Week 3 primer; high school football games to watch 2023

WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) – This Friday’s High School Football Game of the Week between Harding and Farrell should prove to be another classic matchup.

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Among the area Ohio schools, there are twelve teams that are unbeaten (East Liverpool, Girard, Hubbard, Jackson-Milton, Lakeview, Lisbon, Lowellville, McDonald, Mineral Ridge, Poland, United, Ursuline).

Below are a couple of the marquee matchups for week three:

Week 3 Primer
Girard (2-0) at West Branch (1-1)
…West Branch hosts undefeated Girard in a big-time tilt in Beloit. The Warriors were doubled up in week one by the defending Division III state champion Canfield Cardinals (38-19). Last week, West Branch toppled Woodridge – 34-13. The combination of QB Beau Alazaus and RB Bostin Mulinix was too much as Alazaus threw for 180 yards and Mulinix ran for 3 scores and gained 223 yards on the ground. Girard has scored 91 points through their first two games of the 2023 season. The Indians senior signal caller Tuff McConahy has completed 68.6% (35-51) of his passes for 600 yards and 4 touchdowns. Three of his receivers (Stephen Sims, Anthony Bengala, Domenico Simone) have 7 or more receptions through the first eight quarters of the new campaign. Ahmad Curd has run in 6 touchdowns this year so far.

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Salem (0-2) at East Liverpool (2-0)
…A year ago, Salem topped East Liverpool – 38-6. This season, with new head coach Paul Cusick, the Potters are seeking their first 3-0 start since 2002. In their first two games (against Minerva and Indian Creek), East Liverpool’s defense has allowed a total of 7 points. Four Potters (Payton Butler, Michael Harty, Kasen Ramsey, Trent Davis) have a pair of quarterback sacks as they’ve forced 7 turnovers. The Quakers are trying to avoid their first 0-3 start since 2012.

Olmsted Falls (2-0) at Canfield (1-1)
…The Cardinals will look to get back on track when they welcome Olmsted Falls. Canfield dropped their week two contest to Mansfield Senior (24-14), to end their 11-game win streak. The Bulldogs are 2-0 after shutting out Solon (35-0) and getting by Brunswick (33-21), thanks to a three-touchdown third quarter, to open the season undefeated.

Boardman (0-2) at Chaney (0-1)
…The Spartans and the Cowboys are set to square off. Boardman fell to Kenston (50-13) and Lake (42-31) in back-to-back weeks. Spartan QB Zach Haus connected on 31 of 36 passes for 332 yards in their loss to Lake. Chaney dropped their opener to Akron East (14-13), that took until the next day due to inclement weather, two weeks ago. Matt Jones scored a pair of touchdowns in the losing effort. The Cowboys topped Boardman last year, 40-14. The year prior, the Spartans defeated Chaney – 16-12.

Fitch (1-1) at GlenOak (1-1)
…The Falcons were edged last week by WPIAL-power Central Valley, 36-35. DJ Williams scored three times, but Fitch was turned away late by the Warriors’ successful two-point conversion. In their opener, the Falcons’ DeShawn Vaughn threw for 216 yards and DJ Williams (135) and Deon’Dray Richard (91) combined to rush for 226 stripes. GlenOak was pushed around in week two by Massillon (56-7). The Tigers gained 467 yards of total offense against the Eagles.

Liberty (0-2) at Lakeview (2-0)
…Lakeview begins their home schedule as the Bulldogs are unbeaten after their first two games. The Bulldogs have the opportunity to reach the 3-0 mark for the first time since 2009. Lakeview got by LaBrae (41-14) and Jefferson (32-13). Liberty is looking for win #1 after falling to a pair of teams that are still unbeaten themselves (Edgewood, Girard).

Warren JFK (1-1) at South Range (1-1)
…Both Warren JFK and South Range stumbled last week. The Eagles fell to Garfield, behind a 37-point second half, at home (61-26) while the Raiders dropped a 21-7 decision to Green. South Range’s 31-game regular season win streak was snapped by the Bulldogs.

Cardinal Mooney (1-1) at Steubenville (1-1)
…Last week, the Cardinals dropped their matchup with Villa Angela-St. Joseph (47-21) following their week one victory (29-26) over Lake Catholic. Mooney will head to Harding Stadium to face the Big Red of Steubenville. Coach Reno Saccoccia’s group got into the win column after their 15-point win over New Philadelphia (29-14) on August 25.

Firelands (1-1) at Poland (2-0)
…The Bulldogs have powered themselves to a 2-0 start after downing Salem (38-6) and Howland (41-0) in successive weeks. Coach Tom Pavlansky has his group eyeing a 3-0 start for the first time since 2018. Standing in their way is the Fireland Falcons from Oberlin. The Falcons defeated Vermillion (30-0) last week after getting tripped up by Edison (35-6) in their season opener.