Football in Ohio gets the green light

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The much-awaited news was finally delivered Tuesday afternoon.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday he will sign a new order to giving the green light for contact sports, including football, field hockey and soccer, to move forward this fall.

“I hope that the desire to have a season will inspire our young people, our athletes, our student-athletes, 24/7 to be as careful as they can,” DeWine said during his press conference Tuesday. “I hope also that our coaches will use this as an opportunity to focus on helping these young people understand what is really at stake. If they are going to be able to play, that they are going to have to do everything they can to keep COVID out of their team.”

The move comes exactly three weeks after the OHSAA suspended all scrimmages between schools for four sports deemed high-contact — football, field hockey, soccer and cross country, although shortly thereafter cross country was deemed a low- or non-contact sport.

The July 28 decision left the future of contact sports in limbo for thousands of athletes in the Buckeye State.

Ten days later, however, the OHSAA put forth a vote to shorten the football season to six regular-season games and include an all-inclusive playoff format. But the change, which then forced the Midwest Athletic Conference to alter its schedule and drop all non-conference contests, was still contingent on DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health allowing fall sports in the state to continue.

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To the west, Indiana is pushing forth with its fall sports season, and late last week Michigan announced it was suspending its fall sports seasons until the spring.

DeWine’s announcement Tuesday came as a breath of fresh air for the OHSAA.

“The OHSAA is moving forward because we want kids to have an opportunity to participate, and the Governor’s Office is providing that opportunity and a chance,” Bob Goldring, OHSAA Interim Executive Director said in a statement. “So for that we are most appreciative. It is important to remember that our student-athletes have been practicing and training with others for weeks and even months, and it has gone well.

“So we believe they deserve the chance to move forward, and that the high school space is also different than the collegiate space.”

Spectator capacity for contests will be limited, and exact details will be released at a later date. However, DeWine said he hopes to place an emphasis on allowing families of the athletes to have priority as spectators.

The new order will also permit one football scrimmage, and Fort Recovery High School’s scrimmage Friday against Hicksville at Barrenbrugge Athletic Park will go on as scheduled.