Leetonia coach Paul Hulea constantly preaches to his team the importance of giving maximum effort for an entire four quarters.

In back-to-back weeks, Hulea has had to settle for three quarters of hard work.

It’s not that his players haven’t been willing to give the effort. They just haven’t had the opportunity to do so.

For a second straight week, Leetonia didn’t make it beyond the third quarter of a game. Friday at Southington, Leetonia won 42-6 in a game that was called at the end of the third period due to weather.

A week prior, the Bears beat Mathews 35-0. That game was stopped with eight minutes left in the third quarter because of mounting injuries to Mathews.

“It’s pretty crazy, this is my thirty-ninth season of coaching and I don’t ever recall having to stop a game early. Now I have it happen two straight weeks,” Hulea said. “It’s a little concerning. In the upcoming weeks we’re going to face a number of schools which are twice our size. We’d like to get in the work.”

“It’s really frustrating for our younger kids. They have worked so hard on the scout team the past few weeks. They deserve the time on the field on Friday nights, but it hasn’t happened. It is what it is. It’s one of those life lessons, but as a coach it’s pretty frustrating.”

Despite the shortened game, Leetonia running back Marco Ferry had an historic night. The junior rushed for 303 yards and five touchdowns — both equaling school records. Ferry carried the ball just nine times, averaging 33.6 yards-per-carry.

In three games, Ferry has rushed for 757 yards and 12 touchdowns on 53 carries.

THIS AND THAT

Western Reserve had to sit out a lengthy weather delay in its 28-12 win over Norwayne. The game between the Blue Devils and Bobcats ended at 12:03 a.m. … The Ohio High School Athletic Association does not regulate weather-delay decisions during the regular season. Decisions are left up to the schools. During the playoffs, the OHSAA does not permit games to start beyond 11 p.m. … Lowellville is 3-0 for the first time since 2003. … Springfield has scored 10 or more points in 41 consecutive games. The last time the Tigers were held below 10 points was on Sept. 18, 2015 in a 9-7 loss to Western Reserve. … Akron North currently owns a 45 game losing streak, the longest current streak in the state. … .Akron Hoban’s loss to St. Ignatius brought an end to its 31-game winning streak. … Cincinnati Wyoming owns the state’s longest current overall winning streak (18) and longest current regular-season winning streak (34).