Central Ohio High School Football: Week 4

This week begins early with a couple of Thursday games.

THURSDAY GAMES:
Columbus Academy Vikings (2-1) at Granville Blue Aces (2-1)
Great matchup.
Pick: Columbus Academy

Whitehall-Yearling Rams (1-2) at Bexley Lions (2-1)
The Lions have won the last four "Battles of Main Street." After last week's blow-out loss to rival Hartley, the Lions will edge the Rams to claim their fifth straight "Battle of Main Street".
Pick: Bexley



FRIDAY NIGHT KEY GAMES:
Game of the Week:
Watkins Memorial Warriors (3-0) at Big Walnut Golden Eagles (3-0)
The unbeaten Watkins Warriors go up to Delaware County to play an unbeaten Big Walnut team fresh off an emotional game-winning drive against Olentangy. This will be a great matchup, and the Warriors could be another test for the Golden Eagles.
Pick: Big Walnut

Game of the Week:
Lancaster Golden Gales (2-1) at Pickerington Central Tigers (2-0)
After a bye following two out-of-state opponents, the Pick Central Tigers play their first Ohio opponent in their OCC Ohio opener against Fairfield County rival Lancaster, who is fresh off a defeat to perennial Cleveland powerhouse St. Ignatius. Look for Pick Central to get it done in front of their home crowd.
Pick: Pickerington Central

Upset Pick of the Week:
Northland Vikings (2-1) at Brookhaven Bearcats (0-3)
Three weeks ago, all of the sports pundits- professional and amateur in Central Ohio penciled the City League North automatically to one team- Brookhaven. In the three weeks of football since, the Bearcats are 0-3 and have scored an average of six points a game, while Northland got off to a surprising 2-0 start before getting outmanned by OCC Ohio's Pickerington North at home. Could the Vikings travel down Karl Road to outwit, outplay, and outlast the Bearcats and send them to 0-4? Say it isn't so?
Pick: Northland

Underdog Game of the Week:
Centennial Stars (1-2) at Linden McKinley Panthers (1-2)
The last time the Centennial football Stars won a game, George W. Bush was President, Bob Taft was Ohio's Governor, and the economy was not in a recession. Last week, the Centennial Stars won for the first time in four years, ending a 34-game losing skid by mauling the Columbus South Bulldogs. Could they win two in a row? It's possible, but remember, Linden did travel out to Galloway two weeks ago and beat Westland, so anything is possible.
Pick: Centennial

Other Select Games:
Columbus West Cowboys (2-1) at Eastmoor Academy Warriors (0-2)
Eastmoor, favored to make a deep run in the Division III playoffs, got off to a surprising 0-2 start after losses to Northland and St. Charles. After a bye week, the Warriors open City League South play against West, who got off to a 2-0 start before losing to Hamilton Township last week. The Warriors will get things done this week by lasso-ing the Cowboys.
Pick: Eastmoor

Grove City Greyhounds (0-3) at Reynoldsburg Raiders (2-1)
Grove City should not be 0-3 at this point, but they are after being outplayed by Hilliard Davidson, Canal Winchester, and Westerville South. Reynoldsburg outscored their last two opponents (Toledo Scott and Logan) 108-7, and the hungry (for a win) Greyhounds could prove to be a test for the host Raiders.
Pick: Reynoldsburg

Dublin Scioto Irish (2-1) at Olentangy Braves (2-1)
Last week, the Dublin Scioto Irish won the Battle of Hard Road, while Olentangy lost to Big Walnut on the final play. Sports Corner thinks that this week, the host Braves will be victorious in the OCC Cardinal opener for both schools.
Pick: Olentangy

Westerville Central Warhawks (0-3) at Westerville South Wildcats (2-1)
Westerville Central is still looking for their first win after losing a close one to Big Walnut, and getting blown out by New Albany and Canal Winchester. It's a bad time for the Warhawks to go to crosstown rivals South in this battle of Westerville, as the Westerville South Wildcats are on a roll, following back-to-back wins against traditional OCC football institutions Dublin Coffman and Grove City.
Pick: Westerville South

Worthington Kilbourne Wolves (1-2) at Hilliard Darby Panthers (3-0)
Hilliard Darby may be 3-0, but the toughest part of their schedule begins tonight as Worthington Kilbourne comes to town.
Pick: Worthington Kilbourne

Thomas Worthington Cardinals (1-2) at Upper Arlington Golden Bears (2-1)
Last year, a surprising Thomas Worthington team upset their rivals Upper Arlington, beating them for the first time since 1986. This year, the Golden Bears will see to it that last year's Thomas win was a fluke.
Pick: Upper Arlington

Pickerington North Panthers (2-1) at Groveport Madison Cruisers (3-0)
Groveport is off to another 3-0 start, but Pickerington North is a tough threat to be reckoned with, driven by their big offensive line.
Pick: Pickerington North

Licking Valley Panthers (1-2) at Heath Bulldogs (3-0)
This will be a great matchup between two Licking County teams. Licking Valley is better than their 1-2 record, after their first win last week over a solid Bishop Ready team.
Pick: Heath

