Here are my thoughts on this week’s playoff games:

*The best games - North Canton Hoover at Massillon in Division I and Ravenna at Lake Catholic in Division II.

The Vikings have a chance because in its two losses, the Tigers defense gave up far too many big plays. Hoover is tested and look for it to use  the passing game at time to surprise the home town Tigers.

Ravenna needs to get Pernell Taylor loose in the secondary to set up the star back in the running game.

*Rematches - Padua plays at Archbishop Hoban in a battle of two teams that struggle to score in big games. Knights won the last meeting, 10-6, and I expect the same. Ditto that for Brunswick at Twinsburg, which the Tigers win in Week 5 at Brunswick. Tigers are more experienced and the Blue Devils aren’t what they have been in recent years.

*Upset special - No. 8 Canton McKinley will upset top seed No. 1 Toledo Whitmer in Division I, Region 2.

*Who will show up? – The Fighting Irish of St. Vincent-St. Mary can look one minute like world beaters, the next like the Cleveland Browns – nah, check that – Ohio State in big bowl games the past few seasons. Running back Mark Murphy needs a big game.

*Best wishes- We wish the Wiita family well and hopefully his Highland teammates will bring him back a playoff victory at Warren Howland. Also think it would be great for neighboring Woodridge and Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy to win on the road, especially a Bulldog team that has reached the playoffs for the first time.

Hey everyone! This is my column that’s running in the Akron Beacon Journal Friday, but it’s posted on Ohio.com now, as you can see. Thanks to everyone who submitted votes for their favorite high school nicknames. If there are other crazy nicknames from out of state, post them so we can all get some laughs. Thanks again!

We are week from the halfway point of the high school football season. And it has been thrilling and exciting, let alone unpredictable. Here are some observations:

*It was great to have over 10,000 fans attend the first high school football game at Summa Field at InfoCision Stadium to watch the Holy War between St. Vincent-St. Mary and Archbishoo Hoban. It was one of the most physical games in recent memory.

*How about those unbeaten Explorers of Hudson? They are 4-0 and won at Strongsville on a missed extra point. And the always tough Mustangs are a starting 0-4, in part because of a tough independent schedule.

*Go figure this one – Cuyahoga Falls is 0-3 and playing at Brush. The Arcs, who were 0-10 last (despite only having 14 turnovers all season) come into the game a 3-0. So what happens? The Black Tigers win 16-13.

*So far, a young Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy has to be one of the great stories of the year. With few starters returning, the wing-T offense beats a very good Tusky Valley 35-14. It is the second time this season the Royals have come from behind in the second half; they won in the waning seconds of their two-day opener against East Canton, 19-18.

Six area schools are enjoying being part of a new league.

Archbishop Hoban, CVCA, Firestone, Our Lady of the Elms, Springfield and St. Vincent-St. Mary are all members of the newly formed Greater Akron Girls Golf League.

The league had a preseason tournament, it will have a postseason tournament and will recognize an all-league team.

“It’s a great thing,” said CVCA coach Don Zinn. “Most of the teams in the league have never been in a league or they haven’t been in a league for a long time. In the past, the girls only had the sectional tournament to look forward to but now they have the challenge of playing in a league where you have six teams of equal ability to compete against. My girls are excited and are having a good time.”

CVCA has been led by sophomore Jennah Romansky, who shot a personal low 38 at Riverwoods Tuesday, sophomore Noelle Lewis and senior Margaret Burton.

CVCA athletic director Jay Tyree was in the same situation as many AD’s last Friday evening when rain, lightening and thunder- but mainly lightening- forced numerous games to be suspended.

Tyree said the OHSAA rule is that once there is a lightening strike, you must wait 30 minutes from that moment before resuming the game.

CVCA’s game was called at 11:20 p.m. and completed Saturday morning.

“Certainly everybody wants to finish the game (that night) and you don’t want the kids sitting too long,” Tyree said. “And with East Canton being an hour away, you had to take that into consideration. Really, there’s no other policy other than you can’t play until 30 minutes after the last lightening strike.”

Tyree said because of the experience last week, the administration will meet to come up with new policies, guildelines and prodecures when it comes to handling those kinds of situations in the future.

Eleven area athletes were selected to play in all-star football games that will be played Saturday.

Here is a breakdown on the two games that will feature recent high school graduates:

–64th Ohio North-South All-Star Football Classic–

When: 4 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Ohio Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus.

Tickets: $5.

North team area players (Name, high school and college): Ben Bertsch, St. Vincent-St. Mary, University of Akron; Matt DeMore, Twinsburg, Capital; Armand Dehaney, Walsh Jesuit, Ball State; Tyler Fortner, Tallmadge, Akron; Tyler Houska, Highland, Youngstown State; Kyle Juszczyk, Cloverleaf, Harvard; Frank Orteca, Twinsburg, Mount Union; John Pettigrew, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, Bowling Green; Cody Roberts, Cloverleaf, Cornell.

