Puskas: Football’s biggest and best weeks are here

Some people like spring. April showers, May flowers and all that.

I’ll take a drought any time. At least then I know I won’t have to re-do a flooded basement — again.

Others prefer summer. Lightning bugs, the beach and weekend cookouts.

Bugs bug me, real beaches are at the opposite ends of the country and someone always burns the burgers.

(Other than burnt popcorn, is anything worse than overcooked burgers? They’re almost enough to turn a red-blooded American male into a vegetarian. Almost.)

Nobody likes winter. We’re in Ohio. Unless you have a driveway-shoveling fetish, what’s to like?

But there is one time of year that is simply perfect and it’s happening right now — that magical time with football dominating every day of the weekend.

High school football on Friday, college football on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday.

I know, I know. There are variations to all that.

There are NFL games on Thursday nights and Monday nights and the Mid-American Conference (motto: “Please look at us! We have big-time college football, too!”) plays on all sorts of odd nights in a desperate bid for exposure.

But for my purposes, the perfect order of things is the Friday-Saturday-Sunday setup — the Holy Trinity of Football.

HIGH SCHOOL

Games to watch in Week 3 include Massillon at Warren Harding, East at Liberty, Louisville at Austintown Fitch and Grand Valley at McDonald.

Yes, GV at McDonald.

The Mustangs (1-1) shocked Kirtland, 30-21, on Friday night to snap the Hornets’ 56-game, regular-season winning streak. This week’s game at McDonald just got interesting.

Massillon-Harding is always one of the best matchups in Ohio. ... The Panthers and Leopards are both 0-2, so something has to break. ... The Falcons (1-1) bounced back against Brunswick after losing their opener to Hudson, but Louisville’s Leopards are 2-0 after handling Canfield and North Canton Hoover.

COLLEGE

If the sheer will of the head coaches had anything to do with it, Youngstown State and Pittsburgh would still be locked in an ongoing scoreless tie today.

But Pitt’s 45-37 win over YSU Saturday contained ample evidence that Bo Pelini and Pat Narduzzi have much more work to do with their defenses.

Maybe it’s just pessimistic Browns fan in me that prevents me from enjoying prosperity, but does anyone else think the 14-point spread on Ohio State-Virginia Tech is a bit much?

The Hokies, after all, did beat the Buckeyes in Columbus last season and Ohio State will be without several suspended players on Monday night.

I like that Urban Meyer will keep people guessing about his starting QB right up until the Buckeyes’ first offensive series. That said, I think J.T. Barrett will be the guy. But Cardale Jones is too talented to sit all season.

NFL

It really isn’t a surprise that the Browns kept Terrelle Pryor. He’s a physical freak and can make plays. The Browns have precious few guys who can change a game on a single play.

The Browns have had two training camps with Johnny Manziel and still have no idea what they have in him.

Write Vindicator Sports Editor Ed Puskas at epuskas@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @EdPuskas_Vindy.