OHIO — The hardest three games to win of the Ohio high school football season are the last three: regional final, state semifinal and the prize everyone chases — a state championship.

What You Need To Know

  • The 2021 Ohio High School Athletic Association field has been halved from 56 remaining teams to 28 this weekend

  • Coverage begins on Friday with High School Blitz at 6:55 p.m. on Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News app

It is nearly impossible do that without the strong play and leadership from arguably the most important position in all of team sports, the quarterback.

From Pro Football Hall of Fame members Len Dawson (Alliance) and Roger Staubach (Cincinnati Purcell Marian) to future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger (Findlay) to recent overall No. 1 National Football League draft pick Joe Burrow (Athens), Ohio has had its share of scintillating signal callers for decades.

As the 2021 Ohio High School Athletic Association field is halved from 56 remaining teams to 28 this weekend, there are several under center that are certainly the center of attention.

Medina’s Drew Allar is well known as one of the top senior quarterbacks in the entire country and is committed to play next season at Penn State. Last week in the win over St. Ignatius, he threw for 386 yards and three touchdowns, completing 30 of 54 passes.

While Allar will matriculate to Mount Nittany, it’s another Drew in Mount Orab that’s drawing his own name in the record books. Western Brown quarterback Drew Novak has thrown for almost 5,000 yards in his junior year, the seventh-highest single-season total in recorded OHSAA history (4,886 yards). According to MaxPreps, that’s the most of any high school passer in the entire country. Should he throw for three touchdowns against Granville on Friday, he’ll pass Roethlisberger’s 1999 total of 54, unofficially tying him for 14th-most in one year.

Two QB’s in Division III have shown heart in leading their teammates while dealing with personal distractions. Bellbrook’s Luke Benetis’ family lost their house in a fire on Nov. 4, one night before the Golden Eagles’ playoff game against Wapakoneta. Two wins later, Bellbrook faces Badin in the Region 12 final on Friday.

Granville’s Carsyn Crouch was forced to leave the Blue Aces win last week against London, which is understandable considering that he started the game with a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) suffered the previous week.

Remarkable stories and performances are just part of each Friday night on Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News App. Viewers will see:

Div. I, Reg. 1        2. Medina (13-0) vs. 1. St. Edward (11-1) at Parma Byers Field (Northern Ohio)

Div. I, Reg. 3        2. Pickerington Central (12-1) vs. 1. Upper Arlington (13-0) at Westerville Central (Central Ohio)

Div. I, Reg. 4        3. Lakota West (11-1) vs. 1. Moeller (10-3) at Mason (Southwest Ohio)

Additionally, we’ll have bonus coverage on Spectrum channel 314 of the fourth Division I regional final:

Div. I, Reg. 2        2. Springfield (11-1) vs. 1. Marysville at Hilliard Darby

Medina has a chance to break through and be the first team outside of St. Edward, St. Ignatius or Mentor to win a Region 1 title since 2010 (Glenville last “outsider” the previous year). Should the Bees buzz past St. Edward on Friday, they would have knocked off all three of those schools this season.

Of course, Medina swept St. Edward and St. Ignatius in the 2020 playoffs, beginning with a 35-31 upset win over the Eagles, before bowing out to the Cardinals. This will actually be the third-straight postseason these two have met, with St. Edward the 73-38 winner in 2019.

While the Eagles can boast 10 regional titles and four state championships, this would be the first state semifinal appearance for the Bees, should they win.

In Region 3, Pickerington Central and Upper Arlington comprise two of the three schools from Central Ohio to win Division I state titles (Hilliard Davidson). Since 2002, the Tigers and Golden Bears have met six times, with Pick Central winning four of those, and the most recent coming in 2017 (41-7).

2021 marks the fourth playoff match-up (Tigers lead 2-1). Another postseason win, and Pickerington Central would become the 15th school in OHSAA history to reach the 50 playoff wins mark.

In the Cincinnati area, Lakota West head coach Tom Bolden was just in the state championship game three seasons ago while still at Colerain. He’ll try and lead the Firebirds to the school’s first ever regional title, but will have to get by top-seeded Moeller to do so.

The Crusaders have won four of five meetings since 1999, with the most recent a 47-14 victory in 2016. The lone Lakota West win was in 2005 (13-12).

The Firebirds finally got past St. Xavier last week, making the Bombers the only defending state champion still not alive.

Some other tidbits for this weekend’s regional finals:

  • Lowest remaining seed is #8 Holy Name in Region 10
  • Only 6 of the 28 regional finals feature the top two seeds
  • 15 of the 28 #1 seeds are still alive
  • There are 2 games this week between undefeated teams:
    • Division III, Region 9          Dover (12-0) vs. Chardon (13-0)
    • Division V, Region 17         South Range (13-0) vs. Kirtland (12-0)

Other playoff contests available through https://ohsaa.tv are listed below. Spectrum customers can use their log-in information to access those games, but it’s highly recommended to use the Google Chrome web browser for best experience.

Div. II, Reg. 5       5. Walsh Jesuit (11-2) vs. 3. Hoban (9-3) at Twinsburg

Div. II, Reg. 7       7. Green (10-3) vs. 4. Massillon (11-2) at Mansfield Arlin Field

Div. II, Reg. 8       7. Winton Woods (10-2) vs. 1. Piqua (12-0) at Northmont

Div. III, Reg. 9      2. Dover (12-0) vs. 1. Chardon (13-0) at Ravenna

Div. III, Reg. 11   6. Western Brown (11-2) vs. 1. Granville (12-0) at Teays Valley

Div. III, Reg. 12   3. Bellbrook (11-2) vs. 1. Hamilton Badin (12-0) at Trotwood

Div. IV, Reg. 15   2. St. Clairsville (12-1) vs. 1. Bloom-Carroll (13-0) at Zanesville

Div. IV, Reg. 16   4. Clinton-Massie (11-1) vs. 3. Cincinnati McNicholas (11-1) at Princeton

Coverage begins on Friday with High School Blitz at 6:55 p.m. and returns following each game when Neil Sika, Brett Hiltbrand and Matt D’Orazio break down the entire night and look ahead to the following week’s action.

It all builds toward the OHSAA State Football Championships Dec. 2-4 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, and Spectrum News 1, your television home for high school sports.