Wadsworth got some decent production out of its sophomore class over the weekend. Coach Greg Dennison was more than pleased with tailback Jack Snowball and lineman Nick Tavanello.

Snowball, in his first varsity action, had two touchdowns. A five-yard run in the first and an 81-yard reception in the third quarter.

Although the Blue Devils fell to Nordonia 34-19, they found out their run defense is something they can rely on.

Tallmadge kept the Knights to negative yardage on the ground and sophomores Tucker Linder and Heath Thomas were a big reason why.

Green’s sideline had about seven kids standing in sweat pants Friday night in their loss to Green and that number isn’t getting smaller anytime soon.

Injuries have been wreaking havoc on coach Tom Stacy’s team all season long.

Barberton has a chance to put itself into some elite company Friday when the school goes for its 500th career football victory against Canton Timken at Fawcett Stadium.

``If you get the opportunity to win one more and become a part of that group….That’ll be a big deal,’’ coach Brian Staats said.

What a week for Highland’s Aaron Maslowski. The senior was a able to be a one-man wrecking crew during Highland’s 34-7 win over Rocky River. That isn’t to say the rest of the hornets didn’t perform, Maslowski just had his hand in everything.

He carried the ball 22 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns. He caught three passes for 37 yards on offense and added three interceptions on defense. One he returned 43 yards for a score.

Beacon Journal sports writer David Lee Morgan, Jr. reports from Barberton High School as Cuyahoga Falls and Barberton take the field in the first week of high school football action.

Twinsburg forward Jonathon Anderson has reportedly made an oral commitment to play basketball at Miami (Ohio), according to the Plain Dealer.

Anderson is 6-8 and 185 pounds and also considered Buffalo, Kent State and others, according to the Plain Dealer.

Believe it or not, opening night is Friday, except for Twinsburg, which won Thursday night. Here are some thoughts from the coaches and some numbers to ponder...

Cuyahoga Falls (2-8)

Ohio.com is going to use Twitter tonight, like we did last night, to get scores out to the fans. Just go to twitter.com/ABJ_Preps to see the scores.

We also will have a feed from Twitter on the high school page of Ohio.com and in the right rail of this blog.

My apologies to Kenmore coach Tom McKinnon. I mistakenly wrote that he was a former Northwestern football player. He actually was an offensive lineman for the Indiana Hoosiers.

Before the Archbishop Hoban/Garfield game Thursday at Hoban, I ran into St. Vincent-St. Mary football coach Dan Boarman in the stands. We chatted for a while and he said his team was ready for its home-opener against Columbus Bishop Watterson tonight.

Boarman also said he was happy with a recent extended practice/scrimmage with perennial Division I power Lakewood St. Edward. Boarman said both teams benefitted from the session because coaches were able to do a little more instructing during the scrimmage then they normally would during a regular scrimmage.

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Final score from Hoban. Hoban has won seven consecutive games against Garfield.

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Local High schools will get an opportunity to play on the University of Akron's new football field as well. Here is the high school regular season schedule for InfoCision Stadium.

Sept. 18 (Friday) - Archbishop Hoban vs. St. Vincent-St. Mary

The high school preview section hits newsstands on Thursday with a cover feature on Erick Howard of North Canton Hoover.

We also will have an additional 11 features plus 46 scouting reports on our core schools.

The Gridlocks gang of David Lee Morgan Jr., Michael Beaven and Jonas Fortune are back for another season of high school football.

Hoban has a 6-0 record against Garfield in the past six football games. It is the seventh consecutive year the schools have played.

No matter what happens during the Ellet Orangemen's season this year, head coach Joe Yost knows he has a quality leader in senior Devin Richardson. What Yost likes the most about Richardson is how hard the young man works.

``He's such a great guy, he has a great personality, he's always smiling and he just loves playing football,'' Yost said of the running back and middle linebacker. ``When he's running the ball in practice, he always runs 20 yards past the line of scrimmage. The positions he's playing means he's the heart and soul of our team and we're asking a lot of him. The kids respect him, the coaches respect him and opponents respect him. That's saying a lot.''

Ellet opens the season Friday at Springfield.

