Fifteen OVAC Schools Set For Ohio Playoffs
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COLUMBUS - Fifteen Ohio Valley Athletic Conference schools punched their tickets to the postseason Sunday afternoon when the Ohio High School Athletic Association released the final computer polls in all seven divisions statewide. The top four schools in each division received first-round byes, while teams finishing No. 5-8 will host a first round game Friday night against Nos. 9-12.
Of the OVAC schools entered, two - Steubenville (Division III, Region 11) and River (D-VI, Region 23) - finished atop their respective divisions. Big Red went 8-2 while the Pilots navigated their way to another perfect 10-0 campaign, their fifth in school history.
Another pair of Division V locals - Barnesville (10-0, Region 17) and Fort Frye (9-1, Region 19) received No. 2 seeds, while 9-1 Toronto was the third (D-VII, Region 27) and 7-3 Monroe Central (D-VI, Region 23) fourth.
In Division V, Region 17 on Friday night, No. 7 Martins Ferry (9-1) welcomes 10th-seeded Bellaire (6-4) to Purple Rider Stadium inside the Dave Bruney Football Complex for a 7 o’clock kickoff. The Purple Riders pulled away for a 52-21 victory last Friday on the home turf in the 123rd all-time meeting.
This will be the fifth time the two Ohio rivals will meet twice in the same season, and the third time in the playoffs. They most recently met twice in 2018 with the Purple Riders winning the regular-season finale 34-0 before the Big Reds shocked them 14-7 in the playoffs. They also clashed twice in the 2004 season, with Martins Ferry prevailing both times.
In 1964, the teams met in the first week and the last week, while in 1911 they played in weeks 4 and 6. During the elongated rivalry, Bellaire has scored 1,810 points, only 30 more than Martins Ferry.
Bellaire leads the all-time series 59-57 with seven ties. Both programs have more than 725 victories in program history. The Purple Riders are sitting at 758, with Bellaire at 729.
Fifth-seeded 8-2 Shadyside (D-VII, Region 27) will host No. 12 South Gallia (6-4) at Fleming Field, also at 7, in the only other local contest.
In other games around, No. 6 East Liverpool (8-2) hosts No. 11 Columbus Marion-Franklin (6-4) at Patterson Field, while No. 12 Beaver Local (6-4) visits No. 5 Claymont (9-1) in Division IV, Region 15; No. 6 United (9-1) entertains No. 11 Warren J.F.K. (6-4) in Hanoverton and No. 9 Columbiana (8-2) heads to No. 8 Brookfield (7-3) in Division VI, Region 21; and No. 9 Steubenville Catholic (7-3) treks to No. 8 Lancaster Fairfield Union (7-3) and No. 11 Frontier (5-5) heads to No. 6 Strasburg (7-3) in Division VII, Region 27.
Two schools, both 7-3 in Division IV, Region 15 - Union Local and Indian Creek - finished 13th and 14th, just missing out on a berth.