By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Friday Night Futbol was introduced by the Ohio High School Athletic Association in 2015.

Seven seasons later, the initiative continues to gain momentum.

The idea came from former commissioner Jerry Snodgrass, who presented the opportunity as a chance to spotlight soccer before the start of the football season.

“We already had an event that we had been promoting for volleyball with ‘Volley for the Cure’ in October, so the idea was the create a showcase for soccer to endorse,” Director of Media Relations Tim Stried said.

To make Friday Night Futbol possible, the OHSAA bumped the high school soccer season up one week and extended the allowed number of regular-season games to be played to 18.

This season, multiple boys and girls soccer teams in Portage County will participate in the weekend showcase, starting with the Aurora girls hosting Willoughby on Aug. 11.

On Friday, Aug. 12, the slate includes three girls games and three boys games.

For the girls, Streetsboro at Southeast, Ravenna at Cuyahoga Falls and Field at Copley. For the boys, Hudson at Kent Roosevelt, Ravenna at Southeast and Streetsboro at Tallmadge. On Saturday, Aug. 13, Waterloo will host St. Vincent-St. Mary.

“The night took off more than we thought,” said Stried, describing the popularity of Friday Night Futbol in the years since its introduction.. “A lot of communities used it as an opportunity to have their bands play or to tie it in with a community-service event.”

More importantly, Stried said the night fit into the mission statement of the OHSAA of creating opportunities for member schools.

“That is what we are all about,” Stried said. “We work to set up and create the opportunities and then it is the schools that take it from there. They run with it. We love to see it.”