For those of you who are fortunate enough to live outside of Ohio, I wanted to make sure that you knew today is the first day of the Ohio High School Football State Finals. Today, Division VI, IV, and II (in that order) are playing. If you live in Ohio or have a satellite dish, the games are all televised on Sportstime Ohio (662 for you DIRECTV customers). Since there is an abundance of talent in these games, and who doesn't love 8 hours of football...I've put together some info on all the games today.
I've been planning to write a primer for those who don't follow as closely. Unfortunately, I have procrastinated to the point where I no longer have any time to put it off, so here we go...
Game #1 - Division VI Championship.
Time: 11:00 AM
Location: Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Massillon, OH
Matchup: Maria Stein Marion Local (12-2) vs Newark Catholic (12-2)
General Info: Both teams like to throw the ball and have both had very challenging schedules (MSML plays in the toughest 'pound for pound' league in the state while NC plays a schedule full of tough Division III and IV teams)
Interesting Info: These two teams are perennial powers who have a combined 13 state championships (MSML - 5, NC - 8), but they have never faced each other.
Outlook: Marion Local is a slight favorite. If I were an oddsmaker, I would have them as a 4 pt favorite. This should be an excellent game with both teams putting up some points on the board.
Players to watch: Adam Bertke, QB - Marion Local. He visited a UM game this year and is one of the QB's under consideration for an offer.
Game #2 - Division IV Championship
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: Canton Fawcett Stadium, Canton, OH
Matchup: Saint Clairsville (14-0) vs Clinton Massie (14-0)
General Info: These two teams both got here with a major upset in the semifinals. Saint Clairsville took down the 2011 state champion, Norwayne 40-27 while Clinton Massie defeated previously unbeaten (and 2010 champion) Columbus Bishop Hartley 45-0.
Interesting Facts: Both teams are appearing in their first OHSAA championship game. Saint Clairsville has outscored their opponents by an average of 48.4 to 17.2 and has not scored less than 37 points in any of their 14 games. Clinton Massie averages 55.4 ppg (!!) while holding their opponents to 5.3 ppg, and has not scored less than 35 in any of their 14 games. They have eclipsed the 75 pt barrier 3 times.
Outlook: Clinton Massie is probably a 14 pt. favorite based on their stellar defensive play. People at the SC games last year thought that Ferns was a little dinged up as well. Either way, there is going to be some quick scoring in this game and should be very exciting to watch.
Players to wach:
Michael Ferns, RB,/LB - Saint Clairsville. You may have heard of him before.
Dan Monteroso, WR/DB - Saint Clairsville. A BC commit has racked up huge receiving numbers on the SC's playoff march.
Game #3 - Division II Championship.
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Massillon, OH
Matchup: Toledo Central Catholic (13-1) vs Dayton Trotwood-Madison (12-2)
General Info: Two heavy hitters with loads of Division I CFB talent. Trotwood is the defending Division II state champion, while TCC is looking to win their first since 2005. TCC's only loss (0-42) came at the hands of Toledo Whitmer who is playing for the Division I title on Saturday.
Interesting Info: Trotwood has survived 1 OT game and a back and forth nail-biter vs. New Albany to get back to the title game.
Outlook: After looking at the depth of D-1 talent on hand, you would think TM would be a big favorite. However, TM does not have good QB play while TCC has a big-time prospect in Kizer leading them. This levels the playing field, IMO. This game should be a close one, with so many exciting players on hand. People are leaning toward TCC, but I would call it a toss up.
Players to Watch: Considering that Trotwood Madison is the Cass Tech of Ohio, we will start there.. 2013 recruits..
Mike McCray LB/TE - Trotwood. You may know something about him...
Cam Burrows DB - Trotwood. ohio commit #4 CB per Rivals, #27 player overall
Jarrod Clements DE - Trotwood. Illinois commit #17 DE per Rivals
Reon Dawson CB - Trotwood. Illinois commit, but UM recruit. Unranked 3* per rivals
Israel Green RB - Trotwood. Uncommitted 2* RB who set a state record in the title game last year
Cody Collins OG - Trotwood. Marshall commit. 2* per Rivals
Trey Williams-Brown DE - Trotwood. Uncommitted 3* per Rivals
2014 recruits include: Kieran Winn (DB), Ashton Jackson (RB, multiple D-1 offers), Verondtae Wilkinson (DE, Illinois & Cincinnati offers), Kendric Mallory (Illinois offer), Ryan Reese (Illinois offer) --I'm starting to see a trend here...
TCC
Jayme Thomspon S - TCC. #19 S and #195 overall per Rivals. 4* ohio commit
Keith Towbridge TE - TCC. Unranked 3* per Rivals (Underrated, IMO)
2014 recruits include: Deshone Kizer (4* QB) and UM recruit. Paul Moses (RB, Nebraska offer),
