5 to watch

Ursuline vs. Pitts. Cent. Cath.

Saturday’s matinee game at Wheeling Island Stadium is going to be a real test for the Fighting Irish. Pittsburgh Central Catholic, the alma mater of Dan Marino, competes in Pennsylvania’s highest classification, Quad A. Last season the Vikings finished 8-3, advancing to the second round of the WPIAL playoffs. This is the last of three games at Wheeling — Steubenville plays Woodland Hills at 3:30 p.m., followed by this game.

Mooney vs. Cols. DeSales

A battle of two programs with long and successful playoff pedigrees will collide at Stambaugh Stadium tonight. The Cardinals opened with a tough-played 23-17 win over Boardman last Friday, while DeSales (Division III) defeated Div. I Gahanna Lincoln 38-0. Last season DeSales (then Div. II) finished 13-1 and lost in the state semifinals to Cincinnati Anderson.

JFK at Hubbard

This will be a great early-season test for both programs. Hubbard is expected to have some suspended players back after they missed the opener, a 24-13 loss to Poland. JFK showed in its Saturday win over Bedford Chanel it can throw the ball, and Hubbard gave up some plays to Poland.

Struthers at Girard

Back in the day, this would have been a Steel Valley Conference game to circle on the calendar. This one could be just as exciting between two traditionally tough, hard-hitting programs. Girard showed at Salem last week its offense is going to be strong again. the Wildcats didn’t fare so wekk against Lakeview so the Wildcats are surely anxious to make amends.

Columbiana at Leetonia

Yeah, it’s only week 2, but could this be a playoff preview? Both the Clippers and Bears put up big numbers in week 1 wins. The difference: Columbiana also gave up a lot of points. Coach Bob Spaite and his staff have surely spent the week shoring up any holes in the Clippers’ defense, but they’ll get a test against a Leetonia team that knows how to win and — more importantly — believes it will.

Campbell at Lakeview

Believe in numerology? Both the Red Devils and Bulldogs scored 34 points in their week 1 wins, over Toronto and Struthers, respectively. Last year Lakeview went to John Knapick Field and put a 29-point hurting on Campbell. Expect a much closer outcome this season. Campbell coach Jef Bayuk likes his team.