October 25, 2026—The brackets are out, and the road to Canton is officially mapped. All 336 qualifiers — 12 per region across 28 regions in released its Regional First-Round pairings. The top four seeds in every region get a first-round bye; seeds 5 through 12 play Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m., hosted by the higher seed. Regional quarterfinals follow Nov. 6, semifinals Nov. 13, regional finals Nov. 20, state semifinals Nov. 27, and the state finals Dec. 3–5 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

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Here is the field, division by division.


Division I: Two unbeatens, and the defending champs have to do it the hard way


Top seeds: Lakewood St. Edward (9-1) in Region 1, Toledo Whitmer (9-1) in Region 2, Gahanna Lincoln (10-0) in Region 3, Cincinnati Princeton (10-0) in Region 4.

The two 10-0 teams — Gahanna Lincoln and Princeton — headline the bracket, but the best storyline sits in Region 3: defending Division I champion Olentangy Orange is back, but only as a No. 9 seed at 5-5, opening on the road at Columbus St. Charles (8-2). The champs would have to win four straight away from home to repeat.

Region 2 is the softest in the division — its No. 4 bye went to a 6-4 team (Huber Heights Wayne), and three of its four first-round games involve a 4-6 team. Five sub-.500 teams made the D-I field, all in Regions 1 and 2: Euclid, Beavercreek, Toledo St. John’s Jesuit, Kettering Fairmont and Miamisburg, all 4-6.

And one day after its 31-0 loss to Massillon, Canton McKinley (7-3) opens at home as the No. 7 seed in Region 1 against Brunswick (6-4).


D-I first-round games:

Region 1: Euclid (4-6) at Hudson (7-3); Solon (5-5) at Strongsville (7-3); Brunswick (6-4) at Canton McKinley (7-3); Berea-Midpark (6-4) at Cleveland St. Ignatius (5-5)

Region 2: Beavercreek (4-6) at Hilliard Bradley (6-4); Toledo St. John’s Jesuit (4-6) at Galloway Westland (7-3); Kettering Fairmont (4-6) at Grove City (5-5); Miamisburg (4-6) at Hilliard Darby (6-4)

Region 3: Westerville Central (5-5) at Delaware Olentangy Berlin (8-2); Groveport Madison (6-4) at Pickerington North (7-3); Reynoldsburg (6-4) at Pickerington Central (7-3); Lewis Center Olentangy Orange (5-5) at Columbus St. Charles (8-2)

Region 4: Liberty Township Lakota East (6-4) at Cincinnati Winton Woods (8-2); Fairfield (5-5) at Cincinnati St. Xavier (5-5); Morrow Little Miami (7-3) at Springboro (7-3); Middletown (6-4) at Lebanon (7-3)

Division II: Massillon’s road, and an unbeaten team that didn’t get a bye

Top seeds: Medina Highland (9-1) in Region 5, Toledo Central Catholic (8-2) in Region 6, Columbus Bishop Watterson (9-0) in Region 7, Cincinnati Anderson (9-1) in Region 8.

Massillon Washington is the No. 3 seed in Region 7 at 9-1, with a first-round bye. The Tigers host the winner of No. 6 Columbus St. Francis DeSales (7-3) vs. No. 11 Pataskala Watkins Memorial (6-4) in the regional quarterfinal Nov. 6. The top of Region 7 is brutal: No. 1 Watterson is 9-0 — and Watterson is the defending Division III champion, now up a division — and No. 2 Sunbury Big Walnut is 10-0.

The strangest seed in the whole field is in Region 8: Columbus West is 10-0 and only the No. 6 seed, hosting a first-round game instead of getting a bye — a pure computer-points outcome. Defending D-II champion Avon is the No. 3 seed in Region 6 (8-2) with a bye, and last year’s runner-up, Cincinnati Anderson (9-1), is the No. 1 seed in Region 8. Akron Archbishop Hoban, at 3-6, is the lowest-record qualifier among traditional powers, traveling to Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph (8-2).

