Four Area Teams Sit atop First OHSAA Football Playoff Rankings
The short version
- First OHSAA Harbin rankings released Tuesday, Sept. 22
- Bellbrook (D-III), Graham (D-V), Tri-Village (D-VI) and Minster (D-VII) open at No. 1 in their regions
- Top 12 per region qualify; first-round games Oct. 31 at higher seeds; top four seeds get byes
- 16 area teams in bye position, 15 more in line to host a first-round game
- Southwestern Buckeye League has eight of 12 teams in playoff position
Bellbrook, Graham, Tri-Village and Minster lead their regions in the opening Ohio Harbin computer ratings heading into the second half of the season.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association issued its first football Harbin computer ratings of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 22, and four area programs opened in the top spot of their regions: Bellbrook in Division III, Graham in Division V, Tri-Village in Division VI and Minster in Division VII.
At the halfway mark of the regular season, 16 local teams are currently seeded in position to skip the opening round of the playoffs, while 15 more would host a first-round contest if the season ended now.
Playoff qualification goes to the top 12 in each region once the regular season concludes. Opening-round games are set for Oct. 31 at the home field of the better seed, with the top four seeds advancing directly to round two and neutral venues taking over at the regional semifinal stage.
The early numbers highlight the Greater Miami Conference, which holds four of the first seven positions in Division I, Region 4. By contrast, no GWOC club is currently in line for a bye in D-I, Region 2, though six would still reach the playoffs.
Other notes from the release: the Southwestern Buckeye League places eight of its 12 members inside the top 12 this week; Graham leads Williamsburg by just .25 points in a tightly packed D-V, Region 20, where the gap from first to fourth is 1.1 points; defending D-VII champion St. Henry sits tied for 11th in D-VI, Region 24; and Minster, Ansonia, Marion Local and Fort Loramie hold the first four positions in D-VII, Region 28.
