AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Week 12 playoff previews

TONIGHT

WARREN HARDING VS. CHARDON

What: Division II Region 5

When & where: 7;30 p.m. at Ravenna Stadium Gilchrest Field, Ravenna.

Radio: WHKZ-AM 1440.

Records: Warren Harding 10-1; Chardon 11-0.

Coaches: Steve Arnold for the Raiders and Mitch Hewitt for the Hilltoppers.

The skinny: The Raiders escaped with a 56-48 victory over Brecksville-Broadsview Heights in round one of the playoffs. Harding’s dynamic duo of Lynn Bowden and Marlin Richardson accounted for seven of the eight Raiders touchdowns.Each scored a kickoff return touchdown.

The Raiders defense will face a tall task in Chardon. Coming in undefeated, the Hilltoppers haven’t scored fewer than 40 points since week one and are coming off a 56-6 win over Bedford in round one. The Hilltoppers feature a pair of 1,000 yard rushers in quarterback Tommy Benenati (1,985) and running back Joe Dinko (1,148).

CARDINAL MOONEY VS. CHARDON NOTRE DAME- CATHEDRAL LATIN

What: Division IV Region 13

When & where: 7:30 p.m. at Bo Rein Stadium, Niles.

Radio: WKBN-AM 570.

Records: Cardinal Mooney 8-2; Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin 8-3.

Coaches: P.J. Fecko for the Cardinals and Andrew Mooney for the Lions.

The skinny: The Cardinals’ defense is rolling after limiting Hubbard to 139 rushing yards and a single touchdown in Mooney’s 27-9 Week 11 win to open up the playoffs. Mooney has allowed just 18 points the last three games and is only giving up 14.5 points per game the entire season. On offense, the Cardinals were led by Jaylen Hewlett’s three touchdowns. The trio of Ray Anderson, Chris Gruber and Hewlett combined for 197 rushing yards last week.

The Lions came into the playoffs as the seven seed but upset second-seeded Mantua Crestwood 28-27. NDCL trailed 20-7 but put together three scoring drives to seal the victory. Quarterback Charles Forbes threw for three touchdown passes, including a 21-yard score to Alec Roberts and a gutsy two-point conversion gave the Lions the win. Brandon Mounts is the main rusher for the Lions with 825 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year. Forbes is a dual-threat quarterback. He’s thrown for 13 touchdowns this year and rushed for seven more while racking up 583 yards on the ground.

SPRINGFIELD VS. KIRTLAND

What: Division VI Region 21

When & where: 7:30 p.m. at Austintown Fitch Greenwood Chevrolet Falcon Stadium.

Radio: WBBW-AM 1240.

Records: Springfield 9-2; Kirtland 10-1.

Coaches: Sean Guerriero for the Tigers and Tiger Laverde for the Hornets.

The skinny: Springfield has won eight games in a row after starting the season 1-2. It took two overtimes, but the Tigers pulled out a 40-39 victory after trailing 20-7 at halftime. Brannon Brungard’s three touchdown passes were a huge key in the Tigers’ win.

Kirtland enters at 10-1 and will rely on their defense to get the job done for them. The Hornets have only given up more than 14 points once and that came in their lone loss, a 21-0 setback to Cuyahoga Heights. Last week, the Hornets opened the playoffs with a 21-0 win over Dalton. Joey Torok (1026 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns) and Dylan Fulco (452 rushing, 619 passing, 14 total TD’s) are the Hornets main offensive weapons.

SATURDAY

LABRAE VS. GARRETTSVILLE GARFIELD

What: Division V Region 17

When & where: 7 p.m. at Bo Rein Stadium, Niles.

Radio: WBBW 1240 AM.

Records: LaBrae 8-3; Garfield 8-3.

Coaches: John Armeni for the Vikings and Mike Moser for G-Men.

The skinny: LaBrae defeated Wickliffe on a field goal with six seconds left for a 29-26 win last week. The Vikings are led by quarterback Carlton Brown who had 272 passing yards. The Vikings will need a big week from their defense. Garfield has scored at least 30 points in all but two games. The Vikings have given up that many points just once this season, in a 48-42 win over Girard.

Garfield entered as the eighth seed in region 17 but that didn’t stop them from upsetting number one seed South Range 31-21. The G-Men had lost three of their last four games heading into last week after starting the season 6-0. The G-Men were led by Dalton Michael’s 162 yard rushing performance last week along with a special teams and defensive touchdown.

WARREN JFK VS. MOGADORE

What: Division VII Region 25

When & where: 7 p.m. at Reilly Stadium, Salem.

Radio: WNIO-AM 1390.

Records: JFK 10-1; Mogadore 9-2.

Coaches: Jeff Bayuk for the Eagles and Matthew Adorni for the Wildcats.

The skinny: The Eagles will see a familiar foe this week. Mogadore ended JFK’s season last year with a 35-7 rout in the regional championship game. JFK will be looking to get past the Wildcats this year, coming off a 38-0 shutout of Toronto. The Eagles were led by a dominant ground attack. Four different Eagles scored with Evan Boyd reaching the end zone twice and racking up 127 yards.

Mogadore had an impressive 55-6 opening round win over Jackson-Milton. Jake Jeter had 82 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

The Vindicator, sports@vindy.com