{"id":4072,"date":"2026-09-24T11:18:31","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/?p=4072"},"modified":"2026-09-25T05:36:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T09:36:42","slug":"2026-week-3-tri-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/2026\/09\/24\/2026-week-3-tri-state\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Week 3 (Tri-State)"},"content":{"rendered":"

2026 Week 3 (Tri-State)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nWeek three brought me back home. After three weeks of seeing games all over the country, I started my weekend back in Ohio. With plans to add three more states to my 2026 totals.
\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The most obvious game or me, though, was at Girard. In District 10, in the PIAA, I had been to all but two stadiums for games. That being Girard and Cathedral Prep. Coincidentally enough, both were hosting games on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Based on matchups, I opted to see Girard hosting North East. A matchup I had seen at North East, when I finally made the trip north to North East a few years ago.<\/p>\n

On Friday, I had arranged a doubleheader at University of Buffalo’s Broadview Stadium. There was also a doubleheader at ECC-North on Saturday. But I was not planning to spend the night in New York. And Saturday, would be two games in Cleveland.<\/p>\n

On Thursday afternoon, I left home and headed north on OH7 through Hubbard, along the eastern edge of Ohio. It was raining. And as I drove, I was getting updates on both the weather and games being postponed in the area. Cathedral Prep’s game was postponed due to power outages earlier.<\/p>\n

The rain was heavy, and in several places was standing water on the sloped sides of the road north of Kinsman. But, by the time I reached I-90, the truly torrential rains had ended. And instead, was just moderate rain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Getting in to Girard, I had driven so slow through all the rain that I was only 10 minutes before kickoff. However, lightning in the area had already postponed the kickoff.<\/p>\n

And so, we waited. Sitting in my truck at the school. Just watching the rain fall. The game kept getting pushed back with every new lightning strike.<\/p>\n

I was watching my lightning app’s radar. Seeing the new strikes popping up. Virtually every other Thursday night game in the vicinity was postponed. But, not Girard. They were holding out hope the game would get played.<\/p>\n

#17 – Girard v. North East<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While waiting out the rain, updates on the kickoff trickled in. The game would need to kickoff by 9pm. Which means the last lightning strike would need to be no later than 8:30pm. Luckily, the rain started to die down and shortly after 8pm, the lightning ended.<\/p>\n

And the game kicked off at just after 8:30pm. The game itself was a shock. With no rain. And little wind, North East jumped out to a 22-0 lead after the first quarter, before Girard came back to trail, 22-21 at halftime. After that, Girard stayed neck and neck, but down by one late in the game, 29-28, just couldn’t not find that winning formula. North East added a late field goal, and held on at the very end, 32-28.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

North East survives comeback attempt by Girard, wins 32-28 after weather delay (PHOTO GALLERY)<\/a><\/p>\n

After the game, with the late start, it was a late night getting home. I made the same trek back home. I-90 to OH7, and taking the slower route home. The flooding had subsided.<\/p>\n

The next day I didn’t have much time to waste before heading out. It felt like a bit of a waste, driving all the way home from Lake Erie and then turn around and head back to Buffalo. But, the hotel cost factored into things meant heading the 90 minutes home and 90 minutes back was far cheaper.<\/p>\n

I started out a little later than I had planned. And once I was on I-79 heading north to Erie I realized I was neck and neck with getting to the game by kickoff. I had originally hoped to have left earlier to avoid the toll road. That didn’t happen.<\/p>\n

Got into New York on I-90 and the New York Thruway and raced through the east side of Buffalo’s suburbs to the Amherst. Only stopping for a moment to get a few gallons of gas at the Service Plaza near Angola. It was pricy, but was necessary. And that quick off and on, was the best place to stop. It was nice, also, to no longer have the two toll plazas to slow me down.<\/p>\n

Following I-290 northwest, I took the exit to University of Buffalo and followed it around to the stadium and athletic complex. Trying to find a place to park in the main lot. But it was packed. And had to go around at first to the northeastern lot to find it was not for game parking. And then a third lot. And managed to walk to the media entrance and still get into the field by kickoff.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

#18 – Lancaster v. Rochester McQuaid Jesuit<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This was my first game ever at University of Buffalo, and first time seeing McQuaid Jesuit. I had seen Lancaster several times in the past. The games tonight were part of the First Annual Dick Gallagher Kickoff Classic. Hopefully something that continues into the future as it was a popular event.<\/p>\n

