Regional championship sites announced

VW independent sports/submitted information

COLUMBUS — The Ohio High School Athletic Association released the football regional final playoff pairings Sunday afternoon, with neutral sites hosting fourth-round games at 7 p.m. this Friday, November 17. The higher seeded team is the designated home team throughout the regional playoffs.

The list includes a rematch of two NWC teams, Columbus Grove and Bluffton, in Division VI, Region 22. They’ll meet at Findlay’s Donnell Stadium. Celina will face Hamilton-Badin in the Division III Region 12 championship game at Trotwood-Madison’s Miami Valley Hospital Valley Sportsplex. MAC teams Coldwater, Versailles, Anna and Marion Local will also compete for regional championships.

Neutral sites receive a hosting stipend from the OHSAA and also keep revenue from concessions, parking, 50-50 raffles and program sales. In addition, the OHSAA pays for the officials. A team’s regional seed, state rank and overall record do not factor into the decisions on neutral site locations.

Without schools being willing to host games, the OHSAA would not be able to use neutral sites. Many factors go into determining locations for each game, and rarely can a site be found that is exactly halftime between the two schools. Once a potential site is determined, the school must be available and willing to host a game on the requested night.

Later this week the OHSAA will announce how the regional champions will be paired for the state semifinals on Friday, November 24. The state championship games are November 30, December 1 and 2 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

Regional championship matchups, sites

Division I

Region 1
1 Lakewood St. Edward (11-1) vs. 6 Medina (9-3) at Parma Byers Field at Robert Boulton Stadium

Region 2
6 Dublin Coffman (9-3) vs. 12 Springfield (8-5) at Hilliard Darby High School

Region 3
2 Hilliard Bradley (12-1) vs. 4 Upper Arlington (10-3) at Historic Crew Stadium

Region 4
3 Wester Chester Lakota West (11-2) vs. 5 Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller (9-4) at Mason Tri-Health/Beacon Stadium

Division II

Region 5
1 Akron Archbishop Hoban (11-1) vs. 2 Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (12-1) at University of Akron InfoCision Stadium

Region 6
1 Avon (13-0) vs. 3 Medina Highland (11-2) at Strongsville Pat Catan Stadium

Region 7
1 Massillon Washington (13-0) vs. 3 Uniontown Green (10-3) at North Canton Hoover Memorial Stadium

Region 8
1 Cincinnati Anderson (12-1) vs. 3 Cincinnati Withrow (12-1) at Cincinnati Princeton Jake Sweeney Automotive Stadium

Division III

Region 9
1 Youngstown Ursulina (13-0) vs. 7 Chardon (10-3) at Ravenna Portage Community Bank Stadium, Harry Gilchrist Field

Region 10
1 Toledo Central Catholic (13-0) vs. 3 Tiffin Columbian (11-2) at Clyde Robert J. Bishop Jr. Stadium

Region 11
1 Columbus Bishop Watterson (12-1) vs. 7 Bellefontaine (11-2) at Marion Ohio Health Field at Harding Stadium

Region 12
1 Hamilton Badin (13-0) vs. 6 Celina (11-2) at Trotwood-Madison Miami Valley Hospital SportsPlex

Division IV

Region 13
1 Canton South (13-0) vs. 6 Struthers (10-3) at Tallmadge Larry Bagnoli Stadium

Region 14
1 Sandusky Perkins (12-0) vs. 2 Cleveland Glenville (10-2) at Elyria Mercy Field at Ely Stadium

Region 15
1 Steubenville (12-1) vs. 2 Thornville Sheridan (12-1) at New Philadelphia Quaker Stadium

Region 16
4 Kettering Archbishop Alter (10-3) vs. 6 Cincinnati Wyoming (12-1) at Monroe Hornet Stadium

Division V

Region 17
1 Perry (13-0) vs. 2 Canfield South Range (12-1) at Twinsburg Tiger Stadium

Region 18
1 Liberty Center (13-0) vs. 6 Coldwater (12-1) at Lima Spartan Stadium

Region 19
4 Canal Winchester Harvest Prep (11-1) vs. 7 Wheelersburg (9-3) at Athens Joe Burrow Stadium

Region 20
1 Germantown Valley View (12-1) vs. 2 Waynesville (11-2) at Springboro CareFlight Field at Watkins Stadium

Division VI

Region 21
1 Kirtland (12-1) vs. 3 Mogadore (10-2) at Macedonia Nordonia Boliantz Stadium

Region 22
1 Columbus Grove (11-2) vs. 2 Bluffton (12-1) at Findlay Donnell Stadium

Region 23
1 Sugarcreek Garaway (13-0) vs. 2 West Jefferson (12-1) at Zanesville Sulsberger Stadium

Region 24
2 Versailles (11-2) vs 8 Anna (8-5) Sidney Memorial Stadium

Division VII

Region 25
1 Dalton (11-1) vs. 2 Danville (13-0) at Dover Crater Stadium

Region 26
5 Hamler Patrick Henry (11-2) vs. 6 McComb (11-2) at Napoleon Buckenmeyer Stadium

Region 27
1 Reedsville Eastern (12-1) vs. 3 Caldwell (10-3) at Vincent Warren Warrior Stadium

Region 28
1 Maria Stein Marion Local (13-0) vs. 2 Ansonia (13-0) at Piqua High School Alexander Stadium