TONIGHT’S GAMES

DIVISION II

Dresden Tri-Valley at Boardman

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Spartan Stadium, Boardman.

Radio: WNIO-AM 1390.

Records: Tri-Valley 9-1; Boardman 6-4.

Coaches: Justin Buttermore for Tri-Valley; Joe Ignazio for Boardman.

The scoop: Tri-Valley — The Scotties’ record doesn’t hold up well to scrutiny. Boardman will be the first D-II team they’ll face this season. Boardman — The Spartans have won five of their last six games. Mario Graziani is the team’s top rusher with 847 yards and five touchdowns.

Warren Harding at Madison

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Dick Hamblin Field, Madison.

Radio: WHKZ-AM 1440.

Records: Harding 7-3; Madison 9-1.

Coaches: Steve Arnold for Harding; Tim Willis for Madison.

The scoop: Harding — The Raiders have scored at least 40 points in its last two games, both of which were victories. Lynn Bowden is the second-leading rusher in the area with 1,537 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. Madison — The Blue Streaks are riding a seven-game winning streak into the playoffs. All seven of those wins are agains D-II opponents, but only two of them had a winning record.

DIVISION III

Louisville at Poland

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Dave Pavlansky Field, Poland.

Radio: WKBN-AM 570.

Records: Louisville 9-1; Poland 9-1.

Coaches: John DeMarco for Louisville; Mark Brungard for Poland.

The scoop: Louisville — The Leopards lone loss came at the hands of Austintown-Fitch, 37-19, back on Sept. 11. One of this team’s signature wins was when it ruined Salem’s undefeated season with a 40-10 victory; Poland — The Bulldogs have to shake off their 7-6 loss to Canfield in the last game of the regular season. Dylan Garver scored 21 touchdowns this season and has rushed for 1,289 yards.

Canfield at Akron SVSM

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at John Cistone Field, Green Street Stadium, Akron.

Radio: None.

Records: Canfield 8-2; SVSM 9-1.

Coaches: Mike Pavlansky for Canfield; Dan Boarman for SVSM.

The scoop: Canfield — Earned two close victories over Howland and Poland in the final two weeks of the season. SVSM — The Irish are on a five-game winning streak, which includes a season-finale 21-14 victory against Ursuline.

DIVISION V

Berkshire at Crestview

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Rebel Stadium, East Fairfield Township.

Radio: None.

Records: Berkshire 6-4; Crestview 8-2.

Coaches: Josh DeWeese for Berkshire; Paul Cusick for Crestview.

The scoop: Berkshire — The Badgers have just one win against a D-V opponent with a winning record this season. Berkshire is making its first playoff appearance since 1981. Crestview — The Rebels trot out one of the top running backs in the area in Tyler Stratton, who has 1,485 rushing yards and an area-leading 24 rushing touchdowns. Last week in a 55-54 overtime loss to Lisbon, Stratton gained 200 all-purpose yards and scored four touchdowns.

East Palestine at Magnolia Sandy Valley

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Sandy Valley Stadium, Magnolia.

Radio: WJER-AM 1450.

Records: East Palestine 7-3; Sandy Valley 9-1.

Coaches: Tony Foster for East Palestine; Zach Gardner for Sandy Valley.

The scoop: East Palestine — The Bulldogs are making their first playoff appearance since 2009. Freshman quarterback Parker Sherry is a dual-threat QB with 1,134 yards passing and 842 rushing with 23 total touchdowns. Sandy Valley — The Cardinals’ record is deceiving. Sure, the team is on a five-game winning streak, but four of those wins have come against D-VI and DVII teams, all of whom have losing records.

LaBrae at Grand Valley

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Grand Valley Stadium, Orwell.

Radio: WFUN-AM 970.

Records: LaBrae 8-2; GV 7-2.

Coaches: John Armeni for LaBrae; John Glavickas for GV.

The scoop: LaBrae — The Vikings punched above its weight in the final two weeks of the season, earning wins against D-IV Girard and Jefferson. GV — The Mustangs earned a bye week in the last week of the regular season thanks to Newbury’s cancellation of its season due to running out of players. Four of Grand Valley’s seven wins were against D-VII schools.

DIVISION VII

Sandusky St. Mary Central Catholic at Warren JFK

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Mollenkopf Stadium, Warren.

Radio: WBBG-FM 106.1.

Records: St. Mary 6-4; JFK 9-1.

Coaches: Ryan Wikel; for St. Mary; Jeff Bayuk for JFK.

The scoop: St. Mary — The Panthers have yet to beat a team with a winning record. JFK — Evan Body has 12 rushing touchdowns and 936 yards on the ground. The Eagles are on a six-game winning streak.

Jackson-Milton at Mogadore

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium, Mogadore.

Radio: None.

Records: J-M 7-3; Mogadore 9-1.

Coaches: Mark Assion for J-M; Matt Adorni for Mogadore.

