North vs. South! "The Dream" vs. "The Hype"

The Division I state finals should be a familiar site to Mentor head coach Steve Trivisonno, whose team lost a heart breaker to Hilliard Davidson last season losing to the 2-point conversion. During the regular season Mentor's second loss of the season came via the 2-point conversion at the hands of playoff qualifier Euclid. That had to have seemed like deja vu to Triv, but nonetheless he kept his team focused and they have fought their way to the state finals for the second straight year.

Mentor will take on nationally ranked Cincinnati St. Xavier. They return to the finals after winning the title back in 2005 over Massillon and 4 straight playoff appearances. The Bombers come into this game with a 14-0 record, but narrowly grinding out a win over Dublin Coffman last week 10-7. It's obvious, no matter how well you play during the regular season, the playoff grind can start to wear on a team. That may have been the case with St. Xavier.

The Cardinals will look to Fisher award winner Bart Tanski to lead their talented offensive attack against the Bombers defense Saturday night. He'll have the weapons around him to be effective too. St. Xavier is battling a few key injuries that may hamper their offense, but have yet to be a factor in any games they play. The Bombers will have to live up to their hype against a very strong Mentor squad if they want to emerge victorious. It will definitely not be a cake walk for St.X.

In the end, this game may simply come down to good coaching. Both are capable. Both have had great success. Which one will come away with a ring this weekend? The hypsters will say St.X by virtue of being nationally ranked, but that means absolutely nothing to do with who wins anything in the playoffs. This year may be different. The North may have regained the edge in this one. We'll see. Good luck to both teams.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm from Canton's Fawcett Stadium this Saturday, December 1st. Yes it's December already! The season has flown by, but not before giving us some great highlights and great memories for area teams.