Five Greater Akron high school football games to watch in Week 1
The 2023 football season is finally here, and there’s no lack of tasty first week matchups.
From state runners-up trying to get off on the right foot to teams that made deep playoff runs last year, this weekend should be fun.
Six conferences are represented on the list with an out-of-state team making its way to Northeast Ohio.
Without further ado, here are five can’t-miss games, according to the USA Today Network:
Barberton (7-5 last season) at Wadsworth (7-5), 7 p.m. Friday
The Magics have some solid veterans in quarterback Dominic Wilson, wide receivers Kenny Larry and Noah Dehart and running back Xzavier Macon. Magics coach Tony Gotto will use Macon quite a bit, and with good reason. He ran for 1,004 yards and 13 touchdowns. Larry is back with 466 yards receiving and five scores.
The Grizzlies’ great sophomore class come to the forefront, but look for Will Stack and Kyle Figuray to lead the offense. Stack (682 yards passing, four touchdowns in a backup role) is as athletic as they come and Figuray ran for 1,118 yards and 13 TDs as a junior.
Last season, Wadsworth’s defense stepped up in a 24-7 win. That said, the Magics own a 31-17 record in the crosstown rivalry.
Buchtel (7-5) at Hoover (8-4), 7 p.m. Friday
The regional semifinalist Griffins are on the road against the Vikings. Buchtel is looking to pick up where it left off after they won seven of its last eight starts following an 0-4 start.
Last season Hoover clipped the Griffins 35-21 to open the season.
Buchtel's Stevie Diamond (1,920 yards passing, 21 TDs) has standouts in Wylie Cheairs (889 yards rushing, eight TDs), Kent State recruit Dakota Taylor (360 yards receiving, two TDs) and Zyaire Lewis (308 yards receiving, four TDs).
Second-team All-Ohio quarterback Carson Dyrlund (1,727 yards passing, 13 TDs, 795 yards rushing, 11 TDs) is a defensive coordinator’s worst nightmare and is the main threat for Hoover.
Zach Braucher (905 yards receiving, seven TDs) and Mason Ashby (665, five) are his main targets.
Ashby torched Buchtel for 235 all-purpose yards in last year's matchup when he caught two TD passes and returned a kick 99 yards for a score.
Hudson (13-1) at Highland (12-1), 7 p.m. Friday
Does it get better than the defending Suburban League National Conference champion Explorers traveling to the defending SL American Conference Hornets? Hudson graduated second-team All-Ohio QB Jagger Pallay. Highland graduated second-team running back Lukas Stiles.
The Explorers still have second-team all-state running back Ian Ludewig (2,193 yards rushing, 26 TDs), who will run behind Virginia Tech recruit Tommy Ricard and Jake Clapper on a team that hasn’t lost a regular-season game since Oct. 22, 2021.
Second-team all-state defensive back Matt Ciryak (seven interceptions) and Chase Crutchley (six pass breakups) are back from a defense that allowed just 8.2 points per game and only gave up 17 points in league play. The key in coach Mike Gibbons’ run-first, run-often offensive scheme is to find that back – or backs – to replace Stiles.
Streetsboro (6-5) at CVCA (7-4), 7 p.m. Friday
The Rockets replaced New Philadelphia as first-week opponents against the Royals, who are the defending Principals Athletic Conference co-champions.
CVCA finds out what life without first-team all-state and league MVP Kyle Snider will be like, although the squad already knows who’s next up. Sophomore Joey Kopec broke into high school action by rushing for 1,054 yards and scored 10 TDs as a complement to Snider. Quarterback Ryan Wiehe and receiver Ricky Levak already have a solid connection as a young squad gets even more seasoned.
Second-team All-Ohioan Preston Hopperton is back for the Rockets after a junior season in which he rushed for 915 yards and 21 TDs on 127 carries. He also caught 39 passes for 740 yards and six TDs. He led Streetsboro in all of those categories. Senior Kylan Rue rushed for 393 yards and three scores last year.
Hoban (14-2) vs. Frederick Douglass, Ky. (15-0), 4 p.m. Saturday
This game will be played at Canton McKinley as part of the Northeast Ohio vs. America Showcase. Frederick Douglass returns as Kentucky's 5A state champions after an undefeated 2022 and runner-up finishes the two years before.
The Knights, two-time returning Division II state runners-up, are no slouches despite losing Ohio Mr. Football Lamar Sperling to graduation. William Satterwhite, Ty Campbell, Rickey Williams, Jordan Pritchard-Sewell and Devin Bell are all committed to Division I programs, with freshman Brayton Feister ready to make an immediate impact. Expect Caleb Jones to take over rushing duties with Tylan Boykin at quarterback.
The Broncos lost 28 seniors from last season’s squad, but Eastern Kentucky recruit Cole Carpenter (1,863 yards passing, 23 TDs) isn’t one of them.
Cornerback Jeremiah Lowe (Michigan) and tight end Zuri Madison (Kentucky) are Power Five commits.
The Broncos are the all-time winningest program in their division at 611-70.
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: OHSAA football: Five Greater Akron football games to Watch in Week 1
