COLUMBUS — The fastest 10 weeks of the year is officially finished and that means only one thing: It’s playoff time!
Before we turn the page to the postseason, let’s check out some of the best high school football performances from around the state in Week 10 — with this week’s Ohio Prep Sports Writers Association High School Football Notebook.
* Coal Grove senior running back Chase Hall rushed for 255 yards and five touchdowns on 18 carries, and completed his only pass attempt for a 52-yard touchdown, in the Hornets’ 56-28 win over Rock Hill on Friday night. Hall had also an interception and fumble recovery on defense. With Friday night’s rushing performance, he set the new Coal Grove single-season rushing record with 2,219 yards and 36 touchdowns on 248 carries.
* Ironton senior quarterback Tayden Carpenter completed 12 of 17 passes for 189 yards and six touchdowns, as senior wideout Ty Perkins caught five passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns, in the Fighting Tigers’ 42-7 win at Portsmouth on Friday night. The Fighting Tigers completed the regular season a perfect 10-0, and are the outright Ohio Valley Conference champions for the fourth consecutive season.
} Portsmouth West junior Jeffery Bishop caught a 38-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass on the first half’s final play, made the interception before the Senators’ go-ahead second-half scoring drive, and collected eight tackles in the Senators’ 14-7 win over Wheelersburg on Friday night. Senators senior running back Ryan Sissel rushed for 153 yards and a 10-yard touchdown run on 24 carries, and made a dozen tackles in addition. West won its first Southern Ohio Conference Division II championship since 2008, defeated Wheelersburg for the first time since 2011 to snap a 13-game losing streak to the Pirates, and became the first Scioto County team to defeat Wheelersburg since Lucasville Valley did so in 2013.
* Minford junior Jeffrey Pica rushed for 158 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries, and caught two passes for 35 yards, in the Falcons’ 28-22 double-overtime victory over Lucasville Valley on Friday night —winning the annual rivalry game of Lucasville-Minford Road for the second consecutive season.
* Franklin Furnace Green junior Nathaniel Brannigan rushed for 223 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries in the Bobcats’ 41-26 Southern Ohio Conference Division I road loss at Beaver Eastern.
* In nine of the last 10 seasons, McComb and Liberty-Benton have met in Week 10. In eight of those nine years, either an outright Blanchard Valley Conference championship, or at least a piece title, was on the line and it was again Friday night when McComb, 9-1 overall, came away with a 39-16 win to wrap up an undefeated 7-0 run through the league. Liberty-Benton (7-3) needed a win to claim a share of the title, but ended up 5-2 in the league.
* Marion Local wrapped up a perfect regular season and an outright Midwest Athletic Conference title with a 35-0 win over Coldwater in a battle of teams that were top-ranked in their respective divisions. Marion, ranked No. 1 in Division VII, held the Division V top-ranked Cavaliers to just 91 yards of total offense. Darren Meier scored four of the Flyers’ five touchdowns and recovered a fumble that led to a score. Coldwater, which lost starting quarterback Marcel Blasingame in a week-nine win over Versailles, struggled to get moving with receiver Braylen Harlamert taking the snaps at quarterback for the first full game. The game was highly-anticipated for the battle for the MAC title, but fans were hoping to get into the 50/50 drawing. The winner of the 50/50 took home $11,687.
* Mogadore football plays its 100th all-time playoff game on Friday night. They are currently 67-32 all-time in the playoffs. They are undefeated in home playoff games at 24-0. They are making their 25th consecutive playoff appearance. Mogadore won its 44th league championship on Friday night with a 34-14 victory over Rootstown.
