Week 1 high school football games to watch: Area heavyweights waste no time

For those looking to see the Toledo area’s best player take on the Toledo area’s best team, the wait is short.

Now that Findlay and Central Catholic are in different leagues, there’s no need to wait until conference play for these two teams to tangle. In fact, they are set to go up against each other Friday in a Week 1 matchup at Central Catholic’s Gallagher Stadium.

It’s Georgia-bound quarterback Ryan Montgomery going up against a two-time state championship Central Catholic team. Talk about getting down to business.

Each week, we’ll look at four games to watch. One will be a big-school matchup. A second will be a small-school contest. We’ll take a look at a game where one or both teams might have something to prove, and will dive into a game where certain numbers and statistics might prove interesting.

An honorable mention this week is Friday’s Crosstown Showdown at Cats Stadium between Southview and Northview. Longtime Northview videographer and golf coaching staff member Rich Timm will be honored with the Jim Glase Award as part of Sylvania’s Athletic Hall of Fame ceremonies. Timm started working with the Wildcats’ football and basketball teams during the film era, moving into videotape and then into digital, with clips that he shoots finding a home on Northview’s social media.

Timm will work from a new perch this fall. Much of Northview’s Cats Stadium was rebuilt over the summer, including the home stands and press box. A new track also was installed. Southview’s Mel Nusbaum Stadium, meanwhile, received an artificial-turf field and a refurbished track.

Joining Timm in the 2024 class are Sylvania High’s Amos Barcus (1966, basketball and baseball), Gary Barcus (1969, basketball and baseball), and Gary Sutherland (1973, hockey); Northview’s Molly Horstman (1982, basketball and softball), Craig Katafiasz (2001, wrestling and football), and Charles Wynn (2001, football and basketball); and Southview’s Ricky Greenberg (1983, tennis, golf, and basketball), Dan Goldberg (2003, swimming), and Allen Gant (2012, football, basketball, and track). Former Northview soccer coach Rick Burgin will be honored, as will Northview’s 2014 state championship hockey team on the 10th anniversary of its epic seven-overtime tie with Cleveland St. Ignatius.

LARGE SCHOOL GAME TO WATCH: Findlay (8-3 in 2023) at Central Catholic (16-0)

Simply put, Montgomery likely won’t face a defensive challenge like this until he’s spending quality time with other four-star and five-star prospects at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall on the University of Georgia campus in Athens.

Central Catholic shut out three opponents last year, held seven more to nine or fewer points, and did not let anyone score more than 26 points while the Fighting Irish scored no fewer than 27 points in any of their games en route to the Division III state title.

Last year’s matchup at Findlay’s Donnell Stadium was a one-sided affair. Montgomery completed 28 of 50 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown and also had a six-yard touchdown run, but Central Catholic compounded a 14-point halftime lead with a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half en route to a 47-14 rout.

For those looking to watch some top-notch collegiate prospects, there won’t be many chances as good as this one in northwest Ohio this fall.

SMALL SCHOOL GAME TO WATCH: Genoa (7-4) at Archbold (10-2)

An intriguing cross-sectional game opens the year in Archbold, where the Blue Streaks come off a one-loss regular season.

Of the nine regular-season games Archbold won last season, it did so by at least 20 points. The only loss came against Liberty Center, which advanced to the Division V state title game before falling to Perry (Lake County).

Genoa, meanwhile, scored 40 or more points in six games last season, with its only Northern Buckeye Conference losses to Oak Harbor and Eastwood.

Archbold won last year’s meeting at Genoa 24-14, with the Blue Streaks scoring 24 straight points in the first half after an opening Genoa touchdown.

PROVING GROUND GAME: Defiance (8-4) at Napoleon (6-6)

The start of the 2023 season was a struggle for Napoleon. The Wildcats lost their first four games, three against playoff qualifiers and the fourth to a Northview squad that finished 2-8.

Napoleon, however, rebounded with five straight victories, including a three-overtime thriller against Clay. That put the Wildcats in a winner-take-all showdown with Southview for the Northern Lakes League’s Cardinal Division title, which Southview won 20-14 in Sylvania.

The Wildcats return defensive back Trey Rubinstein, a first-team All-Ohio pick last year as a junior.

Between the strong second half and what the team returns on defense, the home game against Defiance (the Bulldogs won last year’s meeting 38-13 in Defiance) will be a strong early test for what Napoleon might be able to do in what likely will be a wide-open NLL Cardinal race.

NUMBERS GAME: Dublin Coffman (10-4) at Whitmer (7-4)

In recent years, matchups against large-division Columbus-area teams have been a struggle for those from the Toledo area.

Last season, the five Toledo-area high schools in Division I and II that faced Columbus-area teams went a combined 1-5, with the only victory being Perrysburg’s win over Marysville. Two years ago, five Toledo-area programs in D-I and D-II went a combined 2-6 against metro Columbus.

Dublin Coffman defeated St. John’s Jesuit 24-0 to open the 2023 season in a game played in Dublin. This time, Coffman makes the drive to Toledo to face Whitmer, which opened 2023 with a 46-35 loss at Lewis Center Olentangy.