ATHENS — Southeast Ohio’s road through the football playoffs is set. The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced the regional quarterfinal pairings on Sunday afternoon, and every remaining Southeast team plays at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6, at the home of the higher-seeded team, according to the OHSAA pairings release.
The region’s marquee game is in Division III, Region 11, where No. 4 seed Athens (9-1) hosts No. 5 Dover (9-2) in The Plains. Athens earned a first-round bye as a top-four seed, while Dover advanced by beating Columbus South 41-7 in its playoff opener. The same region sends No. 9 Jackson (8-3) to No. 1 Steubenville (8-2) and No. 6 Thornville Sheridan (9-2) to No. 3 Columbus East (9-1).
Division III, Region 12 gives Ross County a home game and a road test on the same night. No. 4 Chillicothe (8-2) hosts No. 5 Washington Court House Miami Trace (10-1), while No. 8 Chillicothe Unioto (8-3) travels to No. 1 Bellbrook (10-0).
In Division IV, Region 15, No. 8 Zanesville West Muskingum (9-2) — fresh off a first-round win over Philo — visits No. 1 Gnadenhutten Indian Valley (9-0), and No. 2 New Lexington (9-1) hosts No. 10 Heath (8-3). West Muskingum’s trip is one of the longest any Southeast team faces this round, against the region’s only unbeaten top seed.
Division V, Region 19 is built for Southeast fans. No. 9 West Lafayette Ridgewood (7-4) plays at No. 1 Ironton (9-1), No. 10 Piketon (7-4) visits No. 2 Beverly Fort Frye (9-1), and No. 5 Wheelersburg (8-3) plays at No. 4 South Point (9-1) in a Lawrence County matchup between two of the region’s most consistent programs.
Ridgewood arrives with momentum: as NewsForce247 reported Friday night, Ridgewood rumbled past Fairland 49-6 after a three-and-a-half-hour road trip just to reach its first-round game. The Generals’ reward is a shorter trip and a much taller task at Ironton.
Division VI, Region 23 adds three more Southeast dates: No. 7 Sugarcreek Garaway (8-3) at No. 2 Nelsonville-York (9-1), No. 6 Waterford (9-2) at No. 3 West Jefferson (9-1), and No. 5 Newcomerstown (9-2) at No. 4 Woodsfield Monroe Central (7-3). In Region 24, No. 6 Mechanicsburg (9-2) plays at No. 3 Chillicothe Zane Trace (9-1).
Division VII, Region 27 rounds out the slate with No. 9 Steubenville Catholic Central (8-3) at No. 1 Willow Wood Symmes Valley (10-0), No. 6 Strasburg-Franklin (8-3) at No. 3 Toronto (9-1), and No. 5 Shadyside (9-2) at No. 4 Reedsville Eastern (8-2) in Meigs County.
The bracket structure rewards the regular season: the top four seeds in every region received a first-round bye, and the better-seeded team hosts through the first three rounds, according to the OHSAA. That is why Athens, Chillicothe, New Lexington, Nelsonville-York and Zane Trace all play at home Friday, while Jackson, Sheridan, Unioto and West Muskingum face the round’s hardest trips.
Friday’s winners advance to the regional semifinals on Friday, Nov. 13. Neutral sites begin with the regional finals on Nov. 20, rebracketing follows for the state semifinals on Nov. 27, and the state championships are set for Dec. 3-5 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, according to the OHSAA.
How they got here matters, too. The first round, played Friday, Oct. 30, was kind to the region’s travelers: Dover’s 41-7 win at Columbus South, West Muskingum’s 35-14 win over Philo, Garaway’s 42-0 shutout of Elgin and Strasburg-Franklin’s 56-21 win over Frontier all sent Southeast teams into this round with a win in hand, while the top-four seeds — Athens, Chillicothe, New Lexington, Nelsonville-York and Zane Trace among them — spent the week resting and scouting.
That rest-versus-rust question hangs over every game Friday. A bye week heals a roster in November, but the teams that played Friday carry game speed into the quarterfinals, and several of this round’s visitors — Dover, West Muskingum and Garaway among them — just proved they can win elimination games on the road or against rivals. The hosts, meanwhile, defend home fields where most have not lost all season.
Tickets for all playoff games go on sale Tuesdays starting at 10 a.m. at ohsaa.org/tickets, the OHSAA said. For Southeast fans, the practical advice is simple: buy early for Athens, Chillicothe and Nelsonville, because home playoff games in November are the nights these towns plan their weeks around. First-round coverage from across the state, including Louisville’s first playoff win since 2015, is in our Ohio Sports section.