The first game I stayed on the field throughout. Though it was slowly getting out of hand. Lancaster was the better team, and made for an expected outcome. With Lancaster winning, 34-14.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As soon as the game ended, I headed upstairs to the main concourse for both a bathroom and something to drink. And along with the wait, opted to get a burger at the stadium. Combined, it cost $10.88. Again, a stadium without a cash option. So the tax was charged on top of the food.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The burger itself was good. Not great. The sprite was a souvenir cup. Drank it way too fast. I was going to stay upstairs as the second game got underway. As did the first game, I wasn’t expecting much for the second game. But I was ready and headed down before kickoff.<\/p>\n

#19 – Hamburg St. Francis v. Buffalo Bennett\/Olmsted<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bennett started with some razzmatazz. But, St. Francis was the better team and slowly showed it more and more as the game went on. After halftime, I went upstairs to watch the second half. And also count down the minutes.<\/p>\n

With my very long drive home, I needed to leave ASAP. And the games had dragged on and on. The game was slated to started around 8:30, and didn’t start until nearly 9:30pm. This meant for a very long night for me. <\/p>\n

Bennett started strong. Making it interesting with an early TD to take a 6-0 lead. But it was short lived. St. Francis would get a matching TD, and a two-point conversion. Four more scores in the first half would extend the lead, 36-14 at the half.<\/p>\n

I’d go upstairs at this point, and watch the second half from the stands. It wasn’t that hot, but I was really feeling it being on my feet for a game and a half. After the long game the night before. And I also wanted to be as close to the exit as possible. As soon as the game ended, I needed to be to my truck as fast as possible.<\/p>\n

St. Francis added 17 more points in the second half, to Bennett’s single touchdown. To win, 53-20.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

New York Spotlight: Dick Gallagher Kickoff Classic (PHOTO GALLERY)<\/a><\/p>\n

And I was out. I left quickly, and headed out. But decided to stop for Taco Bell for the drive home. The burger at the stadium was my only meal for the day. Unfortunately, the Taco Bell I stopped at was one of the slowest fast food restaurants in Western New York.<\/p>\n

With my meal, I was off. Back-tracking the same route. And committing to the toll road. As I did not have the additional half hour to spare shunpiking it. I took I-290 to I-90 and into Pennsylvania. Stopping for gas once again, just enough to get me home and to Cleveland or the next day. Then taking the familiar I-79 south to I-80 into Ohio, and heading down through Hubbard to home.<\/p>\n

I did not stay up for photos. As I had gotten in very late at that point. Nearly 3am. And I had plans to be in Cleveland for a noon kickoff.<\/p>\n

I had two games planned for Saturday. Both were new places for me. Dwayne Browder Field was one of the Cleveland stadiums I have long had on my list. Acting as the host field for East Tech. And a night game at Brush High School in Lyndhurst where Lutheran East was playing their home games. Just down the road from their high school and their small field.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I got a late start, as well, leaving home as I had only a few hours to sleep after getting a shower and prepping my gear for Saturday. I headed west through Youngstown and I-680, and took the Ohio Turnpike, on I-80, west to Streetsboro. Taking I-480 to I-77 and north into the city. Dwayne Browder Field sits across the street from East Tech, and this was my first time there. Though, I had been on Woodland Ave in the city before. Taking that exit east to East 55th. It may have been faster to take the I-490 stub end that now continues as OH10, but the exit and lights may have been the delaying aspect of the route that made Woodland faster.<\/p>\n

Either way, I pulled into the parking lot and got a spot right by the main gate fairly close to kickoff. Because of the risk of rain, I only went in with my zoom lens. And brought in my rain hood.<\/p>\n

#20 – Cleveland East Tech v. Akron North<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This was my first time here, and I greatly enjoyed the venue. Very tight sidelines, and though the crowd was small as you’d expect for a city game on Saturday afternoon, the crowd was lively, loud, and into it. Which always makes for a great atmosphere.<\/p>\n

This was the third time I had seen both of these teams. Akron North once against Cardinal Mooney at Buchtel as part of a doubleheader, and once at Ellet on a Thursday night. East Tech I first saw in 2014 against Whitney Young when they still had a football team at Roye Kidd Field in Cleveland. And the second time was against Collinwood played at Rhodes last year before a crowdless stadium as fans were barred from that event. Collinwood, too, no longer plays football as the school closed after the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

