Glenville hopes to survive Ohio playoff gauntlet

The Glenville (Cleveland) football team has been the No. 1-ranked team in the Division I state poll all season and is 15th in this week's Xcellent 25 Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.

But can the Tarblooders survive an unquestionably deep group of teams in Region 1 and string together five more wins to capture their first state championship?

The biggest question has to do with whether they've been tested enough to turn it on beginning Saturday when they play host to Harding (Warren) in a regional quarterfinal.

Glenville blew through its seven opponents in the Senate Athletic League by a combined 328-38 score while posting four shutouts. If the Tarblooders win their playoff opener, they then would face either undefeated and third-ranked St. Edward (Lakewood) or Mentor, which is on a six-game winning streak.

After that, a matchup with either seventh-ranked Solon or ninth-ranked Austintown-Fitch (Youngstown) could be in order.

Although Glenville piled up the third-most computer points in the state on the way to a 10-0 regular season, it hasn't been tested since mid-September.

"It's all practice and preparation," quarterback Cardale Jones told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "We know how the Senate (Athletic League) is, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing or a good thing, but we practice hard against each other every single day."

St. Edward also hasn't been tested much in recent weeks, although it did handily beat Division I, Region 4 playoff qualifier Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) 31-7 on Oct. 23 on the way to a 10-0 regular season. Solon, meanwhile, had to endure overtime to edge Strongsville 31-28 last Friday to go 10-0.

The top-seeded Comets open Saturday against No. 8 Brecksville-Broadview Heights (Broadview Heights). The winner would play Austintown-Fitch (Youngstown) or South (Willoughby) in a regional semifinal.

2. Davidson stays undefeated: The defending Division I state champion Hilliard Davidson football team won its 17th consecutive game and posted its first undefeated regular season since 2006 by beating local rival Darby (Hilliard) 16-0 last Friday. Although the Panthers made the playoffs with an 8-2 record, Wildcats coach Brian White wasn't thrilled with the way his team executed on the way to the win.

"We were just sloppy," said White, whose team is fourth in the state poll. "We had at least four illegal procedure penalties, and with our style those are drive killers."

3. Central secures No. 1 seed: The Pickerington Central football team finished with the most computer points in the state despite having a bye week as it blasted Reynoldsburg 45-0 last Friday for its fifth shutout of the season.
The Tigers are the top-seeded team in Division I, Region 3 and will open the postseason Saturday against visiting Troy.

4. McKinley dominates Massillon: In the 120th meeting between two of northeast Ohio's most revered programs, McKinley (Canton) rushed for 357 yards to power past Washington (Massillon) 40-17. Despite the loss, Washington still leads the series 64-51-5.

The Bulldogs jumped up to grab the top seed in Division I, Region 2 with the victory and will open the postseason Saturday at home against Medina. The Tigers slipped to sixth and will play at Whitmer (Toledo) in their playoff opener. The other playoff matchups in the region pit Twinsburg at Southview (Sylvania) and Ross (Fremont) at St. John's Jesuit (Toledo).

5. Northland finally breaks through: With a 12-7 victory over City League-North Division rival Beechcroft (Columbus) last Friday, the Northland (Columbus) football team earned a share of its first league title since 1996 and qualified for the playoffs for the first time.

The Vikings will open the Region 3 playoffs Saturday at Davidson (Hilliard). The other matchups in the region feature Hilliard Darby at Springfield and Coffman (Dublin) at Westerville South.

TOP PERFORMERS
* Chris Rhodes, West (Columbus) football: During a 40-31 loss last Friday to Briggs (Columbus), the junior quarterback finished 17-for-29 passing for 306 yards with four touchdowns. Rhodes, who has a prosthetic right eye due to an accident which occurred while he was an infant, has completed 170 of 320 passes on the season for 2,512 yards with 33 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

* Drew Black, Canal Winchester football: During a 42-20 victory last Friday over Teays Valley (Ashville) which helped Canal Winchester earn a home playoff game in Division II, Region 7, this talented quarterback completed all nine of his pass attempts for 275 yards and three touchdowns. The Indians also broke their program record for points in a season with 328.

* Tyrin Williams, Tallmadge football: The junior running back finished with 176 yards and two touchdowns last Friday during a 35-32 victory over Green. His performance helped Tallmadge lock up the No. 1 seed in Division II, Region 5 and post its first undefeated season since 2005. The Blue Devils, who are eighth in the state poll, will open the postseason Friday at home against Roosevelt (Kent).

COMING THIS WEEK
* Boys and girls state cross country meet, Divisions I, II and III: The Magnificat (Rocky River) girls team will look for its third consecutive Division I state championship while the Woodridge (Peninsula) boys squad will try for its fifth in a row in Division II on Saturday at Scioto Downs. The St. Ignatius (Cleveland) boys in Division I, the St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron) girls in Division II and the Minster girls and Independence boys in Division III all are back to defend their state team titles.

* DeSales at Watterson, football: Despite finishing 5-5 during the regular season, the St. Francis de Sales (Columbus) football team beat Benedictine (Cleveland) 35-24 last Saturday to earn the eighth seed in Division III, Region 10. The Stallions will play top-seeded Bishop Watterson (Columbus) in a rematch of a game they lost 31-7 on Oct. 15. DeSales is in the playoffs for the 17th consecutive season, which is the longest active streak in the state.

* Zanesville at Marion-Franklin (Columbus), football: The Marion-Franklin (Columbus) football team is No. 1 ranked in the Division II state poll and locked up the top seed in Region 7 with a 64-32 victory last Friday over South (Columbus). After posting their first undefeated season, the Red Devils play host Friday to Zanesville. The Blue Devils haven't won a playoff game since 1997, but they went 9-1 during the regular season with their only loss coming to Division III playoff-qualifier East Liverpool (21-17 on Sept. 18).

RECRUITING NEWS
Africentric (Columbus) girls basketball players Raven Ferguson and Brittani Thomas will be signing with Ohio State and Akron, respectively. Ferguson, who averaged 23 points and is a three-year starter, also considered Louisville, Xavier and Michigan State. … Firestone (Akron) senior running back Cody Grice has made a verbal commitment to play for the University of Akron, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. The 6-foot, 240-pounder has rushed for more than 1,100 yards this season.

BRIEFLY
Each of the teams that made it to the Division I state final four in girls volleyball won district titles over the weekend. In regional semifinals to be played Thursday, defending state champion Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati) faces Mother of Mercy (Cincinnati) while last year's runner-up, Dublin Coffman, will meet Bishop Watterson (Columbus). The other 2009 state semifinalists still alive are Magnificat (Rocky River) and Stow-Munroe Falls. … Jennifer Segner-Maxwell has taken over as the softball coach at Marysville, according to ThisWeekSPORTS.com. Segner-Maxwell takes over after Chris Shirer stepped down to become an assistant at Ohio Dominican. Under Shirer, the Monarchs went 270-78 in 12 seasons and won five Ohio Capital Conference and five Division I district titles.

Jarrod Ulrey covers Central and Northern Ohio for MaxPreps.com. He covers prep sports for ThisWeekSPORTS.com and can be reached at julrey@thisweeknews.com.