LAKEWOOD, Ohio — St. Edward is one win from a sixth straight trip to the state semifinals. The Eagles beat Hudson 38-14 on Friday night, November 13, at Lakewood Stadium in an OHSAA Division I, Region 1 semifinal, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
The game was the first meeting between the schools since a Division I state semifinal in 2014, according to the Beacon Journal. Hudson, coached by Jeff Gough in his 11th year in charge of the Explorers, saw its season end on a cold, overcast November night in Lakewood.
St. Edward has advanced to the state semifinals in each of the last five years, the Beacon Journal noted, and Friday’s win moves the Eagles to 11-1 with only a September loss to Massillon on their record.
The other Region 1 semifinal went down to the wire: Mentor edged Canton McKinley 16-13 to set up the regional final pairing. St. Edward and Mentor meet on Friday, November 20, with a state semifinal berth on the line; the OHSAA will announce regional-final sites on Sunday, November 15.
For Hudson, the loss ends a season that carried the Explorers to the regional semifinals for a matchup few programs in Ohio would volunteer for — a road game against a St. Edward team that has made late November its routine.
Elsewhere in Division I, the Columbus-area semifinals both went to the visitors: Olentangy Liberty won at Gahanna Lincoln 14-10 and Pickerington North won at Upper Arlington 14-10, according to the statewide scoreboard — results that will shape the state semifinal pairings opposite the Region 1 winner. The Division I state final is set for the December 3-5 championship weekend in Canton.
For St. Edward, the formula has become familiar: survive November in Northeast Ohio, then head south. The Eagles’ five straight state semifinal trips have made them the standard every Region 1 program measures itself against, and Hudson became the latest team to learn how high that standard sits.
What happens next: St. Edward (11-1) faces Mentor (10-2) in the Division I, Region 1 final on Friday, November 20. The winner advances to the state semifinals on November 27.