{"id":148740,"date":"2021-12-02T04:45:58","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T09:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=148740"},"modified":"2021-12-02T04:46:01","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T09:46:01","slug":"pigskin-pickem-state-championship-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2021\/12\/02\/pigskin-pickem-state-championship-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Pigskin Pick’Em: state championship games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

It seems like the season went by in the blink of an eye, but here we are \u2013 OHSAA championship week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As expected, some familiar names will be competing for state championships at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, but some newcomers hope to leave their mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was 4-0 picking semifinal games last week, which takes my postseason record to 42-12. This week I\u2019m picking all seven state championship games in the order they\u2019ll be played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division II State Championship \u2013 Thursday, 7 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Cincinnati Winton Woods (12-3) vs. No. 8 Akron Archbishop Hoban (11-3)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hoban is the defending state champion and probably should be considered the favorite in this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both teams have played impressive schedules and both have lost to some heavy hitters. This game feels like it should be a good one, perhaps one that ends up with a touchdown margin or less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do believe Hoban is more battle tested but this really is a game that could go either way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Akron Hoban<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division IV State Championship \u2013 Friday, 10:30 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. 4 Clarksville Clinton-Massie (13-1) vs. Youngstown Ursuline (11-3)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll just come out and say it. I\u2019d like to see Clinton-Massie win this one. Of course I\u2019d rather see Van Wert playing for a second consecutive state title but since the Cougars aren\u2019t there, I\u2019m rooting for the Falcons and their old-school wishbone offense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having said that, Clinton-Massie has had to scrap by in their last two playoff games while Ursuline has pretty much rolled by each playoff opponent. The closest game has been a four point win over Glenville and the Fighting Irish rallied to beat Port Clinton by 17 last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s kind of tough to get a read on this game but in the end, I\u2019m giving a slight advantage to Ursuline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Youngstown Ursuline<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division III State Championship \u2013 Friday, 3 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. 2 Hamilton Badin (14-0) vs. No. 1 Chardon (15-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This game could be the best one of all this weekend and that\u2019s saying a lot as there are some great matchups on tap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chardon is the defending state champion but both teams have had their way in the playoffs. One of Hamilton-Badin\u2019s opponents was St. Marys Memorial and the Rams rolled to a 45-10 win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially I was leaning toward Hamilton-Badin as the pick but now I\u2019ve reversed course on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Division I State Championship \u2013 Friday, 7:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. 5 Springfield (13-1) vs. No. 3 Lakewood St. Edward (13-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll keep this brief. Lakewood St. Edward has won four state championships. It\u2019ll be five after this game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Lakewood St. Edward<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division VII State Championship \u2013 Saturday, 10:30 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. 3 Newark Catholic (14-1) vs. No. 1 Maria Stein Marion Local (15-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This game features two of the winningest small school programs in OHSAA history. A victory would give Marion Local its 12th state championship, would be a new state record. Newark Catholic has eight state titles, with the bulk of those coming in the 80s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think the Flyers will get the record in their usual workmanlike fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Division VI State Championship \u2013 Saturday, 3 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. 6 Coldwater (13-2) vs. No. 8 Carey (14-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No doubt Carey has a fine team, but Coldwater is considered the favorite to win this one. The MAC should be 2-0 heading into the day\u2019s final championship game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Division V State Championship \u2013 Saturday, 7:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. 8 Versailles (14-1) vs. No. 1 Kirtland (14-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This one is intriguing with MAC-battle tested Versailles and Kirtland, a three time defending state champion, a team that has won 55 consecutive games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s hard to pick against MAC teams in title games but no one has really challenged Kirtland so far this year. I\u2019m not saying they\u2019ll coast to an easy win here but I have a tough time seeing them lose this game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Kirtland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor It seems like the season went by in the blink of an eye, but here we are \u2013 OHSAA championship week. As expected, some familiar names will be competing for state championships at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, but some newcomers hope to leave their mark. I was 4-0 […]<\/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-148740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-31 20:16:47","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\/148740","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=148740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148740\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}