CLEVELAND — Ohio high school football's equivalent of the "Final Four" looms on the horizon, and 17 area schools across all seven divisions remain alive in the race for that sacred achievement.
The OHSAA regional finals are set to take place Friday night, with stadiums from Parma to Ravenna to Zanesville playing host to some of the best matchups in the state. Northeast Ohio has always been a fertile ground for football talent, and that remains the case in 2023.
In Division I, St. Edward will face Medina in the playoffs for the fourth time in the last five years. The Battling Bees are coming off a 21-20 upset victory over Cleveland Heights and were actually the last team to beat the two-time defending champion Eagles in the postseason, doing so in 2020 behind quarterback Drew Allar.
Meanwhile, Division II features three regional showdowns exclusively involving area schools. In Region 5, Walsh Jesuit faces powerful Archbishop Hoban, looking to avenge a 57-7 defeat from back in Week 7. Elsewhere in Region 6, Jakorion Caffey and the unbeaten Avon Eagles battle a tough Granger Highland squad, while in Region 7 nationally ranked Massillon Washington takes on a Green team that beat them in the regional finals just two years ago.
Finally, it'll be defending champion Cleveland Glenville against unbeaten Perkins (the alma mater of 3News' Jay Crawford) in Division IV, and powerhouses Kirtland and Mogadore are set to play in Division IV. Chardon, Canton South, Perry, Garaway, and Dalton are among the remaining local schools.
WKYC has again compiled a list of all the matchups involving teams in our viewing area this Friday night. The games will be played at neutral sites across Ohio.
Check below for final scores and the full schedule, with local teams listed in bold and the sites of each game written next to each game:
Division I
Region 1
- (6) Medina (10-3) vs. (1) St. Edward (12-1) - Byers Field, Parma
Division II
Region 5
- (2) Walsh Jesuit (12-1) vs. (1) Archbishop Hoban (11-1) - InfoCision Stadium, Akron
Region 6
- (3) Granger Highland (11-2) vs. (1) Avon (13-0) - Pat Catan Stadium, Strongsville
Region 7
- (3) Green (10-3) vs. (1) Massillon Washington (13-0) - Memorial Stadium, North Canton
Division III
Region 9
- (7) Chardon (10-3) vs. (1) Ursuline (13-0) - Portage Community Bank Stadium, Ravenna
Division IV
Region 13
- (6) Struthers (10-3) vs. (1) Canton South (13-0) - Larry Bagnoli Stadium, Tallmadge
Region 14
- (2) Cleveland Glenville (10-3) vs. (1) Perkins (12-0) - Ely Stadium, Elyria
Division V
Region 17
- (2) South Range (12-1) vs. (1) Perry (13-0) - Tiger Stadium, Twinsburg
Division VI
Region 21
- (3) Mogadore (11-2) vs. (1) Kirtland (12-1) - Boliantz Stadium, Macedonia
Region 23
- (2) West Jefferson (12-1) vs. (1) Garaway (13-0) - John D. Sulsberger Memorial Stadium, Zanesville
Division VII
Region 25
- (2) Danville (13-0) vs. (1) Dalton (11-1) - Crater Stadium, Dover