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Contact – Tim Stried, Director of Communications, [email protected]

 

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio High School Athletic Association released the pairings for the football state semifinals Sunday. The winners will advance to the state championship games December 5-7 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

 

During the first four rounds of the playoffs, all games will kick off at 7:00 PM unless otherwise noted. Division I, II, III and VI games are on Fridays, while Division IV, V and VII games are on Saturdays.

 

All state semifinal playoff sites will feature presale online ticketing at https://www.ohsaa.org/tickets. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance, as participating schools keep a portion of presale ticket revenue.

 

Regional finals notes packet: https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/Football/2019/2019FBRelease4.pdf

 

Playoff brackets and more state playoff information: https://www.ohsaa.org/Sports-Tournaments/Football/Football-2019/2019-OHSAA-Football-State-Playoffs-Coverage

 

 

Pairings listed with record and final Associated Press rank.

Home team listed first.

All games kick off at 7:00 PM unless otherwise noted.

 

No. 9 Cincinnati Elder (11-2) vs. No. 5 Springfield (12-1) at Piqua Alexander Stadium

 

No. 1 Mentor (13-0) vs. No. 3 Pickerington Central (12-1) at Canton GlenOak Bob Commings Field

 

No. 1 Massillon Washington (13-0) vs. No. 4 Avon (13-0) at Parma Byers Field at Robert M. Boulton Stadium

 

No. 6 Cincinnati La Salle (11-2) vs. No. 2 Toledo Central Catholic (13-0) at Sidney Memorial Stadium

 

No. 3 Aurora (13-0) vs. No. 9 Mansfield Senior (12-1) at Macedonia Nordonia Boliantz Stadium

 

No. 1 Columbus Bishop Hartley (12-1) vs. No. 7 Trotwood-Madison (10-3) at London Bowlus Field

 

No. 4 Newark Licking Valley (13-0) vs. Poland Seminary (11-2) at Massillon Washington Paul Brown Tiger Stadium

 

No. 1 Cincinnati Wyoming (13-0) vs. Clyde (9-4) at Marysville Impact Stadium

 

No. 5 Ironton (12-1) vs. No. 8 West Jefferson (12-1) at Chillicothe Herrnstein Field

 

No. 1 Kirtland (13-0) vs. No. 3 Oak Harbor (13-0) at Strongsville Pat Catans Stadium

 

No. 1 Anna (12-1) vs. Mechanicsburg (11-2) at Wapakoneta Harmon Field

 

No. 2 New Middletown Springfield (13-0) vs. Howard East Knox (13-0) at Orrville Heartland Field at Red Rider Stadium

 

No. 4 Canal Winchester Harvest Preparatory (12-1) vs. No. 7 Lucas (11-2) at Columbus St. Francis DeSales Alumni Stadium

 

No. 1 Maria Stein Marion Local (11-2) vs. No. 10 Hamler Patrick Henry (10-3) at Lima Senior Spartan Stadium

 

 

 

 

Spectrum is the official television partner of the OHSAA and will televise several football playoff games each weekend. Their coverage is exclusive. Spectrum will announce its weekly playoff game selections by noon Monday. Spectrum’s game selections will be posted at: https://www.ohsaa.org/Sports-Tournaments/Football/Football-2019/Spectrum-Playoff-Coverage-Schedule

 

The OHSAA Radio Network will broadcast all seven state championship games. Stations can have their broadcast rights fees waived throughout the playoffs by committing to carry two or more state championship games from the network. Please contact Tim Stried for details. The network will also produce a weekly 30-minute preview show throughout the playoffs. OHSAA Radio Network Home: https://www.ohsaa.org/news/radio

 

OHSAA Football Home: https://ohsaa.org/sports/football

 

 

 

 

 

 

The regional champions have been crowned and now those 28 schools have moved on to the OHSAA football state semifinals. The pairings for the state semifinals are based on geography of the four schools in each division, not record, state rank, regional seed or past history in the playoffs.