You could hear the disappointment in Archbishop Hoban football coach Ralph Orsini's voice. Recently, the veteran coach watched all preseason long how hard senior nose tackle Joe Zazo busted his butt to earn a starting spot. Zazo was a model player, teammate and senior leader.

But during one of the last practices of preseason, when practice was almost over, Zazo suffered a season-ending knee injury.

``It's sad,'' Orsini said, in a soft, somber tone. You could tell Orsini was one of Zazo's biggest fans. ``He was working really hard.''

Orsini also said sophomore sensation and defensive end Greg McMullen will miss the first game of the season Thursday at home against Garfield. McMullen had surgery on his wrist earlier in the summer and he's slowly healing. Orsini said he was hoping to have McMullen back for Week 2, but, ``We'll see what happens,'' he said.

It seems that every year for the last several years, Buchtel travels down to Paul Brown Tiger Stadium to face the Massillon Tigers. This year is no exception as the Griffins open the season Thursday against Massillon.

Firestone coach Tim Flossie has been around the sport a long time and he feels refreshed with his group this year. A year ago, the Falcons were winless and things can only get better this year, and that's what Flossie expects. He said this year's team has the right attitude.

``We have a lot of young guys but they love to play the game and they just don't know any better,'' Flossie joked.

Firestone has veteran defensive players James Ray and Travis Daniels leading the way. Flossie said he has been impressed with his wide receivers (Jeremy Mingo, Connor Mathis and Damon Antoine.)

The running backs are talented with junior running Cody Grice, sophomore fullback Darren McGinnis and sophomore tailback Timonte Anderson.

``Our offensive line is a work in progress, but its getting better everyday,'' Flossie said.

Senior quarterback Robert Partridge is expected to orchestrate the Massillon offense with an ability to pass and run that has attracted college attention and several offers.

Senior Jeff Myers, a University of Toledo recruit, will anchor the offensive line.

Seniors Chase Hoobler and Sam Miller lead a group of 17 seniors that give Orrville an experienced team that is ready to challenge for an Ohio Cardinal Conference title and a deep run in the state playoffs.

Red Riders coach Doug Davault is relying on Hoobler, a tight end/linebacker, and Miller, a flanker/free safety to provide production and leadership.

Juniors Kodey Chance and Jake McAvinew will attempt to lead Mogadore to its 23rd state playoff appearance since the state football playoffs began in 1972.

Thursday

Field has an experienced team fresh off of consecutive state playoff appearances, the first two postseason trips in the history of the school’s football program.

The Falcons return eight starters on offense and nine on defense. Field coach Patrick Youel is excited about what senior Jay Lugo can accomplish rushing behind an offensive line that features juniors Nate Stasik and Jim Cercek and seniors Justin Fleming and Josh Nagy.

Kent Roosevelt will seek to defend the Portage Trail Conference Metro Division title and qualify for the state playoffs again with seven starters back on both offense and defense.

Veteran coach John Nemec is counting on junior Evan Shimensky, senior Denerio Bryant, sophomore Shakeel Howard, sophomore Ryan Anderson and senior Eric Pucillo to lead the offense; and seniors Marcus Wright, Sam Thomas and Marcus Rogers to guide the defense.

Ravenna returns six starters on each side of the ball, and Ravens coach Jim Lunardi is pleased with the speed the team possesses.

Lunardi said quarterbacks, senior Zach Thomas and junior Josh Chechak, will be on the field together a lot. Thomas is more of a runner and will also play some at receiver. Chechak is more of a pocket passer and will also play some at tight end.

Norton returns four starters on offense and eight on defense.

Panthers coach Matt Parrill said senior Steve Smith and Tim Cool will "anchor both the offense and the defense."

Springfield will look to snap a 34-game losing streak with six starters returning
on offense and seven on defense.

Spartans coach Kevin Vaughn, a 1997 Elllet graduate, said junior center Erik Etapa will anchor the offensive line.

Woodridge returns nine starters on each side of the ball, which has Bulldogs coach Eric Ervin optimistic about this season.

Senior Anthony Westren is back at quarterback after setting the school single-
season record with 2,021 passing yards.

Chippewa returns four starters on offense and two on defense.

