Four area teams officially in state playoffs

COLUMBUS — Four high school football teams familiar with the postseason will again be in the playoff field. The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced the pairings and brackets for the 2025 state football playoffs on Sunday. In Division VII, Firelands Conference rivals Monroeville and St. Paul are among the 12-team field in Region 25. The two teams played another frantic finish, with the Eagles claiming a 33-28 win over the Flyers on a touchdown pass with 14 seconds left last Friday in Norwalk. Monroeville (8-2) — winners of seven straight games — stayed at No. 4 in the region. The Eagles are one of the four first-round byes along with McDonald (10-0), Fairport Harding (10-0), and Mogadore (9-1). With the reduction of playoff qualifiers per region from 16 to 12, the top four seeds in each region will receive a first-round bye. The Eagles await the winner of No. 12 Ashtabula St. John (5-5) at No. 5 Malvern (6-4) and will host the second round game on Nov. 8 at Marsh Field. Meanwhile, the Flyers (5-5) were unable to hold the eighth and final home playoff position in the region, thanks to a huge win by their opponent. St. Paul will travel to Warren John F. Kennedy (5-5) in the No. 9 at No. 8 matchup in the region. Without a home field this season, the game will be played at nearby Girard High School's Arrowhead Stadium. JFK, which was 0-5 and did not play a Div. VII school, knocked off Div. III Cleveland Heights Lutheran East (4-6) to jump from 12th to eighth. The 7 p.m. game this Friday is the fifth playoff meeting between the Flyers and Eagles. St. Paul won in the second round in 2007, while JFK claimed wins in 2016 (regional championship), 2020 (second round), and 2021 (third round). The St. Paul-JFK winner heads to No. 1 McDonald on Nov. 8. In Div. VI, Western Reserve (8-2) also saw a home game slip away thanks to a result out of its control in the Northern 10 Conference. The Roughriders are the No. 10 seed and will head to No. 7 Bluffton (8-2) in a first-round game this Friday in Region 22. Western saw its chance at a home game disappear when Seneca East (7-3) rocked Mohawk (8-2) by 31 points. That result shot Seneca East up to No. 6 from ninth last week. It also gave secondary points to Carey (6-4), thanks to the Blue Devils' win over the Tigers earlier in the season. Carey finished No. 9 in the region. The Bluffton-Western winner heads to No. 2 Hopewell-Loudon (9-1) on Nov. 8. In Div. V, Edison (7-3) is the No. 6 seed in Region 18 and won't need much additional prep. The Chargers host No. 11 Port Clinton (6-4) at 7 p.m. Friday in a rematch of a game held just three weeks ago in Port Clinton. In the Week 8 game on Oct. 10, the Redskins rallied from 14-0 and 17-7 deficits for a 21-17 win over the Chargers. Now, the teams will meet again, but this time on Freedom Field in Milan. The winner of the rematch will visit No. 3 Genoa (9-1) next week in the second round. Of note to the area, Olmsted Falls (6-4) earned the No. 6 seed in Div. II Region 6 and will host No. 11 Fremont Ross (6-4) in the first round. The Bulldogs are coached by Tom DeLuca, a 1999 Norwalk graduate. The better seeded team will serve as the host through the first three rounds of the playoffs. The regional playoffs will follow bracket format. Rebracketing will occur for the state semifinals.