Midview Football to visit Rocky River for OHSAA Division III Regional Opener
Who: No. 12 Midview High School (5-5, 2-5 Southwestern Conference) and Rocky River High School (8-2, 6-1 Cleveland West Conference)
What: Week 11 OHSAA Division III Round of 16 Varsity Football Playoff Game
Where: Rocky River High School Stadium (20951 Detroit Road Rocky River , OH 44116)
When: Kickoff is Friday (October 31) at 7 p.m.
What is at Stake: The winner of the No. 12 Midview and No. 5 Rocky River match-up will visit No. 4 Revere High School on November 7 at 7 p.m.
Regional Bracket: The OHSAA Division III Region 10 Bracket is available here: https://officials.myohsaa.org/Admin/Bracket/PublicBracket?TournamentId=4879
Tickets: Adult Tickets are $12 and Students (K-12) are $5. Everyone Kindergarten age and older must have a ticket in order to enter. Presale Tickets are available here: https://www.ohsaa.org/tickets [Football --> Division III --> Region 10]. Tickets will also be available at the gate via CASH ONLY.
No Passes: Due to it being an OHSAA event, no SWC Passes or School IDs will be accepted as admission. Everyone needs a ticket to enter the facility.
Specator Note: All kids in attendance will be expected to sit in the stands with their parents or in the assigned student sections. Spectators are prohibited from bringing sporting equipment (footballs, basketballs, etc.) inside Varsity Football Games. They will be turned away at the gate. Alcohol and Smoking are also prohibited on the campus of Rocky River High School.
Haltime Entertainment: The Midview High School Marching Blue will perform first followed by the Rocky River High School Marching Band.
OHSAA Playoff Tidbits: This season, the top 12 schools in each region qualified for the postseason, giving playoff berths to 336 schools. The regional playoffs will follow a bracket format. Second-round games will be played on Friday, November 7, at the better seeded team's venue. The same format will take place in the third round on Friday, November 14, while neutral sites will be used for the regional finals on Friday, November 21. The state semifinals will be on Friday, November 28, with the state championship games then hosted at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton December 4-6. The final complete football report showing all teams in every region is posted at: https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/Football/2025/20251025Harbin-FINAL.pdf
Last Meeting: The Middies opened the 2022 season with a 21-0 victory over visiting Rocky River High school. Quarterback Marc Reed had 22 carries for 78 rushing yards and 2 TDs, while completing 10-of-15 passes for 141 yards. Mason Kucera also added on a 5-yard touchdown in the victory.
A Memorable Match-up from History: On September 19, 2014, Midview defeated Rocky River 83-50 in a Westshore Conference game at Ross Field. Current Ottawa Redblacks quarterback Dustin Crum completed 24-of-30 passes and threw for 267 yards and 5 TDs while also running 20 times for 200 yards and 2 more scores. Brett Zupancic added 150 yards rushing, while Logan Bolin had 10 receptions for 119 yards and 4 TDs. Pirate quarterback Matt Lowry threw for 245 yards and 3 TDs while also running for 163 yards and 3 more scores.
Midview in 2025: Midview finished the regular season 5-5 for the second straight season. The Middies opened the year with three-straight non-league wins—48-14 over Westlake, 27-20 versus North Olmsted and 41-20 against Elyria Catholic. Midview then lost to Avon Lake (39-7), Berea-Midpark (42-27), North Ridgeville (28-24) and Avon (52-0) before defeating Elyria (41-27), losing to Olmsted Falls (42-7) and topping Amherst (14-0 OT) in week 10.
Rocky River in 2025: Rocky River went 8-2 during the regular season. The Pirates began with wins over Firestone (52-7) and John Marshall (55-6) then fell to Lake (34-24). Rocky River then defeated Valley Forge (42-14), Lakewood (39-13), Normandy (48-0), North Olmsted (35-0) and Westlake (43-13). Following a 35-27 loss to Buckeye, they capped the regular season with a 31-21 win over Bay.
2024 Records: Midview finished 5-6 overall and 2-5 in the Southwestern Conference, while Rocky River went 8-4 overall and 5-2in the CWC.
2024 Playoffs: The Middies lost 31-14 at Padua Franciscan High School in the first round of the OHSAA Division III playoffs. The Pirates opened the OHSAA Division III playoffs with a 34-14 win over Holy Name High School before falling to Lexington High School 49-29 in the second round.
