{"id":185366,"date":"2024-10-27T21:17:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T02:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=185366"},"modified":"2024-10-28T05:44:39","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T10:44:39","slug":"monday-mailbag-playoffs-and-more-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2024\/10\/27\/monday-mailbag-playoffs-and-more-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday Mailbag: playoffs and more"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s Monday Mailbag features questions about the OHSAA football playoffs and why some teams qualified while others didn\u2019t, an opt-out question, a comment and question about targeting in college football, and questions about NFL extra points and the Browns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: This doesn\u2019t make sense to me \u2013 how can Elida, who won three games, get in the playoffs over Van Wert, who won four games? I understand Elida beat Van Wert, but should a team with one more win get in, or shouldn\u2019t both teams have qualified? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: In this case, it came down to each team\u2019s schedule, head-to-head results between Van Wert and Elida, and the way the rest of the games in Division IV, Region 14 played out.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elida had a pair of wins over Division III teams (Toledo Rogers and Celina). Since they came over larger schools, those carry more weight and the win over Celina was especially huge in keeping the Bulldogs in the playoff hunt. Van Wert had a win over Division III Shawnee but didn\u2019t get much help from the Indians, who finished 2-8. The other three wins came against Division IV schools that finished 1-9, 5-5, 2-8, and 2-8.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had the Cougars won Friday, I believe they would have been in Elida\u2019s spot \u2013 the No. 15 seed and preparing for a trip to Ontario, just outside of Mansfield. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five years ago, we wouldn\u2019t be having this discussion, as the top eight teams from each region qualified for the playoffs. In 2020, all teams who wanted to play in the postseason got in and the playoffs expanded to the top 16 teams per region in 2021. I\u2019ll add the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association was against the expansion to 16 teams per region and was not at all pleased when OHSAA made the decision.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to go back even further, when the playoffs began in 1972, only the No. 1 seeds in each region got in. It expanded to the top two teams per region in 1980, then the top four seeds per region in 1985. It was expanded to eight teams per region in 1999. Along the way, the OHSAA went from Class AAA, AA and A to Divisions I, II, III, IV and IV, then eventually Division VI,, then Division VII.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the record, I am not a fan of the 16-team per region format. I do enjoy the buzz and excitement the expanded format offers. It truly gives many schools something to play for late in the season, but I don\u2019t like the ensuing mismatches, blowouts and long road trips that take place in Week No. 11. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: After looking at the recent computer rankings, I don’t see how Van Wert can get in (the playoffs) even with a win? I thought Van Wert would be in a better position to get in. Upper Sandusky now in 16th position and plays Buckeye Central (2-7. Van Wert plays Elida (2-7), so how can we get in if both teams win? Unfortunately Kenton didn’t help at all and Upper moved past Van Wert. What are your thoughts? I’m totally for Van Wert to be in the playoffs!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I now see the possibility that if both teams win Upper and Van Wert, our win will have more weight being Van Wert? Upper playing Buckeye Central which may play in a weaker conference? Maybe that is how we get in? Clear Fork only has three wins at this point but is ranked 15th? Who implements and how are computer points given weight? Just some thoughts and questions. Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: These questions were sent in before Friday night\u2019s regular season finale but I\u2019ll still try to shed some light on them and I\u2019ll start by saying I\u2019m not a Harbin points math guy. I freely admit that I\u2019m not smart enough for all of that but there are some very intelligent people out there who have it all figured out and often times provide me with all of the scenarios even before the some of the games are played.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Friday\u2019s Van Wert vs. Elida game was considered a \u201cwin and in\u201d game in Division IV, Region 14. Now, there were some scenarios where both teams or neither team would get in but those were very remote possibilities.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had the Cougars won, I believe Kenton\u2019s win over Shawnee would have helped Van Wert secure the No. 15 seed. Even if Kenton lost and Van Wert won, there probably wouldn\u2019t have been much doubt the Cougars were in. Unfortunately for Van Wert, it didn\u2019t work out as Elida claimed a 49-34 victory.