Canal Winchester Indians (2-1) at Circleville Tigers (2-1)
This will be a great Mid State League Buckeye opener, as Circleville aims to steal Canal's thunder, and Canal Winchester wants to maintain their reign in the Mid State League Buckeye Division.
Pick: Canal Winchester

Grandview Bobcats (2-1) at Liberty Union Lions (2-1)
Question: Can Grandview get back on track with a win at Liberty Union?
Pick: Liberty Union

Bishop Hartley Hawks (3-0) at Elyria Catholic Panthers (3-0)
Hartley is ranked third in the state in Division IV, and Elyria Catholic not far behind. Given the prestige of Northeast Ohio Catholic schools, on paper, things might not look too good for the Hawks. But you don't play football on paper. "You play to win the game."- Herman Edwards
Pick: Elyria Catholic

Bishop Watterson Eagles (3-0) at Cincinnati Winton Woods Warriors (3-0)
Watterson travels down to Cincinnati to play defending Division II state champs Winton Woods. The Eagles can play with just about anyone. But Winton Woods can run up some points.
Pick: Winton Woods

Game of the Week:
Youngstown Cardinal Mooney Cardinals (3-0) at St. Francis DeSales Stallions (2-1)In this rematch of last year's Division III State Championship, DeSales is looking for revenge after last year's loss to Mooney. However, Mooney is on a roll, just like the Division I champs fro last year.
Pick: Mooney

Columbus East Tigers (0-3) at Mifflin Punchers (2-1)
The East Tigers are still looking for their first win, but it's not a good time to go up to play a surprising Mifflin.
Pick: Mifflin

3-0 Team with the Easiest Schedule:
1) Fredericktown
2) Marion-Franklin
3) Hilliard Davidson
4) Big Walnut
5) New Albany

3-0 Team with the Hardest Schedule:
1) Bishop Hartley
2) Bishop Watterson
3) St. Charles- final four games: DeSales, Zanesville, Watterson, Jonathan Alder
4) Briggs- five of last six games: Eastmoor Academy, Independence, Marion-Franklin, Walnut Ridge, West
T-5) Watkins Memorial- Big Walnut & New Albany on the horizon
T-5) Hilliard Darby- Worthington Kilbourne this week; Upper Arlington, Dublin Coffman, and Hilliard Davidson later

3-0 Teams Most Likely to Miss the Playoffs:
1) Briggs- after an easy game against Africentric, five of their last six games are against Eastmoor Academy, Independence, and the bottom could fall out in the last three weeks with Marion-Franklin, Walnut Ridge, and West, respectively
2) Hilliard Darby- plays Worthington Kilbourne this week; but has Upper Arlington, Dublin Coffman, and Hilliard Davidson down the road
3) Watkins Memorial- has a toughie in Sunbury at Big Walnut this week; then New Albany; 8-2 is possible, but as witnessed in the last two years, Region 7 is a toughie in which two 9-1 teams (New Philadelphia and Zanesville) missed the playoffs last year
4) St. Charles- the second half of their schedule is not kind to the Cards, beginning with DeSales (a team that they haven't beaten in 34 years), followed by Zanesville, a bye week, Watterson, and Jonathan Alder, all a combined 10-2 through the first three weeks
T-5) Bishop Hartley- last year the Hawks were 4-0, but missed out at 7-3; this week, the Hawks go up to the Cleveland area to play unbeaten Elyria Catholic
T-5) Groveport Madison- plays Pickerington North this week; but has Pick Central and Lancaster to play later, plus tough ones against Gahanna, Grove City, and Reynoldsburg

3-0 Teams That Will Likely Not Just Make the Playoffs, But Have a Deep Playoff Run:
1) Hilliard Davidson- haven't missed a beat since last year's run to the top
2) Bishop Watterson- if they can get past DeSales, their defense can turn tables on the field
3) Newark Catholic- steep tradition in Division VI, eight state titles
4) Marion-Franklin- after last year's surprise trip to the Final Four, they could go for an encore
5) Walnut Ridge- be very afraid to play them

Teams that are a surprising 0-3:
1) Brookhaven- lost to Marion-Franklin, Hilliard Davidson, and Dublin Coffman
2) Logan- lost to Lancaster, Pickerington North, and Reynoldsburg
3) Grove City- lost to Hilliard Davidson, Canal Winchester, and Westerville South
4) Westerville Central- lost to Big Walnut, New Albany, and Canal Winchester
T-5) Columbus East- lost to Columbus West, Walnut Ridge, and Briggs
T-5) Whetstone- lost to Briggs, Thomas Worthington, and Dayton Dunbar
*Eastmoor Academy is 0-2, but had a bye last week

Team with a surprising non-league start:
1) Mifflin (2-1)
2) Bexley (2-1)
3) Briggs (3-0)
4) Hilliard Darby (3-0)
5) St. Charles (3-0)
6) Watkins Memorial (3-0)
7) Eastmoor Academy (0-2)
8) Brookhaven (0-3)
9) Westerville Central (0-3)
10) Grove City (0-3)