Chipps coach Brian Hessey said the Chipps should benefit from a "big offensive line" that features junior Tyler Hensley, senior Curtiss Bartlett and senior Justin Schafrath. That trio will block for senior Colby Busson, juniors Andrew Schickler, D.J. Saeger and Mark Bramley.

Wooster coach Mike McCreary is intrigued by the Generals' speed, but is concerned about inexperience on both the offensive and defensive lines.

"If we can block up front, that will open up our ground game," McCreary said.

Rittman returns 10 starters and looks to snap a 27-game losing streak.

"Obviously the goal is to just get the monkey off our back," Indians first-year coach Brent Besancon said. "That is a quote I am using with the team. We want
to change the mindset and get them playing with confidence."

Neal Kopp enters his first season as Coventry's coach with just six total returning starters.

"The biggest thing we are trying to change is the overall culture of the program and the philosophy of the program," Kopp said. "I am excited that our kids have shown the willingness to be disciplined."

Painesville Riverside senior WR Lawrence Smith (6-0, 190) has reportedly made an oral commitment to play at Akron, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

The Web site said Smith also had an offer from Ohio.

Garfield football coach Bob Sax is preparing his team for the season opener Thursday night at Hoban.

The two teams have played in the opener for seven consecutive years. Hoban has won every game against Garfield in the season openers this decade.

St. Vincent-St. Mary junior CB Doran Grant has received plenty of college attention already. The Plain Dealer reported Sunday that Ohio State could be the next school to extend a scholarship offer.

Barberton football coach Brian Staats is pleased with the way his team developed throughout its scrimmages and off season work. Some of their biggest questions have been answered he said.

Offensively those questions revolved around the play of the offensive line. Junior Josh Perrin and center Nate Smith stepped up during the scrimmages. Perrin “has done a really good job of almost becoming the anchor of the line,” Staats said.

Things were quite simple for the Tallmadge Blue Devils’ offense last season. Hand the ball off to Tyler Fortner the majority of the time, and let him go to work.

This year Fortner is gone, along with 23 other seniors from last year’s the team.

Like the majority of the high school teams in the area, Revere coach Terry Cistone isn’t completely sure how good, or bad, his team will be this season. Everyone has holes and weaknesses and only the games will show if they have fixed them or not he said.

“You are going into that first week trying to figure out what you are all about,’’ Cistone said. Everyone has holes and “You are going into that first week and you just don’t know if you filled them yet.”

Green's season opener at Lake is already expected to be a tough task for the Bulldogs, but the injury bug isn’t helping matters either.

Ten players missed last week’s final scrimmage against New Philadelphia due to injury. None of the injuries are too serious and coach Tom Stacy expects half of the players to be back for Friday’s game. For a team that has just 60 on its roster though, any injury can be devastating.

St. Vincent-St. Mary junior power forward Jakarr Sampson is rated the nation's No. 100 player in the 2011 class, according to to the Rivals.com Top 150 list.

Sampson reportedly has offers from Akron, Xavier, Cincinnati and Dayton, according to Rivals.com.

Tuslaw senior TE/DE Jarrod Combs (6-2, 215) is a player to watch, according to a season preview of the Tuslaw football team published by JJHuddle.com's Ohio High Magazine.

"Jarrod is a solid kid," Tuslaw coach Nate Held told the Web site. "He's been a three-year starter on the defensive side of the ball and we can move him around and line him up in a variety of ways. Also, he's got a good set of hands and does a real good job blocking up front so we hope he can lead our offensive line and really be a force up there."

Soccer and cross country begin on Monday. The volleyball season begins Aug. 29.

Football games begin next week.

The annual Classic in the Country girls' basketball tournament schedule has been announced for 2010. All the games are played in the Reese Center at Berlin Hiland from Jan. 16-18, 2010.

Area teams include: Jan. 16 - Minster vs. Mogadore, 10 a.m.; Columbus Brookhaven vs. Wadsworth, 11:45 a.m.; Columbus Africentric vs. Canton McKinley, 1:30 p.m.; Twinsburg vs. West Chester Lakota West, 5 p.m.

