Garfield senior RB Tyson Gulley will take an unofficial visit to Syracuse this weekend, according to Garfield coach Bob Sax.

Gulley is considering a visit to Central Michigan next week.

The top Division I and II  teams in the final Associated Press Football Poll, which is voted on by sports writers and broadcasters, have been sent home after the first two weeks of  the playoffs.

In Division I, three of the top five teams are gone – No. 1 St. Ignatius, No. 4 and 5 Cincinnati St. Xavier and Cincinnati Moeller.

In Division II, the top three are home – top seeded Louisville, No. 2 Cincinnati Turpin and third seed Logan. Only three of the top eight teams remain.

The No. 1 teams in the other four divisions are still alive – Youngstown Cardinal Mooney in Division III, Kettering Archbishop Alter in Division IV, Hamler Patrick Henry in Division V and Delphos St. John in Division VI.

In the lower four divisions, only Division IV has few of its top ranked teams remaining, with just two of the top five and four of the top 10 left.

In Division III, Division V and VI, only two teams in the top five in eeach of the division has been knocked out – No. 4 Richwood North Union in Division V and No. 5 McDonald in Division VI.

The best prediction I made all year was on SportsTime Ohio’s high school football playoff preview. I said this would be the wildest playoff year ever and there is plenty of evidence to back it.

*Four No. 8 seeds remain as we head to the regional finals, including Canton McKinley. And who would think that McKinley and Massillon would meet again in the regional final after Week 8 when the Bulldogs were 4-4? 

Saturday night’s game at InfoCision Stadium in Akron could draw over 20,000 fans for the first high school football game in the new facility. Massillon’s offense has been shaky in both playoffs games, scoring  just 27 points. The Bulldogs have scored 82 points  in the playoffs (48 against GlenOak after losing 14-0 earlier this season) and 35 in the Week 10 game against Massillon.

If these two teams weren’t the oldest rivals in this state, this would be an easy pick with the Bulldogs mauling the Tigers. McKinley will be the favorite, but who knows how confident Massillon is.

*Defending state champion St. Ignatius looked like a bakery, turning out turnovers as if it was Christmas week as No. 5 Glenville whacked them, 30-13.

*Orrville came into the playoffs at 7-3 seeded No. 3 and just sent undefeated Genoa home for the holidays, 36-35. Big challenge for the Red Riders is stopping a high octane Ottawa-Glandorf that just destroyed Pemberville Eastwood 48-3.

*Woodridge’s first appearance in the playoffs has been terrific, scoring 80 points in two games. If the Bulldogs use their speed well Saturday night against Chagrin Falls in the Division IV regional final at Twinsburg Stadium, they have a very good chance to the Division IV state semfinal.

The Woodridge High School football will play its second state playoff game in the history of the program at 7 p.m. tonight against undefeated Girard at Lake High School.

The Bulldogs defeated host Martins Ferry 49-28 this past week in a Division IV, Region 13 quarterfinal matchup.

Woodridge coach Eric Ervin said his team is confident heading into the game against Girard (11-0).

“The Martins Ferry game was big for us for a lot of reasons, the first being it was the first time in school history Woodridge has qualified for the OHSAA football playoffs,” Ervin said. “Secondly, we had a long road trip in front of us and we weren’t quite sure how that was going to go over, but I think we approached the trip the right way and our kids responded.”

Woodridge (9-2) trailed 14-0 early in the game, but persevered and responded with a stingy defense and explosive offensive effort for the remainder of the game.

“Going down early 14-0 could have been a big issue for some teams, but our guys just continued to believe and fight and fight,” Ervin said. “We always tell them to play the whole game, to play the last minute of the game just like they played the first minute.”

Senior running back Anthony Kelly and senior quarterback Anthony Westren were the primary playmakers in the comeback.

“Offensively, Anthony Kelly again showed why he is such a special player by going out there against a very, very stout Martins Ferry defense and carrying the load for us on the ground,” Ervin said. “Of course, you can’t mention Kelly without mentioning the offensive linemen who just absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage. That ground game combined with the ability of Anthony Westren to make the right decisions, quickly, proved to be a big factor in the game.”

