In addition, the first three rounds of the postseason will be hosted by the higher-seeded team instead of the first two rounds.

From 1999 through 2019, eight schools per region qualified for the playoffs, which was a five-week tournament. In early 2020, the OHSAA approved a proposal from the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association to expand to 12 qualifiers per region, which added a week to the postseason. Shortly after that, the COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected high school sports, and the OHSAA allowed every school to participate in the 2020 playoffs since schools played a varying number of games. The positive feedback from schools that season prompted the OHSAA to expand from 12 to 16 qualifiers per region from 2021-24.

“For the last few years, we have been pleased that more schools experienced the football playoffs, and there were some lower seeds that won playoff games,” said Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director. “But over the last year, we have received feedback from our schools, with a slight majority favoring 12 qualifiers per region, and we had many conversations with stakeholders around the state that led us to make this proposal to our board. We appreciate the feedback we received and will continue to gather comments moving forward. Like we do with all of our sports, we want to make sure the student-athletes are our No. 1 priority.”

With the top four seeds in each region receiving a first-round bye, the first-round parings include the No. 12 seed playing at the No. 5 seed, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7 and No. 9 and No. 8. In the second round, the No. 1 seed will host the winner of No. 8 vs. No. 9, the No. 2 seed will host the winner of No. 7 vs. No. 10, the No. 3 seed will host the winner of No. 6 vs. No. 11, and the No. 4 seed will host the winner of No. 5 vs. No. 12.

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There are no changes to the 2025 divisional breakdowns and regional assignments announced by the OHSAA on May 1. The 2025 divisions and regions are posted at: https://www.ohsaa.org/Sports-Tournaments/Football/Football-2025

2025 OHSAA Football Divisional Breakdowns

• I 592 and more students — 72 teams
• II 378 to 591 — 104
• III 268 to 377 — 107
• IV 202 to 267 — 105
• V 157 to 201 — 106
• VI 112 to 156 — 106
• VII 111 and less — 106
  • Total Teams — 706

*This is an issued press release from the Ohio High School Athletic Association. 

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Cameron Pritchett, from Thompson High School in Alabama, turned down the NIL deal from the prep school because he reportedly did not want to leave the state. Pritchett is a 6-foot-3 edge rusher and is part of the Class of 2027.

A recent story from WVTM13.com detailed Pritchett’s decision. Below is an excerpt from the WVTM13.com article.

Pritchett’s decision, first reported by 5 Star Football Recruiting, was confirmed by his trainer, Isaac Hadac, who said his faith guided him.

“He believes that by the grace of God, he’s going to go far in the game of football, and all of the material things will come down the road,” Hadac told The Associated Press. “It means a lot to him to be able to stay and use his faith in the process to help him make that decision.”

Pritchett isn’t the first Thompson player to turn down a lucrative deal. Quarterback Trent Seaborn reportedly rejected a seven-figure NIL deal from a trading card company in 2024. Hadac said those decisions are a credit to coach Mark Freeman.

“Coach Freeman is a legacy coach. He wants to leave a legacy with Thompson. Seaborn turned down a major NIL deal himself. These kids know that if they buy into the process, all of these things will come one way or another,” Hadac said.

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Pritchett finished last season with 78 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks in 14 games. Multiple programs have shown interest, including national champion Ohio State.

Pritchett has time to make his decision. In the meantime, he is focused on building a legacy at Thompson High.

To read the full story from WVTM13.com, click here. 

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The Justice Department charged 42-year-old Matthew Weiss, a former co-offensive coordinator for the Wolverines, with computer-hacking-related crimes that involved downloading data about more than 150,000 student-athletes.

A recent story from MSN.com detailed Weiss’s actions and how he carried out the cyber attack. Below is an excerpt from the MSN.com story.

Allegedly, Weiss then used the stolen data to help him break into the social media, email, and cloud storage accounts belonging to over 2,000 athletes. “Weiss primarily targeted female college athletes,” reads the 15-page indictment. “He researched and targeted these women based on their school affiliation, athletic history, and physical characteristics. His goal was to obtain private photographs and videos never intended to be shared beyond intimate partners.”

Federal investigators say Weiss conducted the hacking activities from 2015 to January 2023, when he was put on leave from the football team as campus police began to investigate the suspected computing-hacking crimes.

Weiss conducted the hacks by first targeting a third-party vendor, Keffer Development Services. It operates the Athletic Trainer System, which stores medical information on student-athletes. “Weiss obtained access to these databases through compromising the passwords of accounts with elevated levels of access, such as the accounts of trainers and athletic directors,” the indictment says.

He was also able to download the passwords that the athletes themselves used to access the Athletic Trainer System. The downloaded passwords were encrypted but Weiss decrypted them by researching how to do so on the internet, the indictment says.

“Using the combined information that he obtained from the student-athlete databases and his internet research, Weiss was able to obtain access to the social media, email, and/or cloud storage accounts of more than 2,000 targeted athletes by guessing or resetting their passwords,” the court document adds.

To read the full article from MSN.com about the former Michigan football assistant coach, click here. 

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The New Orleans Saints recently announced the next wave of schools invited to join Season 2 of the Saints Girls High School Flag Football program in Louisiana. These 10 schools will be a part of the growing program that empowers young female athletes and fosters a passion for football.

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Richard Godsill, a football coach for Dobson High School in Mesa, Arizona, was arrested on campus last week.

A recent story from AZFamily.com detailed the charges for the Dobson High School football coach. Below is an excerpt from the AZFamily.com story.

While specifics about the case have not yet been released, investigators say the alleged crimes do not involve students at Dobson High School.

“Your honor, this matter arose out of an ongoing sex trafficking operation investigation. We’re just hoping to not compromise that ongoing investigation,” said Stephen Garcia, a prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office on Friday during his initial court appearance.

During his initial court appearance, Godsil seemed shocked by the proposed bond.

“Mr. Godsil, the state has made a recommendation in this case that you be held on a $150,000 dollar cash-only bond,” said the judge.

Godsil tilted his head back and appeared to say “holy crap” in response.

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“The rationale for that is the nature of the allegations against you as well as the risk of harm that those types of allegations pose to the general public,” continued the judge.

The judge imposed a $100,000 secured appearance bond instead, meaning he can use a bonding company to post bail and if he is released, he’s required to wear an ankle monitor.

To read the full story from AZFamily.com, click here. 

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