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Ohio Post Season: rankings & discussion


Coletrain06

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So, with alot of different rankings out, unexpected champions, strong lower division teams, the finals not being covered for everyone to see, I figured it'd be good for Ohioans to maybe help people out who haven't seen all of our teams or the playoff games. 

I'll preface this by saying that this is really only for national rankings perspective, as everything at the state level has already been decided. 

The Top 3: These 3 teams were the 3 heavy favorites going into the playoffs, and I still think they were the 3 best teams. These 3 teams could be in any order, but I will rank them

1 Colerain (11-1)

Pros:  -Good OOS win against Warren Central IN, -Good win against Rival and eventual D1 champ St. X(OT), -Only Ohio team to beat D2 champ La Salle, -Good Blowout win over  Regional finalist Sycamore(52-7), -Good wins over Mason & Fairfield.

Cons: -Loss in 2nd round to Rival and eventual D1 champ St. X(OT)

Why #1?: Colerain had an elite defense that would have kept them in any game, and their offense was coming along nicely at the end of the season, despite their lack of their usual speedsters/playmakers on offense and brand new entire OLine.. They played a tough schedule and beat some good teams.  It's very hard to beat a good team twice in the same season, especially a rival. In their loss to X, Colerain choked.  They were dominating the game until the 4th up 23-7 and seemed much more likely to get a running clock than to suffer a loss due to an X comeback. Questionable strategies cost Colerain a game they had no business losing.

2 St. Ignatius (13-2)

Pros: -Good blowout wins over Moeller, St. X, St. Edward, & Solon, -Good 2nd win over rival St. Edward(OT) in Playoffs, -Good win over Olentangy Liberty

Cons: -Loss to Novi CC MI (OT), -loss in Finals to St. X (2OT)

Why #2?: Very good defense with big Line, Huge 300+ avg on OLine. Solid RB's, Good but inconsistent QB. As stated above, It's hard to beat a good team twice in the same season and Iggy found out

Why not Higher?: Very easily could be #1. The loss to Novi CC, whom got dismantled by Cass Tech, hurts Iggy, as otherwise Colerain and Iggy both beat X, then lost to them In OT in the playoffs. I think Colerain's wins are better, as Iggy's early schedule was very weak. Also,after watching Iggy 4 times this year, I feel they would have struggled with Colerain's D, and also don't have the familiarity with Colerain's offense like X has.

3 Wayne (11-1)

Pros: -Good wins vs Moeller, Miamisburg, Trotwood-Madison, -Good blowout win vs. Dublin Coffman(52-10)

Cons: -Loss to Pickerington Central in Playoffs(17-14)

Why #3?: Wayne had an elite defense. Their D front was very strong, and nearly impossible to run against. Their offense had a solid Line, Great RB's and solid athletes at QB and WR. In their loss to Pick Central they had 3 costly turnovers, and got burned on 2 fake punts. When the game appeared headed for OT  Wayne getting the ball back with a little time left, Pick Central broke through for one big run to get in FG range and subsequently kicked the game winning FG. Wayne was the most balanced and had the most potential.

Why not Higher?: Wayne didn't play a very good schedule, and against the decent teams, they were in close games until mid 3rd, sometimes 4th. They would then overwhelm their opponent with a barrage of scoring. When they faced a very good team, they lost (even though they continuously shot themselves in the foot.) 

 

4 St. X (10-5)

Pros: -Good wins vs. Indy Cathedral IN, Moeller, Elder, St. X KY, Fairfield, Colerain(OT), Sycamore(OT), Pickerington Central, St. Ignatius(2 OT)

Cons: -Blowout losses to SJB CA(34-0), St. Ignatius(31-14), -Losses to Colerain(OT), La Salle, Warren Central IN

Why #4?: St. X had a very good defense. They played one of, if not thee, toughest 15 game stretches ever. They were very well coached. QB Sean Clifford made many big clutch plays. State Champions. Never gave up.

Why not Higher?: This X team had 5 losses. There's no way around that. While all of their wins are solid, only Colerain and Iggy are really good wins, and X had two shots at both of them. I watched all but 4 X games this year, and they had no run game, and their offense struggled all year. Even when Clifford made big plays in the playoffs, X was still not a very good offensive team as Clifford didn't start making plays til late 3rd or 4th, and even then it was in between taking around 10 sacks each in both the Colerain and Iggy playoff games. X had many fortunate "bounces of the ball", opposing coaches with dumb playcalling, and calls go their way throughout the playoffs. As it has been described on here, it was practically "divine intervention" that won 3 of X games playoff games against Colerain, Sycamore, and Iggy. An offensive pass interference flag kept Pick Central from kicking the game winning FG. If I'm being completely honest, I don't think X beats any of the 3 teams ahead if they played/played again.

