CHILLICOTHE — For a game that was billed to be a classic, it certainly met those expectations and even exceeded them. Chillicothe's Cartae Ligon provided the big plays needed — especially down the stretch —as the Cavaliers rallied back in the final minutes to beat the Wheelersburg Pirates 26-18 in an instant classic on Friday night at Herrnstein Field. The loss moved Wheelersburg's record to 1-1 and snapped a streak of 15-game regular season wins. For Chillicothe, they're 2-0

SOUTH POINT — There’s a lot of emphasis on the South Point offense, but the Pointers proved they can play defense, too. The Pointers held the Tornadoes to only 137 total yards en route to a 38-0 win over Friday night. Southern had a mere 17 yards rushing on 19 carries. South Point (2-0) had 319 total yards as Landon Vance ran 12 times for 72 yards and 2 touchdowns and quarterback Ethan Hunt was 9 of 17 passing for 193 yards and 3 touchdowns and an interception. The Pointers’

CANNONSBURG, Ky. — In 1984, a little old lady named Clara Peller looked at her hamburger with a tiny patty and asked, “Where’s the beef?” The line became famous and boosted Wendy’s sales by 31 percent since the fast food restaurant used a large patty. Friday night, Boyd County Lions’ head coach Evan Ferguson must have used the line, “I found the beef, so let’s use it.” The Lions turned to their offensive line that utilized Garren Price (6-1, 280), Carter Gray (6-2, 265), Tyle

Friday, August 28 Belpre at Sciotoville East, 7:00 P.M. Radio: 1260AM WNXT Chesapeake at Minford, 7:00 P.M. Livestream: Total Media Sports YouTube Radio: 92.1FM WIOI Coal Grove at Adena, 7:30 P.M. Livestream: Adena Football Hudl Fairland at Point Pleasant, 7:00 P.M. Livestream: Point Pleasant Live YouTube Radio: 94.1FM WTHQ Greenup County at Russell, 7:30 P.M. Livestream: MYTownTV YouTube Meigs at Symmes Valley, 7:00 P.M. Livestream simulcast: Symmes Valley Youtube and Symmes

CHESAPEAKE — For Symmes Valley, it's a new year with the same results. The Vikings' high-octane offense scored early and often, while the defense came up with 5 turnovers to rout the Chesapeake Panthers 55-13 in the annual "Battle for the Paddle" game at Phil Davis Field on Friday night. The Vikings piled up the offense, out-gaining the Panthers 449-135 in total offense and 18 to 6 in first downs. Junior quarterback Bronx Carpenter showed the hot hand early, throwing for 238

RACELAND — Many times you hear the phrase "football is a game of inches". And this years' edition of Ashland versus Raceland was a textbook example. After a comeback by Raceland to tie the game in regulation, the Ashland Tomcats made a goal line stand in the overtime period to thwart the Rams from pulling off another upset and walked away with a 28-21 win on Friday night at Ram Stadium. The thrilling finish was set up in regulation when Seth Morris' punt was downed at the Ash

PROCTORVILLE — Teams can score on offense, defense and with the kicking game. All three options were used in the season opener matching the Portsmouth West Senators at the Fairland Dragons. West scored on two running plays and a punt return while Fairland scored on a run and an interception return. But it was the Senators who scored one more time than the Dragons as they got away with a thrilling 19-13 win. “The defense played lights out,” said Fairland Ron Wooten in his coac

LANCASTER — The Fairfield Union Falcons did their impression of a Russian bread line. They spent the night giving away the football. The Falcons were guilty of four fumbles and all of them were recovered by New Lexington as the Panthers posted a 33-14 season opening win on Friday. “You can’t give the ball away four times and expect to win,” said Fairfield Union head coach Andy Clark. “They only outgained us by 20 yards, so a lot of good things happened tonight as well. “But f

PEDRO — The Minford Falcons defense was geared to take away the run and test the Rock Hill young sophomore quarterback Jarrod Bridges. When looking at the test results, give Bridges an “A.” Bridges was 10 of 14 passing for 264 yards and 3 touchdowns and an interception to lead the Redmen to a 49-20 rout of the Falcons in the season opener on Friday. Wide receiver Braylon McClellan caught 5 receptions for 149 yards and 2 scores while Kelan Davidson had 79 yards on 3 catches an

