DELAWARE — It’s easy enough to get amped up for the first week of the high school football season.
Throw in a fierce rival, and things are bound to get combustible.
Four Delaware-area rivals are set to throw fuel to the fire Aug. 20 when Delaware Hayes travels to neighbor Buckeye Valley and district rivals Olentangy Berlin and Olentangy Orange meet at Berlin.
The stakes are about as big as they can get in the early part of the season because the ramifications could be felt for weeks to come.
“I’ve been on both ends,” third-year Buckeye Valley coach Grant Georgic said, whose Barons defeated Delaware 28-7 to open last season.
“[One] where we lost and it unfortunately had a snowball effect. It seems like such a big game and when you lose, the negative repercussions affect Games 2 and 3. I’ve seen that.
“And I’ve also seen [the opposite]. Last year when we beat them, it had such a positive snowball effect where the kids in the community were excited.”
The Barons used the momentum in their win over the Pacers into five consecutive victories to open the season. Seeded sixth in Division III, Region 11, Buckeye Valley fell to third-seeded Steubenville 51-21 to finish 9-3.
This year, the Barons are in Division IV, Region 15.
Delaware, which lost its top-player in running back Favour Akih injured his ankle on his first carry and missed the rest of the season. He was one of five players to suffer season-ending injuries in the early part of the season, fifth-year coach Ryan Montgomery said.
The Pacers recovered to win their next two games, but the injuries were too much to overcome and they finished 2-8.
“If [the rivalry game] doesn’t go your way, it can be detrimental like it was for us last year to people’s outlook or perception of the season even though you still have nine games to go,” Montgomery said.
Georgic, who graduated from Buckeye Valley in 2010, was a two-way lineman with the Barons and played all four years. The Barons and the Pacers did not play when Georgic was a freshman and a sophomore, the last gap in a rivalry that dates back to 1963 when Buckeye Valley opened.
Delaware is 15-3 since the rivalry renewed in 2008. This year, Buckeye Valley seeks to win back-to-back games against the Pacers for the first time since 1996 and 1997.
The Barons aim to end another long drought in the rivalry. They haven’t won at home since 2005, a span of eight games, not including the 2018 game at Ohio Wesleyan’s Selby Stadium where Buckeye Valley was the designated home team.
The newer history of Orange v. Berlin
The Orange-Berlin rivalry is decidedly newer, with the teams splitting six contests since it started play in 2021.
The Pioneers, who have won the last three, defeated the Bears 31-7 in the regular season and 43-14 in the Division I, Region 3 quarterfinals.
But the Olentangy school district rivals are fueled by pride.
“They have Berlin Middle School and we have Orange Middle School, third-year Pioneers coach Wes Shroeder said. “And then there’s Berkshire Middle School where they play together. About 60% of the team goes to Berlin and 40% goes to Orange. So, some of these kids play together.”
And while Olentangy pride spreads to Liberty and Olentangy as well, meeting in Week 1 adds another layer.
Berlin opened the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020 season with a 35-21 loss against Liberty. But that was the only other time they’ve played a rival in Week 1.
“Does it bother me that (Orange) is the first game? Let me tell you – we’ve got three of them,” Berlin coach Mark Nori, the program’s only coach since it opened in 2018, said.
“So, it doesn’t matter when they all fall because [we have] one in the middle of the season (Liberty on Sept. 11), one at the beginning of the season and one at the very end [Olentangy on Oct. 23].
“So, anytime we play each other, they’re great games. It doesn’t matter the records, it doesn’t matter who’s going where [collegiately] or being recruited by who. Our kids know each other. They interact outside the brick and mortar of the buildings and they know what they’re up against.”
Orange opened the 2020 season with a 7-3 loss to Olentangy. That was the first time the Pioneers opened against a rival since 2015 against Liberty, the last of four consecutive openers against the Patriots.
They preceded that with three straight openers against Olentangy and are 1-7 overall in rivalry openers.
A look ahead at all four teams
Orange is coming off a Division I state championship. But it’ll be completely different this year because there are only three players in the same positions they were in last season – senior wide receiver Jake Luling, senior linebacker Brennan Kessler and junior tackle Jake Hendon. Junior quarterback Colby Luling was a starting safety last season.
“Normally in a game, you’re going to know about 80 or 90% of what you’re going to see because of film,” Schroeder said. “Berlin and us are in the same spot where we’re replacing a lot [with] new guys. So, you can’t really focus on Week 1 because you’re so focused on yourself and getting better.”
Berlin isn’t quite as extreme in terms of new starters. But the Bears are breaking in a new quarterback with sophomore Austin Knapke.
Senior tackle Brandyn Stephens and junior Cooper Ailes are also key players returning to the mix for the Bears.
“[Ailes] is kind of [an] odd [situation] because he’s one of the best athletes we have on the team and we don’t really have a [set] place for him,” Nori said. “He can play at any one of the defensive back positions, and we can put him anywhere on offense except the line.”
Both BV’s Georgic and Delaware’s Montgomery said they expect the same style of play from their opponents.
Montgomery sees his receivers, led by junior Mason Kaczmarek and slot receivers Caleb Christian (senior) and Ke’Oauntae Felton (junior).
Junior Simon Lash and freshman Xavier Angle will both play quarterback. Lash is more of a pocket passer while Angle is more of a playmaker.
Defensively, junior lineman LJ Davis, senior safety Kelton Pulfer and sophomore defensive back Adrian LeCount highlight an experienced defense for the Pacers.
Senior tackle Miles Hall leads a sturdy unit up front for the Barons’ strong running game, led by classmate Austin Heminger.
The front seven is where Buckeye Valley is most experienced on the defensive side of the ball with Hall and juniors Parker Meisner and AJ Molina on the line and seniors Ben Clark, Luke Schibler and junior Ben Schirg at linebacker.
“The biggest thing I take out of it is that it’s a great experience for our kids,” Georgic said.
“It’s a game that feels like there’s a lot of magnitude to it. I want to make sure they appreciate it. I want them to look up at the stands, recognize the scarcity of it and the excitement.
“At the end of the day, it’s a one-game deal. But you know, it’s an exciting way to start the year.”
