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OHIO — The 2022 Ohio High School Athletic Association football postseason has reached an interesting nexus. For the 56 teams still playing, they are officially on a playoff run, winning three straight games.

However, things get more challenging with each week, and they are still three wins away from claiming one of seven state championships.

Speaking of championships, 28 schools will celebrate regional titles either Friday or Saturday. While some have bigger goals in mind, 12 schools have never won a region, including Lakota West in Division I, Kings in Division II and Tippecanoe in Division III.

Others are shooting for first titles in 20 or more years, like Valley View (2002), West Branch (1998), Padua (1979) and Holy Name (1975).

The top-seeds have done fairly well, with 21 of the 28 still alive heading into the regional finals. There are 13 two-seeds and 11 three-seeds, however, only eight of the 28 regions feature a final with the top-two seeds remaining.

The lowest seeds alive? That would be 10th-seeded Anderson in Region 8, which is the same seed for Padua in Region 10.

The only divisions where a repeat state champion is still in play are Division I (St. Edward) and III (Chardon), although Marion Local—the 2021 Division VII winner—is still alive, although the Flyers have moved up Division VI this year.

Finally, there are 15 remaining undefeated schools; Lakota West (Division I), Hudson (Division II), Badin (Division III), Glenville and Wyoming (Division IV), South Range, Liberty Center, Harvest Prep, Ironton and Milton-Union (all in Division V), Kirtland, Mogadore, Columbia Station Columbia and Marion Local (Division VI), and Antwerp in Division VII.

Checking in on Friday’s OHSAA Game of the Week on Spectrum News and the Spectrum News app:

• NE Ohio Division I, Region 1 – 3. Mentor (9-3) vs. 1. St. Edward (12-1) at Euclid
• Central Ohio Division I, Region 3 – 3. New Albany (10-3) vs. 1. Gahanna (12-1) at Crew Stadium
• SW Ohio Division I, Region 4 – 3. Lakota West (13-0) vs. 1. Moeller (12-1) at Princeton

Bonus coverage will be available on Spectrum channel 314:

• Division I, Region 2 – 8. Olentangy Liberty (8-5) vs. 2. Springfield (11-1) at London

You can easily make a case that in northeast Ohio, over the past 20 years, the top Division I football programs have been Mentor and St. Edward.

Going back to 2003, the two schools have combined for five state titles, 15 Region 1 championships (after Friday), and almost 200 wins apiece. Here is how they stack up:

Of those 14 head-to-head meetings, eight of those have been in the playoffs, and wouldn’t you know it… each school has won four times. Eight of those 14 total match-ups have been decided by seven or fewer points.

Last year, in the regular season, the Eagles soared to a 47-7 win. The most recent post-season tussle came in 2010, where the Cardinals were the superior species, winning 36-35 in overtime.

None of this should surprise anyone, and for the tenth time in 11 years, it will either be St. Edward or Mentor winning region 1 (St. Ignatius in 2016).

Springfield and Olentangy Liberty will continue the streak of producing the Region 2 champions going back to 2016. The Patriots won that title from 2016 through 2018, with the Wildcats taking over each of the last three years.

Incredibly, these two have only played once on the field, with Springfield claiming a 19-0 decision in 2020 in that year’s regional final. As usual, there isn’t a lot of attention on the Wildcats, who pushed St. Edward to the limit in last year’s state championship game.

In Region 3, third-seeded New Albany is seeking revenge from a 38-24 loss to Gahanna back on September 30^th. In that contest, Lions QB Brennen Ward was 21-of-32 for 255 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Diore Hubbard added 164 yards on the ground, and two scores.

The bordering communities have never played in the post-season, but have met in each of the past seven years, with the Lions roaring to a 5-2 advantage. The teams have alternated wins, though, starting with the Golden Eagles triumph in 2019. Gahanna’s wins in 2020 and 2018 both required overtime.

New Albany’s last regional title came in 2012, when it was quarterbacked by Darron Lee, who just two years later became a major contributor at linebacker to Ohio State’s national championship season.

