“On the road again
Goin’ places that I’ve never been
Seein’ things that I may never see again
And I can’t wait to get on the road again.” — Willie Nelson
Practice all week. Get on the bus. Ride for hours. Win a football game.
That’s been the world over the past two weeks for the Danville Blue Devils, road warriors who have learned to make every away game feel like the cozy confines of Tough Street Stadium.
This week is no different. The Blue Devils are on the road again.
Danville (7-5) will travel nearly 90 miles south to Washington County to take on the Waterford Wildcats (9-2) in a Division VII, Region 27 semifinal on the banks of the Muskingum River.
The nearly two-hour journey comes after the Blue Devils traveled and won playoff games at Steubenville Catholic Central (54-0) and Lancaster Fisher Catholic (59-8), about 350 miles of round-trip bus rides.
But the players aren’t going alone. After the win in Lancaster, Coach Matthew Bloom praised the fan base of the 11th-seeded Blue Devils.
“This is a great community, and these are great fans, they drive an hour and a half to support us,” Blum said.
Waterford was established under the name of Millburg by the Ohio Company in the spring of 1789.
Waterford High School, with a student enrollment of about 177 students, is the only high school in the Wolf Creek Local School District and a member of the 13-member Tri-Valley Conference.
The league is broken into two groups by size. The Ohio Division features the larger schools and the Hocking Division features the smaller schools, including Waterford.
The Wildcats earned the No. 2-seed in the region with an 8-2 regular season. The only losses came in Week Four against arch-rival Fort Frye (9-1), a painful 28-0 defeat, and in Week Five against 11-0 Nelsonville-York, 29-28.
After resting during a bye week in the first round of the playoffs, Waterford hosted and hammered Strasburg, 42-7, at Wildcat Stadium.
“Our kids are clicking on all cylinders – we just can’t wait to get back to work,” Waterford coach Eric McCutcheon told the Parkersburg (W.Va.) News and Sentinel after the game. “Obviously, the playoffs get harder. We need to stay focused and keep grinding.”
Centerburg hosts Colonel Crawford on Friday
Danville is one of two Knox County high school football teams still in the playoffs.
Centerburg (10-1) hosts Colonel Crawford (11-1) in a Division VI, Region 23 game Friday at 7 p.m.
The top-seeded Trojans, who had a bye in round one, knocked off Ridgewood, 28-14, in the second round. The win was keyed by junior running back Miles Marshall, who scored four TDs in the game.
Colonel Crawford, the region’s fifth seed, has beaten Beaver Eastern (35-7) and Mount Gilead (42-8) in its first two playoff games.
Eagles receiver Parker Weithman had a spectacular game with four catches for 187 yards, including three long touchdown receptions.
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)
