3rd Round Playoff Preview: Cleveland

There has been some great high school football in Cleveland this season to say the least.  There are several teams in the area that are still playing and are looking to be one step closer to winning a state championship this week.  Here are five 3rd round playoff games to watch this week featuring teams from Cleveland. Canfield vs Chardon On Friday night, the Canfield Cardinals will play the Chardon Hilltoppers.  The Cardinals are 11-1 and last week, they defeated Hubbard 21-7 for their 10th win in a row.  This season, they have averaged 31 points per game on offense while giving up 10.6 points per game on defense.  The Hilltoppers are currently undefeated at 12-0 and last week they defeated Streetsboro 63-7.  This season, they have averaged 40.9 points per game while giving up 6.8 points per game on defense with five shutouts.  Some players to watch in this game are LB [player_tooltip player_id="176668" first="Toby" last="Smith"] and OL/DL Nicholas Bowen from Canfield and TE [player_tooltip player_id="160207" first="Alexander" last="McDonald"] and LB [player_tooltip player_id="186792" first="Nathan" last="Sulka"] from Chardon. Elyria Catholic vs Elmwood On Saturday, The Elyria Catholic Panthers will play the Elmwood Royals.  The Panthers are 10-2 and last week they defeated Genoa Area 44-21 for their 7th win in a row.  This season, they have averaged 38.67 points per game on offense while giving up 20.6 points per game on defense.  The Royals are 10-1 and last week they defeated Liberty-Benton 41-40 for their 6th win in a row.  This season, they have averaged 45.6 points per game on offense while giving up 20.1 points per game on defense.  Some players to keep an eye on in this game are TE [player_tooltip player_id="183299" first="Jack" last="Kenneally"] and WR/DB Alex Carandang from Elyria Catholic and RB/DB Mason Oliver and OL/DL Logan Bomer from Elmwood. West Holmes vs Rocky River On Friday night, the West Holmes Knights will play the Rocky River Pirates.  The Knights are currently undefeated at 12-0 and last week they defeated Columbian 28-25.  This season, they have averaged 38.67 points per game on offense while giving up 16.1 points per game on defense.  The Pirates are 9-3 and last week they defeated Buckeye 32-15 for their 4th win in a row.  This year, they have averaged 33.8 points per game on offense while giving up 17.2 points per game on defense.  Some talented players to keep an eye on in this game are WR Brandon Eastep and QB Noah Clark from West Holmes and LB [player_tooltip player_id="91600" first="Tommy" last="Bebie"] and QB [player_tooltip player_id="176672" first="Brandon" last="Spies"] from Rocky River. Medina vs St. Ignatius In the 3rd round of the playoffs, the Medina Battling Bees will play the St. Ignatius Wildcats.  The Battling Bees are currently undefeated at 12-0 and last week they defeated Cleveland Heights 45-14.  This season, they have averaged 42.8 points per game on offense while giving up 10.6 points per game on defense.  The Wildcats are 7-4 and last week they defeated Stow-Munroe Falls 42-12 for their 3rd win in a row.  This season, they have averaged 28.5 points per game on offense while giving up 20.4 points per game on defense.  Some players to watch in this game are QB [player_tooltip player_id="34394" first="Drew" last="Allar"] and DL [player_tooltip player_id="186391" first="Nicholas" last="Manley"] from Medina and QB [player_tooltip player_id="138609" first="Joe" last="Pfaff"] and TE [player_tooltip player_id="183301" first="Sean" last="Ward"] from St. Ignatius. Ursuline vs Glenville This week, the Ursuline Fighting Irish will play the Glenville Tarblooders.  The Fighting Irish are 8-3 and last week they defeated Salem 54-35 for their 4th win in a row.  This season, they have averaged 42.9 points per game on offense while giving up 33.2 points per game on defense (18.25 ppg in the last 4 games).  The Tarblooders are 9-3 and last week they defeated Villa Angela-St. Joseph 34-13 for their 9th win in a row after starting the season 0-3.  This season, they have averaged 32.1 points per game and have given up 11 points per game on defense with five shutouts.  Some players to watch in this game are WR [player_tooltip player_id="184382" first="Dean" last="Boyd"] and DB [player_tooltip player_id="34475" first="Trenton" last="Hill"] from Ursuline and WR [player_tooltip player_id="189473" first="Jermaine" last="Foster"] and WR/DB Gregory Howard from Glenville.