Region 1 Final: Mentor (8-1) vs Medina (6-3)

Medina is peeking at the right moment. I watched the Ed's game, and their victory was no fluke. They pounded Ed's. They did get a break when they caused a fumble inside the five at the end of the game, but I don't think Ed's would have been able to stop them if Ed's scored, and Medina had some time to move down the field. I haven't seen Mentor at all, but other than losing to Ed's, they look like the Mentor team that is there every year. Mentor has seemed to be a little flat all year, but something tells me they will be up for this game. It is very tough, however, to beat a good team twice in a season. Mentor won the first game rather easily, but this Medina team is very different from the team Mentor beat. I still think Mentor will win. They've been in this situation before where they had to play a team they had previously beaten, and they were able to do it. I just think Mentor has better athletes and is a little tougher.
 
It is no secret that Mentor star defensive end Brenan Vernon has been sidelined for several weeks. The big sophomore is the team's best defensive player and will be one of the biggest recruits in program history when all is said and done. It is difficult to replace his size and production. It sure would be nice to have him this week in scheming for Allar. But even IF Mentor was completely healthy on defense, the defensive staff hasn'tt proven able to take advantage of Vernon's talents and potential. A three man front just makes it too easy for opposing offenses to contain Vernon.

Even if used incorrectly by Funk and the staff, it still would be nice to have him. Nose tackle Preston Cardina is looking better and better. The best way to help out a shaky secondary is to get an effective pass rush. With or without Vernon (most likely without), Mentor will need to find a way to scheme and do that this week. If not, Allar is going to pick apart the Mentor defense similar to the ways we have watched some of the Mentor great QB's do the same to other frustrated defenses.
 
I think the playoff schedule worked to Mentor's disadvantage. Sure, it got them to the final game in the region, but Medina's road through Ed's and Ignatius has them really ready for the final. Mentor really hasn't been challenged since their game with Eds. The travel time for Medina and the home field for Mentor will be an advantage, but I still see Medina winning this game by a TD.

Ok forget all that. I'm really picking Medina by 7 because Brian picked Mentor by 7.

Being battle tested is overrated. Ask Pickerington Central and Hilliard Davidson. Actually, don’t ask them. They’ll nauseate you with how great teams like Groveport Madison and Olentangy United Americas Team are.

You want the path of least resistance.

I didn’t see the Ignatius game, but I thought Medina made a huge mistake against Ed’s when they didn’t go for it on 4th and 1 from around their 30 late in the game. I thought they needed another score to win. I didn’t think they would keep Ed’s out of the end zone, and they really didn’t...Ed’s blew it.

That left me questioning if the coach will let them go get the win rather than hang on for dear life. Maybe it won’t come into play, but that decision has stuck in my mind.
 
Yep, making Mentor is the third best team they all played on those paths.

Practice English bud.

Anyway, to get this back on track:

Mentor 34
Medina 31

Really don’t know what to expect. Should be a good amount of scoring. It seems like Medina should win, but my guess is Mentor wins and delays the inevitable 2+ score elimination in a final 4 game.
 
You’re missing a comma.

Good luck to both teams. It would be neat to see Medina get revenge on Mentor en route to a possible final four appearance.

If they get revenge, they’re in the Final Four.

It’s complicated, but I think it was Newton who provided the proof. Isaac Newton.
 
Yep, making Mentor the third best team they all played on those paths.
Yeah losing by 1 to Davidson in double OT and one score to PC last year definitely makes Mentor the third best team they faced in those years.

You couldn't have made that post with a straight face. Mentor was definitely right there with those teams in 2006 and 2019.

He's right that region 3 has the easiest path to the final 4 compared to regions 1 and 4. But that lack of depth in region doesn't matter if the best team still resides at the top of region 3
 
Practice English bud.

Anyway, to get this back on track:

Mentor 34
Medina 31

Really don’t know what to expect. Should be a good amount of scoring. It seems like Medina should win, but my guess is Mentor wins and delays the inevitable 2+ score elimination in a final 4 game.
I don't know that Medina "should win". To me it's a tossup. I think Mentor is better than Medina if both teams play at their top level. The problem is Medina is playing their best and we aren't. Mentor has to raise their level of play to win
 
Being battle tested is overrated. Ask Pickerington Central and Hilliard Davidson. Actually, don’t ask them. They’ll nauseate you with how great teams like Groveport Madison and Olentangy United Americas Team are.

You want the path of least resistance.

