If high school football stadiums had out-of-town scoreboards, fans at Friday’s games involving South Range, Ursuline, Mathews and Mineral Ridge would find their eyes wandering for updates.

Those four teams are among the 10 Division V squads competing for the eight playoff spots in Region 17.

This much we know — South Range (9-0, 6-0 Inter Tri-County League Tier One) has qualified for the playoffs and will open with a home game Nov. 2. The Raiders have the top spot in this week’s computer playoff ratings and a win over rival Springfield (2-7) should cement the top seed.

The top four teams in each region earn home games for the first round.

So why should the Raiders and their fans care what’s going on elsewhere?

It’s possible that Ursuline (7-2 and the team that many Div. V schools fear the most) must win to qualify for the postseason. Many observers consider the Irish to be state championship contenders if they get in.

Irish facing tough
St. Vincent-St. Mary

Coach Dan Reardon’s Irish travel to Akron to play St. Vincent-St. Mary (8-1), one of the top-ranked Div. IV schools. Two weeks ago, SVSM scared the daylights out of Mooney, jumping ahead of the Cardinals, 17-0 before halftime. Mooney (9-0) rallied for a 21-17 win.

An Ursuline win probably would give the Irish a home playoff game.

But suppose Ursuline loses to SVSM. At No. 6 this week, the Irish tumble out of the playoff picture.

A lot depends on what happens to the four teams below Ursuline in the ratings. Trailing the Irish are Cuyahoga Heights (8-1), Mathews (9-0), West Salem Northwestern (8-1) and Mineral Ridge (7-2).

While most of what happens in this competitive region is a mystery, Dom Leone’s Rams will be a favorite at Lisbon (2-7). It might not be enough. Leone said after last week’s loss to South Range that he’s not certain eight wins will be good enough for a playoff berth.

Why is Ursuline facing this uncertainty? The Irish play one of the wackiest, most unbalanced schedules imaginable.

On the one hand, the Irish take on Steel Valley Conference rivals Mooney and Warren Harding (Div. I). They also play Div. I schools Fitch and Massillon.

But they also play Cleveland East Technical, East Liverpool and Beaver Local, who are a combined 3-24 and are doing Ursuline no favors.

In the playoff ratings, schools get credit for every win (the stronger the opponent, the higher the credit). And they benefit from when the teams they have defeated win.

Irish won’t get help
from most victims

That’s where Ursuline may struggle — it’s unlikely that they will get help from five of their victims.

In last week’s South Range win over Mineral Ridge (40-13), the Rams ditched their vaunted running game when they trailed 21-0 at halftime. Sophomore Zach Kiger’s arm gave the Raiders’ pass defenders a workout. He completed 12 of 19 passes in the third quarter for 128 yards, chilling the South Range offense that watched from the sidelines.

Raiders coach Dan Yeagley said the third quarter was a good test for his defense, but, “We needed our offense on the field a bit more.

Leone called Kiger’s performance “a pleasant surprise. I thought he held his composure very well. He was put into the fire and he pretty much handled it.”

It was the second straight week that an opponent found a little success passing against the Raiders. Columbiana’s Ryan Williams completed four straight passes in the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ 34-14 loss.

Leone said the Rams’ success is a bit misleading.

“They kind of let you pass the ball underneath but they don’t let you go deep,” said Leone, whose team was unable to slice into South Range’s big lead despite controlling the ball.

“It’s a misnomer about us that we can’t throw,” Leone said. “We can throw the football, but when you’ve got a guy like [tailback] A.J. [Zitello], you try to give him the ball as much as you can.”

Will Zitello and the Rams earn another game in Week 11, perhaps a rematch with the Raiders? We’ll soon find out.

XTom Williams covers high school sports for The Vindicator. Write to him at williams@vindy.com.