Five Things We Learned Saturday: Regional Semifinals
1. How many had Wayne and St. Xavier in the Region 4 final? All season long we preached about the depth and talent in Division I Region 4. Now we have our proof. So who made it to the regional final? Colerain? Middletown? LaSalle? Moeller? Nope…none of them. Instead No. 8 seed Huber Heights Wayne will tackle No. 6 seed Cincinnati St. Xavier in the regional final next week. Wayne beat GWOC rival Centerville 36-33 in double OT at Dayton’s Welcome Stadium, while St. X edged top-ranked Colerain 24-23 at Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium. At one point this season, Wayne was 0-2 and St. Xavier was 4-4. Combined the Warriors and Bombers have seven losses.
2. Coldwater’s “down year” a lot better than most program’s “great” years: There was a lot of talk before the season began that this year would be one where Coldwater would take a step back. Coming off the emotional loss of former head coach John Reed and facing a roster lean on experience, most thought the Cavaliers were in trouble. Turns out they weren’t. Under first year head coach Chip Otten and another cast of outstanding players – including sophomore QB Austin Bruns and senior WR Reese Klenke – Coldwater advanced to its fourth straight regional final and seventh in eight years with a 13-7 OT win over Hamilton Badin in a D-V Region 20 semifinal at Sidney High School. The Cavs have also made the playoffs 14 years in a row (ranks second behind Columbus DeSales – 17).
3. Glenville gone: Last season Glenville became the first Cleveland Public School to make the Division I state final. This year despite being ranked nationally and finishing No. 2 in the state in the final JJHuddle D-I Power Poll, the Tarblooders won’t get a chance to make history again. Glenville lost 42-22 to Lakewood St. Edward in a D-I Region 1 semifinal at Parma’s Byers Field.
4. Central Ohio heayweights will meet: All season long the Top 2 teams in Columbus have been Pickerington Central and defending D-I state champion Hilliard Davidson. Now fans will finally get to see the match-up they’ve waited for all fall as the unbeatens square off in the Region 3 final next weekend. Davidson survived a solid Springfield team 9-0 at Ohio Wesleyan, while Pickerington Central had no problem with Westerville South, winning 30-0 at Gahanna Lincoln High School. Davidson averages 36.6 points per game. Pick Central has allowed 47 points all season and has six shutouts.
5. Kirtland gets another shot at Youngstown Ursuline: Two years ago en route to winning its first of back-to-back Division V state titles, Ursuline survived Kirtland 18-17 in the Region 17 final. This year Kirtland gets another crack at the Irish. The Hornets beat Cuyahoga Heights 31-10 at Bedford Bearcat Stadium, while Ursuline beat Creston Norwayne 42-0 at Green Memorial Stadium to set up the rematch. Two years ago Ursuline looked much like it does now – invincible. Kirtland looks an awful lot like its 2008 team as well – undefeated.
SATURDAY’S REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL SCORES
Division I
Region 1
Lakewood St. Edward 42, Cleveland Glenville 22
Solon 41, Austintown-Fitch 0
Region 2
Toledo St. John’s 24, Medina 6
Toledo Whitmer 35, Twinsburg 14
Region 3
Hilliard Davidson 9, Springfield 0
Pickerington Central 30, Westerville South 0
Region 4
Cincinnati St. Xavier 24, Cincinnati Colerain 23 Wayne 36, Centerville 33, 2OT
