The National Championships may be done, but there are still plenty of playoffs to pay attention to this weekend.

In Connecticut, Fairfield Prep defeated Simsbury 36-33 in the single-school semis. Simsbury led 26-12 at halftime, but Prep stormed back to win it in the final minutes.

Meanwhile, Greenwich came back from HS nationals in time to win a midweek semi over Ridgefield 59-27. So it’s Greenwich v Fairfield Prep in the final.

In the multi-school final, Fairfield made the championship match after beating Aspetuck in the semis. They will take on Cheshire, winners over West Hartford. Fairfield has had an excellent season this year, beating Greenwich in April and also beating Fairfield Prep. Fairfield has not, however, played Cheshire, which beat West Hartford three times this season, but lost to Simsbury twice.

In New York, Pelham returned from a very good showing at HS Nationals in Tier II, and slammed the Harvey School 65-5 to cap off its regular season. Several teams are finishing things up before the June 4-5 finals.

Xavier, Pelham, and Fordham all ended up 4-1 in the Metropolitan Division, with Fordham Prep losing out due to bonus points.

Fairport takes Western NY and Kenmore is #2. So that means the DI playoffs (the Mike Tolkin Cup) is Xavier v Kenmore, and Pelham v Fairport on June 4, with the final on June 5.

Fordham Prep heads up the Tier II semis, taking on WNY #4 Syracuse, while Play Rugby USA (Met #4) faces Canisius Prep (WNY #3). 

In DII the Mustangs lead the Capital Division, with the Foothills Rangers right behind, Rye HS won Met NY with Keio/FASNY in 2nd. Corning won the Western NY DII. Those four face off in the semis. 

 

New Jersey also has its playoffs this weekend, with Bridgewater (undefeated in club play) against Union in the multi-school final, and Delbarton against St. Augustine in the single-school bracket.

 

Massachusetts also enters its final throes, with playoff teams meeting in Worcester, Mass. for the championship games.

Hanover takes on Scituate in the DIII final. Hanover was unbeaten in league play, but did tie, against Oliver Ames, in the final weekend. However, Scituate avenged an earlier loss to Ames in the semis, so they might be on a roll.

Lincoln-Sudbury has been almost untouchable in DII, winning almost all of their games by 35 or more, with their closest win being over DI Belmont. They face Milton, a team they beat 59-19 on May 18.

And in the DI final, it’s BC High against St. John’s Prep. These two met at the beginning of the season in a game that ended 24-5 for BC High. It hasn’t all be easy for BC High, but they have emerged undefeated regardless. St. John’s lost their second game, too, but since then have gone from strength to strength.

 

Playoffs in Minnesota were played midweek, with Eagan beating South River 81-5, Minnetonka beating Mounds View 68-7, and Duluth beating STMA 41-0. The fourth quarterfinal, Edina v Southside, will be played this coming Tuesday.

The difference between the better teams and the next level in Minnesota is large. Very few games in this league have been close, and that’s likely a result of Minnesota being a relatively large state, and it’s difficult to create a league of the best teams when they are all over the state. As it happens, three of the top four teams are in the Minneapolis area, with Duluth being a bit of an outlier. But still the results do seem to indicate there needs to be a split.

The semis are set for June 4.

 

Wisconsin teams have also started their playoffs. Badgerland top team the Chargers shut out Fond du Lac 51-0. Elkhorn, the #3 team out of Badgerland, defeated NEW #2 Valley Crusaders 22-7. Nicolet, the #2 seed out of Badgerland, shut out NEW #2 Depere. NEW does get a team in the semis, as the conference winners Pulaski beat Badgerland #4 Grafton.

So the Chargers will take on the Elkhorn Demon Elks on Thursday, June 1, and Nicolet will play Pulaski on Tuesday, May 30. 

In DII, Muskego and Madison advanced fairly easily. Green Bay defeated Oregon/Stoughton 21-10. And there was a close one in the other game, as NEW #2 Green Bay Mavericks tied Chargers DII, and the teams played ten minutes of overtime with no more scoring. It went down to kicks, and the Chargers advanced.

So the Chargers will play Muskego, and Exiles will play the Green Bay Leprechauns. Both of those games will be June 1.

 

In Indiana, the playoffs are in full swing. In the Boys Super League, all four teams are in it, as usual, with Brownsburg at Royal irish and Notre Dame de La Salette at Penn. In DI, Fishers takes on Bishop Dwenger after both won quarterfinals - Fishers 58-0 and Dwneger 32-22. Avon also won comfortably to make the semis, and will face North Central, which beat HSE 23-7. 

In DII, Warsaw won the play-in over Leo but then ran into a tough Caroll team, losing 45-0. Carroll now faces Homestead, which beat Angola 17-13 to make the semis. Round One winner Zionsville also found Round Two tough, as the Pike Red Devils beat Zionsville 19-7. But Arsenal Tech did manage to win two in a row, slamming Noblesville 32-3 and then Carmel HS 20-15 to make the semis.

In Ohio, at the top it is also a four-team playoff, with St. Edward taking on St. Xavier, and St. Ignatius playing Cardinal Moeller. In DII Avon defeated Brunswick 27-12 to make the semis, where they will take on Avon Lake, which beat Hudson 31-7. Lakota beat Walnut Hills 22-12, and Perrysburg beat Toledo 24-17 to set up the other semi.  Ohio DIII Mentor beat Canton 33-17 to make a semifinal against Coventry, which beat Copley 41-36. In the other quarterfinal bracket, the Columbus Crusaders beat the Warriors 19-14 to advance to the semis, and Miami County beat Urbana 46-5. So the Cursaders play Miami Co. and Coventry plays Mentor.

 

More on who won state championships where, click here.