This weekend was a great one for Buckeye Nation. Not only did
Buckeye Fans from across Ohio had a deep sigh of relief when Boston College's Heisman Trophy candidate Matt Ryan completed a 24 yard pass to teammate Andre Callender to give the undefeated Eagles a dramatic come from behind 14 -10 victory over the Hokes in Blacksburg Thursday night. The win kept the Eagles from becoming the fourth straight second ranked team to lose in the past four weeks and for OSU fans it kept LSU out of the coveted second place spot in the BCS standings.
Coach Jim Tressel surely does not want to think this far ahead, and would shutter at this article. After all there is a lot of football to be played, and the Buckeyes could conceivably lose one or more of their upcoming games against Wisconsin, Illinois or Michigan, but if the Bucks do make it to the championship game, most fans would rather play the ACC's Boston College Eagles than the LSU Tigers, who are currently ranked third in the BCS standings.
With all due respect to the Atlantic Coast Conference and BC, LSU's resume' even with its one loss is still more intimidating than
Ohio State is a talented bunch and one of the country's best defensive teams, but the LSU roster with all its NFL prospects, seems to be even more potent than last year's Florida team that steamrolled the Bucks 41-14. Plus this years BCS Championship game would be played in LSU's backyard in
Both
Woody Biggs
AVC Sports
¶ 9:06 PM 1 comments
Now that the regulars season is completed, the playoff picture has been painted. Below are the area teams that made it, their match-ups for week 11 and those who just missed out on "The Dance". The top 8 teams in each region advance to the playoffs and are seeded 1 through 8 according to their average computer points through 10 games. This includes points for wins and 2nd level points for strength of schedule(opponents wins). Below are the unofficial rankings according to Joe Eitel, computer and ranking guru on JJ Huddle.
Division II Region 7
Zanesville finishes with an 8-2 record and makes it to the post season with 21.27 points, good for the # 8 seed and a trip to take on 10-0 Columbus St. Francis DeSales, the #1 seed. Also making in region 7 is Tri-Valley, who lost game 10 and finished 9-1 but had an average of 21.90, good for the # 6 seed. The Scotties will take on the #3 seed Logan.
Division III Region 11
Several local teams were in the chase for a playoff spot in region 11. John Glenn not only solidified their spot wit ha week 10 win over Morgan, they actually moved up a couple of notches. The 8-2 Muskies are in the #5 seed, actually tied with Canton South with exactly 17.90 points. A tie breaker will determine if John Glenn gets to travel to 7-3 Dover, the #4 seed or to take on Beloit West Branch the # 3 seed.
The Cambridge Bobcats needed a lot of help to move up from their #10 spot into the top 8. The Bobcats got some, including their win over rival Meadowbrook, losses by Poland Seminary, Alliance Marlington and New Philly, however second level points was their undoing though as the Cats needed some of the teams they defeated to pick up win. Only Claymont could help them out and the Bobcats finished 7-3 with an average of 13.65 points and could move no further than #9, just behind # 8 Poland who finished with an identical 7-3 record but had 14.80 avg. points.
Division IV Region 15
St Clairsville capped off a 10- 0 season by gaining the #1 seed in the region and will host Ironton Rock Hill next week. Also in are the Union Local Jets who's only loss was to the Red Devils in 2 overtimes back in week 3. The Jets finished as the #6 seed with 19.66 points and must travel to Waverly to take on the Tigers.
Division V Region 19
The Buckeye Trail Warriors made history with a 10-0 regular season and with 21.50 points earned the #2 seed in the region. The Warriors will host #7 Fredericktown who finished 8-2. The Freddies capped the regular season with a 59-20 victory over Loudonville on Friday.
Claiming the # 6 seed is 9-1 Ridgewood. The Generals will jump on the bus and travel down to take on Wheelersburg, the #3 seed. The Shenandoah Zeps finished off a 7-3 season with a big win over rival Caldwell but could not gain enough points to break into the top eight, finishing 12th with 11.58 points.
Division VI Region 23
In the small school division Beallsville will put their perfect 10-0 record on the line in week 11. The Blue Devils gained the #6 seed with 12.61 points and must travel to take on Monroe County neighbor and # 3 River who's only loss of the regular season was to Div V Buckeye Trail. Amazingly these two teams are in the same county and region and only a few miles apart, but did not play this year. Not only will the game have a playoff atmosphere it will have the air of a backyard rivalry.
We wish all of our local teams the best of luck in the playoffs and encourage everyone to jump on the bandwagon a follow them. As always AVC Sports will have all the post-season action, so check your listings and tune in for all the action.
Bill Kafury
AVC Sports
With only one week remaining in the regular season, many teams are still trying to work their way into the week eleven picture. The Buckeye Trail Warriors are not one of them. With a huge win over River Friday night, the Warriors, unofficially have clinched the #1 seed in Div V region 19, and are guaranteed a home playoff game. Congratulations are in order for the Warriors as they have put together a great season, but they must stay focused as they play rival Monroe Central in week 10. The Seminoles are usually one of those vying for a post season spot, but this year have fallen on tough times and come into week 10 with a 4-5 record. You can be sure Coach Circosta will have the Seminoles fired up as they try to avoid a losing season, something that has rarely happen at Monroe Central.
