The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Exciting football season is ahead
We are less than one week away from the start of high school football season in Ohio.
Avon is the first to kick off among area teams when the 2017 state semifinalist Eagles host Akron Buchtel Aug. 23, and the first football Friday of the year is stacked with compelling matchups including four rematches from last season that were decided by three points or less.
Those games are Edison at Firelands (Firelands won, 20-17), North Ridgeville at North Royalton (North Royalton won, 24-21), Avon Lake at Elyria (Avon Lake won, 2120) and Lorain at Midview (Midview won, 37-34).
The day also features a pair of rematches that produced lopsided results a year prior but have the potential to be a lot closer when Amherst travels to Clearview and Keystone hosts Bay in their season openers.
And that’s just opening week.
On top of what is sure to be an exciting first few days of football, the season itself is shaping up to be a good one.
While a handful of teams lost a lot of quality athletes and are likely facing a rebuilding season, plenty of the area’s top statistical leaders are back in 2018.
Ryan Maloy, a 2017 AllOhioan and Wilhelm Award winner, is back under center for Avon and has continued to develop his game, becoming one of the most dynamic athletes around.
He finished last season ranked as the No. 1 quarterback among Morning Journal teams with 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Vermilion’s Seth Hurd and Elyria Catholic’s Cameron Engrish are also top 10 quarterbacks returning to their respective teams in 2018, and Hurd gets his favorite target back in Jonah Pfeil who finished with 747 yards and nine touchdowns last year.
Lorain may have a new quarterback in junior Jordan Jackson, but receiver Tyshawn Lighty returns with his explosive speed and ability to make big play after big play.
It’s the area’s collective run game, however, that might be the most anticipated.
Amherst standout Khennedy Scagliozzo’s return has many people calling for the Comets to have a serious shot at making the playoffs. The senior ran for 1,744 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2017.
Clearview senior Drew Engle (1,430 yards, 16 TDs) is back after leading the Clippers to their first playoff berth since 2012.
Lorain juniors Daylin Dower and Savon Chavis are both proven playmakers for the Titans, with Dower (1,344 yards, 18 TDs) finishing the regular season ranked No. 6 in the area.
But possibly the most anticipated return is Columbia senior Brandon Coleman, who — despite going down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 5 — finished ranked 13th among area running backs. The senior put on 20 pounds in the offseason and has been rehabbing his knee for months. Coleman is poised to have one of the best seasons of any athlete, and his return alone makes for a thrilling start to the year.
And that’s only a handful of the returning players.
It’s much too early to say for certain, but 2018 is shaping up to be an exciting year for high school football in Lorain County — and then some.