SPORTSINK.COM PHOTO
Crestwood alumni and state champions Bridget Franek and Cassie Schenck present the PTC Golden Shoe awards to the winning teams. Drake Sulzer accepts for Woodridge boys and Karlie Lieberth accepts for Crestwood girls.
At the midterm of the 2011 football season two Portage Trail Conference County Division schools remain undefeated, while several of the preseason favorites are already in catch-up mode just two divisional games into the season.
County Division newcomer Southeast and Rootstown are still enjoying that winning feeling each week, thanks in large part to stellar defense. The Rovers, with just 25 players on their 2011 roster, lead Portage, Summit and Medina counties allowing just 5.2 points per game. Meanwhile, the Pirates are second at 5.4 points allowed. Southeast also ranks fourth in the SportsInk.com coverage area in points scored with 39.8 points per contest. Only, Black River (45.2), St. Vincent-St. Mary (44.2) and Kent Roosevelt (42) rank higher.
Rootstown will make the trip to Freedom Field next week with definite title ramifications on the line, but first the Rovers will take on Garrettsville Garfield (3-2, 1-1), and the Pirates meet East Canton (0-5, 0-2) Friday night.
Garrettsville Garfield, a popular preseason choice to win the division, is already trailing Southeast and Rootstown after losing to the Pirates 24-7 to open league play.
More football: Computer chatter
Looking at the second edition of the OHSAA Harbin computer rankings, three of the County Division’s eight football teams currently hold one of their region’s eight playoff spots. Rootstown and Southeast are joined by perennial Division VI and County Division power Mogadore as teams that are currently up for football’s second season.
Rootstown, in Division V, Region 17, is the highest rated team from the County Division as its defense and meticulous ground game of Danny Lashley and Ryan Herman has the Rovers in position for a home playoff game in third place.
The Pirates are in eighth place in the highly competitive Division III, Region 9. That region has 10 teams that currently have one or fewer losses.
Finally, the Wildcats (3-2, 1-1) are currently tied for seventh place and one of the final two spots. There are currently just 2.5 computer points separating fifth place from ninth place in Region 21.
Woodridge, Waterloo and Garrettsville Garfield, all 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the County Division, are just on the outside of their respective region’s playoff picture. The Bulldogs, also in Region 9, currently sit in 12th place after a loss to Rootstown dropped Woodridge in the standings last week. The Vikings share the same region as the Rovers and currently sit in 16th place, a win over Woodridge this week would be a big boost to both Waterloo’s playoff and conference title standing. The G-Men are currently in 17th place after making the playoff a year ago in Division IV, Region 13.
The last two teams, East Canton and Windham, are tied for last place in Division VI, Region 21 as both teams continue to look for their first victory of the season on Friday.
Boys soccer: Five teams, no margin for error
To say the boys soccer race in the PTC County Division is tight would be a major understatement. With two or three games left, the five teams are separated by no more than two games, meaning every team has a chance to share the title with just two weeks left in the season.
The Waterloo Vikings (6-3-2, 4-1-1) currently pace the field, but Garrettsville Garfield (6-3-2, 3-2-1) and Southeast (3-5-3, 1-2-2) are hot on Waterloo’s trail. The Vikings’ only blemishes are credited to a scoreless tie with the G-Men and a 2-1 loss to archrival Rootstown, but Waterloo avenged both of those results with victories over both teams in their other encounters.
The Vikings will travel to Southeast in two weeks for the final game of the season. The Pirates also have road contests with Woodridge (1-8-1, 1-3-1) and Garrettsville Garfield preceding that match. The G-Men beat the Pirates 2-1 earlier in the season.
Girls soccer: Rovers and Pirates indirectly go head-to-head
A little more space exists in the girls soccer race, as Rootstown (7-4-2, 4-0-2) have yet to lose a County Division match. Southeast (7-2-2, 2-1-2) is the Rovers biggest competition, having tied Rootstown and lost by a goal in head-to-head matchups earlier this season.
Interestingly, the Pirates will take on the same two opponents that the Rovers still have on their schedule. Both teams will meet Woodridge and Garrettsville Garfield before the season runs out. Rootstown tied the Bulldogs and beat the G-Men the first time around, while Southeast defeated both teams at home already this season.
Cross Country: Crestwood champs visit Woodridge
On Tuesday, Woodridge hosted the Golden Spike Invitational, featuring the Bulldogs, Field, Kent Roosevelt and Crestwood. However, all four teams were also treated to a surprise as former Crestwood state champion runners Bridget Franek and Cassie Schenck were on hand to discuss running, the possibility of professional careers and hand out the golden spikes to the winners.
The Red Devil girls team won its race, while host Woodridge took home the gold in the boys race.
Schenck is currently a runner for the University of Akron Zips. Franek is a former national champion in the steeplechase while at Penn State University and currently is a part of the OTC Elite, a professional running team in Eugene, Oregon.