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all due respect, I think the Western Buckeye League is a much stronger league that the Northern 10 (oddly, the conference only has eight members), which includes Upper Sandusky and Buckeye Central. Clear Fork is in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference and I have to say, that\u2019s a strong conference. It includes the Colts and six other playoff qualifiers \u2013 Shelby, Ontario, Galion, River Valley, and Marion Pleasant. The only two members to not get in were Marion Harding and Highland.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a nutshell, the Harbin computer points not only rewards a team for wins, but more weight is given to teams that beat other teams in higher divisions. Plus, when the team you beat wins other games, you get second level points which are factored into the equation. Clear Fork\u2019s wins came against Division III Lexington and Division II Marion Harding, plus a pair of Division IV wins, Highland and River Valley.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I noted before, I like the excitement that goes with teams getting in the playoffs but I\u2019m not a fan of the expanded 16-team per region format.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: If I remember correctly, during the 2020 season, teams were allowed to opt out of the playoffs due to COVID. What would happen now if a team knew there was no way they could win a playoff game \u2013 can they just not show up or forfeit? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Your memory is correct and funny you should ask \u2013 yes, you can opt out and yes, it\u2019s already happened. Lockland High School is in Division VII, Region 28. The Panthers, from the Cincinnati area, finished 2-7 and earned the No. 16 seed, the final team to get into the playoffs. They were set to play No. 1 seed Marion Local, but Lockland opted out of the playoffs due to not enough available players and injuries. That means the next team, Cedarville, who was the No. 17 seed, moved up and was scheduled to travel to Maria Stein for the opening round playoff game<\/em>, except for one thing – Cedarville also declined the No. 16 seed and opted not to play Marion Local, which left the OHSAA to bump up New Miami, which also declined. Next up: Fort Recovery, which accepted the No. 16 seed and will face the Flyers Friday night. It’ll be a rematch of a Week No. 7 game, won by Marion Local 62-0. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have definite thoughts and questions about three schools declining the No. 16 seed. Perhaps I’ll address those tomorrow. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: I inquired early on about NFL kickoff rule and I honestly am starting to like it. My question is why is there a vast difference in yardage for college and pros on extra point attempts? And can the Browns be anymore pathetic? I’m a die hard Browns and will always be but dang they’re tough to watch. Vince Barnhart, Van Wert<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Having seen the new kickoff rule in the regular season, I don\u2019t mind it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NFL moved the extra point attempt from the 2-yard line to the 15-yard line in 2015 to \u201cspice things up\u201d a bit. For the longest time, the PAT was automatic. There some kickers that didn\u2019t miss an extra point for years. Now, an extra point is basically a 33-yard field goal try, which for most NFL kickers isn\u2019t a problem, but it\u2019s not exactly automatic anymore.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To answer your question about the Browns, I suppose it\u2019s possible they could be more pathetic, but no one wants to see that. This season is bad enough.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: The NCAA\u2019s targeting rule is trash. Ohio State was called for targeting against Nebraska but it wasn\u2019t targeting. What are your thoughts? Name withheld upon request<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I\u2019ll say it\u2019s subjective and I don\u2019t mean that in a good way. What one official may interpret as targeting, another official may wave it off or rule no targeting. I understand the intent of the rule but the application of it leaves a lot to be desired.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m with you \u2013 I don\u2019t think the targeting call against Arvell Reese was targeting at all. Even if it had been two different teams playing but the same call \u2013 I would have disagreed with it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a sports question or comment for the next Monday Mailbag, please email it to sports@thevwindependent.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports This week\u2019s Monday Mailbag features questions about the OHSAA football playoffs and why some teams qualified while others didn\u2019t, an opt-out question, a comment and question about targeting in college football, and questions about NFL extra points and the Browns. Q: This doesn\u2019t make sense to me \u2013 how can Elida, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-185366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-01 16:23:12","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185366"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":185424,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185366\/revisions\/185424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}