Amherst at Berea - The Comets shouldn't have a problem with the winless Braves.
Avon at Vermilion - The Eagles shouldn't have a problem with the winless Sailors.
Bay at North Ridgeville - An intriguing matchup. The Rockets beat North Ridgeville last year and threw a wrench in what looked to be a cakewalk through the West Shore for North Ridgeville. The two teams ended in a three-way tie with Rocky River. Could revenge be on the minds of the Rangers?
Brookside at Buckeye - Buckeye hasn't been very good this season while the Cardinals have had a solid start at 3-2. A second straight road win for the Cards would be huge.
Clearview at Columbia - This is my game of the week. Clearview has gotten off to a nice start so far with a nice running attack while the Raiders have mixed it up behind quarterback John Banyasz.
Edison at Perkins - Edison is now 0-2 in the SBC after a 3-0 start. I don't expect it to stay that way but Perkins has to be feeling a lot better after finally getting a win under its belt.
Elyria at Cuyahoga Falls - A matchup of 1-4 teams, Elyria needs to get a win badly after letting one slip away at home to a quality opponent last week.
Firelands at Fairview - A nice chance for the Falcons to get their first WSC win in almost two years.
Keystone at Black River - This should also be a quality game. Keystone has had a couple of disappointing losses of late and the Pirates have also had some letdowns. Something's got to give.
Midpark at Avon Lake - Avon Lake shouldn't have trouble with the Meteors. The running game will be fine-tuned by the time the meat of the schedule arrives, though.
Midview at Rocky River - Rocky River showed last week what its offense can do. Midview is still struggling on that side of the ball.
Norwalk at Willard - Will the Truckers win a third game and even up their record?
Oberlin at Wellington - Oberlin is still seeking its first win while the Dukes are feeling good after getting their's last week. This was one of the best games of the year last year.
Sandusky at Lima Senior - Sandusky dropped 47 points on Lima for its first win last year. This year it won't be nearly as surprising.
St. Paul at South Central - This one could get ugly early.
Trinity at Elyria Catholic- EC should get some heavy-handed revenge on Trinity for knocking it out of playoff contention last season.
Western Reserve at Monroeville - This will be one of the night's most important games. The winner has a chance to knock off St. Paul for the outright Firelands Conference crown.
Westlake at North Olmsted - This game will be much more enjoyable than usual with Westlake boasting a very good defense and North Olmsted coming off a solid showing against Avon Lake.
Saturday
Lorain High at Shaw - LEL play starts eight days after the Titans put up 41 points against Marion Harding. Something to build off? Let's hope.
Huron at St. Mary - Expect the Tigers to win going away and lick their wounds after being shut out by Clyde last week.

I've never been really sure how they worked, but I always like to check out the computer points for area teams as the year goes on. The official rankings come out closer to the end of the season to decide playoff seeding, but http://www.joeeitel.com/ always keeps a pretty accurate tally of where teams stand in the points.

Two area teams are at the top of their respective regions at the halfway point of the season. Avon tops Region 6 with 11.2 points. Region 6 has a few area teams in it inluding Avon Lake (No. 4), North Ridgeville (No. 9), Sandusky (No. 11) and Midview.

Elyria Catholic is still rolling in Division IV, Region 14. They have the top seed with 10.25 points. Their big boost was beating Divsion I Elyria a couple of weeks ago and then following it with a fellow top team, Columbus Archbishop Hartley. EC, along with Avon and Amherst has made its case as one of the best teams in Lorain County and maybe in all of Ohio with their stellar play so far. Region 14 also has Edison (No. 7) and Clearview (No. 8) vying for playoff spots. Huron (No. 10) and Brookside (No. 12) are also still in the hunt but have two losses and will need to play perfect while getting some help to get back in the top eight. Keystone and Wellington are also in Region 14.

Over in Division I, Region 2, Amherst is ranked second behind Twinsburg with 10.55 points. The Comets are coming off of an impressive victory over Westlake last week. Playoffs are a good possibility if the Comets split their final two games with Olmsted Falls and Avon Lake. Win both those games and they could be looking at grabbing the No. 1 seed. A lot still has to happen for the Comets, though. That final stretch is brutal. Lorain High and Elyria are also in Region 2.

Another team leading its region is Collins Western Reserve in Division V, Region 18. The Roughriders are off to a 5-0 start with games against Monroeville and St. Paul still to come.