Woodridge’s defense forced six turnovers and was steady in the second half.

“Defensively, again our front seven made play after play after play,” Ervin said. “After we limited their run game, which is what they hang their hat on, they were forced to put the ball up and that is when our defensive backs got in on the action.”

Ervin praised the play of Kelly, Sebastian Dodds and Brandyn Peters on defense. Dodds and Kelly each had one interception and Peters grabbed two interceptions.

“He might have had one of the best all around performances I’ve seen from a football player in quite some time,” Ervin said of Peters. “He had 100 yards receiving, some rushing yards and two big interceptions, one of which went for a touchdown.”

Senior linebackers David Charles and Cameron Hilling have also been key defensively. Senior Brennan Owens and junior Jared Page have paced the offensive line and junior A.J. Graham is a playmaker on both sides of the ball.

St. Vincent-St. Mary junior CB Doran Grant reportedly took an unofficial visit to Michigan State last weekend, according to Rivals.com. Grant is one of the state’s top players in the 2011 class. He has several Division I offers.

Louisville senior Bobby Swigert has orally committed to continue his academic, football and baseball careers at Boston College.

Boston College recruited Swigert to play wide receiver in football and shortstop in baseball, Louisville football coach Paul Farrah said.

“I am very proud of him,” Farrah said. “I am happy for him. He chose a school that is great for him for education, football and baseball.”

Swigert, a 6-foot-1 and 178-pound quarterback this season, got injured in the host Leopards’ third game of the season against Archbishop Hoban.

Swigert had to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right foot following the Leopards’ fourth game of the season against Canton South. He led Louisville to four wins, completing 71-of-123 passes for 760 yards and seven touchdowns, and rushing for 126 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries.

Louisville finished the regular season at 10-0 and was No. 1 in the final Associated Press Division II state poll before losing its first playoff game.

“I wish we would have had him the whole season because things could have been different,” Farrah said. “The young gentleman is a class act and so is his family.”

Swigert threw one touchdown pass at Ravenna and then tossed five touchdown passes against visiting North Canton Hoover to open the season. He rushed for a touchdown against Hoban after injuring his foot.

Swigert played against host Canton South the following week and threw one touchdown pass.

At defensive back in 2008, Swigert was a second-team Division II All-Ohio pick and a first-team selection for the All-Northeast Inland District and All-Northeastern Buckeye Conference. He grabbed four interceptions, had 45 receptions for 531 yards and four touchdowns and had two kickoff return touchdowns.

Swigert was also receiving interest from several schools, including Michigan, Nebraska, Stanford and Pittsburgh.

Akron native Tyrell Sutton made his NFL debut Sunday with the Carolina Panthers.

Sutton, a graduate of Archbishop Hoban High School and Northwestern University, rushed for 15 yards on three carries and had one reception for 11 yards as a starter at fullback. The New Orleans Saints defeated the Panthers 30-20 in the game played at the Louisiana Superdome.

Sutton, 22, replaced injured Panthers Brad Hoover and Tony Fiammetta in the lineup at fullback. Sutton, a tailback normally, gained nine yards on his first NFL carry. That rush was the first offensive play of the game. He also lined up at returner on kickoffs.

Sutton, 5-foot-8 and 213 pounds, signed with the Panthers on Sept. 6, but did not appear in the first seven games. He went through training camp with the Green Bay Packers.

“I thought Tyrell did a pretty good job considering he’s a running back and hadn’t even been in camp with us,” Panthers coach John Fox said in his postgame news conference.

Sutton was a four-year standout at tailback for Hoban and then led Northwestern in rushing for four consecutive years. He was named Mr. Football in Ohio in 2004 and is the all-time leader in rushing yards in state history. He is second all-time at Northwestern in rushing yards.

After Week One of the five weeks of football playoffs, here are my observations looking back and moving ahead.

