HIGH SCHOOL PREVIEW Saturday football

RAYEN vs. ALLIANCE
When: 1 p.m.
Where: Stambaugh Stadium.
Rayen (0-1) scouting report: Although Rayen is coming off a 31-14 loss to Canfield, Tigers coach Pete Lymber, in his ninth season, saw some bright spots. QB Ty Page ran the ball well after getting flushed out of the pocket, and compiled 145 yards of total offense. WR Gerald Perkins caught six passes, RB Phil Morgan ran well and WR Eric Brown caught TD and conversion passes for eight points. Lymber said that Rayen's entire offensive line, which he called a young unit, won the Helmet Award -- tackles Charlie Owens, Robert Hughes, Keith Brown and Nouri Noble, guard Tyree McQueen and center Aaron Thomas. On defense, Lymber said Hughes spearheaded the charge from his end post, and was so effective in turning back Canfield's offense that the Cards eventually tried to avoid heading in his direction.
The coach says: "[Several] mistakes and turnovers" spelled the losing the difference against Canfield, and the score "was not indicative" of the game, said Lymber, who cited three key errors that contributed to the Tigers' demise. He said Rayen fumbled two kickoff returns after good runs to spoil good field position, and also had a bad pass from center that set up a Canfield score. "So it is just of matter of holding on to the football," said Lymber, noting that the two teams were close in total yardage. "We moved the ball. We had about 10 yards [less] than Canfield. But the turnovers were the difference."
Alliance (0-1) scouting report: The Aviators were stopped at Minerva's 4-yard line and absorbed a 22-20 setback in their season opener. Coach Chris Zurbrugg, in his third year, said his team didn't attempt a field goal at the 4 because junior PK Tyler Newman was playing with the soccer team on the makeup day. Newman will be with the Aviators against Rayen. Zurbrugg said he was pleased with the defense. With five tackles, sophomore end Josh Baker was named defensive player of the game. Linebackers Josh Grimes, Dustin McCrea and Marcell Carter each contributed seven tackles. Offensive player of the game was sophomore tailback Kendell Davis, who scored two touchdowns, passed for one TD and rushed for 127 yards in 20 carries. Davis' TDs came on a 78-yard kickoff return and a 64-yard run. He also passed about 20 yards to Nick Santis for a TD. Santis also plays quarterback as does John Lee.
The coach says: "Offensively [we had] too many missed assignments. We just weren't as sharp as we could have been up front. That hurt us at times. We needed to keep drives going, [but] when you are three-and-out you can't do that" -- Chris Zurbrugg.
TV/radio: None.
SPRINGFIELD vs. COLUMBIANA
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Firestone Park, Columbiana.
Springfield (0-1) scouting report: In a 49-6 loss to Poland, the Tigers surrendered a 75-yard punt return and allowed touchdown passes of 34 and 41 yards. The Bulldogs also scored on a 37-yard pass interception. QB Dan Schuler completed 16-of-32 passes for 138 yards. RB Jon Vivo gained 50 yards on 10 carries, capped by a 7-yard touchdown. Vivo also caught five passes for 21 yards. Senior Seth Sarty led all receivers with six catches for 84 yards.
The coach says: "[Columbiana] Coach [Bob] Spaite always has a very strong, very physical team that forces you to be disciplined. They run the option well and their defense always puts a lot of pressure on opponents. The key will be what happens up front. We did some good things up front against Poland, but not consistently." -- John Smith.
Columbiana (1-0) scouting report: The Clippers defeated LaBrae, 13-9. QB Adam Fast led in rushing with 50 yards on 17 carries. Chris Harman picked up 41 yards on 11 tries. Fast completed 11-of-21 passes for 105 yards.
The coach says: "As skilled as they are, Springfield should be one of the best teams in the ICL. They always are very physical. Springfield is one of the few veteran teams coming back. By playing Poland in Week 1, you absolutely cannot get a read on them. Poland would beat any combined ICL/TCL team by the same score." -- Bob Spaite.
Radio: WBBW-AM 1240.
-- Vindicator staff report