Week 7 features pivotal matchups for several teams in the central Ohio high school football Top 10 poll.
No. 2 Big Walnut hosts No. 5 Worthington Kilbourne and No. 3 Gahanna Lincoln hosts No. 7 New Albany on Oct. 2, games that will help determine the OCC-Capital and OCC-Ohio titles, respectively. The teams are a combined 23-1, with New Albany having the only loss.
Gahanna and Kilbourne are currently the first and third seeds in Division I, Region 3 and Big Walnut and New Albany are third and fourth in Division II, Region 7. A top-four finish means a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Watterson, which is the No. 1 team in the central Ohio top 10 and Region 7, does not play this week.
The central Ohio Top 10 ranks teams regardless of division. Each
voter submits a Top 10 with a first-place vote worth 10 points, a second-place vote worth nine and so on down to one point for 10th.
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Central Ohio high school football Top 10 poll for Week 7
Below is the poll as selected by USA Today Network Ohio staff and contributors. A unanimous selection is 90 points:
1. Watterson (6-0), 89 points, eight first-place votes. Last game: Def. DeSales 32-0. Next game: Oct. 9 at Hartley. Last week: No. 1
2. Big Walnut (6-0), 77 points, one first-place vote. Last game: Def. Ironton 47-40 (OT). Next game: Oct. 2 vs. Worthington Kilbourne. Last week: No. 2
3. Gahanna Lincoln (6-0), 71 points. Last game: Def. Central Crossing 38-0. Next game: Oct. 2 vs. New Albany. Last week: No. 3
4. Pickerington North (5-1), 62 points. Last game: Def. Westerville Central 45-7. Next game: Oct. 2 vs. Central Crossing. Last week: No. 4
5. Worthington Kilbourne (6-0), 53 points. Last game: Def. Delaware Hayes 38-7. Next game: Oct. 2 at Big Walnut. Last week: No. 5
6. Upper Arlington (5-1), 46 points. Last game: Def. Hilliard Bradley 24-7. Next game: Oct. 2 vs. Olentangy Liberty. Last week: No. 6
7. New Albany (5-1), 30 points. Last game: Def. Grove City 28-21. Next game: Oct. 2 at Gahanna Lincoln. Last week: No. 7
8. St. Charles (6-0), 23 points. Last game: Def. Hartley 38-0. Next game: Oct. 2 at Dublin Scioto. Last week: No. 10
9. Licking Valley (6-0), 19 points. Last game: Def. Watkins Memorial 40-0. Next game: Oct. 2 at Mount Vernon. Last week: No. 9
10. Jonathan Alder (6-0), 13 points. Last game: Def. New Carlisle Tecumseh 38-8. Next game: Oct. 2 at Urbana. Last week: Not ranked.
Dropped out: No. 8 Hilliard Bradley
Others receiving votes: Olentangy Liberty 7; London 2; DeSales, Hilliard Bradley and West Jefferson 1.
High school sports editor Andy Resnik can be reached at aresnik@dispatch.com and at @DispatchPreps on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio high school football Top 10 poll entering Week 7
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