Notes: Twinsburg coach Mark Solis is on the North coaching staff. Fortner was picked to play, but he will sit out the game due to an injury, Tallmadge coach Joe Vassalotti said.

–52nd PNC Big 33 Football Classic–

Teams: Ohio vs. Pennsylvania.

When: 7 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pa.

Tickets: $18 and $10.

TV: NFL Network.

Ohio team area players (Name, high school and college): Adam Bellamy, Aurora, Ohio State University; Brian Slack, Archbishop Hoban, Miami (Oh.); Chris Snook, Highland, West Virginia.

On a sunny day at Lee Jackson Field a pair of former teammates became a foe.

The Columbus Crew defeated the host University of Akron men’s soccer team 1-0 in an exhibition match Sunday played with temperatures in the 80’s before a crowd of 1,563.

Matt Tutich and Ossie Michalsen, each a standout player at UA from 2005-2008, played for the Crew as fill-in players and Tutich scored the game’s lone goal.

Tutich started and played in both halves of the game. He netted a goal in the 48th minute when he headed the ball in the back left corner of the net. Alex Grendi got the assist.

“I am pleased for Matt,” UA coach Caleb Porter said. “Matt Tutich is a good player. I am happy for him.”

The Crew played the exhibition without several of their core players, including Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Eddie Gaven and Alejandro Moreno. Standouts Robbie Rogers and Pat Noonan did play and helped the Crew hold an advantage in shots (10-8), shots on goal (4-2) and corner kicks (6-3). Columbus also committed more fouls (15-7).

“I think we knew going into this game we had nothing to lose and everything to gain from the experience,” Porter said. “The hope was to grow individually from the experience.”

The Zips starters Sunday were David Meves at goal keeper; senior Ivan Sandoval, junior Chris Korb, sophomore Matt Dagilis (Firestone) and freshman Thomas Schmitt at defender; senior Ben Zemanski, sophomore Darlington Nagbe, junior Blair Gavin and senior C.J. Kaufman at midfielder; and freshman Yoram Mwila and sophommore Teal Bunbury at forward.

“Darlington Nagbe was fantastic,” Porter said. “He was really tremendous all spring. Every single game he showed up and he was a difference maker for us. He is going to have a great fall. At times, he looked like he was the best player on the field.”

Porter also praised the play of Gavin, Sandoval, Mwila and Bunbury.

“It was a good experience,” said Zemanski, a Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy graduate. “It was a good environment to test your game and see where you stack up as an individual against them and where we stack up as a team against them.”

Meves had three saves. Senior forward Stefan Ostergren (North Canton Hoover) and freshman defender Dominic Moore (Firestone) were the Zips only two reserves that played.

“I was pleased that we were in the game the whole time,” Porter said. “To play a pro team with individual players that are making a living playing this sport and for us to show up minus some keys to the puzzle for this game was impressive.”

The Zips were without five key players that played in the first three spring games. Sophomore Kofi Sarkodie and freshmen Chad Barson and Scott Caldwell missed the final two spring games because they are training with U.S. U-18 National Team. Sophomore Michael Nanchoff (Walsh Jesuit) and junior Anthony Ampaipitakwong were also held out of the last two games due to injury.

“I think our purpose this spring was to build a foundation for the fall,” Porter said. “We wanted to schedule the caliber of teams in the spring that we will play in the fall. I think we gained a lot of confidence and believe that we can beat any team in the country if we play to our potential, and we proved that against Wake Forest. We still have a long ways to go going onto next fall to accomplishing our goal. Winning a national championship is not easy.”

UA concluded the spring season with wins over Wake Forest (3-0), Oakland (2-0) and Michigan (4-0), a 1-1 tie versus North Carolina and a 2-0 loss against Indiana.

Five University of Akron men’s soccer players have been selected by the U.S. Under-18 men’s national team to train in Carson, Calif., from Apr. 18-26, Zips head coach Caleb Porter announced.

The five UA players are rising sophomore Kofi Sarkodie and incoming freshmen Chad Barson, Scott Caldwell, Ben Speas and Zarek Valentin. The quintet already has played within the U.S. national team system.

Speas is currently a senior at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. He is the eighth-ranked prospect in the nation according to ESPN Rise.com and has played with U-18 and U-17 teams. The midfielder is a two-time Parade All-American (2007, 2008), an NSCAA High School Boys All-American in 2008 and an adidas ESP All-Star in 2007.

