High School Football: 4 things to know before Week 3

Many teams will play their final nonconference games of the season with league play beginning next week, while others will play crossover division matchups until Week 6.

Here’s five things to know before Week 3:

Road tripping

Two of the area’s most successful programs will face out-of-state opponents, while another will face one of Ohio’s big school powerhouses.

Centerville (0-2) will play at Carmel, Ind. looking to avoid an 0-3 start. The Greyhounds beat Fishers (Ind.) and Westfield (Ind.) to open the season. They beat the Elks 44-23 a year ago.

After a tough loss to Taft, Alter will travel to 1-1 Lincoln-Stockton (Ind.) hoping to get back on track. The Knights led Taft 20-7 in the fourth quarter, but the Senators scored 20 points to send the game to overtime. They scored a TD in overtime to beat the Knights for the second straight season.

Wayne will travel to Northeast Ohio Division I powerhouse Lakewood St. Edward, which won three straight state titles from 2021 through 2023. The Warriors (1-1) fell at Pickerington Central last week.

GMC, MVL play continues

The Greater Miami Conference and Miami Valley League began conference play last week. Both conferences will see key matchups in Week 3.

Defending co-champion Lakota West (2-0) will travel to Hamilton (2-0) in a matchup of 1-0 GMC squads. The Firebirds beat the Big Blue 31-0 last season.

In the MVL, Fairborn (2-0, 1-0) will travel to defending champion Tippecanoe (2-0, 1-0) in a battle of unbeatens.

Big performances

The area saw several big performances last week.

Urbana junior quarterback Grady Lantz threw for 414 yards and four TDs and rushed for 100 yards and three TDs, including the game-winner to beat Mechanicsburg 47-43.

Oakwood senior Zach Lutz threw for 256 yards and five TDs as the Lumberjacks beat Tipp City Bethel 43-12 on Friday, Aug. 29.

Tippecanoe senior Xavier Melton rushed for 272 yards and four TDs on 22 carries as the Red Devils beat Piqua 40-7.

Hamilton senior Andre Bailey rushed for 233 yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns as the Big Blue beat Sycamore 37-7.

The streak continues

Marion Local beat Convoy Crestview 63-6 to extend their winning state record winning streak to 66 games. This week they’ll open Midwest Athletic Conference play at St. Henry (2-0). The Flyers beat the Redskins 42-9.