Jump to content

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...

    Region 1

    1 St. Edward (11-1) vs. 5 St. Ignatius (8-3) 

    2 Medina (11-1) vs. 3 Mentor (8-3) 

     

    Region 2

    2 Springfield (10-1) vs. 3 Centerville (10-2) 

     

    Region 3

    1 Gahanna-Lincoln (11-1) vs. 4 Pickerington Central (9-3) 

     

    Region 4

    1 Moeller (11-1) vs. 5 Mason (10-2) 

    2 Elder (10-2) vs. 3 Lakota West (12-0) 

     

    Region 5

    1 Hoban (11-1) vs. 5 St. Vincent-St. Mary (8-3) 

    2 Painesville Riverside (11-1) vs. 3 Hudson (12-0) 

     

    Region 6

    1 Avon (11-1) vs. 5 Olmsted Falls (10-2) 

    2 Medina Highland (12-0) vs. 3 Toledo Central Catholic (11-1) 

     

    Region 7

    1 Massillon Washington (10-1) vs. 5 Sunbury Big Walnut (10-2) 

     

    Region 8

    1 Winton Woods (12-0) vs. 4 Kings Mills Kings (11-1) 

     

Link to comment
Share on other sites

    Division I

    Region 1

    1 Lakewood St. Edward (12-1) vs. 3 Mentor (9-3): Classic R1 playoff matchup.  This will mark the 9th time in the past 20 years Mentor and Ed's have met each other in the post-season, and the series stands tied at 4-4.  No one is surprised Ed's is here, but Mentor did not look like a R1 contender early in the year. After getting smoked by Medina in week 6, the Cards have run off 6 straight including a 42-21 drubbing of Medina last weekend. The catalyst to the success has been transitioning their best athlete Jacob Snow to the offensive side of the ball at receiver. Along with Stapleton, the Mentor offense now has multiple playmakers and has been looking more like what we've come to expect from them. The RB Waite is a solid player as well and went for over 200 yards against Medina. Don't look for him to be able to repeat that against Ed's defense. The Mentor O-line has been a bit of a weakness against good fronts and they will get the best defensive front in Ohio on Friday. The will have to combat the pass rush with screens and short passing routes. The young QB Fox has a bright future, but I think he will make mistakes under the relentless pressure Ed's will bring. 

     

    Region 2

    2 Springfield (11-1) vs. 8 Powell Olentangy Liberty (8-5): Should be a layup for Springfield heading into the State semis. Liberty has had a nice playoff run in a weak R2, but the run stops now. Barring a terrible weather game that neutralizes a potent Springfield offense, this should be a running clock. 

     

    Region 3

    1 Gahanna-Lincoln (12-1) vs. 3 New Albany (10-3): Gahanna has been rolling lately and dominated a solid PC team on Friday. They have some major talent in their defensive front, probably second only to Ed's. GL won the regular season game 38-24, and I look for the margin to possibly be bigger this time around. 

     

    Region 4

    1 Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller (12-1) vs. 3 West Chester Lakota West (13-0): The premier game of the playoffs to date. These teams have been on a collision course with each other since the offseason. LW may be playing the best football of anyone in Ohio right now. Their star-studded defensive backfield forces teams to be one-dimensional. On the flip-side, Moeller may have the best one-dimension in their offensive backfield in Jordan Marshall. When he goes off, Moeller does not lose. After having Moeller as my #1 team almost the entire year, I may actually be leaning to LW right now. Still, the game is a pick 'em. 

     

    Division II

    Region 5

    1 Akron Archbishop Hoban (12-1) vs. 3 Hudson (13-0): I felt very certain that we'd get a Hoban/Riverside final, but Hudson had something to say about that. I suppose I shouldn't have overlooked an undefeated Explorer team whose program has had some success in recent years, but I did. Now comes the biggest (literally) challenge they will face with Hoban and their stud RB Lamar Sperling. Sperling casually went for over 200 yards and 4 TD's against rival SVSM in their playoff rematch. Hudson will need to contain him (they won't stop him) to have a puncher's chance and grind out a defensive win like they did against Riverside. Can't say I see that happening. 

     

    Region 6

    1 Avon (12-1) vs. 3 Toledo Central Catholic (12-1): Second best game of the week IMO. These two played each other in an OT thriller last year in the playoffs with Avon prevailing 43-42. Avon is playing their best defensive football of year right now, and they will need it against TCC. Easily the most athletic team they will have faced since losing to Glenville back in week 3. I think the Fighting Irish get their revenge this time, but could be another classic. 

     

    Region 7

    1 Massillon Washington (11-1) vs. 2 Uniontown Lake (12-1): Massillon is the heavy favorite in this Stark County matchup. The Tigers will have to avoid looking ahead. With Kings taking out Winton Woods, they may think the path to the State final is paved in gold. If they are focused and play to the extent of their abilities, the should make their 4th appearance in the past 5 years. 

