The first Friday night of the 2026 high school football season is a wrap.
Hoover proved too much for Buchtel. Lake and Louisville won their openers at home. Marlington and West Branch went on the road and won big.
Here’s a look at the night’s highlights..
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Hoover 35, Buchtel 8
NORTH CANTON — The circumstances going into the game against Buchtel were not ideal for the Hoover football team. The final result was.
The Vikings overcame injuries to both starting cornerbacks, as well as breaking in several new starters, to post a 35-8 win over the Griffins on Friday at Memorial Stadium.
The Hoover defense was spectacular and shutout Buchtel for three quarters. The Vikings forced four turnovers. That included two fumble recoveries by Justin Oster, a fumble recovery by Brady Hassen and an interception by Connor Doyle.
“I was a little nervous coming in,” Hoover head coach Brian Baum said. “We had to move (JT) Gregory and Doyle from safety to cornerback because our starters were out. We shuffled some other players into safety and we were also starting some new linemen. They all performed well and gave us what we were looking for.
Hoover also was breaking in a new quarterback. Senior Nolan Bonner, a transfer from Canton South, gave Hoover three rushing touchdowns, rushing for 58 yards on six carries.
“The offense ran the ball well,” Baum said. “Nolan did a good job running the ball. We have a few things to clean up with the passing game but overall, I’m happy with how we did on offense considering the number of new starters we had.”
Michael Lammlein ran for 128 yards on 22 carries for Hoover. Oster also got into the act on offense with a 1-yard touchdown run on third and goal as a fullback from the stacked I formation. Kicker Joey Riedinger made two field goals, including a 38-yarder just before halftime.
There are things Hoover will look to improve on. The Vikings had two interceptions throwing the ball.
“There are some things to clean up going into Week 2,” Baum said. “The things that we need to take care of are all fixable so that’s the good news. There are some things we are going to be working on in practice, though.”
Senior quarterback Arthur Thomas threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Trayvion Jones. Thomas threw for 168 yards and a touchdown for the Griffins.
Lake 20, North Ridgeville 14
HARTVILLE — Ty DeGeorge ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries as Lake held on for a quality win against a good Division II opponent.
Wyatt Jones was 6-of-10 passing for 102 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions for Lake. He found Josh Lippe on a 13-yard touchdown pass. Jones also rushed for 76 yards on 11 carries.
Matthew Flesher ran for a 5-yard touchdown with 6:10 left to cut North Ridgeville’s deficit to 20-14. But the Blue Streaks held on from there.
QB Braden Harrison completed 18 of 28 passes for 212 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions for North Ridgeville, which was coming off a 10-2 season. Mason Allison caught six passes for 76 yards and the one TD.
Linebacker Shannon Billiter led the Lake defense with eight tackles and two pass breakups. Defensive lineman Zach Kutzera had 1.5 tackles for loss.
Indian Valley 42, Green 13
GNADENHUTTEN — The host Braves rolled up 390 yards on the ground and 523 yards of offense overall as they routed Green.
Six different Indian Valley players scored a touchdown. Reese St. Clair rushed for 190 yards on 10 carries. Ryker Williams added 83 yards on 14 carries while completing 10 of 15 passes for 151 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Indian Valley has won 23 straight regular season games.
Chase Herbert ran for one TD and threw for another for Green. Herbert ran for 53 yards on 18 carries. He completed 10 of 29 passes for 127 yards. Aiden Rice caught a 24-yard TD pass from Herbert.
Louisville 20, New Philadelphia 10
LOUISVILLE — Lucas Neff ran for two touchdowns in the second half to give Louisville a victory over New Philadelphia in its season opener at home. Neff ran for 184 yards on 25 carries. Projected starting running back Owen Wilson did not play against the Quakers for the Leopards.
Parker Daum rounded out the scoring with two field goals for Louisville. Daum’s 24-yard field goal with just 3:07 remaining helped the Leopards close out the victory.
The only touchdown for New Philadelphia came on a 31-yard pass from Parker Rieger to Kolston Fox in the third quarter. Rieger was 14-of-27 passing for 195 yards with an interception. Rieger led the Quakers in rushing with 70 yards on 10 carries.
Smithville 21, Tuslaw 14
TUSCARAWAS TWP. — The Smithies held off Tuslaw’s fourth-quarter comeback and beat the Mustangs on the road.
Tuslaw’s Gage Fink ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but the Mustangs could not get any closer.
Fink led Tuslaw with 82 yards on 22 carries.
Smithville quarterback Brady Sidle ran for 173 yards on just eight carries. He also threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
Rocky River 28, Manchester 7
FRANKLIN TWP. — Tristin Hughes ran for two touchdowns to help lead the Pirates past the Panthers.
Rocky River scored the final 21 points of the game to pull away from Manchester. Hughes had a 66-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers’ only touchdown came on a 32-yard pass from Greyson Swaino to Noah Lance that tied the game in the second quarter.
Marlington 31, Warrensville Heights 6
WARRENSVILLE — Cole Bates recovered two fumbles and scored a defensive touchdown as the Dukes opened the season with a win at Warrensville Heights.
Tyler Kline and Jacob Rose added rushing touchdowns for the Dukes. Cam Evanich led Marlington with 70 yards on 10 carries.
Lucas Williamson also intercepted a pass for the Duke defense.
West Branch 37, St. Clairsville 6
ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Grady Hirst and Damon Edwards ran for two touchdowns each as West Branch opened the season with a victory at St. Clairsville.
Hirst led West Branch with 123 yards on 14 carries. He was 7-of-11 passing for 87 yards with no interceptions.
Edwards ran for 46 yards on nine carries. Gavin Marshall added a rushing touchdown for West Branch.
Landon Coffee recorded a sack and a fumble recovery for the West Branch defense. Edwards was also credited with a sack.
Other Stark County-area results
Dover 36, GlenOak 21
PLAIN TWP. — The Golden Eagles fell at home in Matt Dennison’s debut as head coach. No details were provided.
Garaway 20, Canton South 6
SUGARCREEK — Garaway handed Canton South a loss in Badre Bardawil’s debut as Wildcats head coach. No other details were available.
Chippewa 23, East Canton 6
DOYLESTOWN — The Chipps stopped a 15-game losing streak in Ian Leja’s debut as head coach. No other details were available.
United Local 42, Minerva 7
MINERVA — United Local defeated Minerva. No other details were available.
East Liverpool 19, Carrollton 10
EAST LIVERPOOL — Carrollton fell on the road to East Liverpool. No other details were available.
Strasburg 43, St. Thomas Aquinas 14
STRASBURG — The Knights suffered their 14th straight loss in head coach Isaiah Robinson’s debut. No other details were available.
Malvern 24, Trinity 20
MALVERN — The Hornets opened the season with a win at home. No details were available.
Tuscarawas Valley 35, Waynedale 0
ZOARVILLE— The Trojans won at home. No other details were available.
The Canton Repository sports department can be contacted via email at sports@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Stark County football Week 1 recaps: Hoover, Lake, Louisville among winners
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Reporting by Cliff Hickman, Josh Weir and Mike Popovich, Canton Repository / The Repository
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By Cliff Hickman, Josh Weir and Mike Popovich, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
