HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL / PLAYOFF PREVIEW
A division-by-division analysis of the state football playoffs, which begin with 112 games Friday and conclude with the state championship games Nov. 30, Dec. 1 and 2 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (7-3) over Peninsula Woodridge (9-1). On paper, third-seeded Woodridge looks formidable, scoring 44.1 points per game. But the Bulldogs were not in a dogfight all season. St. Vincent-St. Mary played a much more competitive schedule and is primed for playoff football. Trotwood-Madison over Canfield in the title game.
With Hartley out of the way, AP poll champion and 2016 runner-up Steubenville carries the favorite role in a field that includes eight unbeaten teams. The Big Red was never challenged in vanquishing teams from three states and Canada. Other 10-0 challengers include top seeds Bellville Clear Fork, Licking Valley and Germantown Valley View, along with Perry, Cincinnati Wyoming, Gnadenhutten and Indian Valley.
No stranger to the postseason, Licking Valley appears to be the class of a relatively weak region. The Panthers, however, have relied on their balanced and high-scoring offense to bail them out in a handful of shootouts. Three two-loss teams — Jonathan Alder, London and Bloom-Carroll — have the potential to challenge in their respective regions.
Lorain Clearview (9-1) at Clear Fork (10-0). Clearview is riding a nine-game winning streak but hasn’t defeated a team that finished better than .500. A first-year member of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, Clear Fork earned the top seed with quality wins over three playoffs teams and Division II Marion Harding.
Cincinnati Indian Hill (8-2) over Cincinnati Taft (8-2). Sixth-seeded Indian Hill gave unbeaten Wyoming all it could handle in a 31-24 defeat last week. Taft has played a more diverse schedule, but the hunch is that Indian Hill is playing better. Taft is 0-4 in the postseason.
Steubenville over Germantown Valley View in the title game.