Who are you picking to win the state finals??

[friday_nite_fan]

Since the final weekend of high school football is upon us, I was wondering who you all think will bring home the titles in Canton/Massillon next weekend. I'll be there to watch the teams be crowned once again and the extended forecast is calling for warmer than normal temps. Here are my picks....

D-I Wayne vs. St. Ed I think this game could be closer than what many think. I watched Wayne handle Davidson last night from kickoff to final whistle. Their D is better than what I expected and of course the offense is explosive, Miller showed why he's the top dual threat QB in Ohio and the RB Taylor can fly. However this is St. Ed and not Davidson. When a high school has an offensive line that averages 290 lbs+, they should be able to control the line and the clock. The pick is St. Edward.

D-II Maple Heights vs. Trotwood Madison What can you say about this game other than speed, speed and more speed. Athletes all over the field playing on the fast turf at Massillon, this one will be fun to watch. Fewest mistakes and getting skill players with all that speed in space will be the key. I'll give Maple Heights the upper hand since they were able to knock off the consensus D-II pick Mentor Lake Catholic Friday night.

D-III Akron Buchtel vs. Bishop Watterson Could end up being the best game of the weekend. Buchtel took it to #1 seed Marlington and Watterson has been a hot pick for many throughout the whole year. Doesn't happen often but I'll take the ball control O and tough D over the speed and athleticsm. Watterson

D-IV Chagrin Falls vs. Bishop Hartley I know everyone down in Ironton will keep their eyes on this one. Itown dominated Hartley in week 8 and then were upset by them in Logan in a very close game. For some reason though, I think a VERY emotional and hard fought game against the defending champ Alter may have taken too much out of Hartley and Chagrin Falls is looking for redemption after being bounced in the finals last year. I'm gonna take Chagrin Falls.

D-V Ursuline vs. Coldwater Anyone remember Massillon in 2007?? Coldwater coming in as a heavy underdog and playing a very LOADED Cardinal Mooney. Long story short, Coldwater blocks a potential game tying Mooney extra point in the last couple minutes and takes home the title. Doesn't this matchup kind of have the same feeling?? You know a MAC conference schedule has gotten Coldwater ready for battle, but I'm not so sure they are ready for Ursuline. Teague will line up all over the field and the Cavs better find him before the snap and attempt to stay with him. Plus the run game isn't the only thing Coldwater needs to worry about, the Irish will sling it around the field too. Trust me, I would LOVE to see the Cavs pull out another 07 miracle but I just don't see it happening. Gotta take Ursuline.

D-VI Shadyside vs. Delphos St. Johns Not much needs to be said about this one. The Blue Jays won the MAC, nuff said. This will most likely be the stinker of the finals. If I were to say anymore about this one, it would be considered bashing. Delphos St. Johns

Let me know what you think, agree or disagree and feel free to post your picks too. Can't wait for 11AM Friday to be sitting at Paul Brown Stadium!!!

[Leo Byrd]

D-I.............Wayne

DII..............Maple Hts

DIII.............Buchtel

DIV..............Hartley

DV...............Ursuline.

DVI..............Delphos

[Caulker10]

I watched the game lastnight at Dayton welcome, and I think Wayne huber heights is unstoppable offensively... They win d1 in my opinion... And there fans are awesome... Never heard anything like that before,, loud as hell...

[fuzzhead]

Well, after my dreadful weekend of picking in the semis, Im embarrased to even try, but I'll take a stab. I've watched Eds and Wayne play three times each this year. The pick is St Ed's - they've dealt with speed before (refer to Glenville). Wayne will have to play it's absolute best to beat them.

DII - Maple Heights. I'm sold on them. I knew they were good, didn't know they were good enough to beat Lake Cath.

DIII - Watterson: they've beaten quality teams all year. Battle-tested.

DIV - would love to see Hartley win, but I like Chagrin Falls. Alter has been inconsistent all year and Hartley caught em on a bad night. After Alter sleep-walked through the first half, they outscored them 28-8. Falls was here last year. They are battle-tested as well.

DV - Ursuline BIG!

DVI - St. John's BIG!

[BBallin fool]

Hey fuzz you played well!!! see you next season.

[Charley Hustle]

I........Wayne

II........Trotwood

III........Watterson

IV.........Hartley

V..........Ursuline

VI.........Delphos

[surfsider]

I - Wayne, II - Trotwood III - Buchtel IV - Chagrin Falls V - Ursuline VI - Delphos

Hate to see Ursuline and Delphos win, but they are no-brainer picks.
Wayne is unbelievable, hope they can make me look smart.
Trotwood is who we thought they were, and CF can do some damage, plus my cousin is officiating in that game so I'm countin' on him, lol.

[Mercerville Monster]

Here are my picks

St. Ed - St. Ed will control the trenches with a huge line on both sides of the ball. Running backs will have huge holes to run through and the D will get enough pressure to contain Braxton Miller. Should be a close one but I don't see Wayne winning it with a run game that will get shutdown forcing them to rely too much on Millers arm.

Trotwood Madison - Both teams are absolutely full of athletes. This game will most likely be the best one of the Finals. Maple Heights is athletic on Offense and really rely on it along with Shaq Washington. I think Trotwood will be prepared and will matchup with Maples athletes a bit better than Mentor Lake Catholic did. I wouldn't be surprised to see this one go either way. Almost a guarantee this game is decided by 10 points or less.

Akron Buchtel - Watterson has been alot of peoples pick since the regular season to be the champ in DIII. Watterson appears to be a good ground team with an above average D. Just something tells me that Watterson will let Buchtel stick around a little too long and will let the Griffins stay in it which will come back to haunt Watterson. I like Buchtel in a TD or less.

Chagrin Falls - Returning to the Title Game after last years defeat by Alter and Falls being better than last year, this one is obvious to me. The Falls is one of the fastest teams in the state and while Hartley may be somewhat fast, they are not this fast. Hartley beat the favorite in Alter which is a nice notch on their belt but The Falls will take that belt off and beat them with it. Expecting a second half blowout here.

Youngstown Ursuline - Not much to say here. Ursuline is loaded with talent which may make them one of the most talented or the most talented team in the state of Ohio. Teague for Ursuline limes up anywhere and everywhere and is one of the best in the state himself. Coldwater had a good program and is in one of the toughest conferences (MAC) but even it has nothing that compares to Ursuline this year. Teague runs wild and Coldwater can only dream of an upset like the one they had against Coldwater.

Delphos St. Johns - *STINKER ALERT* Congrats to Shadyside for making it to Massilon. Your reward you ask, Delphos St. Johns. A team that won the MAC as a DVI school, a team that beat DV finalist Coldwater 14-0, a team that scored 344 points in the regular season (34 ppg) and only gave up 83 (8ppg) in the MAC, and last a team that has scored only 220 points in the Playoffs (55 ppg) and has only give up 55 (13 ppg). 56-13 may actually be the final of this one.

[Chieftain]

My picks the same as yours , Fan.

Best match-up .... Maple Hts & Trotwood. Could go either way.

Blowout candidate --- Delphos St. John putting it to Shadyside

[NYBuckeye96]

Division I - St. Edward

Division II - Trotwood-Madison

Division III - Bishop Watterson

Division IV - Chagrin Falls

Division V - Ursuline

Division VI - St. John's

[X8XOHIOLEGENDX7X]

D1 EDWARDS IMO NO WAY WAYNE HANDLES EDWARDS EVEN WITH MILLER AT QB.

D2 MAPLE HEIGHTS

D3 WATTERSON

D4 CHAGRIN FALLS

D5 URSULINE BIG.

D6 ST.JOHN