WHEELERSBURG — The Portsmouth Trojans found the Wheelersburg Pirates to be very offensive. VERY offensive. The Pirates scored on every possession and rolled up 473 total yards as they cruised to a 63-0 season opening win over the Trojans on Friday night. Wheelersburg had 10 different ball carriers and eight different receivers as Coach Rob Woodward emptied his bench. Quarterback Jack Doerr was nearly perfect as he hit 10 of 11 attempts for 211 yards and 3 touchdowns. Backup G

COAL GROVE — After last seasons' 10-win campaign, the Russell Red Devils were left with a lot of questions about their squad for the 2026 season. For Russell coach TJ Maynard, most of the questions focused around replacing four starters on the offensive line, breaking in a new quarterback for the third straight season, and replacing his entire defensive backfield. Well, much of those questions got answered as the Red Devils took down the Coal Grove Hornets in a 34-0 win on Fr

Friday, August 21 Ashland at Raceland, 7:30 P.M. Livestream: Raceland News Network YouTube Gallia Academy at Boyd County, 7:30 P.M. Livestream: Total Media Sports YouTube Radio: Pure Rock 99.5FM WBYG Radio: 105.7FM WLGC Minford at Rock Hill, 7:00 P.M. Livestream: RH Redmen Live Youtube Greenup County at Pike County Central, 7:30 P.M. Livestream: Appalachian Prep Sports Network YouTube Paint Valley at Valley, 7:00 P.M. Livestream: Total Media Sports YouTube Radio: 1260AM WNXT

WILLIAMSBURG — First, Kayden Edwards provided the wake-up call. Then, he provided the knockout punch. With the offense sluggish to start the game, Edwards used a punt return to set up Ironton’s first touchdown. He then had a long touchdown catch that opened the game up as the Fighting Tigers routed the Williamsburg Wildcats 42-0 in the season opener on Thursday. Ironton went 3-and-out on its first series of the game, but the defense stuffed the Wildcats two straight series to

They are the second line of defense, but that’s the only thing second about them. Linebackers make up the second line of defense and are needed to read the situation and react quickly. And their jobs are plentiful. While the defensive linemen tie up the offensive linemen, the linebackers are versatile players who fill holes, stop the running gaps, blitz the quarterback and drop back into pass coverage. Here’s a lot at five of the top linebackers to watch this high school foot

COLUMBUS – The Division IV and V football All-Ohio teams were announced Tuesday by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association. Information used for the All-Ohio teams comes from the regular-season accomplishments and does not include playoff games. The seven districts of the OPSMA determine the all-district teams and nominate their best for the All-Ohio teams. On Wednesday, the Division II and III All-Ohio teams will be announced, followed by the Division I team on Thursday.

COLUMBUS – The Division VI and VII football All-Ohio teams were announced Monday by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association. Information used for the All-Ohio teams comes from the regular-season accomplishments and does not include playoff games. The seven districts of the OPSMA determine the all-district teams and nominate their best for the All-Ohio teams. On Tuesday, the Division IV and V All-Ohio teams will be announced, followed by the Division II and III teams on Wed

CANTON — One way or another, Wheelersburg's memorable playoff run was set to come to an end. Unfortunately, it just didn't end the way everyone wanted. The Liberty Center Tigers used a diverse attack on offense and the defense stymied the Pirates to win 35-3 and claim the Ohio Division 5 state championship on Saturday night at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The win completed the Tigers quest to bring home a title after finishing runners-up in the previous two seasons. The t

Gnadenhutten senior Grady Kinsey was named 2025 Ohio Mr. Football by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association. Kiney set an OHSAA record with 133 career touchdowns, ranks second in total points (840), is third in career rushing yards (8,607) and third in single-season touchdowns (50). Photo credit OHSAA. COLUMBUS – Gnadenhutten Indian Valley senior Grady Kinsey has been named 2025 Ohio Mr. Football by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association. He is the 39th winner of the prestig

The 2025 high school football season will conclude this weekend for our day-to-day coverage area and safe to say it's been a successful one. From the hot and sunny media days of late July to the blistering cold of December, Tri-State Sports Page has been along for the ride with each of our 10 area schools. And while we focus our efforts on our day-to-day coverage area of teams, we were also able to recognize other players at schools across the area who play at a higher level

The 2025 high school football season will conclude this weekend for our day-to-day coverage area and safe to say it's been a successful one. From the hot and sunny media days of late July to the blistering cold of December, Tri-State Sports Page has been along for the ride with each of our 10 area schools. To put a final exclamation point on the season, here is our own all-area team aptly named Bella's All-Gridiron Team. All selections are of our day-to-day coverage area team