Salem seeks coveted league title
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The West Branch Warriors have had Salem’s number since 2020 with six straight wins by an average win margin of 18 points. In this campaign Salem had its best start to the season since 2015 and enjoyed big wins over Mahoning County powers Canfield and Poland as well as an East Liverpool team that may very well finish the season with eight wins.
Injuries on the line have slowed the Quakers in recent weeks, but a chance at grabbing a share of the Eastern Buckeye Conference title is within reach on Friday night at Heacock Stadium.
Salem (8-1, 4-1 EBC) has only tasted a conference title once in its history, a split title with Poland in the 1994 Metro Athletic Conference -- a year after the breakup of the Mahoning Valley Conference.
The Warriors (8-1, 5-0 EBC) have won every league game in the 2020s stretching their streak to 36 games in last week’s win over Alliance. The win also gave West Branch a share of its seventh straight league championship. This version of the Warriors is outscoring opponents by an average of 34-7 and outgaining them by an average of 399-172.
Warrior quarterback Grady Hirst has rushed for 864 yards and 20 touchdowns while throwing for 1,714 yards and 13 touchdowns. It’s safe to say he’ll remain the center of the Quakers’ defensive attention.
If West Branch wins on Friday, the Warriors have a 99 percent chance of getting a bye and should land somewhere around the third or fourth position in Div. IV, Region 13. West Branch is currently fourth this week, but a win over the Quakers would be worth a boatload of points.
Salem sits third in Div. III, Region 9 and would gain a bye as well if they win. A loss and the Quakers would probably land on the bubble of a bye and the fifth position.
EOAC
United only had to play three quarters in its 49-0 win over Wellsville last Friday to lock up a share of its fourth straight Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference crown. The Golden Eagles (7-1, 5-0 EOAC) have scored at least 45 points in all of their league wins and have won by running clock in all EOAC games.
United will travel to Southern (2-7, 2-4 EOAC) on Friday with the hopes of wrapping up the outright title. If the Eagles win, they will likely host a Div. VI, Region 21 playoff game in Week 11. Grand Valley and Wickliffe are the Golden Eagles most likely opponents.
United has won 16 league titles all-time since 1976 and eight of those have been under coach D.J. Ogilvie.
Columbiana’s 31-12 win over East Palestine last week earned the Clippers (7-2, 4-1 EOAC) a chance at the playoffs. Columbiana sits 11th in the Region 21 computer rankings and will need to beat Lisbon (6-3, 3-2 EOAC) to move on to Week 11.
According to Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50, the Clippers have a 79 percent chance at playing Brookfield in the first round of the playoffs if they beat Lisbon. Columbiana is heavily likely to get in with a loss to Lisbon too. If that happens, Columbiana would most likely be looking at a trip to Hillsdale.
East Palestine (5-4, 3-2 EOAC) will close out the regular season on Saturday against Valley Christian (1-8, 1-4 EOAC) at Mineral Ridge. The Bulldogs have no pathway to the playoffs after the loss to Columbiana.
Wellsville (1-8, 0-6 EOAC) is at Steubenville Central Catholic (6-3) on Saturday. The Crusaders are likely to qualify for the playoffs in Div. VII, Region 27 with a win.
NAC
Leetonia (3-6 overall) wrapped up its first season in the Northeastern Athletic Conference by going 1-4 in the league. The Bears will finish things up at Weirton Madonna (1-6) on Friday night. Grand Valley (4-0 NAC) has wrapped up a share of the NAC and will look to close it against Pymatuning Valley (3-1 NAC) on Friday.
MVAC
Crestview’s last ditch effort at staying in the playoff hunt fell by the wayside with a 56-14 loss to Garfield (9-0, 6-0 MVAC Gray Division) last Friday. The Rebels (3-6, 2-4 MVAC) will be at LaBrae (5-4, 3-3 MVAC) on Friday to wrap up its final game in the league.
Next year the Rebels will be an independent but did receive good news this week on the league front. Salem, West Branch, Alliance, Howland, Canton Central and Crestview appear to be moving toward a football-only league to begin play in the 2028-29 school year.
BUCKEYE 8
East Liverpool probably didn’t expect to find itself in a position to win a share of the Buckeye 8 Big School Division in the final week of the season after losing 28-7 to Beaver Local in the fourth week of the season, but everything has gone the Potters’ way.
Indian Creek (6-3, 4-1 Buckeye 8) clinched a share of the title last week and it will finish with out-of-league Edison on Friday.
East Liverpool (7-2, 3-1 Buckeye 8) can do the same it if it beats a tricky Brooke team (4-3, 2-2 Buckeye 8) on Friday. If the Potters win they’ll finish with their best regular season mark since 2010. A win would guarantee the Potters a home game in Div. IV, Region 15 and there’s a 34-percent chance according to Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50 that the opponent will be Beaver Local (5-4, 3-2 Buckeye 8).
Beaver Local will have to do its part as it heads to Div. V Lakeview (2-7) on Friday. The Beavers have an 87 percent chance of making the playoffs with a win and a 22-percent chance with a loss.
WEST VIRGINIA
The Oak Glen Golden Bears evened their record at 4-4 with a 28-20 win over Tyler last Friday. Maddox Bowen threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns in the win, while Josh Maher had seven carries for 105 yards and a touchdown. Daniel Ginier had an 89-yard touchdown reception. Cameron Carter also had a touchdown catch.
Oak Glen is currently 18th in the Class AA state rankings.
Oak Glen will host the Southern Rams (2-5) from Oakland, Maryland on Friday. The Rams beat Weirton Madonna 54-0 on Sept. 11.