The scoop: J-M — Jackson-Milton is playing in its first playoff game in program history. Running back Joey Burnside is fourth in the area in rushing yards with 1,378 and has 13 rushing touchdowns. Mogadore — The Wildcats are in the playoffs for the 17th straight year, which is the fourth longest streak in the entire state. Jackson-Milton will be the first D-VII team the Wildcats see this year.

Mathews at Toronto

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Clarke Hinkle Stadium, Toronto.

Radio: None.

Records: Mathews 7-2; Toronto 9-1.

Coaches: Mike Palumbo for Mathews; Eric Meek for Toronto.

The scoop: Mathews — The Mustangs do not need passports for this game. Bryan Leipply is the area’s top rusher with 1,643 rushing yards on 205 carries with 20 touchdowns. Toronto — The Red Knights have allowed just 13 points during a five-game winning streak.

SATURDAY’S GAMES

DIVISION I

Austintown Fitch at Euclid

Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Sparky DiBiasio Stadium, Euclid.

Radio: None.

Records: Fitch 7-3; Euclid 8-2.

Coaches: Phil Annarella for Fitch; Jeff Rotsky for Euclid.

The scoop: Fitch — This is Fitch’s fourth straight year in the playoffs. The Falcons have conceded no more than 14 points in their last six games. Euclid — Rotsky, a first-year head coach, takes Euclid to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Running back Chris Collins leads the team with 1,448 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.

DIVISION IV

Ursuline at Chardon NDCL

Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Lion Stadium, Chardon.

Radio: WKBN-AM 570.

Records: Ursuline 5-5; NDCL 7-3.

Coaches: Larry Kempe for Ursuline; Andrew Mooney for NDCL.

The scoop: Ursuline — The Irish have made the playoffs for the eighth time in nine years, but this is the team’s first year in D-IV. Kimauni Johnson has 834 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on the year. NDCL — Mooney makes his playoff debut for Chardon. The Lions are lead by a three-headed rushing attack of Savion Grove, Harrison Richardson and Brandon Mounts, who each have about 500 rushing and five-to-eight touchdowns.

Lakeview at Mantua Crestwood

Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Jack Lambert Field, Mantua.

Radio: None.

Records: Lakeview 7-3; Crestwood 8-2.

Coaches: Tom Pavlansky for Lakeview; Pete Thompson for Crestwood.

The scoop: Lakeview — The Bulldogs barely got into the postseason after needing a win over Struthers to close out the regular season, which they got thanks to a failed two-point conversion attempt. Only two of Lakeview’s seven wins were against a team with a winning record. Crestwood — The Red Devils haven’t allowed more than 14 points in each of their last four games. Logan Thut has rushed for 1,340 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Salem at Gnadenhutten Indian Valley

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Indian Valley Stadium, New Philadelphia.

Radio: WSOM-AM 600.

Records: Salem 9-1; Indian Valley 9-1.

Coaches: Ron Johnson for Salem; Matt Lancaster for Indian Valley.

The scoop: Salem — The Quakers’ defense has never given up more than 14 points when playing in their own division. Matt Weingart has thrown for 1,336 yards and 21 touchdowns with just three picks on the season. Indian Valley — The Indians have only beat two teams with a winning record and both of them were D-V schools.

DIVISION VI

Brookfield at Lisbon

Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Bud Bucher Field, War Memorial Stadium, Lisbon.

Radio: WBBG-FM 106.1.

Records: Brookfield 9-1; Lisbon 9-1.

Coaches: Randy Clark for Brookfield; Jim Tsilimos for Lisbon.

The scoop: Brookfield — Brookfield has not allowed more than 15 points in all nine of its victories. Quarterback Augustus Necastro is has the second most passing yards in the area with 1,899 along with 25 touchdowns. Lisbon — The Blue Devils defeated two playoff teams in the regular season, East Palestine and Crestview. Quarteback Josh Liberati has thrown for 20 touchdowns with just two interceptions.

Cuyahoga Heights at Columbiana

Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Firestone Stadium, Columbiana.

Radio: None.

Records: Cuyahoga Heights 8-2; Columbiana 9-1.

Coaches: Al Martin for Cuyahoga Heights; Bob Spaite for Columbiana.

The scoop: Cuyahoga Heights — Cuyahoga ended the regular season three points short of an undefeated season. Brett Lowther has thrown 13 touchdown passes this season. Columbiana — Quarterback Mitch Davidson has a strong case to be the area’s best overall player. He’s the top passer in the Valley by a mile with 2,526 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and only one interception. He is also the Clippers’ leading rusher with 1,009 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.

Western Reserve at Kirtland

Kickoff: 7 p.m. at Rogers Field, Kirtland.

Radio: None.

Records: Western Reserve 8-2; Kirtland 9-1.

Coaches: Andy Hake for Western Reserve; Tiger LaVerde for Kirtland.

The scoop: Western Reserve — After reaching the D-VII finals last year, the Devils will have to make a run for the top as a D-VI team. The Devils have only two wins over winning teams. Kirtland — The Hornets, the division runner-up last year, have three shutout victories this year. They also have four wins where they held opponents to single digits.

Staff reports