JEROMESVILLE — There simply is no good way to get from Willow Wood, Ohio, to Hillsdale High School.
It’s a three-hour plus bus ride from the unincorporated community in Lawrence County, a location that is about as southern Ohio as it gets, just 14 miles from the West Virginia border.
That circuitous journey is the first task the Symmes Valley Vikings (9-2) face on Friday.
The second is how to slow down the top-seeded Hillsdale Falcons (10-1) in the Division VII, Regional 27 regional semifinals in a game that starts at 7 p.m.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association officially announced Week 13 games on Sunday afternoon.
If Hillsdale coach Trevor Cline and his team have their way, the ride back home will be even longer for the Vikings, a program that came into its own in 2025 after winning just three games each in 2023 and 2024.
Symmes Valley, a school with about 300 students, has just two seniors on its roster. It’s a school formed in 1961 through the consolidation of Waterloo High School (re: 1930s Waterloo Wonders), Windsor High School and Mason-Aid High School.
Despite the youth, coach Ben Ferguson has put a powerhouse on the field this season. Symmes Valley opened the season with six straight wins before stumbling twice in the second half of the year against 10-1 Beaver Easter (40-6) and 7-4 South Gallia (38-36).
Symmes Valley was led by its offense, topping the 50-point plateau four times and twice scoring more than 60.
The Vikings, seeded 4th in the region, had a bye in the first round of the playoffs before hosting and pounding 7-5 Glouster Trimble, 41-12, on Friday night.
Symmes Valley is a member of the Southern Ohio Conference, a league that includes teams from four different counties — Jackson, Lawrence, Pike and Scioto.
The Vikings have played just four teams with winning records in 2025 — and lost to two them.
Suffice to say, Hillsdale poses the stiffest test Symmes Valley has faced this season.
The Falcons, who played in the state championship game a year ago, have boat-raced most of their opponents in 2025. Hillsdale’s only loss came in Week 10 against 8-3 Norwayne, 24-17.
The Falcons, who had a bye in round one of the playoffs, washed the taste of that lone loss from their mouths in the second round by blitzing 8-4 Conotton Valley, 63-6. Hillsdale led 56-0 at halftime.
In that win, quarterback Kael Lewis threw for 199 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Hayden McFadden, and ran for another score. McFadden added 95 yards receiving and three TDs, while Owen Sloan contributed 49 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
For the season, Lewis has completed 128 of 176 passes for 1,930 yards with 23 TDs and two interceptions. He has also rushed for 248 yards on 43 carries and 10 more TDs.
Sloan has carried the ball 164 times for 1,440 yards, scoring 21 TDs. McFadden has 33 receptions for 635 yards and 10 touchdowns.
OHSAA Football Regional Semifinal Playoff Pairings
Pairings shown with regional seed. All games on Friday, November 14, at 7 p.m., unless indicated otherwise.
Division I
Region 1
No. 4 Toledo Whitmer (9-2) at No. 1 Lakewood St. Edward (9-2)
No. 3 Canton McKinley (9-2) at No. 2 Mentor (11-0)
Region 2
No. 5 Springfield (8-4) at No. 1 Middletown (9-2)
No. 6 Huber Heights Wayne (8-4) at No. 2 Troy (9-2)
Region 3
No. 5 Powell Olentangy Liberty (8-4) at No. 1 Lewis Center Olentangy Orange (11-0)
No. 6 Upper Arlington (10-2) at No. 2 Pickerington Central (10-1)
Region 4
