Monday Mailbag: We’re talking football

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

We took to Twitter to ask readers for questions about 2019 OHSAA football divisions and regions and below are the questions that were sent to us.

Q: I read what you wrote about Division IV, Region 14 not getting any weaker with the departure of St. Marys. I have to disagree, that move alone makes the region weaker. Name withheld upon request

A: As I mentioned last week, the addition of Clyde helps keep Region 14 strong. The Fliers have been a Division III team for many years and qualified for the playoffs in nine of the last 10 seasons.

Clear Fork remains an annual playoff contender and Perkins is an interesting addition to the region.

It’s still a tough region, and as any coach will tell you, it only matters if you qualify for the playoffs.

Q: What was OHSAA thinking lumping so many strong teams together into Region 23? Name withheld upon request

I don’t think the OHSAA lumped the strong teams in Region 23 on purpose, it just kind of worked out that way. At least the region makes decent geographical sense.

Let’s face it – there will always be regions that are strong or very strong and others that aren’t so strong. There’s no question that Region 23 is absolutely loaded and I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say there’s a good chance the winner of the region will probably be in the Division VI state championship game.

Q: Is Region 23 the strongest in the state? Name withheld upon request

A: Pound for pound, team for team, it’s really hard to say no. As I said last week, some teams who would qualify for the postseason in another region won’t make it this year, and some teams who do get in will make an unusually early exit.

Q: How is it fair that Marion Local, who was in the Division VI state championship game, is down to Division VII this year? Name withheld upon request

A: It’s based on enrollment. The Flyers have obviously enjoyed a great deal of success, appearing in six Division VI state championship games since 2012 (winning five) and winning two Division VII titles (2013 and 2014). Like many teams, Marion Local has holes to fill caused by graduation, but right now it’s hard to see the team not playing for a state title.

Q: I’ve heard that OHSAA is going to increase the number of playoff teams per region and maybe add an eighth division. Is this true? Name withheld upon request

A: I haven’t heard that rumor and I sincerely hope it’s not true. Actually, I’m very confident it’s not going to happen.

There are already too many first round mismatches, which indicates to me that some of the teams that qualify probably don’t belong in the postseason. I’m all for having more teams experience the playoffs but there has to be a cutoff point and I think we’re already there.

If you have a question for next week’s Monday Mailbag, email it to sports@thevwindependent.com. If you’re not already following us on Twitter, please do so at @VWindependent.