Ten area high school football teams remain alive in the OHSAA playoffs for the regional quarterfinals. Six of them will be on the road and the underdog, at least according to the seedings.
All 10 games kick off at 7 p.m., Friday. Here's a look at each of the games featuring an area team:
Division I, Region 1
No. 6 McKinley (6-5) at No. 3 Mentor (7-3)
What to know: It's Round 2 in Mentor. McKinley gets a second chance against the Cardinals after losing to them in Week 1, 34-21. That was part of an 0-4 start by the Bulldogs, who have played good football since, winning five of six, including a 40-22 victory over GlenOak in the first round of the playoffs. Cynceir McNeal sat out Friday's win due to an ankle injury and Nino Hill, a 1,000-yard rusher, only played in the first half. Antonio Hall expects both to be a full-go when the Pups return to Mentor. The Cardinals finished the regular season at 6-3 and are 5-1 at home. Mentor is coming off a playoff win over Brunswick, 35-14. Mentor's top player is Brenan Vernon, a 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive end who will be Notre Dame bound after he graduates. McKinley's offensive line was able to contain Vernon in their last meeting, limiting him to one tackle. Mentor is also led by sophom*ore QB Scotty Fox, who has 24 touchdowns this season. The winner will move on to the regional semifinals and will play the winner of the Medina-Wadsworth game.
Division I, Region 1
No. 8 Jackson (6-5) at No. 1 St. Edward (10-1)
What to know: The Polar Bears are in a David vs. Goliath matchup. St. Ed's, the defending state champ, is loaded with top-tier talent led by head coach Tom Lombardo, who picked up his 175th career win after beating Stow in the first round. Massillon gave the Eagles their only loss of the season. Since then, the Eagles have won six straight, including beating St. Ignatius, Moeller and Hoban. The Polar Bears are coming off a 28-24 win over Berea-Midpark in last week's first round. Jackson is defined by its grit on both sides of the ball. Jackson's top rusher, Jason Davide, and the Colten Arnold-led offensive line will be a matchup to watch against St. Edward's defense. Jackson is all in on its freshman QB Lucas Ecrement, but also will use Ethan Lesco in short-yardage packages. St. Ed's offensive and defensive fronts feature talented sophom*ore twins Deontae and Devontae Armstrong and junior tackle Ben Roebuck, a four-star offensive tackle. Michael Kilbane, a Northwestern commit, is disruptive at the edge rusher spot for the Eagles. The winner will face the winner of the Cleveland Heights-St. Ignatius game next week in the regional semifinals.
Division II, Region 7
No. 9 Canal Winchester (7-4) at No. 1 Massillon (9-1)
What to know: The Massillon Tigers took care of business in the first round against Perry last Friday. It figures to get tougher from here on out. Massillon coach Nate Moore is a win away from surpassing Paul Brown for the most wins in program history. Moore won his 80th game as the school's head coach to equal Brown's mark. The Tigers won nine straight since their season-opening loss to Moeller. WR Ardell Banks and RB Willtrell Hartson each had an impressive showing a week ago, producing 263 yards of offense for Massillon. Hartson surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark for the 10th consecutive game last week to tie Jamir Thomas' school record. Banks picked up an offer from Kentucky on Tuesday following his 150-yard receiving performance. Canal Winchester is coming off a 23-6 win over Independence. The winner faces the winner of the Watkins-Memorial-Big Walnut game in the regional semifinals next Friday.
