OHSAA FOOTBALL Weekly Release - November 13, 2016 Ohio High School Athletic Association 4080 Roselea Place, Columbus, OH 43214 | Office 614-267-2502 | Fax 614-267-1677 www.OHSAA.org | @OHSAASports | Facebook.com/OHSAA Contact: Tim Stried, Director of Communications, [email protected] Welcome to the Regional Finals! championship schedule for Divisions III, V and VII will be announced Regional boundary lines were drawn back in June, and now the at approximately 10 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26. The announcements championship games in those regions have arrived as the third will be made on the OHSAA’s twitter account (@OHSAASports) and round of the OHSAA football playoffs are this weekend. Division I, in the weekly release on Sunday, Nov. 27. II, IV and VI games are Friday at 7:30 p.m., and Division III, V and VII games are Saturday at 7 p.m. In the Beginning… to Seven Divisions When the OHSAA created the football playoffs in 1972, there were The OHSAA has selected neutral sites based on the best available three divisions (called Class A, AA and AAA) and only one playoff sites after a number of factors have been evaluated. The regional qualifier per region (12 total playoff qualifiers). Now in its 45th playoffs follow bracket format, with the top team on the bracket year, the postseason has expanded to seven divisions and 224 total designated as the home team (see brackets posted at OHSAA.org). playoff qualifiers. Expansion occurred in 1980 to five divisions and two qualifiers per region, and then again in 1985 to four qualifiers State Semifinal Pairings per region. In 1994, a sixth division was added, while in 1999, the Later this week, the OHSAA will announce how the regional cham- number of qualifiers per region increased to eight. The playoffs pions in several divisions will be paired in the state semifinals Nov. expanded to seven divisions in 2013. 25-26. The regional champion pairings in some divisions, however, will not be determined until after the regional finals this weekend. OHSAA Football by the Numbers Note that state semifinal pairings are based on geography. 716 – High schools in Ohio that played football in 2016 7 – Divisions for the playoffs Fifteen is the Number 72 – Schools in Division I Fifteen of the 28 No. 1 seeds have advanced to the regional final. 108 – Average number of schools in Division II through VII The playoffs began with 31 undefeated teams. Fifteen remain. 32 – Playoff qualifiers per division 4 – Playoff qualifiers per region Media Credentials for the Regional Finals 224 – Total playoff qualifiers The regional playoff brackets posted at OHSAA.org include the 31.3 – Percentage of football playing schools that qualify contact information for media coordinators at each site. Media are to contact the host site media coordinators before 3 p.m. Tuesday, Regional Quarterfinals (Nov. 4-5): During the first round, the higher at which time the media coordinators will determine approved cre- seed will host the playoff game at its home stadium or the stadium dentials using the OHSAA’s press box priority seating scale posted on the football page at OHSAA.org. Note that only Time Warner Ca- ble SportsChannel can provide live video, and TWC has exclusivity Media Information of the games it selects (see later note). All other play-by-play video telecasts cannot begin until 11:30 p.m. Credentials for Playoff Games For the first four rounds of the playoffs, media must contact the Playoff Format and Schedule host site’s media coordinator by 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Contact infor- Unless otherwise noted, Divisions I, II, IV and VI play at 7:30 p.m. mation for the media coordinator for each game will be posted on Fridays during the playoffs, while Divisions III, V and VII play at 7 within the brackets at OHSAA.org. Media coordinators will work p.m. on Saturdays. Occasionally, that schedule changes during the with the athletic director of the schools and follow the OHSAA’s first round is due to the host site having to share the stadium with press box priority seating scale posted at http://bit.ly/2eoqSFS another school (high school or college) or the site not having lights. Playoff Games On TV In rounds two through four, any changes are typically due to a site Time Warner Cable SportsChannel will make its playoff game se- hosting a playoff double-header. lections by noon on Mondays. TWC has exclusivity of the games it selects. Other games are available for tape-delay telecasts, which Of the four divisions that play their playoff games on Friday nights, can be shown beginning at 