WEEK 3: Six area teams off to 2-0 starts

Some of the fastest 10 weeks of the whole year are upon us. It's already the third week of the high school football season, but tons of questions remain about some local teams. Edison, Bellevue, Vermilion, St. Mary Central Catholic, Danbury and Port Clinton are all 2-0. Just as many teams in the area are 1-1 and look to leave Week 3 with a winning record. There are no matchups involving two local teams this week, so teams will be everywhere in northwest Ohio and beyond. Vermilion and Willard play Saturday due to a lack of officials. SMCC takes a two-hour trip east to Pennsylvania for a non-league game. A look at the area games in Week 3: Lorain at Sandusky The Blue Streaks have allowed a total of 787 rushing yards in two losses this season. Fremont Ross ran for 367 in its 48-14 win over Sandusky last week. Sandusky quarterback Dale Johnson completed 7 of 18 passes for 157 yards, but Sandusky ran for just 28 yards on 17 carries. Up next for the Blue Streaks is Lorain, which is 1-1 after a 41-14 rout of Elyria. Last year, the Titans defeated Sandusky 8-0. Lorain's Toriano Allen returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown last week and the Titans piled up 442 total yards. Sandusky's Dante Shipp Jr. returned the opening kickoff 97 yards against Ross for a touchdown. Perkins at Toledo St. Francis The Pirates got their first win of the season last week, defeating Toledo Scott 55-6. Perkins led just 14-6 late in the second quarter before an interception by the defense led to a touchdown. The Pirates outscored Scott 34-0 in the second half. Perkins finished with five interceptions in the win, but things get significantly tougher for the Pirates this week. St. Francis plays its home games at the Glass Bowl on the campus of the University of Toledo. The Knights scored 64 points in a win over Toledo Waite in Week 1 before a 31-15 road loss to Bishop Dwenger from Fort Wayne, Indiana, last week. After hosting Perkins this week, St. Francis hosts Clyde in Week 4. Genoa at Huron Landon Hohler has been perhaps the best player in the area through two weeks. In an overtime loss to Oak Harbor and road win at Elmwood, Hohler has completed 41 of 56 passes for 584 yards, eight touchdowns and zero interceptions. On the ground, he has run 28 times for 102 yards and five touchdowns. What's more impressive about the eight passing touchdowns is Hohler has hit six different receivers for scores. Caleb Staley caught two touchdown passes and had 157 receiving yards last week. Genoa bounced back from a 33-28 Week 1 loss to Archbold by thumping Toledo Bowsher, 56-7. The Comets defeated Huron 17-7 last year. Huron enters averaging 47 points per game while Genoa is putting up 42 points per contest. Hopewell-Loudon at Edison The marquee matchup of the week takes place in Milan Township as the two-time reigning SBC Bay Division champion Edison hosts five-time reigning SBC River Division champion Hopewell-Loudon. Edison has been close to flawless in wins over Firelands (42-6) and St. Paul (35-10). Bryson Wittmer has totaled 39 carries for 297 yards and eight touchdowns for the Chargers. H-L quarterback Jacoby Ellis has completed 17 of 28 passes for 199 yards and five scores while Kellen Frankart has 36 rushes for 232 yards for the Chieftains (2-0). Hopewell-Loudon is 55-8 since the beginning of the 2020 season. Shelby at Bellevue Another headliner takes place at Bellevue Athletic Field as the Redmen welcome in a high-powered Shelby squad. Longtime members of the Northern Ohio League, the meeting is the 81st between the two schools with Bellevue having a 41-37-2 edge since they first played in 1944. The Redmen enter after wins over Clyde (33-23) and Wauseon (42-14). Shelby, led by quarterback Brayden DeVito, who is committed to Air Force, topped Mansfield Madison (56-14) and Lexington (37-13). Port Clinton at Oak Harbor Big games keep