Midview's Last Game: The Middies needed a week 10 win at Amherst Steele High School and came through with a 14-7 overtime victory to secure the postseason berth. Senior Marcus McMahon had 26 carries for 115 yards and a TD, while junior Sawyer McMillin scored the game-winning TD on a one-yard run. Sophomore De'Mere Gray sealed the win with an interception. Senior Brayden Homoki had 20 total stops in the game. [Recap]
Rocky River's Last Game: The Pirates defeated rival Bay High School 31-21 in week 10.
Midview Head Coach: Head Coach Jack Armstrong is 14-18 in his third season leading the Middies. Armstrong, a 2012 graduate of Midview High School, is a Special Education Coordinator at his alma mater and had served as a varsity assistant coach with the Middies for six of the previous seven seasons before taking over. He is the just the eighth coach in program history, which dates back to the consolidation of Belden, Eaton and Grafton high schools in 1955.
Rocky River Head Coach: Head Coach Josh Wells has compiled a 79-41 record over his 11 seasons with the Pirates. Prior to Rocky River, Wells was the head coach at Brush High School for three years.
Midview Stat Leaders: Senior Marcus McMahon has 219 carries for 1,210 yards and 21 TDs. He has also caught 13 passes for 121 yards and 1 TD. Senior Shay Williams has completed 98-of-182 passes (53.8%) and thrown for 1,318 yards and 6 TDs and 6 inteceptions while also rushing 54 times for 230 yards and 2 TDs. Senior Zachary Wallace has a team-best 40 catches for 669 yards and 3 TDs, while junior Brennen Newton has 27 grabs for 340 yards and 3 TDs. Defensively, senior Brayden Homoki has 166 tackles, senior Braden Armold has 89 tackles and junior Sawyer McMillin has 69 stops through 10 games. Senior Kaiden Vonya is 21-of-23 and senior Christopher Payne is 8-of-9 in extra-point attempts this season. [Complete Stats]
Rocky River Stat Leaders: Through 9 weeks (week 10 not yet updated on Maxpreps), senior dual-threat quarterback Ryan Taylor has completed 95-of-138 passes for 1,701 yards, 17 TDs and 3 INTs, while also leading their rushing attack with 65 carries for 425 yards and 9 TDs. Junior Tristin Hughes leads the receivers with 39 catches for 798 yards and 13 TDs. Defensively, senior Michael Worgull is the top tackler with 62 total stops through nine weeks.
Running up the Record Books: Senior Marcus McMahon (1,210 yards) is now 62 yards shy of tying Brett Boron (1999) for fifth place on Midview's single-season rushing list. With his TD in week 10, McMahon also tied Gary Larkins (1983) for second on the program's single-season scoring list with 138 points. [Midview Records]
Midview Returning Lettermen: Midview returns 19 letterwinners from a year ago, including a trio of two-year lettermen in Brayden Homoki, Leo Swirynsky and Zachary Wallace.
League Standings: Midview finished in sixth place in the SWC Football Standings. Rocky River finished runner-up in the CWC Football Standings.
SWC Non-Conference Success: The 8 SWC teams combined to go 14-10 over the first three weeks against non-league opponents.
Midview Playoff History: Midview will make its 14th OHSAA playoff appearance in 2025. The Middies, who are 4-13 in OHSAA Tournament play, first qualified in 1998 when they defeated Revere 27-21 and then fell to Mayfield 35-21 in the Regional Final. Midview also qualified in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2012, 2014 (Regional runner-up), 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2023 and 2024.
Rocky River Playoff History: The Pirates will make their 12th overall and sixth straight OHSAA playoff appearance this season. Rocky River is 7-11 all-time in OHSAA Tournament play, having qualified in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2020-25.
Watch Live: A free live stream is expected to be available via Rocky River's Hudl Focus Camera at https://fan.hudl.com/usa/oh/rocky-river/organization/4123/rocky-river-high-school
Media Coverage: We will update if any of our traditional local media outlets pick up audio or video coverage of the game.
Media Credentials: Host sites handle media credentials for all regional playoff games. Media requesting space in the press box are allocated according to the OHSAA Football Press Box Priority Seating Chart: https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/Football/FB-MediaPressBoxMemo.pdf
Midview Photos: Looking for photographic documentation of Midview student-athletes' success on the field? Jeff Barnes is the official photographer of Midview Athletics and his photos can be purchased at https://jeffbarnesphotography.zenfolio.com/
MidviewAthletics.com: Fans can read recaps of all Midview varsity interscholastic contests, including varsity football, and find ticket and live video links at https://www.midviewathletics.com
