Playoff changes welcomed by area coaches

Keith Mora is the first to admit it. The OHSAA announced on June 12 that the football playoffs will reduce the number of teams from 16 to 12 starting this fall. Last season, the Norwalk Truckers made the Division III Region 10 field as a 15 seed with a 2-8 record and traveled to No. 2 Medina Buckeye. The result was a 42-7 loss, but it was also still a Week 11 game. "It's still the better move to be at 12 instead of 16," Mora said. "I was even saying that last year, and I recognize that would have left us out." The third-year head coach of the Truckers said that while he wanted this team to take advantage of the opportunity presented to them in 2024, he believes it still wasn't the right thing for Ohio high school football. "I still want what's right for it as someone who believes in football in our state," Mora said. "It's too many teams, and you shouldn't have teams with two wins or fewer getting in. Making it at 1-9 or 0-10 is a travesty. It doesn't make any sense." From 1999-2019, the OHSAA tournament saw eight teams per region qualify for the playoffs. That was for a six-division format, though a seventh division was added in 2014. In early 2020, the OHSAA approved a proposal from the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association to expand to 12 qualifiers per region, which added a week to the postseason. Shortly after that, the COVID pandemic greatly affected high school sports, and the OHSAA allowed every school to participate in the 2020 playoffs since schools played a varying number of games. The OHSAA expanded from 12 to 16 qualifiers per region from 2021-24. In that span, the top-four seeds across all seven divisions went 103-8 in the first round. In the four years, No. 1 seeds were 111-1. No. 2 seeds were 105-7 while No. 3 seeds were 101-11. Edison's 23-22 win against Bellevue in the first round in the 2021 playoffs was the only win by a No. 16 seeds versus a No. 1 seed. Last fall, No. 1 seeds went 28-0 across seven divisions with an average margin of victory of 42 points. That led to an overwhelming response from the OHSFCA in the last year, which requested a reduction in the number of teams. "Looking at some of the teams that qualified and how we had teams opting out, I don't feel like there should ever be a system set up where a team feels that way," St. Paul head coach Chris Doughty said. "You should always be willing to play a playoff game, so if that was happening where you have teams not even wanting to go, that shows there was a flaw in the system. "It is reassuring to know the coaches had thoughts and opinions on it and the OHSAA was willing to discuss it and make a move. It's a credit to a collaborative effort on all sides." Similar to Norwalk in 2024, the Flyers were a 13-seed in 2023. They would not have made the field under the new format that will begin this fall. That St. Paul team won a pair of games on the road at No. 4 Toronto and No. 5 Malvern before falling to top-seeded Dalton. "We were a beneficiary of it two years ago, but the reality is, if you look at the teams that fell in the 9-to-12 range, there were a lot more deserving teams than those in the 13-to-16 range," Doughty said. "I think this makes a lot of sense. "There will always be upsets here and there, but you were seeing very few in those lower seeds, and there was a reason for that." Among the changes to the new format, the top four seeds in each region will receive a first-round bye. While initially weighing the pros and cons, both coaches in the Maple City agree it will differ depending on each team's situation. "There are definitely some benefits, starting with a great chance for injury recovery," Doughty said. "That's also something we've unfortunately experienced a lot in recent years, with kids injured early and coming back later in the season. "Being in a position to get some kids healthier, there is definitely some benefit there," he added. "It really comes down to how you structure that week off in making sure you're trying to get better. You're not prepping for a specific opponent yet, but the good coaching staffs out there will find ways to get better and healthier that week and not be rusty in Week 12." Mora noted that aside from the large divisions, most teams have a majority of kids playing both ways on offense and defense. "That rest will probably be a big help in that regard," he said. "It gives a coaching staff time to rest after a long 10 weeks and look at multiple potential opponents. Initially, I don't think it will move the needle that much because a team sat for a week." One notable change is the seeding after each round. A pre-done bracket with the seed numbers is a thing of the past, as each week it will reset with the top seed playing the lowest remaining seed. "We'll have to see how that part plays itself out," Mora said. "I think in basketball, it was more prevalent. There were a lot of times in the state semifinals where you said, 'OK, this feels like the championship game.' "At the end of the day, you want the two best teams in the state title game at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton," he added. "If it helps us move to that point, then I think it's a great thing. I'm sure there will be some flaws and complaints along the way with seeding, so time will tell."