Perrysburg left no room for drama. The No. 3-seeded Yellow Jackets dismantled No. 6-seeded Westland 42-6 on Friday, Nov. 6, in a Division I, Region 2 regional quarterfinal at Perrysburg, according to BCSN and the statewide scoreboards published by The Columbus Dispatch and the Mansfield News Journal.
The Yellow Jackets entered the night at 9-1 and played like a team expecting a long November. Perrysburg built its lead early and kept Westland’s offense bottled up throughout, holding the Cougars to a single score in a 36-point rout that BCSN described as a dismantling.
Westland, from Galloway in Franklin County, arrived at 8-3 after a strong season, but the long trip northwest ended its year at 8-4. The Cougars never found the answers that carried them through the regular season and into the region’s final eight.
Perrysburg improves to 10-1 with the win, and the Yellow Jackets’ path now runs through the top of the Region 2 bracket. On the other side of the region Friday, Hilliard Darby stunned top-seeded Whitmer 24-21 in Toledo, while Springfield shut out Kettering Fairmont 38-0 and Wayne edged Beavercreek 35-34, according to the Dispatch and Mansfield News Journal scoreboards.
That sets up a regional semifinal between Perrysburg and Springfield on Friday, Nov. 13. Springfield’s shutout of Fairmont marked the Wildcats as one of the region’s most complete teams, and the Yellow Jackets will need the same defensive edge they showed against Westland.
For Perrysburg, Friday’s rout was the statement the bracket’s middle seeds rarely get to make: no letdown, no late scare, and a defense that gave up almost nothing against a playoff opponent. The Yellow Jackets have now won their quarterfinal by five scores and carry that momentum into the season’s third weekend.
The Division I, Region 2 final is set for Friday, Nov. 20, with the state semifinals on Nov. 27. The Division I state championship game will be played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton during the Dec. 3-5 finals weekend.
Photo: MrJacon000, CC BY-SA