The Great Lakes states are defined - in large - by silos, steeples and Friday night stadium lights. With competition thriving, here's our weekly take on the top high school programs in that region playing football in the fall of 2020: Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
National acclaim and big-time talent. North Coast football is a force.
North Central (Indianapolis) downed Lawrence North (Indianapolis) 27-21 last week in a meeting of unbeatens.
Photo by Julie Brown
@EFrantzMP's High School Football Great Lakes Regional Rankings
1. Pickerington Central (Ohio) – 3-0MaxPreps Computer State Ranking: 1/62Last Week (1): The Tigers beat
Central Crossing (Grove City, Ohio) 47-0 for their second straight shutout. Pick Central has outscored opponents 131-9 this season.
Next Up: 9/18, 7 p.m. at
Groveport-Madison (Ohio) – 3-0
2. Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.) – 4-0MaxPreps Computer State Ranking: 2/55.2Last Week (3): In a rematch of last year’s Class 6A semi-states, the Trojans beat
Ben Davis (Indianapolis) 35-12 to give hed coach Eric Moore his 200th win with CG.
Next Up: 9/18, 7 p.m. vs
North Central (Indianapolis) – 4-0
3. Brownsburg (Ind.) – 4-0MaxPreps Computer State Ranking: 1/60.6Last Week (4): Junior running back
Caleb Marcus ran for 230 yards and three touchdowns as the Bulldogs beat Avon 47-29.
Next Up: 9/18, 7 p.m. at
Fishers (Ind.) – 1-3
4. Cathedral (Indianapolis) – 4-0MaxPreps Computer State Ranking: 3/54.5Last Week (5): The Irish jumped out to a 25-0 lead and improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2016 with a 39-20 victory over rival
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (Indianapolis). Cathedral had over 500 yards of offense (541) for the third straight week.
Next Up: 9/18, 7 p.m. vs St. Xavier (Cincinnati) – 2-1
5. St. Xavier (Cincinnati) – 2-1MaxPreps Computer State Ranking: 2/59.3Last Week (6): In the 102nd meeting between the schools, the Bombers scored 21-fourth quarter points to beat host
Elder (Cincinnati) 38-24. It was the Bombers second straight road win in the Greater Catholic League South Division. St. X outgained Elder 161-21 on the ground.
Next Up: 9/18, 7 p.m. at Cathedral (Indianapolis) – 4-0
6. Archbishop Hoban (Akron) – 3-0MaxPreps Computer State Ranking: 3/58.7Last Week (7): The Knights survived
Benedictine (Cleveland) 31-24. Senior quarterback
Shane Hamm threw for 208 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score. Hoban currently does not have a game this week.
Next Up: 9/25, 7 p.m. at
St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron) – 2-1
7. La Salle (Cincinnati) – 2-1MaxPreps Computer State Ranking: 5/53.2Last Week (8): The Lancers won the turnover battle and senior quarterback
Zach Branam and junior running back
Gi'Bran Payne each ran for two touchdowns in a 35-14 win over
Lakota East (Liberty Township, Ohio). Payne also threw for a touchdown.
Next Up: 9/18, 7 p.m. at DuPont Manual – 0-0
8. Central Catholic (Pittsburgh) – 1-0MaxPreps Computer State Ranking: 3/46.5Last Week (9): Senior running back
Eddie Tillman ran for 197 yards and a touchdown as the Vikings opened the season with a 45-17 win over
Canon-McMillan (Canonsburg, Pa.).
Next Up: 9/18, 7 p.m. vs
Norwin (North Huntingdon, Pa.) – 0-0
9. St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) – 2-1MaxPreps Computer State Ranking: 4/54.4Last Week (NR): A week after suffering their worst loss since 2008 and amassing just 107 yards of offense against Archbishop Hoban (Akron), the Eagles had three players rush for over 100 yards each (
Christian Ramos,
Malachi Watkins and
Daniel Enovitch) in a 28-24 win over host
Mentor (Ohio). Ramos, a junior quarterback, ran for three touchdowns and threw for another.
Next Up: 9/19, 7 p.m. at
St. Ignatius (Cleveland) – (1-0)
10. Washington (Massillon, Ohio) – 2-1MaxPreps Computer State Ranking: 10/46Last Week (10): The Tigers forced four turnovers and beat
Harding (Warren, Ohio) 24-0 to record the program’s first back-to-back shutout wins since 2005. Massillon allowed just 49 yards after allowing just 46 in a 35-0 win over
Bishop Sycamore (Columbus) last week.
Next Up: 9/18, 7 p.m. vs Benedictine (Cleveland) – 2-1
Dropped Out:No 2. Mentor (Ohio) – lost 28-24 to St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio)
The Next Five* Mentor (Ohio) – 2-1/50.9
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Pine-Richland (Gibsonia, Pa.) – 1-0/56.1
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Dublin Coffman (Dublin, Ohio) – 3-0/52.8
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Muskego (Wis.) – 0-0/46.4
* North Central (Indianapolis) – 4-0/41.6
Keep An Eye On* Elder (Cincinnati) – 1-2/46.3
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Central Catholic (Toledo) – 3-0/50.3
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Lakota West (West Chester, Ohio) – 3-0/43.7
* Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (Indianapolis) – 3-1/39.7
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Mt. Vernon (Fortville, Ind.) – 4-0/34.9
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Peters Township (McMurray, Pa.) – 0-0/45.3
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Catholic Memorial (Waukesha, Wis.) – 0-0/43.7
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River Rouge (Mich.) – 0-0/44.9
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Belleville (Mich.) – 0-0/39.3
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Central Dauphin (Harrisburg, Pa.) – 0-0/44.9
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Davison (Mich.) – 0-0/45.4
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Catholic Central (Grand Rapids, Mich.) - 0-0/40.3
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Warwick (Lititz, Pa.) – 0-0/36.9
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St. Ignatius (Cleveland) – 1-0/43.3
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West Bloomfield (Mich.) – 0-0/38.4
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Valparaiso (Ind.) – 2-0/29.6
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Bay Port (Green Bay, Wis.) – 0-0/34.5
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Fond du Lac (Wis.) – 0-0/33.6
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Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson Hills, Pa.) – 1-0/41.2
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Central Valley (Monaca, Pa.) – 1-0/41.1
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Muskegon (Mich.) – 0-0/38
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King (Detroit) – 0-0/37.4
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New Palestine (Ind.) – 2-1/33.6
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Carmel (Ind.) – 2-2/33.6
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Gateway (Monroeville, Pa.) – 1-0/36.2
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Waunakee (Wis.) – 0-0/33.4