Ohio Playoffs: State Championships 2023

[Atticus Finch]

1 hour ago, Omaha Vol said:

Just admit it....you're scared to death to put out any semblance of a poll.  

You are such a cornball and a clown.

Zero substance, ever.

[Omaha Vol]

13 minutes ago, Atticus Finch said:

 I challenged you on Massillon being in the top 0.2% of the entire country. You had no answer whatsoever so you jus pivoted to lying and making stuff up.

A lot of teams would beat Massillon.

Then name them. Quit being a chicken shit and do it! Is it really that hard for you? 

[Atticus Finch]

7 minutes ago, Omaha Vol said:

Then name them. Quit being a chicken shit and do it! Is it really that hard for you? 

This is your cornball routine.

Totally unserious person with zero football chops.

[reggid]

5 minutes ago, Atticus Finch said:

This is your cornball routine.

Totally unserious person with zero football chops.

Seriously, dude, can you calm down and STFU?  You’ve wrecked yet another thread with your OCD.

[Omaha Vol]

9 minutes ago, Atticus Finch said:

This is your cornball routine.

Totally unserious person with zero football chops.

What a bitch!

[Atticus Finch]

15 minutes ago, reggid said:

Seriously, dude, can you calm down and STFU?  You’ve wrecked yet another thread with your OCD.

Omaha Vol is a consistent clown on this stuff. The fact that you two get along so well speaks volumes.

[Atticus Finch]

12 minutes ago, Omaha Vol said:

What a bitch!

You don't have another move other than to put out a shit product and then demand that any critics must pretend that they know who would beat who in hypotheticals.

What a dope.

[Omaha Vol]

12 minutes ago, Atticus Finch said:

You don't have another move other than to put out a shit product and then demand that any critics must pretend that they know who would beat who in hypotheticals.

What a dope.

Jesus Christ, you’re so obtuse! 
 

It’s not that I don’t have any “moves” as you say, it’s that I’ve learned over the years that having an OCD back and forth with you is pointless. It really boils down to you putting up or shutting up. You’re a coward. 
 

Once again, I apologize to reggid for this obnoxious hijacking of your post. 

[OdbCle]

With another season in the books, time to rank my final top ten. Final record, pre-season ranking, and final regular season ranking in parenthesis. 

1. Massillon (16-0, #5, #1) - The Tigers did it with defense all year, and the state championship was no different. However, the addition of DaOne Owens is what really put them over the top. Not saying they couldn't have won it all with Slaughter, but Owens dynamic running ability was the catalyst to the Massillon offense all year, especially in their week 5 win over St. Edward. Because of him, the undefeated DII state champion Tigers get the nod as Ohio's best this year. 

2. St. Edward (15-1, #1, #2) - The Eagles went wire-to-wire as the D1 favorites and delivered the school's seventh state championship and third in a row. The lone setback to Massillon was without Casey Bullock at QB and before super sophomore running back Brandon White burst onto the scene. If they played a neutral site matchup with Massillon this weekend would the tables be turned? Your guess is as good as mine, but I think these two teams are as close as it gets as presently composed. 1a & 1b. 

3. Hoban (13-2, #4, #3) - The Knights had a prolific defense this year and nearly snatched a victory in the closing seconds of the state championship as a 4th and goal pass was dropped by a receiver that got loose in the front corner of the endzone. They were doomed all night by unforced errors and inconsistent offense, and that sloppy play ultimately did them in despite being gifted a late opportunity to score when Massillon attempted a fake punt. 

4. TCC (16-0, #6, #4) - The Fighting Irish barely broke a sweat all year, with only one game coming within a single score. As I said all year, we were robbed of an even more exciting DII playoff as they dropped to DIII this year. Because of that, we'll never really know if they would have repeated in DII going up against a great Massillon, Hoban, or Avon team. Can't put them higher for that reason. 

5. Avon (14-1, others, #5) - Despite losing their star senior QB to an injury before heading into the playoffs, Avon took care of business in R6 and nearly eliminated Hoban in the final four. This was a special class, but coach Mike Elder has built a great program in Avon and they will continue to be a threat in D2 for years to come as long as he is there.  

6. Springfield (10-6, #2, unranked) - Springfield's return to the D1 state championship was one of the better storylines of the Ohio playoffs.  Ravaged by injuries early in the year, the Wildcats got healthy at the right time and, thanks to the expanded playoff field, were able to make a run from the 12 seed position. I had them ranked #2 in the pre-season based off their talent alone, and that talent served them well up until they faced a physical juggernaut in St. Edward. 

7. Moeller (10-5, #3, #8) - Moeller was another team that did not hit their stride until midway through the year as they adjusted to new head coach Bert Bathiany's system. They suffered a close loss to Ed's at the end of the year when they lost Mr. Football Jordan Marshall to an injury in the second half. Thought to be lost for the rest of the year, Marshall returned and Moeller looked poised to get a rematch with Ed's in the final. However, for the third year in a row, Springfield denied that opportunity. Marshall was lost that game to injury as well. Otherwise, we just might have gotten the Ed's-Moeller final. 

8. Glenville (13-3, #8, #9) - The Tarblooders beefed up their regular season non-conference schedule this year with a loaded senior class. They played a healthy Avon team to a very close game in a week 3 loss, and also lost a competitive game to Hoban. No one ever thought they were going to beat IMG, so I can't hold that loss against them. I'm sure the Glenville faithful would tell you their regular season prepared them for a second consecutive championship run, but I don't think any team in the DIV ever stood a chance against Glenville. They were purely up against themselves. 

9. Hilliard Bradley (13-2, unranked, others) - I thought the entire Columbus-area was very solid this year. No great teams, but a deep region with a lot of parity. All came down to matchups and execution. Bradley, behind Mr. Football finalist QB Fleharty came out as the best of the bunch. Losing Fleharty to injury in the R3 final win eliminated any chance they had to upset Ed's in the final four, but I think that would have been an interesting game with him in there. Very good runner at the QB position, which was Ed's Achilles heel all year. 

10. Gahanna-Lincoln (12-1, others, #6) - I really liked GL's chances to come out of R3 with the returning talent they had and putting together undefeated season wins over a very good Pick North team and a dominating victory over an always solid Pick Central team. Alas, they fell victim to UA's ball control, no mistake offense and stiff defense. I think they win that game more often then not, but just got out-executed that night. Lakota West also got strong consideration for this last spot.  

Others: Lakota West, Pick North, Upper Arlington, Olentangy, Princeton, St. X, Dublin Coffman, Olentangy Berlin, Medina, Cleveland Heights, Elder, Walsh Jesuit, Anderson, Bishop Watterson, Withrow 

[100_100]

Not saying Owens wasn’t the reason for the Ed’s win this year but Slaughter did beat them as a sophomore. Him returning as QB1 this year(if there isn’t a qb battle with Manny) he will have all 3 receivers back, along with a freshman that picked up a MAC offer this season. Should be in good shape to sling it in 2024, which is way different than how the offense operated this season.