Team Record: 11-0

Upcoming Game: Carrico’s game this week may enter a bid as the best contest this season in the state of Ohio.

Undefeated 11-0 Ironton, Carrico’s team, meets undefeated 10-0 Kirtland for the Division V state title. Here’s the kicker: the same two teams met for the state championship last year with one loss between them. Kirtland scratched out a 17-7 win in one of the most physical, bone-clattering football battles of 2019.

The two teams will rematch on Ohio’s biggest stage Saturday at 2 p.m.

Last Week’s Stats: Carrico was a workhorse in every sense of the word against Roger Bacon in the state semifinals, carrying the ball 30 times for 206 yards with two touchdowns while still playing an impact role on defense.

Team Record: 10-1

Upcoming Game: Ballard’s Massillon and Archbishop Hoban met in the playoffs in 2019 and it turned into an instant classic, with the Tigers edging out a 17-14 win.

That was for a regional title. This Saturday the same two teams meet a year later to decide who will be state champion. Can Ballard’s squad win the rematch and claim what it fell one win short of last season? Kickoff is at 5 p.m. Friday.

Last Week’s Stats: One reception for five yards, as Massillon wasn’t airing the ball out in a 14-10 rock fight to advance.

Team Record: 5-0

Upcoming Game: No team has come within three scores to date in the Missouri high school football playoffs for De Smet, who now stands at 5-0 on the season. This week it’ll meet Fox in Class 6’s final four, a team that could provide a challenge at 10-1, although it did advance by forfeit a week ago. Start time is 7 p.m. Friday.

Last Week’s Stats: The four-star cornerback led a strong defensive outing for De Smet, who held Howell to seven points and pitched a first half shutout.

Team Record: 5-0

Upcoming Game: After a regular season that ended with cancellations and moved dates, Dunn and South Warren finally gets its journey started in Kentucky’s Class 5A state football playoffs. His team should be in for a cruise into the second round, facing a 1-4 Christian County team it dismantled 49-8 in the regular season.

Last Week’s Stats: Dunn was supposed to play Christian County last week, but the game was moved back a week, resulting in a de facto bye.

Team Record: 6-2

Upcoming Game: Blue Valley North has cruised through to the semifinals of Kansas’ 6A state playoffs, with no team threatening by more than 12 points through three playoff games. This week is a much tougher matchup in the final four, however, with 8-1 Olathe North trying to make it back to the state title game it lost a season ago. The two teams face each other at 7 tonight.

Last Week Stats: McCullough helped his defense hold Shawnee Mission Northwest to six points in last week’s playoff game, pulling in an interception.

Team Record: 4-3

Game: Hart’s Cherokee Trail was one of just eight teams to make the playoffs for Class 5A in Colorado, but with a 4-2 record could only manage the No. 7 seed and fell to No. 2 seed Valor Christian, an undefeated team, 49-14 in Thursday’s first round game.

Stats: In his final high school contest, Hart’s offense found little footing on the ground or in the air. I was not able to find his receiving stats from the game.

Team Record: 8-0

Upcoming Game: It seems as though Allatoona can’t be beat this season, off to an 8-0 start with every win by double digits. No team has scored 20 points against the Buccaneers through eight games. They’ll look to continue such dominance against 4-3 Pope in their penultimate regular season game at 7:30 p.m. tonight.

Last Week’s Stats: Christian and the Allatoona passing game was electric in a 35-point outburst last week.