And then there were two.

Last week in this space you read about eight OVAC members who’d qualified for the OHSAA Football Playoffs.

Now, as there are only 96 teams left practicing football all over the Buckeye State, only two are OVAC members.

Many probably find it tough to believe that the immediate area could finish the opening weekend of the playoffs with a 2-6 record.

Actually, if you sit back and really look at the matchups, it’s not that hard to fathom.

The two left standing, Bridgeport and Shadyside, were two most expected to be around this juncture.

Since we in the world of high school sports like to accentuate the positives, we’ll start by taking look at the winners.

Both the Bulldogs and Tigers made quick and relatively easy work of their opening-round opponents, Southern Local and Glouster Trimble, respectively, in Division VI, Region 23.

The biggest question mark entering this week’s games is health. Many reports have indicated that Bulldogs’ do-everything senior Garrett Price suffered a broken hand last Friday.

Price’s status for this week’s encounter with Newark Catholic, which is ticketed for Zanesville, is still up in the air. Obviously, Price would like to give it a go if he can get medical clearance.

The Bulldogs are now 11-0 on the season and will face an acid test against a Green Wave team, which is 8-3. Their record could be a bit deceiving because their losses came to Division III schools Licking Valley and Granville along with Division IV playoff entrant Heath.

Bridgeport made it through the regular season with little adversity as it whacked most every opponent it faced, outside of Shadyside.

It’ll be interesting to see how Bridgeport handles the Price injury. Something tells me that ‘G.P.’ will try to give it a go. Something also tells me that Bridgeport’s got enough leadership and weaponry to overcome this bump in the road.

As I’ve written before, you don’t run the table without talent, leadership and mental toughness.

I knew in August they had the first key ingredient. I learned as the season went along, they’ve got plenty of the second ingredient and this week should fully prove they’ve got the third ingredient. I say fully because I think they showed some moxy against Shadyside with their ability to answer the Tigers as they snatched the momentum in the second half.

As for the Tigers, they spotted Trimble a touchdown, but then proceeded to run away and hide before a few late touchdowns added some window dressing.

Shadyside continued with what it’s done all year. It used its bruising offensive line with solid running from Brendon Sedinger and great decision making from senior quarterback Ellis Brown.

The Tigers haven’t been the fanciest team all season. However, they’ve won 10 games and something tells me Mark Holenka doesn’t care about any kind of style points.

Shadyside’s defense will be put to the test this weekend against a Malvern team, which possesses a dynamite quarterback in Shawn Ball. Ball has passed for more than 2,000 yards and ran for more than 1,000 this season. He actually ran for more than 200 in the Hornets’ victory against Willow Wood Symmes Valley last week.

Malvern also has an extremely talented cast of wide receivers. The Tigers will again need to be disciplined on offense and might find themselves in a game of keep away.

The Hornets have owned OVAC teams over the last three years, ousting Bridgeport (twice), River and Shadyside in that span.

Having said all that, l still firmly believe that Shadyside and Bridgeport are on a collision course for a rematch in the Region 23 championship game at either Martins Ferry or St. Clairsville.

But as we saw last week, there are no givens in this tournament.

REGION 11

The biggest surprise and definitely the biggest dent to the Ohio Valley football swagger came Saturday evening when Steubenville was upended, 31-28, by an athletic and talented Dover squad.

Steubenville came into the game as the second seed in Region 11 and one of the favorites to win the Division III state title. However, Dover, which at one point in the season was 2-2 and had many were wondering if the Tornadoes would even qualify for the postseason, waltzed into Death Valley and handed Big Red just their second loss in a home playoff game.

Big Red has been and will continue to be – for the forseeable future – the measuring stick for Ohio Valley football programs. Let’s be honest, if it wasn’t for Big Red – and maybe a few other area programs – how much respect would Ohio Valley football garner around the state?

Steubenville’s loss was probably enjoyed by many since I’ve written in this space several times as have other Ohio Valley scribes about how fans at respective venues cheer when Steubenville scores are announced and Big Red’s on the short end.

However, for those of us hoping to keep the level of Ohio Valley football somewhere near respectable in the state’s eyes, this Big Red loss is damaging and tough to swallow.

