Wayne rolls over Reynoldsburg; Trotwood pounds Celina; Belmont star falls, GWOC results

With the 1st round of playoffs jumpin off last weekend, here's our top Headlines for Week 1 of the OHSAA football playoffs in Southwest Ohio:

Matt Wilcox moving up national radar

Wayne Train starts slow, finishes fast 
  This season, the Wayne Train has scored 14 or more in every 1st quarter this season. So when it was 7-7 early into the 2nd quarter in week 1 in the Playoffs, there was some whispers about, Could Reynoldsburg pull off the upset?

No Chance.

Wayne (11-0)  went on to outscore Reynoldsburg (7-4)  49-10 in less than 3 quarters as the Warriors cruised 56-17 at Heidkamp Stadium Saturday night.

  Michigan St. Starting QB in-waiting Messiah DeWeaver threw 4 TD'S and showed why Spartans fans are already waiting on his arrival via Twitter.

    3 of those TDs were caught by 6'7 Super Soph L'Christian "Blue" Smith, who is rising up the National Hype Train faster than any kid in Ohio High School since LeBron James. He has caught the eye of the Ohio State Buckeyes already. The other TD was snatched by dynamic WR Matt Wilcox Jr, who is coveted by the entire MAC conference,  and now some bigger D-1s are showing interest.

   The D was rock solid after the first score, and the 12th man was in full effect, with tailgating and fandom like no other for High School Football.

Up next for the Wayne Train?
The Boro'  @ (Centerville HS) in a GWOC showdown.




Trotwood routs Celina behind Hargrove

Celina came out and battled early,  but once Trotwood shook off the jitters and adjusted, it was no turning back. Celina had some early opportunities to change the flow of the game,  but when they didn't take advantage of a couple of turnovers like they should have?
     Trotwood Star RB Ravieon Hargrove ran for multiple TDs and the Rams cruised in the second half to a easy victory.
   Celina cut the lead to 4 early in the 3rd quarter, but never got closer than that after a 18- yard Hargrove TD midway through the 3rd Quarter.
   The Rams D tightened up and shut down Celina while the Rams scored the last 26 points of the game.








Belmont falls to Wapakoneta as star injured

The Bison, finally in the playoffs after 37 years, started out the game fast @ Wapakoneta,  and did whatever they wanted for most of the 1st quarter. But Star RB Davion Lankford suffered a concussion on a run late in the quarter, and the tide turned from there, as Wapakoneta coach even admitted himself.

    Lankford had broken runs of 50+ and 40+ before the injury.  He looked completely unstoppable.
   Some felt Wapakoneta played a little too physical, almost dirty, as multiple Belmont players went down during the game.

   Belmont was ahead 14-7 before Wapak took control and outscored them 37- 8 for the rest of the game, going on a 30-0 run during the game.

Belmont had their best season in 37 years & the coaches feel like they will be back next season. Elijah Malcolm scored two TDs for the Bison. Belmont fought hard but was a little undermanned and now understands what playoff football is all about.

Great season nevertheless for the Belmont Bison.





The Boro' avenges loss @ Mason, 42-21; faces Wayne next

 Springboro pulled off a huge win @ Mason to move to the next round. Mason defeated Springboro earlier in the season, and that actually played into the Panthers advantage.
Elijah Cunningham threw for 4 TDs, was razor sharp, & In control for most of the game as the Boro got some get back, @ Mason to ice the cake.
Now can they do that to a Wayne team who will be playing at its highest level ever?
Well find out this weekend.



Miamisburg loses in epic finale to Lima Sr 44-42


The Burg had been no stranger to late game heriocs, and it looked as if we'd see another one from the Vikings. But Lima Sr. stuffed the Burg' on the 2-pt conversion and Lima Sr. wind a wild one 44-42 in the last game at Harmon Field.

With maybe the greatest single game rushing performance in Miamisburg history on display with
Sophomore Tony Clark.
   Clark ran a whopping 53 times for 249 and was - in one word - amazing.
 