*The Federal League rematch of Canton McKinley and Canton GlenOak will be a different game. The Bulldogs were the eight seed going into top seeded Toledo Whitmer and demolished the Glass City bunch, which did not surprise me, McKinley has found its swagger and I expect them to beat GlenOak this time.

By the way and for what it’s worth, I don’t think Hudson, the team edged out by McKinley for that eighth and final spot, could have won that game in Toledo.

*Massillon will be favored to beat Twinsburg, but I for one think Twinsburg can pull the upset.  Twinsburg’s defense must set the tone early on and stop Massillon’s running game and force quarterback Robert Partridge to run for his life.

*Just wonder how Garfield or Buchtel might have done in the playoffs. Something has to be done to get a City Series team in the post season with smarter scheduling and more home games.

*In Division II, Louisville, another No. 1 seed, was kayoed by No. 8 Columbus Marion-Franklin. One has to wonder if quarterback Bobby Swigert had stayed healthy how deep into the playoffs the Leopards go.

*Division III, Archbishop Hoban’s offense is killing them. They could surprise Poland Seminary at Uniontown Lake’s Blue Streak Stadium Friday night, but not if the offense is as bad as its been in big games.

Don’t be shocked if Northwest, a sixth seed, knocks off No. 2 seed Dover. I have Indian fever!

*One of the coolest stories of the year is Woodridge in Division IV. The Bulldogs put a whipping at Martins Ferry in their first playoff appearance in school history (49-28) and winning their first ever league title.  This team can light up scoreboards on on given night.

*Lest we not forget Mogadore. The Wildcats lone loss was to Woodridge and Saturday night I look for them to knock off Norwalk St. Paul at Medina’s Kenneth Dukes Stadium.

The Garfield football team finished with a 6-4 record this season and coach Bob Sax said the Rams are looking forward to 2010.

“We lose four starters from this year’s team, so we are really excited about next year,” Sax said. “But we need to have a good offseason and continue to come together as a team.”

Garfield lost to Buchtel in the regular-season finale last week. The Rams had just eight seniors on the 2009 team, so Sax was proud of how the squad matured throughout the fall.

“I felt like we got better as the season went on and I really liked how we handled adversity,” Sax said. “We just picked a bad time to play our worst game of the year.”

OHSAA Regional Quarterfinal Football Pairings (Local Teams Only)

Friday Night Games (All games start at 7:30 p.m.)

DIVISION II

Region 5

(8) Ravenna (8-2) at (1) Mentor Lake Catholic (9-1) – Can Parnell Taylor, Zach Thomas and company rush the ball effectively and lead the visiting Ravens to a victory?

(7) Highland (6-4) at (2) Warren Howland (9-1) – Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Wiita family after Highland senior Kory Wiita was severely injured in Week 10. We hope he stays strong and gets better. We wish him the best. The game is definitely secondary, but can the visiting Hornets regroup and secure a playoff win?

(5) Aurora (8-2) at (4) Canfield (9-1) –The Greenmen seek to defend the Division II title they won last year at Canfield.

Region 7

(8) Cols. Marion-Franklin (8-2) at (1) Louisville (10-0) – The Leopards were ranked No. 1 in the final AP Division II poll. Can the Leopards win five more games and finish 15-0 with a state title?

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DIVISION III

Region 9

(8) Field (8-2) at (1) Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (10-0) – The visiting Falcons make their third playoff appearance in a row. The Cardinals are loaded with talent. Field will have to win the turnover battle and control the ball to win.

(7) St. Vincent-St. Mary (6-4) at (2) Poland Seminary (8-2) – The visiting Fighting Irish must limit their turnovers to win and be at their best defensively. Look for playmakers Doran Grant and Mark Murphy to be key if St. V-M secures a victory?

(6) Parma Padua Franciscan (7-3) at (3) Archbishop Hoban (7-3) – A rematch of a North Coast League regular season game that the Knights won 10-6. If Lawrence Wynn rushes the ball effectively and LaTroy Lewis and Greg McMullen lead the defense, look out for Hoban.

