In 1972 the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) introduced post-season playoffs to determine Ohio’s football state champions.  In order to incorporate some equity into the system the OHSAA distributed all of its member schools among several divisions based on school enrollment.  Initially, there were three divisions.  In 1980 it was changed to five.  Then, in 1994 it went to six.  And through all of those years Massillon remained as a Division 1 school, competing for the big-school state championship.  But in 2013 a seventh division was added in conjunction with reducing the number of schools assigned to Division I.  The combination of that modification along with a declining enrollment resulted in the Tigers dropping from Division I to Division II.

But, what if the enrollment hadn’t dropped?  Or, what if Massillon had opted to move up to Division I, something that is currently permitted?  What would the bracket look like then and how successful might the Tigers be in this year’s playoffs?

Massillon this year compiled 29.72 computer points, good enough for third place in Division II, Region 7.  But also good enough for second place in Division I, Region 1, behind Mentor.  Below is how the bracket would appear.  Note that the bracket is completed based on game predictions generated by Calpreps.com.

First up for Massillon is Medina, which has a record of 2-8.  An easy game to start.  Then comes an athletic Cleveland Heights team.  An entertaining game, but a one-sided win for the Tigers.  Round three would see a rematch with McKinley.  Consecutive win No. 10 would come a year earlier.  Finally, Massillon would have a rematch with St. Edward for the regional title.  Calpreps.com says the Tigers by a touchdown in this one.

The other regional winners are predicted by Calpreps.com to be Olentangy Liberty, Centerville and Cincinnati Moeller.   It is presumed that Centerville would be geographically matched up with Moeller, while Massillon would face Liberty.  Again, Calpreps.com selects as the state semifinal victors the Crusaders by a big score and the Tigers in a close one, thereby pitting the two teams against each other in the state finals.  Massillon played Moeller in a pre-season scrimmage fairly evenly.  Also, the Tigers beat St. Edward by ten points, whereas the Crusaders beat them by three.  What a tremendous game that would be.

Nevertheless, competing in Division I would surely bring more excitement to the regional games than the Massillon community currently experiences.  But, let’s just stay in Division II for awhile more.  For, it’s just as difficult to win that final game in DII as it is in DI and there’s a better chance of at least getting to that final game.