coming as the Redskins make the short trip to Oak Harbor to take on the Rockets. Both teams enter at 2-0. Landon Leis has thrown four touchdown passes in each of his first two games at quarterback, playing in place of injured Wyatt Yarbrough. Leis is 20 for 41 for 361 yards. Running back Malakii Pinkelton has 40 rushes for 183 yards and two scores. Oak Harbor outlasted Huron 52-46 in overtime in Week 1 before pounding Toledo Woodward 45-14. The Rockets are 36-4 since the beginning of the 2022 season. Ashland at Clyde The Fliers are 0-2 for the first time since 2011, having lost to Bellevue (33-23) and Toledo Start (30-14). Clyde welcomes in a tough Ashland squad, which is 2-0 after wins over Bay (43-10) and Marion Harding (42-7). The two teams haven't played since 2021 when Clyde defeated the Arrows 34-0. After hosting Ashland, the Fliers are on the road the next three weeks. Brookside at Margaretta The Polar Bears (1-1) played well on both sides of the ball in last week's 21-0 shutout of Western Reserve. Senior QB Jake Bouy had three rushing touchdowns, covering 36, 2 and 46 yards. Brookside is 0-2 and hasn't scored a point. The Cardinals were on the wrong side of losses to University School (42-0) and Woodridge (28-0). Monroeville at Seneca East The Eagles trailed big at halftime to Calvert and came up short against the Senecas, 35-21. Seneca East is 1-1 with a 2-0 win over Ashland Crestview and an overtime loss to Galion Northmor (27-21). The Tigers have made the playoffs the last 10 years. Monroeville (1-1) topped Seneca East last year, 36-13, and two years ago, 40-21. It is the Eagles' first road game of the season. St. Paul at Calvert For the fourth year in a row, the Flyers are 0-2. They travel to Heidelberg University in Tiffin to take on Calvert, hoping to avoid starting 0-3 for the third straight season. Through two games, Grant Kuhnle has completed 31 of 57 passes for 555 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. St. Paul has compiled just 118 yards on the ground on 63 carries. Calvert opened with a 39-6 loss to Mohawk before bouncing back to top Monroeville. QB Charlie Palm is 26 of 44 for 320 yards and three scores for the Senecas. Galion at Norwalk After defeating Toledo Start in overtime in Week 1, the Truckers lost 36-6 at home to Ontario last week. Norwalk's lone score came on a Colby Ferguson two-yard run in the fourth quarter. Galion has cruised in its first two games, handling St. Marys Memorial (35-6) and Carey (41-14). Vermilion at Willard (Sat.) Another matchup of undefeated teams takes place Saturday at Terry King Stadium when the Sailors visit Willard. Vermilion routed Firelands 42-12 last week as senior running back Evan Kuhns, who missed Week 1 with a minor neck injury, set a school record with 417 yards rushing. He added five touchdowns on the ground. Willard has topped South Central (46-12) and Plymouth (50-28). Sophomore QB Jake Rothhaar has completed 25 of 39 passes for 419 yards and four touchdowns. He has rushed 44 times for 346 yards and five scores. 8-MAN SMCC at Kennedy Catholic (Sat.) The Panthers improved to 2-0 with a 40-0 rout of Sebring McKinley last Saturday. SMCC led 34-0 after one quarter and got touchdowns from four different players in the win. SMCC senior Bryan Gibson has 20 carries for 208 yards and five touchdowns while senior QB Grant Swain has two scores on the ground. Kennedy Catholic is located in Hermitage, Pennsylvania. The Eagles lost to McKinley (22-6) before getting thumped by Chalker (62-0). Danbury at Stryker (Sat.) After losing to Waldron from Michigan the last two years, the Lakers topped the Spartans 52-36 last week. Danbury (2-0) is led by quarterback Tommy Dean, who has four touchdown passes and 183 yards and three rushing scores. Drake Turinsky has rushed 30 times for 245 yards and three touchdowns. Danbury defeated Stryker twice last year, 52-26 at home and 64-32 at Stryker.