For the game itself, this was maybe the closest I got to a 2-0 game. Something I have been waiting for my Scorigami for years. CSP in New York were down 2-0 to Portville in 2022. Losing that one, 9-3. In this one, it was 2-0 going into the third quarter, before East Tech returned a punt for a touchdown. Akron North then answered later with their own touchdown, to win, 8-6.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ohio Spotlight: Lutheran East 33, Akron Firestone 14 (PHOTO GALLERY)<\/a><\/p>\n

After the game, I had quite a bit of time to kill. I looked online for a seafood of sushi buffet, but found a Korean BBQ instead. It wasn’t too far away. And wasn’t too badly priced, either. So, I headed out along OH10 into University Circle and then over to Cleveland Heights to stop at a place called One Pot. They also offered Hot Pot. It was good, but it was a little more time consuming than it should have been.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

After dinner, I sat in my car and watched some football on my phone. Killing time until I could leave to head to Brush High School. I lost track of time, and realized I was going to be getting to Brush only ten or fifteen minutes before kickoff. Far closer than I had anticipated.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Luckily, the street I was on was the street the school was on. Just a few miles away. And seemed to hit every traffic light along the way. But I got to the school and was surprised at how few cars were nearby. You couldn’t park in front of the school. But there was a lot just down the street across the street from the school. So I pulled in there with a few others. And walked across the front of the school to the stadium.<\/p>\n

To find out it wasn’t the main gate. Though I was let in as media. Which was helpful as that game was very close to kicking off. <\/p>\n

#21 – Lutheran East v. Akron Firestone<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A battle of Falcons. This was my first time seeing Firestone play. And was the last of the Akron schools I had seen. For years I had planned to see a game at Lutheran East, as they usually played on Friday afternoons. However, they now play their home games down the road at Brush. I had seen Lutheran East once before at Mathews in Vienna on a Thursday night. <\/p>\n

This game started with defense. A scoreless first quarter. I didn’t think I would see a running clock. And I certainly didn’t think I’d see a three hour game.<\/p>\n

The second quarter went to Lutheran East. Two touchdowns. Third quarter added one more. A 20-0 game seemed like it would coast to a finish with Lutheran East winning a comfortable, not too close game.<\/p>\n

Instead, Firestone would score once and light a fire under Lue, as they like to be called. Scoring two touchdowns. But with Firestone’s slow, time-consuming possessions, not to mention all the other stoppages, the game dragged on. Firestone added one more late score, with 1:12 left. To trail, 33-12.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ohio Spotlight: Lutheran East 33, Akron Firestone 14 (PHOTO GALLERY)<\/a><\/p>\n

After the game, it was a fairly easy drive home. US322 to OH175. To US422 and followed that east through the suburbs to the 422 freeway toward Hiram. The Warren bypass and OH82 continuing east to Brookfield. And then south on OH7 to home.<\/p>\n

STATISTICS<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the weekend, I added just two new teams to my all-time list. That being McQuaid Jesuit and Akron Firestone. But, did add four needs stadiums. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For expenses, I spent $189.72. Of that, $92.92 was for gas. $85.88 was for food. And $10.92 was for tolls. I drove a total of 731 miles for the weekend.<\/p>\n

Gas prices in PA and NY were much higher than Ohio, and I hadn’t filled up before leaving on Friday. Which meant that I had to get gas in PA or NY on the way to Buffalo. And then enough to get home to Ohio for Saturday. Food costs were primarily the Korean BBQ, which included tax, tip, drink, and food for $50.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

2026 Statistics (after Week 3):<\/strong><\/p>\n

21 Games
\n42 Teams
\n12 Stadiums
\n11 States<\/p>\n

20 New Teams
\n10 New Stadiums<\/p>\n

1760 different teams
\n575 different stadiums<\/p>\n

1665 total games<\/p>\n

NEXT WEEK<\/strong><\/p>\n

I will be back in Pennsylvania and Ohio. With three new stadiums and five new teams.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For more, and larger, photos from this week, click HERE.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

For photos from previous weeks and seasons, visit http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/sykotyk\/sets\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2026 Week 3 (Tri-State) Week three brought me back home. After three weeks of seeing games all over the country, I started my weekend back in Ohio. With plans to add three more states to my 2026 totals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1587,55,42,19],"tags":[1593,1618,1040,1623,225,1622,1369,1372,1013,1621,5,25,13,224,1617,1624,1620,1012,80,69,1619,654],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4072"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4072"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4100,"href":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4072\/revisions\/4100"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}