Patriots, Cavs to make final push this month
With the regular season already halfway gone, the Homewood and John Carroll high school football teams will make their final push toward postseason play in the month of October.
Homewood will play its final four Class 6A, Region 5 games during the month, as the Patriots make an attempt to repeat as region champions. Homewood hosts Minor on Friday, Oct. 5, to begin things. The two teams are region foes for the first time since 2015, and the Patriots have won four out of six all-time meetings between the two schools. Minor won the most recent meeting, 42-21, in the first round of the 2016 playoffs.
The following week, Homewood stays at home to host Chelsea on Oct. 12. Even with the two schools separated only by a county, the teams have never met on the gridiron. But Chelsea moved from Region 3 to Region 5 this year, and Homewood coach Ben Berguson said before the season he was glad to have the Hornets on the schedule.
On Oct. 19, Homewood travels to Carver High School to play the Rams for the first time since 2007, when the two teams were last in the same region. Homewood cruised to victory the only two times the programs have ever played.
The Patriots wrap up the month and their region schedule on Oct. 26 at Jackson-Olin in a game that could prove to be pivotal to deciding the region crown. Homewood has never lost to Jackson-Olin in eight previous meetings, including a 28-6 win last fall, but the Mustangs have proven to be a formidable foe in the region.
Homewood wraps up the regular season against Paul Bryant on Nov. 2.
John Carroll will conclude its regular season in October, as the Cavs play four games and will be off the final week of play. Their finishing stretch is brutal, as they could potentially face all four teams that will make the playoffs from Class 5A, Region 4.
They open the month on Oct. 5 against last year’s Class 5A runner-up Briarwood. The Cavs have struggled in recent memory against the Lions, losing in eight straight meetings since 2006.
On Oct. 12, John Carroll entertains Pleasant Grove for another region contest. The teams last met in 2011, when the Cavs ran away with a 47-19 victory. John Carroll holds a 6-5 edge in the series history.
The Cavs play their final road game on Oct. 19 at Wenonah. In the last meeting between the two programs, Wenonah came away with a 25-0 shutout victory in 2011. John Carroll has not defeated the Dragons since holding on for a 3-0 win in 1994.
Ramsay will make a visit to Pat Sullivan Field on Thursday, Oct. 25, in John Carroll’s regular season finale. Ramsay is just two years removed from the 6A state championship.
The teams have played just six times since 1967, with John Carroll winning the first four, but Ramsay has prevailed each of the last two seasons when both teams played in 6A’s Region 5.