Galion and Highland meet Friday with both teams looking to change the direction of their seasons, and five weeks into the high school football season, the margin for error is beginning to shrink. For Galion, Friday night’s trip to Highland offers an opportunity to stop a two-game slide, earn a first Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference victory, and strengthen a postseason position that is suddenly very much in play.
The Tigers and Fighting Scots kick off at 7:00 PM Friday, September 25, at Highland High School in Sparta. Galion enters at 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the MOAC. Highland is 1-4 and also 0-2 in conference play.
A Chance To Reset
Galion’s record tells only part of the story. The Tigers opened with a 36-12 loss at St. Marys Memorial before responding with consecutive victories over Carey, 21-17, and Bishop Ready, 28-24. Conference play has been less forgiving, with Galion falling 31-14 to Shelby and 46-28 to undefeated Ontario.
There were encouraging signs even in last week’s loss. Galion jumped ahead of Ontario 14-7 in the first quarter, getting touchdown runs from quarterback Kane Hay and Kale Early. The Tigers continued to produce offensively after Ontario took control, with Early scoring again and Hay connecting with Jamesen Glew for a 34-yard fourth-quarter touchdown.
The issue has been sustaining that production while limiting mistakes. Following the Ontario game, Galion coach Matt Dick pointed to penalties and other miscues that continue to interrupt promising stretches of football. At the same time, he made clear that he still sees considerable upside in a roster containing a large group of underclassmen. Friday offers the next test of how quickly that growth can translate into wins.
Highland Looking For The Same Thing
The Fighting Scots arrive at Friday’s matchup with problems of their own. Highland opened the season impressively with a 28-7 victory over Fredericktown but has lost four straight since, falling to Heath 14-6, Mount Vernon 12-0, Marion Harding 26-22, and Shelby 47-6. The Marion Harding game showed that Highland can be dangerous when it stays within striking distance. The Scots erased an 11-point deficit in the second half and took a 22-19 lead with 5:35 remaining before Harding scored the winning touchdown with 12 seconds left. Highland finished that game with 307 total yards and 15 first downs.
Last week was considerably rougher. Shelby quarterback Michael Shepherd accounted for seven touchdowns as the Whippets rolled to a 47-6 victory. Highland’s lone score came on a 23-yard pass from Kirk Hinkle to Zack Riley, while Kane Stover provided one of the Scots’ biggest plays with a 55-yard reception. That means Friday brings together two teams with something to prove and little interest in allowing recent losses to define the rest of the season.
October Is Already Coming Into View
There is another reason the game matters, and that has to do with post-season play. The Ohio High School Athletic Association released its first computer ratings of the season Tuesday, and Galion sits 13th in Division V, Region 18 with a 4.7500 rating. Under the new postseason format, only the top 12 teams in each region qualify. In other words, the Tigers enter Week 6 sitting one position outside the playoff field.
Highland faces a similar situation in Division IV, Region 14. The Scots are currently 14th in that region with a 2.0500 rating, two positions below the qualification line.
There are still five regular-season games remaining after Friday, so neither team’s postseason fate will be decided in Sparta. But September is ending, and opportunities to collect victories and computer points are becoming more valuable. For Galion, that matters particularly after last year’s run. The Tigers finished 11-2 in 2025, reached the Division IV regional championship game and defeated Highland 35-0 along the way. Galion has since moved down to Division V and Region 18, where the program is pursuing an eighth consecutive playoff appearance.
A Different Kind Of Friday Night
This year’s meeting carries a very different feel from the 2025 matchup. Galion entered that game on its way toward one of the strongest seasons in recent program history. This time the Tigers head south needing to restore momentum. Highland, meanwhile, will be at home trying to prove that its four-game losing streak obscures a team capable of the kind of fourth-quarter surge it produced against Marion Harding.
Galion has shown it can move the football. Hay threw for 254 yards against Shelby, and the Tigers put 28 points on an Ontario team that remains unbeaten. The next step is turning productive stretches into four complete quarters.
The calendar says Week 6. For both teams, Friday night may feel considerably later than that.