent. They're always well coached and they will come out in a lot of different formations, so we have to be ready for all of them. If we can get this one, it could be a great stepping stone to where we want to go this season."LCC does return some talent, but its quarterback did graduate. It's coming off a win over Delphos St. John's 14-13 bouncing back from a Week 1 loss to a much bigger Lima Shawnee 33-19."Last year they had a stud QB, but he's graduated thankfully," Mershman said with a chuckle. "So their offense is a little different this season, definitely running it more with a different QB, but they have some nice size on the O-line and on the D-line as well and they're using it to their advantage. "One of our mantras have been to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. It's a Saturday game at an earlier start time and it's our first away game, so we want to be comfortable with being uncomfortable because you can't use those things as excuses. You have to find a way to put it all together." Seneca East at MonroevilleRecords: Seneca East 1-1, Monroeville 2-0Last year: Monroeville, 40-21Outlook: It was not a great night for Seneca East's defense last Friday night. Giving up a bunch of rushing yards and scores to Gibsonburg was not a recipe for success. It won't again this week if SE doesn't shore up the run defense as a good Monroeville team hosts the Tigers.The Eagles ran up and down the field on a stout Calvert defense last week."We've had good practices so far this week and we talked about being disciplined with our eyes," SE coach Ed Phillips said. "Gibsonburg did a good job of handling the ball and our eyes were where they shouldn't have been and we didn't stick to our keys defensively, so that was the result we got doing that last Friday."We watched film and it was very productive this week and I told the kids that if that loss serves a purpose, then it was worth something and we have to keep moving forward." The Eagles topped Calvert 23-9 last Friday and beat Lakota 45-13 in Week 1. Quarterback Evan Benfer is the catalyst for the offense, but Landen Roeder is a great compliment to him in the backfield. The Eagles like to run the ball, but Benfer has showed he's a capable passer as well."Their quarterback and running back are very good and they have a couple linemen back as well, and they have a nice thing going on up there," Phillips said. "We definitely have to be at the top of our game to get a 'W.'" Toledo Woodward at FostoriaRecords: Woodward 0-2, Fostoria 0-2.Last year: Did not play.Outlook: The scoreboard and win column don't show it, but Fostoria coach Derek Angelone is seeing progress with his Redmen."We made a lot of improvement, whether the scoreboard showed it or not. From Week 1 to Week 2, we made some massive steps forward, in terms of offensive line play, in terms of correcting assignment and alignment issues," he said. "We definitely made some massive improvements and now we're just looking to build off those improvements and continue that."He and the Redmen face a Woodward team looking for much of the same, only the Polar Bears have been looking far longer.Woodward enters riding a 33-game losing streak (the last win came Nov. 5, 2020, in a 42-27 victory against Waite) while Fostoria's last win was a 36-24 triumph against Rossford in the 2023 finale.Each team has also scored just once this year (Woodward lost 28-8 to Cleveland John Adams in Week 1, Fostoria found the end zone last week), but Woodward scored just 20 points last year and suffered eight shutouts.In short, the Division III Polar Bears are hungry for a win and Angelone feels they think his Division V Redmen are the ones it will come against."They're athletic. They've got athletes playing different positions. They're looking for their first win in a couple years and they're looking at this as an opportunity to go out and get that," he said. "They're probably coming into this week pretty pumped up and thinking they have a great opportunity with us not performing the way that we felt we should have the last couple weeks."The keys for Fostoria to counter that and break into the win column are to strike early, control the tempo, finish drives and dictate the play, Angelone said."We're just looking to go out and play our game," he said, "and if we go out and play the way we're supposed to, continue to build like we did from Week 1 to Week 2, then we should be alright." Buckeye Central at Fairport HardingRecords: Buckeye Central 0-2, Fairport Harbor Fairport Harding 1-0.Last year: Did not play.Outlook: Buckeye Central hits the road Friday for its longest trip of the regular season, traveling more than two hours northeast to play fellow Division VII-sized Fairport Harding."We feel like we've got a good plan. We do have some experience traveling; not quite that distance," Buckeye Central coach Jordan Phillips said."Even though it's a long bus ride there, we're hoping for a fun bus ride home," he said.While it's Week 3 for Buckeye Central, the Skippers will play in just their second game after last week's contest with Lisbon was