Anna and Minster’s 2020 playoff hopes are heading south.
The two schools and Versailles will compete for playoff berths in a new region this year. The Ohio High School Athletic Association released new playoff division and region assignments for all member teams last week.
The Rockets and Wildcats both played for playoff berths in Division VI, Region 23 last year, which mostly included teams in northwest Ohio. Both squads will move to Div. VI, Region 24 this year, which is made mostly of teams in southwest Ohio.
Anna, which has earned playoff berths the last three years, beat Minster in a first-round playoff game last year. It was the sixth consecutive playoff berth for Minster.
The Rockets won Region 23 and blasted Region 24 winner Mechanicsburg in a state semifinal. The squad earned its first state championship last December by beating New Middletown Springfield 48-14.
Versailles, which last made the playoffs in 2014, is moving from Division V, Region 20 to Division V, Region 18.
Sidney remains in Division II, Region 7 while Fort Loramie, Lehman Catholic, New Bremen and Riverside all remain in Division VII, Region 28.
The OHSAA adjusts playoff division and region assignments each spring. Schools are placed in divisions based on an enrollment count that is determined from a numerical formula that includes student enrollment in ninth through eleventh grades and competitive balance factors.
Competitive balance — which the association first implemented in 2017 — uses a varying multiple for students who don’t live in the school district they attend. That number is added to the school’s enrollment total.
There are seven divisions in football, and each division is split into four regions based on geography. The top eight teams in each region qualify for playoffs. Playoff berths are determined by the Harbins points system, which awards teams points for victories and victories by defeated opponents.
Division assignments for football, volleyball and boys and girls soccer are adjusted each year due to the association’s competitive balance process. All other fall sports — which are not regulated with competitive balance measures — have postseason divisions adjusted every two years. The OHSAA updates enrollment figures from the Ohio Department of Education every two years.
Only one area fall sports team will be in a different division this fall. Anna’s girls soccer squad will drop from Division II to Division III.
The OHSAA canceled winter sports tournaments and spring sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The association also has a no-contact period in place, which prevents any offseason workouts or other in-person gatherings of teams in any sports.
The association is currently exploring options on how to conduct fall sports. More information should be released in May.
