Vermilion vs. Firelands tonight

I will be covering high school football tonight at Firelands High School as the Falcons host the Vermilion Sailors. You can tune in to 1320 AM or listen online (replay will be available online as well). I'll be working with play-by-play announcer Bob Karlovec and sideline reporter Darrin Goats.

This is a rivalry game that has lasted for decades. Vermilion has had the better of the match-up winning 17 straight from 1993-2009. That streak came to an end last year when Firelands was victorious 28-21 giving Falcons interim coach Mike Passerello his first head coaching victory.

For 1-1 Vermilion, the team has since changed coaches themselves. Ben Ohlemacher is in his first year at Sailor Stadium and got his first victory last week with a 21-14 triumph over Clearview. The Sailors' Jason Anthony scored 3 TDs in the 4th quarter to lead the way. The defense also set the tone holding the Clippers to 14 totals yards in the 2nd half.

For 2-0 Firelands, this team is cautiously optimistic after victories against New London 39-21 and Lutheran West 35-14. In 2009, Firelands won their first two games and didn't win the rest of the year. However, this year the Falcons return three all-Ohio honorees from last year in QB/FS Kyle Smith, RB/SS Nick Deichler and RB/OLB Joe Kudela. Firelands has the experience factor with 16 seniors including nine returning starters on both offense and defense.

Firelands new offensive coordinator this year is Frank Horvath who, you guessed it, was the Vermilion head coach from 2005-2010.

For the Falcon football players, it's the biggest game in their careers. For Sailor football players, there are three certainties in life: Death, Taxes and BEAT FIRELANDS.