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What's At Stake: Friday's Top Games

By Zach Fleer, 02/15/19, 12:30PM EST

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A look at Friday's top games and what's on the line

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For most schools in Central Ohio, Friday marks the end of the regular season. While some league titles have already been won, there’s still much at stake in the area tonight. Let’s take a look at the top games and what’s on the line.


Canal Winchester (18-3) at Newark (15-6) - The OCC-Capital title is on the line. For the first time since joining the Capital division in 2016, Newark is on the ropes for an OCC championship. Canal Winchester took the first matchup and with both teams entering at 8-2 in league play, this is a win or go home situation. While Canal slipped up by losing to New Albany last week, Newark did too, dropping a road game at Groveport, which eliminated any chance of a tie in the division. Expect this to be the toughest environment that Canal has played in all season, as Newark will have the whole town in the gym to cheer on the Wildcats. Follow Zach Fleer for live updates and postgame coverage from Jim Allen Gymnasium.

Jonathan Alder (16-4) at London (18-2) - The Central Buckeye Conference title is up for grabs on Friday as Jonathan Alder takes the short trip down State Route 42 to take on London. The Pioneers handled London in the first matchup, however, the Red Raiders come in with a ton of confidence after knocking off West Jefferson on the road on Tuesday. A young team with plenty of promise, London will need a good night from its backcourt to win a CBC title. With both teams tied in league play at 8-1, the winner will take home the CBC title. Follow Jake Spegal for live updates and postgame coverage.

Upper Arlington (14-5) at Dublin Coffman (19-0) - While Coffman has already wrapped up an OCC-Central title, its hated rivals Upper Arlington will have a chance to spoil a perfect regular season. Dropping the first game to the Rocks (without Max Martz), Upper Arlington comes in with renewed energy behind its senior Penn signee. Coffman has a chance to improve to 20-0 and 10-0 in league play. For Upper Arlington, this game is a big one for pride, as the Golden Bears’ senior class has lost back-to-back meetings to the Rocks dating back to the district finals a year ago. Follow Connor Harr for live updates and postgame coverage.

Gahanna (14-7) at Pickerington Central (20-1) - As the area’s most decorated program over the last 10 years, it’s hard to believe that this year’s Pickerington Central team has won more regular season games than any before them. With its only blemish coming at home against Pickerington North in January, Central has a chance to lock down a tie of the OCC-Ohio with a win over Gahanna on Senior Night. For North (17-4), the Panthers must also take care of business at home against Grove City (9-12) to force a tie for the league crown.

DeSales (13-8) at St. Charles (12-7) - DeSales invades The Cock Pit with a ton on the line. Tied atop the Central Catholic League with Bishop Watterson, DeSales must win tonight at St. Charles in order to at least tie for a CCL title. Every single CCL game has been decided by single digits this season, which makes this matchup a very peculiar one with a young St. Charles team taking every division opponent to the brink. The Cardinals have an outside shot of tying for a league title if they take down DeSales and Bishop Ready beats Watterson. At this point, nothing is surprising in the CCL so don’t be surprised if that exact scenario happens.

Bishop Ready (10-11) at Bishop Watterson (11-7) - For the second-straight year, Bishop Watterson has a chance to force a tie for a CCL title on the last night of the season. The Eagles will host Bishop Ready in a game that could cause havoc either way in the division. A win for Watterson secures at minimum, a tie for the division crown. However, if St. Charles happens to upset DeSales, Watterson will be the outright league champion with a win. Follow Darkell Curry for live updates and postgame coverage.

Whitehall (9-10) at Columbus Academy (16-4) - In a Mid-State League Ohio division that was sure to be an absolute dogfight, Columbus Academy has pulled away in the late stages of the season, going 5-0 against all teams not named Worthington Christian. At 5-2 in league play, Academy can secure an outright MSL title with a win over Whitehall, who sits a game and a half back of the Vikings at 3-3 in league play. This is a true must win for Academy for a few reasons. The Vikings sit a game ahead of Worthington Christian who swept them in both meetings. A loss tonight would create plenty of chaos, as Worthington Christian (with a win over Bexley, who beat them the first time around) would then hold the “tiebreaker” over Academy despite having the same league record. As the old saying goes...win and you’re in.

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