Lucas pulled away from Steubenville Central in a rain-soaked season opener at Harding Stadium on Saturday, 29-13 using two late touchdowns to break open a close game. The Cubs struck first midway through the first quarter to lead 8-0 before lightning forced a delay of approximately 75 minutes at the 3:53 mark with the Crusaders facing a fourth down at their own 31. When play resumed, Central threw an incomplete pass and Lucas capitalized on the short field and scored again to go up 14-0. In the second quarter, Matty Jones hit Rahim Mitchell in stride for an 80 touchdown to make the score 14-7. Later in the quarter, the Crusaders fumbled a punt return deep in their own territory and Lucas took over on the six yard line, but Central held and ran the clock out. After a scoreless third period, Central closed to within one point on a Jones to Michael Fabbro 10 yard TD. The extra point banged off the left upright, leaving the score 14-13 with 11:03 left in the game. The Cubs sealed the win with two long TD runs late in the final quarter: a 49 yard score followed by a 60 yard quarterback keeper around right end. Central (0-1) travels to Strasburg next Friday.

Steubenville Catholic Central’s season came to an end on Friday evening at Harding Stadium as they lost to a strong Danville squad, 54-0. The Blue Devils scored on their first possession and never let up, recovering an onside kick at midfield to strike again on a 42 yard TD pass. They attempted to repeat the feat after another onside kick recovery, but this time they were stopped on fourth down. Danville would add three more touchdowns in the second quarter, the last with 24 seconds remaining after an interception took the ball to the Crusader 15. This made the score 40-0 at halftime. Danville returned the second half kickoff 80 yards for another score then added another TD early in the final period. Starting quarterback Matthew Sprochi was injured in the second quarter, replaced by Matty Jones for the rest of the game. Central closes the season with a 6-5 record, while Danville (6-5) advances to the second round of the playoffs.

Steubenville Central won their regular season finale at Harding Stadium on Saturday evening, defeating a mistake-prone Cleveland East Tech squad, 37-6. The first two possessions by each team ended in turnovers, with Central stopped on a fumble at the Scarab 15, then halted on their next drive with a touchback as a Matty Jones fumble on the one yard line rolled into the end zone. After a negative 1 yard punt placed the Crusaders at the visitors’ 24, Jones caught a two-yard TD pass early the second quarter. East Tech, who had 11 penalties in the first half alone, jumped offside on the XP attempt, and Central went for two and converted on a run by Kyran Busic. Central took advantage of another short field to score again, with Matthew Sprochi capping a 15 yard drive running in from six yards, and Busic getting a two-point conversion in precisely the same way after another offsides penalty. Sprochi scored again from the three with 0:53 left in the half. East Tech took over at their two yard line after the ensuing kickoff rolled between two returners. Nate Irvin then tackled the Scarab quarterback deep in the end zone for a safety to close the first half scoring, putting the Crusaders ahead 25-0 at the intermission. Sprochi took the second half kickoff 80 yards for a score that brought on a running clock for the duration of the game. Ryan Holzworth added a five-yard TD to close Central’s scoring. East Tech avoided a shutout as they got on the board late in the fourth quarter. Central closes the regular season with a 6-4 record and clinches a home playoff game next Friday. East Tech finishes at 3-6.