The opening week of high school football in Ohio and Kentucky gave us some great games, as well as some other newsworthy tidbits to talk about. Here's some of the interesting things that happened this past weekend.
Despite losing on Friday, the Coal Grove Hornets did something that the likes of Vince Lombardi would look down from the heavens and smile. The Hornets took their opening drive against Greenup County and put together an 16-play scoring drive that covered 65 yards and consumed 10:57 off the clock. The final play was a 6-yard touchdown run by Rylan Smith.
The Federal Hocking football program had a major win on Friday despite losing to Green. The game marked the beginning of the program's first full 10-game season since 2018. The school had to suspend football due to low numbers. The Lancers fully expect to also be fully integrated back into the TVC-Hocking Division for next fall.
Probably the biggest story to come out of week one was the Pickerington Central Tigers, who were ranked as high as No. 6 in Division I preseason polls, falling to Division V Harvest Prep 24-21.The Warriors not only shocked Central, but also ruined the first game in their new stadium. Harvest Prep RB Dezmond Porter scored three touchdowns in the game, including a 52-yarder during the third quarter. Central had a chance to send the game into overtime, but missed a field goal at the final gun.
Up river, the talk all offseason was about the opening week matchup between Barnesville and Fort Frye. But instead of a barnburner, fans witnessed a highlight reel of Shamrock players making play after play and a 51-16 win over the Cadets. One of those players was sophomore RB Trey Toliver, who ran for 146 yards on 8 carries. One of those scores was an 89-yard run to give the Shamrocks a 37-0 lead. The win also gave Barnesville 27-straight regular season games.
Another big battle among small schools took place up north between the reigning Division VI state champion Kirtland Hornets and the reigning Division VI state runner-up Dalton Bulldogs. Jake LaVerde ran for 341 yards and three touchdowns and teammate Danny Alfieri added four touchdown runs of his own as the Hornets defeated Dalton, 55-34. The win also gave Kirtland head coach Tiger LaVerde is 250th career win.
New Corbin (Ky.) head coach Luke Salmons (formerly Cabell Midland's head coach) picked up his first win on Friday, defeating the Class A powerhouse Pikeville Panthers 22-7. Corbin got a big defensive play in the opening quarter, when senior LB Zach Reynolds picked off a pass to give his team a 14-0 lead and mostly control the game from there on out. The Redhounds have now won 37-straight regular season games.
The Paris (Ky.) Greyhounds unveiled their orange turf on Friday to a 27-6 win over the Frankfort (Ky.) Panthers. The new orange field is part of a $2.8 million renovation of Blanton Collier Stadium that will also include a new jumbotron scoreboard.
A Shameless Plug
Tri-State Sports Roundtable guests went 2-0 on opening weekend. Former head coach Jack Harris (Episode 40) and current color commentator of the Fairland Dragons Network YouTube channel, saw his Dragons win against Portsmouth West. Then coach Larry Hall (Episode 42) and his Green Bobcats rolled to a win over Federal Hocking.
For other past episodes and last week's High School Football Preview show, follow the link: https://tristatesportsroundtable.podbean.com/
Bella's Paw-gnostications Results
Bella didn't fare so well on opening weekend. She did get her Fairland and Chesapeake picks right. However, it was a swing and miss on picking Coal Grove, Raceland, and Wheelersburg. Despite the 2-3 start, she's hungry (literally) to move onto week two.
Check out last week's picks here: https://www.tristatesportspage.com/post/2024-high-school-football-week-1
Helmet Sticker Performances:
1-Sticker: Will Jones (Symmes Valley) Offense: 16 rushes for 83 rushing yards, 4 catches for 19 yards, touchdown. Defense: 17 tackles, sack.
2-Stickers: Drew Plantz (Chesapeake) Offense: 18 rushes for 177 yards, 3 receptions for 30 yards, 2 touchdowns. Defense: 4 tackles, 4 pass breakups, fumble recovery.
3-Stickers: Shaun Terry (Ironton) Offense: 7 receptions for 124 yards, 2 rushes for 30 yards, 3 total touchdowns. Defense: xx, tackles, interception.
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