Here's a recap of the third round of the Ohio high school playoffs, focusing on the Northeast Ohio area.
Region 1
No. 2 Stow-Munroe Falls 38,
No. 3 Lewis Center Olentangy 16
Jayson Gobble's importance to the Stow offense was not overlooked. But quarterback Kyle Vantrease showed he's a pretty big part of it, too.
The Stow signal-caller completed 11 of 21 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs earned a berth to the round of four in Division I. Gobble, meanwhile, rushed for 104 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries, as Stow's multi-faceted attack took advantage of four Olentangy turnovers. Of those turnovers, three came via interception, as Monte Board, Logan Ford and Owen Fankhauser recorded one each.
Stow moves on to face No. 1 Lakewood St. Edward in the Region 1 final.
Division II
Region 3
No. 5 Hudson 31,
No. 3 Mayfield 6
An opening blunder by Mayfield on fourth down set up Hudson on its opponent’s 20-yard line. It was indicative of the way the night would go for both teams.
Roman Moreno scored on a 4-yard touchdown run three plays after the turnover to give Hudson an early lead it wouldn’t relinquish. The Explorers dominated on the defensive side of the football, registering 11 sacks and holding a Wildcats offense that averaged 33 points per game to just six. Hudson blew the game wide open in the second half, taking a 24-0 lead on touchdown runs by Matt Restifo and Jackson Parker.
The Explorers secured the Region 3 title and will face No. 1 Massillon Perry in a state semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Solon High School.
Region 5
No. 1 Massillon Perry 28,
No. 3 Worthington Kilbourne 7
Keishaun Sims wasn’t the only weapon Perry took to the field in the Region 5 final.
Tevion Cleveland made it that much more difficult to stop Perry’s Wing T offense, gaining 142 yards on 19 carries and scoring two first-half touchdowns. Combined with Sims’ 142 yards rushing on 31 carries, the Panthers easily broke the 300 yard mark on the ground. Perry handled Kilbourne, avoiding a potential momentum swing in the third by responding to a touchdown with a four-yard Sims score to take a 21-7 lead.
Perry will battle Hudson at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Solon High School for the right to go to the state final.
Division III
Region 7
No. 1 Archibishop Hoban 24,
No. 2 St. Vincent-St. Mary 21
In a rematch of an early match-up, Hoban and St. V-M did not disappoint.
Hoban took advantage of early St. V-M mistakes, grabbing a 17-0 lead by the early stages of the third. The Knights were seemingly in complete control when St. V-M responded with a flurry of points in the quarter, cutting the Hoban lead to 17-14.
A pick-six by Hoban’s Anthony Christian again presented the Irish with an uphill climb, and while Markus Hurd scored his second touchdown of the game with 1:36 left to play, it wasn’t enough. Hoban managed to burn the clock down to mere seconds before a St. V-M heave came up empty.
The Knights earned their second win of 2015 over the Irish and a heaping portion of bragging rights on the gridiron, as well as a trip to the Division III final four, where they’ll face Zanesville at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Massillon’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
Division IV
Region 11
No. 5 Youngstown Ursuline 41,
No. 3 Mantua Crestwood 13
Crestwood’s dream season came to a crushing end against a program steeped in postseason success Saturday night.
Ursuline’s deeper backfield — and program — proved to be too much for the smaller roster of Crestwood, churning up 223 yards on the ground. The Irish’s stingy defense didn’t help the Red Devils’ effort, either, holding Crestwood star running back Logan Thut to 23 yards rushing.
Mistakes — namely, four first-half fumbles — also doomed the Red Devils, who took an early lead but quickly saw it evaporate.
Ever the second-half team, Ursuline outscored Crestwood 28-7 in the third and fourth quarters to coast to a regional championship.
The Irish will face Steubenville in the Division IV semifinals.
Division VII
Region 23
No. 2 Mogadore 35,
No. 1 Warren John F. Kennedy 7
It’s becoming one of those years the locals will talk about for decades in Mogadore. Of course, when you win your region four times in 10 years, the memories start to pile up.
After barreling through the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Wildcats didn’t slow down a bit, rolling the JFK Eagles on Friday. Mogadore capitalized on three JFK turnovers, including a 42-yard interception return for a touchdown by senior Gavin Chew. Josh Tompkins rushed for an 18-yard touchdown, and Jarad Dunn scored on a 39-yard reception to give the Wildcats a lead that proved to be insurmountable.
Mogadore will face Danville at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Orrville High School.