    But not quite amazing enough to get through the Lima D Line, that made the play,  one of the few on Clark.

Coach Steve Channell knows that one will be a tough one to forget, but loved the effort and season his boys pulled off.

GWOC set to jump off tnite with Trotwood, Miamisburg, Piqua, Springboro, Vandailia Butler in action

After the GWOC football teams beat up on each other this season, 6 teams made the playoffs.
 5 will play tonight, with the marquee team playing tomorrow night - Wayne of course.
But to have 6 teams in the playoffs out of one division? It is a major accomplishment to say the least.

Let's take a look at the matchups for tonight and see who has the best chance moving on to the next round.

D-1   (11)  Springboro @  (6) Mason
The Boro' ended the season with a nice win over Lebanon as dual threat Elijah Cunningham threw 3 TD'S and ran for one. Mason has had a banner year, and has been playing top notch the last few weeks.
We're taking the Boro' in a minor upset 27-25.



D-2  (5) Lima Senior  @  (4) Miamisburg  (7pm)
Lima Senior, powered by a balanced attack (200 rushing and passing a game) lost its last game to Central Catholic by blowing a 20 -Point lead, while Miamisburg dismantled West Carrollton. Miamisburg has been playing lights out, but has surrendered big leads as well. But this being the last game ever in Harmon field, and the fact that Lima Senior barely escaped Piqua with a OT win leads us to belive the Burg' will move on to the next round by a score of 26-17.



D-2  (8) Vandalia Butler  @  (1) Cincinnati LaSalle
  while Butler lost his last game at Trotwood by a wide margin, they still had a very good year, and didn't really hurt themselves too bad in the loss. unfortunately, with the loss they will play one of the highest ranked teams in the state. The cell is loaded, and will look to use the home field advantage and their great play of late.
We're taking LaSalle by a score of 31-22.



D-3 (7) Piqua  @  (2) Tippecanoe   (7pm)
 Piqua is coming into the tourney feelin real good about themselves after a 2 big weeks with wins over Trotwood and rival Troy to squeeze into the playoffs.
However Tipp has been lights out lately dominating a tough Stebbins and shutting out Kenton Ridge 40-0.
We think that Piqua will get the upset, as they seemingly have found their rhythm. If Tipps-Clemons gets rolling, watch out.
 Piqua wins 31-28 in OT




D-3   (6) Celina   @  (3)  Trotwood Madison
With Celina coming in playing good football, this will be a real test for Trotwod, who slumped late in the season.
When I spoke with Coach Jeff Graham earlier in the season, he felt like his team was young,  but would be OK with seasoning.
After giving a beatdown last week to D2 Butler 57-35, it's safe to say they're ready.
Ravieon Hargrove, the next superstar HS player from Trotwood, ran for almost 400 yards last week.
   With a healthy Hargrove, it takes pressure off the entire team to produce.
Look for the Rams to produce a similar score if things go right.
We're taking the Rams 28-18.

  Last week prediction record 3-2

Playoff hopes hang in the balance in Week 10; rivalries renewed

As we enter the last week of regular season one thing is for certain:

Playoffs start next week, but for most, it starts tonight, as we check out the 5 biggest games in Week 10: 

(1) Centerville  (6-3)  @   Wayne  (9-0) 

 In one of the great rivalries in the Southwest Ohio region,  Centerville, who has seemingly found their rhythm behind the Chaminade julienne transfer Jacob Harrison. The senior has thrown for 2200 + and accounted for almost 3,000 yards in the season. Centerville has been almost lucky and good at the same time, as they have survived some fantastic finishes.

    However, tonight could be a little bit too much. 

The Wayne train has steamrolled every single opponent that they have stepped in front of. 

   Led by Trotwood transfer Messiah DeWeaver, the offense has been unstoppable. With everything on the line for Centerville and a playoff home game for Wayne, it's nothing new for the GWOC, which, quite frankly, looks like one of the top 3 HS Football Leagues in Ohio.

