Tuesday Night Lights are on: Keystone vs. Clearview football clash has Lorain County League, playoff implications

Tuesdays have become synonymous with tacos but tonight Lorain County League fans will get to feast on one of the most highly anticipated football matchups of the year. Keystone (7-1, 5-0 LCL) will travel to Clearview for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff in a game with conference title and playoff implications. The game was originally scheduled for Friday, Sept. 13, but online threats against the Clearview schools forced the game to be postponed, creating this rare situation in which both teams will conclude their regular seasons by playing three games in eight days. "When this first happened everyone was disappointed we had to cancel the game," Clearview football coach and athletic director Mike Collier said. "So we looked at some things and decided before Week 10 was going to be the best fit to get it in if it was going to get played." Keystone coach Don Griswold said both teams agreed this was the best way to make sure the game would take place. "Coach Collier and I looked at our schedules and this was a date we both agreed upon," he said. "It was kind of fair and equal to both teams/" Clearview (7-1, 4-1) quarterback Cy Christensen said the team has been working for the past few weeks to be ready for this stretch of football. "It's difficult but we've done a good job of getting ourselves prepared for it," Christensen said. "It's the biggest game of the year and we've been working for this all offseason so we're going to come out and show what we've got. Even though it's at 5:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, we're all hyped about it." The early kickoff was picked because both schools have classes the next day. If the Wildcats win they will lock up a share of the LCL title. A Clearview win would set up a three-way tie of one-loss teams — Columbia being the other — heading into Week 10. With a win the Clippers will likely have the chance to host two playoffs games while the Wildcats are looking to secure a Week 11 home game. "It's a blessing to be relevant late in the season," Griswold said. "Not just to be playing on a nontraditional day but there are so many implications to this game. Where people see chaos I see opportunity. I'm happy for both communities and I'm happy for the kids. Think it's going to be special." Keystone quarterback Zach Shackelford tried to use the time since the Wildcats' Week 9 win over Wellington to prepare himself to get back in action. "It's really weird but its feels good," Shackelford said. "It's all about getting your body ready. Friday night at Wellington, I probably took about 20 hits, now four days later I have to be ready to take 20 hits again." Once of the biggest concerns of both teams is keeping their players fresh and healthy during this condensed stretch of games. "One of the biggest risk factors for increased rate of injury is fatigue, not only physical fatigue but also mental fatigue and stress on the nervous system," said Jeff Wills, a University Hospitals Health System athletic trainer who works with the Clearview athletic department. "As soon as coach told me we'd be playing on the 22nd my wheels started turning. I think the struggle is with keeping a routine," Wills said. "There's only so much you can do but you try to get them in as close to a normal routine as you can. The good thing is they're young so they're definitely more resilient than someone like myself." The Clippers and Wildcats will be the first LCL teams to play two games in the same week since 2019 when Brookside played Cleveland John F. Kennedy on a Monday after weather forced the game to be postponed the previous Friday. Later that week the Cardinals played Oberlin. Brookside won both games. "I've never even heard of anything like Tuesday Night Football so it's safe to say this is a first for us," Griswold said. "It's unusual but it's pretty neat for our kids and for local sports fans." Collier expects that once the game begins both teams will forget the day of the week and just focus on the task at hand. "Our kids just love football," Collier said. "They're excited about the game and looking forward to the competition and the rivalry." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.