COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio high school football playoffs open Friday night, Oct. 30, with 33 central Ohio teams playing first-round games and 16 more area teams resting on first-round byes, according to the Columbus Dispatch’s first-round preview. All first-round kickoffs are set for 7 p.m., and the road that starts Friday ends with seven state finals Dec. 3-5 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
One of the night’s most intriguing matchups sends ninth-seeded Olentangy Orange (5-5) to No. 8 St. Charles (8-2), the Dispatch reported. It is the first meeting between the two programs and the first home playoff game in St. Charles history, which means the Pioneers have had to prepare for an opponent they have never faced while the Cardinals defend a milestone night on their own field.
Canal Winchester brings one of the state’s most productive rushing attacks into the postseason. The Dispatch reported that Canal (7-3) has won five straight games, scoring 44 and 70 points in two of them, to earn the No. 5 seed in Division II, Region 7 and a home game against No. 12 Ashland (6-4). Senior Jamari Snow has rushed for 2,052 yards and 30 touchdowns behind an offensive line led by left tackle Gabe Merrill, an Ohio University commit.
Marion-Franklin faces a long road trip and a balanced offense. The 11th-seeded Red Devils, who have won six of seven after an 0-3 start, travel to No. 6 East Liverpool (8-2) in Division IV, Region 15, the Dispatch reported. East Liverpool averages 29.4 points a game behind 1,105-yard senior running back Xavier Lara and dual-threat senior quarterback Ben Myers, who has passed for 1,452 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed for 677 yards and eight scores.
The Dispatch also noted that ninth-seeded Hamilton Township (7-3) saw its five-game winning streak end in a 14-6 loss to Fairfield Union last week, a defeat that likely cost the Rangers a first-round home game. Hamilton Township now opens the playoffs on the road instead of at home.
Under this year’s format, the top four seeds in each of the state’s 28 regions earned first-round byes and will host regional quarterfinals on Nov. 6. That makes Friday’s winners’ reward a trip to one of the region’s top four seeds — and makes avoiding an upset the only job that matters for Friday’s home teams.
What happens next is simple survive-and-advance football: Friday’s winners move on to the regional quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 6, while the 16 central Ohio teams on byes begin their postseasons that same night as hosts. By the end of next week, the central Ohio field will be cut roughly in half again on the way to Canton.
Photo: JonRidinger, CC BY