The road to Canton is set. The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced the football regional quarterfinal pairings on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 1, and Northeast Ohio’s powers headline the slate, with every game kicking off at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, at the home field of the higher-seeded team, according to the pairings published by OHSAA and reported by OHSFB Media.
In Division I, Region 1, the bracket runs through Lakewood and Mentor. No. 8 Cleveland St. Ignatius (6-5) travels to No. 1 Lakewood St. Edward (9-1), No. 6 Strongsville (8-3) visits No. 3 Mentor (8-2), and No. 5 Hudson (8-3) plays at No. 4 Massillon Jackson (8-2), the OHSAA pairings show. No. 7 Canton McKinley (8-3) heads to No. 2 Austintown-Fitch (8-1) in the remaining Region 1 quarterfinal, according to the Canton Repository’s statewide schedule.
Massillon’s path runs through one of Ohio’s most storied stadiums. The No. 3-seeded Tigers (9-1) host No. 6 Columbus DeSales (8-3) in a Division II, Region 7 quarterfinal at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, according to the Canton Repository, while No. 7 Louisville (9-2) travels to No. 2 Sunbury Big Walnut (10-0) in the same region. Massillon earned its seed with a first-round bye, as did every top-four seed in each region under the OHSAA format.
Division III, Region 9 brings an undefeated top seed and one unresolved bracket spot. No. 8 Youngstown Ursuline (7-4) visits No. 1 Willoughby South (10-0), and No. 10 Hawken (8-3) plays at No. 2 Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (9-1), the pairings show. No. 4 Salem (8-2), meanwhile, will host either No. 5 Cleveland Glenville (8-2) or No. 12 Hunting Valley University School (6-4), with that opponent pending a legal outcome this week, according to OHSFB Media’s report of the OHSAA announcement.
Further down the divisions, Northeast Ohio’s unbeaten teams carry home fields into Friday. In Division V, Region 17, No. 9 Canton Central Catholic (7-4) travels to No. 1 Lake County Perry (10-0) and No. 6 Youngstown Mooney (8-3) visits No. 3 Girard (10-0), according to the Canton Repository. In Division IV, Region 13, No. 7 Canal Fulton Northwest (9-2) plays at No. 2 Rocky River (10-0) and No. 8 Orrville (8-3) visits No. 1 Streetsboro (8-2).
The structure behind the pairings explains why so many familiar names were idle last weekend. The top four seeds in each region received a first-round bye, OHSFB Media reported, and the regional playoffs follow a bracket format with the better-seeded team serving as host through the first three rounds. The postseason began Friday, Oct. 30, with first-round games in all seven divisions, according to the Canton Repository.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What we know: all regional quarterfinal games kick off at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, unless otherwise noted, at the higher seed’s field, and tickets for all playoff games will be available on Tuesdays starting at 10 a.m. at ohsaa.org/tickets, according to the OHSAA announcement reported by OHSFB Media. What we are still waiting on: the resolution of the Glenville–University School question in Region 9, which the OHSAA pairings list as pending a legal outcome this week, and with it Salem’s confirmed quarterfinal opponent.
The stakes rise quickly from here. Regional semifinal games will be played on Friday, Nov. 13, and neutral sites take over beginning with the regional finals on Friday, Nov. 20, according to the OHSAA schedule. Rebracketing will occur for the state semifinals on Friday, Nov. 27, and the state championship games return to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton on Dec. 3–5 — the sixth straight year all of the title games are being played in Canton, the Canton Repository reported.
Northeast Ohio football has already delivered a dramatic postseason. Readers can revisit how Louisville beat Hoover 21-7 to avenge a loss and win its first playoff game since 2015, and how Hudson stayed perfect as Walsh Jesuit and Medina won district titles in girls soccer as the fall tournaments roll on across the region.
What happens next: tickets go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m. through the OHSAA, and by Friday night the Region 1, 7, 9, 13 and 17 fields will be cut in half. For St. Edward, Mentor, Massillon and Willoughby South, the byes are over — November football in Northeast Ohio starts for real this week.
Photo: Sean P Bender, CC BY-SA, via Wikimedia Commons — the Paul Brown statue at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.