Potters, Quakers riding wave of good results
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Salem and East Liverpool’s football teams have had waves of success across the history of their longtime rivalry but rarely have both teams aligned within the same season.
On Friday night, the Potters and Quakers will enter play at Sebo Stadium 2-0 at the same time since 1998.
The Potters extended their perfect start last Friday with a 48-14 win over Buckeye 8 rival Indian Creek. Ben Myers led the charge with 124 yards rushing and two touchdowns along with 112 yards and two touchdowns passing through the air. James Madison recruit Dre’Keim Abercrombie caught three balls for 33 yards and a touchdown, while piling up 12 tackles on defense. Meshach Harris also hauled in a 71-yard touchdown.
The Quakers downed Canfield 21-17 for the first win over the Cardinals since 1990. Owen Davidson hauled in touchdown passes from Bairon Exline and Adrian Gelonese in the win, while Brandon Kana had 59 yards rushing and a touchdown.
East Liverpool will look to win for the second time against the Quakers in 13 games.
Not to be forgotten Beaver Local also moved to 2-0 on Friday with a 28-13 win over a Western Beaver (Pa.) team that went 10-2 the season before.
Beaver Local, Salem and East Liverpool have never been 2-0 at the same time before this season.
The Beavers travel to St. Clairsville in search of its first ever win at Red Devil Stadium on Friday. The Red Devils enter the game 0-2, but St. Clairsville did handle the Beavers 38-7 last season.
EOAC
Through two weeks of play Columbiana is the last Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference team without a loss. The EOAC has gone 4-10 so far in non-league play.
Bob Spaite’s bunch put up 357 yards of offense in a 20-6 win over Mathews last Friday. Danny Mangierelli sparked the Clipper attack with 35 carries for 183 yards and a touchdown. Jensen Nordquist and Deven Brode also scored rushing touchdowns. The Clippers are 2-0 for the first time since 2011 and will host Western Reserve (1-1) on Friday.
Defending champion United (1-1) might still be the favorite even though it lost a 31-28 thriller to Mineral Ridge last Friday. The Golden Eagles will again have another test as it heads to Crestview (1-1) on Friday.
The Rebels rebounded from an opening loss to Beaver Local to paste Lakeview 34-14 last week. Trevor McElhaney had 19 carries for 134 yards in that one, while Hayden Davis caught five balls for 78 yards and two touchdowns.
Lisbon (1-1) had a tough go of it against Lowellville last Friday as it came away with a 43-21 loss. Grant Minor threw for 156 with a touchdown and also ran for 43 yards and a touchdown for the Blue Devils. Lisbon will host Waterloo (1-1) on Friday.
Wellsville (0-2) will have a chance to get a win on the board as it travels to Leetonia on Friday. This will be the last Columbiana County team the Bears (1-1) play this season.
Southern (0-2) has been outscored 82-0 so far and will host Bridgeport (0-2) on Friday. The Indians haven’t gone three games in a row without scoring a points since 2013.
If East Palestine (0-2) wants to return to the playoffs, the Bulldogs will have to turn things around in a hurry. Having been outscored 96-27 so far the Bulldogs host a Malvern (1-1) team that lost to McDonald 54-28 last week.
Also at 0-2, Valley Christian has a 44-0 loss to McDonald and a 14-7 loss to Campbell Memorial.
WEST VIRGINIA
Fresh off a 35-0 romp of rival Weir High, Oak Glen heads to Ohio to take on River on Friday. The Pilots are 2-0 with wins of 41-6 over Portsmouth Notre Dame and 40-8 over Buckeye Local. Oak Glen is 3-2 all-time against the Pilots but the last meeting was in 2004.
EBC
West Branch (2-0) looks like a contender in the Eastern Buckeye Conference after beating its first two opponents by a combined 72-13. West Branch has also outgained its opponents 824-339. Youngstown State recruit Grady Hirst had 295 yards rushing and six touchdowns, while passing for 291 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. The Warriors host a struggling Struthers (0-2) on Friday before opening up league play with Howland on Sept. 11.