Chagrin Valley Sports

Three Chagrin Valley Conference teams would make the playoffs if the playoff started today, and one of them might surprise you.

Perry is not one of the three teams. The Pirates are currently No. 9 in Division IV Region 13. How could a 6-1 team not be in the top 8?

For starters, the Pirates only have one win over a team with a winning record. That team, Division I Riverside, is barely above .500 at 4-3. Perry lost to Aurora, the only other team they played worth any playoff points.

Division II Kenston is having a very off year, so beating them wasn’t worth anything. The good news is that Perry plays West Geauga and Chagrin Falls in week 9 and 10. The bad news is that Perry has to beat those teams to make the playoffs.

If Perry wins out they will not only make the playoffs, but also will have a good shot at the top 4. If Perry only wins two of the next three games (and one of those wins isn’t over playoff-point-rich Chagrin Falls), they might struggle to make it into the bottom part of Region 13.

West G crushed Perry last season, 41-7 and Chagrin Falls is frankly a better team right now.

Speaking of Chagrin Falls, they are No. 1 in Region 9 with a 6-1 record. They’ll stay there if they just win out. That’s easier said than done with Aurora, Kenston and Perry to finish out the season.

Aurora is just as good as Chagrin, Kenston is Chagrin’s arch rival and Perry is a talented team that might need to beat Chagrin to make the playoffs. This won’t be a fun stretch for the Tigers, but beating Aurora will be a major confidence booster for this team.

Aurora has bounced back recently and looked very good. The team started 1-2 and has since gone 4-0. They’re No. 4 in Region 9, and a win over Chagrin would be major, major playoff points.

Chagrin is the only tough team Aurora plays the rest of the season. That’s both good and bad. The good is that Aurora ends the season with two games against Orange and Wickliffe.

That should help prevent the Greenmen from racking up injuries before playoff time. The bad is that it makes Chagrin almost a must win. There aren’t many playoff points to be had in either Orange and Wickliffe. A win over Chagrin, however, should almost guarantee a top 4 see and a home playoff game.

Both Aurora and Chagrin Falls mathematically control their own playoff destinies. This means if each wins out, they will be guaranteed a playoff berth. Obviously, they both can’t win out, but if one doesn’t make the playoffs (and this is more likely Aurora, but both should make the playoffs), they’ll know who to blame.

The third CVC team looking at a playoff berth is Kirtland. The undefeated Hornets are No. 2 in Region 17. This weekend Kirtland takes on Berkshire (5-2 overall), and they should be the last team that has a legitimate chance of beating the Hornets. Kirtland a very talented team and might make a deep playoff run.

West G (4-3 overall), for those wondering, is not mathematically eliminated, but they are No. 12 in Region 9. If they win out, they might be able to sneak in the playoffs. The key to the Wolverines season is a date with 6-1 Perry in two weeks.

Last year, West G dominated this match up. Perry will want to even the score. What’s also important for West G is that Perry keeps winning. Beating a Perry team that is 8-2 at the end of the season is a lot better than beating a 6-4 Perry team.

With Beachwood up next, the Pirates should be at least 7-3.

I don’t need to tell Comet fans how important last week’s game against Brunswick was.

The close 20-17 loss saw Solon drop from No. 6 to No. 8 in Region 1, and there are several schools looking to overtake the Comets. Solon (4-3 overall) has 11.13 playoff point average, and No. 12 Warren Harding has a 9.7 playoff point average. In between are No. 9 Boardman with a 10.79 average, No. 10 Brecksville-Broadview Heights with 10.74 average and No. 11 Garfield Heights with a 10.17 average.

All of those schools could easily overtake Solon. The Comets have a must win in the 10th week of the season against Strongsville. That’s the only other above .500 team Solon plays the rest of the season.

The Comets badly need those playoff points. Solon also needs for Canton McKinley to keep winning. The Bulldogs started off 0-2 but have rattled off five straight victories and are No. 4 in Region 2.

The Comets should be able to beat Elyria and Medina before hand but will need to win out to have a hope of securing a low playoff berth in Region 1.