The U.S. U-18 team is comprised of 26 players from across the country all born on or after January 1, 1991. The team plays in against other countries and top college programs in the U.S.

Sarkodie, a Soccer America Freshman All-American and All-Mid-American Conference First Team pick last fall, started all 23 games for UA in 2008 as a defender. He helped the Zips to the best defensive season in school history with a team goals-against-average of 0.45, the top mark in the nation.

He scored a goal in his first collegiate game to help Akron defeat then-ranked No. 3 Notre Dame, 3-0, in the season opener and added two assists as the season progressed.

Barson, Caldwell, Speas and Valentin are part of UA’s top-ranked 2009 recruiting class.

Here is a list of 2009 Football Recruiting Classes for the University of Akron, Kent State, Ohio State and other local high school players that signed with other schools.

NOTE: This information was obtained from high schools and colleges in person or via e-mail, fax, mail, etc. There will be additional local players that will sign at a later date.

UA, KSU & OSU 2009 FOOTBALL CLASSES:

AKRON (24) — Bill Alexander, 5-10, 165, DB, Whigham, Ga.; Broderick Alexander, 6-2, 215, RB, Covington, Ga.; David Anderson, 6-2, 220, LB, Cincinnati; Jake Brandt, 6-6, 255, OL, Bexley, Ohio; Josh Couch, 6-3, 220, P, Carlisle, Ohio; Jake Delmonico, 5-11, 175, DB, Beaver Falls, Pa.; Jerrod Dillard, 6-5, 190, WR, Adrian, Mich.; Blake Fraley, 6-1, 225, LB, Hilliard, Ohio; Dee Friesen, 5-9, 165, WR, Jacksonville, Fla.; Randy Greenwood, 5-11, 180, WR, Fairport Harbor, Ohio; Chris Henderson, 6-2, 325, DL, Harrisburg, Pa.; Abdullah Homayed, 6-4, 235, DL, Dearborn, Mich.; Jordan Houser, 5-11, 180, DB, Fairborn, Ohio; Jeremy LaFrance (Jr.), 6-1, 200, WR, New Orleans; Anthony Meriwether, 6-2, 190, WR, Cleveland; Patrick Nicely, 6-4, 220, QB, Willoughby; Joe Petrides, 6-6, 255, OL, Baltimore; Nolan Procter, 5-9, 170, WR, Southfield, Mich.; Jon Root, 6-6, 225, TE, Fairview, Pa.; Adam Steiner, 6-2, 215, LS, Canton (GlenOak); Phil Tonga (Jr.), 6-4, 275, DL, Torrance, Calif.; Joe Vidovic, 6-6, 265, OL, Willoughby; Diamond Weaver (Jr.), 5-10, 180, DB, Mobile, Ala.; Grant Williams, 6-5, 220, TE, Louisville, Ky.

KENT STATE (22) — Dri Archer, 5-7, 155, RB, Laurel, Fla.; Tyler Arend, 6-5, 295, OL, Paulding, Ohio; Luke Batton, 6-0, 200, LB, Macedonia (Nordonia); Anthony Bowman, 5-10, 168, ATH/RB, Detroit, Mich.; Dana Brown, 6-1, 265, DL, McKeesport, Pa.; Ed Cazenave, 6-2, 180, WR, Dallas, Ga.; Freddy Cortez, 6-0, 200, PK, Fort Meade, Fla.; Mike Daniels, 6-0, 195, DB, Greenville, N.C.; Jake Dooley, 6-2, 215, LB, Mason, Ohio; Zack Gonosz, 5-10, 185, S, Dallas, Ga.; Tyshon Goode, 6-1, 185, WR, Syracuse, N.Y.; Danny Gress, 6-1, 220, LB, Englewood, Ohio; DeVonte’ Helms, 6-3, 260, DL, Waldorf, Md.; Garrick Piggott, 6-1, 200, DB, Williamsburg, Va.; Max Plunkett, 6-8, 305, OL, Dayton; Darius Polk, 6-0, 180, DB, Lynchburg, Va.; Fabrice Pratt, 6-2, 180, DB, Miami; C.J. Steward, 6-1, 215, LB, Jacksonville, Fla.; Bryan Wagner, 6-5, 290, TE, Mantua (Crestwood); Jeff Walker, 6-5, 200, WR, Akron (Coventry); Kent Walker, 6-2, 235, LB, Kittanning, Pa.; Brian Winters, 6-5, 320, OL, Hudson (Hudson).

