High school football: Five teams will represent Lorain County in playoffs

Only five Lorain County football teams will get the opportunity to head to the practice field this week after the Ohio High School Athletic Association announced the brackets and first-round parings for the 2025 playoffs. Defending Division II state champion Avon, North Ridgeville, Midview, Clearview and Columbia will represent the county when the playoffs begin Friday. Although with the new playoff format that sees the top 12 teams from each of the state's 28 regions qualify for the postseason — the top four teams in each region earning a first-round bye — Avon, North Ridgeville and Columbia won't play until Nov. 7. "When I was in school only the top four teams made it. To make the top four two years in a row is a great accomplishment. It's only happened one time before in school history," North Ridgeville coach Bryan Morgan said. The Rangers finished as the No. 4 seed in Division II, Region 6. A wild Week 10 win over Olmsted Falls vaulted North Ridgeville into position to earn a first-round bye. The Rangers will open at home against the winner of Friday's game between No. 5 Whitehouse Anthony Wayne and No. 12 Toledo Start. "Not having a two-hour drive is a big deal.," Morgan said. "When you're playing a team from Toledo, you'd much rather have a home game. If you're playing a team from around here, I'm not sure it's as big of a difference."Columbia's 43-15 Week 10 win over Firelands earned the Raiders the Lorain County League championship and the No. 3 seed in Division VI, Region 21. After the bye, the Raiders will begin postseason play against the winner of Dalton and Columbiana. "We were discussing among the coaching staff once it became evident we were going to get the bye that it's a bit of an unknown," Raiders coach Mike Rice said. "We're going to manage it to get those guys that are banged up the rest they need and do some self assessment and try to fix the things we need to fix."After clinching its 10th consecutive Southwestern Conference title, Avon secured the No. 3 seed in Division II, Region 6. The Eagles, who advanced to the postseason for the 15th consecutive year, could face a familiar face in its first playoff game, as Avon hosts the winner of the first-round game between Olmsted Falls and Fremont Ross. The Eagles have ended Olmsted Falls' season each of the last four years. Clearview and Midview both took improbable routes to the postseason. The Clippers started the year 1-5 but won their last four games, including an upset at Columbia and a last-second Week 10 over Keystone that allowed them to claim the No. 11 seed in Division IV, Region 14. Clearview's reward for making it to the playoffs for the third year is a row is a trip to 2024 Division IV state finalist Sandusky Perkins. "We're just going to approach it like we have every week. It's just one practice at a time, one play at a time," first-year Clearview coach Cody Kaya said. "Offensively, we're doing a great job of sustaining drives and not turning over the ball as much and, defensively, we're winning the turnover battle." Kaya thinks Clearview's 20-19 win over Keystone was a defining moment for his team. "It showed first and foremost that we're a resilient a bunch. This team has handled adversity well every week going back to the offseason. It has made us a much better team in the long run," he said.According to Drew Pasteur's Fantastic 50 website, Midview only had a 4 percent chance of making the playoffs heading into Week 10. That didn't stop the Middies from ending the regular season with a 14-7 overtime win at Amherst, only their second win in the last seven weeks, and a win which that earned them the No. 12 seed in Division III, Region 10. The Middies (5-5) will hit the road to take on former West Shore Conference rival Rocky River. "There was a lot of excitement coming into (the Amherst) game, because we knew we had a chance to make the playoffs," Middies coach Jack Armstrong said. "During the entire game, the kids showed a lot of fight and believed in one another and that's the biggest takeaway from the game." The Middies have made the playoffs each of the last three years but are looking for their postseason win since 2015 in their first year in the SWC. Three teams just missed out on returning to the playoffs as Black River, Keystone and Vermilion, all postseason qualifiers in 2024, each finished 13rd in their respective divisions. For the first five weeks of the postseason, all games will be played Friday. The state finals will be contested in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton on Dec. 4-6. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.