Scouting the game: St. Edward Eagles at Massillon Tigers

St. Edward at Massillon

WHEN: 7:30 p.m., today

WHERE: Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Massillon

LAST SEASON: St. Edward 11-2; Massillon 14-1

HEAD COACHES: St. Edward - Tom Lombardo (sixth year); Massillon - Nate Moore (sixth year)

SERIES: Massillon leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1999, by a 3-2 margin.

LAST MEETING: Massillon defeated St Edward 21-17 in a 2005 Division I state semifinal at the Akron Rubber Bowl.

THE MATCHUP: The path to Massillon’s season opener almost reads like a passage from the Old Testament book of Exodus: “Bishop Gorman begat Pickerington North, which begat St. Edward.” And all of that came, essentially, since mid-June. ... Regardless of how the game happened, there’s no questioning the caliber of the game. It falls in line with Nate Moore’s belief in having a “big opener” to start the season, such as past openers against Perry, Mentor and St. Vincent-St. Mary. Both teams are expected to be contenders for the state championship, and both teams have combined to make three title-game appearances in the past two seasons alone, with the Eagles winning the 2018 Division I title. ... New quarterbacks are the story for both teams, although the level of experience for those two is slightly different. Senior Zach Catrone takes over for Massillon after serving the last two seasons as the backup to the record-setting Aidan Longwell. Catrone did make a huge relief appearance as a sophomore in 2018, helping to lead the Tigers to a 35-18 regional-semifinal win over Whitehall-Yearling. ... For St Edward, the new QB is junior Christian Ramos, who steps in for the departed Conor O’Malley. According to Tom Lombardo, Ramos marks the first junior to start at the position since he took over the Eagles in 2015. ... Speaking of 2015, both coaches enter their sixth season at their respective schools, and there’s a tie that bind both as well. Lombardo was seen as the favorite to get the Massillon job after Jason Hall was let go in 2014, but elected, at the time, to stay at Highland. That opened the door for Moore, who was coming off his title season at La Salle. Lombardo would leave Highland for St. Edward when Rick Finotti departed to become the John Carroll University head coach. ... Moore has stated this preseason that this Massillon team has a definitive chance to be the most skilled team he’s had in his six years. That starts with Ohio State commit Jayden Ballard and West Virginia commit Andrew Wilson-Lamp, who combined a year ago to become the first Tiger receiving duo to top 1,000 yards each. Ballard has 1,202 yards and 18 TDs, while Wilson-Lamp was at 1,049 yards and 11 TDs. ... That depth of skill has been further aided by additions such as WR-DB Martavien Johnson, who had more than 2,100 all-purpose yards the last two seasons, and RB Kyree Young, a former 1,000-yard rusher. Both possess multiple Power-5 Division I offers. ... Massillon’s offensive line group features a quartet of senior returnees from last year in Pittsburgh commit Terrence Rankl, John Kouth, Rager Els and Dylan Garretson. ... OLB Caiden Woullard is back for the Tigers after an All-Ohio junior season where he had team highs in tackles for loss (18) and sacks (six). ... RB Malachi Watkins is St. Edward’s top returning rusher, with the graduation of 1,700-yard rusher Joe Formani. Watkins has 197 yards on 44 carries. ... Chris Moran, Thomas Aden and Joe Lavelle all return along the St. Edward offensive line. ... MLB C.J. Hankins is the Eagles’ leading returning tackler with 108 stops, 48 of those solo, with four tackles for loss, three sacks and eight QB hurries. ... Charles Calhoun III, Caden Castro and Minnesota commit Trey Bixby are the Eagles’ top defensive linemen. ... Jaylen Castleberry and Joel Castleberry III are St. Edward’s cornerbacks. Jaylen had one pick, one sack and 44 tackles a year ago in 577 snaps.