I finished with an 8-2 record in first round games. My pick of VASJ was admittedly a reach, and I had a sneaking suspicion that Ledgemont might be eliminated by a team that looked impressive on paper, but took the Redskins anyway. Here's how I think it will go this week:
FRIDAY NIGHT:
Chagrin Falls vs. Ravenna-The Tigers have so many weapons on offense, and look very fast on the turf on defense. They've got great coaching and a well-established program. Ravenna is a very talented team with a great running back, and are coming off a big win over a neighborhood rival. This should be a very good game, but Chagrin Falls has been impressive all year and will be tough for anyone to beat. Pick: Chagrin Falls
Lake Catholic vs. Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary-All of these should be great games, but this should really be the best game of the night, at least in Northeast Ohio. It should be a physical slugfest between two teams with great tradition. The kids for Lake Catholic are different from the ones that played in the playoffs and advanced to the State Semifinals last year, but Lake Catholic is Lake Catholic, so it's really not a surprise to see them get this far. SV-SM was picked by some to win the D3 state title, and have enought talent to do it. They beat the only team to beat Lake Catholic-Walsh Jesuit-but also lost to two teams the Cougars beat in Youngstown Mooney and Youngstown Ursuline. A potential Chagrin Falls-Lake Catholic matchup in the Regional Final is a dream matchup for area high school football fans. Pick: Lake Catholic
Kirtland vs. Sugarcreek Garaway-This game will be played at Green High School, where 2 years ago Ashland played Lake Catholic in a Regional Final. That Ashland team spread it out on offense with 5 receivers and passed nearly every play. Garaway does the same thing. The sense I get is that this will be a high-scoring shootout, much like that Ashland-LC game was. I admit to knowing very little about Garaway, and maybe they're not that prolific on offense. As for Kirtland, the mission to finish this thing, to finally get to Week 15 and finish it off, continues. Have the Hornets had it too easy? Can they win when someone provides a real challenge? Will Garaway provide that challenge? Stay tuned, or better yet, make the drive down to a very nice Green High School Stadium. Pick: Kirtland
SATURDAY NIGHT:
Mentor vs. Solon- The big rematch at big Byers Field. Mentor rebounded nicely from its Week 10 stumble, but it remains to be seen what weaknesses Twinsburg exposed in that game that others might be able to capitalize on. The Cardinals feel that that was just a blip on the radar, and ultimately migh prove to be the wake-up call they needed on the way to a state title. The Comets, on the other hand, feel that they're just as capable of winning it all, and will look to learn lessons from the 44-20 loss to Mentor in Week 7 as well as the Cardinals' loss to Twinsburg in Week 10. Solon certainly looked impressive, on both sides of the ball, last week against South. If the Comets can prevent big plays and stay within reach all game, anything is possible. Nevertheless, Mentor is a fine-tuned machine. Pick: Mentor
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