OHIO STATE (25) — C.J. Barnett, 6-1, 180, DB, Clayton, Ohio; Dorian Bell, 6-2, 220, LB, Monroeville, Pa.; Adam Bellamy, 6-4, 275, OL, Aurora (Aurora); Jaamal Berry, 5-10, 185, RB, Miami; Zach Boren, 6-1, 245, LB, Pickerington, Ohio; Corey Brown, 6-1, 190, ATH, Monroeville, Pa.; Duron Carter, 6-3, 185, WR, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Dominic Clarke, 5-10, 170, DB, Frederick, Md.; Melvin Fellows, 6-5, 255, DT, Garfield Heights; Chris Fields, 6-1, 180, WR, Painesville; Reid Fragel, 6-8, 258, TE, Grosse Pte., Mich.; Kenny Guiton, 6-2, 182, QB, Aldine, Texas; Jordan Hall, 5-11, 190, RB, Jeannette, Pa.; Marcus Hall, 6-6, 300, OL, Cleveland; Adam Homan, 6-2, 230, LB, Coldwater, Ohio; Carlos Hyde, 6-1, 235, RB, Naples, Fla.; James Jackson, 6-0, 175, WR, Grand Ledge, Mich.; Storm Klein, 6-2, 225, LB, Newark, Ohio; Corey Linsley, 6-4, 285, OL, Youngstown; Sam Longo, 6-5, 270, OL, Bellbrook, Ohio; Jack Mewhort, 6-6, 285, OL, Toledo; Jonathan Newsome, 6-3, 230, LB, Cleveland; John Simon, 6-3, 265, DT, Youngstown; Jordan Whiting, 6-1, 230, LB, Louisville, Ky.; Jamie Wood, 6-2, 185, ATH, Pickerington.

OTHER LOCAL FOOTBALL PLAYERS THAT SIGNED:

ASHLAND — Anthony Capasso, 5-11, 197, Soph. WR, Lakewood, (Kent State transfer); Cooper Ivan, 5-8, 171, DB, Massillon (Washington); Keith Dingler, 6-3, 260, OL, Massillon (Washington); David Lee, 5-7, 165, DB, Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary); Matt Rose, 6-2, 250, DL, Canton (Massillon Washington); Ethan Scott, 5-9, 185, DB, Akron (Archbishop Hoban); Andrew Volcheck, 5-10, 210, LB/DB, Tallmadge (Archbishop Hoban).

BALL STATE — Armand Dehaney, 5-9, 178, WR/DB, Maple Heights (Walsh Jesuit).

BOWLING GREEN — John Pettigrew, 5-10, 185, RB, Maple Heights (Cuyahoga Valley Christian
Academy); Alex Thomas, 6-2, 218, LB, Stow (Stow-Munroe Falls).

FINDLAY — Monterae Williams, 5-9, 185, RB, Canton (McKinley).

INDIANA — Pat McShane, 6-5, 290, OL/DT, Stow (Walsh Jesuit).

INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA — Cory Lanterman, 6-1, 180, WR, (Streetsboro).

MIAMI (OHIO) — Brian Slack, 6-5, 228, TE-DL, Akron (Archbishop Hoban).

MICHIGAN — Justin “J.T.” Turner, 6-2, 185, CB-RB, Massillon (Washington).

MICHIGAN STATE — Nate Klatt, 6-4, 280, C, Canal Fulton (Northwest).

MILFORD ACADEMY — Mikey Bickley, 6-0, 170, WR, Akron (East); Jackie Adams, 6-1, 195 RB/LB, Akron (East).

NORTHWESTERN — Brian Smith, 6-8, 295, OL/DT, Medina (Walsh Jesuit).

OHIO DOMINICAN — Jon Haught, 5-11, 220, LB/RB, Cuyahoga Falls (Walsh Jesuit); Garrett Wilcox, 6-3, 225, LB, Streetsboro (St. Vincent-St. Mary).

ROBERT MORRIS — Matt Gavin, 5-10, 160 CB, Akron (East).

WALSH — Jesse Mason, 6-2, 190, QB, (Green); Dominic Williams, 5-9, 186, DB/RB, Akron (Archbishop Hoban).

WEST VIRGINIA — Chris Snook, 6-2, 220, FB-LB, Medina (Highland).

YOUNGSTOWN STATE — Theo Barnes, 6-3, 240, DL, Akron (Archbishop Hoban); Conner Seeman, 6-4, 250, TE, (Copley).

John Pettigrew, a running back from Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, has orally committed to attend Bowling Green to continue his football and academic careers.
He will sign an NCAA Division I letter of intent with Bowling Green on Feb. 4.
Pettigrew picked the Falcons over the University of Akron, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Ohio and Toledo.
The 5-foot-9, 180-pound Pettigrew rushed for 2,158 yards and scored 23 touchdowns in 2008 on his way to making first-team all-state in Division IV. He also was second-team all-state in 2006 and 2007.
He finished his career with 6,389 yards, the eighth-highest total in Ohio history.