High school football: New divisions announced; Elyria drops to D-II

The path to the postseason will look different for three local teams after the Ohio High School Athletic Association released the new divisional alignment for the 2026 football season. Elyria will drop from Division I to Division II. Vermilion and Wellington will also each drop a Division going down to Divisions V and VI, respectively.The Pioneers, which last made the postseason in 2023, are now in Division II's Region 6 with fellow Southwestern Conference members Amherst, Avon Lake, Olmsted Falls, North Ridgeville and defending Division II state champion Avon. "Where we are right now is we're just trying to get things on the right track," Elyria coach Matt Wilson said. "Changing divisions doesn't really have a huge effect on us right now."There's more teams in Division II, so when we're looking at playoffs there is a little more competition."There are 27 teams in Division II's Region 6, competing for 12 playoff spots compared to just 16 in Division I's Region 1.Other notable changes in Division II include Wadsworth and Medina Highland, two of Avon's biggest rivals in recent year, shifting to Region 5. Perennial state power Toledo Central Catholic moves up to Division II and will join Region 6 after spending the past few seasons in Division III. With so many local teams now clustered in one region, it increases the odds that SWC foes could meet more often in the postseason. "It's really kinda funny in all the other sports the teams would go to the same district and it was kinda like a conference tournament," Wilson said. "The first couple of rounds could have that kind of feel. It seems like Olmsted Falls and Avon play every year in the playoffs."Division VI's Region 21 will have the same familiar feel for Lorain County League teams with Wellington dropping down to join Columbia and Black River in that region. The Dukes have bounced around between Divisions V and VI in recent years. In fact their last playoff appearance in 2021 came in Division VI when they lost to Columbia in the opening round. After making three consecutive playoff appearances in Division IV, Vermilion drops down to Division V where it will compete in Region 18 alongside Keystone. A total of 37 teams from across the state were classified into new divisions. There may be more movement prior to the start of the season as schools will have a two-week window, beginning Monday, to opt in to playing at the Division I level. There are also two new high schools that will open in the fall in Cleveland and Youngstown whose enrollment numbers and classifications won't be known until September. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.