     Six of the 28 state semifinalists are making their first trip to the final four, including three of the four schools in Division VI (see notes packet). Meanwhile, Maria Stein Marion Local is making its 18th appearance in the state semifinals, Massillon Washington is making its 13th appearance and Ironton is making its 12th appearance. Newark Catholic, which lost in a Div. VII regional final Saturday, holds the record with 25 state semifinal appearances.

     Only three state semifinal matchups feature schools that have played each other before in the playoffs (see notes packet).

     All seven teams that ended the season ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll are still playing, including Mentor (Div. I), Massillon Washington (Div. II), Columbus Bishop Hartley (Div. III), Cincinnati Wyoming (Div. IV), Kirtland (Div. V), Anna (Division VI) and Maria Stein Marion Local (Div. VII).

 

During the first four rounds of the playoffs, Division I, II, III and VI games are on Fridays. Division IV, V and VII playoff games are on Saturdays. All games will kick off at 7 p.m.

     The state championship games remain in Canton this year at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Either Division I, II, III or VI will be selected to play its state championship game on Thursday, Dec. 5 (7 p.m. kickoff). The other three “Friday divisions” will play their state championship games on Friday, Dec. 6. Divisions IV, V and VII will play their state championship games on Saturday, Dec. 7. The divisional game-time assignments will be announced on the OHSAA’s Twitter account immediately after the state semifinal games this Friday and Saturday night. Game times on Friday and Saturday are 10 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

 

During the playoffs, the brackets at OHSAA.org will be updated on Friday and Saturday nights. The pairings and neutral sites for the second, third and fourth rounds will be posted on Sundays by 3:30 p.m., after all sites have been confirmed.

 

Fans are encouraged to buy their playoff tickets in advance online at www.OHSAA.org/tickets, as the participating schools keep a portion of presale ticket revenue. For state semifinal games, tickets are $10 at the gate. All-session ticket books for the state championship games are on sale. The top tier ticket option includes indoor access in the stadium club during and between games. A premium parking pass is also available for sale. Access to the Pro Football Hall of Fame is included with some ticket packages.

 

The regional playoffs follow bracket format, beginning with the regional quarterfinals.

     Regional Quarterfinals (Nov. 8 and 9): During the first round, the higher seed will host the playoff game at its home stadium or the stadium of its choosing. The No. 8 seed will play at the No. 1 seed, the No. 7 seed at No. 2, etc.

     Regional Semifinals (Nov. 15 and16), Regional Finals (Nov. 22 and 23) and State Semifinals (Nov. 29 and 30): Neutral sites are selected by the OHSAA. There are many factors that go into determining playoff sites, such as quality of field surface, seating capacity, quality of lighting, size of locker rooms and distance from field, press box size, parking spaces available, and a separate locker room for officials. After all those factors are taken into consideration, it must be confirmed that the site is available and willing to host a playoff game on the date needed.

 

There are six first-time state semifinal qualifiers, including Springfield (Div. I), Mansfield Senior (Div. III), Anna (Div. VI), Howard East Knox (Div. VI), New Middletown Springfield (Div. VI) and Lucas (Div. VII).

 

No. 1 seed – 14

No. 2 seed – 6

No. 3 seed – 2

No. 4 seed – 2

No. 5 seed – 1 (Anna)

No. 6 seed – 1 (Mechanicsburg)

No. 7 seed – 1 (Trotwood-Madison)

No. 8 seed – 1 (Clyde)

 

Four state semifinal games feature No. 1 seeds facing each other:

   Div. I: Mentor (13-0) vs. Springfield (12-1)

   Div. II: Massillon Washington (13-0) vs. Avon (13-0)

   Div. II: Cin. La Salle (11-2) vs. Tol. Central Catholic (13-0)

   Div. V: Kirtland (13-0) vs. Oak Harbor (13-0)

 

All seven teams that ended the season ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll are still playing, including Mentor (Div. I), Massillon Washington (Div. II), Columbus Bishop Hartley (Div. III), Cincinnati Wyoming (Div. IV), Kirtland (Div. V), Anna (Division VI) and Maria Stein Marion Local (Div. VII). Of the 28 state semifinalists, 24 appeared in the final Associated Press state poll.