Wadsworth senior OL Ben Buzzelli (6-4, 298) reportedly tells ESPN.com that he likes Akron and Ohio State.

"Ohio State is my favorite," he reportedly told the Web site. "At their camp they said if I play really well, after the first two games they would think about offering me."

Several football coaches in the Northeast Ohio Conference are finding less is better.

Football coaches are creatures of habit. So the OHSAA's granting of three scrimmages instead of two and an extra week of practice are not popular with the head men in the NOC.

I intended to catch up with one of my coaches, but he was busy getting ready for practice ... and was really seething.

Mike Miller was holding his coffee cup and clipboard so tightly Wednesday morning it was surprising neither cracked or exploded.

Walsh Jesuit senior right-handed pitcher Greg Greve, 17, has made an oral commitment to continue his academic and baseball career at Ohio State University.

Greve, 6-foot-3 and 195-pounds, also plays third base and helped the Warriors win the 2008 Division II state championship and a runner-up finish in 2009 in Division II.

As we mentioned on this blog Monday, ESPN.com reported that Louisville senior WR Bobby Swigert has reportedly narrowed his college choices to Stanford, Michigan, Nebraska and Boston College.

Louisville coach Paul Farrah said in an e-mail this morning that he wasn't sure when Swigert would schedule any college visits.

The OHSAA is still considering options for the location of the state bowling tournament next March. It could be a couple of weeks before a decision is made.

The tournament won't be at Tiki Lanes in Lancaster this winter because the bowling center has another event it scheduled some years ago.

ESPN.com is reporting that Louisville senior WR Bobby Swigert has named Stanford, Michigan, Nebraska and Boston College as his top four schools. ESPN.com cites the family as the source of info.

The report also said Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Colorado, Syracuse and Indiana have offered Swigert.

University of Akron athletic director Hunter Yurachek reportedly tells Crain's Cleveland Business that Akron plans to bid next spring on the OHSAA state football finals.

"That's a way to bring even more high school students onto campus," Yurachek reportedly told the publication. "Our campus has transformed itself, and this is a recruiting tool for student-athletes and the general student body."

The Massillon football team return seven starters on offense and five on defense, according to JJHuddle.com's Ohio High Magazine.

"Our kids had a great offseason," Massillon coach Jason Hall told the Web site. "If our kids can reach their potential, I think we can have a very successful season. Our junior and senior classes are a very tight-knit group. We are having fun coaching them and they are responding by bringing it every day."

The girls' tennis season begins today across the state. Regular-season matches are allowed under OHSAA guidelines.

The idea of a super or mega conference was first concocted five years ago, football being the driving force. The idea was to bring together two of the top conferences, the Pioneer and Western Reserve, along with two schools from the Lake Erie League, Lakewood and Garfield Heights to form the 18-team Northeast Ohio Conference. The NOC would have three divisions, each with six teams. Play would begin in the 2007-08 school year.

Check.

Orrville junior WR-DB Sam Miller (6-0, 183) has offers from Louisville, Toledo and Western Michigan and is still garnering interest from others as the season approaches.

"I haven't had any other offers yet but a few schools like Boston College, Indiana and Ball State are very interested and want to see how I do my senior season," Miller wrote in an e-mail earlier this morning.

Louisville football coach Paul Farrah denied a Scout.com report that said Louisville senior WR Bobby Swigert has narrowed his college choices to five schools.

"That is not true, he has all options open," Farrah wrote in an e-mail this morning.

Talked to a few Suburban League football coaches today for our upcoming preview section. Here is what is going on at Copley, Medina Highland and Tallmadge...

COPLEY INDIANS

Just talked to GlenOak coach Scott Garcia a few minutes ago. here is a quick write up/season preview:

GlenOak has another solid group of offensive skill players returning for this, but football is won in the trenches.

St. Vincent-St. Mary junior CB Doran Grant is listed as one of the top 100 players to watch nationally in the 2011 class, according to MaxPreps.com.

Canton McKinley DE Steve Miller is also on the list. Miller has been rated one of the nation's top recruits for the 2011 class.

The OHSAA confirmed the state bowling tournament will not be at Tiki Lanes in Lancaster this upcoming winter.

