St. Paul seeks fifth road playoff win

NORWALK — A rarity and an oddity. When the St. Paul football team held on for a 21-20 at East Canton in a Division VII first-round playoff game in Region 25 on Oct. 30, two rare things happened for a program steeped in playoff success. The Flyers (6-4) won a true road playoff game for just the fourth time, and three of those four victories represent their last three playoff victories. Between neutral site games and first-round home playoff games, the Flyers have played in just nine true road games out of a possible 74 playoff contests. Their lone road playoff wins came at Mohawk in the first round in 2006, followed by first- and second-round playoff wins at Toronto and Malvern in 2023 before last week's win at East Canton. In 2006, the Flyers were the eighth and final team in the Div. VI Region 22 playoff field. They were 13th among 16 teams in the Region 25 field in 2023 and were the 12th and final seed this season in the region. St. Paul is 4-5 all-time in true road playoff games with defeats at Gibsonburg (2001), Edgerton (2018), Warren JFK (2020, 2025), and Salineville Southern (2022). Meanwhile, the one-point victory by St. Paul is also extremely rare. In 48 playoff victories, the Flyers have just one other game decided by a single point: a 29-28 win over Hopewell-Loudon for a Division VI regional championship at Don Paul Stadium on Nov. 17, 2006 in Fremont. St. Paul has one two-point victory in the playoffs: a 20-18 win over Cleveland Heights Lutheran East in a first-round game at Whitney Field on Nov. 3, 2000. Playoff history Unofficially, the 48 wins by St. Paul are 30th all-time in OHSAA history since the state playoffs began in 1972. This season is the 28th playoff appearance in program history, which is tied for 25th all-time. Further, the Flyers' 48-26 record in playoff games is good for a .648 winning percentage, which would be good for 21st entering this season's tournament. Also notable among the playoff record book, St. Paul's 64 points scored in a 64-20 win over Lisbon David Anderson in the first round in 2022 is tied for the 13th-most points scored in a state playoff game. All-time, the Flyers own eight regional championships, four state runners-up trophies, and one state championship. First-ever meeting The No. 12-seed Flyers (6-4) visit No. 4 New Middletown Springfield (7-3) at 7 p.m. Friday in a Region 25 quarterfinal matchup. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools in the regular season or playoffs. Springfield earned the fourth and final first-round bye position after knocking off McDonald (9-1), the top seed in the region, 21-14, in Week 9 on Oct. 16. The Tigers have come on as a playoff force over the past 15 years. Springfield is in the playoffs for a 16th time this season, and 11 of those have come since 2011. The Tigers are 21-15 all-time in the postseason. The Tigers won three straight regional titles from 2019 to 2021, including consecutive appearances in the Div. VI state title game in 2019 and 2020, where they fell to Anna (48-14) and Coldwater (38-35). Friday's game is also St. Paul's first game in Mahoning County. The Flyers have played Berlin Center Western Reserve, one of 19 schools in the county, three different times in the playoffs. Those three games against Berlin Center were played in Norwalk (2009), Medina (2013), and Akron (2014). Multiple playoff wins If the Flyers can earn another victory on Friday, it would mark the 16th time in 28 playoff appearances that they won at least two playoff games. Aside from the five appearances in the state championship game in 1997, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014, the Flyers also won at least two playoff games in 1996, 2005-08, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, and 2023.