Rounding out local teams in playoff contention, Monroeville and St. Paul are ranked seventh and eighth respectively in Division VI.

Brookside defeated Brooklyn 27-21 in overtime. Brookside quarterback Josh Bender completed two of nine passes for 48 yards. He rushed for 52 yards and 2 touchdowns. Running back Art Howell rushed 26 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

Are there unwritten rules among coaches? Even if there are does a coach have to follow those rules or is his responsibility to his team and his team alone.

In the waning minutes of Elyria Catholic’s 29-10 win over St. Thomas Aquinas, Elyria Catholic continued to drop back and pass. The Panthers successfully executed a fake punt to keep a drive alive, passed even more and attempted and missed a field goal with 19 seconds left.

St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Bob Madden was not a fan of Elyria Catholic head coach Ben Malbasa’s play calling.

“No class,” Madden said. “He pulled the same thing up at our place last year. You can put that in whatever paper you write for. Direct quote from Bob Madden. Last year they were winning by three touchdowns I put my subs in and he threw a deep pass to the kid that went Cincinnati. Big tall kid #16 tried to score another touchdown on us. He pulls this tonight. No class.

“They could have taken a knee and ran the clock out then they try a field goal. That’s terrible. I don’t care if they are 4-0, 10-0. That guy has no class at all. Guys in my profession feel the same way I can tell you that.

“They have a good football team but their coach is I can’t even say it. I am proud of how my team played tonight.”

Malbasa said he had a responsibility to coach his team the same way at all times.

“We preach to our kids to play all four quarters and how can I tell me kids not to play four quarters,” Malbasa said. “We have a JV game tomorrow and we need to make sure those kids can play tomorrow and we don’t have that big of a team so we have to play four quarters.”

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — The Rangers had no problem with Fairview, defeating the Warriors, 42-3 to open up West Shore Conference play.
Mike Mees threw four touchdown passes, including two to Mark Szylakowski (64-yarder, 40-yarder). Christian Watkins (66-yarder) and Nate Alpine (26-yarder) also caught TD passes from Mees.
Brandon Mundell ran for a 14-yard touchdown, while David Bowden added a 17-yard TD run.
North Ridgeville (3-1, 1-0 WSC) will host Avon next Friday. Fairview falls to 1-3 (0-1 WSC).
Bay 37, Firelands 6: The Rockets won their first game of the season, defeating the Falcons in West Shore Conference play.
Firelands, who falls to 1-3 (0-1 WSC), will host Rocky River next Friday. Bay (1-3, 1-0 WSC) will host Midview.
Westlake 6, Berea 2: The Demons won a low-scoring affair on their home field to kick off Southwestern Conference play.
Westlake improves to 4-0 (1-0 SWC) and will travel to Amherst next week to play the undefeated Comets, who defeated North Olmsted last night.
Clearview 41, Wellington 18: The Clippers had no letdown this season, jumping out to a big lead on the Dukes and holding on to it this year in PAC action.
Clearview, who won its third-straight game, improved to 3-1 (1-0 PAC), will host Buckeye next Friday. Wellington remains winless at 0-4 (0-1 PAC) and will travel to Lutheran West next week.
Columbia 42, Black River 20: Raider quarterback John Banyasz threw five touchdown passes to lead Columbia past the Pirates at Black River.
Brandon Heidinger was on the receiving end of three TD passes from Banyasz, while Ryan Severo caught the other two. Banyasz finished the game 11 of 18 for 185 yards and five TDs.
As a team, the Raiders also rushed for 183 yards on 36 carries.
Columbia improves to 3-1 (1-0 PAC) and will host Keystone next Friday. Black River falls to 0-4 (0-1 PAC) and will travel to play Oberlin.
Huron 35, Edison 0: The Tigers shut out the previously undefeated Chargers to open up Sandusky Bay Conference play.
Huron, who improved to 3-1 (1-0 SBC) will travel to play Clyde next week. Edison, who dropped to 3-1 (0-1 SBC) will host Port Clinton, who lost to Clyde last night, 42-7.
Monroeville 49, New London 6: The Eagles routed the Wildcats at New London to open Firelands Conference play.
Justin Jones and Ryan Stower scored two touchdowns apiece to lead the Eagles. Ben Bercheck, Jeremy Krill and Cory Long also scored a TD each in the rout.
Monroeville, who improved to 3-1 (1-0 FC), will host Crestview next Friday, while New London (0-4, 0-1 FC) travels to play Plymouth, who lost to Western Reserve, 44-13 last night.
Tiffin Columbian 49, Norwalk 7: The Tornadoes spun all over the Truckers Friday night as Northern Ohio League kicked off.
Tiffin Columbian improves to 3-1 (1-0 NOL), while Norwalk slipped to 1-3 (0-1 NOL). The Truckers will host Fostoria next Friday.
Oak Harbor 12, Perkins 9: The Rockets won on a late drive in the fourth quarter to keep the Pirates winless, avenging last year’s 35-7 shellacking by the Pirates on their home field.
Perkins, who remains winless at 0-4 (0-1 SBC), will host St. Mary next Friday. Oak Harbor improved to 3-1 (1-0 SBC).
Western Reserve 44, Plymouth 13: The Roughriders dominated FC action in Collins Friday night, defeating the Big Red handily.
Western Reserve, who improved to 4-0 (1-0 FC), will host South Central next Friday, while Plymouth fell to 0-4.
Brooklyn 20, Keystone 13: The Hurricanes were rude guests in LaGrange, jumping out to a 13-0 halftime lead en route to their Patriot Athletic Conference win over the Wildcats.
Brooklyn evened its mark at 2-2 (1-0 PAC), while Keystone fell to 2-2 (0-1 PAC). Keystone travels to Columbia next Friday.
Buckeye 29, Oberlin 14: The Bucks led 22-0 at halftime and held on for the win in Medina in a PAC opener.
Oberlin, who dropped to 0-4, will host Black River next Friday. Buckeye picked up its first win of the season to improve to 1-3 (1-0 PAC).

