by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio – The 2020 Ohio High School Athletic Association Football postseason is finally here! On October 1st, OHSAA announced the regional brackets for the football playoffs, which currently includes 648 schools.

During a normal OHSAA Football season, 224 schools typically qualify for the playoffs, with eight schools from each of 28 regions earning a bid through the OHSAA’s Harbin computer ratings system. This season the Harbin system will not be used. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the playoffs will begin in Week 7 (Oct. 9-10) and all teams could potentially opt-in.

The Loveland Tigers will travel to Little Miami High School this Friday, October 9. Game time is 7 PM. Little Miami has a 15 seed and Loveland is seeded 18.

The Panthers beat the Tigers in Tiger Stadium on September 18th, 55-20.

The Tigers lost at Kings last Friday night 63-32 and play the last game of their announced schedule on Friday, October 16th at Milford. All teams have the option of playing more games if or when they are eliminated from the State Tournament. The Milford game scenario would change depending on tournament first-round game results.

Below is the Region 8 Bracket for Div II. (Right-Click the Bracket and open in a new tab or window for a larger view)

(Continue reading about the State Tournament below the Bracket…)

The head coaches in each region voted to determine the seeding in their region. OHSAA placed teams in particular brackets according to their seeds. In most regions, the higher seeds will have a first-round bye.

All playoff tickets will be sold online through www.OHSAA.org/tickets and will be available starting Tuesday, October 6.

Divisions, I, II, III, and VII will play on Friday nights. Divisions IV, V, and VI will play on Saturday nights. All games will kick-off at 7 p.m.

For each game through at least the regional semifinals, the higher seeded team will have the first opportunity to host the game. If the higher-seeded team cannot host, the other team will host the game. The OHSAA will determine sites for the regional finals, state semifinals, and state championships. If a team is unable to play a playoff game on the assigned day according to the bracket, its opponent will advance on the bracket.

Schools eliminated from the playoffs or that chose not to enter have the option to schedule additional regular-season contests through Saturday, November 14 (maximum of 10 regular season contests permitted).

All sports in Ohio – at all levels – are under the direction of the latest Ohio Department of Health order, which was signed on August 19th by Governor DeWine. The order and additional guidance from the ODH and OHSAA are posted at:https://www.ohsaa.org/Home/OHSAA-COVID-19-Correspondence

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

The Division I State Championship Game will be played Friday, November 13th. The specific dates and times for the state championship games in Divisions II through VII will be announced at a later date but will be played within the November 19th-22nd date range. Sites will be announced at a later date, as well, but it is unlikely that all seven games will be played at the same venue according to the OHSAA. There will be no state championship games that happen simultaneously, as each game will have its own time slot

Spectrum News 1 will be the official television partner of the OHSAA and will select several playoff games each weekend to televise live. Only Spectrum can provide live television coverage of the OHSAA Football Playoff Games. All other television broadcasts can start at 10 P.M. on the same day as the game. Live video streaming will be permitted for games not selected by Spectrum News 1 at rates set by the OHSAA.

For more of your Loveland Sports 411 With Me, Cassie Mattia, stay tuned!