Ohio high school football playoffs Division II roundup: Twinsburg, Big Walnut, Hoover among winners in first round (10/27/2023)

The first round of the OHSAA football playoffs kicked off on Friday; here are the results in Division II

The Ohio High School Athletic Association playoffs began Friday night with 448 teams vying for a state championship across seven divisions, with 64 teams in each divisions broken into 16 teams per region.

In Division II, the top four seeds in each region - Archbishop Hoban, Walsh Jesuit, Hudson, Riverside, Avon, Anthony Wayne, Medina Highland, Sylvania Southview, Massillon, Canal Winchester, Green, Lake, Anderson, Troy, Withrow and Northmont all advanced to the next round with home wins and will host again in the second round.

Division II first round scoreboard

First round games of note:

Twinsburg 22, Nordonia 10 

Twinsburg, the No. 12 seed in Region 5, scored 15 straight points on the round to come away with a victory.

Trailing 10-7 in the fourth quarter, quarterback Joey Pollock hit Cam Wright for a 12-yard touchdown to take a 14-10 lead midway through the quarter. On the ensuing possession, Nordonia snapped the ball over the punter's head and through the end zone for a safety.

Aiden Stczynski then scored on a 29-yard run to ice the game for the Tigers.

Big Walnut 43, Northland 14

Big Walnut, seeded No. 12 in Region 7, took an early 16-0 lead and never looked back.

Running back Nate Severs carried the ball 25 times for 187 yards four touchdowns for the Golden Eagles, who advance to play No. 4 Uniontown Lake.

North Canton Hoover 23, St. Francis DeSales 21 

As time expired in the game, Paul Koskovich kicked a 22-yard field goal to give Hoover, the No. 11 seed in Region 7, the win.

After leading 20-7, Hoover allowed 14 straight points and found themselves trailing 21-20 early in the third quarter.

The two teams then went scoreless until the final play of the game.

Division II playoff brackets:

Division II, Region 5

Division II, Region 6

Division II, Region 7

Division II, Region 8

>>Division II playoff brackets, predictions, upset alerts<<

>>Statewide playoff brackets<<

-- Ryan Isley | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveoh

(Feature photo: Massillon's Dorian Pringle runs the ball against Valdosta on Friday, August 18, 2023. Photo credit: Jeff Harwell)