     In Division II, three of the top four teams ranked in the final AP state poll—#1 Massillon, #2 Toledo Central Catholic and #4 Avon—have advanced to the state semifinals. #3 Akron Archbishop Hoban fell to Massillon 17-14 in the regional finals.

     The highest AP-ranked matchups are both #1 vs. #3 bouts: #1 Mentor vs. #3 Pickerington Central in Division I and #1 Kirtland vs. #3 Oak Harbor in Division V.

     All 70 teams that were ranked in the final Associated Press state poll qualified for the playoffs. 58 of those teams advanced to the second round and 36 have advanced to the regional finals.

 

Four teams that have qualified for the state semifinals did not appear in the final AP poll, including Poland Seminary (Div. IV), Clyde (Div. IV), Howard East Knox (Div. VI) and Mechanicsburg (Div. VI).

 

Only three state semifinal matchups feature schools that have played each other before in the playoffs. They include:

   Pickerington Central 56, Mentor 28 – 2017 state final.

   Newark Licking Valley 41, Poland Seminary 7 – 2008 regional semifinal.

   Maria Stein Marion Local 42, Hamler Patrick Henry 20 – 2007 state semifinal.

   Maria Stein Marion Local 36, Hamler Patrick Henry 7 – 2016 state semifinal.

 

Of the 28 state semifinalists, 10 are undefeated. Three of the state semifinal matchups feature unbeaten teams:

     Div. II: #1 Massillon Washington vs. #4 Avon

     Div. V: #1 Kirtland vs. #3 Oak Harbor

     Div. VI: #2 New Middletown Springfield vs. Howard East Knox

 

Only 28 teams in Ohio went undefeated this season. Of note, two undefeated schools, Gibsonburg and Northwood, did not qualify for the playoffs. Of the 26 undefeated schools that did qualify, all of them except two hosted a first-round playoff game. There was only one first-round game that featured two undefeated teams. That occurred in Div. VI, Region 21, when Glouster Trimble hosted and defeated Salineville Southern Local.

     Six teams with 5-5 records qualified for the playoffs this year and two of them advanced to the regional finals, including Lewis Center Olentangy in Division I and Carey in Division VI. Both teams were defeated in the regional final. 

     In 2018, of the 24 teams went undefeated, which marked the fewest number of undefeated teams was 2015 when only 22 teams went undefeated. Last year a state record 11 schools with 5-5 records qualified for the playoffs. Only one of those 5-5 teams - Warren John F. Kennedy in Division VII - won their regional quarterfinal game and advanced to the regional finals.

 

Division I - Lakewood St. Edward (champion) lost in the regional final to Mentor, and Cincinnati Colerain (runner-up) lost in the regional final to Cincinnati Elder.

     Division II - Massillon Washington (runner-up) defeated Akron Archbishop Hoban (champion) in the regional final.

     Division III – Chagrin Falls Kenston (champion) lost to New Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs and Kettering Archbishop Alter (runner-up) lost to Hamilton Badin in the re-gional semifinals.

     Division IV – Cincinnati Wyoming (champion) plays Clyde in the state semifinal, and Girard (runner-up) lost to Perry in the first round.

     Division V – Orrville (champion) lost to Oak Harbor in the Region 18 final, and Johnstown-Monroe (runner-up) did not qualify for the playoffs.

     Division VI – Kirtland (champion) plays Oak Harbor in at Div. V state semifinal, and Maria Stein Marion Local (runner-up) plays Hamler Patrick Henry in a Div. VII state semifinal. Kirtland moved up from Division VI to Division V, and Marion Local moved down from Division VI to Division VII.

     Division VII – McComb (champion) lost to Edgerton in the first round of the playoffs, and Glouster Trimble (runner-up) lost to New Middletown Springfield in the second round of the Div. VI playoffs. Glouster Trimble moved from Division VII to Division VI.

 

 

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