5 La Salle (13-2)

Pros: -Blowout wins over Moeller, Miamisburg, and Turpin. - Wins over Elder, St. X, Sycamore(OT)

Cons: -Loss to rival Colerain, -Loss to Christian Brothers TN

Why #5?: La Salle had a very good defense. 2 capable QB's and 2 good RB'S. Swept the GCL, including D1 champ St. X. D2 state champs 3-peat. Their Loss to Christian Brothers looked like a completely different team and didn't look like La Salle ever got off the bus. Also the score does not reflect the game, as La Salle was winning 18-16 with around 2 mins left. They then threw an INT which Christian Brothers nearly returned, then subsequently scored. Then on the first play after the kickoff, La Salle threw another INT which was basically a pick 6. A play or 2 later and suddenly Christian Brothers was up 31-18.

Why not Higher?: Bad loss to Christian Brothers TN. This was a Jekyll and Hyde team that sometimes just never showed up and played terrible: like their games vs. Christian Brothers, Edgewood, Perry, and North Clarkson ON.....but then in other games they were fantastic: like their games vs Colerain, Moeller, Elder, Miamisburg, and Turpin. Ultimately La Salle was too inconsistent this year.

6 St. Edward (9-3)

Pros: -Good win vs. D3 champ Hoban. -Good wins vs. Moeller, Stow-Munroe Falls.

Cons: -Loss to Elder, -Blowout loss to rival St. Ignatius and 2nd loss to St. Ignatius(OT) in playoffs.

Why #6?: St. Edward had a pretty solid defense. They struggled at times on offense but made good progress as the season went on. They nearly took out Iggy in the regional finals of the playoffs, but their QB broke his leg on their last drive, and couldn't win it in OT. 

Why not Higher?: St. Edward didn't really have many good wins this year. The 5 and 6 spots were between La Salle and Ed's, and Ed's lost to Elder and barely got by Moeller, whereas La Salle had no trouble with either team, and La Salle also beat St. X. 

7 Hoban (14-1)

Pros: -Good win vs St. Vincent-St. Mary and another win vs. SVSM in the playoffs, -Blowout championship win vs. Trotwood-Madison, -Good win vs. Columbus St. Francis DeSales.

Cons: -Loss to St. Edward

Why #7?: Hoban had an elite defense. They had a great RB, and a solid QB with some solid WR's. Hoban handled some great teams in the D3 playoffs. D3 champs.

Why not Higher?: They maybe should be higher......However in the only game against a real good D1 or D2 team they played, they lost. I can't put them ahead of an Ed's team they lost to. I don't think the end result would be any different if they played again. 

8 Pickerington Central (12-2)

Pros: -Good wins over Elder, Wayne, Pickerington North and another win vs. Pickerington North in the playoffs.

Cons: -Loss to Upper Arlington(OT), -Loss to St. Xavier in playoffs.

Why #8?: Pickerington Central had a solid squad some good athletes. They had a solid defense, and a solid offense. Their claim to fame was knocking off Wayne. 

Why not higher?: Pick Central had a lot of potential, but played down to their opponents level too often. They had many games that shouldn't have been as close as they were. They lost to a good, Upper Arlington team, but ultimately Upper Arlington missed the playoffs at 8-2. 

9 Olentangy Liberty (13-1)

Pros: -Good wins over North Allegheny PA, Pickerington North, Lorain

Cons: -Loss to St. Ignatius in playoffs

Why #9?: Olentangy Liberty had some playmakers, and they were solid on both sides of the ball. They won every game, and in their lone loss they played a close game vs. Iggy in the semifinals. 

Why not Higher?: Olentangy Liberty came from the crappy region 2, and didn't play many tough games at all. Other teams ahead did more. I doubt Liberty beats any of the teams ahead of them.

10 Columbus St. Francis DeSales (13-1)

Pros: -Good win over D4 champ Bishop Hartley. 

Cons: -Loss to D3 Champ Hoban

Why #10?: DeSales had a great team this year with athletes, a very good defense, and a solid running game. They beat D4 champ Bishop Hartley. They had Hoban on the ropes in the first half until Hoban bounced back. 2nd best team in tough D3.

Why not higher?: With only a win over Hartley(which is a very good win), there's just not enough to move them up. This is probably their ceiling.

 

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Nice summary!  Ohio football has been volatile the past few years.  Probably more people get the pickem games wrong in Ohio than any other state.

A lot of good programs with good coaching staffs.  I've always liked Ohio football.  Colerain has been a consisten Top team recently and I Would like to see Colerain play some good OOS games vs. NJ, Southern teams or Calif.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Sammyswordsman said:

Nice summary!  Ohio football has been volatile the past few years.  Probably more people get the pickem games wrong in Ohio than any other state.