Strongsville is currently No. 4 in Region 1 and takes on Brunswick this week. We’ll find out a lot about how tough Strongsville will be for the Comets this week.

Our predictors have been good so far this season, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t better.

Here are the games our predictors are predicting this week:

• Solon vs. Lakewood
• Kenston vs. Aurora
• Perry vs. Orange
• Chagrin Falls vs. Beachwood
• Wickliffe vs. West Geauga
• Kirtland vs. Indepedence
• Grand Valley vs. Cardinal
• Hawken vs. Cuyahoga Heights

Post your picks in the comments section. Our predictors picks will be up this Friday.

If you think you’re better than our predictors, prove it!

You can find a huge gallery over at the Kenston site. Here are a select few to enjoy.

The Tigers are now ranked No. 23 in The Plain Dealer’s football poll, after their surprising 4-1 start.

Solon is ranked No. 14. The Comet offense has been too inconsistent to garner a higher ranking, but Solon’s defense is top notch. If Solon’s offense can step it up, expect the Comets to improve and march back up the rankings.

No other CVC teams are in the rankings. A case could be made for Perry. Perry’s only loss came to Aurora, and every other game the Pirates have blown out their opponents. The Greenmen, another good team that should be strongly considered for the top 25, has two losses to top 25 teams. Avon, which is having a very impressive undefeated season, has risen to No. 15.

Aurora barely lost to Avon, 27-24 in the first week of the season. Twinsburg, 3-2, is ranked No. 24. The Tigers beat a short-handed Aurora team 27-6. The Greenmen have looked impressive the last two weeks and should garner some more attention soon.

It should be noted that Chagrin Falls, Aurora and Perry would all make the playoffs if they started today. Solon would not.

It’s time for an update on our predictors.

Our predictors didn’t predict the first week of the season, but, on average, they have been pretty accurate. Week 3 saw Sandra Klepach put on a clinic with a 9-1 record. The only miss she had was the Beachwood vs. Lincoln West game.

Week 4 of the season was by far the worst. No one did better than 4-4. Mayfield beating Solon was a bit of an upset. So was Aurora’s win over Perry. In addition, Chagrin Falls vs. West Geauga and Kenston vs. Beachwood were both difficult games to predict.

Week 5 saw Harold Crane and Stephanie Greenlaw tie with a 7-1 record. If you remember, Crane did very well in week 2 with a 9-1 record. He has been on top pretty much the entire time.

Greenlaw and Klepach are both well within striking distance and no one is too far behind to win this yet.

Here are the current standings from our predictors:

• John McGrurer — (19-16-1)
  
• Stephanie Greenlaw — (24-12)
• Harold Crane — (26-10)
• Joe Edelstein — (21-15)
• Sandra Klepach — (24-12)
• Jared Ward — (21-15)
• Jack Hanhauser — (23-13)

Here is a rundown of what happened this week in the CVC. If you have additional news and notes, please send them in to either connect [at] patthorntonfiles [dot] com or leave a comment. Box scores would be much appreciated. If we could post box scores of every CVC game each week that would be great.

West Geauga (3-2, 1-1) beats Kenston (1-4, 1-1), 31-6 — This win was important for the Wolverines, but unfortunately for them Kenston is having an off season. A few years ago West G went 9-1 and didn’t make the playoffs. A huge reason for that was that Division II Kenston was only 5-5. This Bomber team goes 3-7 at best.

• Kenston’s offense has shown little signs of life all season. This week, the Bombers lone touchdown (with a missed PAT) came on an interception return.
• The Wolverines did it through the air this week with 305 yards passing. Clearly, Head Coach Dave Bors didn’t just copy the Chardon offense verbatim. 
• The Wolverines have to be concerned with the mistakes they made. Eleven penalties for 98 yards is too much. You can beat a down Kenston team with that many penalties, but not an Aurora, Perry or Chagrin Falls. 
• Speaking of mistakes, the Wolverines committed four turnovers — two interceptions and two fumbles. West G survived its mistakes, but 4 turnovers and almost 100 yards in penalties is not a template they want to replicate.
• Kenston’s offense is on life support. The Bombers had just seven first downs. Three of those came off of penalties. 
• West G is currently No. 10 in Region 9. It looks like they’ll have to beat both Aurora and Perry to make it into the playoffs.