     

    Region 8

    4 Kings Mills Kings (12-1) vs. vs. 10 Cincinnati Anderson (8-5): Kings pulled off the mild upset against WW, avenging a close regular season loss and getting a rematch with Anderson which they won 41-26 in week 10. I like Kings again this time as well. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Division I

     

    Lakewood St. Edward (13-1) vs. Gahanna-Lincoln (13-1): Most are not giving GL much of a chance in this game.  But while Ed's is clearly the favorite, the Golden Lions defense gives them a punchers chance. From a talent perspective they are more equipped that UA was last year, and UA gave Ed's one of their closest games. That may have been the case because of the deliberate and disciplined approach UA brought to the table with the clock-eating run game, but still, it's a lesson that you can't take any team for granted at this point in the year. Only good teams make it this far, and GL has been the class of Columbus. They have two D1 bookends on defense with Kamari Burns and Elijah King, and the All-Central District D1 offensive player of the year in RB Diore Hubbard.  They will need monster games from those three in particular to combat the dominating offensive line and run-stopping defense that Ed's brings to the table. The maturation of Casey Bullock in the pass game has also added an additional element to the Eagle offense.  He has been incredibly accurate and efficient in this playoff run, allowing homerun-hitting receiver Kyan Mason to effectively stretch the field and exploit opposing secondaries. The biggest question mark for Ed's right now is the kicking game. Punter Ben Lavelle was forced to assume kicking duties this year after the former kicker left to play travel soccer, and his accuracy has been all over the place. He's missed something like 4/5 FG attempts in recent weeks, and also an XP. It hasn't cost them yet, but it could in a close game. 

     

    Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller (13-1) vs. Springfield (12-1): This final-four rematch has been a year in the making which saw Springfield eek out a 22-21 win back in 2021. While Springfield graduated their dual-threat dynamo Te'Sean Smoot, they picked up one of the state's best pocket-passers via transfer in Bryce Schondelmyer. He has been slinging it around all year to the state's best WR combo in Anthony Brown and Daylen Bradley to the tune of over 4,000 yards. Defensively, Springfield has two difference-makers in LB Javion Norman and DB Aaron Scott. Scott is one of the top corner prospects in the class of 2024 and will be tasked with covering Moeller's speedy Tennel Bryant. Norman and front seven of Springfield will have to find a way to slow Jordan Marshall. Marshall did not play the second half of the LW game last week, and it was rumored he had a concussion. The backup Weeder still went for over 100 against LW's vaunted defense. No matter who suits up, Moeller's offensive line will still be opening up holes. If that is the case and they can grind out yards on the ground while keeping the explosive Springfield offense off the field (much how Ed's did in last years championship game), Moeller will win this game. 

     

    Division II

     

    Akron Archbishop Hoban (13-1) vs. Massillon Washington (12-1): This game should be every bit as good as the Moeller-Springfield one. These two D2 powers were on a collision course last year until Massillon inexplicably lost in the region final to Green. Some are seeing this as the de-facto championship game. Hoban and RB Lamar Sperling have been unstoppable so far in these playoffs, running over, around and through every opponent. Massillon will have to find a way to contain Sperling to give themselves a shot. If the Tigers can work the passing game like they did against Ed's to compliment the running of Hartson, then things can really open up. Ardell Banks is a nightmare matchup for any defense with his size and speed at the WR position. College coaches have taken notice of him this season and the one-time Toledo commit is now back on the market and looking at Kentucky, Pitt, Cincy and others. 

     

    Toledo Central Catholic (13-1) vs. Kings Mills Kings (13-1): I was very much looking forward to a TCC-Winton Woods matchup, but Kings had something to say about it. Kind of like the Ed's/GL game, most seem to think this should be a walk in the park for a very talented TCC team. Personally, I'm not going to sleep on any team that beat a loaded WW squad. That being said, I'm also not going to predict an upset here. The Fighting Irish impressed me last week as they were able to limit a very explosive Avon team. They did allow a comeback after leading 28-7 after the 3rd, and need to remain focused against Kings for 4 quarters. If they do, they win. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Championship week kicks off this Thursday with D2, followed by D1, 3, and 5 on Friday, and 4, 6 and 7 on Saturday. Matchups as follows:
   
Division I – Friday, 7:30 p.m.
  
Lakewood St. Edward (14-1) vs. Springfield (13-1)
    

Division II – Thursday, 7 p.m.

Akron Archbishop Hoban (14-1) vs. Toledo Central Catholic (14-1)


Division III – Friday, 3 p.m.

Canfield (13-1) vs. Carroll Bloom-Carroll (14-1)

    
Division IV – Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
  
Cincinnati Wyoming (15-0) vs. Cleveland Glenville (14-0)
    

Division V – Friday, 10:30 a.m.
 
Ironton (15-0) vs. Canfield South Range (15-0)
    

Division VI – Saturday, 10:30 a.m.

Maria Stein Marion Local (15-0) vs. Kirtland (15-0)


Division VII – Saturday, 3 p.m.

New Bremen (12-3) vs. Warren John F. Kennedy (13-1)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...