As the halfway point of the high school football season nears Friday, the playoff picture took shape as the first OHSAA computer point rankings were released Tuesday night.
The top eight teams per region qualify for the playoffs — which takes 32 teams per division over five weeks.
With six games left to play, three area teams are in line to host a first-round game, while a fourth is in line to qualify and two others are within striking distance.
In Division IV, the upstart Edison Chargers (4-0) sit atop the region 14 rankings with 7.4250 points. Edison, still looking for a Sandusky Bay Conference championship since joining the conference in 1986, has never hosted a playoff game and have only qualified for the playoffs once as the eighth and final team in 2003, which was a 29-7 loss at Urbana.
In Division III, Perkins (4-0) is third in region 10 with 7.2750 points. The Pirates are looking for their first playoff appearance since 2006, when they were also the eighth and final team in the region and lost 27-0 at eventual state runnerup Kettering Alter.
Also in region 10, Bellevue is still in contention after winning its last two games after an 0-2 start. The Redmen check in at the No. 12 spot with 3.950 points. Bellevue was fourth in the region a year ago and lost 21-18 to Tiffin Columbian in the first round.
In Division VI, St. Paul (4-0) is ranked third in region 21 with 6.775 points. The Flyers have qualified for the playoffs in 12 out of the past 14 seasons — including six straight since just missing out and finishing ninth in the region in 2002.
St. Paul has reached five straight regional championship games, but is looking for its first regional championship since 2006.
Also in region 21, the Monroeville Eagles (3-1) are back in the playoff picture after a rare down year in 2008. The Eagles currently sit in seventh in the region with 5.150 points. Monroeville last made the playoffs in 2007 when it also finished seventh and lost in the first round at rival St. Paul, 49-21.
The Eagles are looking for their 13th playoff appearance, including the seventh out of the last eight years.
In Division V, Western Reserve (3-1) remains on the cusp of contention with the No. 11 spot in region 18 with 3.8750 points. The Roughriders have finished in the top 10 in the region three times since 2002, but have not qualified for the playoffs since its first and only appearance in 1984.
In 2005, Western finished 8-2 but finished ninth, narrowly missing out on the final playoff spot by .0636 percentage points.
