OHSAA alters football season

COLUMBUS, Ohio — High school football players in Ohio had their preseason scrimmages canceled on July 29.

Some regular season games may be taken away as well.

The OHSAA Board of Directors approved by a 9-0 vote Friday to shorten the football season to six regular-season games — should the season go on at all — and have an all-inclusive playoff format.

“In continuing our constructive, ongoing conversations with the Governor’s Office, we were advised this week that ending our season earlier in football was in the best interest of the participants due to the uncertainty of what colder weather could do to COVID-19 cases,” Bob Goldring, OHSAA’s interim executive director, said in a memo to school superintendents, principals and athletic administrators Friday. “Therefore, our Board of Directors today approved a modification to the football season that we believe will be a win-win for all parties.”

The proposal, which is contingent on Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine giving the green light for football to continue, allows football season to begin Aug. 24, the same date as originally scheduled. There will be six weeks of regular-season play, and all teams will be eligible for the playoffs, however schools must commit to participate in the playoffs by 11:59 p.m. Sept. 17 — two weeks before the sixth week of play.

New regions will be determined Sept. 18, and the number of playoff rounds is also contingent on the number of schools who choose to enter the playoffs. Coaches in each region will seed all playoff teams in the region to form a bracket (volleyball, basketball, baseball and softball already use the seeded format).

Playoffs will begin Oct. 9, and the state finals will end no later than Nov. 21.

The OHSAA built in a caveat, however, which allows teams to still play a maximum of 10 games — schools eliminated from the playoffs or those that choose to not participate in the playoffs have the option to still schedule additional games through Nov. 14.

Other playoff details:

•Computer ratings, which under normal circumstances are used to determine playoff seeding, are suspended for the 2020 season.

•Playoff games through regional semifinal (and possibly regional final) will be hosted by the higher-seeded team — generally the regional quarterfinal is hosted by the higher-seeded team and the remainder of the playoffs are at neutral sites.

•Schools may withdraw from the playoffs without penalty until Sept. 24.

“To both ensure we can offer students the opportunity to participate in education-based athletics but do so with their best interests in mind, we believe this modified plan offers a positive solution by addressing many of our member schools,” Jeff Cassella, president of the OHSAA Board of Directors and athletic administrator at Mentor High School said in a release. “Those that are able to start their season on time will be able to do so. Those that are starting later can still have in a season. Add in the option of all schools entering the playoffs and the possibility of schools still being able to play 10 regular season contests, and this plan is helpful to virtually all of our schools.”