Division II, Region 7
No. 7 Col. DeSales (6-4) at No. 2 Lake (10-1)
What to know: Lake head coach Dan DeGeorge foresees "a big test" against "probably the best defense we've seen." DeSales relies on a blitzing 3-4 scheme under 16th-year head coach Ryan Wiggins. DeSales is the first opponent with a winning record at the time it played Lake since the Blue Streaks hammered Hoover 35-15 on Oct. 7. Lake draws a Franklin County opponent for the second straight week after beating Dublin Scioto 33-17 last Friday. The Streaks relied on an old-school formula against Scioto, running 46 times and passing eight times. Matthew Sollberger ran 29 times for 129 yards. "It'll be tough sledding, but we have to find a way to make plays against a very tough run defense," DeGeorge said. DeSales is known for deep playoff runs. The 2022 Stallions ground out a 23-16 overtime win at Dover Sept. 30, then beat Dover 21-20 in OT in the playoffs this past Friday. Their only loss during a 5-1 hot streak was 14-12 to Columbus Watterson (now 10-1). The glitch in DeSales' season was a 49-7 home loss to Walsh Jesuit on Sep. 16. Coach Wiggins piloted the Stallions to the Division III state finals in 2020, when they fell 31-28 in double overtime to Chardon. DeSales moved up to Division II this year. The Stallions haven't faced a team from Stark County since 2008, when, in the third round of the playoffs, they outlasted previously unbeaten Louisville 38-21.
Division II, Region 7
No. 6 Hoover (10-3) at No. 3 Westerville South (10-1)
What to know: Hoover hasn't won multiple playoff games since the 2008 Vikings, competing in Division I, beat Massillon, Twinsburg and GlenOak. The 2022 Vikings are on a three-game win streak since losing 35-15 to Lake. "Our guys want to continue playing football with their buddies," Hoover head coach Brian Baum said. "They're really enjoying themselves. That's the neat part about it." In their 38-7 playoff win over Licking Heights this past Friday, VikingsRB Luke Roach returned from injury and ran 23 times for 158 yards. Westerville South has scored at least 30 points in eight games. "They don't have a lot of size," Baum said, "but they have a lot of athletes who play aggressive, physical football." Sixth-year South head coach Matt Christ is 25-5 across the last three seasons. The Wildcats need no introduction to the Federal League after beating Lake 32-10 in the first round of last year's playoffs. South's signature 2022 win was 31-24 over Big Walnut (currently 9-2) on Sept. 16. RBs Nasir Phillips (147 yards) and Ethan Hanna (130) both had huge games against Big Walnut. The Wildcats closed their regular season and opened their postseason against Worthington Kilbourne, winning 42-7 and 34-7. Hoover beat Kilbourne 17-0 in the first round of last year's playoffs. Almost two months have passed since South's lone loss, 31-14 at Hilliard Darby.
Division IV, Region 13
No. 13 Buchtel (6-4) at No. 5 Northwest (8-3)
What to know: Northwest welcomes a talented Buchtel team hoping to pull off a second straight upset. The Griffins built a 24-7 third-quarter lead and held off No. 4 Woodridge 24-21 last week. Three forced turnovers helped Buchtel grab the early lead. QB Stevie Diamond, RB Wiley Cheairs and WR Marcel Boyce Jr. lead the Griffins offense. Boyce, whose father played college basketball at Akron, had a 50-yard TD reception in the win over Woodridge. Northwest is looking to advance to the third round for the second time in three seasons. QB Chase Badger’s 56-yard touchdown pass to Caiden Beichler and Beicher’s interception return for a TD highlighted a dominant second quarter in last week’s 49-21 win over Streetsboro. Northwest outscored the Rockets 29-0 in the quarter. Northwest’s Kyler Miraglia is one of the top running backs in the area. He has rushed for more than 100 yards in six straight games and leads the team with 1,551 yards and 22 TDs.
Division IV, Region 13
No. 7 Canton South (8-3) at No. 2 Lisbon Beaver (9-2)
What to know: South hits the road in hopes of extending what has already been a successful season. The Wildcats are also looking to make history. They have never advanced past the second round in the playoffs. Head coach Matt Dennison’s team has certainly been battle tested the past few weeks. The Wildcats edged Northwest 21-20 in Week 10 to earn a share of the PAC-7 title and held off Salem 28-21 in the first round last week. They had 21-0 leads in both games. QB Poochie Snyder, RB Xion Culer and WRs Xavier Williams and Tavon Castle lead South’s potent offense. Snyder is the Wildcats’ career passing leader and is also one of their top rushers this year. Lisbon Beaver has won nine straight after opening the season with back-to-back losses to Indian Valley and Salem. The Beavers have averaged 53.6 points a game during their winning streak.
