Expansion offers ‘second season’ for some
When the Ohio High School Athletic Association doubled the number of teams in the football playoffs this fall, the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association complained.
The coaches and the OHSAA agreed in January that expanding from eight to 12 teams per region was the right thing to do. Then in April, without consulting the coaches association, the OHSAA made it 16 teams. The coaches said the decision to go to 16 was financially motivated. The OHSAA lost a lot of revenue in 201920 because COVID limited tournament attendance in all sports.
But here we are in November and lots of coaches like the 16-team format. Teams seeded nine through 16 across the state are playing in the second round. Of the seven regions involving Southwest Ohio teams, only Division IV, Region 12 failed to produce an upset last week.
“It’s like a second season and we’re looking at it as a chance to win another one and keep going,” said Alter coach Ed Domsitz, whose
15th-seeded Knights (6-5) knocked off second-seeded Monroe last week and play at No. 7 Tippecanoe tonight.
The most unexpected second-round pairing is in Division IV, Region 14. No. 16 Milan Edison (6-5) plays at No. 9 Sandusky Perkins (8-3).
In the Dayton area, 13 is the lucky number. Stebbins (6-4) in Division II, Chaminade Julienne (4-5) in Division III and Carlisle (6-5) in Division V won first-round games. In Division VI, No. 14
Fort Recovery (4-7) plays at No. 11 Anna (5-6). And No. 14 Troy Christian (7-4) is alive in Division VII.
The No. 1 reason coaches of lower-seeded teams cite for favoring expansion is strength of schedule, a component that the OHSAA is considering adding to its Harbin ratings formula that determines playoff seeding. Records and the Harbin ratings, the coaches say, can be deceiving.
Carlisle is the smallest school in the Southwestern Buckeye League. The Indians played four teams in Division IV and three in Division III. Those games accounted for all but one of their losses. Now they can show how good they are against schools their size.
“From our perspective, we think 16 is definitely better because our record could be a little misleading, and we might be a little better than what an eight would normally be,” Indians coach Scott Clodfelter said.
CJ plays in the rugged Greater Catholic League Co-ed with Alter and often schedules above Division III because of their tradition. The Eagles lost to Division I teams Fairmont and Cincinnati Moeller (a game they added because of a cancellation) and defeated Division II Troy. CJ had games canceled against Division II Belmont and Edgewood.
“I’m in favor of expansion because we schedule football games with really good football teams,” CJ coach Marcus Colvin said. “It’s not like we’re just going to show up and win every game we play. We have a really good football team. Region 12 happens to be a really good region.”
Stebbins plays in the Miami Valley League where it faced several playoff teams and lost to Tipp and unbeaten Piqua.
“We feel great about the situation,” Stebbins coach Greg Bonifay said. “Our league is a tough enough league where it puts us in position to be able to be successful. Just like any playoff team you’ve got to click at the right moment. We went out and played probably our best game all year.”
The hope that a 16-team field generated saved Alter’s season. The Knights were 2-5 and in danger of ending a 20-season streak of making the playoffs. They finished with three wins, including one over CJ, and kept the streak alive.
“Making the playoffs 20 years in a row provided some additional incentive,” Domsitz said. “They didn’t want to be the team to break that string.”
Teams also improve during the season, so that second chance can mean everything.
“We saw the last three weeks some things getting better on the field,” Domsitz said. “The teams we played didn’t have the records of some of the teams we played earlier, but the kids still got on the field and played well.”
How many nine through 16 seeds can win this week? Thirty-two, or 14%, of the teams that had a chance last week did it.
“It gives more teams an opportunity to show that they belong and those that belong will basically prove it,” Bonifay said. “I talk to our kids all the time about taking advantage of every opportunity. And this time two years ago we wouldn’t have had that opportunity to play in Week 1 of the playoffs. So I’m all for it.”