HOWARD – The East Knox football team made history in 2019. Next fall, the Bulldogs will move down a division.
The OHSAA announced divisional assignments for football, soccer and volleyball on Friday. The association’s Board of Directors approved divisional assignments on Wednesday and notified member school districts on Thursday, according to a press release.
While East Knox will change divisions next fall, going from Div. VI to Div. VII, head coach Cody Reese believes the task will remain the same.
“It’ll be a different animal,” he told Knox Pages on Friday. “Division VI is certainly tough, and being Divisison VII will change how we earn points, but nonetheless, in looking at the schools in our region, there are some really good football schools with deep traditions.
“So we may have changed divisions, but it’ll be just as tough with the schools that are in there now. The task won’t be any easier for us at all.”
The board also approved new regional assignments for football. No divisional changes will occur for the fall sports of golf, cross country, girls tennis and field hockey (one division), as those sports are not affected by the OHSAA’s competitive balance process, the press release stated.
The East Knox football team, which advanced to the Division VI state semifinals last fall after finishing the regular season 10-0, will move down to Division VII in 2020.
This occurred because of the OHSAA’s competitive balance process, which modifies how schools are placed into tournament divisions in team sports. The process was enacted in 2014, in an effort to ensure fair play across all divisions.
The competitive balance process factors in overall school enrollment (number of students grades 9 to 11) and roster size for each team (which is based on a complex tier system). Adding both metrics together will give the OHSAA each team’s “adjusted enrollment count,” which is used to determine tournament division placement.
The East Knox football team was one of 28 statewide to move down a division this year due to the competitive balance process. Thirteen teams moved up a division.
The Bulldogs previously competed in Division VI Region 22. Now, they will compete in Division VII Region 27. Harvest Prep won this region last year before falling in the state semifinals. Newark Catholic placed second and advanced to the regional semifinals.
Danville and Cardington (also previously Division VI) will represent the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference alongside East Knox in the region.
Last year, East Knox was one boy away from being a Division VII football school. This year, the Bulldogs’ competitive balance score went down one point, which Reese said made the difference.
This will be East Knox’s first year as a Division VII football program, Reese said. The Bulldogs have not shared a region with county rival Danville since 2000, when both schools were Division VI Region 23.
East Knox will be the only area football program to change divisions next fall, although Centerburg and Fredericktown will move from Region 22 to Region 23 in Division VI. Danville will stay in Division VII, but move from Region 25 to Region 27. Mount Vernon will remain in Division II Region 7, and Highland will stay in Division IV Region 15.
No area schools will change divisions in soccer or volleyball. Mount Vernon’s boys and girls soccer teams, as well as its volleyball team, will remain Division I. Highland’s soccer and volleyball teams will stay Division II. Fredericktown and Centerburg’s volleyball teams will remain Division III, and East Knox and Danville’s volleyball teams will stay Division IV.
The upcoming 2020-21 school year will be the second year of the two-year cycle using base enrollment numbers provided by the Ohio Department of Education in October 2018. A new two-year cycle of base enrollment numbers will begin with the 2021-22 school year.
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