Gahanna, meanwhile, is celebrating the 40^th anniversary of its lone regional win, back in 1982.

Moving south to Region 4, where Moeller is looking for a second straight title. The Crusaders advanced last year with a 21-17 win over Lakota West, who will be on the opposite sideline again Friday night at Princeton High School.

A year ago, the Firebirds led 17-14 going into the fourth quarter, before then-sophomore running back Jordan Marshall scored the go-ahead touchdown.

Lakota West has never won a regional title in school history, going back to 1997-98 when Lakota West and East were split from Lakota.

All-time, Moeller is 4-1 against Lakota West, with the lone Firebirds win coming in 2006. The two also met in the 2004 post-season.

Other games on Friday, only available at http://OHSAA.tv:

• Division II, Region 5 – 3. Hudson (13-0) vs. 1. Hoban (12-1) at Twinsburg
• Division I, Region 6 – 3. Toledo Central (12-1) vs. 1. Avon (12-1) at Sandusky Perkins
• Division I, Region 7 – 2. Lake (12-1) vs. 1. Massillon (11-1) at Parma Byers Field
• Division II, Region 8 – 10. Anderson (8-5) vs. 4. Kings (12-1) at Mason
• Division II, Region 9 – 2. Canfield (11-1) vs. 1. Chardon (11-1) at Ravenna
• Division II, Region 10 – 10. Padua (8-5) vs. 1. Holy Name (10-2) at Maple Heights
• Division II, Region 11 – 5. Bloom-Carroll (12-1) vs. 3. Watterson (12-1)
• Division II, Region 12 – 3. Tippecanoe (11-1) vs. 1. Badin (13-0) at Trotwood-Madison
• Division III, Region 17 – 3. Perry (11-2) vs. 1. South Range (13-0) at Berkshire
• Division III, Region 18 – 2. Elmwood (12-1) vs. 1. Liberty Center (13-0) at Perrysburg
• Division V, Region 19 – 2. Harvest Prep (13-0) vs. 1. Ironton (13-0) at Waverly
• Division V, Region 20 – 2. Milton-Union (12-0) vs. 1. Valley View (12-1) at Piqua

After all the games, tune in for High School Blitz, as Brett Hiltbrand, Matt D’Orazio and Antonio Pittman break down the night’s action, and preview the “road to Canton.”

There is bonus coverage Saturday on channel 314, as well:

• Division VI, Region 21 – 2. Mogadore (11-0) vs. 1. Kirtland (13-0) at Nordonia

All regional finals are available at http://OHSAA.tv including these games Saturday:

• Division IV, Region 13 – 6. Jefferson Area (10-3) vs. 1. West Branch (12-1) at Niles
• Division IV, Region 14 – 6. Van Wert (12-1) vs. 1. Glenville (12-0) at Tiffin
• Division IV, Region 15 – 4. Indian Valley (10-3) vs. 2. Steubenville (11-2) at St. Clairsville
• Division IV, Region 16 – 2. Cincinnati Taft (11-2) vs. 1. Wyoming (13-0) at Lakota West
• Division VI, Region 22 – 5. Columbus Grove (11-2) vs. 3. Columbia (13-0) at Clyde
• Division VI, Region 23 – 3. Bellaire (9-4) vs. 1. Fort Frye (12-1) at Zanesville
• Division VI, Region 24 – 2. Allen East (12-1) vs. 1. Marion Local (13-0) at Wapakoneta
• Division VII, Region 25 – 3. Danville (11-2) vs. 1. Warren JFK (11-1) at New Philadelphia
• Division VII, Region 26 – 4. Lima Central Catholic (9-4) vs. 2. Antwerp (13-0) at Findlay
• Division VII, Region 27 – 2. River (12-1) vs. 1. Newark Catholic (10-1) at Cambridge
• Division VII, Region 28 – 5. New Bremen (10-3) vs. 2. Fort Loramie (11-2) at Sidney

All of next weekend’s state semifinals will either on be Spectrum News 1, the Spectrum News App, or ohsaa.tv.