I didn’t see the Ignatius game, but I thought Medina made a huge mistake against Ed’s when they didn’t go for it on 4th and 1 from around their 30 late in the game. I thought they needed another score to win. I didn’t think they would keep Ed’s out of the end zone, and they really didn’t...Ed’s blew it.

That left me questioning if the coach will let them go get the win rather than hang on for dear life. Maybe it won’t come into play, but that decision has stuck in my mind.

The Medina coach must have learned from the Ed's game. In the Ignatius game, Medina had 4th and 1 from their own 29 late in the game. Ignatius had moved the ball well offensively in the 2nd half and had closed the score to 31-26. Coach Laird went for the first down deep in their own territory and the Bees got it. They then worked off most of the clock and left Ignatius with little time and deep in their own side of the field. Game over.
 
Yeah losing by 1 to Davidson in double OT and one score to PC last year definitely makes Mentor the third best team they faced in those years.

You couldn't have made that post with a straight face. Mentor was definitely right there with those teams in 2006 and 2019.

He's right that region 3 has the easiest path to the final 4 compared to regions 1 and 4. But that lack of depth in region doesn't matter if the best team still resides at the top of region 3

Why didn't you mention the other state final to PC???
 
Why didn't you mention the other state final to PC???
Because he talked about all cases so he was clearly wrong two out of 3. He said " all those paths "

Also there was only one state final. Last year was a final 4

2017 was 28-21 going into the 4th quarter. Mentor coudl have played it safe and lost by 2 scores. They instead went for it deep in their own territory a few times and took chances which didnt work. The final score was inflated.

Mentor still was a top 3 team in the state at least . I still think Mentor was the second best team in 2017. Just had one bad quarter and took chances to win. I'd rather do that than lose by less while not going for it
 
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I have no dog in the fight, but it seemed PC and HC had the right amount of athleticism/physicality/toughness to get through the rigors of a 5 week playoff arriving on top no matter the Region. Mentor struck me as somewhat finese.
 
I have no dog in the fight, but it seemed PC and HC had the right amount of athleticism/physicality/toughness to get through the rigors of a 5 week playoff arriving on top no matter the Region. Mentor struck me as somewhat finese.
The argument wasnt that those 3 teams werent the best although I still think Mentor was better in 06 than HD and were right with PC last year (QB got hurt / refs gave them a bs interception etc) but it's a one game scenario

Just saying that region 3 is an easier path than regions 1 or 4 most years. The team on top of region 3 could be the best but the depth usually isn't there

I happen to think PC and St X are the best 2 this year but we will see what happens
 
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The Medina coach must have learned from the Ed's game. In the Ignatius game, Medina had 4th and 1 from their own 29 late in the game. Ignatius had moved the ball well offensively in the 2nd half and had closed the score to 31-26. Coach Laird went for the first down deep in their own territory and the Bees got it. They then worked off most of the clock and left Ignatius with little time and deep in their own side of the field. Game over.
He's an experienced and well rounded coach so I'm not surprised. I watched that sequence and was happy to see them be aggressive and go for the win

I said at the beginning of the playoffs that I was glad the two saints and Medina were on the other side of the bracket. They were always a team I thought could beat us if we didn't play well

As I said , game is a tossup. Mentor better play a better game than they have the past few weeks or they will get beat. I do think we are the better team if we play our best but with high school kids you can't always get that in a one game scenario
 
Since 2000, it has been incredibly rare that one of Mentor's state contending teams has faced a QB better than what they have. The playoff losses with Thom Abbott or Bart Tanski (02, 03, 06, and 07) were not due to superior QB play on the opposite sideline. Neither were the three year offensively dominant stretch with Trubisky/Krizancic at QB. The rest of the rosters aside, I'm not sure that most coaches would have taken the sophomore version of Pickerington Central's Crenshaw over the savvy senior Tatarunas in 2017. But I could listen to it. In 2018, the sophomore Kipp was clearly not at the level of St Eds' Dzurro. Crenshaw was better than Kipp last year, but not by a lot IMO.

I have long accepted that Allar is the better recruit than Kipp. Back in July/August, I said that if I were drafting a high school QB for 2020, Kipp would be ahead of Allar. But at this point, it is hard to make the argument for Kipp being the better player. I'm not used to going into a Mentor game feeling like the other team has superior QB play. That has always been Mentor's biggest advantage over other teams.

Kipp will need a big rushing night on Friday to provide an equalizer to Medina's passing attack. Slow the game down. Getting both him and Coughlin over 100 yards is a great formula to winning the game. If it becomes a match of who can pass the most to win the game - that is a big advantage to Allar. Not because he is (slightly) ahead of Kipp right now. But mostly because Hensley is heads and shoulders better than any receiver on Mentor's roster.
 
