Mayfield Football Squeaks Into State Playoffs

MAYFIELD, OH — Make Ohio's high school football playoffs by the skin of your teeth and you're still in the playoffs. The Mayfield Wildcats found that out this weekend, when OSHAA announced the qualifiers for this year's state playoffs.

The 6-4 Wildcats squeaked into the Division II, Region 5 playoffs, grabbing the 8-seed. That means the team has a date with 1-seed Akron Archbishop Hoban.

The Wildcats blew out Riverside High in the final game of the regular season, winning 48-7. A week before that, Mayfield smashed Willoughby South, 54-37.

That two-game winning streak to end the season propelled the Wildcats into the state playoffs for Division II.

Eight teams from Mayfield's region were selected for the playoffs. The eight teams heading for postseason play are: 1. Archbishop Hoban (9-1), 2. Barberton (10-0), 3. Bedford (9-1), 4. Lyndhurst Brush (8-2), 5. Hudson (7-3), 6. Eastlake North (6-4), 7. Cleveland Benedictine (6-4), and 8. Mayfield (6-4).

The teams will match-up like this:

• 8 Mayfield (6-4) at 1 Akron Archbishop Hoban (9-1)
• 7 Cle. Benedictine (6-4) at 2 Barberton (10-0)
• 6 Eastlake North (6-4) at 3 Bedford (9-1)
• 5 Hudson (7-3) at 4 Lyndhurst Brush (8-2)

All of the regional quarterfinals games will be played Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. OHSAA says game times are subject to change, so be prepared for shifts in scheduling.

This year's Ohio high school football playoffs will be composed of 224 schools across all division. A total of 719 schools had a team suit up and take the gridiron this year.

Five schools are in the playoffs for the first time. Traditional powerhouses like Archbishop Hoban will not be making their maiden voyage into the post-season. Instead, they return with hopes of glory in late November.

Teams that win out and make the state championship game (which the Wildcats surely hope to do) will find themselves taking the field in Canton Nov. 30. The title games will be played at Massillon Paul Brown Stadium and Canton Fawcett Stadium.

Championship games were previously played at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, but natural grass was recently installed at the horseshoe and Ohio State University asked OHSAA to find a new home for the title games.

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