No. 4 Cincinnati Princeton (9-2) at No. 1 Cincinnati Elder (11-0)
No. 3 Cincinnati St. Xavier (8-2) at No. 2 Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller (8-3)
Division II
Region 5
No. 5 Hudson (10-2) at No. 1 Akron Archbishop Hoban (9-1)
No. 3 Austintown Fitch (9-1) at No. 2 Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (9-1)
Region 6
No. 4 North Ridgeville (10-1) at No. 1 Medina Highland (11-0)
No. 3 Avon (10-1) at No. 2 Wadsworth (11-0)
Region 7
No. 4 Canal Winchester (10-1) at No. 1 Sunbury Big Walnut (10-1)
No. 3 Massillon Washington (8-3) at No. 2 Columbus St. Francis DeSales (9-2)
Region 8
No. 5 Cincinnati La Salle (9-3) at No. 1 Cincinnati Anderson (11-0)
No. 7 Harrison (9-3) at No. 3 Trotwood-Madison (7-3)
Division III
Region 9
No. 4 Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph (9-1) at No. 1 Canfield (10-1)
No. 6 Akron East (10-2) at No. 2 Cuyahoga Falls CVCA (10-0)
Region 10
No. 5 Rocky River (10-2) at No. 1 Medina Buckeye (11-0)
No. 6 Toledo Central Catholic (8-4) at No. 2 Wapakoneta (11-0)
Region 11
No. 4 Dresden Tri-Valley (9-2) at No. 1 Columbus Bishop Watterson (10-0)
No. 3 Steubenville (8-2) at No. 2 Newark Licking Valley (11-0)
Region 12
No. 4 Jackson (9-2) at No. 1 London (11-0)
No. 3 Hamilton Badin (10-1) at No. 2 Tipp City Tippecanoe (11-0)
Division IV
Region 13
No. 4 Beloit West Branch (10-1) at No. 1 Perry (9-2)
No. 3 Mentor Lake Catholic (9-2) at No. 2 Cleveland Glenville (8-3)
Region 14
No. 4 Lima Bath (9-2) at No. 1 Shelby (11-0)
No. 6 Sandusky Perkins (9-3) at No. 2 Galion (10-1)
Region 15
No. 4 Chillicothe Unioto (11-0) at No. 1 New Lexington (10-1)
No. 3 Plain City Jonathan Alder (10-1) at No. 2 Gnadenhutten Indian Valley (10-0)
Region 16
No. 4 Cincinnati Taft (11-0) at No. 1 Cincinnati Indian Hill (11-0)
No. 3 Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (10-1) at No. 2 Germantown Valley View (10-1)
Division V
Region 17
No. 4 Garrettsville Garfield (9-2) at No. 1 Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (8-2)
No. 3 Poland Seminary (9-2) at No. 2 Girard (11-0)
Region 18
No. 5 Findlay Liberty-Benton (12-0) at No. 1 Liberty Center (11-0)
No. 3 Genoa Area (10-1) at No. 2 Wooster Triway (10-1)
Region 19
No. 4 Barnesville (9-2) at No. 1 Wheelersburg (11-0)
No. 3 Nelsonville-York (11-0) at No. 2 Gahanna Columbus Academy (9-2)
Region 20
No. 8 Richwood North Union (8-4) at No. 5 Carlisle (10-2)
No. 11 Cincinnati Mariemont (8-4) at No. 2 Lewistown Indian Lake (9-2)
Division VI
Region 21
No. 5 Smithville (10-2) at No. 1 Kirtland (11-0)
No. 7 Sugarcreek Garaway (9-2) at No. 6 Dalton (9-3)
Region 22
No. 9 Carey (8-4) at No. 4 Paulding (11-0)
No. 3 Archbold (9-2)at No. 2 Bascom Hopewell-Loudon (10-1)
Region 23
No. 5 North Robinson Colonel Crawford (11-1) at No. 1 Centerburg (10-1)
No. 3 West Jefferson (10-1) at No. 2 Beverly Fort Frye (9-1)
Region 24
No. 5 Coldwater (8-4) at No. 1 New Madison Tri-Village (11-0)
No. 6 Anna (9-3) at No. 2 Springfield Northeastern (10-1)
Division VII
Region 25
No. 4 Monroeville (9-2) at No. 1 McDonald (11-0)
No. 7 East Canton (10-2) at No. 3 Mogadore (10-1)
Region 26
No. 4 Columbus Grove (8-3) at No. 1 Lima Central Catholic (10-1)
No. 7 Pandora-Gilboa (9-3) at No. 3 Leipsic (10-1)
Region 27
No. 4 Willow Wood Symmes Valley (9-2) at No. 1 Jeromesville Hillsdale (10-1)
No. 11 Danville (7-5) at No. 2 Waterford (9-2)
Region 28
No. 12 Fort Recovery (7-5) at No. 1 Maria Stein Marion Local (11-0)
No. 11 Cedarville (7-5) at No. 2 St. Henry (10-1)