By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

The fun begins tonight!

The 2023 high school football season has officially arrived!

With it, a little competition.

Portage Sports introduced the Pigskin Picks Challenge, which will run the full 10 weeks of the regular season.

Readers were invited to participate and the contestants lined up for their chance at a little local glory.

Each week, the contestants will select who they think will win from that week’s collection of Portage County football games.

Also, each week, a local business owner from Portage County will join the competition.

So, at the end of the competition, it will be the contestants measuring their season-long record against myself and that of the business owners (whose picks will be made and passed on to the next community leader to form one record at the end of the year for the business owners).

The Week 1 business sponsor is Siciliano’s Pizzeria in Ravenna!

The winner at the end of the year will be determined by the final record. If there is a tie at the end of 10 weeks, the picks will carry into the playoffs until we have one true champion.

Here is this week’s schedule of games — followed by each contestants selections.

SICILIANO’S PIZZA PIGSKIN PICKS CONTEST

WEEK 1

Twinsburg at Aurora

Rootstown at Crestwood

Field at Mogadore

Garfield at Middlefield Cardinal

Kent Roosevelt at Ravenna

Southeast at Wickliffe

Streetsboro at CVCA

Waterloo at United

Lisbon David Anderson at Windham

WEEK 1 SPONSOR

SICILIANO’S PIZZARIA

TOM SICILIANO

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southeast

Streetsboro

PORTAGE SPORTS OWNER

TOM NADER

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Kent Roosevelt

Wickliffe

Streetsboro

United

David Anderson

MIKE LEIGH

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Wickliffe

Streetsboro

United

David Anderson

ROBERT MELZER

Aurora

Rootstown

Field

Garfield

Ravenna

Wickliffe

Streetsboro

Waterloo

David Anderson

ALEX BLAKE

Aurora

Rootstown

Field

Garfield

Kent Roosevelt

Southeast

Streetsboro

Waterloo

Windham

MATT MONSMAN

Aurora

Crestwood

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southeast

CVCA

United

David Anderson

MIKE RICHESON

Aurora

Crestwood

Mogadore

Garfield

Kent Roosevelt

Southeast

Streetsboro

United

Windham

TOM RAUBER

Aurora

Crestwood

Mogadore

Garfield

Theodore Roosevelt

Southeast

Streetsboro

United

Lisbon David Anderson

GARY HUMBERSON

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Wickliffe

CVCA

Waterloo

David Anderson

TOM BYICH

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Streetsboro

United

Lisbon David Anderson

JOSH PERRY

Aurora

Crestwood

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southeast

CVCA

United

Windham

JIM PFLEGER

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southeast

CVCA

United

David Anderson

JEREMY ALLEN

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Wickliffe

Streetsboro

United

David Anderson

MIKE KEEGAN

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southeast

Streetsboro

Waterloo

Windham

GEORGE BELDEN

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Wickliffe

Streetsboro

United

Windham

JIM MANION

Aurora

Crestwood

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Wickliffe

CVCA

United

David Anderson

LEE LOVEJOY

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southeast

United

David Anderson

BRETT DUBINSKY

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southeast

Streetsboro

United

David Anderson

JOHN LEHNER

Aurora

Rootstow

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southeast

Streetsboro

United

David Anderson

COREY LEHNER

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southast

Streetsboro

United

David Anderson

DAVID McELWAIN

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Cardinal

Ravenna

Wickliffe

CVCA

United

David Anderson

DEIAN LONGGOOD

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southeast

CVCA

United

David Anderson

NATHAN SKAGGS

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southeast

Streetsboro

United

David Anderson

KEITH ARNOLD

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Kent Roosevelt

Southeast

CVCA

United

David Anderson

STEVEN BERRY

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Cardinal

Ravenna

Wickliffe

CVCA

United

David Anderson

MIKE BELLAR

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Wickliffe

Streetsboro

United

David Anderson

JON RADDISH

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southeast

CVCA

United

David Anderson

C.J. PIERCE

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Southeast

CVCA

Waterloo

Windham

BRIAN JARVIS

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Kent Roosevelt

Wickliffe

Streetsboro

United

David Anderson

LEE HORNING

Aurora

Rootstown

Field

Garfield

Kent Roosevelt

Southeast

Streetsboro

United

David Anderson

DAN KARP

Aurora

Rootstown

Mogadore

Garfield

Ravenna

Wickliffe

CVCA

United

David Anderson