Four teams closing in on state playoffs

COLUMBUS — The Ohio High School Athletic Association released the third weekly football computer ratings on Tuesday. The weekly ratings report will be released each Tuesday for the remainder of the season, leading up to the final report on Oct. 26. Four teams are in playoff position with three weeks left in the regular season. The top 12 in each region will qualify for the playoffs, with the top four seeds getting a first-round bye. The OHSAA weekly report will list the top 16 schools in each region. In June, the OHSAA announced that the number of playoff qualifiers in each region would be reduced from 16 to 12. The first three rounds of the playoffs will be hosted by the higher-seeded team in the matchup. The playoffs then shift to neutral sites for the regional championships and state semifinal rounds. The seven state championship games will again be played Dec. 4-6 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. The 72 largest schools are in Division I, while the remaining schools are divided equally in Divisions II through VII (approximately 106 schools in each division). The OHSAA football website is at ohsaa.org/sports/football, and includes statewide schedules and playoff information, MaxPreps rankings and stat leaders, OPSMA Weekly Notebooks and Spectrum broadcast information. After an upset loss at Clyde (2-5) last week, Edison (5-2) fell one spot from fourth to No. 5 this week in Division V Region 18. The loss potentially cost the Chargers a shot at a first-round bye, but they are safely in line to be at home in Week 11 on Oct. 31. According to the Drew Pasteur projections at fantastic50.net, the Chargers have a 58 percent chance at the top four and a bye, even with an 8-2 record. However, Edison is at 99 percent to host a first round game with seven wins, and 49 percent with six wins. The Chargers visit Port Clinton (4-3) this week, and are currently projected as the No. 6 seed in the region. Despite a 39-0 win at South Central, Western Reserve (5-2) fell from one spot No. 10 to 11th in this week's Div. VI Region 22 ratings. The Roughriders (3-1 FC) have a huge Firelands Conference home game vs. Crestview (5-2, 4-0) this Friday. The Cougars are No. 12 in Region 23. Currently projected for the No. 8 and final home spot in Week 11, Western has an 91 percent chance at the playoff field with seven wins, and are virtual locks by winning out. But at 8-2, Western only has a 59 percent chance of staying at home entering this Friday, according to the site. In Div. VII Region 25, Monroeville (5-2) is up one spot from sixth to No. 5, while St. Paul (3-4) is down one spot from eighth to No. 9 this week. Currently projected as the No. 6 seed, the Eagles have unofficially locked up a playoff spot and a first-round home game at Marsh Field. But if Monroeville can close with wins over Plymouth, and at Crestview and St. Paul, it still has an 88 percent chance to get the No. 4 spot and a bye. The Flyers are currently projected as the No. 7 seed entering this week's home game against South Central (1-6). St. Paul then heads to Mapleton (2-5) before hosting the Eagles in Week 10. St. Paul is projected as 100 percent locks at the playoffs with five wins. If the Flyers win out, they are locks to be at Contractors Stadium in Week 11, while those odds nearly dip to 50/50 (56 percent) to remain among the top eight at 5-5. The current top four in Region 25 includes Fairport Harding (6-0), Mogadore (6-1), McDonald (7-0) and Malvern (5-2).