From Ravenna-Field to Mogadore-JFK, every local Week 6 high school football game previewed

Here is a look at every Week 6 game across Portage County:

Metro Athletic Conference

Ravenna (0-5, 0-2) at Field (2-3, 2-0)

Don't look now but the Falcons are on fire. After two blowout losses to start the season, Field nearly topped still-undefeated Rootstown in Week 3 and are coming off back-to-back shutouts of Springfield and Cloverleaf. After a serious summer injury that cost him the first two weeks of his junior season, Drexal McAmis has certainly made up for lost time for the Falcons, including with 27 carries for 138 yards last week against the Colts. Brady McCoy is also coming off a breakout performance, scoring both Field touchdowns against Cloverleaf and leading the Falcons in tackles.

Expect a hard-fought battle on the ground. The Falcons, behind McCoy and McAmis, will surely try to pound it right at the Ravens, who boast a nice defensive line featuring Dean Baker and David Davis. Ravenna has a similar modus operandi, leaning on its own powerful runner, Austin Marshall, who had 20 carries for 84 yards last week against Streetsboro and was even better the prior week against Cloverleaf with 18 carries for 176 yards.

Cloverleaf (3-2, 1-1) at Streetsboro (4-1, 1-1)

The Rockets surely righted the ship last week, bouncing back from a heartbreaking loss to Norton with a dominant performance at Ravenna. That included 30 carries for 368 yards, with Cohen Klimak, Preston Hopperton, Brent Ranaldson and Kylan Rue all topping 75 rushing yards. If Hopperton and Rue can wreak havoc around the edges, that forms a deadly combo with Klimak's smash-mouth running style. Meanwhile, the Colts will look to get their trademark ground game rolling again after the Falcons limited them to just 36 yards on 23 carries. Streetsboro will, of course, have to watch out for Cloverleaf's do-it-all star Griffin Petrocci, who even in last week's tough loss to Field, had a big reception to convert a fourth down and had a stellar night punting.

Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division

Harvey (2-3, 0-0) at Crestwood (4-1, 0-0)

At long last, the Red Devils begin league play after a couple of Chagrin Valley Conference crossover games. Crestwood enters with considerable momentum, having won four straight games behind a red-hot Nate Blasiole, who surpassed the 1,000-yard mark last week. The junior running back has been remarkably effective for the Red Devils, turning 121 carries into 1,090 yards (9.0 average) and 19 touchdowns. Now, Blasiole tries to help Crestwood finally vanquish Harvey after the Red Raiders won both their 2021 and 2022 matchups, with the Red Devils bouncing back from that early league loss in 2021 to capture the league title. While Blasiole has been stellar for the Red Devils, sophomore Shahn Alston is coming off a big performance for Harvey, as he tallied 129 rushing yards, a touchdown and two two-point conversions in last week's 35-7 win over Independence.

Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier

Memorial (1-4, 0-2) at Garfield (5-0, 2-0)

People talk about quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers all the time, but it's hard to overstate the way Keegan Sell takes over a game at linebacker (and on special teams) for the G-Men. At 14.8 tackles per game, he's as dominant as ever, and both Sell and quarterback Eric Geddes are also averaging more than nine yards per carry for Garfield. Memorial, meanwhile, has scored at least 20 points in its last two games. The problem? The Red Devils also surrendered 44-plus points in both games and have lost four straight since winning their opener.

Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Scarlet Tier

McDonald (3-2, 0-2) at Waterloo (2-3, 0-2)

Both the Blue Devils and Vikings seek their first conference win when they meet at Valhalla Friday night. In McDonald's Drew Zajack and Waterloo's Jayden Hakin, both teams bring bruising quarterbacks who can create a lot of trouble with their fee. The Vikings senior is up to 573 rushing yards, gaining well over 100 per game, as he hopes to lead his team to its first win over the Blue Devils since joining the MVAC.

