As hard as it is to believe, Week 1 of high school football is in the books. 

Locally, the season opened Thursday when Conotton Valley traveled to play Tuscarawas Central Catholic, followed by a whole slate of Friday games. 

Here are notes from just a few. 

Conotton Valley at Central Catholic 

The Rockets showed off a smooth offense in a 46-12 victory over the Saints at Art Teynor Field. 

Junior quarterback Kaden Leggett connected on 13 of 21 passes for four touchdowns with one interception. Garrett Reiter caught six passes for 166 yards. He had two receiving touchdowns and added another on a punt return. 

“Week 1 is the most important,” said Reiter. “You can’t go undefeated if you don’t win Week 1.” 

“This (the Rockets’ passing game) is a credit to the kids,” said CV coach Derek O’Hara. “They bought in to the system and they put in the time. We’re starting to get a better grasp and things are starting to click.” 

Click indeed. The Rockets were 8-4 last year, but scored more than 40 points six times last year, including a show-stopping 78-46 wins over Zanesville Rosecrans in a Week 1 playoff game. 

Central, meanwhile, had just 13 players on the roster last year. The Saints have more than 30 this year, but still lack an experienced group. 

“We’re trying to take positive steps forward, but sometimes you just have breakdowns,” said Central coach Giovanni Ionno. “But I’m still proud of our boys, you just have to give credit to Conotton Valley. 

“Our biggest step forward right now is to clean up our mistakes and get ready for the next team.”

Green at Indian Valley 

The Braves picked up their 23rd consecutive regular-season win with a 42-13 victory over visiting Green. 

Indian Valley has not lost a regular-season game since Week 7 during the 2023 season. 

Prior to the game, senior receiver/cornerback Carsen Hostetler was presented a plaque by the Tuscarawas County Sports Hall of Fame to honor his state title in the 300 hurdles last spring.

The TCSHOF honors all teams and individuals winning state championships in OHSAA sanctioned sports. 

Harrison Central at Claymont 

The Mustangs scored enough points in the first half (30) to facilitate a running clock through the second half of Friday night’s 43-0 win over the Huskies. 

Claymont put up a solid performance on both sides of the ball, limiting the Huskies to just one first down in the first quarter. The defense came up with an interception on the first play of the game. 

“We wanted our defense out there first,” said Claymont coach Buddy White. “We knew we would either get a turnover or get good field position. That’s just the love and affection I have for my defense.” 

It worked and led to an early 7-0 lead when Dre’Vonn Searcy scored on a short run. The Mustangs got right back to the brink on their second possession, but fumbled at the 1. A pair of Brady Henry scoring passes to Jackson Jinks opened things up. 

The Mustangs were 1-9 two years ago, before rebounding to finish 6-5 – with a playoff game – last season. 

“This kind of start was very important because they were talking all through the summer saying they want to win every game. I told them that’s not that easy to do, but they said they were going to work. 

“They really hit the weights from January to June. We started a 21 Club, because if you do something 21 days in a row it becomes a habit and Day 22 is easy. We had so many kids show up, we went another level. 

“We have 15 guys in the Next Level Club and all of them are starters.”