Three de facto league championship games highlight the central Ohio high school football Predictions Panel's 15-game slate for Week 9.
Centerburg at Danville (Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference), Granville at Licking Valley (Licking County League-Buckeye) and West at South (City League-South) all feature matchups in which both teams are unbeaten in league play with two games remaining in the regular season.
If that isn't enough excitement for one week, Watterson visits Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit in a potential preview of a Division II state semifinal – if the OHSAA decides to match up regions 7 and 5 – or the Division II state final. Watterson, which won the past two Division III state titles, is currently No. 2 in Region 7, behind Big Walnut, and Walsh Jesuit is No. 1
in Region 5.
There hasn't been much excitement this season with our Lone Wolf picks. The panel went 0-4 last week to fall to 5-27 for the season.
The overall record didn't stand in the way of panelists making three more Lone Wolf picks this week, including one involving Granville at Licking Valley. See all the Week 9 picks below.
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Central Ohio high school football predictions Week 9
Bloom-Carroll (4-4, 3-1) at Circleville (5-3, 2-2)
Bloom-Carroll: Ryan Baker, Steve Blackledge, Lee Cochran, Frank DiRenna, Eric Frantz, Scott Gerfen, Kurt Snyder, Dave Weidig, Tom Wilson
Circleville: Dave Purpura
Canal Winchester (5-3, 4-1) at Lancaster (2-6, 2-3)
Canal: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Gerfen, Purpura, Snyder, Weidig
Lancaster: Wilson
Centerburg (6-2, 5-0) at Danville (8-0, 5-0)
Danville: Unanimous pick
DeSales (6-2) at Steubenville (6-2)
DeSales: Baker, DiRenna, Frantz, Snyder
Steubenville: Blackledge, Cochran, Gerfen, Purpura, Weidig, Wilson
Dublin Jerome (2-6, 1-2) at Olentangy (4-4, 3-0)
Olentangy: Unanimous pick
East Knox (5-3, 2-3) at Fredericktown (6-2, 4-1)
Fredericktown: Unanimous pick
Granville (6-2, 3-0) at Licking Valley (8-0, 3-0)
Granville: Blackledge
Licking Valley: Baker, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Gerfen, Purpura, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Newark Catholic (6-2, 2-1) at Heath (5-3, 2-1)
Newark Catholic: Gerfen, Purpura
Heath: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Snyder, Weidig, Wilson
Olentangy Orange (4-4, 2-1) at Hilliard Bradley (5-3, 1-2)
Orange: Blackledge, Cochran, Frantz, Snyder, Weidig
Bradley: Baker, DiRenna, Gerfen, Purpura, Wilson
Pickerington North (7-1, 3-0) at New Albany (6-2, 2-1)
North: Unanimous pick
Watterson (7-0) at Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (6-1)
Watterson: Unanimous pick
West (8-0, 5-0) at South (8-0, 5-0)
West: Baker, Blackledge, Cochran, DiRenna, Frantz, Snyder, Weidig
South: Gerfen, Purpura, Wilson
Westerville South (3-5) at Harvest Prep (2-6)
South: Blackledge, DiRenna, Gerfen, Purpura, Snyder, Wilson
Harvest Prep: Baker, Cochran, Frantz, Weidig
Westerville North (4-4, 2-2) at Worthington Kilbourne (7-1, 3-1)
Kilbourne: Unanimous pick
Whitehall (6-2, 3-0) at Buckeye Valley (5-3, 2-1)
Whitehall: Unanimous pick
Standings through Week 8
Cochran: 13-2 last week; 95-30 overall
Snyder: 15-0; 94-31
Blackledge: 12-3; 94-31
DiRenna: 13-2; 92-33
Weidig: 14-1; 91-34
Baker: 13-2; 91-34
Gerfen: 13-2; 89-36
Wilson: 11-4; 86-39
Purpura: 12-3; 84-41
Frantz: 10-5; 84-41
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: Top central Ohio high school football games in Week 9, and our predictions
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