The Road to Canton begins this week for Division IV and V teams with first-round games Friday, Oct. 30.
A pair of local battles take place in D-IV as co-champions in the Southwestern Buckeye League play will try and defend their home fields. The D-V games could produce some fireworks with several high scoring offenses playing one another.
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High School Football Playoff Previews: GMC, GWOC teams seeking wins in D-I first round
High School Football Playoff Previews: GMC, GWOC teams seeking wins in D-I first round
High School Football Playoff Previews: GMC, GWOC teams seeking wins in D-I first round
Here’s a look at the games in Region 16 and 20 taking place Friday.
(All games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. unless noted.)
Division IV, Region 16
No. 12 Clinton-Massie (3-7) at No. 5 Urbana (7-3)
Urbana’s offense kept the Hillclimbers in every game. Grady Lantz was the top dual threat quarterback in the Central Buckeye Conference and led the league in passing. The Hillclimbers gave unbeaten Lima Central Catholic its closest game.
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Clinton-Massie had its first losing record since 2001 and needed to win its final game and get help to qualify and things did fall its way. One shouldn’t look past the fact it’s a program that is a playoff regular that has won five regional titles in the past 15 years.
C-M won a second-round playoff game between the two teams in 2022 in their only previous meeting.
The winner plays at No. 4 Cincinnati North College Hill (9-0).
No. 10 Dunbar (6-4) at No. 7 Valley View (7-3)
Dunbar has the Dayton City League back in the postseason after no team made it last season. The Wolverines have outscored its last three opponents by a combined 141-0.
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Dunbar played four other playoff qualifying teams but lost to them all. Valley View seemed to be in line for a first-round bye before losing on a walk-off field goal in Week 10. Despite the loss, Garrett Brewer continued his stellar second half in which he averaged 94 yards receiving and scored 15 TDs.
Dunbar and Valley View played a four-game series from 2009-12 but haven’t played since then.
The winner plays at No. 2 London (8-2).
No. 9 Kenton Ridge (8-2) at No. 8 Oakwood (8-2)
The Cougars and Lumberjacks meet in what is likely the matchup of the weekend in the area. Kenton Ridge had a dominant eight-game stretch beating opponents by an average of 31.7 points, but had its season bookended by a pair of losses to the CBC divisional champions. Brody Runkle three times amassed more than 200 yards of total offense in a game.
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This is the first time Oakwood has earned a home playoff game through the Harbin rankings. Oakwood was as impressive in its eight wins coming by a 31.8 ppg average. Alex Lee and Urban Kummerer were one of two area QB-WR duos to lead their league in passing and receiving.
The two teams are meeting for the first time ever.
The winner plays at No. 1 Cincinnati Wyoming (9-1).
Division V, Region 20
No. 12 Preble Shawnee (7-3) at No. 5 Cincinnati Summit Country Day (5-4)
Preble Shawnee rarely played in a close game. After winning by seven in its season opener, the next closest margin of victory was 21 points in a game involving the Arrows. Kody Clark ranks second in the Western Ohio Athletic Conference in rushing.
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Summit Country Day dropped three of its final four games, all against playoff teams. The Silver Knights share the rock with its run-heavy offense and primarily split carries between Dillon Minton (6.4ypc) and David Poignard Jr. (4.1ypc).
This is the first ever meeting between the teams. Preble Shawnee has won at least one playoff game in all six of its postseason appearances. .
The winner plays at No. 4 Waynesville (8-2).
No. 11 Greeneview (5-4) at No. 6 Fenwick (5-5)
Greeneview is back in the playoffs for the 12th time in 13 seasons. This trip was the most nail-biting after not playing in Week 10 and needing to sweat out several results. The defense had a rougher time than usual in league play after allowing 70 points in 2026 compared to 80 total points over the past three seasons combined.
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This is the first time Fenwick has made the postseason in consecutive seasons since 2003-04. Greeneview will be the first D-V opponent Fenwick faces after playing a schedule filled with D-II, III and IV teams. McCaffrey Halcomb has been an under-the-radar QB completing 63.2 percent of his passes with 15 TDs.
Greeneview and Fenwick have never played.
The winner plays at No. 3 Miami East (9-1).
No. 10 Greenon (6-3) at No. 7 Carlisle (6-4)
Greenon has one of the best QBs in the area in Teagan Henry,who averages 274 passing yards per game and completed 63.6 percent of his attempts. The Knights have a top-10 offense in the area by average offensive yards per game.
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Carlisle won a de facto playoff game in Week 10 to keep its season going and also has a win against Waynesville. That win came with the SWBL’s leading rusher, Alex Collins, still healthy, as his status for Friday is unknown after suffering an injury in the season-ending win.
Records don’t show Greenon and Carlisle to have previously played.
The winner plays at No. 2 Williamsburg (9-1).
No. 9 Dayton Christian (7-3) at No. 8 Arcanum (6-4)
The ground attack duo of Brody Schmidt and Jacob Culter are leading a Warriors team that is seeking its first-ever playoff victory. Dayton Christian ripped through most of its schedule and all three losses were to fellow playoff teams.
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Arcanum enters the postseason on a three-game losing streak. The Trojans have the WOAC season leader and one of the area’s active career leaders in rushing in MJ Macy. Weston Schmidt also led the league in passing.
Arcanum and Dayton Christian have never played. This is one of three area games which Fantastic50 projects as a near coin-flip.
The winner plays at No. 1 Graham (9-1).
