One-stop shopping: A breakdown of 18 games, 19 Akron-area football postseason teams
As the leaves fall and the high school football calendar turns to the postseason, the Greater Akron area is loaded with Week 11 teams.
Nineteen of the 28 schools made the postseason with Archbishop Hoban landing a top seed in Division II, Region 5 and Medina (Division I, Region 1) and Highland (Division II, Region 6) landing second seeds. Here’s a look at all 18 games the area will play in, including seeds, records, locations and trends:
OHSAA Division I, Region 1
No. 15 Strongsville (3-7) at No. 2 Medina (9-1): This game as already happened this season and the Bees rolled the Mustangs 56-35. The last time Strongsville beat Medina was Oct. 5, 2018 (31-17).
No. 10 Elyria (5-5) at No. 6 Wadsworth (6-4): This is one of the most intriguing matchups. Elyria has won two in a row, but its five losses have come to teams that are a combined 38-12. The Grizzlies have lost two of their past three, but those were to Fitch (42-35, 4OT) and North Royalton (22-21).
No. 16 Stow (1-9) at No. 1 Lakewood St. Edward (9-1): The Bulldogs have lost nine in a row since a 58-7 win over Cuyahoga Falls. The Eagles have won five of the past 12 big school state titles, including 2021.
OHSAA Division II, Region 5
No. 16 Willoughby South (4-6) at No. 1 Archbishop Hoban (9-1):It took reigning Division I state champion St. Edward to knock the Knights from the unbeaten ranks. South is making its fourth consecutive appearance and 16th overall but should be nothing more than a bump in the road.
No. 14 Solon (6-4) at No. 3 Hudson (10-0):The Explorers finished an undefeated regular season for the second time in three seasons (2020). The Comets have made the playoffs five seasons in a row and 26 times overall, but haven’t beaten a team above .500 this season. The two already played and the Explorers stopped a late two-point conversion in Week 1 to win 14-13.
No. 12 John Hay (7-3) at No. 5 St. Vincent-St. Mary (6-3): Things may have gone off the rails against Walsh Jesuit in Week 10, but the Fighting Irish have won six of their past eight. John Hay is making its second consecutive appearance in the playoffs and fourth showing overall but have five wins against teams with three wins or less and two against winless teams.
No. 10 Garfield Heights (7-3) at No. 7 Nordonia (8-2): The Knights have made the playoffs three seasons in a row and count 17 appearances: The Bulldogs haven’t qualified since 2018. Garfield Heights has a bad loss on its schedule (6-0, Bedford) from two weeks ago. Nordonia lost to undefeated Hudson and playoff representative Wadsworth.
No. 11 Maple Heights (6-4) at No. 6 Walsh Jesuit (7-3): The Warriors are winners of seven of their past eight and are one of the hottest teams in the region. The Mustangs’ best game was a 20-14 overtime loss to Garfield Heights (7-3). The six teams they beat have a combined 18 wins.
No. 9 James F. Rhodes (4-4) at No. 8 Barberton (6-4): After starting the season 1-2, the Magics won five of their past seven and gave Tallmadge quite a scare in Week 10. The Rams have only one victory over a team with a winning record and haven’t played in two weeks. They’re also making only their third playoff appearances.
OHSAA Division II, Region 6
No. 15 Oregon Clay (5-5) at No. 2 Highland (10-0): The Hornets completed their first undefeated regular season since 2013 and only gave up 43 points in the process. The Eagles limp in losers of four in a row.
OHSAA Division II, Region 7
No. 12 Green (4-6) at No. 5 Big Walnut (8-2): With Robby Klockner behind center, the Bulldogs can’t be counted out. That said, these teams are headed in opposite directions. Green has lost five of its past six. The Golden Eagles have won four of their past five, but are coming off a 21-14 loss to Canal Winchester.
OHSAA Division III, Region 9
No. 11 Villa-Angela St. Joseph (8-2) at No. 6 Tallmadge (8-2): This one is incredibly interesting. The Blue Devils have one win against a team over .500 (Barberton, 20-14), but have won four in a row. The Vikings have won seven of their past eight and their only losses came to undefeated Badin, which reached the state final last season, and 8-2 Youngstown Ursuline.
No. 10 Aurora (7-3) at No. 7 CVCA (7-3): After one-point losses to Northwest and Orrville, the Royals righted the ship to grab a five-way share of the Principals Athletic Conference. The Greenmen have had trouble under center due to injury and have lost two of their past three games.
No. 16 East (6-4) at No. 1 Chardon (8-1): The Hilltoppers have won five in a row and have beaten three teams with seven-plus wins. The two-time reigning state champions have won 36 of their past 37 and haven’t lost to a team from Ohio since Nov. 22, 2019 (Aurora, 22-19). The Dragons are in the playoffs for the third consecutive season and have made it to the postseason four of the past five years. There is an interesting note. The last time Chardon lost at home, it came to East in a first-round playoff game (39-28, Nov. 2, 2018).
Division III, Region 10
No. 11 Bay Village Bay (5-5) at No. 6 Norton (8-2): The Metro Athletic Conference co-champion Panthers have won five in a row and eight of nine with their only loss during that streak coming in overtime to Woodridge (28-21). The Rockets haven’t beaten a winning team yet and have given up 21 points or more seven times.
No. 16 Copley (3-7) at No. 1 Holy Name (7-2): Despite being shut out last week against Highland, Copley averaged 34.3 points per game this season. The problem is it gave up 42.8 points and has allowed 63 points in each of the past two weeks and 50 or more points six times. The Green Wave has won six in a row and have beaten three teams with seven-plus wins.
OHSAA Division IV, Region 13
No. 15 Coventry (5-5) at No. 2 Beaver Local (8-2): The Comets opened 3-0, but have dropped five of their past seven and three in a row. The Beavers are the polar opposite with eight consecutive wins. They’ve outscored 426-85 in that stretch.
No. 13 Buchtel (5-4) at No. 4 Woodridge (7-3): The co-MAC champion Bulldogs have won six of seven and might be one of the hottest teams in the region. That said, the Griffins are the City Series champion, have won five in a row it probably would have been six had North not halted play in Week 9. It’s a Summit County matchup with plenty of storylines.
Eliminated from OHSAA playoff contention
Cuyahoga Falls, Ellet, Firestone, Garfield, North and Twinsburg in Division II; Revere in Division III; Springfield in Division IV and Manchester in Division V.
Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron-area high school football playoff breakdown
