EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a four-part seris on the expansion of Ohio’s high school football playoff system.
MANSFIELD — Mansfield Senior football coach Chioke Bradley stood alone outside the east end zone at Clyde’s Bishop Stadium, the regional championship trophy tucked safely under his right arm.
The postgame celebration had finally calmed, giving Bradley a moment to collect his thoughts and reflect on the significance of the moment. The Tygers had beaten Sandusky 15-9 in overtime to secure the first regional title in school history — a fact Bradley did not take lightly.
“If winning one of these was easy, everybody would have one in their trophy case,” Bradley said as he admired the newly-acquired hardware one more time on that frosty late-November night. “There’s nothing easy about it. Just making the playoffs is hard to do.”
For Bradley and the hundreds of high school football coaches around Ohio, nothing is more revered than a berth in the postseason. Beginning in the fall of 2021, more of those coveted bids will be available.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Board of Directors in May voted unanimously to expand the playoffs from eight teams per region to 12 beginning in the fall of 2021 and Bradley couldn’t be happier.
“Any time you can give yourself an added opportunity to play more football or coach your kids, it’s a blessing,” Bradley said. “I think the state did a good job. Some people don’t feel that way, but I do.”
A week after claiming its regional title, Senior High stunned Aurora 27-21 in double overtime in the state semifinals to become the first Richland County school to reach a state championship game. Less than 24 hours later, Lucas became the second with an equally stunning 15-12 win over Harvest Prep in the Division VII state semifinals.
Lucas coach Scott Spitler has mixed emotions about the expansion.
“It’s just a special honor that is earned,” Spitler said of reaching the playoffs. “The bigger that it gets, I think it kind of loses some of that. It gets watered down.”
Spitler’s fear isn’t unfounded. The current format allows for 224 teams to make the playoffs, 32 in each of the the seven enrollment divisions (each enrollment division is divided into four geographical regions and eight teams from each region qualify).
Last year, 710 schools finished the season playing 11-man football. That means 31.5 percent of schools qualified for the postseason.
If the number of football-playing schools holds steady next year — it generally does, give or take a few schools — then 47.3 percent of teams (336 total) will advance to the playoffs.
“It’s closer to 50 percent of schools that are going to make it now. It will create opportunities for schools who might not otherwise make it,” Ontario coach Chris Miller said. “There is a delicate balance that needs to be struck. Football is unique because I think we are the only sport that not everybody makes it (to the postseason).”
No school in the area would have benefitted more from the newly-adopted format than Ontario. In addition to playoff berths in 2001 and 2010, the Warriors finished ninth through 12th in their computer ratings region on five occasions since 2000.
“It’s still something you need to earn,” Miller said. “There’s 24 to 26 schools in a region and 12 make it. That seems reasonable to me.”
The notable exception is in Division I, which includes the state’s biggest schools in terms of enrollment. There were only 72 Division I schools last fall, while the other six enrollment divisions averaged 108 schools.
If enrollment figures remain consistent next year and Division I again includes 72 schools, then two-thirds of the state’s biggest high schools (48 of 72) will qualify for the postseason. Gahanna Lincoln finished 12th in last year’s Region 3 rankings in Division I. The Lions were 3-7 and had just one victory over a team with a winning record.
If the new format were applied to 2019’s final computer ratings, then 12 teams with losing records would have made the playoffs last fall. Since 2000, only 13 sub-.500 teams have advanced to the postseason.
“You’re going to have teams getting in that are 4-6 or even 3-7, especially in Division I,” Bradley said. “That is the biggest concern I have.”
Under the new format, the top four teams in each region will get a first-round bye. The No. 5 team will host the No. 12 team, while No. 6 hosts No. 11, No. 7 hosts No. 10 and No. 8 hosts No. 9. Second-round games also would be played at the higher seeds’ home field, meaning the top four seeds all will get a home game. The final four rounds of the tournament will continue to be played at neutral sites.
“Obviously, the bye would be good if you are banged up. You would have a week to get kids heeled up and rested,” Spitler said. “In talking to basketball and baseball and softball coaches, so many of them would rather play a first-round game instead of taking the bye.
“We don’t know how that’s going to look. How is it going to be when you take a week off and get kids out of their routine?”
Schools will still play 10-game regular seasons in 2021 and the state finals are still expected to be played on the first weekend of December. That likely means the season will start a week earlier.
“We still have details to work out regarding the format and specific season dates, but this vote by the Board gives us the green light to finalize those details for 2021,” OHSAA football administrator Beau Rugg said. “We are thankful for the Board’s support on this proposal, which will bring all the great things of playoff football to 112 additional schools and communities.”
Delivering the excitement of the postseason to more schools and communities is the greatest benefit of the new system, Clear Fork coach Dave Carroll said. The Colts were 6-4 and finished ninth in Division IV, Region 14 last fall.
“I’ve coached through a lot of different eras and whatever era it is, everybody gets excited,” Carroll said. “The community gets excited. The kids get excited. The student body gets excited.
“I think the more the better for football.”