It has arrived.

Ohio’s second season, which seemed so far away just a few months ago, begins on Friday and runs for the next five weeks.

Four weeks from Thursday night, the first of seven state football championship trophies will be presented at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

A solid collection of 10 Ohio Valley Athletic Conference members are still alive in the mix for the brass ring.

Not a bad number when many thought this was a rather down year for football in the area.

Amongst those in the field are traditional entrants such as Steubenville, Shadyside and St. Clairsville. Harrison Central is in the postseason for the third time, while Meadowbrook got the monkey off its back and qualified for the first time in school history.

The balance of the OVAC entrants includes: Indian Creek, River, Toronto, Fort Frye and Caldwell.

Divisions II, III, V, VII will compete on Friday nights and the remaining three divisions will battle on Saturday nights.

Of the 224 teams still playing this weekend, Shadyside is one of three with a losing record. The Tigers finished 4-6, but earned the sixth seed. The others are Convoy Crestview (Division VII) and Cleveland Heights (Division I).

In looking through playoff notes, published by the OHSAA, it’s interesting that Shadyside’s 29 post-season victories are the most in Ohio for teams that don’t own a state championship.

If you want in-depth looks at Harrison Central, River, St. Clairsville and Shadyside’s playoff encounters, make sure to check out Thursday’s edition for a special playoff preview supplement.

STATE TITLE PREDICTIONS

Each year, I attempt to pick the seven state champions. Most of the time, I fail miserably, but at least I try.

My past failures won’t stop me this time. My predictions are as follows:

Division I – Lakewood St. Edward; Division II – Cincinnati LaSalle; Division III – Cleveland Benedictine; Division IV – Steubenville; Division V – Coldwater; Division VI – Maria Stein Marion Local; Division VII – Minster.

SPECIAL MOMENT

During Harrison Central’s victory in the V.A.L.E.S. Game against Buckeye Local last week, one play really stood out. Senior wide receiver Giovanni Rocchi laid out to make a diving catch for a big gain in the first half.

The dive or the gain had nothing to do with the moment. It was simply the fact that it was Gio Rocchi pulling it off. Rocchi was seriously injured last season in a loss to Plymouth. He sustained a serious concussion.

He was unable to play the remainder of last season. He did join the bowling team and play baseball, but his football career remained in limbo. He received clearance to play and Justin Kropka, who has long been a players’ coach, wanted to give him an opportunity.

Rocchi made the most of his chance, too. He hauled in a Brandon Mitchell pass, which led to quite the cheer from the Huskies’ faithful.

OVAC CHAMPS

Congratulations are in order for the St. Clairsville Red Devils and Magnolia Blue Eagles. Both of those teams can begin clearing wall space in their respective gymnasiums for yet another championship banner.

The Red Devils – despite losing to Steubenville last Thursday – wrapped up the Class 4A title thanks to a strong 8-1 record. It’s St. Clairsville’s eighth conference title and second consecutive.

The Blue Eagles, meanwhile, clinched the 3A crown and have another game to play this week at Linsly. Magnolia now owns 13 conference football titles. This is the first under head coach Josh Sims. It’s also the first they’ve claimed since 2012.

The 1A race is a battle between Valley and Bishop Donahue, while the 2A race includes Caldwell, which has led most of the season, and Wheeling Central. The Knights finish the regular season against Bishop Donahue this weekend.

STEUBENVILLE OVAC CHAMPS?

In the above section, we went through the OVAC champions and if you notice, we didn’t list 5A.

It’s simply needs its own section. Steubenville completed a 9-0 regular season, but it’s ineligible for the conference title because it doesn’t play enough games against conference opponents.

Big Red’s only two games in the OVAC were against Brooke and St. Clairsville. Both were decisive victories, but OVAC rules say a team must play three in-conference games to be eligible for the title.

Steubenville has trouble filling its schedule each season because of its tradition and year-to-year success. The OVAC realizes this and offers a waiver program. Should a school reach out to another conference member when the two have a common open date and school B opts not to play for one reason or another, School A can fill out a waiver, informing the OVAC that it tried to schedule a game, but couldn’t. The OVAC signs off on it and the school is eligible.

According to OVAC Executive Secretary Tom Rataiczak, Steubenville simply didn’t fill out the waiver.

OK, so you’re thinking, ‘well, Steubenville doesn’t care about the OVAC title anyway because it’s sights are set on bigger things like a regional or state title.’ That could very well be true, but there’s another aspect to this.

Not only is Steubenville ineligible for the team title, which is now going to go to either Morgantown or Wheeling Park, but it’s players are ineligible for all-OVAC accolades and selection for next summer’s Rudy Mumley OVAC All-Star Game.

“This one isn’t our fault,” Rataiczak said. “The waiver exists in every sport, but Steubenville chose not to fill it out. What can you do? And as for the players being unable to play in the all-star games, it’s like that in every sport.”

SPEAKING OF THE ALL-STAR GAME

It’s Class 5A’s opportunity to coach the game, meaning for the first time ever, the Ohio side may have the same head coach. Beaver Local was the highest finishing Ohio school, since Steubenville is ineligible, meaning that Jeremy McElroy will again have the opportunity to coach the game. He and Ohio lost last summer’s game.

CHECKING IN ON THE LOCALS

JOHN MAGISTRO and his Westerville Central Warhawks were denied an undefeated season last Friday, falling 35-21 to Dublin Jerome. The Warhawks finished as the fourth seed in Division I, Region 1 and will welcome Toledo Start Saturday night.

BELLAIRE GRAD Jerry Buti, who was back as the head coach at Defiance, finished with a 2-8 record. His Bulldogs routed Lima Shawnee, 34-6.

STEUBENVILLE CENTRAL grad Mike Orlando finished 5-5 at Cincinnati McNicolas. His team defeated Hamilton Badin, 29-7.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE grad Levi Nelson finished his second season at Rittman with a 5-5 record. The Indians fell, 40-7, to Creston Norwayne last week.

Staskey can be reached via email at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com