It isn’t uncommon for high school football coaches to ease into a season by scheduling a couple of soft non-league opponents prior to dealing with the rigors of conference play.

The Springfield Tigers, on the other hand, may actually feel a sense of relief once they jump into the Inter-Tri County League (Red Tier) portion of their schedule.

Springfield opened its season with come-from-behind wins over Brookfield and McDonald. A year ago, those two schools were a combined 16-4. Tonight the Tigers travel to Cuyahoga Heights (2-0), which last year went 7-3. Next week, they visit Western Reserve, who a year ago advanced to the regional finals with an 11-2 record.

“We were actually excited about how the schedule worked out, because it was going to give us a chance to see where we stacked up right out of the gate,” said Springfield coach Sean Guerriero. “We’re facing some great programs and great coaches. It’s a big test that will make us better down the road.”

All four of Springfield’s early opponents join the Tigers in Division VI, region 19.

“Our kids are excited to know that even before we begin ITCL play, we can make a strong statement in the computer rankings,” Guerriero said.

Against Brookfield, Springfield had to overcome an 18-point deficit. Against McDonald, the Tigers scored with 1:28 left in the game to rally for a 24-21 win.

“We haven’t played a perfect game yet, but we gave ourselves a chance to win in both games,” Guerriero said. “We made mistakes, but we fought through adversity and we made up for our mistakes with effort. That’s a good sign.”

HUBBARD STILL STREAKING

The state’s longest current regular-season winning streak came to an end Friday when Grand Valley stunned Kirtland, 30-21. The Hornets entered the contest having won 56 consecutive regular-season games.

On the same night, the state’s second-longest streak also ended when Liberty-Benton (winners of 27 straight) fell to Bowling Green 35-0.

As a result, Hubbard now shares the longest current regular-season winning streak with two other schools. The Eagles, along with Cincinnati Country Day and Maria Stein Marion Local have won 24 straight. All three schools last suffered a regular season loss on Oct. 12, 2012.

Playoffs included, Marion Local’s winning streak is at 39 games. After losing in the eighth week of the ‘12 season, the Flyers won seven straight en route to a state title. They captured state championships in ‘13 and ‘14 (their fourth straight) while going 15-0.

COATES PART II

Lightning struck twice last Friday in Leavittsburg, both literally and figuratively.

The game between LaBrae and Warren John F. Kennedy was delayed when lightning was sighted in the first half. A second streak of lightning caused the officials to reset the delay clock, causing a 45 minute stoppage in play.

Once the game did resume, lightning struck the form of Jacob Coates. The Kennedy junior hauled in a 62-yard touchdown pass from Bobby Jefferson with 1:01 left in the contest to give the Eagles a 22-17 win. The Eagles were facing a fourth-and-21 on the scoring play.

On Sept. 17, 1982, Jacob’s father Jim Coates was a junior on a Kennedy team which was playing at LaBrae. On that night, the elder Coates booted a 41-yard field goal as time expired to give the Eagles a 30-28 victory.

“It was kind of strange, because I was told about that game and I kind of thought about it a bit in the locker room before we went out,” Coates said. “When I caught the pass, I couldn’t help but think of it again.”

“It’s pretty cool. My dad never really brings up his games, but after this one, we had to go back into the scrapbooks to look up the details.”

WEEK 3

A trio of All-American Conference (White Tier) games highlight the Week 3 schedule. Poland (2-0) will already seek its second conference victory when it visits Jefferson, while Niles (1-1) is looking to avoid going 0-2 when it hosts Struthers. Meanwhile, Hubbard travels to Edgewood.

Massillon and Warren G. Harding meet for the 79th time when the Tigers and Raiders clash at Mollenkopf Stadium. The Tigers own a 52-23-3 edge in the series.

Jackson-Milton puts its 2-0 record on the line when it travels to Windham, also 2-0.

Saturday’s slate is highlighted by a Girard at Kennedy matchup which has historically produced high-scoring, unpredictable results.

Write Vindicator sports correspondent Steve Ruman at sports@vindy.com.