Bedford at Warren G. Harding
Kickoff: 7, Mollenkopf Stadium.
Records: Bedford 2-2; Harding 1-3.
Radio: WHKZ-1440 AM, WHTX-1570 AM.
Coaches: Sean Williams for Bedford; Rick Rios for Harding.
Last week: Bedford beat Shaker Heights 42-14; East Cleveland Shaw beat Harding 14-7.
Last meeting: First meeting
Notes: If the Raiders are going to get their second victory, they're going to have to stop the Bearcats' senior running back tandem of Devin Davis and Joe Beasley, who combined for more than 160 yards and scored three touchdowns against Shaker Heights. ... Last week, the Raiders worked through a frustrating loss, but running back LeShun Daniels ran for 116 yards and scored a touchdown. ... Injuries to quarterback Josh Martz and receiver Jalyn Powell have hampered the Raiders' progress, and their status is still uncertain this week. ... Harding has to win to avoid its first 1-4 start since 2005.
Pittsburgh Carrick at Howland
Kickoff: 7, Richard Lombardo Stadium.
Records: Carrick 0-3; Howland 4-0.
Radio: none.
Coaches: Jeff McCafferty for Carrick; Dick Angle for Howland.
Last week: Westinghouse beat Carrick 36-0; Howland beat Canfield 30-28.
Last meeting: Howland won, 48-0, in 2010.
Notes: The Raiders have been outscored 130-15 this season. ... Howland will have to come down from last week, when Connor Gilmour nailed a 38-yard field goal as time expired to push the Tigers into the win column. ... Once again, the Tigers were led by tailback De'Veon Smith, who rushed for 198 yards against Canfield, and has gained 756 yards this season, and scored eight touchdowns. Next week the Tigers will travel to Beaver Local, and then host a showdown with Poland that will go a long way in deciding who wins the All-American Conference, Red Tier title.
Poland at Niles
Kickoff: 7, Bo Rein Stadium.
Records: Poland 2-1; Niles 3-1.
Radio: none.
Coaches: Mark Brungard for Poland; Brad Yeager for Niles.
Last week: Poland beat Lakeview, 38-21; Niles beat Beaver Local 34-0.
Last meeting: Poland won, 47-7, in 2010.
Notes: Poland has Miami (Ohio) recruit Colin Reardon at quarterback, but the offense runs through running back Jerry Lawman, who has gained 466 yards on 86 carries this season primarily on power plays. ... This makes Reardon (2 touchdown passes and two interceptions) dangerous on play-action, so Niles' linebackers will have be disciplined in their reads. ... The Niles defense has only surrendered 22 points and 781 total yards this season. ... Senior defensive back L.J. Cox has already picked off three passes this year, and junior Aaron Watson snagged two. ... Niles quarterback Zack Bailey has shined; the senior completed 42 of his 68 passes for 511 yards, and has thrown five touchdown passes with no interceptions.
Girard at Champion
Kickoff: 7, Golden Flashes Stadium.
Records: Girard 4-0; Champion 1-3
Radio: none.
Coaches: Terry Howell for Champion; Nick Cochran for Girard.
Last week: LaBrae beat Champion 46-28; Girard beat Newton Falls 55-24.
Last meeting: Girard won, 42-14, in 2010.
Notes: Howell has steadily been rebuilding the Champion program, and this week will be his biggest test. ... Girard has amassed nearly 2,000 yards of total offense, and has scored 198 points. ... The Indians are lead by quarterback Dan Graziano and tailback Ahmad Eggleston. ... Out of the spread, Graziano has rushed for 667 yards on 59 carries and has scored 6 touchdowns, and completed 31 or 45 passes for 524 yards. He's thrown seven touchdowns passes and no interceptions. ... Eggleston is among the area leaders in rushing with 708 yards on 68 carries, and has scored 14 touchdowns. Champion running back Justin Rasey will be seen all over the backfield and will run and block. He'll be needed to do all of that to help keep the ball out of the hands of Girard's offense. ... Champion's defense has been a bit of a bright spot: Two weeks ago, the Golden Flashes' secondary picked off Garfield's all-state quarterback Sebastian Neikirk three times. ... Stats show Girard's defense is in the middle of the pack, but that might not tell the entire story: The Indians have jumped out to such big leads this season that, by the time the fourth quarter rolls around, they've taken the foot off the gas or inserted underclassmen.
Brookfield at Newton Falls
Kickoff: 7, Tigers Stadium.
Records: Brookfield 4-0; Newton Falls 0-4
Radio: none.
Coaches: Randy Clark for Brookfield; Greg Lazzari for Newton Falls.
Last week: Brookfield beat Campbell 26-20 in overtime; Girard beat Newton Falls 55-24.
Last meeting: Brookfield won, 30-9, in 2010.
Notes: Newton Falls has had its troubles this year, but not too much with its triple-option offense, which has yielded one of the AAC's leading passers: senior Matt Brazin. ... Brazin has completed 44 of 75 passes for 557 yards, and has thrown three touchdown passes and seven interceptions. ... Brazin will have to work into a defense that's only allowed 444 yards on the ground and 109 yards through the air this season, and is powered by a big, experienced defensive line. ... On offense, the Warriors may have to go without quarterback Jeremy Quinlan, who left last week's game in the second quarter with a collarbone injury. ... Brandon Mosora stepped in for Quinlan, and played well, but Ryan Mosora paced the Warriors with 154 yards rushing on 24 carries. He leads the team with 842 yards on the ground, and has ran for nine touchdowns.
Lakeview at Hubbard
Kickoff: 7, Hubbard Memorial Stadium.
Records: Lakeview 1-3; Hubbard 3-1.
Radio: 106.1 WBBG-FM.
Coaches: Tom Pavlansky for Lakeview; Brian Hoffman for Hubbard.
Last week: Poland beat Lakeview 38-21; Hubbard beat East Liverpool 55-7.
Last meeting: Lakeview won, 21-18, in 2010.
Notes: This summer, the Eagles were uncertain how their quarterback situation would play out, but not any more. Senior Ashton Owens has completed 24 of 49 passes for 443 yards, and has thrown seven touchdown passes and no interceptions. ... His favorite target out of Hubbard's multiple attack is receiver Zac Merrell, who has caught eight passes for 244 yards, and is averaging more than 30 yards per catch, and has scored three touchdowns. ... Owens and Merrell have benefitted greatly from having freshman Larry Scott in the backfield. ... Scott is comfortable running from the eye, one-back, shotgun, and even the pistol. He's rushed for 475 yards on 42 carries and has scored three touchdowns. ... Lakeview's defense has surrendered 1,452 yards this year. ... The Bulldogs' offense has been powered by the duo of senior quarterback Anthony Franco and junior receiver Elijah Henderson. ... Henderson has caught 27 passes for 291 yards and has scored one touchdowns. Franco has completed 45 of 69 passes for 456 yards, and has thrown one touchdown pass and one interception.