Three Ohio State commits advance, four are eliminated in playoff action

This weekend’s high school football playoff action saw seven Ohio State commits take the field. It was a difficult week as more than half of the remaining commits lost their last high school game. Four players lost their games and three came out on top.

Among those losing was Doug Nester, who had his final chance at a state title on Saturday. Unfortunately for Nester, Spring Valley wasn’t able to figure out how to beat Martinsburg in the state title game three years in a row. This year’s final score ended up being 31-7. It was a tough final game for Spring Valley, as they didn’t have much going all game. For Nester, the plan is to enroll early at Ohio State after a strong high school career.

In another tough game, Marcus Crowley and Trinity Christian lost their first game of the season this weekend in the state semifinals. They lost 29-25 to North Marion. Crowley’s multiple touchdown effort wasn’t enough to give Trinity Christian the win.

Trinity Christian finished up the year with a record of 13-1.

Moving on to the state final

Two Buckeye commits are on their way to state title games after winning this past weekend. Steele Chambers, of Blessed Trinity High School, and Jordan Battle, of St. Thomas Aquinas, will play for a state championship next weekend.

Chambers had a monster game on the ground. He racked up 244 rushing yards on 36 carries, and found his way into the endzone three times. Blessed Trinity beat Troup County by a score of 51-36, in large part due to the effort by Chambers.

Blessed Trinity is undefeated on the year at 14-0 and will play Cartersville in the state championship. Cartersville is also undefeated at 14-0 this season.

Jordan Battle and St. Thomas Aquinas won their semifinal game by a score of 38-18, eliminating Venice High School. The next game for St. Thomas Aquinas, a national powerhouse, will come against Lakeland.

Lakeland is 14-0 this season and St. Thomas Aquinas is 13-1. The two schools will meet on Friday with everything on the line.

Coming up short of a championship

Like fellow commit Doug Nester, Jameson Williams and Cormontae Hamilton both lost in their state finals games this weekend.

Williams and Cardinal Ritter College Prep were outmatched against Trinity Catholic. The finals score of the game was 45-19. This game was Cardinal Ritter’s first loss of the year, meaning they’ll finish the season with a 13-1 record.

Jameson Williams had a solid showing, returning a kick for a touchdown and a nice hurdle after he caught a pass. Unfortunately the hurdle was a penalty, but it showed Williams athleticism and gave Buckeye fans a reason to be excited.

Here’s a video of Williams channeling his inner Ezekiel Elliott:

Cormontae Hamilton’s Whitehaven Tigers struggled to put anything together in their state title game. They were shut out and lost the game by a score of 37-0. Whitehaven’s season ends with a record of 11-4 after losing to Oakland High School for the state championship.

Wilson propels Lake Travis to victory

Last but not least, the top rated recruit for Ohio State was also in action this weekend. Garrett Wilson and Lake Travis advanced to the regional title game after defeating Weslaco 56-14. Weslaco ends their season with an 11-2 record, while Lake Travis improved to 12-1.

Garrett Wilson’s three touchdown performance excelled Lake Travis to victory. Catches like these are part of what makes his team so dangerous:

Lake Travis will take on Judson High School next Sunday. Judson is undefeated this year at 12-0. The winner of this game will advance to the state semifinals.