Kenston is No. 1 in this week’s D-III state poll

The Kenston Bombers ascended to the No. 1 position in Division III in this week’s Associated Press poll. In Division VI, Kirtland moved up to No. 2. Check out the full list.

The top-ranked Division III team in Ohio comes from Bainbridge.

Coach Jeff Grubich’s Kenston Bombers (8-0) have ascended to the No. 1 position, according to this week’s Associated Press poll. The voting is done by a panel of sports writers throughout Ohio.

Kenston, which hosts Chardon (5-3) this week, raked in eight first-place votes and 201 total voting points. In second is Bellbrook (nine first-place votes, 186 voting points), which is slightly ahead of third-place Kettering Alter (3, 183).

Kenston is also the topranked team in the D-III, Region 9 computer ratings, which is the system used to determine playoff positioning and pairings in Ohio.

“We have to play a very difficult team to defend that is disciplined, and well-coached. So our focus is on Chardon,” said Grubich, downplaying the vote. “I know that their coach will have his guys ready to go.”

Other teams from The News-Herald area ranked in this week’s AP poll are:

• Mentor (7-1), which is No. 4 in D-I this week despite a Week 8 loss to Solon. The Cardinals were No. 2 in previous weeks.

• Euclid (7-1), which moves up to No. 5 in D-I this week. The Panthers have a colossal showdown with Mentor on Oct. 19.

• Perry (7-1), which is No. 8 in D-IV. The Pirates have one first-place vote, but are 39 voting points behind seventh place.

• Gilmour (8-0), which is No. 7 in D-V. The Lancers play VASJ this weekend.

• Kirtland (8-0), which moves up to No. 2 in D-VI with previous No. 1 Coldwater losing this past weekend. Kirtland has one firstplace vote and 193 voting points, trailing top-ranked Marion Local (23 first-place votes, 248 voting points) by a large margin.