ST. MARYS – The OHSAA announced their final computer rankings on Sunday afternoon and revealed that the St. Marys Roughriders will begin their 2021 postseason run by hosting Franklin on Friday October 29th at 7:00 P.M. at Grand Lake Health Field.
Coming off of a 35-0 Week Ten win over Grand Lake rival Celina the Roughriders have won six straight games since a 2-2 start and have posted back to back shutouts against Bath and Celina to finish the regular season with an 8-2 mark.
Franklin enters the playoffs on a four game losing streak and a 4-6 record after falling 21-7 at Brookville on Friday evening.
Last season saw the two squads match up in the regional round of 16 with the Roughriders coming out victorious in overtime of a defensive battle 6-0.
The game will mark the fourth time the two teams have matched up in the playoffs with St. Marys having emerged victorious in each instance.
1989 saw the opening contest in the series with Franklin who entered ranked third in the state falling to St. Marys 21-7 for the first ever playoff victory in blue and gold history.
Wayne High School in Huber Heights hosted a 2016 meeting between the Wildcats and Riders that saw St. Marys topple the fourth ranked squad from Franklin 55-31 by scoring on every offensive possession and utilizing a big night from Eric Spicer and Julius Fisher in the victory that saw the duo combine for 300 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns.
2019 saw the only other opening round tilt between the two as St. Marys grinded out a 14-10 victory over the Wildcats at Franklin.
St. Marys is outscoring opponents 288-83 this season while Franklin has been outscored by opponents 189-159 including 92-36 during their current four game losing streak.
Division 3 Region 12’s other matchups will feature top seeded Hamilton Badin hosting Vandalia Butler, Wapakoneta hosting Dayton Dunbar, and fellow WBL member Shawnee traveling to Cincinnati to battle Hughes.
All of the region’s computer point totals can be viewed here: https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/Football/2021/2021HarbinReportWeek10.pdf