By Samuel Houseworth

Complete Houseworth OHSAA Football Rankings

D-I

St. X and St. Ed have a death grip on their spots at the top of D-I. However, Medina, led by Penn State commit Drew Allar, is climbing fast. Toledo Whitmer debuts in the D-I Top 25 following a 40-6 stomping of Findlay. Lakota West is also moving in the right direction. Let’s see if they can keep up that momentum when they head to Mason this week.

D-II

Tons of shuffling within the top 5 of D-II after this past week. The top 3 teams, Avon, TCC, and Hoban, all have 3-2 records, trailed closely by La Salle and Avon Lake. Then in west central Ohio, the undefeated Piqua Indians debut in the top 10 following a 42-7 beating of Sidney. They are now the 2nd highest rated team in Region 8 behind La Salle, who gets Moeller this week.

D-III

While nobody is challenging Chardon for the top spot in D-III, Badin is making a case that the state champion isn’t guaranteed to come out of northeast Ohio. The Rams are 5-0, while their opponents have a combined record of 16-8 (keeping in mind that 5 of those 8 losses are to Badin.) The game of the week is 4-1 Tallmadge, hosting #2 Aurora, in a bid to show they are as good as their record states.

D-IV

Van Wert has been falling ever since they entered the meat of their schedule. Things don’t get much easier for the #6 Cougars as they host a red hot O-G team this week. The top 3 are standing pat with Clinton-Massie at the summit, followed by Youngstown Ursuline and West Branch.

D-V

Another day, another week of top-ranked Kirtland embarrassing their opponents. This time, the victim was Geneva who fell at home 37-7. Versailles jumped to #2 after a 35-12 road win against Fort Recovery. South Range, Eastwood, Ridgewood, and Otsego, all undefeated, round out the top 6. Elmwood is ranked #8, putting 3 teams from the Northern Buckeye Conference in the top 8 of D-V.

D-VI

It’s time for a new #1. Archbold claims the top ranking in D-VI after a comfortable 41-7 win over Liberty Center. The former #1 Coldwater falls to #2 after a scare from 1-4 Delphos St. John’s. And don’t look now, but Gibsonburg, the team famous for going 10-0 and missing the playoffs, is undefeated again and BETTER than in 2019.

D-VII

There’s a new kid in the top 5 of D-VII and that’s McComb. Honestly, after only allowing 10 points to Marion Local in a week 2 loss, they should have moved much sooner. Since then, the Panthers have outscored their opponents 162-29 in the past 3 weeks.

Midwest Athletic Conference

Without question, New Bremen at Versailles is the game of the week in the MAC. The Tigers are this year’s New Bremen, rising to the ranks of the MAC elite and being a true contender for a state championship. The Projection Index has Versailles a narrow 3-point favorite at home.

Western Buckeye League

O-G at Van Wert should eliminate the losing team from WBL title contention. But to add to the drama, Shawnee will head to St. Marys as the top 4 teams in the WBL all square off against each other. It is feasible that there is only 1 team left with 1 loss when the dust settles on Friday night.

Northwest Conference

The same is going on in the NWC where Columbus Grove heads to Leipsic while Spencerville will be at Allen East. Bluffton will host Crestview in a battle of 4-1 paper tigers.

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