MOUNT VERNON – It’s a season of change. Area football teams begin preseason football practices officially on Sunday, though with the early start, coaches were given two additional days in July.
The first Friday of the 2021 season is Aug. 20 – a week earlier than normal. That’s because 16 teams in each of the 28 regions make the playoffs, double the amount in 2019 – the last time the OHSAA had a “normal” playoff. Every team made the playoffs in a COVID-shortened 2020.
The playoffs were originally supposed to be 12 teams per region this season. The increase to 16 has area coaches on the fence.
“I know there was a lot of controversy about that,” Mount Vernon coach Mike Kerr said. “I was excited about the 12 (teams per region) and understood it, and I know that 16 came out of the blue. I think there’s some mixed feelings about it, but in the end, I think high school sports are about the kids. If we can give more kids that experience of being in the playoffs; more communities that experience of being in the playoffs, I think it’s a good thing in the long run.”
“I have very mixed feelings,” Danville coach Cameron Smith said. “In some ways, it’s better because it’s more football and who doesn’t love more football? It gives a chance to a smaller team who might not have gotten in (in the past) and they could have a Cinderella-type of a deal.
“But I think it takes away a little bit from what the playoffs mean. I remember my senior of high school (at Watkins Memorial) – that was the second time our school had ever made the playoffs in school history. That was really special. Adding so many more teams and diluting it in that sense takes away from that a little bit.”
Mount Vernon finished 13th in 2019 and would have made the playoffs in the new format. The Yellow Jackets have just one appearance in the postseason, not counting last year’s 45-7 loss to Canal Winchester in the first round of the Division II, Region 7 playoffs.
“I think we’re one of those teams that benefit from the expansion of the playoffs because we’ve been 6-4 and we’ve been on the cusp,” Kerr said. “So, I guess I probably have a different perspective than some others teams. But I know (in 2019) – if we would have gotten into the playoffs, the excitement that that would have generated would have been great for our community.”
A fear of fewer numbers in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic turned out the opposite at Mount Vernon.
“Actually, our numbers have probably increased,” Kerr said. “We’ve seen a lot more kids that have been participating in our summer activities; that have been more consistent in our summer activities. We’re projected to have our first freshman team in the five years since I’ve been here.”
Danville was very young last season. The Blue Devils expect many of the same faces back after going 6-3 and was the four-seed in Division VII, Region 27. The roster sits at 32, similar to last season.
“I think part of that (stability) was just the success that we had last season,” Smith said. “Obviously, after a couple of down years, (success) always helps. The kids did a great job with the culture of our program. They wanted to win.”
There might be some new faces at Centerburg after losing some key players to graduation, but the numbers haven’t changed much. The Trojans won the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference and was the second seed in the Division VI, Region 23 playoffs.
“Typically, we’re around the mid-30s to the low-40s,” Centerburg coach Adam Colella said. “That’s going to be no different this year. I think we at about 40. So, that hasn’t been a huge increase. For us, our senior this year and our junior are pretty small. But the next few classes coming up are a little bit larger.”
Highland will be playing its final season in the KMAC this year as it joins the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference again. The Fighting Scots will be replaced by Loudonville in 2022.
