Let's get it on: Here are some top games to watch this high school football season

Football season is here. Well, almost.

Teams have been dialed into summer workouts since June, with team camps, lifting and 7-on-7s the main courses on the menu. Summer vacation? Ha!

The official start of the fall sports season arrived last week, at least from the Ohio High School Athletic Association's standpoint. Area teams will take part in football scrimmages on Thursday and Friday.

Those are merely appetizers. The entrees will be served beginning Aug. 23.

Here is a look at some key games to watch in the Muskingum Valley.

Week 1

Sheridan at Licking Valley

It's not a Muskingum Valley League rivalry like many you'll read on this list. There is no questioning its validity in the area's football landscape, however.

The Generals and Panthers, perennial powers with years of postseason tradition, have played 18 times since 1995. Sheridan trails 11-7 in the series but has won four of five and scored 30 or more points in each meeting.

"They've broken our hearts too many times," Sheridan coach Paul Culver III said recently.

Indeed, seven of those meetings have been decided by less than 10 points. Sheridan won last year's meeting, 33-14, en route to a regional final appearance in Division IV, Region 15.

Now both teams are in back in mind-bending Division III, Region 11, making this game important for other reasons.

Johnstown at Zanesville

It has been two long, painful seasons for the Blue Devils, who are 4-16 in that span.

While this year's opener isn't against old rival Newark, which they now play in Week 3 at White Field, it's important for other reasons. First-year coach T.J. Carper will kick off his Blue Devil tenure, as he aims to get ZHS back to respectability sooner rather than later.

Carper, who played at Marshall, led McArthur Vinton County to a 9-1 playoff season in 2023, earning him Southeast District Coach of the Year honors.

Ridgewood at Coshocton

Just seven miles separate these Coshocton County rivals that are rich in gridiron tradition, with 35 playoff appearances between them. That alone makes this game intriguing,

The Generals have owned the series in recent years under coach John Slusser, having won six in a row, including last year's emotional 22-21 conquest in West Lafayette. Coshocton hasn't won in the series since back-to-back wins in 2007 and 2008, though there was an eight-year gap between meetings.

While Coshocton lost its three-headed backfield monster when speedster Israel Rice, Riley Woodie and Antwone Johns graduated, Ridgewood returns all but one starter from a team that won a road playoff game in Division V last season.

Week 2

Philo at New Lexington

This early season clash features two teams returning plenty of offensive playmakers figure to be major players in the MVL.

In this case, it also means valuable playoff points at stake in Division IV, Region 15, where both should factor into race since perennial powers Sheridan, Steubenville and Columbus Hartley moving up a division.

Week 3

Clarksville Clinton-Massie at Tri-Valley

The Scotties will have their physical mettle tested by the ground-and-pound outfit of Massie, which won a Division IV state title as recently as three years ago and handed Tri-Valley a 24-14 loss in Clarksville last year.

The rematch will be in Jack Anderson Stadium in Dresden, however, which means a two-hour road trip for Massie.

The winner will earn substantial street credentials, not to mention a pile full of playoff computer points.

In the Scotties’ case, it would also be a huge confidence builder.

Zanesville at Newark

Few rivalries statewide have the longstanding tradition of this one, which has been dominated by Zanesville for most of last two decades.

Newark, behind the arm of Steele Meister, won last year’s meeting at John D. Sulsberger Memorial Stadium, its first in the series since 2016. The rematch is at White Field, where first-year coach T.J. Carper hopes an added measure of discipline and energy equates to a turnaround.

Week 4

New Lexington at West M

It’s the final game in a three-game gauntlet for coach Nathan Brownrigg’s Tornadoes, who visit Licking Valley and host IVC power Garaway in the weeks prior. This figures to be an equally challenging task.

The Panthers were stonewalled by Pat Reilly’s defense during a 34-13 loss in 2023, but quarterback Isaiah Stephens and top target Bentley Hanson are back to lead a veteran New Lex crew this time.

Brownrigg expects his offense to feature more weapons than a year ago, but the loss of All-Ohio running back and linebacker Rashid SeSay looms large as the new faces get acclimated.

