With the 2024 football season just a mere four months away, now seems like a good time to take a look at some of the more notable matchups that will feature new opponents for local teams this fall.
On Aug. 30, the South Point Pointers and the Spring Valley Timberwolves will face off for the first time since the 1998 season — the first year Spring Valley began playing after the consolidation of Buffalo (Wayne), Ceredo-Kenova and Vinson High Schools. The Timberwolves won the only meeting 28-13 in Shoals.
Another week two game will see two teams meet up for the first time ever, as the Fairland Dragons hit the road to face the Point Pleasant Big Blacks.
A familiar name on an unfamiliar opponent will resurface the following week for Fairland, as they travel north to face the Fairfield Union Eagles and head coach Andy Clark on Sept. 6. Before taking over at Fairfield Union, Clark previously served in the same role at Chesapeake High School and holds a 5-3 overall record against the Dragons.
Another game on Sept. 6 will see the Harvest Prep Warriors, who won the Division V, Region 19 last year, make a trip to Putnam Stadium to face the Ashland Tomcats.
On the following night, some fans might confuse the annual Gridiron Classic at Ironton High School with an NFL game. The Saint Francis Prep Red Raiders — who will be decked out much like the San Francisco 49ers — will face Ironton in their iconic Cleveland Browns-style uniforms on Sept. 14.
Ironton will play a familiar opponent the following week, as they welcome the Columbus Bishop Hartley Hawks back to Tanks Memorial Stadium on Sept. 20. The two squads last faced off in 2013. The Hawks hold a 4-1 lead in the series, with the lone win by Ironton being a 37-16 romp in 2010.
Local football fans will have a chance to see two games at Joan C. Edwards Stadium this fall. The second installment of the Ironton and Cabell Midland series will happen on Sept. 7, but another is scheduled for later this fall as the Coal Grove Hornets will face the Huntington Saint Joseph Irish on Sept. 4.
The Irish will be competing in their first year of varsity football this coming fall and will make two trips across the Ohio River to face the Symmes Valley Vikings on Sept. 20 and the Rock Hill Redmen on Sept. 27.
Several new matchups are slated for Sept. 20, including first-ever meetings between the Chesapeake Panthers and Grandview Heights Bobcats and Portsmouth Notre Dame Titans and Shadyside Tigers.
On Friday Sept. 27, another first-ever meeting will take place down in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, in what will be a much anticipated tilt between two football powerhouses. Ironton will head down U.S. 23 to face the two-time defending Class A champion Pikeville Panthers at Hillard Howard Field.
As it stands, Ironton still has an open date for week 7 (Oct. 4).
New matchups for 2024
Week 1 (Friday, August 23)
Lancaster Fairfield Christian at Portsmouth Notre Dame
Northwest at Piketon
Southeastern at Sciotoville East
Week 2 (Friday, August 30)
Albany Alexander at Sciotoville East
Fairland at Point Pleasant, W.Va.
Lancaster Fairfield Christian at Oak Hill
Portsmouth Notre Dame at Adena
Spring Valley, W.Va. at South Point
Week 3 (Friday, September 6)
Fairland at Fairfield Union
Harvest Prep at Ashland, Ky.
Week 4 (Friday, September 13)
Chillicothe at Portsmouth West
Cincinnati Lockland at Portsmouth Notre Dame
South Gallia at Lancaster Fisher Catholic
Symmes Valley, W.Va. at South Point
Saint Francis Prep, NY @ Ironton, Gridiron Classic (Saturday)
Week 5 (Friday, September 20)
Chesapeake at Grandview Heights
Columbus Bishop Hartley at Ironton
Huntington Saint Joseph, W.Va. at Symmes Valley
Portsmouth Notre Dame at Shadyside
Reedsville Eastern at Sciotoville East
Week 6 (Friday, September 27)
Huntington Saint Joseph, W.Va. at Rock Hill
Ironton at Pikeville, Ky.
Week 7 (Friday, October 4)
Coal Grove vs. Huntington Saint Joseph, W.Va. @ Marshall University
Week 8 (Friday, October 11)
Minford at Meigs
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