 In the last 15 years three teams have dominated the league and two are playing  (the other is Trotwood). 

With that being said, we pick the Wayne Train to win and end the Elks late season run 40-20. 

(2) Dunbar (4-5)   vs   Belmont   (7-1)

With Dunbar losing to top seed Taft last week in a thrilling game, the Wolverines will now have to play the spoiler role as Belmont will attempt to not only win the conference outright, but get a playoff berth, something that hasn't happened in decades. Dunbar has its opportunity slip away, and maybe were a year away from winning the city. Belmont, led by Coach Earl White and star player Davion Lankford, have provided a swagger, discipline, and a camaraderie in their organization that seems to be fueling the entire Bison nation.

Dunbar has the better talent, but can they make the key plays to win the game? 

Bison win and get to the playoffs 24-22. 

(3) Trotwood  (6-3)  @  Vandalia Butler  

 Trotwood is guaranteed a playoff spot win or lose tonight and could secure a playoff home game if they can defeat the Aviators in Vandalia. Vandalia needs to win this game and more than likely Hope that a couple things go there way to get to the playoffs. Nevertheless it's been a very good season for Vandalia Butler, and this game will be tight all the way down to the end. 

Were picking the Rams in a close one 30-28.

 (4) Miamisburg (8-1)  @  West Carrollton  (2-7)

 Miamisburg is in a good position as they're hoping for a win and a little bit of help to get to the playoffs. barring any let downs, they should be able to get a win over the Pirates. West Carrolton has been up and down this season but this game is a rivalry so expect the Pirates to play with more energy and probably to an even keel in the first half. Miamisburg should win this one 35-20.

(5) Shroeder  @  Thurgood   (4-5)  

 Although  Thurgood didn't win the City League title for a 7th straight season they have started to finish strong with their young talent and looks like they could be a force for next year. Can they get the job done tonight at welcome Stadium and even their record for the season?

We're pcmic.

Big Games on tap for Week 5;

As we hit mid-season, its that time of the year when the best of the best start to separate themselves from the pack. That brings us to our top 5 games in week 5 of HS Football in the Miami Valley.

(1) Wayne (4-0)  @  Miamisburg  (4-0) 
With the Wayne Train rolling at a blistering championship pace, can the upstart 'Burg pull off the major upset in Miamisburg in the GWOC Game of the Week?   Miamisburg was down 12-0 to Springfield last week but won a battle 13-12.
Wayne had homecoming and trampled Troy 49-7.

  

L'Christian "Blue" Smith & Messiah DeWeaver after a TD

The Vikings look tough.
The Warriors look state tough. 
We got Wayne winning 33-20.


(2) Lebanon (2-2)  @ Trotwood  (3-1) 
Lebanon (2-2)  will look to go into a hostile Trotwood environment, after the Rams lost a very tough game in Centerville. Lebanon is a very good team in its own right, and will be looking for the upset.  if Trotwood can win this game, they could be on their way to another banner year.
We're taking the Rams 30-12.


(3) Belmont (3-1) @ Cin. Woodward  (1-2) 
Can Belmont seize the moment and defeat a game Woodward opponent in the Nati? A win and the Bison will sit alone in first place in the CMAC  National Division.

We think the Bison will win in a close one 22-20.



(4) Vandalia Butler (3-1)  @  Springfield (1-3)
In a game that has major implications,  can Springfield turn it around against a tough Butler squad? The Wildcats need a win in the worst way, as the season could be slipping away. A Vandalia win and they could be headed towards a playoff berth.
We got Springfield winning big 27-14.  


(5) Dunbar (2-2)  @  Schroeder (2-2) 
With the CMAC American division lead on the line, can the Wolverines win their second straight in the Nati? The defense will have to  be up to task as the winner will be at least tied for top spot. If Dunbar can win the trenches, this could be a another breakout game.

Wolverines win wild one 34-32.


Flow with us on Facebook at: Dayton high School Sports Page