Area football teams looking for top playoff spots

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

The road to a state championship lasts six weeks.
It helps to begin the postseason with two home games before the rest of the games are played at neutral sites.
As it currently stands, three area football teams — Gibsonburg, Oak Harbor and Eastwood — are in line to host two playoff games (provided each of them wins the first one).
To be guaranteed to host two playoff games, a team must finish in the top four of the standings.
Two years ago, the Golden Bears, coached by Joe Wyant, advanced to the Div. VII regional semifinals, winning a home game against Edgerton (42-14) before defeating Waynesfield-Goshen (30-20) on the road and then falling to Antwerp, 35-27.
Gibsonburg, which is 6-2 and is currently ranked third with 12.69 points in the Region 26 standings, plays Cory-Rawson on Friday. The Bears will probably have to finish 8-2 to finish in the top four.
Gibsonburg’s only losses were to two of the state’s top teams — Edison (12-7), which is ranked first in the Div. V, Region 18 standings; and Hopewell-Loudon (27-14), which is also first in the Div. VI, Region 22 standings.
The Bears are undefeated at home.
“I feel playing at home is a big help to anybody. You don’t travel an hour, hour-and-a-half like we did a couple years ago,” said Wyant. “We have to win to stay in the top four (and get two home games).”
As for the Rockets, they’re currently third in Region 18 with 16.16 points. The Eagles, meanwhile, are just behind them with 13.91 points. If Eastwood, which is undefeated at home, defeats Genoa in week 10 — a game that would have implications as far as a league title is concerned — it will have a legitimate shot at finishing in the top four. Both teams are undefeated.
“I think home games are so important if you can get them. Anytime you get a chance to play at home, especially in the playoffs, it’s important because you could be traveling even farther,” said Eastwood coach Sam Cotterman. “It helps the kids be a little more focused and not have to deal with the bus ride.
“If we can put ourselves in a position to be playing for a league championship, that’s what every kid made a goal before the season. That’s what they’ve been working for, and to do it at home, for the seniors, that would just be a tremendous memory they’d always have.”
Meanwhile, Oak Harbor finishes the season with Lake. A win against the Flyers might clinch a conference championship for the Rockets.
As for the Flyers, they’re currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the postseason. Lake is 3-5 and ranked 17th in the Region 18 standings with 5.48 points. Johnstown is ahead of them with 5.90 points.
If the Comets, who are ninth in Region 18 with 11.25 points, beat the Eagles, they’ll probably finish in the top eight and play their first game at home.
“A win over Eastwood would be huge in a variety of ways for us,” said Genoa coach Bill Fisher. “Number one, it’s a feat that our seniors haven’t experienced (at varsity). Number two, it’s not guaranteed yet, but a win would likely get us enough points to allow for a home playoff game. That would be huge for our football program and the community.”
The heavyweight in all of this is Clay, which is having a great season. The Eagles, who are 6-2 and won the Northern Lakes League Cardinal Division, the team’s first league conference title in 42 years.
Clay, which is undefeated at home, finishes the regular season with Rogers and is ranked third in the Div. II, Region 6 standings with 15.68 points.
In the same region is Start, which is 5-3 and ranked 14th with 8.78 points. Northwood alum Nate James coaches the Spartans. If Start wins its final game against Lima Senior, which is undefeated, it will likely guarantee the Spartans a berth in the playoffs.
And last, but certainly not least, is Woodmore, which has gone 4-3 and is ranked 11th in Region 22 with 7.59 points. The Wildcats will finish the season with Lakota.
One thing that has hurt Woodmore is the fact that it didn’t get to play Cleveland John Addams, a Div. II school. The Rebels, who are 5-1, would’ve provided a stiff challenge for the Wildcats, but if Woodmore had come out victorious, it might have been in line to host a playoff game.
Current playoff standings are available on the OHSAA website.