D-II first-round games:

Region 5: North Royalton (4-6) at Wadsworth (8-2); Lyndhurst Brush (6-4) at Eastlake North (9-1); Akron Archbishop Hoban (3-6) at Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph (8-2); Brecksville-Broadview Heights (6-4) at Painesville Riverside (7-3)

Region 6: Sylvania Southview (5-5) at Fremont Ross (7-3); Cleveland Rhodes (6-4) at Lakewood (8-2); North Olmsted (5-5) at Findlay (6-4); Toledo Waite (6-4) at Avon Lake (5-5)

Region 7: Ashland (6-4) at Canal Winchester (7-3); Pataskala Watkins Memorial (6-4) at Columbus St. Francis DeSales (7-3); North Canton Hoover (5-5) at Louisville (8-2); Columbus Hamilton Township (7-3) at Whitehall-Yearling (8-2)

Region 8: Vandalia Butler (7-3) at Troy (8-2); Trenton Edgewood (6-4) at Columbus West (10-0); Cincinnati La Salle (5-5) at Oxford Talawanda (8-2); Cincinnati Withrow (7-3) at Hamilton Badin (7-3)

Division III: Glenville defends a title in a new division

Top seeds: Willoughby South (10-0) in Region 9, Celina (9-1) in Region 10, Steubenville (8-2) in Region 11, Bellbrook (10-0) in Region 12.

Defending Division IV champion Glenville is now in Division III as the No. 5 seed in Region 9 (8-2), hosting Hunting Valley University School — the Tarblooders must win four games to defend a title in a new division. (Defending D-III champion Watterson moved up to D-II, see above.) Only one sub-.500 team made the D-III field: Parma Padua Franciscan (4-6).
Region 11 has the deepest first-round slate in the division: the 12-vs-5 game is 8-2 vs. 8-2 (Columbus South at Dover), and No. 9 Jackson (7-3) visits No. 8 Columbus Linden McKinley (9-1). And Region 12’s Goshen (9-1) at Cincinnati Hughes (9-1) is arguably the best first-round game in the state on paper — a 10-vs-7 game between two 9-1 teams. Celina (9-1) is the No. 1 seed in Region 10.

D-III first-round games:

Region 9: Hunting Valley University School (6-4) at Cleveland Glenville (8-2); Cleveland Benedictine (5-4) at Gates Mills Gilmour Academy (7-3); Gates Mills Hawken (7-3) at Warren Howland (8-2); Mentor Lake Catholic (6-4) at Youngstown Ursuline (6-4)

Region 10: Parma Padua Franciscan (4-6) at Copley (6-4); Maumee (5-5) at St. Marys Memorial (7-3); Grafton Midview (5-5) at Tiffin Columbian (7-3); Parma Heights Holy Name (5-4) at Richfield Revere (6-4)

Region 11: Columbus South (8-2) at Dover (8-2); Dresden Tri-Valley (7-3) at Thornville Sheridan (8-2); Plain City Jonathan Alder (7-3) at Granville (7-3); Jackson (7-3) at Columbus Linden McKinley (9-1)

Region 12: Monroe (6-4) at Washington Court House Miami Trace (9-1); Kettering Archbishop Alter (6-4) at Cincinnati Indian Hill (8-2); Goshen (9-1) at Cincinnati Hughes (9-1); Cincinnati Northwest (8-2) at Chillicothe Unioto (7-3)

Division IV: Three unbeatens stacked in one region
Top seeds: Streetsboro (8-2) in Region 13, Ottawa-Glandorf (10-0) in Region 14, Gnadenhutten Indian Valley (9-0) in Region 15, Cincinnati Wyoming (9-1) in Region 16.

