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Portage County high school football opens its 2026 season this week with nine matchups showcasing teams eager to improve on mixed results from last year. Thursday’s slate features Rootstown visiting Southeast for their first meeting in two years, while Warren JFK travels to Garfield in another key early-season contest. Both games present intriguing storylines, with Rootstown’s passing attack led by third-year starter Blake Mullaly facing off against Southeast’s ground-oriented attack, and defending champion Garfield looking to maintain its recent success against a resurgent JFK team.
Friday’s schedule includes eight games with notable rivalry renewals and competitive matchups. Mogadore hosts Crestwood for the first time since 2019 in a contest that will feature new starting quarterbacks for both teams. The Ravenna-Field rivalry promises another close affair between evenly matched programs, while Springfield and Waterloo square off in a youth-oriented game. Other Friday contests feature Aurora seeking to bounce back from recent struggles against Stow-Munroe Falls, Streetsboro looking to build on its success against Copley, and Twinsburg continuing its recent momentum against Roosevelt in what appears to be an evenly contested battle.
Plymouth and Windham round out the week in what may be the most unpredictable matchup, as both teams made the transition to eight-man football after struggling in 11-man competition last season. Overall, Week 1 features numerous storylines of teams attempting redemption and building on positive trends entering the new campaign.
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Originally reported by Sports.yahoo →
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