The Greater Catholic League Co-Ed Division, Central Buckeye Conference, Ohio Heritage Conference and the Miami Valley League will all begin division play this week.
Playoff pairings will be announced Oct. 26.
Here’s five things to know heading into Week 6:
First playoff rankings released
Last spring, the OHSAA restructured the football playoffs, reducing the number of teams who qualify from 16 to 12 teams per region.
That means several area teams will be on the outside looking in for the first time this decade.
From 1999 through 2019, eight schools per region qualified for the playoffs, which was a five-week tournament. In 2020, all teams made the playoffs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The next year, OHSAA increased the number of teams to 16 per region.
This year, the top-12 in each region will qualify for the playoffs, with the top four seeds getting a first-round bye.
The first official playoff rankings were released earlier this week with several local schools leading their regions including Middletown (Division I, Region 2), Tippecanoe (D-III, Region 12), defending state champion Coldwater (D-VI, Region 24) and four-time defending state champion Marion Local (D-VII, Region 28).
If the season ended today, a few perennial playoff squads would miss the postseason, including Springfield (13th in D-I, Region 2), Greeneview (14th, D-V, Region 20) and Minster (13th, D-VII, Region 28).
Beavercreek atop GWOC with Wayne, Springfield
The Beavers are 3-2 for the second straight season and 2-0 in Western Ohio Conference for the first time since 2015. They’re tied atop the GWOC with Springfield (2-3, 2-0) and Wayne (3-2, 2-0).
Beavercreek’s last league title came in 2013. The Beavers shared the GWOC Central title with Northmont.
Beavercreek travels to winless Centerville (0-5, 0-2 GWOC) this week. The Beavers have lost 13 straight to the Elks.
SWBL showdown
Oakwood (5-0) travels to Germantown to face Valley View (4-1) in a battle of Southwestern Buckeye League Buckeye Division unbeatens - and clashing styles of play. They’re tied atop the division with Brookville (5-0) at 2-0.
The Lumberjacks are seeking their first win against the Spartans since 2015. They lead the SWBL in passing attempts with 116. Oakwood senior Zach Lutz leads the league with 1,083 passing yards and 18 TD passes and senior wide receiver Michael Woeste leads the SWBL with 485 receiving yards.
Valley View has won nine straight against the Lumberjacks, including a 20-6 win last season. The Spartans have two players who rank among the league leaders in rushing yards — junior running back Brodie Hopkins (483) and junior quarterback Brody Gibbs (458).
Statewide leaders
Two area players lead the state in passing and rushing yards, according to unofficial stats on MaxPreps.
Lehman Catholic’s Turner Lachey leads the state with 1,865 passing yards, 143 yards ahead of Cincinnati Anderson’s Owen Scalf.
Two of his top targets - Evan O’Leary (892 yards) and CJ Olding (685 yards) - rank second and fifth in receiving yards. Northeastern’s Jacoby Newman ranks third with 698 yards. North Baltimore’s Cooper Clark leads the state with 982 receiving yards.
Talawanda’s Lance Cantrell leads the state with 1,361 yards rushing and ranks third with 96 points.
The streak continues
The longest active winning streak in the nation reached 69 last week. Marion Local (5-0) beat previously undefeated New Bremen 40-7 to extend the streak.
The Flyers will host 4-1 Versailles this week. They’ve won 13 straight against the Tigers.
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