Region 14 has three 10-0 teams among its top three seeds — Ottawa-Glandorf, Shelby and Sandusky Perkins — the most top-heavy region in the state. Shelby is last year’s D-IV runner-up (lost 45-7 to Glenville in the final) and is back as a No. 2 seed at 10-0. Two sub-.500 teams qualified: Marengo Highland (4-6) and Clarksville Clinton-Massie (3-7). Akron East (9-1) as a No. 9 seed at Orrville (7-3) is another seed/record quirk, and the Kenton Ridge (8-2) at Dayton Oakwood (8-2) 9-vs-8 game in Region 16 is a coin flip.

D-IV first-round games:

Region 13: Hubbard (5-5) at Chesterland West Geauga (8-2); Poland Seminary (6-4) at Peninsula Woodridge (8-2); Cleveland Central Catholic (6-4) at Canal Fulton Northwest (8-2); Akron East (9-1) at Orrville (7-3)

Region 14: Van Wert (5-5) at Tontogany Otsego (7-3); Marengo Highland (4-6) at Bellevue (7-3); Rossford (5-5) at Oberlin Firelands (6-4); Medina Buckeye (5-5) at Upper Sandusky (6-4)

Region 15: East Liverpool Beaver Local (6-4) at Uhrichsville Claymont (9-1); Columbus Marion-Franklin (6-4) at East Liverpool (8-2); Heath (7-3) at Lancaster Fairfield Union (8-2); Duncan Falls Philo (7-3) at Zanesville West Muskingum (8-2)

Region 16: Clarksville Clinton-Massie (3-7) at Urbana (7-3); New Richmond (5-5) at Wilmington (6-4); Dayton Dunbar (6-4) at Germantown Valley View (7-3); Springfield Kenton Ridge (8-2) at Dayton Oakwood (8-2)

Division V: The only region where all four top seeds are unbeaten
Top seeds: Perry (10-0) in Region 17, La Grange Keystone (9-0) in Region 18, Ironton (9-1) in Region 19, St. Paris Graham Local (9-1) in Region 20.

No sub-.500 team qualified in Division V — the lowest records are 5-5 and 5-4. And Region 17 is historic: all four top seeds are 10-0 (Perry, Barnesville, Girard, Garrettsville Garfield), the only region in the state where that is true. Defending D-V champion Liberty Center moved to D-VI (see below); last year’s runner-up, Wheelersburg (7-3), is the No. 5 seed in Region 19 hosting Grove City Christian. Coldwater (6-4) — a program Stateline readers know from the MAC — travels to Genoa Area (7-3) in Region 18. Region 20’s No. 5 seed, Cincinnati Summit Country Day, is just 5-4 yet hosts a 7-3 team (Camden Preble Shawnee), another computer-points illustration.

D-V first-round games:

Region 17: Chagrin Falls (7-3) at Conneaut (9-1); Brewster Fairless (6-4) at Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (7-3); Bellaire (6-4) at Martins Ferry (9-1); Canton Central Catholic (6-4) at Youngstown Liberty (9-1)

Region 18: Creston Norwayne (6-4) at Bluffton (8-2); Port Clinton (8-2) at Castalia Margaretta (7-3); Coldwater (6-4) at Genoa Area (7-3); Richwood North Union (7-3) at Vermilion (7-3)

Region 19: Grove City Christian (5-5) at Wheelersburg (7-3); McArthur Vinton County (6-4) at Worthington Christian (5-5); Piketon (6-4) at Pomeroy Meigs (7-3); West Lafayette Ridgewood (6-4) at Proctorville Fairland (7-3)

Region 20: Camden Preble Shawnee (7-3) at Cincinnati Summit Country Day (5-4); Jamestown Greeneview (5-4) at Middletown Bishop Fenwick (5-5); Enon Greenon (6-3) at Carlisle (6-4); Miamisburg Dayton Christian (7-3) at Arcanum (6-4)

Division VI: The bubble game that flipped on a forfeit

Top seeds: Kirtland (9-1) in Region 21, Liberty Center (10-0) in Region 22, Hannibal River (10-0) in Region 23, New Madison Tri-Village (10-0) in Region 24.

