Correspondent File Photo / David Dahmer Warren G. Harding quarterback Chaz Coleman celebrates after making a big play against Canton McKinley on Aug. 22 in Canton.
steve luman
correspondent
Backyard rivalries will take center stage as the 2024 high school football regular season concludes today.
For 448 schools across the state, the season continues one week today with the first round of the playoffs.
The other 253 schools will also end their seasons this weekend.
Friday’s meeting between McDonald (6-3) and Mineral Ridge (4-5) will be the 80th time. The Blue Devils and Rams first met in 1927. The series ended in 1941 and resumed in 1961. The teams will meet for the 64th consecutive year, the longest ongoing series in Trumbull County.
McDonald leads the series with 53 wins, 22 losses, and 4 draws. The Blue Devils recently won nine straight games in this matchup from 2013 to 2021, the longest winning streak in series history. However, the Rams have recorded wins in each of the past two years. The Rams and Blue Devils both have playoff berths.
The oldest ongoing rivalry in Trumbull County will resume for the 81st time between Niles (1-8) and Girard (5-4). The Red Dragons and Indians first met on the field in 1898, the year Niles formed his first football team. According to newspaper articles, that first matchup was played “In the cow pasture on Evan Morris’s farm.” At Girard.
Niles leads the series with 44 wins, 29 losses, and 8 draws. Girard has already qualified for the playoffs.
The Youngstown Crusade will be the 70th time the Ursuline (8-1) and Cardinal Mooney (3-6) will meet.
With eight consecutive wins, Ursulin has already qualified for the playoffs and will host the first round of the playoffs. Despite the losing record, Mooney is one step closer to qualifying for the tournament.
Mooney leads the series 41-25-3. The first game took place in 1958, and the teams have met every year since then, including three times (1968, 1990, and 1995) when the Cardinals and Irish met twice in the same season.
West Division (9-0) will look to secure its second 10-0 season in four years when it hosts Salem (3-6) in the 53rd matchup between neighborhood schools.
West Branch leads the series with 30 wins and 22 losses. The two schools met for the first time in 1964, with Salem winning 12-0 at Riley Stadium. The rivalry intensified early in the series as West Branch played some of its home games in Salem before Clinton-Heacock Stadium was built.
Regardless of Friday’s outcome, West Branch will return home next Friday to host a playoff game.
South Range (9-0) is also certain to host a playoff game next week, and like West Branch, South Range will cap its perfect 10-0 season with a game against Hubbard (5-4). I would like to secure it.
A win would give South Range its fourth perfect regular season in the past five years.
The Raiders enter the game with at least a share of the Northeast 8 title. A win would ensure the Raiders won their fifth straight title. The Raiders have won 35 consecutive league games.
Since 2020, South Range has an overall record of 59-4.
The Battle of Route 616 resumes when Poland (7-2) visits Struthers (8-1). This is the third meeting between the two schools in the past 12 months. A year ago, Poland defeated Struthers 28-27 to end the regular season. Two weeks later, the Cats got revenge with a 14-9 victory over the Bulldogs in the second round of the playoffs.
Both teams are headed to the playoffs.
Poland leads the series with 27 wins, 14 losses, and 1 draw. Struthers dominated the early stages of the rivalry, winning nine of the first 13 meetings. However, Poland subsequently won 14 games in a row and advanced.
Austintown Fitch (7-2) and Warren G. Harding (6-3) will meet for the 37th time, including the seventh time since 2020. The Raiders and Falcons faced off in both the regular season and playoffs in 2020. And ’21.
This series was incredibly close. Fitch won by a close margin of 19 wins and 17 losses. The Falcons have a 717-688 advantage in points.
Fitch defeated Harding 14-13 last year.
Both schools secured their place in the playoffs. Fitch will host the Week 11 game at home, and the Falcons will earn the right to host the second round game with a win over WGH. A win would secure the Raiders a home game in the first round.
In recent years, Canfield (4-4) has dominated the series against Route 224 neighbor Boardman (5-4), winning eight straight. The Cardinals may need to win nine straight games to advance to Week 11.
Canfield secures a playoff berth with a home win over Boardman. If the Cardinals lose, they will need outside help to continue the season.
Boardman has already clinched a playoff berth, but a win against Canfield would increase the Spartans’ chances of hosting the first round.
When the champions visit Newton Falls, something has to give. Both the Golden Flashes and Tigers are 0-9 heading into the final game of the season.
A total of 27 area teams have already qualified for the playoffs. Seven other teams are in the hunt, but will need wins or outside help.
A year ago, 28 area teams participated in the tournament.
The playoff field and all first-round brackets will be officially announced Sunday.
