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Best Bets: Week 15

Two more weeks of high school football coverage left in the Tri-State area with a handful of teams still in contention for a state title. We’ve got one team left in Indiana in East Central, while Moeller, Anderson, Alter and Valley View remain in Ohio. Meanwhile, in Kentucky, Beechwood, Highlands, Covington Catholic, and Cooper survived to the state semifinals.

Which local teams will move on for a state title chance? Will East Central bring home another trophy in Indiana? Here are this week’s Best Bets.


SPRINGFIELD V.S. MOELLER
Piqua Alexander Stadium – Piqua, OH

It’s not very often you see two teams in the state semifinals with four or five losses. However, both teams in the Division I semifinal meet that criteria. The Moeller Crusaders began the season 1-3 and have gone 9-1 since, with the only loss coming to Ohio powerhouse St. Edward’s. Springfield finished the regular season 5-5 and has come on strong in the playoffs, knocking off Dublin Coffman last week to make it to the state semifinal.

Springfield has been spectacularly strong in the run game the last two weeks. Jayvin Norman has rushed for 398 yards and four touchdowns over the last two weeks of the playoffs. Norman leads the entire GWOC in rushing yards and touchdowns going into the state semifinal game.

The Wildcats’ record is not indicative of how talented this team actually is. All but one of their five losses are by one possession. The outlier was a tough loss to DeMatha Catholic from Maryland. Don’t be fooled by the record when scouting this talented team, a team that is capable of pulling off the upset against Moeller.

That will be a tough task, however, as Moeller is finally finding its groove on defense. In the first four weeks of the season, the Crusaders gave up an average of 30.5 points per game. In the 10 games since, the Crusaders are giving up an average of 10.1 points per game. Also, two of the four teams that the Crusaders played in the first four weeks are competing for state titles this week in Indiana.

Moeller’s offense also continues to roll. Matt Ponatoski and Jordan Marshall are crushing defenses through the air and on the ground, with Ponatoski throwing for 177 yards and Marshall racking up over 150 all-purpose yards. The Crusaders have put up 119 points through four playoff games against stiff competition.

Springfield is in the state semifinal for a reason. Their talent supersedes the record on paper, however it will be tough to knock off this Moeller Crusaders team.


MASSILLON WASHINGTON V.S. ANDERSON
Historic Crew Stadium – Columbus, OH

The Anderson Raptors are just one win away from competing for its first state championship since winning their only title in 2007. Standing in the way, however, is a Massillon Washington Tigers team, led by a familiar name in Southwest Ohio, Nate Moore, who led La Salle to a state title.

The Raptors have scored at least 41 points in each of the last five games and have scored at least 30 points in all but one game this season. The explosive offense has kept the Raptors in games over the past two weeks as the defense has struggled a little bit against other strong offenses in Harrison and Withrow. With that being said, scoring 49 points in a regional final is an incredible feat.

Justice Burnam has been on fire throughout the entire playoffs. In last week’s win over Withrow, the gunslinger threw for 293 yards and five touchdowns. Running back Brodey Berg added 137 yards in a dynamic 514-yard day for the offense. The Raptors will need to keep those offensive numbers as high as possible against a Massillon team that has only given up double-digit points four times this season. Amazingly, the Tigers have yet to give up more than seven points in the postseason.

In last week’s win over Green, Massillon got it done on the ground, amassing 400 rushing yards led by DaOne Owens with 107 yards. Five players had at least 40 yards rushing. Like Anderson, Massillon averages over 35 points per game.

This will be Anderson’s toughest test yet. If the Raptors can penetrate the Tigers offense early and often, they will have a chance at moving on. It will take a big effort from both Berg and Burnam to pull off the upset in what could be a shootout in Columbus.


EAST CENTRAL V.S. NORTHWOOD (IHSAA CLASS 4A STATE FINAL)
Lucas Oil Stadium – Indianapolis, IN

East Central is back in Indianapolis to attempt a repeat of its state championship from last season. The Trojans have been a force on both sides of the ball all season, scoring at least 38 points in every game this season and at least 40 points in all but one game.

While much of the story surrounding East Central revolves around its juggernaut offense, the Trojan defense deserves a lot of credit as well. In seven games this season East Central didn’t allow a point, while in five other games, the Trojan defense allowed just seven points. In last week’s state semifinal win over New Palestine, the Trojans pitched a shutout.

But we have to talk about the East Central offense last week against New Palestine. The run game amassed 479 yards, led by senior Dylan Maxwell’s 251 yards and two touchdowns and Josh Ringer’s 117 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Ryan Minges also added 99 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in the blowout win.

NorthWood is also a team that can run the ball. In the Panthers’ semifinal win over Leo, the Panthers racked up 366 yards on the ground. The defense allowed 33 points, however, which is the second-most points allowed all season. The Panthers will need to tighten up the defense if it wants a shot at knocking off the reigning state champions.

This game has all the ingredients of a runaway for the Trojans. If the Panthers can’t score early on the stout Trojans defense, it could get ugly.


BEECHWOOD AT MAYFIELD
War Memorial Stadium – Mayfield, KY

Beechwood and Mayfield are no strangers to each other in the playoffs. The Tigers and Cardinals played each other in the state championship last week in what was Noel Rash’s final game on the sidelines for Beechwood, hoisting up yet another title trophy. Now, it’s Jay Volker’s turn to try to get the Tigers back to Lexington for another state championship.

Volker’s chances are good too, thanks to the defense. After having a three-game stretch of giving up 48, 54, and 35 points, the Tigers defense has given up just 15 points total in the eight games since, playing to a shutout in six of those games, including a 55-0 win last week against Martin County.

Mayfield’s defense has been just as stout over the course of the season, only giving up four more points (177) than Beechwood (173). However, 36 of those points came last week in the Cardinals’ victory over Lexington Catholic.

Expect a close game as always between the two teams. However, if Beechwood can force some turnovers and keep the Mayfield offense out of the red zone and end zone, the Tigers should be back in Lexington as week from Friday.


GAME OF THE WEEK
Make sure to check out the COMPLETE PREVIEW for this week’s featured game, Cooper at Highlands.

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