A thrilling victory over Bishop Hartley on Friday night brought Elyria Catholic more than just another win.

On the strength of their 34-28 overtime decision, the Panthers are the new No. 1 Division IV team in Ohio.

EC, unbeaten at 4-0, is atop the Division IV poll with 230 points, four points in front of second-ranked Ottawa-Glan­dorf, who received 15 first-place votes to the Pan­thers’ six. “This is a really neat thing for our team. I can’t lie about that,” said Elyria Catholic coach Ben Malbasa. “Obviously, this is just a poll, but it’s always nice to be well thought of.”

“This No. 1 ranking feels really great,” said EC’s prolific senior quarterback Danny Reaser, who set a school record with 508 passing yards, while throwing for six touchdowns in the Panthers’ victory over Elyria High on Sept. 9. “It shows how our hard work has paid off. We need to keep at the pace we’ve been going and hope to maintain that top ranking.

“Our game against Bishop

Hartley was a tough one. We hope the rest of the season will see some more exciting games.” The ranking is the highest for

Elyria Catholic under Malbasa, who is in his fourth year as head coach.

“I told our players (Monday) that we need to get better every week,” Malbasa said. “We want to achieve that and our goal of a long season (in the playoffs).” Elyria Catholic was not the only team in the area ranked in the state poll.

In Division II, Avon (4-0) is ranked fifth, while Westlake (4-0) is 18th.

EC will put its top ranking on the line Saturday against

St. Thomas Aquinas (2-2) in its last game before opening the

North Coast League schedule.

The Panthers beat Aquinas 28-7 last year.

“This week’s game against

St. Thomas Aquinas should be another good one,” Malbasa said.

“We’ve played each other the last few years. They are young but well-coached. It’ll be a good way to get ready for North

Coast League games.”

“St. Thomas Aquinas is a very good team that we can’t underestimate,” Reaser said. “They are very disciplined and can’t be taken lightly.