Buckeye Trail is the only local Div V team who knows their week eleven plan. Other local teams in the playoff hunt in region 19 are 8-1 Ridgewood at #9 and 6-3 Shenandoah at # 12, and both can get in with a win in week 10, but both need some help. The Generals have their annual rivalry game with 3-6 Newcomerstown, and they won't pick up many points with a win but they must get the "W" first and hope for some help.
The Zeps are in desperate need of some help and of course must win first and then watch the scoreboard. Shenandoah closes with cross county rival 3-5 Caldwell which is usually one of those games you can throw out the records, so who knows what will happen. The Redskins have not been mathematically eliminated from the post-season, as they sit at #15 and play #14 and 6-2 Zanesville Bishop Rosecrans on Saturday the 20th. Closing the season out with 2 big wins could jump Caldwell into the playoff picture. A loss to the Bishops would leave the Redskins to play the spoiler role for their local rivals.
In the event that both Ridgewood and Shenandoah win, a scenario that is very likely, they both need to look at teams ahead of them and 2nd level points. Among those teams is #5 Fredericktown who at 7-2 faces a winless opponent in week 10 and does not control their own destiny. Likewise is #8 Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant who plays 1 win River Valley in week 10. Although both of these teams will likely win, they will not earn many 2nd level points in doing so. Sitting at #6 and 7 are Minford and Belpre, both are 7-2 and both are in with a win. Minford plays 4-5 Lucasville Valley, and Belpre squares off with 5-4 Meigs. A win probably moves them each up a notch.
In Div VI region 23, undefeated Beallsville is at #6 but does not control their own destiny. The Blue Devils host 1 win Fort Frye in week 10 and a win would likely keep them in the top 8, but 8-1 Waterford sits at the #10 spot and they play a 5-4 Div 5 Federal Hocking team that could give them enough points to jump into the top 8 at someone else's expense. Perennial Div VI power Newark Catholic sits at the top of this region with Shadyside and River at #2 and #3.
There is no doubt emotions will be running high next Friday night as week 10 rivalries are played throughout the area. For many it will be their last game of their high school careers. For others it will be the springboard to the playoffs and a new season. Whatever the case, week 10 will likely be the most exciting week of the season.
Good Luck to all the local teams. Hope to see you in week 11.
Bill Kafury
AVC Sports
Week 9 of the high school football season is in the books and rivalry week is upon us. But for many local teams, week eleven and the playoffs are what is foremost in their mind. Although the standings are not official as of this writing, several local teams would be in the playoffs if they started this week, and several can still get in with the right scenario. Lets take a look at who they are and what their chances are going into week 10 In Div II and Div III.
Lets start with Division III region 11, which has the 7-2 John Glenn Little Muskies at #8, the 6-3 Cambridge Bobcats at #10. John Glenn is currently holding down that last spot and with a big game next week with MVL and region 11 foe Morgan who at 6-3 and #14 in the region, has to have some help to get in, but must beat the Muskies to even think about it. The Muskies will host the Raiders and if JG wins I think they're in and maybe even move up a notch.
The Bobcats on the other hand, after 3 consecutive playoff appearances, do not control their own destiny. With a win this week over Claymont, the Cats moved up to the #10 spot. The first order of business for the Cats is they must win the rivalry game vs. Meadowbrook. Secondly, the Bobcats need some help, someone ahead of them must lose their week 10 matchup. Of course that could be the Muskies, or #7, 7-2 Poland Seminary who squares off with 8-1 Canfield(a possibility), or #6 Granville, who at 6-3 play 2-7 Lakewood in game 10 and may drop down even with a win. There are a number of factors which could help or hurt the Bobcats, and second level points for themselves and those competing to gain that last spot will be critical. The Bobcats will be watching the scoreboard very closely Friday night.
If Cambridge and John Glenn make it in, they will be faced with the task of traveling to the #1 and #2 seeds to play, and currently they are #1, 9-0 Canal Fulton Northwest, and #2, 8-1 Newark Licking Valley.
Other area teams that are still alive(mathematically) in region 11 are: #11 New Philadelphia who plays #5 Dover in game 10, and #12 Claymont who play rival Indian Valley. Philly with a win over Dover could potentially leap frog several teams, but would also help the Bobcats with 2nd level points.
In Division II region 7, 9-0 Tri Valley is at # 5 and 7-2 Zanesville sits at #7 and although Tri Valley controls their own destiny, the Blue Devils do not. I think each is in with a win, although the Scotties play a tough Uniontown Lake squad who is 6-3 and #9 in region 7 and need a win to get in. Zanesville on the other hand plays 3-5 Chillicothe and needs some help to solidify their spot.
Regardless of who wins and loses it is safe to say that there will be a lot of excitement in week 10 during the game and even after the game as folks will scour the internet via JJ Huddle for updates and results on all the games that will impact their chances.
Good Luck to all, hope to see you in week 11.
Bill Kafury
AVC Sports