Division IV, Region 13
No. 8 Struthers (7-4) at No. 1 West Branch (10-1)
What to know: All eyes will be on West Branch QB Dru DeShields. DeShields was injured early in last week’s 52-20 win over Field earlybut is expected to start this week. He has thrown for 2,986 yards and 39 TDs this season. Junior Beau Alazaus is a more than capable backup if DeShields encounters any further injury issues. The 6-foot-6 Alazaus is 34-of-53 passing for 379 yards with three TDs and an interception this season. Struthers has won six consecutive games after starting the year 1-4. This game will be a clash of styles. Struthers has a run-heavy offense that features Alec Grzyb, Tyler Sancez, Kendia Macleod and Anthony Carter among others.
Division V, Region 17
No. 6 Fairless (9-2) at No. 3 Lake County Perry (9-2)
What to know: Arguably the toughest opponent of the season awaits the Falcons, one of the PAC-7's three champions still alive in the playoffs. Lake County Perry has won four straight, and none of those games were close. Last week, the Pirates rolled over Triway 60-8. They led 60-0 at halftime. QB Walter Moses threw three TD passes and ran for two TDs in limited action against the Titans. He finished 7-of-8 passing for 124 yards. Fairless is hoping to reach uncharted territory. The Falcons have never won two playoff games in the same postseason. Head coach AJ Sarbaugh’s team persevered in last week’s playoff opener against Orrville. A 35-0 run erased a 10-point halftime deficit and lifted the Falcons to a 47-22 win over the Red Riders. Brody Pumneo is just 16 yards shy of joining teammate Luke Yoder as a 1,000-yard receiver. They have combined for 27 TD catches. QB Carson Colucci has thrown for 2,425 yards and 29 TDs. He had 392 total yards in the win over Orrville. Peter Killy is Fairless’ top rusher with 796 yards and 11 TDs.
Division VI, Region 21
No. 7 Central Catholic (7-4) at No. 2 Mogadore (9-0)
What to know: The Crusaders and Wildcats meet in the postseason for the second straight year. Mogadore held on to beat Central 21-13 in the first round last season. Having won five of their last six games, the Crusaders are playing their best football at the right time. They have outscored their opponents 209-68 during that stretch. QB Jack Talkington is a 1,000-yard rusher for the second straight season. He has rushed for 1,067 yards and 11 touchdowns. Alex Anderson has rushed for a team-best 17 TDs. Jack Hopkins leads the Central receivers with 29 catches for 538 yards and six TDs. Mogadore matched a season high for points in their 48-21 playoff win over Southeast. The Crusaders hope to prevent another fast start by the Wildcats. Mogadore’s three touchdown drives to start the game covered at least 55 yards in four plays or fewer. Ohio University recruit Mason Williams rushed for 193 yards and three TDs. Collin Lehner ran for 160 yards and three TDs.
Looking back on Weeks 1-11 of high school football
Miss any of our earlier coverage this season, here it is:
Ohio High School Football:Week 10 Stark County high school football scores, box scores, standings — see who won Friday
Ohio High School Football:Week 10 Stark County high school football scores, box scores, standings — see who won
Ohio High School Football:Greater Canton high school football scores, standings in Week 9 — See who won Friday
Ohio High School Football:Stark County high school football scoreboard, box scores, standings — see what happened in Week 8
Ohio High School Football:Stark County high school football scoreboard, box scores, standings — see what happened in Week 7
Ohio High School Football:Stark County high school football scoreboard, box scores, standings — see what happened in Week 6
Ohio High School Football:Stark County high school football scoreboard, box scores, standings — see what happened in Week 5
Ohio High School Football:Stark County high school football scoreboard, box scores — see what happened in Week 4
Ohio High School Football:Stark County high school football scoreboard, box scores — see what happened in Week 3
Ohio High School Football:Stark County high school football scoreboard, box scores — see what happened in Week 2
Ohio High School Football:High school football scoreboard, box scores, story links — see what happened in Week 1
Stark County Football Season Preview:What you need to know for the 2022 high school football season
