Beachwood was dealt with a little uppercut with their 31-28 loss to visiting Cuyahoga Heights. 

By BRYANT K. KIZER
High School Beat Writer

Week 8 of the high school football season is revealing a lot. It is revealing that some teams got eliminated from playoff contention.

Kizer/Call and Post’s Top 15

1. St. Ignatius (7-0), the Wildcats blanked visiting St. Francis (N.Y.) 51-0. The Wildcats at Cincinnati. St. Xavier, Saturday.

2. St. Edward (7-0), the Eagles beat Cincinnati. St. Xavier 27-16. The Eagles at Cincinnati. Moeller (6-2), Saturday.

3. Willoughby South (8-0) Kareem Hunt rushed for 263 yards and six touchdowns as the Rebels routed visiting Lakeside 63-20. The Rebels host Riverside, Friday.

4. Mentor (7-1), the Cardinals reached the 60 point mark for the first time this season as they beat hosting Medina 63-21. The Cardinals host Strongsville, Friday.

5. Canton McKinley Bulldogs (7-1) beat visiting Massillon Perry 49-14. The Bulldogs at Boardman, Friday.

6. Aurora (7-1) made easy work of visiting Perry in their 41-7 victory. Aurora will host Harvey, Friday.

7. Canton Glen Oak Eagles (7-1) beat hosting Uniontown Lake 35-17. The Eagles, who have won four straight, visits North Canton Hoover, Friday.

8. Warren G. Harding Raiders (7-1) won their seventh game in a row and strengthens their playoff chances by beating visiting Cleveland Heights 34-28. The Raiders will host Bedford, Friday.

9. The Glenville Tarblooders (6-2) blanked John F. Kennedy 42-0. The Tarblooders have shutout all (five) of the Cleveland Senate’s schools.  They have outscored them 270-0. The Tarblooders will take on Lincoln-West (0-8) at Collinwood, Friday afternoon.

10. Cleveland Heights Tigers (6-2) playoff chance is getting slim as they lost to #8 Warren G. Harding 34-28. The Tigers hosts Lorain (2-6), Friday.

11. The Euclid Panthers (5-3) win a 62-40 slugfest over hosting Lorain. The Panthers led 34-7 after the first quarter.  The Panthers at Maple Heights, Friday.

12. Chagrin Falls (7-1) escaped with a 30-16 victory over visiting West Geauga. The Tigers scored 21 consecutive points in the fourth quarter. The Tigers host Orange, Friday.

13. The Shaker Heights Red Raiders (6-2) chance of a playoff berth slipped through their hands in a 22-21 loss to hosting Brush Arcs. The Red Raiders host Garfield Heights, Saturday.

14. The John Hay Hornets (6-2) took another step into the D-III state playoffs with a 22-0 victory over Rhodes. The Hornets take on Collinwood (0-8), who have been outscored 414-56, at Bump Taylor, Saturday at noon.

15. Kirtland Hornets (8-0) beat visiting Berkshire 51-12. The Hornets visit Beachwood (6-2), Saturday.

Last week’s games:

Brush 22, # 13 Shaker Heights 21 – The Shaker Heights Red Raiders missed a golden opportunity to climb in state playoffs bracket as they lost to hosting Brush Arcs 22-21, last Friday night. The Red Raiders (6-2) came into the game ranked ninth in the Division I, Region I state playoff poll, top eight teams qualify. With Cleveland Heights, who occupied the eighth spot, losing to Warren G. Harding, they probably would move up. But a late field goal by Brush foiled that. The Red Raiders’ wide receiver Mel Leach Jr., added two more touchdowns to his stats. The senior had an 18-yard touchdown reception and a 13-yard run. He has eight touchdowns in the season. The Red Raiders (6-2, 2-1 in the Northeast Ohio Conference Lake Division) hosts Garfield Heights (2-6, 1-2) on Saturday. They end the regular season at Normandy (1-7, 0-3) on October 25. Their playoff chances are fading.

#8 Warren G. Harding 34, #10 Cleveland Heights 28 – The Cleveland Heights Tigers are vying for second straight state playoff appearance might be gone as they lost to the hosting Warren G. Harding 34-28, last Friday. The Tigers (6-2) were ranked eighth in the D-I, R-I poll, which is the last spot. The Raiders (7-1) got a game-clinching touchdown run from John Coleman in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. Coleman had three touchdown runs. LeShun Daniels did most of the damage with 227 yards on the ground and one touchdown. The Raiders, who have won six consecutive games, came into the contest ranked seventh. The Tigers hosts Lorain this Friday (2-6, 2-3 Lake Erie League). They will host rival Shaw (4-4, 2-3 LEL) on October 26, to close out the regular season.

Cuyahoga Heights 31, Beachwood 28 – Both teams are in the thick of things in the state playoff chase. But last Saturday afternoon, the Redskins of Cuyahoga Heights edged hosting Beachwood 31-28. With that victory, the Redskins (7-1) add power to hosting the first-round D-V, R-17 state playoffs. They came in ranked fourth. The top four teams will host the first round of the state playoffs. The Redskins will host rival Independence (5-3, 2-3 Chagrin Valley Conference Metro Division) this Friday. The Bison were ranked fifth in the D-IV, R-13. The Bison were anchored by their two talented running backs in Cory Jones and Jordan Lane. Jones had 188 yards on two touchdowns and Lane had 137 yards and two touchdowns also. Beachwood (6-2, 4-1 CVC) will host D-V state champs Kirtland (8-0, 5-0 CVC) this Saturday afternoon. The Hornets have won the last five meetings.

Kizer/Call and Post’s Game of the Week

#16 Kirtland (8-0) at Beachwood (6-2) – Saturday, 1 p.m.

Beachwood was dealt with a little uppercut with their 31-28 loss to visiting Cuyahoga Heights.  Their chances of hosting the first round of the D-IV, R-13 state playoffs are in trouble. However, a victory over visiting and unbeaten Kirtland might help them. Bison (6-2, 4-1 CVC) has to rely on their talented running back in Jordan Lane. The junior running back has 994 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. Lane is 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds. The Hornets have a great running back too. Damon Washington has rushed over 1,050 yards and has scored 22 touchdowns. The senior has 70 attempts and 15.3 yards per carry average. The Hornets have won the last five meetings.

Kizer’s pick – Kirtland