PREPS Tested Rams ready in ICL

After losing a close one, Mineral Ridge will challenge South Range.
VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT
Moments after the Mineral Ridge High football team dropped its first game of the season, Rams coach Shawn Brown was asked about this week's showdown for the Inter-County League title.
That might not have been the best time to ask him that.
Brown disagreed.
"It's never to early to start talking about South Range," said Brown after the Rams lost a heartbreaker to Liberty Center, 6-3, Friday in Mineral Ridge. "They are South Range. In the ICL, that means they are the team to beat."
Trailing Liberty Center for all but the first 67 seconds, the Rams (6-1, 3-0 ICL) seized control of the game in the second half, limiting the Tigers to five offensive plays for almost 18 minutes.
Behind the power rushing by Micah Hall and Levi Leigh, Mineral Ridge drove to the Tigers 2, before being stopped a yard short of the goal line.
Good test
Brown agreed that Liberty Center's power running game created a good test for the Rams in preparing for South Range (7-0, 3-0) and its strong rushing attack.
"We wanted to win," Leigh said, "but we believe we just didn't get the job done. But it was a non-conference game and now comes the one that matters."
While the ICL match-up will draw plenty of attention, it's just one of many big games this Friday.
Chaney (4-3, 1-0) will play Rayen (4-3, 1-0) in a City Series game that likely will decide the league title. The Cowboys have won six straight City championships and 13 of the last 14. Rayen, coming off a tough loss to Alliance, has not won a league title since back-to-back crowns in 1988-89.
Undefeated Fitch (7-0, 4-0), which survived a scare from North Canton Hoover on Friday, will play host to Uniontown Lake (6-1, 4-1), which beat Canton GlenOak, 28-14. The Falcons can clinch a share of the league title with a win over the Blue Streaks. Every other team in the league has at least two conference losses.
If Fitch wins its last three games, it is guaranteed to make the playoffs.
Teams seek to rebound
Mooney (4-2) and Ursuline (5-2) are both looking to rebound from tough losses before their Steel Valley Conference showdown.
The Irish, who fell to Akron Hoban 61-28, will travel to Columbus Bishop Watterson (6-1). Watterson's only loss was to Cleveland Benedictine, which beat Mooney 49-25.
"We have a very mature group of kids and I have full confidence they will bounce back and we'll be ready to play next week," said Ursuline coach Dan Reardon.
Mooney will play Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (4-3) Friday at YSU. The Cardinals struggled to tackle in the open field, something Mooney coach P.J. Fecko plans to work on this week.
Comeback strategy
"First we have to evaluate the film to see where we may have had some miscommunication, and then correct it," said Fecko. "We have to go back to the fundamentals of blocking and tackling.
"If you can't do that, then all of the other schemes are of no value."
In the Metro Athletic Conference, four teams (Alliance, Howland, Salem and Niles) have one loss, but this week's games should bring some clarity. Howland, coming off two straight losses, will play host to Alliance and Canfield will travel to Salem.