Six Mahoning Valley-area high school football teams left in the playoffs.
As the saying goes, only the strongest survive.
That was the case for Mahoning Valley-area football teams this past weekend, as of the 14 qualifiers which entered the weekend, six advanced to reach this week’s regional semifinal level.
Ursuline
The area has no teams left in Division II, but in Division 3, the Youngstown Ursuline Irish (12-0) advanced with a 16-13 win over defending state D3 champion Canfield.
Ursuline will play VASJ in a rematch Friday night, only this time in postseason play. The Irish defeated VASJ 38-18 in the regular season.
West Branch, Struthers
In Division IV, two area teams remain in the postseason in West Branch (11-1) and Struthers (9-3).
West Branch outlasted Streetsboro 31-28 last Friday in its second-round postseason game while Struthers avenged an earlier defeat to Poland by turning back the Bulldogs, 14-9.
West Branch will play Canton South and Struthers will tangle with Mentor Lake Catholic in D4 playoff action Friday.
South Range
The defending state champion South Range Raiders remain the lone Mahoning Valley-area team left in D5.
The Raiders (11-1) blanked Ridgewood 35-0 last week in postseason action and will meet the Lorain Clearview Clippers (10-2) in a D5 playoff game Friday.
Mineral Ridge
One area team remains alive in D6 postseason action in Mineral Ridge.
The Rams are 8-4 on the season and have gone on the road as a No. 10 seed in Division 6 Region 21 and upended higher-ranked teams in Jackson-Milton and Rootstown the past two weeks.
Mineral Ridge will play the Mogadore Wildcats (10-2) in D6 regional semifinal action Friday.
Lowellville
In Division 7, the Lowellville Rockets are the lone area team left in the postseason. The Rockets (11-1) have won seven straight games, including a 32-7 win over Western Reserve in playoff action last week.
The Rockets will meet the Danville Blue Devils in a D7 regional semifinal playoff game Friday night.
CONNECT WITH US
WEB SITE ► https://www.mahoningmatters.com
DAILY NEWS EMAIL ► https://www.mahoningmatters.com/customer-service/newsletter-signup/
FACEBOOK ► https://www.facebook.com/mahoningmatters
TWITTER ► https://twitter.com/mahoningmatters
YOUTUBE ► https://www.youtube.com/@mahoningmatters2814
INSTAGRAM ► https://www.instagram.com/mahoningmatters
SUPPORT US ► https://givebutter.com/vNfzEW