Northeastern Athletic Conference

Windham (2-3, 0-0) at Fairport Harding (1-4, 0-0)

Both the Bombers and Skippers bring two intriguing runners to the table. Windham has been sparked, of course, by the return from injury of the powerful Jack Eye, who has paired perfectly with speedy Carlos Bruton to help the Bombers win two straight games. Meanwhile, seniors James Gadomski and Maverick Piotrowski are both averaging 50-plus rushing yards for Fairport Harding, which is trying to snap a four-game skid.

Suburban American

Aurora (4-1, 2-0) at Cuyahoga Falls (2-3, 0-2)

The Greenmen ground game is back. After failing to top 100 rushing yards in each of its first three games, Aurora surpassed 260 in each of the last two weeks against Revere (45 carries for 265 yards) and Copley (36 carries for 261 yards). All of which could be a dangerous recipe against the Black Tigers, who surrendered a career-high 285 rushing yards to Zach Olechnowicz last week. Not that Cuyahoga Falls doesn't have its own dangerous ground game. Indeed, junior Zavier Lindsey turned 11 carries into 118 yards and a touchdown last week against Revere.

Roosevelt (3-2, 1-1) at Copley (0-5, 0-2)

The Rough Riders had a tough Week 5, getting shut out at Barberton to snap their two-game win streak. Roosevelt hopes to get its offense going against a Copley team that has surrendered at least 40 points in every game this season. With a Jack Smith-led aerial attack that was electric in the Rough Riders' opener and a ground game that showed strength in a Week 4 win over Cuyahoga Falls, Roosevelt has the potential to create problems on the offensive end. As does Copley's Julian Bearshak, who had an 87-yard kickoff return for a TD against Twinsburg, a 58-yard rushing touchdown against Highland and completed nearly two-thirds of his passes against Firestone.

Portage Trail Conference

Rootstown (5-0, 0-0) at Aquinas (0-5, 0-0)

The Knights were held to negative yardage on the ground last week against Windham, which could spell trouble against Rootstown's defense, with the Rovers' Chris Cooper, Tony Karp, Kyle Kuharich, Michael Lattimer and Tristan McKibben all tallying four-plus tackles for loss already. That's a tough task for an Aquinas team that has been held to single-digit scoring in every game. The Rovers' ground game has been every bit as good as their defense, as Dawson Morgan already has 1,205 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns midway through the regular season.

Nonleague

Southeast (5-0) at Pymatuning Valley (2-3)

The lone nonconference game of the week happens to be highly compelling. The undefeated Pirates have dominated their last couple of opponents, beating Akron North and Minerva by a combined score of 74-20. Friday promises a sharper test as the Lakers' record is deceiving given their strength of schedule. Expect a heck of a battle between a pair of dual-threat quarterbacks in Pymatuning Valley's Ryan Croston, who turned 18 carries into 73 yards earlier this season against Rootstown's excellent defense, and Southeast's Antonio Mejia. Meanwhile, the Pirates' Case Myers is coming off a dominant Homecoming performance, including 168 rushing yards (and two touchdowns) on just eight carries.

Saturday, Sept. 23

Portage Trail Conference

Mogadore (4-1, 0-0) at JFK (1-3, 0-0)

Over the past couple of years, the Eagles and Wildcats have typically played with Portage Trail Conference championships at stake. This season, it's hard to know where JFK will fit into the PTC title race. While the Eagles lost a number of players from last season's team and have surrendered 50.3 points per game over three straight losses, they've also played a brutally tough schedule. Indeed, JFK's three losses came to Garfield, Marlington and South Range, which have combined to win 13 of 15 games thus far.

So, yes, the Eagles shouldn't be underestimated, with Ian Odille coming off a two-interception performance, and supreme athletes offensively in speedy receiver Noah Elser and powerful running backs Trevon Hall and Jaylen Murray. Neither should the Wildcats, though, who have held four of five opponents to single-digit scoring and have experience at quarterback (Zeke Cameron) and an endless array of capable ballcarriers.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Here's our look at all 11 local Week 6 high school football games