High School Football: Playoffs on the line in Week 10

Hamilton’s Jaylan Garrett carries the ball during their football game against Middletown Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 at Barnitz Stadium in Middletown. Hamilton won 17-0. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Hamilton’s Jaylan Garrett carries the ball during their football game against Middletown Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 at Barnitz Stadium in Middletown. Hamilton won 17-0. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Middletown High School football coach Don Simpson has been looking at the Ohio High School Athletic Association computer ratings and other playoff picture prediction sites, so he has an idea where his team sits going into the regular-season finale.

That doesn’t impact the message he is delivering to his Middies (3-6) this week.

“We were looking at it, like everyone else, crunching the numbers,” Simpson said. “I don’t know how accurate that is, so we’re keeping the same mindset as a team, that we have to go out and win Friday night.”

Joe Eitel, who has been predicting playoff rankings since 2000, believes Middletown has already clinched a spot in the Division I, Region 4 bracket with a chance to finish as high as ninth with a win Friday at Oak Hills (4-5). A loss would likely put the Middies in the No. 13-16 range.

Middletown had a decent stretch earlier in the season bouncing back from a loss to Hamilton but ran into the buzzsaw of Princeton and Lakota West the last two weeks. Simpson said he still thinks the Middies “are in a good place right now” because they are still alive in Week 10 and have something to play for, whether that’s getting into the playoffs or improving a seed.

“Oak Hills is playing good football right now, playing confident, getting some wins,” Simpson said. “Every game we’ve played with them the last few years was really close. It’s always great competition and we share a similar fate on the line, going into the game, looking to improve our standing in the playoffs, so it will be very interesting.”

Others in the mix

Middletown, sitting in the No. 13 spot in this week’s Harbin computer ratings, might be in regardless, but Hamilton and Lakota East are two other teams looking for spots in Region 4, and Franklin is on the cusp in Division III, Region 12.

Hamilton (2-7) has been on a six-game slide since its Butler Bowl win over the Middies in Week 3, but the Big Blue are in the No. 16 spot in the ratings and are on the bubble in Eitel’s predictions. He predicts they would be anywhere from 15th to out of the top 16 with a win Friday against Sycamore (0-9). Depending on other results they could get the last spot with a loss or be out.

Franklin (3-6) is in a similar situation at No. 17 in the ratings with a chance to finish 13th in Region 12 with a win Friday at home against Brookville. But that also might not be enough based on other results. Eitel predicts the Wildcats will be out with a loss.

East (3-6), meanwhile controls its own destiny, according to Eitel. The Thunderhawks are at No. 17 in the rankings, but they could climb as high as ninth or finish at worst in 15th with a win at Fairfield (6-3), according to Eitel. They could still get in with a loss potentially, but coach Rick Haynes just wants his team to compete and see what happens.

“The message is if we’re in, we’re in,” Haynes said. “If we don’t win, we still have a chance, and we just need some things to happen. We want to play well and send the seniors off on a good note. They’ve done a great job fighting through adversity and fighting through injuries, so let’s send them off in a good way.”

The Hawks are coming off back-to-back losses to Colerain and Oak Hills and have wins over Middletown, Hamilton and Sycamore. Haynes said it’s just been “one of those years,” but he’s pleased to see the players still working hard.

Beating Fairfield won’t be an easy task. Quarterback Talon Fisher is a dual-threat player who is strong on the ground and continues to improve his arm, and East’s priority is to “get first downs and keep their quarterback off the field.”

“They have a nice team,” Haynes said. “I think it’s an anomaly what happened last week (losing to Mason). They turned the ball over and Mason had a short field so it just got away from them. It will be a challenge.”

Conference champions

Top-ranked Badin already secured sole ownership of the Greater Catholic League Co-Ed title with its win over Fenwick last week, and No. 2 Lakota West assured at least a share of the Greater Miami Conference crown. Both are trying to finish undefeated seasons – West at home vs. Colerain on Friday and Badin against McNicholas on Saturday (noon kickoff) at Hamilton.

Badin would finish 10-0 in the regular season for the first time since 1980 when it reached the Division III state title game.

Edgewood also already has clinched a share of the Southwest Ohio Conference title but can win it outright in the finale against Harrison.

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