Previewing Aurora, Garfield, Mogadore, Rootstown and Streetsboro football's Week 12 games

Here's a look at all five Portage County high school football games this week:

Region 9

No. 6 Gilmour Academy (9-2) at No. 3 Aurora (10-1)

The Greenmen seek to win multiple postseason games for the first time since 2019 when they host the Lancers in their 2023 Veterans Stadium finale. Aurora enters on a tear, having won nine straight games, scoring 35-plus points in eight of its last nine and holding seven of its last nine opponents to single digits. Gilmour Academy has won five consecutive since back-to-back losses to Villa Angela-St. Joseph and University School midway through the season, including victories over eight-win teams Buckeye and Madison.

Watch for a great battle between Lancers dual-threat quarterback Jake Kavcic (80-of-133 passing, 1,497 yards, 25 TD, 2 INTs), who hasn't thrown an interception since Oct. 6, and that stingy Greenmen pass defense. Sean Dillard has been Kavcic's main weapon lately, including five catches for 135 yards and two scores last week against Madison. Aurora, meanwhile, has allowed just six touchdown passes all year (against a whopping 18 interceptions). The Greenmen's stellar secondary includes a red-hot Dylan Crasi, who made ESPN's SportsCenter with an acrobatic interception against Barberton in Week 9 and then added another key pick in Week 10.

Aurora, like Gilmour Academy, is balanced on offense, led by running back Enzo Catania (139 carries, 985 yards, 15 TDs) and whoever is at quarterback. That has usually been Brandon Liepins (75-of-125 passing, 1,161 yards, 10 TDs, 2 INTs), but with Liepins injured the last couple of week, Ryan Dwyer (8-of-13 passing, 92 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT) has proven no less capable.

Region 13

No. 5 Streetsboro (10-1) at No. 4 West Branch (10-1)

Like the Greenmen, the Rockets are hoping to win multiple postseason games for the first time since 2020. They may have to win a shootout to prevail as Streetsboro and West Branch are each scoring well over 40 points per game with the Rockets at 46.2 and the Warriors at 44.7.

West Branch can air it out in impressive fashion with Beau Alazaus passing for 2,947 yards (267.9 per game) with 33 touchdowns against six interceptions. Alazaus has endless options at his disposal, including three receivers with 600-plus yards in Joey Jackson (69 catches, 970 yards, 13 TDs), Jeremiah Thomas (39 catches, 672 yards, 4 TDs) and Anthony Perry (69 catches, 667 yards, 7 TDs). Oh, and West Branch also has a 1,000-yard rusher in Boston Mulinix (129 carries, 1,025 yards, 18 TDs).

Streetsboro has two versatile weapons who tormented the Metro Athletic Conference all year. QB Cohen Klimak is a threat as a passer (67-of-102 passing, 1,280 yards, 17 TDs, 6 INTs) and a runner (166 carries, 1,303 yards, 12 TDs). Meanwhile, Preston Hopperton is equally challenging as a runner (160 carries, 1,461 yards, 28 TDs) and a receiver (46 catches, 972 yards, 13 TDs).

Region 17

No. 5 Garfield (11-0) at No. 4 Harrison Central (9-2)

The undefeated G-Men have destroyed their competition all year, winning each of their games by at least three touchdowns. Friday night, however, likely brings Garfield's sharpest challenge of the season in numerous ways. Start with the drive as the G-Men have to venture two hours to Cadiz in Harrison County. Then, consider that the Huskies have won five straight and their only losses have come to two teams with a combined record of 19-3.

Keeping up with Garfield's offense has been a challenge for just about everyone on the schedule, but Harrison Central is coming off back-to-back 40-point efforts. Mykel Quito has had a huge season on the ground for the Huskies, rushing for 1,423 yards (on 7 yards per carry) and 22 touchdowns while QB Hayden Cassidy has added 1,510 passing yards, with Parker Hutton (43 catches, 647 yards, 12 TDs) serving as his leading receiver. They'll work against a G-Men defense that has allowed 20-plus points just three times in 2023.

On the other side of the ball, Garfield is, per usual, dominant on the ground, gaining 10.1 yards per carry, with Jon Wiczen leading a powerful offensive line and RB Keegan Sell (92 carries, 1,190 yards, 21 TDs) and QB Eric Geddes (85 carries, 1,040 yards, 16 TDs) among the primary beneficiaries. Geddes has also helped the G-Men create perhaps their best play-action threat yet out of the single wing, as the senior quarterback has completed 72.7 percent of his passes for 1,072 yards and 18 touchdowns against just two interceptions.

Region 21

No. 6 Pymatuning Valley (8-3) at No. 3 Mogadore (9-2)

The Wildcats look to advance to the regional semifinals for the 12th consecutive season with a win over the Lakers. Mogadore last faced Pymatuning Valley in the 2020 postseason, with the Wildcats prevailing 32-14 in a Region 21 quarterfinal.

The Lakers will surely lean heavily on Ty Vickery, who scored both touchdowns and added the game-winning 2-point conversion in last week's 16-14 victory over Crestview. That's where Friday's game will likely be decided as a Mogadore defense that has shut out two straight teams and held four consecutive foes to single-digit scoring goes against Pymatuning Valley's two-headed monster of QB Ryan Croston (1,231 rushing yards, 17 TDs) and Vickery (1,200 rushing yards, 20 TDs).

On the other side of the ball, the Lakers have allowed just 20 points combined over their last five games, all wins, but surrendered 31 points per game to the two Portage Trail Conference teams they faced: Rootstown and Southeast. Mogadore will challenge Pymatuning Valley with a balanced attack that is equally capable of passing and running the football, and features several talented runners.

No. 10 Mineral Ridge (7-4) at No. 2 Rootstown (9-1)

In Week 1, Mineral Ridge and Pymatuning Valley squared off. Now, the Lakers and Rams are both going up against the best of the PTC.

The Rovers bounced back from a Week 10 loss to Mogadore with a dominant performance in Week 11, as Rootstown averaged 7.9 yards per carry in a 43-7 win over Southeast. That was the Rovers' first postseason win since 2017, snapping a streak of four straight first-round losses.

Expect a tremendous battle of senior running backs in this one as Mineral Ridge's Ian Erb and Rootstown's Dawson Morgan have both led the way for their respective teams all season. Erb had three touchdowns by halftime in last week's 35-6 first-round victory over Jackson-Milton. Morgan turned 21 carries into 174 yards in his team's Week 11 win over Southeast, passing the 2,000-yard mark this season.

Erb will go against a Rootstown defense that has held six of 10 opponents to single digits this season, including remarkable years from Brian Youngblood (92 tackles, 6 TFLs), Tristan McKibben (51 tackles, 9 TFLs, 7 sacks) and Tony Karp (51 tackles, 13 TFL).

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Previewing Portage County's Week 12 OHSAA high school football games