Week 12 Game Balls: Top high school football players in the region

The players listed below deserve game balls for their Week 12 efforts in the OHSAA regional football quarterfinals.

See who they are and cast your vote for the player of the week:

Kenston's defense: Is anyone being singled out? Hardly. Not after the Bombers' defense blanked Youngstown Chaney in a 31-7 victory, with the latter scoring on a blocked punt in the fourth quarter with the game all but decided. With its offense being stopped from reaching the end zone, Chaney, the No. 5 seed in Region 9 and the top-ranked Division III team in the state, only gained 168 yards and nine first downs against Kenston.

Trey Liebhardt, Chardon: The third-year starter in the secondary for the Hilltoppers intercepted three passes to help his team's defense against Geneva.

Marco Cirigliano, Columbia: In the Raiders' 36-6 victory over Hopewell-Loudon in the Division VI regional quarterfinals, Cirigiliano scored five touchdowns, helping the team achieve a school-record 12 victories. On 24 carries, Cirigliano gained 145 yards while running.

Cuyahoga Heights resident Nick Armbrust In Cuyahoga Heights' 10-6 victory over Youngstown Valley Christian, Armbrust, a sophomore cornerback and receiver, led the team with 10 tackles (together with inside linebacker Francis Connors), an interception, and a forced fumble.

Roderick Love, Padua: In the Bruins' victory over Tiffin Columbian, the sophomore carried for 146 yards and a touchdown on 19 runs. On defense, he also made an interception.

Riverside resident Jason Mackey In the Beavers' 62-28 victory over Nordonia, junior running back Mackey rushed for 181 yards and three touchdowns on 20 touches. All three scores and 178 yards on 17 carries occurred mostly in the first half.

Andrew Bruce, Chardon: In the Hilltoppers' 35-7 victory against Geneva, the junior running back and cornerback collected 125 yards through the air and scored twice. In addition to adding 32 yards on two receptions, he ran for 93 yards and both touchdowns. The defense for Chardon also held Geneva to just 103 yards.

Casey Bullock, St. Edward: In the Division, I, Region 1 quarterfinals, the Eagles' junior quarterback led his team to a 42-0 victory over Massillon Jackson by completing 9 of 11 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns.

Wylie Cheairs and Buchtel Cheairs, a junior, ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns as the Griffins defeated Canal Fulton Northwest 31-14.

Rocco Conti, Olmsted Falls: Conti led the Bulldogs with 131 yards gained from scrimmage and scored twice in their 28-10 victory over Whitehouse Anthony Wayne. On 16 carries, Conti gained 87 yards in the rush. His two receptions for 44 additional yards.

Sam DeTillio, Avon: Using both his arm and legs to move the ball, the senior quarterback ensured that Avon advanced with a 35-14 victory over North Royalton. On 12 carries, DeTillio gained 152 yards and a touchdown. Additionally, he completed 9 of 11 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns.

D'Anthony Kelker, St. Vincent-St. Mary: In STVM's 21-14 victory over Austintown-Fitch, Kelker carried for 178 yards and a score on 15 runs. The game-winning touchdown was scored by Santino Harper with 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter. 88 yards were gained by Harper on 15 carries.

Elyria Panthers - Photo credits - Elyria Panters

Levi Ellis, from Elyria In the Panthers' 42-14 victory over Bellville Clear Fork in the Division IV regional quarterfinals, Ellis, who received the Golden Helmet award as Lorain County's finest senior football player, ran for 210 yards and four touchdowns on 18 runs.

Jesse Hayes, a senior defensive end for Padua, stopped an extra point in the fourth quarter to keep Padua ahead of Tiffin Columbian by one point. Padua defeated Columbian 32–28 thanks to a field goal addition.

Nick Jares of Mentor helped the Cardinals defeat Canton McKinley 19-14 after catching a 21-yard touchdown pass from Scotty Fox with 12 seconds left in the game. Fox completed 16 of 33 passes for 245 yards while Jares gained 70 yards on five receptions. Fox made three passes to Jares during their winning drive.

Sean Martin, St. Ignatius: The Wildcats kept Martin around for situations like these on offense. The junior played the majority of St. Ignatius' 50-49 comeback victory over Cleveland Heights at running back despite primarily being employed as a cornerback. He gained 125 yards on 12 carries, added 57 yards on 2 receptions, and scored a touchdown.