COLUMBUS – Three high school football teams in north central Ohio will play for a spot in Canton’s state championship games the first week of December.
Two of them, Hillsdale (13-1) and Danville (12-2) , will tangle in a Division VII state semifinal at Shelby High School. Northmor (14-0) challenges state powerhouse Kirtland (14-0) in the Division VI Final Four at Minerva.
Hillsdale had an easy time of it while claiming the Division VII, Region 25 championship at Orrville High School. Coach Trevor Cline’s club drilled Cuyahoga Heights 44-14 to earn the Final Four matchup with Danville.
The Blue Devils held up their end of the bargain by ripping Beaver Eastern 40-6 at Logan High School in the Division VII, Region 27 championship game. Danville hasn’t been tested in the playoffs yet. Coach Matt Blum’s squad has roughed up four postseason foes by a combined score of 200-14.
Northmor quarterback A.J. Bower was 13-for-19 passing for 223 yards with three TDs to help the second-seeded Knights pound the No. 1-seed Grandview Heights 37-6 at Westerville Central High School.
Coach Scott Armrose, who led the Golden Knights to the Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference championship, is guiding the undisputed greatest football team in Morrow County history since the playoff era began in 1972.
Statewide glance
Following the football regional championships last Friday night, the Ohio High School Athletic Association has announced the pairings and sites for this week’s state semifinal games.
In late July, 707 schools began the football season, and now 28 are still playing in the Final Four during Thanksgiving week.
The geography of the four schools remaining in each division is the primary factor in determining how the regional champions were paired for the state semifinals.
A team’s won-lost record, regional seed and state rank do not factor into the state semifinal bracket pairings or host sites.
Neutral sites
Neutral host sites receive a stipend from the OHSAA and also keep revenue from concessions, parking, 50-50 raffles and program sales. The OHSAA selects and pays for the officiating crews.
Without schools being willing to host games, the OHSAA would not be able to use neutral sites.
Many factors go into determining locations for each game, and rarely can a site be found that is exactly halftime between the two schools. Once a potential site is determined, the school must be available and willing to host a game on the requested night.
Tickets
Tickets for all playoff games will be available on Mondays at www.ohsaa.org/tickets. Details on state championship game tickets are posted at: https://www.ohsaa.org/news-media/articles/ohsaa-announces-football-state-championships-schedule-and-tickets
BRACKETS AND PLAYOFFS INFORMATION
OHSAA links
All-Time Playoff History Database: https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/Football/history/FootballParticipants.pdf
OHSAA football home: https://ohsaa.org/sports/football
MaxPreps Ohio Football Home (stats, scoreboard): https://www.maxpreps.com/state/football/ohio.htm
OHSAA Football State Semifinal Pairings
All games on Friday, November 29, at 7 p.m.
Designated home team region listed first. Pairings include regional seed.
Winner of the first pairing listed is the designated home team in the state championship game.
Division I
State Semifinals – Nov. 29
7. Lakewood St. Edward (9-5) vs. 1. Powell Olentangy Liberty (12-2) at Mansfield Arlin Field.
1. Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller (13-1) vs. Centerville (11-3) at Cincinnati Princeton Jake Sweeney Automotive Stadium.
State Championship Game: Friday, Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m.
Division II
State Semifinals – Nov. 29
1. Sunbury Big Walnut (13-1) vs. 1. Cincinnati Anderson (14-0) at Dayton Welcome Stadium.
2. Akron Archbishop Hoban (12-2) vs. 1. Avon (14-0) at University of Akron InfoCision Stadium.
State Championship Game: Thursday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m.
Division III
State Semifinals – Nov. 29
1. Columbus Bishop Watterson (14-0) vs. 4. London (14-0) at Ashville Teays Valley High School Viking Stadium.
1. Youngstown Ursuline (13-1) vs. 1. Toledo Central Catholic (13-1) at Elyria Charities Field at Ely Stadium.
State Championship Game: Friday, Dec. 6, 3 p.m.
Division IV
State Semifinals – Nov. 29
5. Cincinnati Taft (12-2) vs. 2. Gnadenhutten Indian Valley (14-0) at Historic Crew Stadium.
1. Sandusky Perkins (13-1) vs. 5. Cleveland Glenville (11-3) at Clyde High School Robert J. Bishop Jr. Stadium.
State Championship Game: Saturday, Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m.
Division V
State Semifinals – Nov. 29
2. Liberty Center (14-0) vs. 1. Canfield South Range (14-0) at Parma Byers Field at Robert Boulton Stadium.
1. Ironton (13-1) vs. 2. West Liberty-Salem (13-1) at Chillicothe High School Herrnstein Field.
State Championship Game: Saturday, Dec. 7, 3 p.m.
Division VI
State Semifinals – Nov. 29
1. Coldwater (13-1) vs. 2. Bluffton (13-1) at Wapakoneta High School Mercy Health Wapak VFW Field.
1. Kirtland (14-0) vs. 2. Galion Northmor (14-0) at Minerva High School.
State Championship Game: Saturday, December 7, 10:30 a.m.
Division VII
State Semifinals – Nov. 29
1. Danville (12-2) vs. 2. Jeromesville Hillsdale (13-1) at Shelby High School WAC Stadium.
1. Maria Stein Marion Local (14-0) vs. 1. Columbus Grove (14-0) at Lima Spartan Stadium.
State Championship Game: Friday, Dec. 6, 10:30 a.m.