Since 2000, it has been incredibly rare that one of Mentor's state contending teams has faced a QB better than what they have. The playoff losses with Thom Abbott or Bart Tanski (02, 03, 06, and 07) were not due to superior QB play on the opposite sideline. Neither were the three year offensively dominant stretch with Trubisky/Krizancic at QB. The rest of the rosters aside, I'm not sure that most coaches would have taken the sophomore version of Pickerington Central's Crenshaw over the savvy senior Tatarunas in 2017. But I could listen to it. In 2018, the sophomore Kipp was clearly not at the level of St Eds' Dzurro. Crenshaw was better than Kipp last year, but not by a lot IMO.

I have long accepted that Allar is the better recruit than Kipp. Back in July/August, I said that if I were drafting a high school QB for 2020, Kipp would be ahead of Allar. But at this point, it is hard to make the argument for Kipp being the better player. I'm not used to going into a Mentor game feeling like the other team has superior QB play. That has always been Mentor's biggest advantage over other teams.

Kipp will need a big rushing night on Friday to provide an equalizer to Medina's passing attack. Slow the game down. Getting both him and Coughlin over 100 yards is a great formula to winning the game. If it becomes a match of who can pass the most to win the game - that is a big advantage to Allar. Not because he is (slightly) ahead of Kipp right now. But mostly because Hensley is heads and shoulders better than any receiver on Mentor's roster.

I agree that Drew Allar is the better player, but that doesn't take anything away from Ian Kipp and personally, I'm not going to sell him short in being able to lead Mentor to three more wins (even though on the surface that seems like more of a longshot than it was a year ago when Mentor was legitimately as good as anybody in D1). But that is more of a testament to how good Drew Allar is ... he has a legit chance of being considered a top 10 QB in the country in the class of 2022 (247 has him at No. 17 at this point) and that's due to both production and measurables. Still, Kipp has accomplished more than Allar has at this point of their careers, so I won't underestimate Kipp in this matchup of great HS QBs.

I'm not sure which team is more talented. I think it's pretty close across the board (though will also agree that Hensley being by far the third best offensive player in this game is a Medina advantage). Medina has put up 30-plus in back to back weeks against Ed's and Ignatius and they were on pace to score 30 plus in the first Mentor game before Allar went out, so I think they'll put up points again. Mentor is also going to put up points. Sounds cliche, but it probably will be the same as the last two weeks for Medina in whatever team can make those two to three extra plays that gets their respective defenses off the field ... whether forcing a turnover, making a couple third down stops or even could be just holding to a couple FGs instead of TDs ... that will be the difference.

I'll add one more thing. The Mentor posters know I've been high on Medina in 2021 and 2022 more than in 2020. I'm actually backtracking on that. While the future is bright and something like 15 starters will be back, this senior class has 5 or 6 players that will be very hard to replace. And it's a senior class that I know has been hearing about what is behind them for the past couple years, so I do think there is a motivation factor for those kids ... and actually should be the same motivation for all of them since nothing is a given playing in a region with Ed's/Iggy/Mentor/etc., so this may actually be the best shot they have (since they are actually in this position). ... Though, I guess, the same can be said for any team still left.

After touting this group of kids' potential for the past couple years, why would I pick them to lose now? I think they can do it again and keep the ride going for at least another week if not more, but just like the first two playoff weeks (and really all year long), it won't be easy.
 
Eds has a ton coming back (and up) and Ignatius should be better next year, so yes, this is Medina's shot IMO.

Even with Vernon back, I think Mentor takes a step back next season.
 
So, confirmed, winner plays region 3 winner
How can that be determined ahead of time ? Liberty is closer to both of these schools and pc would be closer to cincy if those teams won

We played Liberty in a final 4 before but now the ohsaa rebrackets before the matchups are even determined ? This is bogus

Cincy schools must have some power if this is predetermined cuz that's bs.
 
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How can that be determined ahead of time ? Liberty is closer to both of these schools and pc would be closer to cincy if those teams won

We played Liberty in a final 4 before but now the ohsaa rebrackets before the matchups are even determined ? This is bogus

Cincy schools must have some power if this is predetermined cuz that's bs.

No idea but ohsaa put it out apparently per media
 
No idea but ohsaa put it out apparently per media
Yep now I see. Wasnt meant towards you. The ohsaa rarely makes sense. Someone in cincy clearly has some pull to choose their path. We played liberty in a final 4 before so if they win there is zero reason for this

Springfield you can argue but even then it's minutes difference.
 
