Five teams make it to Week 2

November 7, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

Harding, Mooney, LaBrae, JFK and Springfield advance

For five area schools, the second weekend of November will mean a second-round playoff game and an opportunity to advance to a regional title game.

Warren Harding, Cardinal Mooney, LaBrae, Springfield and Warren JFK all logged first-round playoff victories. As a result, the five schools will play this coming weekend in the regional semifinals of their respective divisions.

Howland, Hubbard, Struthers, South Range, Lisbon and Jackson-Milton were eliminated from the tournament.

In Division II Region 5, Harding (10-1) will face Chardon (11-0) Friday at Gilcrest Field in Ravenna.

The Raiders advanced with a 56-48 win over Brecksville-Broadview Heights. The Bees threw the ball 48 times and compiled 275 passing yards.

“I told our team that the playoffs are about surviving and advancing, and we did just that,” Harding coach Steve Arnold said on Sunday. “Brecksville was a very tough opponent who threw a lot at us, and we survived the challenge.”

Harding will face a much different style of offense when it plays Chardon. The Hilltoppers operate out of the Wing-T. In their 56-6 opening-round win over Bedford, the Hilltoppers compiled 393 rushing yards and scored six touchdowns before halftime. They finished the night with 535 total yards — 511 of those on the ground.

Quarterback Tommy Benenati leads the Chardon rushing attack with 1,985 yards and 25 touchdowns. During the regular season, Benenati threw the ball just 40 times, but he completed 20 of those passes for 523 yards and eight touchdowns.

“In my five years here, we haven’t faced a team that runs an offense like Chardon, and they do it to perfection,” Arnold said. “You have to play extremely disciplined defense to stop their run.”

“We’ll try to prepare for them in practice. The thing is, you can’t really simulate their pace and speed.”

Chardon has made two trips to the state title game, winning a championship in 1994.

Mooney (8-2) advanced in Division IV Region 13 with its 27-9 win over Hubbard. The Cardinals will face seventh-seeded Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (8-3), which upset Crestwood 28-27. The Cardinals and Lions will play Friday at Bo Rein Stadium in Niles.

NDCL earned its second all-time playoff win with a come-from-behind victory. The Lions trailed 20-7 before tying the game at 20-20. After Crestwood took a 27-20 advantage, NDCL scored a touchdown and converted a two-point conversion for the game-winning points.

While NDCL owns a 2-6 playoff record, Mooney lifted its postseason mark to 62-19. The Cardinals are seeking their ninth state title.

Bo Rein Stadium also will play host to a game on Saturday when LaBrae (8-3) faces Garrettsville Garfield (8-3) in a Division V Region 17 contest. LaBrae advanced with a 29-26 home win over Wickliffe while Garfield earned its first playoff victory in a 31-21 road win at South Range.

The eighth-seeded G-Men feature a balanced offense. Senior quarterback Dalton Fall has completed 138 of 235 passes for 2,046 yards and 28 touchdowns. On the ground, the G-Men have gained 1,917 yards.

Springfield (9-2) advanced to the Division VI Region 21 semifinals thanks to a thrilling 40-39 double-overtime win over Columbia (8-3). The Tigers will face Kirtland (10-1) Friday at Autstintown Fitch High School.

Kirtland opened its playoff run with a 21-0 win over Dalton. The Hornets are in the midst of one of the best six-year runs in Ohio high school football history. They have appeared in five straight state title games, a streak which began in 2011. In that span, they have earned three state titles.

Since 2011, Kirtland owns a 7-0 playoff record against teams in the Mahoning Valley.

“I think we came out nervous [against Columbia] and I wasn’t happy with the way we played in the first half,” Springfield coach Sean Guerriero said. “But our kids fought back, they did one heck of a job responding under fire. They played a great second half.”

Guerriero knows his team will have to play a full four quarters of football against Kirtland.

“We have to play our game from start to finish if we’re going to have a chance,” Guerriero said. “Kirtland is so very good at what they do. They’ll run the ball and control the clock, and defensively they fly to the ball. Just a very fundamentally sound and well-coached team.”

Warren JFK (10-1) defeated Toronto 38-0 to earn a spot in the Division VII Region 25 semifinals. The Eagles will face Mogadore (9-2), which rolled over Jackson-Milton, 55-6. The two teams will square off Saturday at Salem’s Reilly Stadium.

“We did a lot of things with a lot of different people [against Toronto], and that’s important,” Warren JFK coach Jeff Bayuk said. “The more people that touch the ball, the harder it is for a defense to hone in on what you’re doing.”

Mogadore owns one of the richest playoff resumes in the state. The Wildcats are in the postseason for the 30th time, where they own a 57-26 record. They possess three state titles.

Mogadore also has dominated area teams. The ‘Cats own a 29-4 record against the Mahoning Valley, including a 15-1 mark in the playoffs. A year ago, they defeated JFK 35-7 in the regional final.

“We had a lot of turnovers last year, and first and foremost we cannot turn the ball over against a great team like Mogadore,” Bayuk said. “You can’t do that against anyone in the playoffs, but especially against a team that doesn’t make mistakes.”

Friday games will begin at 7:30 p.m., while Saturday games are slated to kick off at 7 p.m.