Honestly, if you weren't in Canton this past December, you missed one of the weirdest and most dominant stretches of football we’ve seen in years. Everyone looks at the ohio high school playoff scores and thinks they see the whole story. They see a blowout in Division IV or a powerhouse like Kirtland doing what they always do. But if you actually dig into how these games went down at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, there's a lot more "kinda crazy" than the scoreboard suggests.
Northeast Ohio basically staged a hostile takeover of the state trophies. It wasn't just a win; it was a statement. We’re talking about schools like Avon and Glenville proving that their systems are essentially factories for titles at this point.
The State Championship Scoreboard: Who Actually Walked Away with Hardware
Let's look at the raw numbers first because that's what everyone searches for. The 2025 OHSAA state finals were held from December 4th through the 6th. If you were looking for tight, nail-biter finishes, you mostly didn't find them in the final scores.
- Division I: Olentangy Orange 28, Cincinnati St. Xavier 14
- Division II: Avon 37, Cincinnati Anderson 20
- Division III: Columbus Bishop Watterson 30, Toledo Central Catholic 0
- Division IV: Cleveland Glenville 45, Shelby 7
- Division V: Liberty Center 35, Wheelersburg 3
- Division VI: Kirtland 41, Bascom Hopewell-Loudon 6
- Division VII: St. Henry 37, Jeromesville Hillsdale 3
Why Olentangy Orange is the Story of the Year
You’ve gotta realize how massive that Division I result was. Olentangy Orange had never even been to a state title game before. Not once. Then they show up and take down a blue-blood like St. Xavier. St. X has four titles in the trophy case. Orange had zero.
👉 See also: Why the Marlins Won World Series Titles Twice and Then Disappeared
Levi Davis was basically a human highlight reel in that game. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for nearly 100 yards. The Pioneers finished 15-0, a perfect season that basically nobody outside of Lewis Center saw coming back in August. It’s one of those runs where every single week people kept waiting for the "inexperience" to kick in, and it just never happened.
Behind the Ohio High School Playoff Scores: Blowouts and Rematches
A lot of people complain that the state finals aren't "competitive" enough. Look at those margins. Most were decided by three touchdowns or more. But that’s sort of a misunderstanding of how high school football works at this level. By the time you get to the Week 15, the gap between a "great" team and an "elite" team is a canyon.
Avon vs. Anderson: The Rivalry That Isn't
This was a rematch of the 2024 final. Last year, Avon won a tight one, 20-13. This year? Not so much. Blake Elder tied a Division II record with four touchdown passes. When you have a quarterback playing at that level, the ohio high school playoff scores are going to look lopsided. Anderson is a fantastic program, but Avon is currently in that rare "dynasty" air. They've won 30 of their last 31 games. Think about that.
✨ Don't miss: Why Funny Fantasy Football Names Actually Win Leagues
Glenville’s Speed Trap
If you watched Glenville dismantle Shelby 45-7, you saw something special. Jaquan Gibson took a punt back 92 yards. That is the longest punt return in the history of the OHSAA state championships across any division. It’s hard to coach against that kind of raw speed. Shelby had a great year, but Glenville has now won three of the last four titles. Ted Ginn Sr. has built something in Cleveland that just feels different from the rest of the state.
What People Get Wrong About the Lower Divisions
There's this weird misconception that Division VI and VII are just "small-town ball" that doesn't matter as much. Tell that to Tiger LaVerde.
The Kirtland coach just won his eighth state title. He is now the third coach in Ohio history to ever hit that mark. Kirtland beat Hopewell-Loudon 41-6, and it was barely that close. John Silvestro ran for 255 yards. In a state final! That’s basically four yards a carry before he even breaks a sweat.
🔗 Read more: Heisman Trophy Nominees 2024: The Year the System Almost Broke
The Shutout Factor
One thing that really stands out in the ohio high school playoff scores from 2025 is the defensive dominance in the middle divisions. Bishop Watterson putting up a 30-0 doughnut against Toledo Central Catholic was a shocker. Central Catholic is a juggernaut. To get shut out in a state final is almost unheard of for a program of that caliber. It just goes to show that on any given Saturday (or Friday), a defensive scheme can completely erase a season's worth of offensive momentum.
Actionable Takeaways for the Next Season
If you're a fan, a parent, or a player looking at these results and wondering how to prep for 2026, here is the reality of the current landscape:
- Northeast Ohio is the benchmark. If you want to win a title, you eventually have to go through the Cleveland or Akron suburbs. The coaching and the depth there are currently at an all-time high.
- The "First Timer" Curse is Broken. Olentangy Orange proved you don't need "championship DNA" to win it all. You just need a dual-threat QB and a defense that doesn't blink.
- Special Teams Matter. When games are tight in the early rounds (like the regional finals where St. Xavier beat Elder 42-34), special teams often provide the 3-point margin. By the finals, the elite teams use special teams to turn 7-point leads into 21-point leads.
- Keep an eye on the OHSAA site. They’ve started cracking down on recruiting violations—Ironton was a big story this year getting pulled from the playoffs early. Expect more scrutiny on transfer rules in 2026.
The 2025 season showed that while the names on the jerseys change, the path to Canton remains the same: survive the regional "meat grinder" in November, and hope you have enough healthy bodies left by the time the snow starts falling in December.
Check the final brackets on the official OHSAA portal to see the full path these teams took. Watching the progression from the first round to the 45-7 blowouts in the finals shows exactly where the "break" happens for most teams.