By Frank Vajcner
We now head off to my hometown of Petersburg. In Dylan Szegedi’s first season, Summerfield finished with a winning record for a third straight year as they went 5-4. However, they went winless in TCC play, and missed the playoffs for a second consecutive year. Will the schedule help the Bulldogs to get back to the postseason?
2024 Schedule:
Aug 29: Waterford Our Lady
Sept 6: @ Decatur
Sept 13: Whitmore Lake
Sept 20: @ West Unity Hilltop (OH)
Sept 27: @ Whiteford
Oct 4: @ Pioneer North Central
Oct 11: Erie Mason
Oct 18: TBD
Oct 25: Sand Creek
Gut-Check Game: Without a shadow of doubt, a Week 5 trip to The Woods to face Whiteford will be circled on the calendar. Since scoring an upset win over the Bobcats in the 2020 playoffs, the Dawgs have been outscored 185-6 in four meetings, and been shut out in three meetings in The Woods. Stealing a win could propel the Dawgs to a return to the postseason.
The trip to Whiteford is followed up by another road trip to Pioneer, Ohio to face North Central. The Eagles went 9-2 last season. Special mention to a visit from old TCC rival Sand Creek in Week 9, as this could decide the playoff fate for both teams.
Trap Game: Right before the trip to The Woods comes a long road trip to West Unity, Ohio to face Hilltop. Even though the Cadets went 1-9 last season, and were defeated by the Dawgs 35-0, this is a classic look-ahead spot, which keeps this game from being in the next category.
Snoozer: Another old TCC rival pays a visit in Week 3, as Whitmore Lake comes to town. The Trojans went 2-7 last season, with a win over winless Lutheran Westland.
Non-Conference Challenge. See above for info on North Central and Sand Creek. Waterford Our Lady and Decatur round out the schedule as of this writing. The Lakers went 3-6 last season, and were defeated by the Dawgs 14-7. The Raiders were 4-5, but didn’t beat anyone with a pulse.
Fun Facts: This will be the first meeting between the Dawgs and Raiders in football…The Dawgs will take two road trips to the Buckeye State this season…The Dawgs were schedule to play Vanlue (OH) in Week 8, but that game was canceled…This will be the first time that Sand Creek and Summerfield will not play as conference rivals, as the Aggies have joined the Big 8 for football.
Thoughts from Frank: The Dawgs have slightly upgraded their schedule from last season, but will likely need help if they go 4-4/5-4. Bonus points should come from North Central and Whiteford. Getting a win over one of them will go a long way toward playing in November.