The 10-week season will culminate on Saturday, Oct. 25 with the playoff pairings announced on Sunday, Oct. 26.
The state championships will be held Dec. 4-6 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association changed the statewide playoff structure in June.
The field in each region will shrink from 16 teams to 12 teams with the top four receiving byes in the first round.
Additionally, the first three rounds will be hosted by the higher seed instead of just the first two.
The move to 16 teams per region came after eight teams made the playoffs in each region from 1999-2019. In 2020, all teams made the playoffs as changes were made due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The state increased the playoff field to 16 teams in 2021.
After four years of 16-team playoff fields, the OHSAA gathered feedback from schools and opted to shrink the field to 12 teams per region.
Streaking
Speaking of state championships, Marion Local is seeking its fifth straight state title.
The Flyers have been perfect for four straight years, winning a state record 64 straight games. Marion Local beat Jeromesville Hillsdale 74-0 in the Division VII state championship.
How dominant were the Flyers last season? Offensively, they averaged 49 points per game. On the other side of the ball, Marion Local allowed just 49 points the entire season.
Several other schools hope keep their streaks alive, including:
State semifinals repeat?
Centerville advanced to the D-I state semifinals for the first time since 1991 and for the third time in school history.
With a strong group of returners, including senior quarterback Shane Cole and senior running back Parker Johnson, the Elks hope to make it two years in a row. Longtime assistant and former Vandalia Butler coach John Puckett takes over the program from Brent Ullery.
The Greater Western Ohio Conference has advanced a team to the state semifinals each of the past six seasons. Springfield went to the state semifinals for five straight seasons from 2019-2023, finishing runner-up three seasons in a row.
New faces in new places
There were more than 20 coaching changes throughout the Miami Valley this winter, including at several big schools such as Northmont (Ben Rulli), Miamisburg (Matt Muncy), Sidney (Kyle Coleman) and Fairfield (Justin Roden).
Marcus Colvin returned to Chaminade Julienne this season after coaching at Beavercreek during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Colvin previously coached the Eagles for 11 seasons, going 65-52 with seven playoff appearances and a GCL Co-ed title in 2019. He takes over for Earl White, who is now the head coach at Ponitz.
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