{"id":211967,"date":"2026-11-04T21:26:03","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T02:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=211967"},"modified":"2026-11-04T21:26:05","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T02:26:05","slug":"pigskin-pickem-week-no-12-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/11\/04\/pigskin-pickem-week-no-12-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Pigskin Pick’Em: Week No. 12"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Surprises were few and far between in the opening round of the playoffs. One of the surprises was Paulding\u2019s late rally and win over Allen East. Otherwise, things pretty much went as expected. Perhaps the margins of some games were wider or closer than predicted but the end result was the one that was expected. While there are some interesting matchups on the schedule for Friday\u2019s regional quarterfinals, look for more of the same \u2013 few surprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, just 11 area games were on the Pigkskin Pick\u2019Em slate. That was due to eight other teams enjoying a bye. While some of the area teams that played lost, there are a few more games on this week\u2019s schedule. 15 area games to be exact. Last week I went 9-2, (81.8 percent), which takes my overall 2026 season record to 177-48 (78.6 percent). 80 percent for the season is still attainable. Best of luck to all area teams playing Friday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Games of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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

Troy (9-2) at Lima Sr. (9-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy is the No. 5 seed, Lima Sr. the No. 4 seed. The Trojans are 9-0 vs. Division II schools this season. The only losses for Troy have come to 8-3 Pickington North (Division I) and 9-1 Tippecanoe (Division III). Lima Sr. has won eight straight entering Friday\u2019s Division II Region 8 quarterfinal game. Strength of schedule goes to Troy (Miami Valley League) while the very creative offense award goes to Lima Sr. This could be an entertaining game and while I think the Spartans have a shot, I\u2019ll say the visitors win a fairly close one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Troy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paulding (9-2) at Liberty Center (10-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paulding, the No. 9 seed in Division VI Region 22, trailed No. 8 seed Allen East 14-0, then 17-14 after a Mustang field goal late in the game. An 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown erased the deficit and gave the Panthers a stunning 21-17 win. The prize for that? Having to face the defending Division V state champion Tigers, a team that moved down to Division VI this year and went wire-to-wire at the Associated Press<\/em> No. 1 team. Some prize. There\u2019s no other way to put this \u2013 Paulding is considered a heavy underdog in this one. An upset would likely be considered the upset of the postseason, if not the entire season as a whole. Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 Paulding is a very good team and has enjoyed a very nice season. With all due respect to all other teams, Liberty Center has long been considered the favorite to win the Division VI title. I\u2019m predicting the Tigers will take another step toward it Friday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Liberty Center<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrick Henry (8-3) at Columbus Grove (9-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Rematches can be tricky, especially in the playoffs. These two teams met in Week No. 3, with Columbus Grove winning a hard fought 21-14 game. Now they\u2019ll meet again in the Division VI Region 22 quarterfinals. Patrick Henry isn\u2019t your typical No. 12 seed. The Patriots, who defeated Western Reserve 40-32 in the opening round, have faced some stiff competition this year. Their losses have come to Columbus Grove, Liberty Center and Archbold, three teams with a combined record of 28-2. On the other hand, Columbus Grove has played a tough schedule as well, with the only loss coming to Division VII No. 2 Lima Central Catholic, 13-6. Columbus Grove\/NWC statistician Ned Stechschulte has informed me that the Bulldogs are 16-1 in playoff games all time at Clymer Stadium. He also let me know this is the 13th meeting between the two schools. How close is the series? It doesn\u2019t get any closer \u2013 each team has won six games. If this game was at a neutral site I might think differently but history says the Bulldogs will win at home, so I\u2019ll defer to history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: Columbus Grove<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Henry (8-3) at Tri-Village (10-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one of the more intriguing playoff matchups around. Tri-Village rolled to an undefeated season, the No. 1 seed in Division VI Region 24 and a No. 4 ranking in the final Associated Press<\/em> poll of the season. The Patriots are the favorite, right? Maybe, maybe not. Defending Division VII state champion St. Henry got off to an 0-2 start and was 3-3 after six games. Of course, it has to be noted that the three losses came to 9-1 Celina, 9-1 Archbold and 10-0 Marion Local. The Redskins are the No. 9 seed and the underdog, right? Again, maybe, maybe not. Despite three losses, St. Henry finished No. 8 in the final AP poll. Let\u2019s face it \u2013 the MAC is built differently that other conferences and leagues and it\u2019s a playoff primer. Both teams are playing well right now and while I think this will be a fairly close game, it\u2019s hard for me to see the Redskins losing this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: St. Henry<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Marys Memorial (8-3) at Cloverleaf (8-2)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playing at home, the No. 6 seed Roughriders outscored Maumee 57-33 in the last Friday\u2019s opening round. The prize for that is a long bus trip \u2013 somewhere between two hours and 30 minutes and two hours and 45 minutes to Medina County to face the third seeded Colts. At least the trip is all on major highways, so that\u2019s plus. As far as the game itself, it should be a good one and if I\u2019m correct, it\u2019s the first time the two schools have met. Strength of schedule probably goes to the Roughriders but I\u2019m a little concerned about St. Marys Memorial\u2019s defense, which has surrendered a lot of points this season. The offense has been able to score even more points, which has helped them win five straight. I\u2019m a little apprehensive about this pick, but I\u2019ll go with the Roughriders. In reality, it\u2019s probably a tossup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pick: St. Marys Memorial<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best of the Rest<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division III Region 10<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parma Padua Franciscan at Wapakoneta: Wapakoneta<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richfield Revere at Celina: Celina<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division IV Region 14<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medina Buckeye at Ottawa-Glandorf: Ottawa-Glandorf<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division V Region 18<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bluffton at Archbold: Archbold<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division VI Region 22<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carey at Lima Central Catholic: Lima Central Catholic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division VI Region 24<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Henry at Tri-Village: St. Henry<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Versailles at Cincinnati College Prep: Versailles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division VII Region 28<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort Loramie at Marion Local: Marion Local<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort Recovery at Minster: Minster<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Bremen at Ansonia: New Bremen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports Surprises were few and far between in the opening round of the playoffs. One of the surprises was Paulding\u2019s late rally and win over Allen East. Otherwise, things pretty much went as expected. Perhaps the margins of some games were wider or closer than predicted but the end result was the one […]<\/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-211967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-11-12 08:45:09","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\/211967","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=211967"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211990,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211967\/revisions\/211990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}