A lot of good programs with good coaching staffs.  I've always liked Ohio football.  Colerain has been a consisten Top team recently and I Would like to see Colerain play some good OOS games vs. NJ, Southern teams or Calif.

 

 

You and me both. I love the OOS games. Would love to play NJ, GA, or CA. Unfortunately, next year, Colerains conference is moving from 7 league games to 8 league games.....leaving only 2 open weeks, and Colerain has already signed on to play both of their neighborhood archrivals La Salle and St. X in weeks 1 and 2. 

 

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As always Coletrain06, great summary and I mostly agree with your rankings.  I still can't believe we lost to X...hell, I can't believe SYCAMORE lost to X!! >:(

Next year will be tough on our Cards.  Losing all that defense and still searching for playmakers on offense.  It all will rest on the all new (again!) OL and the 2019 class of super Sophomores.

-93CardinalsFan

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1 hour ago, concha said:

Specht lulled all you fools into a false sense of superiority and then cruelly let you go into the final games against the Bombers thinking you could win.

Diabolical.

Cruel.

Effective.

Championship-winning.

Haha Probably Spechts best coaching job to date! 

Although I think it may have been the Lord almighty that made Bolden think Colerain was a passing team with a 16 point lead , a huge bull of a FB, and basically 1 Qtr to play..........and It was definitely the Lord almighty that tripped up the completely untouched Iggy QB on 3rd down near the goalline in OT!

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11 hours ago, concha said:

Specht lulled all you fools into a false sense of superiority and then cruelly let you go into the final games against the Bombers thinking you could win.

Diabolical.

Cruel.

Effective.

Championship-winning.

I think what our loss to St. Xavier also showed is just what an incredible advantage a school like St. Xavier has over a school like a Colerain. I mean, think about it.  You lose one Big Ten QB to injury and simply replace him with another Big Ten QB!  Not to mention the tremendous difference in depth. The Bombers lost all those players at the beginning of the year and look what they were able to accomplish!  Imagine if the Cardinals had lost Howard Watkins for the year in August?  Colerain doesn't make the playoffs. 

Hat tip to St. Specht for delivering on his annual over-whelming advantage of depth and talent. 

 

-93CardinalsFan

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11 hours ago, Coletrain06 said:

Haha Probably Spechts best coaching job to date! 

Although I think it may have been the Lord almighty that made Bolden think Colerain was a passing team with a 16 point lead , a huge bull of a FB, and basically 1 Qtr to play..........and It was definitely the Lord almighty that tripped up the completely untouched Iggy QB on 3rd down near the goalline in OT!

 

"We've Got Je-sus!!!!!!"

 

.

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1 hour ago, 93CardinalsFan said:

I think what our loss to St. Xavier also showed is just what an incredible advantage a school like St. Xavier has over a school like a Colerain. I mean, think about it.  You lose one Big Ten QB to injury and simply replace him with another Big Ten QB!  Not to mention the tremendous difference in depth. The Bombers lost all those players at the beginning of the year and look what they were able to accomplish!  Imagine if the Cardinals had lost Howard Watkins for the year in August?  Colerain doesn't make the playoffs. 

Hat tip to St. Specht for delivering on his annual over-whelming advantage of depth and talent. 

 

-93CardinalsFan

Sure, the team with the largest male enrollment in D1 will always have better depth than most teams. But talent advantage? I'm sorry, Colerain had more, and they blew it.

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1 hour ago, 93CardinalsFan said:

I think what our loss to St. Xavier also showed is just what an incredible advantage a school like St. Xavier has over a school like a Colerain. I mean, think about it.  You lose one Big Ten QB to injury and simply replace him with another Big Ten QB!  Not to mention the tremendous difference in depth. The Bombers lost all those players at the beginning of the year and look what they were able to accomplish!  Imagine if the Cardinals had lost Howard Watkins for the year in August?  Colerain doesn't make the playoffs. 

Hat tip to St. Specht for delivering on his annual over-whelming advantage of depth and talent. 

 

-93CardinalsFan

At least you are consistent with this nonsensical whining.

I shoot you down every year, but bless your heart, you can be counted on to put your pride, honesty and integrity to the side and come right back with the same schtick.

 

Colerain had four 3* or 4* rated kids on its roster.

St. X had two, one of whom was out for the entire season. Not to mention the #2 o-linemen being out for the season also.

This was arguably the least talented team St X has fielded in years.

 

 

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4 minutes ago, OdbCle said:

Sure, the team with the largest male enrollment in D1 will always have better depth than most teams. But talent advantage? I'm sorry, Colerain had more, and they blew it.

St X has a very large enrollment, but the size of the enrollment is offset by the nerdy and academic nature of the school. 

