By Matt Florjancic

MaxPreps.com

Week two of high school football season in Ohio got off to a surprising start.

The Mentor Cardinals (1-1) revenged a loss from a year ago by beating Youngstown Cardinal Mooney 34-20 in the season opener. The win came one year after Mentor was beaten 21-10 by Mooney to open the 2007 season.

Everything was lining up nicely for Mentor to head into week four’s match-up with St. Ignatius undefeated. However, when Mentor visited Pat Catan Stadium, the Strongsville Mustangs had other ideas.

After jumping out to an early lead, the Mustangs had to hold on in the fourth quarter for the 30-27 victory over the Cardinals, who are ranked 16th in Ohio in this week’s MaxPreps.com poll.

Mentor returns home this week to face the Solon Comets (2-0). The Comets had an impressive 24-10 victory over Canton McKinley in week one and won last weekend against Massillon Jackson 14-7.

Strongsville stays home this week to host Toledo St. John’s Jesuit (1-1). The Mustangs lost at St. John’s last year in a game that featured several lightning delays and one late bus ride back to Cuyahoga County.

The Titans beat Findlay 37-24 on the road in their opener and lost at home to Columbus St. Francis de Sales (31-17) last week.

The Warren Howland Tigers (1-1) played in the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series Saturday afternoon in Canton. The Tigers played a fast and physical Klein Forest Golden Eagles (1-0) squad from Houston, Texas.

Though Howland started the game with a long kickoff return and had great field position for its first drive, little else went well. Klein Forest used big running plays to score its first touchdown and took to the air for the next score. The Tigers could not find a way to neutralize the rushing of Dominic Wilkins and quarterback Vernell Caldwell’s passing.

“They earned their first touchdown," Howland Coach Richard Angle said following the game. “[Wilkins] is a great back. There’s no question he’s going to be a big-time back in college football. The second touchdown really disappointed us. It was a third-and-short and all we had to do is make the play. We got [beaten] by a better football team. We prepared as well as we could. They were prepared as well as they could be and they won the game.

“It’s a great experience,” Angle said of playing in the Herbstreit Series. “You play in an atmosphere like Fawcett Stadium. You play a team from Texas and you put it on the line. We’re disappointed we didn’t do a better job scoring-wise for our community. I’d be very disappointed if we don’t come back spurred up and ready to go. This game was only important till it ended. Now, it’s No. 3. That’s the most important.”

Howland is on the road for the next two games. They play at Hubbard (1-1) Friday night and travel to Canfield to play the Cardinals (1-1).

Canfield started the season with a 42-13 win over perennial power Chardon, but fell 28-6 at Canton South. The Cardinals will be at Alliance High School this week before facing the Tigers at home.

Spielman and FCA Team Up

In an effort to gain awareness about the Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization, the Central Ohio chapter has teamed with Ohio football legend Chris Spielman to promote two games over the weekend.

The first annual Spielman Gridiron Classic features one game each on Friday and Saturday in the Central Ohio area. On Friday, the New Albany Eagles (1-1) face the Columbus St. Francis de Sales Stallions (2-0), while the Glenville Tarblooders (2-0) travel from Cleveland to Gahanna for a match-up with Lincoln High School (1-1).

The event will also help raise awareness for a cause near to Spielman’s heart, the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research. Spielman’s wife, Stefanie is a breast cancer survivor.

Mooney Bounces Back

Despite the loss to Mentor in its opener, Cardinal Mooney (1-1) rebounded and looked like the Cardinals of a year ago last week.

Ranked 19th in the current Ohio MaxPreps.com poll, the Cardinals faced Covington Catholic (Ky.) in the Herbstreit Series and were the only Ohio team to win in Canton.

What is their reward for a record-breaking 57-0 win over Covington Catholic? They get a game against North Coast League power Elyria Catholic (2-0) Friday night in Youngstown.

Elyria Catholic defeated Lorain Southview (1-1) 42-16 on the road Friday, but the score was misleading. While the second half belonged to the Panthers, Southview committed early penalties and had drives stall deep in Elyria Catholic territory. The teams were separated by 15 points at halftime.

The Panthers had 431 yards of offense and gave up 201 yards to Southview. Running back Alex Alicea had 23 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown, while tight end Conor Voreis had a career day with four catches for 110 yards and three touchdowns.

Three other marquee games will have fans passing through the gates in droves this weekend.

The Centerville Elks are 2-0 after lopsided wins at Lakota East in week one (42-14) and against Cincinnati Princeton (49-30) in week two. They take on 15th-ranked Archbishop Moeller (1-1) on the road Saturday evening. Moeller is coming off a 21-6 loss to Montgomery Bell Academy of Nashville Tennessee.

Toledo Central Catholic (2-0) hosts Whitehouse Anthony Wayne (2-0) Friday. The TCC Fighting Irish had a 21-14 win at Dublin Scioto last week and started the season with a 24-7 victory over the Bowling Green Bobcats.

The Anthony Wayne Generals beat Oregon Clay last week 52-46 and Toledo Rogers 35-28 in week one.

The 10th-ranked Louisville Leopards (2-0) travel across county lines to play Akron Archbishop Hoban (2-0) Friday.

Louisville won 22-0 at North Canton Hoover (1-1) out of Federal League last week. For Hoover, it was the one game in their first three against another Ohio team. Louisville beat the Ravenna Ravens (1-1) 29-15 in home opener.

While Louisville comes into the match-up on a good note, the Hoban Knights are doing well themselves. They beat Akron Garfield 27-26 in week one and crushed the Walsh Jesuit Warriors 38-21 last Friday.

Matt Florjancic currently works as a freelance reporter and sports show host for WOBL and WDLW.