A certain kind of toughness is needed for a deep playoff run.
Throw the records out the window. How each team qualified isn’t always a deciding factor, but it’s often an indicator of the adversity they’ve encountered along the way.
There’s a lot to be gained, long term, for playing a daring nonleague schedule and/or being in a regularly dominant conference.
These five playoff schools endured some of the hardest slates in 2022, showing flashes of competitive potential along the way, and hope to be sleepers as they hit the road for Week 11.
ST. JOHN’S JESUIT (5-5)
■ Opponents’ win percentage: .620
■ Where it ranks: 2nd Region 6, 9th Division II
■ Playoff qualifiers faced: 8
■ Battle breakdown: A brutal start to the year meant the Titans flew under the radar with the wins not piling up yet at a 1-5 start. St. John’s, which has an average margin of defeat of 8.2 points, lost to Dublin Coffman (6-3), Anthony Wayne (8-1), and Perrysburg (8-1) by a score apiece. Last year nearly was the same case, as the 4-5 Titans (2-4 start) scored an upset road victory in the first playoff round by 21 points over Avon Lake. St. John’s enters the playoffs on a four-game win streak.
FINDLAY (5-5)
■ Opponents’ win percentage: .580
■ Where it ranks: 3rd Region 2, 19th Division I
■ Playoff qualifiers faced: 7
■ Battle breakdown: Already playing in the ever-tough Three Rivers Athletic Conference, Findlay also scheduled, and lost to, arguably the two toughest nonconference northwest Ohio opponents possible in Anthony Wayne (9-6) and Perrysburg (49-21) — both nine-win teams. The Trojans have two wins against teams with a non-losing records, beating their rival Fremont Ross (6-4) and Clay (5-5).
LIBERTY-BENTON (7-3)
■ Opponents’ win percentage: .600
■ Where it ranks: 1st Region 18, 4th Division V
■ Playoff qualifiers faced: 6
■ Battle breakdown: Liberty-Benton faced three teams with nine wins — Arlington, Mogadore, and McComb — with two of those three loses coming by less than a touchdown. The Eagles also beat 8-2 Columbus Grove and 7-3 Pandora Gilboa. Their experience in tough games, combined with an offense that hit 70 twice this year, could make them a tough out.
GENOA (6-4)
■ Opponents’ win percentage: .580
■ Where it ranks: 3rd Region 18, 9th Division V
■ Playoff qualifiers faced: 5
■ Battle breakdown: The Comets did what they had to in sweeping three league foes with two wins or fewer, while holding their own in nearly every game against a winning opponent. Genoa picked up wins over Oak Harbor (9-1) and Otsego (6-4), and lost by 10 points or fewer to 7-2 Huron (55-49), 9-0 Eastwood (34-26), and 8-1 Elmwood (23-13).
NAPOLEON (4-6)
■ Opponents’ win percentage: .570
■ Where it ranks: 5th Region 14, 20th Division IV
■ Playoff qualifiers faced: 6
■ Battle breakdown: Always the littlest fish in the NLL, Napoleon played eight games against schools larger than Division IV, going 4-4. Napoleon’s nonconference schedule featured 6-4 Defiance, 10-0 Liberty Center, and 6-4 Wauseon. Then came league play against a Division I school, three Division III schools, and four Division II teams, including a 10-7 loss to Southview.
First Published October 24, 2022, 4:34 p.m.
