by Samuel Houseworth – 9-3-21
Sam Houseworth Comment: Let’s just get this out of the way now. No, Bishop Sycamore isn’t included in our Projection Index. They never were (as they were never a member of the OHSAA) and probably, after this weekend, never will be. Onto the show!
From SSN: Read more from Samuel Houseworth on SBLive-
2021 Samuel Houseworth’s OHSAA High School Football Rankings – 8-26-21
D-I
The big gainer this week was the Medina Battling Bees after a 34-17 win against an Avon team who hadn’t lost a regular season game since September 2018. If Medina is for real, their October 1 date with Mentor will be must-see TV.
D-II
With Hoban’s loss to nationally ranked Bergen Catholic last week, the Knights may be overrated by the Projection Index. (The algorithm doesn’t take into account out-of-state contests nor Bishop Sycamore contests.) That leaves D-II wide open to a number of teams across the state including La Salle, Avon Lake, Avon, and Massillon.
D-III
Region 9 in Northeast Ohio still holds all of the top 5 spots in D-III. The team who has the best chances to raise their stock are the Big Red of Steubenville who have both Dover and Columbus St Francis DeSales on their schedule in the coming weeks.
D-IV
Once you get past the top tier teams in D-IV with Van Wert, Clinton-Massie, and Shelby, there was a whole bunch of shake-ups. Ursuline, West Branch, Wyoming, and Waverly are all undefeated and all threats to go deep into the postseason by the looks of it.
D-V
I’ll get to Versailles later in this review, but for now, let’s talk about Ridgewood, who has outscored their opponents 105-6 after two weeks. To be fair, the Generals don’t have the toughest of schedules, but such lopsided contests have garnered them some statewide attention in the early going.
D-VI
Since 2010, all D-VI state titles have been won by Kirtland or a MAC team. Well, Kirtland is in D-V and there is only one MAC team in the top 15 of the Projection Index in D-VI. The team IS #1 Coldwater, who only beat Oak Hills 14-6 this past Friday. This could get interesting this year.
D-VII
Alright Hopewell-Loudon, you’ve got my attention. Preseason, we had LCC just running away with Region 26. But an early hiccup by the T-Birds combined with a strong start by the Chieftains leads me to believe that the regional championship isn’t set in stone.
League Roundups
MAC
Is Versailles the new MAC favorite? The Tigers dismantled Fort Loramie 48-7 in their final non-conference game last Friday. If Versailles can win at Marion Local, and the Projection Index has the game as a coin toss, they could go perfect through the conference as they avoid Coldwater in 2021.
WBL
It looks clear that the WBL is a two-team race: Van Wert and St. Marys. I’m willing to hold onto claiming that the Roughriders are co-favorites with a trip down US-33 to Wapak this week. But I don’t see the Redskins upsetting St. Marys. Time to buy those tickets to the Cougars-Roughriders on September 17.
NWC
Bluffton could realistically begin the season 5-0 after pulling out an overtime win against Pandora-Gilboa. Ayersville and Spencerville are very winnable games and the Pirates should have no issues with Ada. Things will get interesting when they host Crestview in Week 6.
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