Six Ohio State commits set to play for state championships
COLUMBUS — Ohio State saw its championship hopes all but vanish Saturday in the Big House.
The Buckeyes, for the third year in a row, failed to win The Game and Michigan has punched its ticket to a third consecutive Big Ten Championship game. For the third year in a row, Ohio State has to look into the mirror and figure out how it can get back to Indianapolis, how it can beat Michigan.
If there is any positive spin, any talk about championships, it’s that the future of the program will certainly be involved on championship weekend.
Six, in-state Buckeye commits will head to Canton, Ohio, to play for state championships next weekend.
Lettermen Row looks at how all six got to the final game of the season.
The Armstrong Twins
Four-star Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward offensive linemen Deontae and Devontae Armstrong have reached the Division I state championship game for a third consecutive season. St. Edward has won the last two Division I titles and it’s beaten the same opponent twice and faces them a third time — Springfield.
The Armstrongs play for arguably the best offensive line in the state of Ohio. Along with them, they’re flanked by three-star offensive tackle and Michigan commit Ben Roebuck. St. Edward averages 37 points a game and only has allowed an average of 10.8 per game.
St. Edward only lost one game this season — that team is playing in the Division II state final — but since that loss it’s rattled off 10 straight wins.
The Division I state championship is Friday, Dec. 1 with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
Aaron Scott Jr.
It was a rough start to the season for four-star Springfield (Ohio) cornerback Aaron Scott Jr. He and the Wildcats started off the season 1-3, but won four of their last six.
It was good enough to earn the No. 12 seed in the Division I, Region II bracket. Behind weekly heroics from a variety of players, Springfield has found itself back in the state championship for a third consecutive season.
Scott, the No. 2 cornerback in the country per On3, threw the game-winning touchdown in the state semifinal. Springfield gets a third crack at taking down St. Edward for a state championship.
Eli Lee
2025 three-star Akron (Ohio) Archbishop Hoban linebacker Eli Lee is playing in his second career state championship game.
Lee and the Knights lost 28-21 last year to Toledo Central Catholic, but the rematch isn’t happening this year. Instead, historic Massillon Washington is the opponent — a rematch of the 2022 state semifinal for Hoban.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound linebacker has been paramount for Hoban this fall. He totaled over 100 tackles in the regular season and has only elevated his game throughout the playoffs. Massillon has scored only below 20 points once this season and that was against Division I St. Edward.
The Hoban defense hasn’t allowed an opponent to score more than 16 points all season.
The Division II state championship is Thursday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m.
Bryce West and Damarion Witten
Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville won its first state championship in program history last fall with current Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese on the roster.
The Tarblooders look to repeat with more future Buckeyes on the roster. Four-star cornerback and four-star tight end Bryce West and Damarion Witten are heading back to Canton.
West and Witten have been instrumental for Glenville this fall on both sides of the ball. They played a tough schedule this fall with games against IMG Academy in Florida, Archbishop Hoban and Avon.
Now, the Tarblooders are back in the state final and they play against Kettering (Ohio) Archbishop Alter. The Division IV state championship is on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
