OHSAA FOOTBALL Weekly Release - November 11, 2018 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/OHSAASports Contact: Tim Stried, Director of Communications, [email protected] Welcome to Week 13 regional quarterfinals. The 2018 OHSAA football playoffs have reached the regional finals Regional Quarterfinals (Nov. 2 and 3): During the first round, the as 56 schools are still playing in week 13. The OHSAA has selected higher seed hosts the game at its home stadium or the stadium of neutral sites for these 28 games and will do so again next week for its choosing. The No. 8 seed will play at the No. 1 seed, the No. 7 the state semifinals. Rebracketing also occurs at the state semifinal seed at No. 2, etc. level as the OHSAA determine how the regional champions will be NEUTRAL SITES: Regional Semifinals (Nov. 9 and10), Regional paired. Finals (Nov. 16 and 17) and State Semifinals (Nov. 23 and 24): Neu- tral sites are selected by the OHSAA. There are many factors that go Noting the Regional Finals into determining playoff sites, such as quality of field surface, seat- Of last year’s 14 state finalists, eight have reached this week’s ing capacity, quality of lighting, size of locker rooms and distance regional finals. Of note, in Division III and IV, neither state finalist from field, press box size, parking, and a separate locker room from a year ago is still in the playoffs. for officials. After all those factors are taken into consideration, Eight of the regional championship games pit the No. 1 vs. No. 2 it must be confirmed that the site is available and willing to host seeds (Regions 5, 9, 14, 17, 18, 20, 21 and 28 - see pairings on page a playoff game on the date needed. The OHSAA cannot mandate 9). Division V is the only division where all four No. 1 seeds ad- that a specific site be available and it is rare to have an available vanced to the regional final. Three-of-four No. 2 seeds also remain site exactly halfway between the two competing schools. Host sites in contention in Div. V. keep revenue from concession stands and parking and they also There are 13 undefeated teams still alive in the playoffs, but only receive a predetermined rental fee from the OHSAA, which covers two regional finals include undefeated teams squaring off against game expenses. each other, and they both take place in Division II, including Region 5 (Akron Archbishop Hoban vs. Maple Hts.) and Region 7 (Massillon Familiar Territory Washington vs. Wadsworth). The closest geographical proximity for teams playing in the regional Of the 10 teams that won their first playoff game in school his- finals is six miles between Powell Olentangy Liberty and Dublin tory in week 11, three have advanced to the third round, including Coffman in Div. I, Region 2 and Girard and Hubbard in Div. IV, Region Byesville Meadowbrook (Div. V, Region 19), Attica Seneca East (Div. VI, Region 22) and Edgerton (Div. VII, Region 27). In Division V and VI, there are regional championship games that Media Information feature the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked teams in their division in the All Kickoffs at 7:00 PM final Associated Press poll (see later note). In a Division VI regional New in 2017, all playoff games will kick-off at 7:00 PM. Previously, final, the top two schools on the OHSAA’s all-time playoff wins list Friday playoff games kicked off at 7:30 PM. face each other, as Midwest Athletic Conference rivals Maria Stein Marion Local (74) meets Coldwater (73). Credentials for Playoff Games Speaking of the MAC, the regional finalist pairings show that this For the first four rounds of the playoffs, media must contact the year will be the first year that a MAC school is not playing for the host site’s media coordinator by 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Contact infor- Division VII state title. Division VII began in 2013. mation for the media coordinator for each game will be posted within the brackets at OHSAA.org. Media coordinators will work Regional Finalists by Seed with the athletic director at the schools and follow the OHSAA’s No. 1 seed - 22 press box priority seating scale. No. 2 seed - 12 No. 3 seed - 7 Playoff Games On TV No. 4 seed - 4 Spectrum will make its playoff game selections by noon on No. 5 seed - 2 (Girard, McComb) Mondays. Spectrum has exclusivity of the games it selects. Other No. 6 seed - 4 (Pickerington Central, Sandusky, Thornville Sheridan, games are available for tape-delay telecasts, which can be shown London) beginning at 11 PM the same day of the game. No. 7 seed - 5 (Lakewood St. Edward, Cin. Anderson, Newark Licking Valley, Sherwood Fairview, Warren JFK) OHSAA Radio Network Programming No. 8 seed - 0 On Wednesdays during the playoffs, the OHSAA Radio Network will distribute a 30 minute preview show. The network will also About the Regionals, State Semifinals and Neutral Sites broadcast all seven state championship games. Affiliates have their The regional playoffs follow bracket format, beginning with the rights fees waived throughout the playoffs. 