Symmes Valley at Chesapeake

For the Symmes Valley Vikings, it’s been long enough.

The last time the Vikings beat the Chesapeake Panthers it was their 10-0 season of 1989. However, they came close last season before fumbling the ball away late allowing Chesapeake to tie the game and then losing 39-33 in triple overtime.

Both teams have a lot of veterans returning, but the Vikings have more of their skilled players. Chesapeake lost all but one player — fullback Trey West — from last year’s backfield.

Depth played a role last year with the game going into three overtimes, but the Vikings do have more depth this year than in the past decade.

Oak Hill at Rock Hill

The Oaks are off to a 2-0 start after beating Chesapeake 35-7 and getting a big 29-22 win over Wheelersburg last week.

Both wins were at home and this week marks their first road game.

The Oaks have two strong linemen in tackles Chris Fairland (6-2, 280) and Drew Cannon (6-3, 255). Rock Hill has been missing lineman Shayne Wilds the first two games and hopes his return along with Shane Stewart will make for a better match up against the Oaks’ duo.

A key matchup will be Oaks’ quarterback Jesse Slone and Rock Hill signal-caller Will McCollister. Slone’s favorite receiver is Joey Maynard while McCollister has Trey Wilds as his main target.

Portsmouth West at South Point

The Senators come into the game unbeaten and featuring a running game full of running backs led by fullback Trevon Pendleton who had 229 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 44-14 rout of Portsmouth.

The Pointers got their first win last week, a much-needed shot of confidence for their young team. They must find a way to match the Senators’ team speed.

Quarterback Levi Ratliff was 3-of-4 passing for 53 yards against Portsmouth. Kyle Locher added 48 yards on nine carries.

West was young last season and earned some valuable playing experience. South Point is in a similar position this season. The Pointers are very young with several freshmen and sophomores starting or playing extensively.

Fairland at Tolsia

Fairland won last year’s meeting handily at 52-14, but the Dragons have been plagued by injuries the first two games and Tolsia brings a lot of size and experience into the game.

Quarterback Jacob Copley (6-5, 190) is a threat running and throwing the ball. Cody Duvall (6-0, 200) moves from tight end to fullback and Virgil Salmons (6-3,270) goes from fullback to tight end.

The tailback is Ryan Salmons (6-0, 210) and the wingback should be Terry Davis (6-0, 165).

Although the Rebels have size, the offensive and defensive lines remain a question mark.

Tolsia is 1-1 after knocking off Point Pleasant 28-21 last week.

Green at Hannan

The Bobcats won 27-14 last season, but they’ll face a new system as Keith Taylor returns to coach the Wildcats.

The Wildcats — who were 0-10 last year — like to utilize the spread offense. They lost their opener to favored Williamson but made it interesting in a 41-26 loss in which they held a 20-15 lead in the second quarter.

The offense is led by sophomore quarterback Tyler Jenkins (5-7, 145) and running backs Daniel Reynolds (5-11, 180) and Delmar Black (6-3, 224). The top receiver is Colton Campbell (5-9, 135).

Hannan is 0-2 coming into the game and the Wildcats are in the midst of a 15-game losing streak.