Remaining half dozen get their playoff dates

November 5, 2018 at 12:05a.m.

Boardman to host Hubbard-Steubenville game

For six area high school football teams, the second weekend of November means a second-round playoff game.

Canfield, McDonald, Hubbard, Girard, LaBrae and Warren JFK were victorious in the first round of the playoffs and move on to this weekend’s regional semifinals.

The five-week tournament began with 13 Mahoning Valley participants. Austintown Fitch, Boardman, Warren Harding, East, Crestview, Southern and Valley Christian did not advance.

Canfield and McDonald will play on Friday night. The others will play on Saturday.

Canfield (10-1) is looking to advance to the Division III, Region 9 title game for a second straight year. Canfield defeated Marlington, 35-20.

Up next for the Cardinals is Akron East (9-2). The Dragons, making just their second playoff appearance, advanced with a 39-28 win over Chardon.

The Cardinals and Dragons will meet at Ravenna Gilcrest Field at Portage Community Bank Stadium.

“East will be the best team we have faced this year, and it’s not even close,” Canfield coach Mike Pavlanksy said Sunday. “They are bigger than Boardman, faster than [Youngstown] East. They are going to present a major challenge.”

Pavlansky was pleased with the way his team played in its 35-10 win over Marlington.

“I thought our defense played really well with the exception of a couple of big plays,” Pavlansky said. “In the second half, our offense, defense and special teams all did an outstanding job, and we won the turnover battle 3-1 which is huge in the playoffs.”

McDonald picked up its first playoff win since 2010 with a victory over Rootstown. Now, the Blue Devils (11-0) will face an old nemesis when they play Mogadore (10-1) at Aurora Veterans Stadium.

Mogadore owns a 5-0 postseason record against the Blue Devils. In fact, the Wildcats have enjoyed success against many schools in the Mahoning Valley. They own a 30-5 record against area schools, including a 16-2 mark in post-season games.

Mogadore finished atop the Division VI, Region 21 rankings. The Wildcats finished with more computer points than all but six Division I schools.

Hubbard (10-1) will face a daunting challenge when it goes up against Steubenville (10-1) at Boardman Spartan Stadium.

Steubenville has won regional championships in each of the last five years. It has advanced to three straight title games, including last year when Big Red won its fourth state championship.

Hubbard and Steubenville have met three previous times. The two schools split a pair of regular-season games in 1980 and 1981. In 2002 Big Red defeated the Eagles 20-7 in a first-round playoff game,

Girard (10-1) will get an opportunity to gain a bit of revenge when it faces Perry (10-1) at Ashtabula Lakeside Field. Last year, the two teams also met in the second round. The Pirates defeated the Indians, 50-21.

Girard is coming off an emotional 34-30 win over East. In that game, the Indians surrendered a 21-point lead, then rallied in the final minutes for the victory.

“All year long, we’ve said this is a special team and they showed it [Saturday], they displayed a lot of heart and they made Girard proud,” Indians coach Pat Pearson said. “It would have been easy to fold, but this team doesn’t quit. They didn’t want Monday to come without a practice.”

Pearson said his club is anxious to get another crack at Perry.

“Without a doubt, last year ended on a sour note and I think all the players will tell you they were hoping for another chance,” Pearson said. “But make no mistake about it, Perry is one heck of a talented team. They do everything right, but our guys are anxious for the challenge.”

Until 2015, LaBrae (10-1) had gone 32 years without a playoff win. The Vikings have since won three postseason games, the latest Saturday’s 21-0 win over Wickliffe. The victory sends the Vikings into a second-round match-up against Akron Manchester (8-3). The Panthers are no stranger to November football. They have qualified for the playoffs 24 times, winning three regional titles.

LaBrae and Manchester will play at Louisville Leopard Stadium.

Warren JFK (6-5) continued its late-season resurgence with a 35-12 win over Windham. The Eagles will face Ashland Mapleton (8-3), a team which eliminated Valley Christian from the playoffs.

“We feel like we’ve turned the corner,” Warren JFK coach Jeff Bayuk said. “Eleven games into the season, our youth isn’t as obvious as it was in August.”

Bayuk expects a major challenge from the Mounties.

“[Mapleton quarterback Logan Pharmer] is an excellent player, he’s equally dangerous as a thrower and runner,” Bayuk said. “They throw everything at you from the spread formation. They will give our defense fits.”

Against Valley Christian, Pharmer threw for 266 yards and five touchdowns. He also carried the ball 20 times for 128 yards.

JFK and Mapleton will play at Canton Central Catholic Lowell Klinefelter Stadium.