COLUMBUS, Ohio — The OHSAA Game of the Week continues as Division I reaches the regional semifinals on Friday night.
There is still a buzz in Northeast Ohio around the Medina Bees, which knocked off top-seeded St. Edward last week. Up next is St. Ignatius, and Medina will look to become the first school since Mentor in 2017 to march past both saint schools of St. Edward and St. Ignatius in consecutive weeks of the playoffs.
The Bees (5-3) have never advanced this far in their playoff history, with four previous appearances. The Wildcats (3-3) have a deceiving record with losses to St. Edward, Massillon, and St. Xavier. St. Ignatius is trying to reach the regional final for the first time since 2017.
Plenty of intrigue surrounds the Olentangy Liberty and Dublin Coffman matchup in Central Ohio.
The 8-0 Shamrocks handed the Patriots their only loss of the season, 24-17, back on Sept. 4. The schools are less than 10 miles apart, and the districts are contiguous.
Both are playoff mainstays, with Coffman reaching the post-season every year since 2009, and Liberty has had an annual reservation since 2014. The Patriots were winners in a Region 2 Final in 2018, part of a run of three-straight regional titles for Olentangy Liberty. The ‘Rocks are two wins away from rolling into a state semifinal for the first time since 2007.
You want history? Elder and St. Xavier are steeped in it. For the 103rd time, these GCL South rivals will battle on the gridiron.
St. Xavier ended a three-game losing streak to the Panthers on Sept. 11, with a 38-24 victory. Elder swept the meetings in 2019, including a Region 4 semifinal meeting, on the way to a state championship game appearance. St. Xavier’s win in the regular season was its first at The Pit since the 2016 season, when the Bombers completed a magical run through the playoffs, going from a 5-5 record in the regular season to a state championship.
As a bonus, coverage of the GWOC rematch between Springfield and Northmont will be available on channel 314. The Thunderbolts needed overtime to prevail over the Wildcats, 38-35, in Springfield’s only setback of the season. With a win, Northmont would reach its first regional final in school history. The Wildcats are working towards a second straight trip to the Division I “Final Four.”
In addition to those games available on Spectrum News 1, and on the new Spectrum News app, these are provided through www.ohsaa.tv, free to Spectrum customers (log-in required):
- No. 6 Brunswick vs. No. 2 Mentor (Division I, Region 1) – Mentor beat Brunswick 38-0 on Sept. 18
- No. 13 Hilliard Bradley vs. No. 1 Pickerington Central (Division I, Region 3) – Pickerington Central is the defending Division I state champions
- No. 5 Colerain vs. No. 1 Lakota West (Division I, Region 4) – Colerain alum, and former head coach, Tom Bolden now leads Lakota West, which beat the Cardinals 10-0 in the season opener
- No. 5 Walsh Jesuit vs. No. 4 Benedictine (Division II, Region 5) – Walsh (5-1) won four games total from 2015-19
- No. 7 Hoover vs. No. 2 Massillon (Division II, Region 7) – Tigers seeking first OHSAA state championship since tournament format began in 1972. Lost in state finals in both 2018 and 2019
- No. 5 Turpin vs. No. 4 Kings (Division II, Region 8) – 12th meeting last 10 years, with Kings winning 7 of the previous 11, including playoff match-ups in 2015 and 2011
- No. 8 Granville vs. No. 1 DeSales (Division III, Region 11) – neither school played last week, as both opponents had to cancel the Region 11 playoff games
- No. 5 London vs. No. 4 Jonathan Alder (Division III, Region 11) – Pioneers closed regular season with 30-13 win over Red Raiders, London’s only loss of the season
Stick with Spectrum News 1 following the games for High School Blitz. Neil Sika, and Matt D’Orazio wrap up the night in the OHSAA playoffs, and look ahead to next Friday’s games.