Week 5

Tri-Valley at New Lex

This MVL crossover won't count in the divisional standings, but it's no less important for both veteran teams on multiple fronts.

The Panthers will have already played perhaps their biggest game to date one week prior at West Muskingum, but this will be a true midseason litmus test to see where it stands among the elite.

For Tri-Valley, it's the fourth game in a month-long gauntlet that also includes road games with Licking Heights and Morgan sandwiched around a nonleague showdown with perennial power Clarksville Clinton-Massie. Valuable computer points will be on the line in this one as they chase a top seed in Division III, Region 11.

Week 6

Philo at Crooksville

These age-old, neighboring rivals have been playing since the 1930s. But after losing 15 of 20 meetings during the 1990s and 2000s, the Electrics have dominated play in the past decade, including last year's 32-0 win at Sam Hatfield Stadium.

Both teams return veteran squads, including at quarterback in Crooksville sophomore Brayson Hill and Philo junior Jack Lincicome. Many of their perimeter playmakers are also back.

It's a game the up-and-coming Ceramics will likely view as a measuring stick entering the season's second half. It's one the Electrics will certainly need as they enters the Big School Division stretch run.

Week 7

New Lex at Maysville

Maysville's schedule, featuring MVL Big School foes John Glenn, Sheridan and Tri-Valley, is a daunting one as it enters the Small School Division. This one is another that figures to test its mettle.

New Lex has cruised to wins in the last two meetings, including a 33-10 shellacking at the Maysville Athletic Complex last season. But a Maysville squad coming off consecutive wins to end the 2023 season figures to be more competitive in 2024.

Both quarterbacks return in New Lex's Isaiah Stephens and Maysville's Mathew Harper.

Week 8

Gnadenhutten Indian Valley at Ridgewood

This one will determine where the Generals stand in the IVC pecking order, as the bruising Braves and star running back Grady Kinsey will no doubt be a handful for all comers in 2024. A win, and Slusser's Generals will know they are a serious postseason threat in Division VI, Region 23.

It's the second of a back-loaded schedule for Ridgewood that also includes road games with Magnolia Sandy Valley and Garaway, along with a Week 9 home affair with Uhrichsville Claymont. The potential of a 7-0 start is there, however.

Week 9

Sheridan at Tri-Valley

Sure, the Scotties return a wealth of talent and experience on both sides of the ball, with arguably the league’s top three players in quarterback Max Lyall, running back Jayden Wallace and two-way lineman Chris Gargasz, and the Generals are reloading after harsh grad losses.

As history says, however, that means nothing in this rivalry. These teams battle annually for the MVL-Big School title and this season figured to be no different, even as Sheridan breaks in two new quarterbacks and 15 other starters.

John Glenn at Philo

All eyes will be on the revelations in Dresden, but this is one MVL-Big School rivalry that rarely disappoints.

John Glenn's 37-12 win in New Concord was its fourth win in five years against the Electrics, but three have been decided by six points or less. They have split their last 10 meetings, including John Glenn's 38-7 win in the Division IV, Region 15 finals at Zanesville.

Ironically, critical playoff points will be hanging in the balance for both teams here.

Week 10

New Lex at Sheridan

With crossover games not factoring into the MVL divisional standings, there will be no league implications in this hot-button season finale.

It will have major implications for playoff positioning, though. And the edge to this rivalry makes this cross-county meeting even more intriguing.

The veteran Generals outlasted the Panthers, 33-22, at Jim Rockwell Stadium in 2023 en route to a regional final berth in Division IV, Region 15. Sheridan is back in Region 11 this year, where every computer point figures to be valuable for positioning.

Ridgewood at Garaway

The Pirates have had their old rival’s number since Gabe Tingle and a host of other top seniors graduated in 2021, handing the Generals three straight losses. One came in the second round of the Division V playoffs.

Those were veteran Garaway teams, but this one is replacing several key members of a regional final squad.

Meanwhile, the Generals bring back their entire offense and defense, including second-year quarterback Grant Lahmers and star linebacker Aidan Sparger.

While Gnadenhutten Indian Valley is widely considered the class of the IVC, this key clash will go a long way toward a home playoff game for the winner.

sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Let's get it on: Here are some top games to watch this high school football season