It’s here: Another big Mahoning Valley prep football season kicks off tonight
Another exciting high school football season is upon us and there are some great Week 1 matchups this week.
The new season for Mahoning Valley-area teams kicks off Thursday night when Youngstown Ursuline hosts Steubenville Big Red at Youngstown State’s Stambaugh Stadium.
Talk about football tradition. Ursuline and Steubenville have won eight state championships (in the playoff format) and AP poll titles.
The Irish, in Division III, and Big Red, in Division IV, are expected to be among the top teams in their divisions in 2023.
Other Mahoning Valley Thursday night prep football matchups
Three other Thursday night matchups in the area will find Trumbull rivals Howland and Niles clashing at Bo Rein Memorial Stadium in Niles. At the same time, Youngstown Chaney will play at Akron East against the Dragons and the Mathews Mustangs venture to Jackson-Milton.
Defending state champs highlight Friday night prep football matchups
On Friday night, Canfield, who finished 14-1 last season and won the Division III state championship, will open defense of its crown when the Cardinals host West Branch, a D4 regional finalist the past two seasons, at Bob Dove Field at Cardinal Stadium.
Meanwhile, South Range, a perfect 16-0 last fall and winning the Division V state championship, will initiate its 2023 campaign Friday night on the road at Springfield against the Tigers. It marks the first game for South Range head coach Dave Rach, who takes over for legendary head coach Dan Yeagley, who retired following last season’s state championship campaign.
Other season openers on Friday night will find Austintown Fitch, coming off a very successful 10-2 season, traveling to Euclid to play the Panthers. Boardman is also on the road Friday when it ventures to Kenston to play the Bombers.
An intriguing Division IV battle on Friday night will see talented Struthers traveling to Beaver Local, which returns one of the top quarterbacks in the area in Austin Cline, who is both a prolific runner and passer.
Also, Poland and Salem, who have signed a two-year home-and-home contract, will clash at Salem’s Sebo Stadium on Friday evening.
Checking out the rest of Mahoning Valley action
Old big-school rivals Warren Harding and Canton McKinley will meet Friday night at Warren’s historic Mollenkopf Stadium.
Other Friday openers include Youngstown Cardinal Mooney at Lake Catholic, Warren Champion at Warren JFK, Minerva at East Liverpool, Lakeview at LaBrae, Brookfield at Creston Norwayne, Valley Christian at Crestview, St. Thomas Aquinas at Campbell Memorial, Hubbard at Youngstown East, Jefferson at Girard, East Palestine at Newton Falls, Malvern at Western Reserve, Youngstown Liberty at Ashtabula Edgewood, Leetonia at Fairport Harding, Lowellville at Columbiana, Southern Local at McDonald, Lisbon at Windham, Pymatuning Valley at Mineral Ridge, Steubenville Catholic Central at Wellsville and Waterloo at United Local.
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