Yep now I see. Wasnt meant towards you. The ohsaa rarely makes sense. Someone in cincy clearly has some pull to choose their path. We played liberty in a final 4 before so if they win there is zero reason for this

Springfield you can argue but even then it's minutes difference.

Yep I think we played liberty recently too. Makes no sense at all unless they are trying to orchestrate a Pick Central X title game. Hoping winner of this fame wins it all. Just read the release
 
Yep I think we played liberty recently too. Makes no sense at all unless they are trying to orchestrate a Pick Central X title game. Hoping winner of this fame wins it all. Just read the release

I'm like 99.99 percent sure the decision to lock them in this early is to potentially create a Pickerington Central/St. Xavier final, but at the same time, there actually is some rationale behind it.

1. Medina/Mentor was guaranteed to play a Columbus school anyway ... whether it is Pickerington Central/Westerville Central or Olentangy Liberty.

2. If Springfield beats Olentangy Liberty, it was always going to play the R4 winner.

3. Even if Olentangy Liberty wins, does it really make a huge difference where the Columbus schools are exactly located? In that case, it was going to be NEO/Central Ohio vs. SWO/Central Ohio. Yeah, Pickerington to Cincinnati may be a bit closer; and Liberty to NEO also may be a bit closer. But we are talking 25 to 30 miles, so not some outrageous amount. Still, this is the case where it probably shouldn't have been locked in.

4. But, if Westerville Central beats Pickerington Central, this is especially moot. If Springfield beats Liberty, they still play R4. Even if Liberty beats Springfield (and if Westerville Central also wins), those two schools are only about 10 or so miles apart. Does it really matter at that point??

So, in three of the four scenarios, it makes sense. ... and even the other one, it's not going to create some huge additional type commute to what was already would have been the case.
 
Yep I think we played liberty recently too. Makes no sense at all unless they are trying to orchestrate a Pick Central X title game. Hoping winner of this fame wins it all. Just read the release

The refs help orchestrate a Pick Central appearance last year with awful calls that directly influenced the outcome of the game.
It would be nice for R1 to play R2 like it's supposed to work. Seems some finagling is in play the last 2 seasons between the regional matchup rejiggering, and the bogus calls I saw that gave PC a true 12th and 13th man.

Think about this...if Medina wins the whole thing, they'll likely have to beat St. Ed's, St. Ignatius, Mentor, Pick Central, and St. X in consecutive weeks.

If Mentor loses to Medina, I'm rooting like hell for it to happen, but it would be hard for any team in the nation to do that except maybe those rigged teams (IMG, Mater Dei, etc.). That would truly be a Cinderella story. Someone in Medina should start drafting a book like that charlatan St. X head coach. Call it "4th and Blow ME dina".
 
I'm like 99.99 percent sure the decision to lock them in this early is to potentially create a Pickerington Central/St. Xavier final, but at the same time, there actually is some rationale behind it.

1. Medina/Mentor was guaranteed to play a Columbus school anyway ... whether it is Pickerington Central/Westerville Central or Olentangy Liberty.

2. If Springfield beats Olentangy Liberty, it was always going to play the R4 winner.

3. Even if Olentangy Liberty wins, does it really make a huge difference where the Columbus schools are exactly located? In that case, it was going to be NEO/Central Ohio vs. SWO/Central Ohio. Yeah, Pickerington to Cincinnati may be a bit closer; and Liberty to NEO also may be a bit closer. But we are talking 25 to 30 miles, so not some outrageous amount. Still, this is the case where it probably shouldn't have been locked in.

4. But, if Westerville Central beats Pickerington Central, this is especially moot. If Springfield beats Liberty, they still play R4. Even if Liberty beats Springfield (and if Westerville Central also wins), those two schools are only about 10 or so miles apart. Does it really matter at that point??

So, in three of the four scenarios, it makes sense. ... and even the other one, it's not going to create some huge additional type commute to what was already would have been the case.
Going by that rationale on miles, Mentor is only 30 miles longer trip to Springfield vs Pick Central.

It makes no sense because there is a scenario where this isn't needed. You are rebracketing here. The natural format is r1 vs r2. That's how it should be unless it's necessary

This is them trying to fix a pc vs st x final. This is the second year cincy will get to avoid pc. Someone has power there

And yes this makes the region 1 winner having a shot at the title a very very small chance now. In a one game scenario anything can happen. Beating superior teams.back to back? Doubt it
 
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