If St X had the talent profile of Colerain to go with its enrollment, it would be a national top 10 or 25 every year. 

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10 minutes ago, OdbCle said:

Sure, the team with the largest male enrollment in D1 will always have better depth than most teams. But talent advantage? I'm sorry, Colerain had more, and they blew it.

Misnomer.  Patently false.  Two Power 5 QB's plus talent up and down the roster.  Just because they aren't rated doesn't mean they aren't very good for the high school level.

Don't fall into Concha's trap.  He loves to play the "woah is us...nothing but nerds and academics" card....He is willfully ignorant on the subject.

-93CardinalsFan

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8 minutes ago, concha said:

At least you are consistent with this nonsensical whining.

I shoot you down every year, but bless your heart, you can be counted on to put your pride, honesty and integrity to the side and come right back with the same schtick.

 

Colerain had four 3* or 4* rated kids on its roster.

St. X had two, one of whom was out for the entire season. Not to mention the #2 o-linemen being out for the season also.

This was arguably the least talented team St X has fielded in years.

 

 

xD RIGHT ON CUE!  Same false rhetoric, new site!!

Our best defensive lineman was Kwantay Stanley.  Does he even start on X's defense?  No.  And if he does, he's a safety.  That is just one example of the ridiculous disparity between these two schools every single year.  3 or 4 kids does not make a team markedly better than the other.  No response to my comment on Watkins huh?  Not surprising.

By the way...did you see that Chase Wolf picked up ANOTHER Power 5 offer today?  This one from the Big 12?

Embarrassment of athletic riches.

-93CardinalsFan

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9 minutes ago, 93CardinalsFan said:

Misnomer.  Patently false.  Two Power 5 QB's plus talent up and down the roster.  Just because they aren't rated doesn't mean they aren't very good for the high school level.

Don't fall into Concha's trap.  He loves to play the "woah is us...nothing but nerds and academics" card....He is willfully ignorant on the subject.

-93CardinalsFan

Laughable.

The facts back me up every year.

"Concha's trap"... LMAO.  aka "reality"

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21 minutes ago, concha said:

St X has a very large enrollment, but the size of the enrollment is offset by the nerdy and academic nature of the school. 

If St X had the talent profile of Colerain to go with its enrollment, it would be a national top 10 or 25 every year. 

I'm familiar with the profile of both schools. While markedly different, both have exactly what it takes to compete at the highest level in D1 Ohio football, and neither should ever be complaining about being disadvantaged. Now if we were to compare them to some other notable national programs...that's a different story.

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6 minutes ago, 93CardinalsFan said:

xD RIGHT ON CUE!  Same false rhetoric, new site!!

Our best defensive lineman was Kwantay Stanley.  Does he even start on X's defense?  No.  And if he does, he's a safety.  That is just one example of the ridiculous disparity between these two schools every single year.  3 or 4 kids does not make a team markedly better than the other.  No response to my comment on Watkins huh?  Not surprising.

By the way...did you see that Chase Wolf picked up ANOTHER Power 5 offer today?  This one from the Big 12?

Embarrassment of athletic riches.

-93CardinalsFan

Dumbass,  for how long were you rated top 25 and top 10 in the nation?

And how in Hades do you know if Stanley would or would not have started for X?  That's just crap you yank out your ass.

FYI, three or four 3* or 4* kids sure as shit can transform a team.

Watkins? Another out your ass bullshit hypothetical.

 

So your big argument is that X had two guys with big time offers on the field.  Great. Except that as they were both QBs, so it works out to one guy on the field. And they were playing behind a decidedly NOT recruited o-line.

 

Why do you put yourself on exhibition like this?  Show some pride.

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5 minutes ago, concha said:

Dumbass,  for how long were you rated top 25 and top 10 in the nation?

And how in Hades do you know if Stanley would or would not have started for X?  That's just crap you yank out your ass.

FYI, three or four 3* or 4* kids sure as shit can transform a team.

Watkins? Another out your ass bullshit hypothetical.

 

So your big argument is that X had two guys with big time offers on the field.  Great. Except that as they were both QBs, so it works out to one guy on the field. And they were playing behind a decidedly NOT recruited o-line.

 

Why do you put yourself on exhibition like this?  Show some pride.

I missed you Conch...I really did.

I will tear this nonsense apart later.  Busy at work.

-93CF

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I agree with both to certain degree, though you'll never find me complaining about anything. 

Concha is absolutely right in terms of talent. Colerain blew X out of the water in that department this year, tho most of it was on one side of the ball. Colerain choked and that is the bottom line.

CF is right about depth, at least as far as on the Lines. Without Watkins, Colerains OLine probably averaged 230. Their DLine was probably around 200.

These things are cyclical and sometimes each has an advantage over the other.  Nothing to complain about tho.

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