For some weird reason, football helmets have always been an obsession of mine. Uniforms as a whole, but I was always super locked in on the helmets.

Between the gumball machine NFL helmets my parents would buy for me at the grocery store to keep me quiet as a toddler, or the Riddell pocket helmet sets of the NFL divisions and NCAA conferences as I got older, a football helmet of some kind was near me.

As a kid, I would frequent a website that archived every Ohio high school team’s helmets as best it could. I loved seeing how these schools would come up with new looks.

Now, I still enjoy seeing what our schools are up to because most teams seem to change up their look nearly every year, but not every school knocks it out of the park. I’m not a fan of the new trend of teams placing a logo on one side and a number on the other, but overall, I think designwise, this area is pretty solid.

We cover 42 schools that have football programs, so there’s nearly 50 helmets to choose from if you count the handful of schools that have alternate helmets like Harding.

I just wanted to take some time to indulge my younger self and talk about a few of our schools whose helmets I really like. Design is subjective, but the ones I talk about are definitely my favorites.

Let’s just get this one out of the way first, because there’s a little bias. When it comes to the big rivalry that takes place after Thanksgiving, I was raised on the “blue” side of things. So I’ve always loved these lids.

Inspired by legendary Red Dragons coach Tony Mason, the Niles helmets are arguably the most synonymous helmets with their respective program in the entire Mahoning Valley.

According to local Niles historian, and could probably run for mayor, Steve Ruman, in the early 1960s, Niles adopted both the winged helmets and fight song of the Wolverines. Mason then left the Valley to take an assistant coaching job with none other than Michigan, and the tradition has stuck.

I’m glad it did, because it’s truly an iconic look for a school so tradition-rich.

For years, Ursuline donned gold helmets with a green facemask. Occasionally a script “Irish” would grace the team’s lids and more recently, a large shamrock.

But last season, the Irish wore new helmets that were different than any of the others they had worn over the years. A green, matte-finished helmet with the state of Ohio on them. Gorgeous by itself. Then, they put a shamrock where Youngstown is located and it goes from a great look to an incredible look.

I love the color green. I think it’s a super underutilized color in sports, especially around here. These look great. If they never wore another helmet design again, I would be okay with that.

The Raiders’ helmets are a perfect example of “If it ain’t broke”. Coach Dan Yeagley, who has been at the helm of the South Range program for 28 years and played for the team back in the 1970s, remembers no different.

Burgundy lids, with a yellow facemask. No stripes, no logo. It’s simple, clean and effective. Since 2017, the Raiders have used a matte burgundy which has only enhanced the look.

Plenty of teams around the area have done the simple look. Lowellville, Western Reserve and Ursuline have each donned helmets that have no logo and no stripes in recent years, but have changed back. Not South Range though. There’s something awesome in how simple the look is, and I like that it’s something unique to that program.

It makes me laugh however, because South Range has some of the coolest logos on their hats and team gear. The 49ers-style SR and the Tampa Bay-esque pirate flag are both awesome and would look great on helmets should they ever choose to stray.

It’s only natural for a team named the Rams to do this. It fits perfectly.

Black helmet, orange ram horn, a great look. I remember a few years ago they did it inverted as well and it also looked great.

I feel like this is just a no brainer. Perfect. Absolutely zero notes. Don’t ever need to change this.

Watching Champion take the field in their San Diego Chargers-inspired helmets this past week is what inspired this column in the first place.

To me, Champion’s football helmets and the lightning bolt logo are like peanut butter and jelly. It just works.

Every iteration of the look, from the Vegas Gold helmets of the mid-2000s to the white ones of today, it’s always an amazing design. Honestly, it might be the best look in the whole state.

The purple and yellow color scheme is unique for the area, and it always pops on the field. No matter how they change the colors of the bolt or the helmet, they always knock it out of the park.

There’s a reason no matter how many times they use a different logo, the Flashes always return to the lightning bolt. This year’s helmet might be the best, with a white lid, purple bolt and yellow outline, but I have a soft spot for the 2016 season. That year was a white helmet with a purple gradient in the back, a yellow bolt and a purple outline.

Like I said, they always knock it out of the park.

I couldn’t just stop at five, so here’s a few more that weren’t included. Some of these aren’t current, but felt like they should be mentioned.

Brookfield’s winged helmets from a few years back, Hubbard’s eagle wings, Boardman’s spartan head, Crestview’s Colorado Rockies-inspired logo, Harding’s classic spear helmets, Chaney’s red interpretation of the Dallas Cowboys helmet from the early 2010s, and LaBrae’s viking horn helmet are all great looks.

There’s quite a few great helmets that I’m ignoring, but I don’t really want to write a 2,000-word column about this.

Coaches, if you’re interested, I’ll gladly help design your helmets for the upcoming seasons. I’d love to help.

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