Friday Night Picks: Who's in, who's out, who's still trying

MARION — Mount Gilead and Highland are in. Marion Harding, Pleasant, Cardington and Ridgedale are out.

River Valley, North Union and Northmor are likely going to make it to Week 11, and Elgin has a chance to join them as well.

That's the state of the area's high school football teams as they enter the final week of the regular season. Playoff positioning with the top 16 teams in each computer region is in full-effect, according to Ohio prep football websites JoeEitel.com, Drew Pasteur's Fantasitic50.net and Bruce Monnin's NKTELCO.net.

Here's a closer look at the playoff clinchers and postseason contenders entering Week 10:

∎ Highland: The Scots are guaranteed a spot in Division V, Region 15, and win or lose against Clear Fork on Friday, the squad will be home for Week 11 with a chance at hosting in Week 12, too, with a victory.

∎ Mount Gilead: The Indians are in for the first time in school history as discussed last week. They have a faint chance at hosting a Division VI, Region 23 playoff game, but will likely be in the Nos. 11-12 range after Friday night.

∎ River Valley: Monnin and Pasteur both have the Vikings in the Division IV, Region 14 field win-or-lose to Galion, but according to Eitel, there is a mathematical chance that they could get jumped by Rossford if every possible thing breaks the Bulldogs' way and every worst-case scenario goes against RV. According to Pasteur, the Vikes will be Nos. 11 or 12 with a win and Nos. 13-15 with a loss.

∎ North Union: The Wildcats are No. 13 in Division V, Region 18 right now. If they handle their business and claim a share of the Central Buckeye Conference's Mad River Division with a win at Urbana, they are in with an eight percent chance of hosting a first-round game. A loss, which is possible since Urbana is also 7-2, playing at home and has clinched a share of the league, means they will stay in that Nos. 13-14 range. If North Union loses and has everything go against it, the team is vulnerable to getting jumped by Bluffton, Port Clinton, Otsego, Delta and Fredericktown, but that's a lot of math and the chances of that happening are slight.

∎ Northmor: The Golden Knights control their own destiny in Division VI,. Region 23. Monnin has them in the Nos. 10-16 range and Pasteur projects them to be No. 14. According to the math with Eitel, a loss and catastrophic luck could see them get passed by Grove City Christian, Buckeye Trail and Martins Ferry.

∎ Elgin: The Comets are currently in the last spot in Region 23 at No. 16, but they won't get many points by beating winless Crestline on Friday. Elgin is one of six schools playing for three available spots not already locked up. The Comets need Newcomerstown, Miller, Bridgeport and Bellaire to post wins, which all are favored to do, Cardington upsetting Mount Gilead would also help Elgin's cause.

Here are Rob McCurdy's picks for area high school football games Friday night as part of the Week 10 slate:

∎ Pleasant at Marion Harding: Bragging rights and the chance to finish the season out of the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference basement is at stake in this cross-county rivalry game. Pleasant appears to have been more competitive in the second half of the season, so give them an edge, although anything is possible in this one. Pick: Pleasant.

∎ Galion at River Valley: River Valley's offense hasn't been nearly as crisp over the last two weeks, scoring 20 points at Shelby and 21 against Highland. And that's a concern because this team goes as far as the offense takes it. Taking out the Pleasant and Harding wins, and the Vikes have given up at least 34 points in every other MOAC game. Galion has won three of its last four this season. The Tigers don't have a great defense, but they've been coming up with just enough stops to stay in games and have opportunities to win them. Pick: Galion.

∎ Clear Fork at Highland: It's amazing that the Scots have run the gauntlet to put themselves in a championship winner-take-all game. Injuries have taken a toll on the squad with the latest being their quarterback going down with a broken arm last week. They've proven doubters wrong all season, but this is a tough ask. This Clear Fork team has been the class of the MOAC from start to finish in 2022. Pick: Clear Fork.

∎ Crestline at Elgin: The Comets will roll in this one. No need to belabor it as the Bulldogs are winless. See the Elgin playoff scenarios above. Pick: Elgin.

∎ Perry at Ridgedale: This should be a competitive game and one the Rockets can win. Perry got its first win of the season last week by beating Crestline. Pick: Ridgedale.

∎ Cardington at Mount Gilead: It's a rivalry game, but it's hard to see Mount Gilead losing it and limping into the postseason. Look for the Indians to be fired up and ready to go in Week 10 with an eye on Week 11. Pick: Mount Gilead.

∎ Northmor at Loudonville: The Redbirds have won three straight, while Northmor has struggled on both sides of the ball the last two weeks in losses to Mount Gilead and Centerburg. Still, Northmor saw the return of All-Ohio running back Maxton Lower, and that could give them a different mindset and purpose now that he's gotten some reps. Pick: Loudonville.

∎ North Union at Urbana: Like Clear Fork at Highland, this is the area's other marquee matchup. A Wildcats win means they share the Mad River Division with Urbana. An Urbana win gives it an outright championship. The Hillclimbers haven't scored less than 37 points in their last five games, while only allowing three touchdowns in the entire span. Urbana appears to be legit. Pick: Urbana.

∎ Last week: 9-0.

∎ Season: 65-12.

Rob McCurdy is the sports writer at the Marion Star and can be reached at rmccurdy@gannett.com, 419-610-0998, Twitter @McMotorsport and Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star.

Marion Star Football Player of Week 9 Poll winner

In last week's poll, Cardington's Wyatt Denney, who ran for 110 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Fredericktown, won it with 757 of 1,601 votes (47 percent). Other nominees were Dane Nauman of Highland, Matthew Bland of Mount Gilead, Will Garrison of River Valley, Owen Lowry of Pleasant and Trey Bossaller of North Union.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Friday Night Picks: Who's in, who's out, who's still trying