Week 4 football preview

Here are some things to watch for Friday night:

League plays starts for most area teams.

The Federal League will have two key games in Week 4: Perry (2-1) at Lake (3-0) and Canton McKinley (0-3) at North Canton Hoover (2-1).

The Northeastern Buckeye Conference title could ultimately be decided tonight when conference favorites meet as Northwest (3-0) visits Louisville (2-1).

Norwayne (3-0) will get a chance to prove that it is worthy of being considered the favorite to win the Wayne County Athletic League when it faces Smithville (1-2) in the league opener for both teams.

Last season's City Series co-champions will meet Saturday when Ellet (2-1) visits Buchtel (0-3).

Here are some non-league games that should be interesting:

Brunswick (3-0) at Nordonia (3-0).

Garfield (2-1) at Walsh Jesuit (3-0).

Hudson (3-0) at Strongsville (1-2).

Archbishop Hoban (1-2) vs. St. Vincent-St. Mary (3-0) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Rubber Bowl.

Random facts

*Walsh Jesuit coach Gerry Rardin is closing in on his 200th career win. Rardin, who is in his 28th year as Warriors' coach, has 198 wins heading into Friday's game against Garfield.

*Barberton (1-2) visits Revere (1-2) in the Suburban League opener for both teams. Barberton will look to earn its first Suburban League win. The Magics joined the Suburban League two years ago have gone 0-14 in league play since.

*Stow (3-0) is averaging 49 points per game. The Bulldogs, who were 2-8 in each of the past two seasons, face Twinsburg (0-3) in Week 4.

*CVCA junior running back John Pettigrew is averaging 10.6 yards per carry. In three games, he has carried the ball 45 times for 477 yards and four touchdowns. CVCA (3-0) faces Tusky Valley (2-1) in an important PAC-7 opener for both teams.

I'm still beating David Lee Morgan Jr. in our high school football picks competition. Check out our Week 4 predictions. Click here to watch the Week 4 video for Gridlocks.