OHSAA assistant commissioner Roxanne Price is having meetings with potential sites and an announcement could be soon. The tournament is scheduled for March 5-6.

The boys' and girls' state bowling tournament will not be at Tiki Lanes in Lancaster next winter, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Tiki Lanes reportedly has another contractual obligation the weekend of March 5-6, which are the dates of the state tournament.

Trent McIlvain has been named the new baseball coach at Canton South, according to the Canton Repository.

The newspaper said Phil Forshey stepped down after coaching six seasons at Canton South.

High-tech swimsuits have been banned for high school swimming competition effective immediately, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) announced this afternoon.

The swimsuits had been linked to record performances at all levels of competition the past couple of years.

Ravenna has made two consecutive postseason appearances and it seems the Ravens could be in the hunt for another trip this fall.

"We have a really good junior class of kids that really helped us out playing as a sophomores last year," Ravenna coach Jim Lunardi tells Ohio High Magazine. "Last year, we really weren't sure if we were going to make it back to the playoffs - we were hoping to obviously - but that sophomore class really helped bridge that gap."

The Tallmadge football team graduated 20 starters from last season's squad, according to JJHuddle.com's Ohio High Magazine.

The Web site said just two starters return - senior OL/LB Steven Reedy and WR/DB Phil Emling.

Louisville football coach Paul Farrah said in an e-mail today that senior WR Bobby Swigert is still "undecided" about his college choice.

Swigert is one of the area's top players in the 2010 class. He has several major Division I offers.

The official start of the OHSAA fall sports season is today. Boys' and girls' golf teams around the state are allowed to begin playing regular-season matches.

The next sport to begin is girls' tennis, which starts Monday, Aug. 17.

Canton McKinley senior RB Bryce Wilder has scholarship offers from Syracuse and West Virginia, according to Canton McKinley coach Ron Johnson.

Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio High School Athletic Association held its regularly scheduled August Board of Directors meeting last Thursday in Columbus. The following are highlights of action taken by the Board. Complete minutes will be posted at ohsaa.org later in August.

Canton McKinley will have nine full-time starters returning on defense this season and coach Ron Johnson said that side of the ball will be "pretty special" this fall.

The Bulldogs are projected to start 10 seniors and a junior on defense. The seniors include LB Jewone Snow, safety Jamon McClain, OLB Ronald Gillom and CB Brice Everett.

Canton McKinley senior LB Jewone Snow has narrowed his college choices to Michigan State, West Virginia and Purdue, according to Canton McKinley coach Ron Johnson.

Snow, who is 6-2 and 220 pounds, has several other offers from schools in the Big Ten and Big East. 

Louisville senior WR Bobby Swigert is still considering his options when it comes to his recruiting journey, Louisville coach Paul Farrah said in an e-mail today.

Swigert (6-1, 175) is one of the state's best college prospects in the 2010 class. He has offers from Stanford, Boston College, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado, Cincinnati, Indiana and several MAC schools.

Smithville senior TE Derek Orr (6-6, 228) has orally committed to Ball State, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

He is the 11th player to commit to the Cardinals, who went 12-2 in 2008. Watch a video of Orr's highlights on ESPN.com

Solon senior DE Darryl Baldwin is rated No. 112 on the ESPNU Top 150 list. The rankings were updated today on ESPN.com.

Baldwin has orally committed to Ohio State. He is one of only three Ohio players on the national list.

The Walsh Jesuit football team will begin its scrimmage schedule Aug. 15 when it plays at GlenOak at 10 a.m. Walsh opens the regular season  on Aug. 28 when it plays host to Newark Licking Valley.

Walsh coach Gerry Rardin, who has been at the helm for 30 years, is optimistic about the squad this fall. Walsh is coming off a 9-3 campaign in which it was a Division III regional finalist.

The Firestone Park Sox won the Hot Stove State Baseball Championship this past Sunday in the F League division (13-14 year olds) at Butler-Rodman Fields in Alliance, OH.

The Sox compiled a 28-1 overall record and defeated the Ravenna Braves 4-3 in the championship game.

Smithville senior TE Derek Orr (6-6, 228) has been offered by Ball State, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

It is reportedly the first offer for Orr.