PREP PREVIEWS \ This weekend's games

CHANEY (1-1) vs. CANFIELD (3-0)
Game time: Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Canfield's Cardinal Stadium.
Last meeting: Last year, Chaney defeated Canfield, 22-21, in overtime.
Notebook: After struggling to defeat Rayen, 17-13, in Week 1, the Cardinals have shut out Canton South (21-0) and Alliance (37-0). Tailback Angelo Babbaro was unstoppable against the Aviators, rushing for 156 yards and three touchdowns, and catching an 83-yard scoring pass from quarterback Frank Ross. The Cowboys opened the season with a 15-8 loss to Fitch, then took a week off before pummeling Boardman, 25-0. Robert McElroy scored two touchdowns against the Spartans while senior quarterback Antwan Rice accounted for 175 total yards.
Radio: WNIO-AM 1390.
RAYEN (1-2) vs. NILES (2-1)
Game time: Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Niles' Bo Rein Stadium.
Last meeting: Last year, Rayen won, 7-6.
Notebook: Sophomore QB Sal Battles rushed for two touchdowns and passed for 135 yards in Rayen's 26-13 win over Margaretta. Junior OLB Stevie Slade's interception and 60-yard return was a key play for the Tigers. Prior to beating Margaretta, Rayen narrowly lost to Canfield (17-13) and Lodi Cloverleaf (3-0). In last year's game against Niles, the Red Dragons were up at halftime, 6-0, until freshman Gary Thornton scored late in the third quarter. Rayen made the PAT and the defense held. Thornton, now a sophomore, is one of two TBs, along with Dwayne Smith. "Our running backs situation is good," coach Brian Shaner said. "We try to keep a rotation of two but we can go 4 to 5 and be coinfident in all." Jerome Carter is used as the fullback when a bigger, stronger back is needed. "Other than that, we rely on a lot of wideouts," Shaner said. The coach is wary of Niles' special teams. "They come after a lot of punts and have blocked four in the last two games. They're solid and aggressive." What Niles lacks in size they make up for in speed. Rayen is back at home after two road games. "It's nice to get a local game," Shaner said. "I'd put our schedule against anyone in the state travel-wise." Nate Ganyard and Tyler Taylor key Niles' ground game as the Red Dragons look to rebound from a 37-21 loss to Alliance. QB Joe Razzano threw four interceptions against the Aviators.
URSULINE (2-1) vs. STEUBENVILLE (3-0)
Game time: Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Steubenville
Last meeting: Last year, Steubenville won, 24-8.
Notebook: After walloping Boardman, 33-13 in Week 1, the Irish lost to Mentor (26-19) before shutting out Poland, 13-0. Ryan Curry rushed for 92 yards on 10 carries and scored the first touchdown against the Bulldogs. Quarterback Bryant Youngblood suffered a concussion in the first half, but is expected to play. Darrell Peterman is his replacement. Steubenville won 29-0 over Wheeling Park on Friday to remain unbeaten. Tawami McGhee had 103 yards rushing and a touchdown. Quarterback Zach Collaros had 131 yards passing, including touchdown throws of 40 yards (to Maurice Bougard) and 57 yards (to Steve Davis). One blemish: Big Red had 13 penalties for 125 yards in Friday's victory.
WARREN HARDING (1-2) vs. MOONEY (3-0)
Game time: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at YSU's Stambaugh Stadium.
Last meeting: Last year, Harding won, 22-20.
Notebook: Last week, Harding lost to Strongsville, 28-21. It was Harding's second-straight loss afer a season-opening victory over Cleveland JFK. The Raiders' other loss was at the hands of Akron Buchtel, 18-10. Harding's offensive inconsistency and the failure to get off a clean punt from its own end zone with four minutes remaining in the game led to the game-winning score for Strongsville. In dealing with the disappointment, coach Thom McDaniels said that his Raiders must not only play hard, but must play well. One player doing a good job for Harding was sophomore quarterback Avery Qualis, who threw two touchdown passes.
W. RESERVE (1-2) vs. MCDONALD (3-0)
Game time: Friday, 7:30 p.m. Friday at McDonald.
Last meeting: Last year, McDonald won, 41-8.
Notebook: This will be the battle of Blue Devils. McDonald's wins have been over Southington (48-14), Windham (32-0) and Mathews (35-7). For McDonald, Dave Dugan rushed for 140 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns at Mathews. Chris Mark and Matt Firment also scored rushing TDs and Frank Pezzano returned a fumble 15 yards for six more points. Reserve is coming off of its lone victory of the year, a 62-15 win over Youngstown Christian. In the win, the Blue Devils scored in every quarter. Senior TB Shawn Bryant carried 19 times for 105 yards and tallied twice, including an 85-yard kickoff return. Bryant also had 62 yards receiving. Junior QB Brandon Moherman completed 11 of 19 passes for 205 yards and three TDs -- two to Kory Kasten and one to Chris Truitt. Bryant also stood out defensively with 14 tackles from his inside linebacker position. "They tried to spread us out and run outside, but Bryant did a good job there," Reserve coach Mike Kopachy said of Youngstown Christian's offensive attack. "We feel like we should be 3-0. We're a young team trying to learn and we have talent, but it's just a matter of playing mistake-free for 48 minutes."
LIBERTY (3-0) vs. CHAMPION (1-2)
Game time: Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Champion.
Last meeting: Last year, Liberty won, 24-0.
Notebook: Liberty has given up just 19 points in the Leopards' first three victories: Struthers (37-6), Cleveland East (48-6) and Campbell (41-7). Defensively, DT Chris Harrison and DE John Humphrey are anchors while LBs Tod Rogers, Dania Gillam and Chris Harden rotate. The Leopards have received good play from CBs Ryan Gillum and Robert Hightower. The Golden Flashes opened with a 17-12 victory over Orange then lost to Garrettsville Garfield (27-13) and South Range (41-17).
Vindicator staff report