Ohio high school football: OHSAA state semifinal playoff predictions
The Ohio high school football playoffs started with 448 teams. Now that we're down to the state semifinals, 28 teams remain.
All of them are accounted for here, because the Predictions Panel is picking all 14 of Friday's games.
If Hilliard Bradley is looking for extra motivation for its first state semifinal, here it is: All 10 members of the panel have picked Lakewood St. Edward. The Eagles won the past two Division I state titles, so the unanimous selection wasn't a surprise.
Seven members of the panel have picked Watterson to beat Celina in Division III, and four have picked Harvest Prep to beat Perry in Division V. The four to pick Harvest Prep are Lee Cochran and The Dispatch high school sports staff of Frank DiRenna, Dave Purpura and Andy Resnik, while Ryan Baker, Steve Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Eric Frantz, Purpura and Resnik have taken Watterson.
5 things to watch: State semifinal storylines
In Lone Wolf picks this week, Resnik is going with Springfield over Cincinnati Moeller in Division I and Germantown Valley View over Liberty Center in Division V. Purpura has taken Avon over Akron Hoban in Division II, and Cochran has picked Canton South over Cleveland Glenville in Division IV.
We went 1-1 in Lone Wolf picks last week to move to 10-36 for the season. Blackledge hit on Chardon over Youngstown Ursuline and Tom Wilson missed on Canfield South Range, which lost to Perry.
Blackledge had last week's top performance, going 17-3. Kurt Snyder went 16-4 and moved a step closer to the Predictions Panel championship, building his lead to five games over Frantz and seven over Cochran and Dave Weidig.
Enjoy the state semifinals!
Division I
Hilliard Bradley (13-1) vs. Lakewood St. Edward (13-1) at Arlin Field in Mansfield
Bradley Jaguars:
St. Edward Eagles: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Purpura, Resnik, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Cincinnati Moeller (10-4) vs. Springfield (9-5) at Piqua
Moeller Crusaders: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Purpura, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Springfield Wildcats: Resnik
Division II
Avon (14-0) vs. Akron Hoban (12-1) at Byers Field in Parma
Avon Eagles: Purpura
Hoban Knights: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Resnik, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Cincinnati Anderson (13-1) vs. Massillon Washington (14-0) at Historic Crew Stadium
Anderson Raptors:
Massillon Tigers: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Purpura, Resnik, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Division III
Watterson (13-1) vs. Celina (12-2) at Xenia
Watterson Eagles: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Purpura, Resnik
Celina Bulldogs: Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Toledo Central Catholic (14-0) vs. Chardon (11-3) at Elyria
Central Catholic Fighting Irish: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Purpura, Resnik, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Chardon Hilltoppers:
Division IV
Cleveland Glenville (11-3) vs. Canton South (14-0) at Wadsworth
Glenville Tarblooders: Baker, Blackledge, DiRenna, Frantz, Purpura, Resnik, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
South Wildcats: Cochran
Steubenville (13-1) vs. Kettering Alter (11-3) at Westerville Central
Steubenville Big Red: Cochran, DiRenna, Purpura
Alter Knights: Baker, Blackledge, Frantz, Resnik, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Division V
Harvest Prep (12-1) vs. Perry (14-0) at Shelby
Harvest Prep Warriors: Cochran, DiRenna, Purpura, Resnik
Perry Pirates: Baker, Blackledge, Frantz, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Germantown Valley View (13-1) vs. Liberty Center (14-0) at Sidney
Valley View Spartans: Resnik
Liberty Center Tigers: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Purpura, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Division VI
Sugarcreek Garaway (14-0) vs. Kirtland (13-1) at Louisville
Garaway Pirates:
Kirtland Hornets: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Purpura, Resnik, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Columbus Grove (12-2) vs. Versailles (12-2) at Wapakoneta
Columbus Grove Bulldogs:
Versailles Tigers: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Purpura, Resnik, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Division VII
Hamler Patrick Henry (12-2) vs. Maria Stein Marion Local (14-0) at Lima Senior
Patrick Henry Patriots:
Marion Local Flyers: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Purpura, Resnik, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Dalton (12-1) vs. Caldwell (11-3) at Zanesville
Dalton Bulldogs: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Purpura, Resnik, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Caldwell Redskins:
Standings after OHSAA regional finals
Kurt Snyder 16-4 last week; 160-63 overall
Eric Frantz 14-6; 155-68
Lee Cochran 15-5; 153-70
Dave Weidig 13-7; 153-70
Steve Blackledge 17-3; 152-71
Andy Resnik 14-6; 152-71
Ryan Baker 15-5; 147-76
Frank DiRenna 12-8; 146-77
Tom Wilson 12-8, 146-77
Dave Purpura 12-8; 143-80
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio high school football: OHSAA state semifinal predictions
