“The first two weeks were crazy,” Springfield coach Maurice Douglass said. “The third week we were at least able to get out on the field, but it’s just the adjustment from day to day. We always talk to the kids about you’re not promised tomorrow and especially in this game. Now this year we could play one game, and it could all be over. So we have to take advantage of every day that we have and maximize it.”
The threat of COVID-19 looms over the season. That’s why the Ohio High School Athletic Association shortened the season from 10 regular-season games to six, and it’s why every team will make the playoffs for the first time. In this way, teams won’t lose the opportunity to compete for a championship even if they don’t complete their schedule.
“It’s going to be a week-to-week thing,” Douglass said, “and that’s why I have tried to overemphasize every kid’s got to be a starter. You don’t know what’s going to happen. A kid could get sick on a Thursday and not be able to play, so we’ve been trying to make sure everybody is up to par as far as understanding the system and what we’re doing each week.”
Springfield opens the season at home at 7 p.m. Friday against Wayne. Here’s a look at that game and the other games featuring area teams. Last year’s records are in parentheses.
Wayne (3-7) at Springfield (12-2): Coming off the best season in the history of the new high school, Springfield opens with one of its biggest Greater Western Ohio Conference rivals. The Wildcats beat Wayne 38-13 last season and 33-26 in overtime in 2018. Prior to that, Wayne had won seven straight games in the series.
Urbana (0-10) at Shawnee (9-3): Each Central Buckeye Conference team will play one cross-divisional game before five divisional games. Shawnee beat Urbana 41-0 last season after losing 47-12 in 2018. The Braves have won the matchup three times in the last four years.
Urbana’s winless 2019 season came six years after an undefeated regular season. The Hillclimbers lost every game by double digits last season, but eight of its opponents finished with winning records and four reached the playoffs.
Northwestern (6-4) at Tecumseh (1-9): Northwestern reached the playoffs for the first time in 2018 and recorded another rare feat for the program last season, finishing with a winning record for the second straight season. In three seasons under head coach Shane Carter, Northwestern is 17-14.
Tecumseh and Northwestern didn’t play last season. The Arrows won three straight games in the series from 2016-18 by a combined score of 96-35.
Kenton Ridge (5-5) at Graham (4-6): Jon Daniels begins his first season as Kenton Ridge head coach against a team the Cougars beat 49-21 last season. Kenton Ridge has won the game each of the last four seasons. Graham last beat the Cougars in 2009.
Mechanicsburg (11-3) at Greenon (8-2): Like teams in the CBC, Ohio Heritage Conference will play one cross-division game and five divisional games. Greenon just missed its first playoff appearance last season, finishing ninth in Division V, Region 20. It still won the Ohio Heritage Conference South Division championship. Mechanicsburg won this game 52-0 last season. It was one of the Indians’ four shutouts.
Greeneview (5-5) at West Liberty-Salem (11-2): West Liberty-Salem won this matchup 51-6 last season and has won eight of the last 10 meetings.
Southeastern (3-7) at Triad (3-7): This will be the first game as head coach for Southeastern’s Aaron Woods and Triad’s Dylan Wears. Southeastern hasn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2009. Wears takes over a program that has suffered five straight losing seasons. Triad beat the Trojans 18-14 last season.
Northeastern (2-8) at Cedarville (1-9): Northeastern beat Cedarville 26-20 last season and has won three straight games in the series.
Fairbanks (6-4) at Catholic Central (0-10): Ty Myers, who was hired in December, will coach his first game at Catholic Central, which brings a 24-game losing streak into the season.
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