2024 Pigskin Pick’Em: final tally

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

The Ohio High School Athletic Association’s 2024 high school football season is in the books. Champions were crowned in seven different divisions in Canton last Thursday through Saturday.

Of the seven games, two were considered upsets. Olentangy Liberty over Cincinnati Moeller (Division I) was an upset. Moeller has considered a heavy favorite to win its 10^th state championship. Instead, the Patriots won their first ever state title. Perkins was considered the favorite to win the Division IV title but came up a point short, losing to Indian Valley 37-36. Perkins head coach Jalen Santoro now has a pair of state runner-up finishes – one as a player, when he quarterbacked the 2012 Bellevue Redmen to the Division III title game but fell to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, and Saturday.

Three other state championship games were good ones – Division II, Avon over Cincinnati Anderson 20-13; Division III, Columbus Bishop Watterson over Toledo Central Catholic 19-14, and Division V, Ironton 28 Liberty Center 17. The Division II game featured a goal line stand by Avon and a Hail Mary pass that was knocked down on the final play of the game. Bishop Watterson-Toledo Central Catholic was a close game throughout and in my mind, the Liberty Center-Ironton game was a bit closer than the final score indicates. The final game in the lineup – Perkins and Indian Valley, turned out to be the best one of them all, as Indian Valley

Coldwater’s win over Kirtland wasn’t a big surprise, but the margin was (31-7). A number of people, myself included thought it would be closer. The Division VII state championship game wasn’t a surprise. Marion Local was an overwhelming favorite and looked the part. Let’s not forget – Hillsdale was a very good team. After all, the Falcons made it to the title game. It just goes to show how good this Marion Local team was.

My championship game prediction wasn’t exactly sparkling. I went out on on a limb for a couple of games and it backfired. My record was 4-3, which took my postseason record to 45-9 (83.3 percent), and my overall season record to 200-47 (80.9 percent).

Pigskin Pick’Em will return to the Sports page in August, 2025 and will go from the season opener through state championship weekend.