TOP OF THE CROP

Watch list: Rocky River 13-9, Amherst 9-13, Keystone 12-10

Crop comments: The postseason has arrived, which means so has the final edition of the Crop. Elyria is the undisputed best team in the area following its SWC championship. The Pioneers will begin postseason play on March 1against North Ridgeville or Stow-Munroe Falls. … Avon finished one game back of Elyria in the SWC standings, and ended the regular season with an overtime win over rival Avon Lake. The Eagles have won three in a row and will host Wooster in the first round on Feb.

28. … Midview’s regular season didn’t end the way it wanted with a 60-53 loss to Olmsted Falls on Feb. 23, but the Middies stay at No. 3. They travel to Lakewood on Feb. 28in a good first-round matchup. … North Ridgeville has gotten healthy and figured it out. The Rangers have won five in a row, including a resounding 84-49victory over Amherst to close the regular season. They open up at Stow-Munroe Falls on Feb. 28. … Lorain has been off since last week’s 77-75loss to Berea-Midpark, and it remains in the fifth spot. The Titans head on the road to take on North Canton Hoover on Feb. 28. … Fairview is 16-6 following a 57-50victory over Orange. Like Elyria, the Warriors have a bye and a week of rest before playoff action. They will host the winner of Clearview and Wickliffe. … Brookside is No. 7 once again, with some hardware this time. The Cardinals repeated as LC8 champs on their home court with a 71-53 win over Firelands. A rematch could be in store on March 1 if the Falcons can get past Rocky River in the first round. … Avon Lake had another close game go the other way in a loss at Avon. The Shoremen are 11-11 and have a first-round bye before facing Lorain or Hoover. … The top eight spots stayed the same as last week, but there are changes in the final two. Despite losing at Brookside, Firelands climbs up to No.

9. The Falcons have been playing well and a loss to the Cardinals doesn’t change that. … Columbia returns to the Crop and takes the final spot with a 56-45 conference win over Clearview to close out the regular season. The Raiders won 11 of their final 13regular-season games, and will host Lordstown on Feb. 27. … Rocky River went through a rough patch, but the Pirates have now won four in a row heading into the playoffs. They clinched the GLC West title with a 6256 home win over Elyria Catholic. Rocky River at Firelands on Feb. 27 will be the area’s most highly anticipated first-round matchup. … Amherst had been ranked over Columbia for a couple of weeks, but the Comets drop following a 35-point loss to North Ridgeville. They look to bounce back with a home playoff game on Feb. 28against Euclid. … It feels like déjà vu saying Keystone beat Wellington. When last week’s Crop came out, the Wildcats had just beaten the Dukes on Feb. 20. The two teams played again on Feb. 23, and Keystone won on a buzzer beater, 42-40. Its postseason journey begins on Feb. 27 at Akron Manchester.