Pigskin Pick’Em: Week No. 11

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

Van Wert head football coach Keith Recker said it best – the 2025 regular season was kind of a blur. It’s now in the books and the playoffs are upon us. Congratulations to WBL champion Wapakoneta, NWC champion Columbus Grove, GMC champion Paulding, MAC champion Marion Local and TCL champion Lima Sr. and all area teams that qualified for the postseason.

This year’s playoff format is different. Instead of the top 16 teams per region, the top 12 teams per region have qualified. The OHSAA made the decision to reduce the field after the results of the 16 team format were, well, very predictable in the opening two rounds. The top four seeds in each region have an opening round bye, and seeds 5-12 are in action Friday night, with the higher seeds hosting.

Last week I went 16-3 (second consecutive week, 84.2 percent), which left my final regular season record at 178-36 (83.1 percent). This week, 11 area playoff games in different regions are on the Pigskin Pick’Em slate. There would be more but seven teams – Wapakoneta, Bath, Paulding, Lima Central Catholic, Columbus Grove, Marion Local and St. Henry each have a first round bye. Pigskin Pick’Em will continue as long as there are area teams in the playoffs and will conclude with picks in all seven state championship games, regardless of who is playing.

Games of the Week

Division III Region 10

Holy Name (6-4) at Shawnee (7-3)

Holy Name out of Parma Heights, close to three hours away from Lima, is the No. 10 seed and the Green Wave don’t exactly light up the scoreboard. After scoring 55 points in the season opener against 1-9 Normandy, Holy Name averaged 14 points per game in the remaining nine games. On the flip side, the Green Wave allowed 13 points or less in six games. No. 7 seed Shawnee is the WBL’s most improved team, going from 2-8 in 2024 to 7-3 this season, and the three losses came to teams with a combined 26-4 record. This is Shawnee’s first playoff appearance since 2021, while Holy Name has been in the playoffs five of the last six seasons. If you go strictly by seeds, Shawnee is the favorite but for some reason I feel an upset brewing. Nonetheless, I’ll go with the Indians at home.

The pick: Shawnee

Copley (7-3) at St. Marys Memorial (7-3)

Another game with a three hour bus ride and that’s with no stops, meaning the No. 8 seed Roughriders are more than happy to be hosting this one. Fun fact – St. Marys Memorial has qualified for the playoffs for 10 straight seasons and No. 9 seed Copley is no stranger to the postseason, having qualified five of the last six years. The Riders are riding a five game winning streak into the playoffs, while Copley, very near Akron, had a four game winning streak snapped with a 24-21 loss to Revere in the regular season finale. Of note – Copley has faced five Division II schools this season and went 4-1 against them. It’s fair to note that three of them went 1-9. Still, I have an uneasy feeling about this game. The Indians average 35 points per game so St. Marys Memorial is going to have to do what they do best – run the ball effectively, keep Copley’s offense off the field and shorten the game. While I don’t like making assumptions, I’m going to assume that Copley hasn’t seen a Wing-T offense this season. Overall, this seems like a toss-up game, but I’ll go with the home team to win a close one – perhaps a Brady Triplett field goal will be the difference.

The pick: St. Marys Memorial  

Division VI Region 22

Western Reserve (8-2) at Bluffton (8-2)

I’ll keep this one fairly brief. Bluffton has played a far stronger schedule and while the Pirates dropped games against Lima Central Catholic and Columbus Grove, I don’t thing they’ll have problems in this one. Don’t get me wrong about Western Reserve. I’m very familiar with this program, as the school is about 10 minutes from my old stomping grounds. Western Reserve’s two losses have come to No. 1 seed Margeretta (9-1) and Monroeville (8-2), but the overall strength of schedule favors the Pirates. I will note that the Roughriders have not allowed a point since Week No. 6 and have five shutouts, a 45-6 win and a 43-2 win. Still, I’m going with the Pirates.

The pick: Bluffton

Tinora (5-5) at Fairview (9-1)

As it turns out, Region 22 is really good this year. I can think of four teams that could win it and none of them would surprise me. Fairview enters as the No. 5 seed, but would be a higher seed in other regions. The only loss suffered by the Apaches was in Week No. 6, 36-31, to Paulding on an improbable last second scoring pass. Fairview had a couple of close calls early in the season but since the loss to Paulding, the Apaches have rolled. No. 12 seed Tinora grabbed the final playoff spot and after an 0-3 start, the Rams have only lost to Fairview and Paulding (combined 19-1). When Fairview and Tinora met the first time, the Apaches won 49-28. I can see a similar margin this time but regardless, the winner gets a rematch with Paulding. I think it’ll be the Apaches and Panthers Part II.

The pick: Fairview

Division VII Region 28

Fort Recovery (5-5) at Cincinnati College Prep (8-2)

What a difference a year makes for Fort Recovery. Last year, the Indians finished 2-8 and were the No. 18 seed in Region 28. If you think back, the No. 16 and 17 seeds, Cedarville and New Miami, declined to face top seed Marion Local in the playoffs in the previous 16 seed format. When approached, Fort Recovery said “sure, we’ll do it” and faced the Flyers (and lost 68-0). Now, the Indians are the No. 12 seed and guess what? They’re considered the favorite, at least in my book, against No. 5 seed Cincinnati College Prep. The Lions have won four straight and have pitched three consecutive shutouts. I’m not saying it’ll be easy but after after facing the likes of Coldwater, St. Henry, Marion Local, Anna etc., I like battle tested Fort Recovery.

The pick: Fort Recovery

Best of the Rest

Division II Region 8

Cincinnati Aiken at Lima Sr: Lima Sr. 

Division VI Region 24

Covington at Coldwater: Coldwater

Deer Park at Anna: Anna

Division VII Region 26

Edgerton at Edon: Edon

Division VII Region 28

New Bremen at Ansonia: New Bremen

Minster at Lehman Catholic: Minster