What’s in store for 2nd half?

What we can look forward to in the second half of the high school football season:

Austintown Fitch is gonna be a beast.

The Falcons passed two tough tests in weeks 4 and 5, defeating Canton McKinley and defending Federal League champion Canton GlenOak. The Falcons will be prohibitive favorites in their next two games, Jackson and Hoover.

Their mettle will be tested, though, down the stretch, against Perry, Lake and Boardman. The Falcons have proven that, offensively, they are going be awfully difficult to keep down.

The way to beat the Falcons is to outscore them, and none of the teams left on their schedule have proven they can do that on a consistent basis.

Get your tickets now for Campbell vs. Girard.

That matchup in week 8 should — should — determine the All-American Conference’s Blue Tier championship, and has the potential to be the game of the year.

The Red Devils are playing awfully well on both sides of the ball — you don’t shut out a Bill Bohren-coached team by accident — and the Hughes’ (Ja’les and Lester) are as good a 1-2 offensive combo as there is in the Valley. Of course, Girard fans are going to shout, “Hey, what about Dan Graziano and Landon Smith?” and they’re right. Which is why this game has all the potential to be extremely entertaining — and maybe, a playoff preview in Division IV?

AAC White is wide open.

Let’s see if we have this right — Hubbard beats Salem. Lakeview beats Hubbard. Salem plays Lakeview in week 9.

The potential is there for a three-way tie (Salem beat Lakeview last year and gets the game at home this season) but there’s a nagging sense that nobody better overlook Struthers or Liberty. Especially the Wildcats, who have showed a couple of times that they will battle for 48 minutes.

Who wants the ITCL?

Ever since its creation this league has been very balanced.

Sure, Crestview and McDonald have pretty much owned the trophies last few years, and they’ve shown again that, if they don’t win it this year, they’re going to be a tough out. But the depth of both tiers may be as solid as ever this fall.

In Tier One, South Range is everybody’s darling after last season’s uncharacteristic 2-8 finish. The Raiders are 4-1 — the only loss at Campbell. But Crestview is also 4-1, and Columbiana and United are both 3-2. And the latter two are more than capable of ending the season in first place.

And then there’s Mineral Ridge, which has too many talented skill players for anyone to overlook.

In Tier Two, this Friday night’s Western Reserve-Southern showdown should go a long way to determining the league title. But McDonald has won two straight, impressively, and if the season plays to form, the Blue Devils should be 5-0 in the league heading into their season-enders against Reserve and Southern.

Can the Valley win multiple state titles again?

Ursuline? Yes.

The Fighting Irish are rolling along at 5-0, and, in all honesty, one more win might be enough to get them in the postseason. Their last four games are going to be really tough tests, though, but if they get through that stretch injury free, there’s no evidence to suggest they won’t be the prohibitive favorites to be hoisting the Div. V trophy in week 15.

The other possibilities — Mooney, of course, in Div. III, but their defensive performances in back-to-back losses should be a concern — Howland in Div. II, and Fitch in Div. I.

One thing’s for sure — if the next 10 weeks are anything like the first five, this could be a season to remember.

Rob Todor is sports editor of The Vindicator. Write to him at todor2@vindy.com.