Boys and girls bowling teams are allowed to begin the season today across the state.

Teams were allowed to start practice and hold their first scrimmages on Nov. 13.

The state tournament will be held next March.

Kent Roosevelt senior forward Cameron Black II has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Bowling Green, according to Cleveland.com.

The report said Black averaged 10 points, 10 rebounds and 4.5 blocks last season.

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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.

Kent State offered a scholarship to Middletown senior defensive end Rashad Frazier (6-6, 225) on Monday night, according to Cincinnati.com.

Frazier also has offers from Bowling Green and Miami University.

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 Canton McKinley girls’ basketball team is ranked No. 4 in the Ohio Girls’ Basketball Report Super 10 preseason rankings. The Bulldogs are the third Division I team behind Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame and Toledo Start.

Aiken senior forward Kenny Knight (6-7, 225 pounds) has signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at Kent State.

Aiken is in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference. The school is planning a signing ceremony this morning.

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.