Ohio Fantastic 50

Ohio high school football rankings and predictions by College of Wooster math & data science professor @DrewPasteur

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

Following up on a conversation with a member of the media, I am sharing a bit more info about how my predictive team rankings work.🧵

[Drew Pasteur @DrewPasteur]

HS wheelchair basketball
Semifinals
#2 Green (13-2) 44
#5 Jackson (11-6) 15

Zayne Hammoudeh poured in 30 points, including a league record 6 threes.

Saturday championship
Cleveland Public Auditorium
4:30 - exhibition game (8 Paralympians)
6:00 - #1 Tallmadge vs #2 Green

[Drew Pasteur @DrewPasteur]

HS wheelchair basketball semifinals

#6 Wadsworth at #1 Tallmadge, Mon. 6:30

#5 Jackson at #2 Green, Tues. 6:00

Championship Sat. at Cle. Public Auditorium
4:30 Exhibition game (8 Paralympians)
6:00 State title game
Admission $15

[Drew Pasteur @DrewPasteur]

For the top 12 OIAS interscholastic wheelchair basketball teams, the road to Cleveland begins. Defending champ Tallmadge carries a 40-game win streak into the playoffs, but Uniontown Green has shown the potential to end the Blue Devils' run.

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

@KieferMedia I got to watch a HS playoff game there last year. It's a nice venue for 10K or so fans.

[Coach Swit @CoachSwit]

Being a high school multi-sport athlete should be encouraged, not discouraged. As a varsity coach, I support players competing in other sports. The problem isn’t multi-sport participation—it’s coaches expecting year-round priority. That’s control, not development.

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

After taking an administrative technical to add Ellis to the scorebook, they sub him in at the start of the 4th. Without his sneakers, he still gets 5 dunks in 8 minutes to lead his team to a win. A strange situation, but a phenomenal athlete!
3/3

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

HS basketball story:
My junior year at Raleigh Enloe was a blast, with @LeVelleMoton pouring in 27 a night. The next season, he's gone to NCCU and we stink. The last game before Christmas is at state-ranked East Wake, who has future UNC & Cowboys star DE Greg Ellis.
1/3

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

@CoachGregEllis is on the bench in dress clothes, day-to-day with a minor injury. When we're somehow ahead late in the 3rd, they send him to suit up, but his name is not in the scorebook and his basketball shoes are at home.
2/3

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

@OhioSportsNet First AP football poll (after week 3) vs my divisional rankings in the same week. Intended to give an idea of how well each is identifying legitimate state contenders at that early stage of the season. Ignoring teams ranked highly by both, comparing those highlighted by only 1.

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

As with the prior seasons, my early-season rankings were a better predictor of playoff success than the AP polls. This year's challenge score was 15-6 in my favor.

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

3rd annual AP/F50 Challenge

Each side gets their highest ranked team in every region that is not in the other's divisional top 10. If the AP runs out of teams in a region, then neither side gets a team. One point per win in the regional semis & beyond. (In 2024, I won 16-5.)

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

The Friday night lights return in 255 days, and the start of August practice is 235 days away.

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

A little housekeeping to finish the 2025 season:
Playoff picks were solid except for the first round, which no longer had four mismatches involving #1/#16, #2/#15, #3/#14, and #4/#13.

[WOSN Sports @WOSNScores]

FINAL: Liberty Center 35, Wheelersburg 3 (D5 State Final)

The Liberty Center Tigers are State Champions for the first time since 1997!

Garrison Kruse ran for 2 TD and Thomas Mohler added a 3rd for the Tigers, while Kaden Kreinbrink found Jaxton Lawniczak for 2 more.

[OHSAA Sports @OHSAASports]

🏈 #OHSAA FOOTBALL: Liberty Center 21, Wheelersburg 3 - Division V state championship game halftime stats.

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

This is a really interesting matchup. While my ratings have the Tigers favored by 2 touchdowns, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Pirates hang around or even win the game.

[OHSAA Sports @OHSAASports]

🏈 #OHSAA FOOTBALL: The Division V state championship game, Wheelersburg vs. Liberty Center, kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

📺 Watch: https://t.co/SD73ojNfZa

📻 Listen: https://t.co/LLwxVmp69R

📊 Stats: https://t.co/yCZ7dcOLws

[OHSAA Sports @OHSAASports]

🏈 #OHSAA FOOTBALL: Division VI state championship game final score - Kirtland 41, Hopewell-Loudon 6

Kirtland wins its eighth state championship, the seventh school to win at least eight football state titles.

[Kirtland Hornet Stat Crew @hornetstatcrew]

Tiger LaVerde becomes the third football coach in OHSAA history to win 8+ state championships, joining the legendary figures of Chuck Kyle (11) and Tim Goodwin (15). 🏆

LaVerde is now 259-21 (.925) at Kirtland & 279-31 (.900) for his career. 🐅

#HornetPride🐝
@KLSDSupt

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

Typical Kirtland football in the 1st half, with 25 rushes for 190 yards. John Silvestro carried it 10 times for 117 yards and both scores.

[OHSAA Sports @OHSAASports]

🏈 #OHSAA FOOTBALL: Kirtland 14, Hopewell-Loudon 0 - Division VI state championship game halftime stats.

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

Charlie Werling is leading the way for St Henry, with 146 yards on the ground (on just 13 carries), 50 more through the air, and 3 touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 passing). Nearly half of Hillsdale's total offense thus far came on a 46-yard Lewis to McFadden pass.

[OHSAA Sports @OHSAASports]

🏈 #OHSAA FOOTBALL: St. Henry 30, Jeromesville Hillsdale 3 - Division VII state championship game halftime stats.

[Ohio Fantastic 50 @OhioF50]

@Sykotyk Division 7