Ursuline, South Range, Struthers top Mahoning Matters Super 7 area football poll
Call them the terrific trio.
That’s how many Mahoning Valley-area teams remain in postseason play and headline the final mahoningmatters.com Super 7 football poll.
No. 1 Ursuline
Youngstown Ursuline (13-0) led from start to finish and deservedly claimed the top spot in the final poll.
The Irish raced out to a big lead and held off a determined VASJ comeback to top the Vikings 27-20 in a D3 regional semifinal playoff battle last Friday night.
Ursuline, which has state championship hopes, advances to the D3 regional championship playoff game Friday night when it plays the Chardon Hilltoppers (12-1) on the smurf turf at Ravenna’s Portage Community Bank Stadium Harry Gilchrist Field at 7 p.m.
No. 2 South Range
Defending state Division V football champion South Range finishes second in the final mahoningmatters.com poll after yet another impressive playoff win. The Raiders rolled past the Lorain Clearview Clippers 48-21 in a D5 regional semifinal playoff game last week.
South Range is 12-1 on the season and its only loss is to Green, which is in the D2 regional finals this week.
South Range will play unbeaten Perry (Lake County) in a D5 regional title showdown Friday night at 7 p.m. at Twinsburg Tiger Stadium.
No. 3 Struthers
Talk about a team on a playoff roll. That’s the Struthers Wildcats who climb to third in the final mahoningmatters.com poll.
The Wildcats, (10-3) who were the sixth seed in D4 Region 13, have won three straight playoff games, including the last two on the road by combining their outstanding rushing attack with a strong defense.
Struthers is coming off a thrilling last-minute 28-25 win over second-seeded Mentor Lake Catholic and will play top-seeded Canton South (13-0) in a Division IV regional title game Friday night at Tallmadge’s Larry Bagnoli Stadium at 7 p.m.
No. 4 West Branch
West Branch drops to No. 4 in the final poll after the Warriors saw their season come to an end in a 40-21 Division IV playoff loss to the top-seeded Canton South Wildcats (13-0) last Friday night.
West Branch, which returns 19 of 22 starters next season, finished the 2023 campaign with an 11-3 record and reached Ohio’s Sweet 16 in the playoffs for a third consecutive season.
No. 5 Lowellville
Lowellville finishes No. 5 in the final poll. The Rockets, who had won their first two games of the playoffs, were eliminated in a D7 Region 25 playoff setback last Friday night to the unbeaten Danville Blue Devils, 41-21.
The Rockets finished the 2023 season with an 11-2 record.
No. 6 Poland
Poland finishes No. 6 in the final poll.
The Bulldogs, who concluded their season two weeks ago in a playoff loss, enjoyed a great turnaround this year. Poland was 5-5 in the regular season in 2022 and finished 10-2 this year and won an opening-round playoff game before being eliminated by Struthers in Round 2 of the postseason.
No. 7 Mineral Ridge
Mineral Ridge ends No. 7 in the final mahoningmatters.com poll.
The Rams, who had won their first two playoff games in Division VI Region 21 over Jackson-Milton and Rootstown, were eliminated from postseason action last Friday in a 21-7 setback to the 11-2 Mogadore Wildcats.
Mineral Ridge concluded the season with an 8-5 record.
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