Marysville’s Griffin Johnson (22) follows Colton Powers (32) on a run upfield against Toledo Whitmer. MHS and Springfield, two teams with state playoff history, will battle for the Division I-Region 2 championship. The game will be played at 7 p.m. today at Hilliard Darby High School. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
A pair of football programs with extensive post-season history will tangle this evening at Hilliard Darby High School.
The kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. as the Marysville Monarchs face the Springfield Wildcats.
The game will be for the Division I-Region 2 regional championship.
The Monarchs (12-0) are the No. 1 seed and will be the home team on tonight’s scoreboard.
Springfield will take an 11-1 mark into the battle as the No. 2 seed.
The winner will advance to the state Final Four next week.
2021 game-by-game scores for Marysville and Springfield are as follows:
Marysville
Aug 21: canceled vs. Cleveland Collinwood
Aug. 27: Marysville-24, Lancaster-0
Sept. 3: Marysville-31, Pickerington North-6
Sept. 10: Marysville 27, Hilliard Bradley-7
Sept. 17: Marysville-34, Westland-6
Sept. 24: Marysville-21, Hilliard Darby-14 (OT)
Oct. 1: Marysville-34, Dublin Jerome-0
Oct. 8: Marysville-49, Thomas Worthington-6
Oct. 15: Marysville 34, Olentangy Berlin-6
Oct. 22: Marysville-34, Olentangy-13
Oct. 29: Marysville-49, Delaware Hayes-7
Nov. 5: Marysville-42, Perrysburg-7
Nov. 12: Marysville-49, Toledo Whitmer-14
Springfield
Aug. 20: Springfield-24, St. Ignatius-20
Sept. 4: Springfield-46, Lima Senior-6
Sept. 10: Springfield-21, Wayne-14
Sept. 17: Springfield-42, Beavercreek-0
Sept. 24: Springfield-17, Kettering Fairmont-0
Oct. 1: Springfield-26, Springboro-0
Oct. 8: Springfield-44, Centerville-7
Oct. 15: Miamisburg-22, Springfield-21
Oct. 22: Springfield-47, Northmont-0
Oct. 29: Springfield-42, Northmont-7
Nov. 5: Springfield-34, Dublin Jerome-0
Nov. 12: Springfield-13, Findlay-0
The other Division I regional championship games to be played this evening are as follows:
-Region 1: 1 Lakewood St. Edward (11-1) vs. 2 Medina (13-0) at Parma Byers Field;
-Region 3: 1 Upper Arlington (13-0) vs. 2 Pickerington Central (12-1) at Westerville Central Warhawk Field;
-Region 4: Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller (10-3) vs. 3 West Chester Lakota West (11-1) at Mason Atrium Stadium.
The state bracket will have the Region 2 winner playing either Moeller or Lakota West in the semifinals.
The winners of Region 1 and 3 will battle in the other semifinal.
The state semifinal contests will be played next Friday (Nov. 26), 7 p.m., on fields yet to be determined.
The Division I state championship game between the two semifinal winners will be played on either Thursday, Dec. 2 or Friday, Dec. 3.
The Thursday game would be played at 7 p.m.
The Friday contest could be played at either 10:30 a.m., 3 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.
The state championship game will be played in Canton at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
The 2021 campaign marks the 30th anniversary of Marysville’s first playoff team and Final Four appearance.
That playoff berth was followed by appearances in 1994, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2013, 2019 and 2020.
The Monarchs have an all-time playoff record of 7-9.
Springfield has made six appearances in the state playoffs and holds an overall record of 8-6.
The Wildcats made their inaugural post-season trip in 2009 and followed during the 2010, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020 campaigns.
The current playoff run marks the third season in which head coach Brent Johnson has taken the program to the post-season.
The Monarchs fell to Springfield, 23-0, during the opening round of the 2019 campaign.
MHS split a pair of playoff games last year.
The Monarchs opened the playoffs (after a coronavirus-shortened regular season) with a 35-14 victory over Dublin Jerome.
They dropped a 48-41 verdict to Northmont during the second round.
Johnson is the fourth Marysville head coach to guide the program into the post-season.
Rich Weiskircher led the Monarchs to playoff berths in 1991, 1994, 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Jeff Gafford was the head coach for the 2008 playoff team and Morgan Cotter guided MHS into the 2013 post-season.