by Nestled in the southeast part of Portage County lies a town called Palmyra Township. Located in this community is Southeast High School.
And in that school is a football team that is off to their first 6-0 start since 2011. It’s safe to say that the ship has been sailing in the right direction.
The Pirates started off 2021 with a win over Hillsdale, followed by close back-to-back nail-biters against Field and Champion.
After that, they would secure a blowout win against Akron North, before picking up another close one against conference foe Rootstown.
This game won a poll that I put up online by a wide margin. And the community turnout for the game was nothing short of impressive.
The Pirates are led on offense by quarterback Aiden Fischer, and his cousin, running back Jaidyn Sapp. Their strength is the running game, as both players have been very successful at it.
“Our kids executed the game plan very well. They held on despite adversity and I’m proud of them. We knew what we needed to do and our kids executed the plan, did their jobs, and stayed the course.” said coach Pat Youel after last week’s win.
In the 14-7 victory over conference foe Rootstown, Fischer threw a ten-yard touchdown to Sapp, and rushed for over 100 yards in the victory.
This was not the first time that we have covered Southeast at KeeOnSports.
Last year, we covered their home game against Buckeye Local (their first home playoff game in school history). That day, October 10, 2020, they won 35-6 in the first round of the Division V, Region 17 playoffs.
Also that game, Fischer and Sapp rushed for over 300 yards combined, proving to be a potent smash and dash combo, similar to that of Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb.
And prior to last year, in which they finished 5-4, the last time the Pirates finished over .500 was 6-4 in 2017. With Friday night’s win over previously undefeated Windham, they have clinched a winning season for the second consecutive year.
Every win is big going down the stretch, especially in a region that features defending state champion Kirtland, regional final runner-up South Range, and former conference foe Garrettsville Garfield (in their first year in the MVAC) among others.
Currently, the Pirates sit #5 in Division V, Region 17, and are in line to host a playoff game if the season ended today. But there are four more weeks to go before that happens.
They have three more Portage Trail Conference games to close out the season. After a non-conference tilt with Minerva, they travel to Mogadore and St. Thomas Aquinas, and host Division VII state runner-up Warren JFK.
If the Pirates can continue their roll, they could take home a conference title, and could also make some noise in Region 17. And they have a strong community that is pulling for them every step of the way.