(5) Buckeye (8-2) at (4) Hubbard (9-1) – The visiting Bucks look to extend their season at Hubbard’s expense.

Region 11

(8) Marlington (8-2) at (1) Steubenville (9-1) – The Dukes face a tall task of knocking off the Big Red at home.

(6) Northwest (7-3) at (3) Rayland Buckeye Local (8-2) – The Indians will need to be at their best on both sides of the ball to extend their season.

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DIVISION V

Region 17

(8) Waynedale (7-3) at (1) Cuyahoga Heights (10-0) – Waynedale must be at its best to defeat an undefeated team on their own field.

(5) Hillsdale (8-2) at (4) Ashland Crestview (9-1) – Hillsdale hopes its first appearance in the playoffs doesn’t end after one game.

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Saturday Night Games (All games start at 7 p.m.)

DIVISION I

Region 2

(8) Canton McKinley (6-4) at (1) Tol. Whitmer (9-1) – The visiting Bulldogs are fresh off a 35-21 win over rival Massillon in Week 10. Can McKinley keep the momentum going with a tenacious defense that features Jewone Snow and Steve Miller and offense that includes Kyle Ohradzansky, Bryce Wilder and Angelo Powell?

(7) Brunswick (7-3) at (2) Twinsburg (9-1) – A rematch off an NOC game that Twinsburg won in the regular season. Can the visiting Blue Devils keep up with the Tigers speedy Dion Johnson, Andrew Collier, Aaron Macer and others.

(6) North Canton Hoover (7-3) at (3) Massillon (7-3) – An intriguing matchup with college-level talent. The Vikings are fresh off a blowout win over a winless team and the host Tigers are coming off a stinging loss to rival McKinley. Players to watch include Hoover running back Erick Howard and Massillon quarterback Robert Partridge. Who’s defense steps up and makes the key stops?

(5) Wadsworth (9-1) at (4) GlenOak (8-2) – Another interesting matchup that pits the champions of the Suburban League against the champions of the Federal League. The Grizzlies rely on Caleb Busson, Jack Snowball, Bart Randolph, Aarick Jones and Anthony Schrock. The host Golden Eagles counter with Collin Daniels Mitchell, Brionte Dunn and Alex Meredith. GlenOak defenders Spyro Spondyl and Andrew Garman could be the difference.

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DIVISION IV

Region 13

(7) CVCA (7-3) at (2) Girard (10-0) – CVCA looks to rebound after Week 10 loss to rival Manchester. The Royals must face undefeated team and get the rushing game going that features Alex Utley.

(6) Woodridge (8-2) at (3) Martins Ferry (7-2) – The Bulldogs make their first playoff appearance after earning co-champion status in the PTC County Division with Mogadore (a team that defeated this season). Woodridge quarterback Anthony Westren, running back Anthony Kelly and receivers Brandyn Peters and A.J. Graham must make plays and Cameron Hilling has to lead the defense to extend this playoff run.

(5) Cortland Lakeview (7-3) at (4) Manchester (9-1) – The host Panthers are confident after defeating rival CVCA 35-14 in Week 10 to win the PAC title. Running backs Craig Dougherty and Brit Hunter must continue to rush the ball successfully for Manchester.

Region 14

(6) Bellville Clear Fork (7-3) at (3) Orrville (7-3) – Chase Hoobler and Sam Miller have college-level talent and their contributions are vital to the host Red Riders.

(5) Ottawa-Glandorf (8-2) at (4) Triway (8-2) – Derek Carmichael and Brandon Butcher guide the host Titans attack.

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DIVISION VI

Region 21

(6) Warren John F. Kennedy (7-3) at (3) Mogadore (9-1) – Jake McAvinew and Kodey Chance lead yet another Wildcats team into the playoffs. Drew Babbitt, Zach Glagola and Matt Traugh are also vital to Mogadore’s success.

(5) Dalton (9-1) at (4) Bucyrus Wynford (10-0) – A battle between two teams that know how to win. Special teams could come into play with balanced offenses and defenses.