PREP POLLS ROUNDUP: St. Paul football 9th, Monroeville volleyball 6th this week

COLUMBUS — The St. Paul football team held at No. 9 for a third straight week in the Division VII Associated Press state high school football poll, released on Monday. Also holding at No. 8 in the division was Warren John F. Kennedy. The Flyers (6-1) visit the Eagles (5-2) at 7 p.m. Friday in the No. 8 at No. 1 matchup on the Region 25 playoff bracket. St. Paul and JFK have previously met twice in the state playoffs, which each team winning once. The Flyers defeated the Eagles, 26-7, in a second-round matchup in 2007 at Ken Dukes Stadium in Medina. The Eagles then won, 48-13, in a regional championship game in 2016 at Pat Catan Stadium in Strongsville. The winner of this week's matchup will advance to the regional semifinals next Friday. St. Paul is coming off a 48-14 win over Salineville Southern this past Saturday in playoff action at Contractors Stadium at the Warren C. Whitney Complex. Also from the area, Bellevue (7-0) from the SBC Lake Division is fifth in the latest Div. IV state poll. Former Northern Ohio League and SBC member Shelby (7-0) is No. 9 in Div. IV, while SBC River Division champion Hopewell-Loudon (6-0) is No. 11 in Div. VII. Current No. 1-ranked teams include Pickerington Central (Div. I), Akron Hoban (Div. II), Chardon (Div. III), Clarksville Clinton-Massie (Div. IV), Kirtland (Div. V), Goldwater (Div. VI) and Maria Stein Marion Local (Div. VII). VOLLEYBALL Monroeville, St. Paul still ranked In the sixth weekly Ohio Volleyball Coaches Association state poll, Firelands Conference rivals Monroeville and St. Paul continued to stay among the top 20 teams for a sixth straight week in Division IV. The unbeaten Eagles (21-0) are up one spot to No. 6 this week. They host New Riegel (17-4) Tuesday to close out the regular season and will host the New London-Plymouth winner Thursday in a sectional title match. The Lady Flyers (17-5) fell one spot to No. 17 this week. St. Paul awaits the Crestline-Mansfield Christian winner at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a sectional championship at Buckeye Central High School. Meanwhile, Buckeye Central (17-4) is No. 16 in this week's poll. The Bucks — who lost in five games at Monroeville on Sept. 12 — are the No. 2 seed in the district behind the Eagles and just ahead of the No. 3 Flyers. Should the teams win this week, St. Paul and Buckeye Central would meet Oct. 27 in a district semifinal — potentially at top-seeded Monroeville, which could potentially host the winner in the district title match on Oct. 29. Also from the area, SBC Lake champion Perkins (19-2) is No. 15 in Div. II, while SBC Bay champion Huron (18-2) is No. 2 in Div. III. The Tigers are coached by 1986 Norwalk graduate Don Wood. SBC River champion Tiffin Calvert (22-0) — the state champions in 2018 and regional finalists last season — is ranked second in Div. IV behind New Bremen. The Cardinals lost to the Senecas in the state title match in 2018, then beat the Senecas in the regional final last season before topping Monroeville in the state semifinals en route to their second title in three seasons. CROSS COUNTRY NL, St. Paul boys ranked COLUMBUS — Two area FC teams are ranked in the seventh weekly cross country coaches state poll. In Div. III, New London is 24th this week, while St. Paul is 27th. The Flyers and Wildcats finished 1-2 at the FC championships on Oct. 10. Both teams will compete at the Div. III district championship races in Galion this Saturday.