11:30 PM the same day of the game. one will be selected to play its state championship game on Thursday, Dec. 1. The other three will play their state champion- ship games on Friday, Dec. 2. Divisions III, V and VII will play their state championship games on Saturday, Dec. 3. The OHSAA will announce the state championship game schedule for Divisions I, II, IV and VI at approximately 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25, while the Twitter.com/OHSAASports Facebook.com/OHSAA of its choosing. The No. 8 seed will play at the No. 1 seed, the No. 7 The OHSAA found a home in Stark County, with Canton Fawcett seed at No. 2, etc. Stadium and Massillon Paul Brown Tiger Stadium sharing the state championship games for 24 years until 2014 when the finals Regional Semifinals (Nov. 11-12), Regional Finals (Nov. 18-19) and returned to the ‘Shoe. State Semifinals (Nov. 25-26): Neutral sites are selected by the OHSAA. There are many factors that go into determining playoff The current contract for the OHSAA football state championship sites, such as quality of field surface, seating capacity, quality of games initially included two years at Ohio Stadium (2014 and lighting, size of locker rooms and distance from field, press box size, 2015), and an additional year was added for 2016 due to the stadi- parking spaces available, and a separate locker room for officials. um renovations underway in Canton. There is currently no contract After all those factors are taken into consideration, it must be con- in place for the football finals after 2016, but the OHSAA intends to firmed that the site is available and willing to host a playoff game move the finals back to Stark County for 2017 and 2018. on the date needed. Setting Up the State Championships Ticket Information Since 2013, the time slots for the state championship games are not Fans are encouraged to buy their playoff tickets in advance at the announced until the night of the state semifinals. Of the divisions participating schools, which keep a percentage of the revenue. For that play their playoff games on Friday nights during the playoffs (I, regional playoff games, tickets are $8 presale and $9 at the gate. II, IV and VI), one will be selected to play its state championship on All-session ticket books are currently on sale for the state champi- Thursday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. The schedule for the state champion- onship games at http://go.osu.edu/OHSAAFBTix. All-session ticket ship games is as follows: books in the club level, which are the chair-back seats on the west side of the stadium, are $105 each (good for all seven games) and Thursday, Dec. 1 also permit indoor access in the Huntington Club before, during and 7:30 p.m. – Either Div. I, II, IV or VI after each game. All-session reserved ticket books on the east side of the stadium, which don’t include indoor access, are $84 each. Friday, Dec. 2 Single game tickets will go on sale November 22 and cost $10 at the 10 a.m. – Either Div. I, II, IV or VI state finalist schools, or at the gate before each game for $15 (club 3 p.m. – Either Div. I, II, IV or VI level) and $12 (reserved). 8 p.m. – Either Div. I, II, IV or VI Regional Finalists by Seed Saturday, Dec. 3 The following seeds have advanced to the regional finals: 10 a.m. – Either Div. III, V or VII No. 1 - 15 No. 2 - 7 3 p.m. – Either Div. III, V or VII No. 3 - 13 No. 4 - 7 8 p.m. – Either Div. III, V or VII No. 5 - 6 No. 6 - 3 No. 7 - 4 (Cin. Sycamore, Trotwood, Chardon NDCL, Harvest Prep) Defending State Champions No. 8 - 1 (Garrettsville Garfield) All seven state champions from 2015 have advanced to the regional finals. They include Lakewood St. Edward (Div. I), Cincinnati La Salle First Round Results by Seed (Div. II), Akron Archbishop Hoban (Div. III), Columbus Bishop Hartley the first round of the playoffs, the higher seeds (home teams) went (Div. IV), Coldwater (Div. V), Kirtland (Div. VI) and Fort Recovery (Div. 80-32. Five No. 8 seeds won at No. 1 seeds, including Avon Lake in VII). Div. II (27-26 at Avon), Akron East in Div. III (50-37 at Marlington), Philo in Div. IV (42-7 at Heath), Garrettsville Garfield in Div. V (31-21 Consecutive Playoff Wins at Canfield South Range) and Columbus Bishop Ready in Div. VI (28- Not only did Maria Stein Marion Local reach the state champion- 21 at Hannibal River). ship game for the fifth-straight year in 2015, the Flyers set a new 2016 Regional Quarterfinal Results by Seed: OHSAA record for consecutive playoff victories with 24 before No. 1 seeds: 23-5 (No. 8 seeds: 5-23) falling to Kirtland in the Div.