ASHLAND — The Arrows and Falcons are hoping for a little more postseason home cooking.
Ashland and Hillsdale will both host playoff games Friday night. The fourth-seeded Arrows welcome No. 13 Columbus St. Charles to town for a Division II, Region 7 opening-round game, while second-seeded Hillsdale hosts No. 15 Fairport Harbor Harding in Region 25 of Division VII.
Ashland is 6-2 all-time in home playoff games. Hillsdale is 3-1 on its home field.
While Ashland and Hillsdale open at home, Crestview will head to Toledo for a Division VI, Region 22 game against Ottawa Hills.
Here’s a look at this week’s first-round games:
Division II, Region 7
No. 13 Columbus St. Charles (4-6) at No. 4 Ashland (10-0)
The Cardinal back into the playoffs having lost six straight games. St. Charles won four straight to open the season, but its last win was on Sept. 13. All six losses were to playoff-qualifying teams. St. Charles competes in the rugged Central Catholic League with Hartley, Watterson and DeSales. The Cardinal have a pair of talented young receivers in sophomores Trey Davis and Ben Nickey. Senior quarterback Ryan Mooney triggers an offense that averaged 19.7 points a game during the regular season. St. Charles has been outscored 199-70 during its six-game skid.
The Arrows put the finishing touches on the first perfect regular season since 2006 with last week’s 30-21 win over Lexington. Ashland’s defense came up big as Tyler Sauder and Michael Franz both returned interceptions for touchdowns. Sauder made 103 tackles during the regular season while Gunner Lacey had a team-high 111 stops and 27 tackles for loss. Gavin Hoffman had a team-best nine sacks.
Franz could take on a more significant role on the offensive side of the ball after returning from an injury last week. The speedy senior broke his collarbone in Week 5. He rushed for 227 yards and five touchdowns on 33 carries before the injury.
Quarterback Nathan Bernhard is putting up All-Ohio numbers. The junior completed 138-of-231 passes for 2,260 yards and 22 touchdowns and rushed for 968 yards and 17 TDs on 159 carries during the regular season. Gabe Baith has a team-high 47 catches for 664 yards and four TDs, while sophomore Killian O’Brien has 25 receptions for 630 yards and eight scores.
Division VI, Region 22
No. 14 Crestview (5-5) at No. 3 Ottawa Hills (8-1)
The Cougars battled their way into the playoffs for a sixth straight year by winning five of their final six games after dropping four straight to start the season. Crestview’s surge can be traced to its defense. The Cougars surrendered 142 points through the first four weeks and only 44 points the rest of the season. Senior defensive back Tyson Ringler led the Cougars with 87 tackles during the regular season. Junior linebacker Jack Stephens had 70 tackles and a team-high 12 tackles for loss. Junior defensive end Karter Goon had 10 TFLs, including a team-high four sacks.
Junior quarterback Liam Kuhn triggers an offense that averaged 27.3 points a game. Kuhn completed 76-of-137 passes for for 1,218 yards and 10 touchdowns with just one interception. Ringler caught 34 passes for 548 yards and four TDs and became the school’s career receiving leader last week, while Goon had 17 receptions for 327 yards and four TDs. Gavin Barker and Nolan Moore each had 14 catches. Junior running back Ayden Reymer rushed for 575 yards and seven touchdowns on 100 carries while battling injuries throughout the season. Junior Bransen Hider ran for 359 yards and four TDs on 64 carries.
Ottawa Hills has won eight straight after dropping its season-opener to Gibsonburg, including last week’s 55-14 win over Edon in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference championship game. The Green Bears have won three straight TAAC titles. Senior quarterback Chase Miller led the charge against Edon, completing 12-of-15 passes for 267 yards and five touchdowns and rushing for 91 yards and a TD. Reddik Pillarelli returned a kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown while younger brother Rocco Pillarelli rushed for 135 yards and caught touchdown passes of 43 and 42 yards. The Green Bears surrendered seven or fewer points in six of nine games.
Division VII, Region 25
No. 15 Fairport Harbor Harding (5-4) at No. 2 Hillsdale (9-1)
The Skippers are led by brothers Abraham and Yomar Castellano. Abraham rushed for a team-high 736 yards during the regular season, while Yomar caught 54 passes for 745 yards and rushed for 240 yards. Quarterback Brady Lawson threw for 1,429 yards and 15 touchdowns. D.J. Dambolena leads the defense with five interceptions and 14 tackles for loss.
Hillsdale’s perfect season came to an end with last week’s 45-21 loss to Norwayne. The Falcons trailed 24-21 early in the third quarter after an Owen Sloan touchdown run, but were outscored 21-0 the rest of the way. Sloan rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns, topping the 1,000-yard plateau. The junior rushed for 1,042 yards and 19 touchdowns on 138 carries during the regular season. Sophomore quarterback Kael Lewis completed 113-of-178 passes for 1,845 yards and 20 TDs and broke the program’s single-season record for passing yards. Holland Young caught 38 passes for 637 yards and seven TDs, while Hayden McFadden had 35 receptions and eight TDs. Brock Bower had 17 catches for 242 yards and three scores.
The Falcons ranked second in the Wayne County Athletic League in scoring defense, allowing 13.7 points a game. Linebacker Brady Heller made a team-high 90 tackles during the regular season, while Aiden Hoffman was in on 86 stops. Bradey Krichbaum and Jake Haven each had seven sacks. McFadden returned two interceptions for touchdowns.