{"id":136556,"date":"2020-10-29T03:54:43","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T08:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=136556"},"modified":"2020-10-29T03:54:48","modified_gmt":"2020-10-29T08:54:48","slug":"pigskin-pickem-playoffs-others-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2020\/10\/29\/pigskin-pickem-playoffs-others-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Pigskin Pick’Em: playoffs & others"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a normal year, this weekend would mark the end of the 2020 Ohio high school football regular season but as we all know, 2020 is anything but normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, it\u2019s Week. No. 4 of the postseason and the playoff field continues to dwindle, while a number of area schools have opted to continue playing regular season games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s schedule features some intriguing playoff games in various regions, plus some hastily assembled regular season matchups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, I was 15-2, which takes my overall record to 133-34. Barring any last minute cancellations, 18 games are on tap this weekend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playoff games<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Crestview (6-2) at Lima Central Catholic (6-1)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently I\u2019ve been correct with every Crestview game pick this season, and while I\u2019m not thrilled about the idea of picking against the Knights, I think I\u2019m going to have to go with the Thunderbirds and hope that I\u2019m wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I know Crestview has been playing good football and I realize Lima Central Catholic isn\u2019t at full strength, but the Thunderbirds appear to be a plug-and-play type of team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s hoping I\u2019m wrong this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Lima Central Catholic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert (7-1) at Bellevue (8-0)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve agonized over this Division IV regional semifinal game, because I truly think it can go either way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I covered Bellevue for many years so I\u2019d like to think I know something about their program and how they do things, which is top notch all around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do think Van Wert will be able to move the ball, but the key will be getting Bellevue\u2019s offense off the field. The Redmen don\u2019t necessarily do anything fancy, but they do execute very well. It\u2019s a quarterback-run heavy offense and they\u2019re content to grind out long, time-consuming drives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Knowing full well this won\u2019t be a popular pick, I\u2019m giving a slight edge to Bellevue \u2013 call it home field advantage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Bellevue <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riverside (7-1) at Marion Local (8-0) <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not going to beat around the bush here \u2013 Marion Local should win this Division VII Region 28 semifinal game by a substantial margin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Marion Local<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Columbus Grove (8-0) at Archbold (8-0)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a shame these two Division VI Region 22 teams have to meet before the regional final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both teams have had some close calls this season and while I\u2019d like to go with the Bulldogs, I think I have to give a slight nod to Archbold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I won\u2019t be shocked if Columbus Grove wins, but I think the Blue Streaks will be a bit too much at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Archbold<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fairview (8-0) at Col. Crawford (8-0)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another matchup of undefeated teams in Region 22. Col. Crawford is the No. 2 seed and Fairview is No. 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call it a hunch, but I think the Apaches will leave Crawford County with a win, which should set up a great regional championship game against Columbus Grove or Archbold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Fairview<\/p>\n\n\n\n

West Jefferson (7-1) at Coldwater (8-0)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No disrespect to the Rough Riders, but I\u2019d be shocked if Coldwater lost this game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If all goes as it should, we should see the Cavaliers and Mechanicsburg in next week\u2019s Region 24 championship game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Coldwater<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ottawa-Glandorf (7-1) at Otsego (8-0)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After some close calls during the regular season, the Titans have won their two playoff games by a combined score of 83-0. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, I can\u2019t help but think this will be a fairly close game and I\u2019ll say O-G somehow finds a way to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Ottawa-Glandorf<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regular season games<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bryan (5-4) at Celina (3-5): Bryan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bluffton (4-3) at Cory-Rawson (0-8): Bluffton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carey (7-2) at Tinora (6-1): Carey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defiance (1-8) at Napoleon (4-4): Napoleon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edgerton (4-3) at Wayne Trace (5-4): Edgerton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edon (6-3) at Paulding (2-7): Edon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hicksville (4-5) at Antwerp (2-7): Hicksville<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liberty Center (6-3) at Allen East (5-3): Liberty Center<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pandora-Gilboa (4-4) at Ayersville (3-5): Pandora-Gilboa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

River Valley (6-3) at Kenton (4-4): River Valley<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shawnee (4-4) at Minster (3-6): Shawnee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor In a normal year, this weekend would mark the end of the 2020 Ohio high school football regular season but as we all know, 2020 is anything but normal. Instead, it\u2019s Week. No. 4 of the postseason and the playoff field continues to dwindle, while a number of area schools have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 03:02:50","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136556\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}