13. Proving the Pollsters Other regional final matchups where the schools playing each Of the 56 schools that have advanced to the regional finals, 37 were other are less than 10 miles apart include Cin. Colerain vs. Cin. El- ranked in the Top 10 of their division in the final Associated Press der (8 miles, Div. I, Region 4) and Coldwater vs. Maria Stein Marion state poll. This week’s match-ups of highest ranked teams come in Local (9 miles, Div. VI, Region 24) Division V and VI. In Division V, it’s No. 2-ranked Middletown Mad- ison vs. No. 3 Wheelersburg. In Division VI, No. 2 Coldwater meets We Meet Again No. 3 Maria Stein Marion Local. Also in Division VI, No. 1-ranked There are six regional final games that are regular season rematch- Kirtland faces No. 4-ranked Mogadore. In Division II, seven of the es. eight regional finalists were state-ranked. REGION 1: Regular season rematch. Mentor beat St. Edward 42-39 Also of note, in Division VII, only three of the eight regional final- in week 1. ists were ranked in the final AP poll. REGION 3: Ohio Capital Conference rematch. Pickerington Central All 70 teams that were ranked in the final AP poll qualified for beat Hilliard Davidson 17-14 in OT in week 5. the playoffs and they went 59-11 in the first round. Of note, In REGION 10: Sandusky Bay Conference rematch. Norwalk beat San- Division VII, Leipsic knocked off AP No. 1 Sycamore Mohawk, 40-14, in dusky 52-35 in week 7. Region 26. In Division III, Thornville Sheridan defeated AP No. 2 Bell- REGION 13: Northeast 8 Athletic Conference rematch. Hubbard brook, 27-19, in Region 10. beat Girard 48-32 in week 2. In 2017, all 70 teams ranked in the AP Top 10 made the playoffs REGION 17: Principals Athletic Conference rematch. Akron Man- and 35 of them reached the regional finals. Three poll champs in chester beat Orrville 67-31 in week 8. 2017 also won state titles on the field, including Trotwood-Madison REGION 24: Midwest Athletic Conference rematch. Coldwater beat (Div. III), Steubenville (Div. IV) and Maria Stein Marion Local (Div. Marion Local 26-20 in 2OT in week 10. VI). Also in 2016, two unranked teams reached the state finals, including Dresden Tri-Valley (Div. III, lost to Trotwood) and Minster Pairings and Weekly Notes Packets Released Sundays by 4 p.m. (Div. VII, defeated Cuyahoga Heights). The OHSAA’s weekly playoff football notes packet, which includes the playoff pairings, will be posted each Sunday by 4 p.m. The State Championships Schedule regional playoff brackets, which include the contact information for The state championship games return to Canton this year at Tom media coordinators at each site, will be posted online Sunday after- Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. One division will be selected to play noons, as well. The brackets will be updated on Friday and Saturday its state championship game on Thursday, Nov. 29 (7:30 p.m. kick- nights throughout the playoffs. off). Then there will be three state championship games on Friday, Nov. 30, followed by three championship games on Saturday, Dec. Ticket Information 1. Game times on Friday and Saturday are 10 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 Fans are encouraged to buy their playoff tickets in advance at the p.m. The divisional assignments will be announced after the state participating schools, which keep a percentage of the revenue. semifinal games. For regional playoff games, tickets are $8 presale and $9 at the gate. All-session ticket books for the state championship games Noting the Undefeated and the .500 are on sale. The top tier ticket option includes indoor access in the Only 24 teams across Ohio went undefeated during the regu- stadium club during and between games. A premium parking pass lar-season, which is the second-fewest in the playoff era (since is also available for sale. Access to the Pro Football Hall of Fame is 1972 - only 22 teams went undefeated in 2015). In the first round included with some ticket packages. of the playoffs, 20 of those undefeated teams won, including three on the road, including Garfield Heights (Div. II, 5 seed in Region 5), In the Beginning… to Seven Divisions McDonald (Div.