By Ed Letsinger
MaxPreps.com
The complex Harbin Rankings formulas are complete and calculators and spreadsheets have finally been put away, meaning the playoffs are here for Ohio football.
Seventeen Cincinnati-area schools in six different divisions begin their quest for a state title with opening round quarterfinal games scheduled for this weekend.
Three teams earned No. 1 seeds, including Colerain (9-1) in Division I, Region 4, Winton Woods (9-1) in Division II, Region 8, and Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (10-0) in Division V, Region 20.
Colerain hosts No. 8-seed Moeller (6-4) in one of the better Division I opening-round games. The Crusaders slipped in the final week after beating St. Xavier 17-14 in a regular season finale.
Winton Woods entertains Dayton Dunbar (8-2), while CHCA plays host to East Clinton (7-3) with both considered heavy favorites.
In Division II, Region 8, six of the eight possible slots were filled by Cincinnati schools with defending state champion Anderson (8-2), Turpin (8-2), Kings (7-3), Edgewood (8-2) and unbeaten Western Brown (10-0) joining Winton Woods. Five out of the six schools are from the Fort Ancient Valley Conference, the most of any conference.
Unbeaten Woodward (10-0) in Division I and Western Brown (10-0) in Division II, along with New Miami (7-3) in Division VI are making their first-ever playoff appearances.
Despite their perfect records, the No. 5-seed Bulldogs and No. 7-seed Broncos enter as underdogs and are on the road against Huber Heights Wayne and New Carlisle Tecumseh, respectively. New Miami is a big underdog against top-seed Mechanicsburg, ranked No. 2 in the state.
School of Hard Knocks
While 17 Cincinnati teams are celebrating making the playoffs, several were left scratching their heads after not qualifying.
Sycamore (8-2, 5-2 GMC) finished in the ninth spot in Division I, Region 4 despite losing just two games and finishing tied for second in the strong Greater Miami Conference. Hamilton (7-3, 5-2 GMC) also missed out finishing in the 10th spot.
Indian Hill (8-2, 7-0 CHL) in Division III and Wyoming (7-3, 6-1 CHL) in Division IV – both from the Cincinnati Hills League – were left out. Norwood finished 7-3 overall and second in the strong FAVC Scarlet Division (3-2) but finished 11th in Division III.
Soccer: Cincinnati Teams Flexing Muscle
The Ohio soccer playoffs are heading toward regional championship play this weekend with state tournament berths on the line. Several Cincinnati schools are still in the thick of the race.
Milford continues to be one of the hottest teams in Division I boys soccer. The unbeaten Eagles (17-0-3) blitzed St. Xavier 5-0 in a Division I regional semifinal on Tuesday night to advance to a regional final against No. 2 Beavercreek on Saturday.
Milford, ranked No. 1 in the local coaches’ poll for the entire season and currently No. 3 in the state, has dominated in the postseason defeating its four opponents by a combined 13-0 count. Counting a regular-season 6-0 win over Kings, the Eagles have posted five-straight shutouts.
A potent offensive attack is led by seniors Ryan Grothaus and Ben Jones, both of whom finished in the top 10 in points in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference. Grothaus has accumulated 39 points (15 goals, 9 assists) while Jones has added 35 points (12 goals, 11 assists). Senior goalkeeper Tommy George has been stellar in the net with 13 shutouts to date.
Three of the four teams that qualified for the Division II girls regional tournament were from the Greater Cincinnati area, including Madeira, Mariemont and Badin. The Rams (12-5-4) defeated Mariemont 1-0 while the unbeaten Mustangs (19-0-1) took care of Waynesville and will play for the regional title on Saturday.
Defending Division I state champion St. Ursula (17-0-3) is unbeaten and rolled past Huber Heights Wayne 5-0 in a regional semifinal contest setting up a colossal match-up against unbeaten Centerville (20-0-1) with a trip to the state final four on the line.
The Bulldogs have been an offensive juggernaut averaging 4.73 goals a game behind Elizabeth Burchenal, who leads the Girls Greater Cincinnati League in scoring with 73 points (29 goals, 15 assists). Teammates Lauren Amyx (38 points) and Marisa Wolf (35) rank in the top five.
Ed Letsinger is a freelance writer who covers prep sports in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. He can be reached at eletsinger@insightbb.com.
