The Ohio high school football regular season is in the books, with plenty of Columbus-area teams gearing up for the playoffs with high expectations.
Olentangy Liberty (10-0) was ranked third in Division I in the final edition of the Associated Press Ohio High School Football Rankings. The Patriots throttled Westerville North 35-14 in week 10 to complete their first undefeated season in school history. They go into the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in D-I Region 2 with a week 11 rematch against rival Olentangy Orange. Liberty defeated Orange 20-13 in a double-overtime thriller in week nine. The Patriots are also one of three unbeaten teams remaining in D-I, along with Colerain and Wayne (the top two ranked teams in Division I).
Elsewhere in Division I, Hilliard Bradley (9-1) moved up one spot to eighth in the rankings, while claiming the second seed D-I Region 3. The Jags shut out Hayes 31-0 in the final game of the regular season. Bradley goes into their first ever playoff appearance with a matchup against Pickerington North looming at home.
Pickerington Central (9-1) and Dublin Jerome (9-1) finished fifth and tenth in the rankings to round out the four OCC schools in the final poll. Central owns the No. 2 seed in D-I Region 2, while Jerome is the No. 3 seed in D-I Region 3.
In Division III, Hamilton Township (8-2) rose into the rankings, sitting just outside the top 10 in the 11th spot. The Rangers were impressive in week 10, blowing out Circleville 48-5 as they capped off their third MSL-Buckeye championship in four years. They go into week 11 as the No. 3 seed in D-III Region 11, and will host Chillicothe in the first round.
New Philadelphia (8-2) dropped out of the rankings in Division III this week after falling to arch-rival Dover 24-21 in overtime. The Quakers still made it into the playoffs as the No. 5 seed in D-III Region 9, and will go on the road to Buckeye in the first round of action.
Listed below is the complete poll of how a state panel of sports writers and broadcasters rated Ohio high school football teams in the final weekly Associated Press poll of 2016, by OHSAA divisions, with won-lost record and total points (first-place votes in parentheses):
DIVISION I
|
TEAM |
REC. |
PTS. |
|
1, Cincinnati Colerain (20) |
10-0 |
246 |
|
2, Huber Heights Wayne (1) |
9-0-1 |
220 |
|
10-0 |
192 |
|
|
4, Cleveland St. Ignatius (3) |
9-1 |
175 |
|
5, Pickerington Central |
9-1 |
148 |
|
6, Solon |
9-1 |
125 |
|
7, Stow-Munroe Falls |
9-1 |
107 |
|
9-1 |
79 |
|
|
9, Lakewood St. Edward |
7-2 |
61 |
|
10, Dublin Jerome |
9-1 |
52 |
DIVISION II
|
TEAM |
REC. |
PTS. |
|
1, Avon (16) |
10-0 |
236 |
|
2, Cincinnati Turpin (2) |
10-0 |
198 |
|
3, Chardon (1) |
10-0 |
180 |
|
4, Holland Springfield (1) |
10-0 |
173 |
|
5, Cincinnati La Salle (5) |
8-2 |
150 |
|
6, Troy |
9-1 |
117 |
|
7, Warren G. Harding (1) |
9-1 |
114 |
|
8, Aurora |
9-1 |
99 |
|
9, Grafton Midview |
9-1 |
79 |
|
10, Massillon Perry |
8-2 |
42 |
DIVISION III
|
TEAM |
REC. |
PTS. |
|
1, Toledo Central Catholic (15) |
10-0 |
246 |
|
2, Columbus St. Francis DeSales (8) |
10-0 |
226 |
|
3, Akron Hoban (3) |
9-1 |
181 |
|
4, Alliance Marlington |
10-0 |
143 |
|
(tie) Franklin |
10-0 |
143 |
|
6, Bexley |
10-0 |
121 |
|
7, Sandusky |
9-1 |
89 |
|
8, Wapakoneta |
9-1 |
85 |
|
9, St. Marys Memorial |
9-1 |
64 |
|
10, Trotwood-Madison |
8-2 |
48 |
DIVISION IV
|
TEAM |
REC. |
PTS. |
|
1, Archbishop Alter (16) |
10-0 |
215 |
|
2, Perry (3) |
10-0 |
186 |
|
3, Heath (2) |
10-0 |
172 |
|
4, Cincinnati Wyoming (1) |
10-0 |
170 |
|
5, Steubenville (1) |
9-1 |
133 |
|
6, Peninsula Woodridge |
10-0 |
96 |
|
7, Mantua Crestwood |
9-1 |
86 |
|
8, Columbus Bishop Hartley (1) |
8-2 |
78 |
|
9, Johnstown-Monroe |
9-1 |
73 |
|
10, Cardinal Mooney |
7-2 |
64 |
DIVISION V
|
TEAM |
REC. |
PTS. |
|
1, Wheelersburg (16) |
10-0 |
230 |
|
2, Coldwater (6) |
9-1 |
222 |
|
3, Cincinnati Hills Christian Aca. (1) |
10-0 |
184 |
|
4, Sugarcreek Garaway (1) |
10-0 |
171 |
|
5, Creston Norwayne (1) |
9-1 |
141 |
|
6, Milan Edison |
9-1 |
120 |
|
7, Pemberville Eastwood |
9-1 |
94 |
|
8, Swanton |
9-1 |
84 |
|
9, Canfield S. Range (1) |
9-1 |
76 |
|
10, Coshocton |
9-1 |
31 |
DIVISION VI
|
TEAM |
REC. |
PTS. |
|
1, Marion Local (17) |
9-1 |
233 |
|
2, Cleveland Cuyahoga Heights (4) |
10-0 |
207 |
|
3, Hamler Patrick Henry (3) |
10-0 |
191 |
|
4, Bucyrus Wynford (1) |
10-0 |
161 |
|
5, Mechanicsburg |
10-0 |
142 |
|
6, Kirtland |
9-1 |
124 |
|
7, Defiance Ayersville |
10-0 |
93 |
|
8, Beverly Fort Frye |
10-0 |
84 |
|
9, Delphos Jefferson |
9-1 |
44 |
|
10, Hannibal River |
10-0 |
34 |
DIVISION VII
|
TEAM |
REC. |
PTS. |
|
1, Covington (13) |
10-0 |
233 |
|
2, Norwalk St. Paul (11) |
10-0 |
230 |
|
3, McComb (1) |
9-1 |
183 |
|
4, Warren John F. Kennedy (1) |
9-1 |
180 |
|
5, Troy Christian |
9-1 |
119 |
|
6, Waterford |
9-1 |
102 |
|
7, Monroeville |
9-1 |
93 |
|
8, Mogadore |
8-2 |
85 |
|
9, Portsmouth Sciotoville |
10-0 |
77 |
|
10, Glouster Trimble |
8-2 |
25 |