Portage County Week 7 football previews

Here is our look at every local Week 7 contest:

Metro Athletic Conference

Ravenna (2-4, 0-3) @ Coventry (4-2, 1-2)

The Ravens will chase their first Metro Athletic Conference victory against a Comets team that has already doubled last year's win total. Coventry is dangerously versatile, with Dalton Cooksey and Chase Rankin always a threat to run for the century mark and Chris Wilcox among the most dangerous receivers in the MAC.

Ravenna, which beat Coventry by 20 a year ago, has its own deadly duo in QB M'Kell Williams and QB/RB/WR Pavel Henderson, with the pair connecting for two touchdown passes last week against Field, including a 66-yarder. (Henderson finished with five catches for 127 yards.) But the Ravens will need to stem the tide on defense after yielding 40.7 points per game over the last three weeks (after allowing 14.7 over their first three games).

Streetsboro (3-3, 1-2) @ Field (3-3, 2-1)

The Falcons, who have already topped last year's win total, look to maintain their momentum after recording their biggest win of the season last week at Ravenna. Specifically, Field senior Braxton Baumberger looks to maintain momentum after an absurd performance at Portage Community Bank Stadium that included a pick, a fumble recovery, 57 passing yards and 80 rushing yards. Of course, Streetsboro junior Preston Hopperton (100 carries, 639 yards, 16 TD; 21 catches, 415 yards, 2 TD) is an impressive dual-threat weapon himself. Watch for an intriguing battle Friday between a Falcons ground game that turned 49 carries into 253 yards against the Ravens and a Rockets' run defense that is trying to bounce back after yielding 392 rushing yards to the Colts in Week 6.

Portage Trail Conference

Rootstown (5-1, 1-0) @ JFK (5-1, 0-1)

The top-ranked team in the state in Division VII, the Eagles look to bounce back from their first loss of the season, a 28-14 setback last week at Mogadore in which the Wildcats whacked them over the head early with a trio of Mason Williams touchdowns in the first quarter. JFK certainly has the tools to bounce back, led by QB Caleb Hadley and a defense that hadn't yielded more than 21 points in a game prior to Friday night's clash at Mogadore. Rootstown is coming off its own bounce-back performance, responding to its first loss of the season with an emphatic 56-8 win over St. Thomas Aquinas last week, led by five Cody Coontz rushing scores in the first half.

Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier

Memorial (1-5, 0-3) @ Garfield (5-1, 3-0)

The G-Men made clear they're in the hunt for a third straight league title with a dominant Week 6 victory at Champion that saw Jesse Grace and Vinnie Grandizio combine for five rushing touchdowns in the first 15:20 of Friday's contest. Next up for Garfield, which ran for 385 yards against Champion, is a Memorial team that has allowed at least 42 points in all five of its losses.

Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Scarlet Tier

Springfield (2-4, 2-1) @ Waterloo (3-3, 2-1)

The Vikings are off to one of their best starts in years, highlighted by a win over Western Reserve before falling to undefeated Lowellville last week. They've done most of their damage, per usual, on the ground with Jayden Hakin capably leading their single-wing offense. The Tigers' record is a little misleading given the steep competition they faced early in the season. Indeed, Springfield bounced back from 0-4 by topping previously undefeated Mineral Ridge followed by McDonald. Though losing Beau Brungard has clearly hurt, the Tigers still boast a dangerous aerial attack led by QB Kolten Ruark, who has completed 60 percent of his passes with three times as many touchdowns as interceptions. Ruark has numerous weapons to toss the football to, including Seandelle Gardner and Dylan Sheely.

Northeastern Athletic Conference

Windham (2-3, 1-0) @ Pymatuning Valley (2-4, 2-0)

Just like the Vikings with the Tigers, the Bombers take on a Lakers team with a deceptive record as Pymatuning Valley's early-season schedule included a pair of 5-1 teams in Mineral Ridge and Rootstown. The Lakers have looked far more deadly since returning to Northeastern Athletic Conference play, averaging 39 points in wins over St. John and Fairport Harding. Windham, which just got done battling run-heavy Southeast, will have to deal with another dangerous rushing team as Pymatuning Valley sophomores Ryan Croston and Ty Vickery are both over 500 rushing yards on the season. Of course, the Bombers have their own deadly runner in dual-threat QB Chase Eye.

Suburban American

Aurora (5-1, 3-0) @ Roosevelt (2-4, 1-2)

The Greenmen have won four straight games following a Week 2 loss to Riverside, firmly establishing themselves as one of the leading contenders for the Suburban American title with last week's 31-30 victory over Tallmadge. Aurora did so with an impressive defensive performance, allowing just a field goal in the second half. Roosevelt, meanwhile, should be particularly fired up given it's Homecoming at Roosevelt Stadium with the Rough Riders honoring legendary coaches Tom Campana and John Nemec prior to the game. Watch out for two of the area's top dual-threat athletes at Roosevelt Stadium in Greenmen QB Matt Geier and Rough Riders WR/DB/P Donovan Daetwyler.

Non-League

Wickliffe (1-5) @ Crestwood (2-4)

The Red Devils, who have dropped three of their last four, look to get back on track against a Blue Devils team that is averaging just nine points per game. Wickliffe brings considerable size on the line, while Crestwood, which has averaged 13 points per game, hopes to get its attack back on track led by RB Nate Blasiole, who leads the Red Devils with 378 rushing yards and is second on the team (behind only Noah Baker) in tackles.

University School (5-1) @ Mogadore (6-0)

Both the Preppers and Wildcats enter Friday's non-conference showdown with considerable momentum, with Mogadore and University School handing Warren JFK and Gilmour Academy, respectively, their first losses of the season last week. The Wildcats' Mason Williams and the Preppers' Ryan Pattison are both coming off three-touchdown performances Friday night, with the latter rushing for 183 yards against the Lancers.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage County Week 7 football previews