Dover is a tremendous football program and Dan Ifft is a tremendous coach. The Tornadoes’ offensive approach is entertaining and it works. But, this was Steubenville and they still passed for more than 350 yards and moved the ball up and down the field at will.

From listening to, reading about and watching the game, you always had this feeling that Steubenville was going to get a big defensive stop when it needed one and eventually sieze control. Someone must have forgot to tell Dover because the Tornadoes kept the foot on the gas at all times.

Steubenville football will certainly continue to be annual members of the post-season party and the premier program in the Ohio Valley.

But, Big Red’s swagger and the mental edge they hold over most of their opponents is cracking. Many teams, including past Dover teams, would have cracked when the game was tied at 28. There was a mental edge for Steubenville when teams looked across the line of scrimmage and see the ‘Block S’ on the helmet.

That wasn’t the case whatsoever for Dover.

All Dover quarterback Deriek Swinderman did was continue to stand in the pocket, taking hit after hit, and deliver strikes to Colton Zahner en route to a field goal. And while Big Red fans and supporters expected them to make the last stop and eventually win, it was Dover’s defense, which stiffened and held on downs to close out the contest.

One additional note, Steubenville finished 0-3 against teams from Ohio.

REGION 13

This region isn’t for the faint of heart. You’d better come ready to play with athletes out the wazoo if you hope to make any kind of run in this region.

Let’s be honest, after seeing St. Clairsville and Martins Ferry both lose on their home fields Friday and for the Purple Riders it was the second straight year, the most interesting thing to watch this off-season will be when the OHSAA announces the divisional counts and regional assignments.

This is a counting year for the OHSAA, meaning probably in Februrary, it will announce the new classifications based on the numbers school districts are submitting to the Ohio Department of Education this month.

Over the last decade or so, we, in the Ohio Valley, have gotten used to one of our Division IV teams making a significant run in the postseason. Obviously, not every year, but in most years since the late 90s up until 2009, either Martins Ferry, Bellaire or St. Clairsville has been able to get on a run.

However, the common theme for those teams was it was battling its way through Region 15. That region includes several Southeast Ohio teams. Without disrespecting them in any way because teams like Ironton and New Lexington have proven time and time again they are by no means a pushover, but it’s a lot easier path than being in Region 13.

None of the aforementioned towns are metropolitan areas by any means. However, many of the schools in Region 13 are situated in the suburbs of a city, whether it’s Cleveland, Akron or Youngstown.

Area teams are well-coached and have some talent, but they just can’t match up year in and year out with teams from more populated areas. It’s just simple mathematics.

It will certainly be interesting to see where the OHSAA puts the area teams in terms of regional assignments next season.

CHECKING THE SEEDS

Home-field advantage does matter in the opening round of the OHSAA playoffs. Of the 96 games contested this weekend, only 26 road teams prevailed. Taking that a step further, only five of the 24 top seeds in the regions were eliminated.

Division II had the most upsets with six lower seeded teams prevailing. Division V had the fewest upsets with three lower seeds prevailing on the road.

OVAC TITLES

All of the titles have officially been decided now that West Virginia has completed its regular season and three of the four titles went to Mountain State schools.

Brooke claimed its 12th conference title, but first since 1990 when the Bruins completed an 8-2 campaign with a victory against Musselman.

Magnolia finished off a perfect 10-0 season and will hang the school’s ninth OVAC football pennant in its gym. The Blue Eagles last won the title in 2008.

Shadyside, which was tied with Monroe Central at the conclusion of the Ohio regular season, picked up bonus points from Wheeling Central’s victory against Linsly Friday. The bonus points allowed the Tigers to win the title outright. The crown is their ninth and first since 2005.

Bishop Donahue had clinched the 1-A title prior to even setting foot on the field last Friday. The Bishops hadn’t won the OVAC football crown since 1967.

Oh by the way, this is 3-A’s turn to coach the Rudy Mumley OVAC All-Star Charity Football Classic, meaning Magnolia’s Mark Batton and Martins Ferry’s Dave Bruney are the clubhouse leaders for the assignments.

Staskey can be reached at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com