canceled.Even with just one game so far this year, Phillips said the Skippers bring a lot of challenges."They have a lot of speed. They really challenge your defense horizontally, but if you get too nosy, coming down on their jet sweep action and things like that, they do have an ability to throw vertically," he said. "Being able to stay disciplined, being able to tackle in space, those things will be really imperative to us defensively."Offensively, we're really more focused on cleaning things up on our end," he said. "We've got to do a better job of staying ahead of the sticks and not having the penalties that kill drives that are moving."Continued improvement is crucial as his young team prepares for conference play, Phillips added."It's really tempting to be results-driven, and we do want to have good results here in these games, but we've got a young team, we're really looking for 'Are we cleaning up the things that were a problem the previous week?' We feel like if we do that every week, you're getting better at those things that you struggle at," he said. "By the time you get into the thick of league play, you'll be in a position to win those games." Margaretta at MohawkRecords: Margaretta 0-2, Mohawk 1-1.Last year: Margaretta won 17-12.Outlook: Mohawk bounced back from a season-opening one-point loss in a big way last Friday, rolling past Cardington-Lincoln.The victory had a lot to do with focusing on getting better and now dwelling on what didn't go their way, Warriors coach Eric Daniel said."We just told the guys we're on a 10-week journey together and we're trying to improve every week. I know that sounds like a clichè but even in that win last week, there's stuff we can work on, and (we) can never get too high or too low and just work and focus on us," he said."We've got a really good group of kids that are bought in," Daniel said. "Great team. I like our team chemistry and how they act, how they conduct themselves."Margaretta comes calling in Week 3, a team Daniel said is much more dangerous than its record implies.The Polar Bears have had to weather several injuries while their first two opponents this year (Division IV Vermilion and Division VI Western Reserve) are now 2-0."They remind me of us in years past. You lose a couple of your studs in Division VI football and it gets really hard really quick," Daniel said. "We're anticipating some of their guys coming back and them being healthy, and they're very dangerous when they have all their guys. They just haven't had all their guys consistently in a game or scrimmage yet."Daniel thinks his Warriors will have an edge at the skill positions and along the offensive line, but the young Polar Bears will be anything but an easy foe."They graduated a lot of seniors last year, but (are) still extremely dangerous and well-coached," he said."I like where our mentality is as a team," Daniel said. "It should be a really good football game, to be honest. I anticipate it being a very close four-quarter battle, I don't see it being a blowout for either side. I don't think their record is indicative of how good they really are. They've got a lot of young talent, a lot of guys that are getting better every week." Clyde at Toledo WaiteRecords: Clyde 2-0; Waite 0-2.Last year: Clyde, 42-14.Outlook: Clyde kept its train rolling when it pounded Toledo Start, 49-25 last week.The Fliers face another Toledo City League team when they make the trip to Toledo Waite this week, a team that has been outscored 96-12 in two games this season."Waite is a hard place to go play," Clyde coach Ryan Carter said. "Long trip and different type stadium for us. We need to focus on the task at hand and that is to improve each week."Clyde allowed some points to Start after shutting out Bellevue, but Carter liked what he saw against the Spartans."We continued to play hard in Week 2," Carter said. "Some of the issues from Week 1 that we were trying to fix showed up and got better. Some we still need to work on. But we are asking our kids to play with great effort and that is what we are getting for the most part."The two-quarterback system continues to work well for the Fliers. Through two games, Brennan Wilson has completed 20-of-32 passes for 256 yards while Jonathan Lantz has competed 11-of-16 passes for 135 yards. Both have thrown three touchdown passes."I feel like we had growth on both sides of the ball and fell off a little in special teams from Week 1," Carter said. "We gave up two kick returns and you can't do that and expect to win."Four different receivers have caught a touchdown pass. Jackson Dashner has six catches for 86 yards while Kam Shortridge has six receptions for 82 yards and a score.Adam Young leads the rushing attack with 27 carries for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Mason Flewelling has three touchdowns on five carries for Clyde.Waite was topped by Port Clinton (55-6) and Sylvania Southview (41-6) this season. Clyde defeated the Indians, 42-14 last season."Our biggest focus right now is to control what we can control – effort being the biggest," Carter