Currently the Comets are tied for No. 14 in Region 1.

The top 8 teams make the playoffs. Region 1 is very rugged with Glenville, St. Ignatius and St. Edwards all in it. All three should easily make the playoffs.

Beyond that, Strongsville is looking good this year. So are Boardman and others.

At this point, Solon has to be concerned with racking up playoff points. That means certain teams are much more important to beat than others for the Comets.

Here is the remaining schedule for Solon:

• Hudson (1-3)
• Lakewood (0-4)
• Brunswick (4-0)
• Elyria (1-3)
• Medina (1-3)
• Strongsville (3-1)

It’s clear looking at this schedule that Solon has two very important games coming up: Brunswick and Strongsville. Both teams will be worth a lot of second-level points.

I strongly doubt a 6-4 Solon team that loses to both Strongsville and Brunswick will make the playoffs. Solon will need to beat at least one of those teams, plus win the rest of their games against lesser opponents to have a strong shot of sneaking into the playoffs.

If Solon beats both Brunswick and Strongsville, they’ll have a good shot at qualifying for the top 4 in Region 1. The top 4 teams get a home game in the first week of the playoffs.

Solon beat Strongsville last season 24-14 and lost to Brunswick 14-10. Solon went 8-2 last year and was the No. 4 seed.

Division II:

• Kenston is the lone Division II CVC team. They are currently No. 21 in Region 5. The top 8 make it in the playoffs. It appears extremely unlikely that Kenston will make the playoffs this year. Even if Kenston won out — which is extremely unlikely — I can’t see how they would get enough playoff points.

Division III:

• Chagrin Falls is No. 2 in Region 9 right now. The top 4 get home games the first week of the playoffs. The Tigers have a long way to go before they can make the playoffs, but at least they control their destiny. If they win out, they’ll be a top 4 team for sure. A loss or two will probably knock them into the 5-8 slots.
• West Geauga is tied for No. 9 in Region 9. This is not a bad ranking for a 2-2 team. West G will have to start winning more if it hopes to make the playoffs. They have the talent, however. A win over Kenston this week will help the Wolverines forget last week’s embarassment.
• Aurora is No. 12 in Region 9, behind the log jam tied for No. 9. Aurora started slow, but looked impressive last week. Wins over West G and Chagrin Falls would go a long way towards making the playoffs. I can see Aurora making the playoffs if they lose to one of those two teams, but not both. 7-3 should net Aurora a playoff berth.
• Orange is No. 14 in Region 9. Not that far behind Aurora, right? If I was a betting man, I’d say that Orange will not make the playoffs. Finishing .500 or better would be something to hang their hats on. Next year Orange should be a lot more dangerous.

Division 4:

• Perry is No. 5 in Region 13. Losing to Aurora hurts, but there are still plenty of playoff points to be had for Perry. A win over Division II Kenston (even if the Bombers only have a few wins) will be worth a bit. Then Perry needs to beat at least two of the Division III teams. The Pirates already lost to Aurora, but Chagrin Falls and West G will be worth a lot of points too. There are a lot of good teams in Region 13. 7-3 might not be good enough for the playoffs, but 8-2 should do it, however.

I must say that I am genuinely shocked by some of the outcomes that happened in week 4 of Chagrin Valley Conference play.

There is no better place than to start with Chagrin Falls. Wow, this was a shocker.

Chagrin Falls defeats West G 25-0 — I thought this would be a good game, but I didn’t expect Chagrin to dominate. In fact, I would have thought have favored the Wolverines.

• Is Chagrin one of the teams to beat in the CVC? They’re only loss came to a good NDCL team in overtime on the road.
• West G switched to an offense very similar to what Chardon runs. The only problem is that when the running game isn’t producing, it can be a very long night. Other CVC teams, like Chagrin, have much more versatility.
• Both teams can pad their win totals against weaker CVC teams this week. Chagrin has Orange, while West G has Kenston. Although, West G will have to score in order to beat Kenston.