Can someone please explain...

I would have to say because St. Johns played a tougher non-conference schedule then did Start.

The state play-offs have nothing to do with league standings. It is based on your strength of schedule. You receive more points beating a Div 1 team than a Div. 2 team (this is based on male enrollment at the school). Then for every team you beat, you receive bonus points when they win.

SJJ got to playoffs by beating the "right" schools. I'm not saying that the system is perfect, but it is what it is. I believe the OHSAA has a breakdown of points per region on its website: OHSAA.org.

St. John's, St. Francis and Central always get the benefit of the doubt. The private Catholic schools have always been privy to such favoritism...as a former Start Athlete back in the 90's...it was the same thing. Catholic schools always got the calls. The referees who worked the games were and still are...predominantly graduates from these three schools.

It has nothing to do with private school favoritism. It's mathmatics. Look at "Note" section below the standings. A team get 2 points for every win in the league and 1 point for every league win that a team they previously defeated gets. It takes into account their strength of schedule in addition to their total wins.

For example:
Central Catholic has 6 wins which gives them 12 points. The six teams they beat have won a total of 24 games which gives Central Catholic 24 additional points. 12+24=36

Woodward has 3 wins (6 points) and of the three teams they beat have won a total of 3 games (3 points). 6+3=9

The City League standings have no basis on the state play-offs. It is based on your non-league and league wins plus the victories by the teams you beat.

The clip from the Blade above does not show the State computer points, just the points for the City League title. Those are set of two different point structures and this clip is misleading.