The City Series’ two best football teams from last season meet at noon Saturday when Buchtel hosts Ellet.
The Griffins and Orangemen were each 5-0 in City Series games last season and shared the City title because they were not scheduled to play each other.
This season, the two teams meet in week four.
Buchtel comes into the game at 0-3 after losses to Walsh Jesuit, Steubenville and Warren Harding. Ellet is 2-1 following wins over Springfield and Cuyahoga Falls and a loss to Tallmadge.
Recent history favors Buchtel, as the Griffins have won 31 consecutive City Series games and 78 out of its past 81 league games dating back to 1995.
Garfield was the last City Series school to defeat Buchtel. The Golden Rams beat the Griffins in 2001 and 1998. Ellet’s last victory over Buchtel came in 1995.
Here are the scores between Buchtel and Ellet from 1995 to 2005, according to Beacon Journal records:
2005 Buchtel 21-6
2004 Buchtel 48-21
2003 Buchtel 48-0
2002 Buchtel 28-9
2001 Buchtel 35-7
2000 Buchtel 52-14
1999 Buchtel 34-17
1998 Buchtel 50-14
1997 Buchtel 35-8
1996 Buchtel 19-10
1995 Ellet 27-24
So the question entering Saturday’s matchup is: Can Ellet knock off Buchtel and end the streak?
Let us know what you think.
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Jacob Rosen here from 91.3 The Summit. The first game of the year to be broadcast on the exclusive home of the City Series will be this Friday evening at the Rubber Bowl. Kenmore will take on North in an intriguing battle that will sort of the pretenders from the contenders in an early City battle. North is 2-1 this season following a loss to ranked Stow, while Kenmore is 0-3 and winless the last two seasons. Can Kenmore shock the world and ruin North Coach Ken Johnson’s fairy tale of a rookie year? Or will the finally healthy senior running back Larry Dawson Jr. of North jump into the regional spotlight with a masterful performance? Only time will tell….
As for the Ellet, Buchtel game, watch out for the match-up between the two quarterbacks. Chad Keppler is undoubtedly the best true quarterback and he plays for Ellet. (He also plays a mighty fine linebacker as well.) For Buchtel, they come into the game winless in the Ricky Powers era as coach, and also winless in the Johnny Adams era as quarterback. This is Adams’ first year as the head of the offense, and he made the switch this season from wide receiver to quarterback under the advice of the former Michigan running back Powers. Will Buchtel have trouble moving the ball again this week (averaging 8.7 points per game) against the strong Ellet defense (allowing 12.7 points per game)? Can Ellet possibly beat Buchtel, and then run the table with Firestone and Garfield, respectively, making up their next two games?