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CADIZ -- Harrison Central faces a tall task again Friday when it welcomes one of the top teams in Ohio Division IV in St. Clairsville.
The game is a rivalry for first-year coach Anthony Hayes' players, who are battling for the Coal Bucket trophy.
"They are certainly going to be a daunting task," Hayes said. "They are outstanding on both sides of the ball. It is a rivalry game. It is the Coal Bucket game. I think the last time we won it was 2009. We want to kids to be excited about it. We want them to step up to that challenge."
While on paper not many might pick the 1-4 Huskies against the unbeaten Red Devils, Hayes is embracing the underdog role.
While it has not translated to wins just yet, Harrison Central has some of the top players in the area. Quarterback Kobe Mitchell ranks second with 846 yards, six scores and six interceptions. Running back Tyler West is third in the area with 533 yards and five touchdowns, adding 287 yards and three more scores receiving. Caden Dalton is the areas top receiver with 23 catches for 383 yards and two scores.
Toronto at Columbiana
COLUMBIANA -- Toronto got back in the win column with a 28-14 win over Leetonia and look to carry that momentum over to this week when it travels to Columbiana to face the Clippers.
Both teams enter the game with 2-3 records.
"They are like playing Texas Tech," first-year Toronto coach Josh Franke said. "They throw the ball a lot. They go four or five wide and are about 75 percent pass."
Facing a primarily pass team after several that do the opposite and run the ball is going to be an adjustment.
"Early on, we were used to seven-on-seven season and stopping the pass," Franke said. "We have seen teams that focus on running the ball and have mobile quarterbacks. We are telling our kids defensively to think of this as a seven-on-seven game and get back to that focus on stopping the pass."
Franke has turned to Caleb Leasure to lead the offense, and he has 247 yards, five touchdowns and just one interception for the Red Knights. The rushing attack is led by Kobe Herrick with 267 yards and three scores on 52 carries.
The Clippers come in averaging 24.6 points and having won the last two games. On defense, Columbiana allows 27.6 points.
John Marshall
at Buckeye Local
YORKVILLE -- Buckeye Local has done good things at times this season but just has not done them consistently enough to get in the win column yet.
Friday night, coach Roger Herbert's Panthers will look to put four quarters together on both sides of the ball to get a homecoming win against 3-2 John Marshall.
"They like to run the football," Herbert said of the Monarchs. "They play a 4-3 defense and are a physical team. Homecoming week is exciting for the guys. They want to play well for the big, home crowd on Friday night. Hopefully we get it turned around for them and are celebrating on Friday night."
In its previous two games, Buckeye Local has gotten itself in early holes that were too deep to overcome, making the start on Friday night key.
A positive, according to Herbert, was nine forced fumbles (five of which the Panthers recovered) in Saturday's loss to Bellaire.
He hopes to see the defense continue to make plays and the offense improve to take advantage.