Oak Glen needs win and help
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Fresh off a bye week, Oak Glen (4-5) wraps up its regular season by hosting Hampshire (4-5) from Romney, W.Va. on Friday. The Golden Bears have a slight chance at getting in the playoffs with a win, but they will need help.
AT SALEM
Salem’s football team has sat in a position of uncertainty for one week as it waits on the Ohio High School Athletic Association and the courts to sort out who its next opponents will be in.
As the legal situation remains fluid since appeals to the court can be filed at any time over the next few days, we’ll give you a look at what Salem (8-2) can expect if it faces No. 5 seed Glenville or No. 12 seed University School hopefully on Friday.
The Tarblooders (8-2) certainly pack a punch as the team bested Salem 49-0 in the first round of the Div. IV playoffs last season. That team played 15 games and won the Div. IV state title with a 45-7 win over Shelby in the final.
It’s hard to tell if this year’s team is as good as last season. The Tarblooders two losses came to Massillon and Bishop Watterson. It rolled through an easy Senate League schedule, but also beat Olentangy Liberty, a team from Canada and Akron Hoban.
Controversy courted the Tarblooders early in the season when 11 players were charged with theft after stealing more than $4,500 worth of merchandise from a DICK’S Sporting Goods store in Grove City when the team was away for a game against Olentangy Liberty.
The 11 players -- nine juveniles and two 18-year-olds -- were suspended for two games.
As for the Preppers, University coach Ben Malbasa works as an English teacher at University School, but is also a practicing attorney with a Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He declined to give any legal opinion on how the current scenario could or should play out in his mind.
University School (6-4) ended its regular season with consecutive losses to Columbus St. Charles and Howland. Howland, of course, was also an opponent of Salem in the Eastern Buckeye Conference. The Tigers beat Salem by 14, while the Preppers lost by 10.
The Preppers offense almost equally splits the run and pass attacks with
junior Asher Wilmink as the leading rusher and junior Nico Morelli as the signal caller. University School has scored 307 points this season to its opponents’ 212.
The bye week afforded to Salem due to being the fourth seed probably will come in handy as the Quakers had been carrying some injuries, but focusing on two different opponents in that time frame might come at some price.
The team that moves on Friday (or another day) will play the winner of No. 1 Willoughby South and No. 8 Ursuline on Nov. 13.
POLAND AT WEST BRANCH
It’s hard to make heads or tails out of what Poland (7-4) is this season. The Bulldogs were competitive in losses to Div. III Salem and Div. VI powerhouse Kirtland. The Bulldogs also managed to beat Canfield 24-21, something West Branch did not do. They also lost 47-7 to a South Range team that didn’t even win the Northeast 8. Against league champion and undefeated Girard, Poland was in the fight in a 35-31 loss.
Last Friday Bulldogs opened the playoffs last week with a three-point win over Div. IV, Region 13 sixth seed Woodridge (8-3).
Against West Branch, the Bulldogs will rely on senior running back Chase Jones who has 1,092 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns on the season. Junior quarterback David Xipolitas has 801 yards rushing himself as well as nine touchdowns on the ground.
Through the air Xipolitas has competed 57 percent of his passes for 912 yards and nine touchdowns with just two interceptions. The Bulldogs are scoring 30 points per game, while giving up 22 points per game.
West Branch senior quarterback Grady Hirst, on the other hand, has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 1,863 yards and 14 touchdowns with four interceptions. On the ground, Hirst has 929 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns. The Warriors are scoring about 36 points per game, while limiting opponents to six points per game.
The two teams last met in the playoffs in 2021 with West Branch winning 33-21. This will be the 17th meeting between the two schools and just the second since 1987. Poland owns a 10-6 advantage in the series.
The winner of this game will get the winner of No. 2 Rocky River and No. 7 Canal Fulton Northwest in the next round.
UNITED AT COLUMBIA
United’s football program has now reached the second round of the playoffs three times and is looking to finally break out in a big way.
The previous two times -- a 26-7 loss to Cuyahoga Heights in 2023 and a 48-6 loss to Kirtland in 2022 -- reminded the Eagles they have work to do if they were to compete with the contenders.
The sixth-seeded Golden Eagles (9-1) bring a team that has outscored opponents by an average of 42-9 to No. 3 Columbia Station Columbia (9-1) for a Div. VI, Region 21 match-up.
The Raiders are making their 16th playoff appearance where they have an all-time postseason mark of 10-15. Since 2021, the Raiders have been in the playoffs every season and played 14 games in 2022 and 2024.
Th two have a common opponent in Warren JFK. The Raiders beat JFK 42-7 on Oct. 2, while United won 21-6 last Friday in the first round of the playoffs.
The Raiders play a run-heavy style with 2,000-yard back Xavier Hendon leading the way. In all the Raiders have rushed for 3,511 yards this season, while passing for just 481.
The winner of this game will get the winner of No. 2 South Range and No. 7 Smithville in the regional semifinal.