said. "You can't control weather, officials, or outside noise, but we control our effort and responses to events. That is our focus." Galion at Upper SanduskyRecords: Galion 2-0; Upper Sandusky 1-1.Last year: Galion, 41-6.Outlook: Upper Sandusky bounced back from a disappointing Week 1 loss to beat Mount Gilead last week, 27-18.The Rams look to make it two in a row, but it won't be easy as it hosts Galion, a squad that has topped two familiar opponents for Upper Sandusky in Wynford and Carey."The effort was better throughout the game compared to the first half of Week 1," Upper Sandusky coach Russell Hall said.Galion was in a four-quarter battle with Carey before coming out on top, 14-8. The Tigers blasted Wynford in Week 1, 49-13."We saw better execution of assignments on offense and defense," Hall said.The Rams have had success in both facets of its offense this year. Through the air, Justin Heilman has completed 37-of-53 passes for 408 yards and four touchdowns while Ethan Lewis leads the ground game with 38 rushes for 170 yards and two scores. Kaleb Francis has been the top target with 16 receptions for 148 yards and all four TDs. Max Martinez has nine receptions for 134 yards for Upper Sandusky."The biggest focus right now is improving and working on improving our weaknesses," Hall said.Galion romped the Rams last year, 41-6. Upper Sandusky would like to get some payback before beginning league play next week."We have to have better execution in all three phases of the game if we want to get a win," Hall said. Northwood at LakotaRecords: Northwood 0-2; Lakota 1-1.Last year: Lakota, 15-13.Outlook: Lakota picked up career win No. 1 for Ryan Lozier last week when it curb stomped Arcadia, 35-0.The Raiders want to keep the winning going when it welcomes Northwood, a team they slipped by last year, 15-13."What I most was impressed with last week with our team was our ability to block out the heat and get better both in practice and Friday night," Lozier said. "I was worried that we would not have a good week of practice because of the heat, but it was nice to see our team's mental toughness grow with them having the ability to push through. This led to Friday night's heat. Our guys came out ready to go and were mentally checked in. In short, I liked the way our guys grew mentally after the weak loss."Lakota was able to use its big weapons to tear through Arcadia. Jalen Wagner completed 14-of-22 passes for a school-record 366 yards. He threw four touchdown passes – two to Grant Bomer and one each to Avery Shilling and Nick Elchert."I seen growth within our offense in taking care of the ball," Lozier said. "We turned it over five times in Week 1 and one time in Week 2. So, there's improvement there, but obviously we'd like to not turn it over at all. Our passing game seemed to take a step in the right direction with the way we were able to spread the ball around to six different targets. It's nice to be able to turn to multiple guys when a play needs to be made."There was vast improvement on the defensive side too. After giving up 45 points to Monroeville in Week 1, the Raiders shut out Arcadia."Defensively I was impressed with our guys up front and getting in the backfield," Lozier said. "We made it a point of emphasis that we had to be better up front and create some problems which we did. We also flew to the ball a little faster and had more hats to the ball each time. I think as time goes and many of our guys continue to get used to the speed of varsity football, this will continue to improve."Northwood enters at 0-2, falling to Rossford (21-14) and Lake (35-0) in its first two games."Northwood is big and fast," Lozier said. "They have a lot of guys who can hurt you, so we have to be ready to go in all phases of the game. Coach (Ken) James does a great job with his team. I think in order for us to get a win Friday night, it will start up front on both sides of the ball. They bring pressure that we have to pick up as well as stopping the run defensively. It will be a good test to see where we are as a team." Bellevue at ShelbyRecords: Bellevue 1-1; Shelby 2-0.Last year: Bellevue, 35-33.Outlook: The Bellevue and Shelby rivalry is eight decades long with Bellevue taking home the last four meetings.Shelby hasn't beaten the Redmen since a 42-21 regional championship win by the Whippets in 2017.After a lopsided 34-0 loss to Clyde in Week 1, Bellevue bounced back by topping Wauseon last week, 28-7.Through two games, most of the offense has run through Ike Brown for the Redmen. He has completed 19-of-47 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, he has run 44 times for 111 yards and two scores.Elsewhere on the ground, Holden Dorobek has accumulated 16 carries for 98 yards. Through the air, Cooper Moyer has hauled in eight passes for 79 yards.Shelby is undefeated after beating Mansfield Madison (40-14) and Lexington (21-10).Bellevue has an edge in the all-time series, 41-36-2. The last time the two played in Shelby was the first game at the new Shelby Athletic Complex. Bellevue came home with a 24-9 win that night.