COLUMBUS — Watterson is once again the unanimous No. 1 team in the central Ohio high school football Top 10 poll, earning all nine first-place votes and the maximum 90 points heading into Week 9.
The undefeated Eagles (7-0) have won 37 consecutive games, including the past two Division III state championships, and routed Hartley 63-7 in their last outing. Their next test is a big one: a Friday trip to Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit that could preview a Division II playoff meeting later this fall.
Big Walnut (8-0) holds the No. 2 spot with 77 points after shutting out Westerville North 31-0, and unbeaten Gahanna Lincoln (8-0) is third with 73 points following a 34-14 win over Westerville Central. Pickerington North (7-1) is fourth, and Worthington Kilbourne (7-1) rounds out the top five.
Olentangy Liberty (5-3) sits sixth after beating Hilliard Bradley 28-14. The poll, compiled from voters across the region, ranks central Ohio teams regardless of division, with a first-place vote worth 10 points and a 10th-place vote worth one.
Week 9 brings several matchups that could shuffle the order behind Watterson. Big Walnut visits Dublin Scioto on Oct. 16, Gahanna Lincoln hosts Grove City, Pickerington North travels to New Albany, and Olentangy Liberty faces Hilliard Davidson — a slate that will also shape computer playoff points with two weeks left in the regular season.