OHIO — The regional semifinal level of the Ohio High School Athletic Association playoffs is typically when the matchups start to get really good. There’s a nice blend of schools expected to make deep runs now facing serious competition, and upstarts who are still around thanks to upsets.
Consider that 24 of the 28 number one-seeds are still playing, with only Fairborn (Region 2), Tippecanoe (Region 12), Clinton-Massie (Region 16) and Western Reserve (Region 25) eliminated. Similarly, 21 of the 28 two-seeds have advanced.
However, nine double-digit schools ranked 10th or lower in their regions have won a pair of games to reach this level, the most since playoffs expanded in 2020.
The previous high was eight in that turbulent 2020 pandemic-driven season (when everyone that wanted to participate made the playoffs), followed by seven in 2022, five last year and just two in 2021.
There’s even a 15-seed (Delphos St. John’s in Region 26), and two 14-seeds (Dublin Coffman in Region 2, Wheelersburg in Region 19) that have beaten the odds to extend their seasons.
We find some of those favorites in the OHSAA Game of the Week, though, as the No. 1 seed in Region 1, Mentor, takes on Canton McKinley in a game played at Medina.
The Cardinals (12-0) meet the Bulldogs (8-4) in the postseason for the fourth time in seven years, all of which have gone Mentor’s way. All-time, the series is 6-4, with McKinley winning the first four, and Mentor the last six, the most recent a 19-14 triumph in the 2022 playoffs (regional quarterfinal).
The Bulldogs (seeded fifth) have found their offense in the postseason, averaging 42 points in the two wins, after not scoring more than 38 in any of their regular season games.
The Cardinals have only played two games that were decided by less than 20 points, and their defense hasn’t given up more than 17 points in their last six contests.
Central Ohio might just feature the toughest division in the entire state, the Ohio Capital Conference’s Central Division.
All six of those teams (Dublin Coffman, Hilliard Bradley, Hilliard Davidson, Olentangy Liberty, Olentangy Orange and Upper Arlington) made the postseason—and won at least one game—with four of them are still playing. The two that aren’t lost in playoff games to divisional foes, as Hilliard Davidson eliminated Hilliard Bradley, and Upper Arlington ended Olentangy Orange’s season.
Just as impressive, 13th-seeded Bradley knocked off three-time defending Region 2 champion Springfield (seeded fourth) in the opening round, while 14th-seeded Coffman beat number three Westland and number six Lebanon in that same region.
Two other members square off for the second time this year when Upper Arlington plays Olentangy Liberty at Westerville Central in the OHSAA Game of the Week.
Both teams come into the game at 10-2, with the Golden Bears a 31-28 winner over the Patriots back on Oct. 4. The top seed in Region 3, Liberty’s other loss this season was to Olentangy Berlin.
Upper Arlington dropped its season opener to two-time defending Division IV state champion Glenville, 6-0. Its other loss was to Olentangy Orange in week eight, which it avenged last week in the regional quarterfinals. That 24-20 win was one of six for the Golden Bears decided by eight points or fewer.
The Patriots have not been tested of late, winning their last five straight by an average of 26.2 points per game. Liberty also relies on a defense that has kept nine of 12 opponents to under 20 points.
Olentangy Liberty leads the all-time series 7-2 (first meeting in 2012), but this will be the first time it has played Upper Arlington in the postseason.
Last, and hardly least, is another rematch, this between Princeton and Moeller in Region 4, and the second time they’ve comprised the OHSAA Game of the Week. The game will be played at Mason.
The Crusaders (11-1) cruised to a 38-21 win back in the season opener and enter the playoffs one of the favorites in Division I. Moeller’s only loss was to Mallard Creek, North Carolina, and has topped the 40-point mark in eight of its games this year.
Princeton (10-2, seeded fourth) counters with a defense that has held seven opponents to single digits. The Vikings’ only other loss was to Hamilton in week six, but they got the better of Big Blue with a 37-7 win last week in the regional quarterfinals.
You can’t talk about these two without thinking of their great rivalry that was at its height in the 1970s and 1980s.
Over a 13-year span from 1975 through 1987, Moeller (7) and Princeton (3) combined to win 10 of the Class AAA (now Division I) state championships, a run that included six straight.
You also can’t talk about this rivalry without former Moeller head coach Gerry Faust, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 89. Faust went on to become the head coach at Notre Dame and Akron after 20 years with the Crusaders, compiling a 174-17-2 record with five state titles from 1960-80.
All-time, Moeller leads the series 39-7, and six of those have been in the playoffs (the Crusaders won five of those, with the most recent in 2021).
Additionally, Spectrum News 1 will provide these games on www.SpectrumNews1.com, with the following matchups:
Dublin Coffman vs. Centerville
Pickerington North vs. Olentangy Berlin
Austintown-Fitch vs. Walsh Jesuit
Lexington vs. Toledo Central Catholic
Previous games from the season are also available on demand through our website.
Stay with Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News App throughout the playoffs for live games, culminating in the state championships Dec. 5-Dec. 7 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.