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2018 Week 12 (Iowa)

2018 Week 12 (Iowa)

This update will be a little more slimmed down than previously. A lack of time and twelve games make a full recap a bit cumbersome. This would be my third trip to Cedar Falls, Iowa for games. The second for the state semi-finals.

Iowa, like Minnesota, play all semifinals at one predetermined location. The only dome in the state, the UNI-Dome, located on the campus of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, does an excellent job hosting them. The following week, the UNI-Dome does it all again for the six state championships. Continue reading “2018 Week 12 (Iowa)”

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2018 Week 8 (Ohio & New York)

2018 Week 8 (Ohio & New York)

Week 8 was a very busy week. So, this is a bit delayed. Wednesday started with an Elton John Concert for my wife, followed by four high school games between Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and a Browns game on Sunday.

So, let’s dive in. Thursday consisted of several games in northeast Ohio. A result of a teachers’ conference that leads to many schools not having Friday classes. And many of those to play on Thursday night instead. Continue reading “2018 Week 8 (Ohio & New York)”

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2018 Week 7 (Ohio)

Glenville v. John Adams, John Adams Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

2018 Week 7 (Ohio)

For a weekend with almost all Ohio games, it started off in Pennsylvania. In Clarion County, the annual Autumn Leaf Festival always alters the schedule of at least one county school. With most of the festivities on the weekend, many schools are off. This moves a lot of the games to Thursday night.

For 2018, it was only one school that elected to play on Thursday. Keystone, in the town of Knox just west of county-seat Clarion, was hosting Union/ACV. Union and Allegheny-Clarion Valley formed a co-op a few years ago. The Falcon Knights, as they’re called, split time between both schools. Hosting games in Rimersburg and Foxburg.
Continue reading “2018 Week 7 (Ohio)”

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2018 Week 6 (West Virginia & Pennsylvania)

2018 Week 6 (West Virginia & Pennsylvania)

Week 6 was a lot of fun, but a lot of driving and a lot of games. With Carrick cancelling the rest of their season due to low numbers, I was on the hunt for another Thursday game. Which led me to search the surrounding states for games. Parma had a game, and elsewhere in Ohio. And Buffalo had two games. But, as I looked around, I found one in West Virginia. With a 1pm kickoff. Continue reading “2018 Week 6 (West Virginia & Pennsylvania)”

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2018 Week 5 (Pennsylvania & New York)

2018 Week 5 (Pennsylvania & New York)

Week 5 went nothing like I had originally planned. Some of that can be blamed on the weather, the matchups, and just my mood in general.

With no real intriguing Thursday games aside from Parma or Pittsburgh, my wife and I opted to head to Cleveland for the Browns game. It’d been over two years since my last Browns game. Having a 2 year old daughter made the choice easy to give up my season seats. But, seeing that tickets were fairly cheap on Ticketmaster meant the idea of heading to Cleveland worthwhile. Continue reading “2018 Week 5 (Pennsylvania & New York)”

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2018 Week 2 (Pennsylvania)

2018 Week 2 (Pennsylvania)

Week 2 was definitely a road trip. Thursday night included a nearly three hour jaunt to southeastern Ohio and the Noble County Fair. The Caldwell Redskins play full-time at the Noble County Fairgrounds. However, during the annual fair, if they have a home game that weekend, it’s played on Thursday night and becomes a marquee event of the fair.

Similar to how Clarion County (PA) handles the Autumn Leaf Festival, however in order to attend the game you must pay to enter the fair. Admission to the stadium itself is then free. This $9 charge may seem a bit much for a high school game, but you do have an entire fair to check out before or after the game.

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2017 Week 12 (South Dakota)

Week 12 (South Dakota)

My first time seeing games in South Dakota was the seven state championship games. All seven were held over three days at the DakotaDome in Vermillion. In the far southeastern corner of the state. Being the only dome available, in early November, this location made a lot of sense.

Vermillion is a small college town. It’s about an hour from the major city of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, and also about 45 minutes or so away from Sioux City. It’s located just a few miles north of Nebraska and the Missouri River.

Continue reading “2017 Week 12 (South Dakota)”