Oct 16, 2025
PLAYOFF PUSH — Catholic Central is in the playoff push, sitting on the bubble entering the final two games of the regular season. – Andrew Grimm
BOWERSTON — Catholic Central came very close to pulling off a pretty big upset on Saturday night.
The Crusaders went on the road to state-ranked, undefeated Fairport Harbor Harding and gave the Skippers their best shot, ultimately coming up just short in a one-score loss.
“Despite the fact that we lost, I thought we played our best game of the season,” Central head coach Eric Meek said. “Our kids flew around, they were aggressive, they didn’t back down, that was a good football team. They had a little more speed than us, but we were right there with them.
“We played physical, tough football, and the entire coaching staff was very proud of our kids’ effort.”
The loss, though, as encouraging as the valiant effort was, leaves Central with a 4-4 record and sitting on the playoff bubble in Division VII, Region 27, holding down the 12th and final playoff spot going into the final two weeks, including a trip to Conotton Valley this Friday night.
“We’re sitting on a two-game losing streak, and our backs are really to the wall now as far as the playoffs go,” Meek said. “This thing could, these last few days of the regular season, turn out one of two ways. We could either not be successful and end the season on a slide, or we could be very successful and do something that probably a lot of people didn’t think we could have done at the beginning of the season and get in the playoffs.
“We want to do that for our seven seniors. We’d like to extend their season, but we have to win. Our backs are to the wall, time is running short, but if we come out and play with the effort and the grit that we played with last week, I like our chances.”
There were a lot of postives, though, and Meek hopes the Crusaders pick up a jolt of confidence from hanging with the No. 5 ranked team in the state.
“Once again, it comes down to physicality,” Meek said of the biggest takeaway from last week. “If you come out and you realize that you’re going to be physical and you’re going to play every play as hard as you can, good things can happen. I had told the kids going up there, we’ve had very, very good focus on the road, but I told the kids, it’s hard to run the table and go 10-0. I said, if someone’s going to beat them, why not have it be us? And we gave it our very best shot.”
Friday night is also a big game in the standings for the Rockets who are No. 4 in the region and enter with a 6-2 mark. The top four in each region this year get a first round bye and the top eight host at least one playoff game.
“Another tough one,” Meek said of the Rockets. “Conotton Valley is always a very well coached football team. They’ve got good skill. I think they get the most out of their players, their numbers are low, but they play really hard.
“They’re 6-2, and this is a big game for both teams as far as the playoffs go. If we can win this game, we’re going to get a ton of points, and they’re going to get a good amount of points if they defeat us. I think it’s going to be an outstanding football game like it was a year ago.
“It’s been a very good football game the last few years and I think you’re going to see the same thing Friday night.”
The Rockets are led by senior standout Gavin Haney, who has rushed for 659 yards and 10 TDs averaging 9.3 yards per carry and has another 298 yards and nine scores receiving, averaging 13 yards per catch.
Junior quarterback Kaiden Leggett has passed for 1,857 yards and 27 touchdowns, averaging 232 yards per game and has a QB rating of 102, completing better than 57 percent of his passes.
Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox
MOUNDSVILLE — One of the longest running high school football rivalries in the northern panhandle continues …
TORONTO — The Toronto football team has shown the ability to score points in bunches, while Buckeye Local has …
SISTERVILLE — The Oak Glen football team is coming off a strong all-around performance against Bridgeport, and …
CADIZ — The Edison and Harrison Central football teams have turned things around recently with the both the …
Copyright © 2025 Ogden News Publishing of Ohio, Inc. | https://www.heraldstaronline.com | 401 Herald Square , Steubenville, OH 43952 | 740-283-4711