OBERLIN — After two rough road losses to start the season, the Phoenix were hoping to get in the win column with their home opener against Akron Kenmore Friday night.
But the Cardinals had other ideas as Kenmore scored early and often, sending Oberlin to 0-3 with a 44-0 routing.

Eric Finn led Kenmore with 172 yards rushing on 15 carries, while DeSean Ballinger added 71 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns.

Oberlin was only able to record seven first downs to Kemore’s 18.
Oberlin goes back on the road next Friday when they travel to Medina to play Buckeye in Patriot Athletic Conference play.

North Ridgeville 28, Cloverleaf 17: The Rangers went to Lodi and came out victorious, improving to 2-1 with their second-straight win. North Ridgeville will host Fairview next week in West Shore Conference action.

Monroeville 26, Seneca East 19: The Eagles bounced back from last week’s loss to Edison with a win over the Tigers.

Cory Long scored two touchdowns, while Justin Jones and Ryan Storer also notched TD runs.
Jones had an 18-yard score, Long had an 8-yarder and Storer plunged in from 1-yard out as the Eagles led 20-6 at halftime.

Long was Monroeville’s leading rusher with 146 yards on 24 carries. Jones added 76 yards on 19 carries.
Monroeville improved to 2-1 and will play at New London next Friday.

Brookside 21, Toledo Woodward 14: The Cardinals improved to 2-1 going into PAC play next week.
Robert Taw scored a pair of touchdowns, a 5-yarder and a 3-yarder, while Matt Gorta caught a 18-yard TD pass from Josh Bender. Bender also added a two-point conversion.
Brookside will host Lutheran West next week.

Kirtland 54, Bay 13: The Rockets went on the road to Lake County and were stung by the Hornets.

Kirtland improved to 3-0, while Bay dropped to 0-3. Bay will host Firelands next week.

Columbia 47, Newbury 14: The Raiders improved to 2-1 with a big win in Geauga County over the Black Knights.

Columbia travels to play Black River in PAC action next Friday.
Colonel Crawford 20, New London 14: The Eagles scored in the closing minutes to beat the Wildcats and keep them winless.

New London drops to 0-3 and will host Monroeville next Friday.

Western Reserve 22, Norwayne 14: The Roughriders improved to 3-0 with their win over the Bobcats.

Western Reserve will host Plymouth as Firelands Conference action kicks off next Friday.

Westlake 22, Rocky River 7: The Demons are off to their best start in years at 3-0 as Westlake went on the road and defeated the Pirates.

Westlake will host Berea in Southwestern Conference action next Friday.