No sub-.500 team qualified in Division VI either — the lowest records are 6-4. Region 22 has four 10-0 teams in the field (Liberty Center, Lima Central Catholic, Elmore Woodmore, and No. 5 seed Collins Western Reserve) — the deepest unbeaten collection in any region. Defending D-VI champion Kirtland is the No. 1 seed in Region 21 (9-1); defending D-V champion Liberty Center is now in D-VI as the No. 1 seed in Region 22 (10-0); and defending D-VII champion St. Henry is now in D-VI as the No. 9 seed in Region 24 (7-3) at London Madison-Plains (8-1), a first-round meeting of two storied small-school programs.

And Region 24 holds the single best storyline in the entire bracket. Versailles and Anna both entered Week 10 at 6-3, and Anna won the head-to-head finale 29-22 at Versailles on Friday, Oct. 23 — Anna’s fifth straight win after a 2-3 start. Friday night’s information had Versailles OUT of the field. Overnight, the picture flipped on a forfeit: Clermont Northeastern self-reported using an ineligible player, forfeiting its Week 8 win over Bethel-Tate. That cost Miami Valley Christian Academy — which had beaten CNE 49-28 in Week 2 — second-level computer points, dropping MVCA from the unofficial No. 12 spot to 13th, 0.1500 points behind Versailles. Final result: Versailles is IN as the No. 12 seed at Portsmouth West (8-2); Anna (7-3) is OUT despite beating Versailles head-to-head and winning five straight; MVCA is OUT. The team that lost the bubble game got in on a forfeit two counties away, and the team that won it stayed home.


D-VI first-round games:

Region 21: Wickliffe (8-2) at Mineral Ridge (9-1); Warren John F. Kennedy (6-4) at Hanoverton United (8-1); Orwell Grand Valley (8-2) at Smithville (8-2); Columbiana (8-2) at Brookfield (7-3)

Region 22: Hamler Patrick Henry (7-3) at Collins Western Reserve (10-0); Delta (7-3) at Attica Seneca East (7-3); Sherwood Fairview (8-2) at Carey (6-4); Paulding (8-2) at Harrod Allen East (7-3)

Region 23: Centerburg (6-4) at Newcomerstown (8-2); Sugar Grove Berne Union (7-3) at Waterford (8-2); Marion Elgin (8-2) at Sugarcreek Garaway (7-3); Newark Catholic (7-3) at Fredericktown (8-2)

Region 24: Versailles (6-4) at Portsmouth West (8-2); St. Bernard-Elmwood Place (7-2) at Mechanicsburg (8-2); Covington (7-3) at Chillicothe Huntington (7-3); St. Henry (7-3) at London Madison-Plains (8-1)

Division VII: The MAC dynasty leads the smallest field

Top seeds: McDonald (9-1) in Region 25, Leipsic (10-0) in Region 26, Willow Wood Symmes Valley (10-0) in Region 27, Maria Stein Marion Local (10-0) in Region 28.

Marion Local (10-0), the MAC dynasty, is the No. 1 seed in Region 28 — the Flyers’ road back to Canton starts against the winner of Fort Loramie vs. Tri-County North. Region 26’s top two seeds are both 10-0 (Leipsic and Bascom Hopewell-Loudon, last year’s D-VI runner-up). Four sub-.500 teams qualified: Dalton (4-6), Delphos Jefferson (4-6), Fort Recovery (3-7) and Mt. Victory Ridgemont (3-7) — and Dalton, at 4-6, is a No. 7 seed hosting a first-round game against Monroeville (5-4).
D-VII first-round games:

Region 25: Norwalk St. Paul (5-4) at East Canton (7-3); Vienna Mathews (6-4) at Ashtabula St. John (8-2); Monroeville (5-4) at Dalton (4-6); Lowellville (5-5) at Independence (6-4)

Region 26: Haviland Wayne Trace (6-4) at Sycamore Mohawk (9-1); Delphos Jefferson (4-6) at Edon (9-1); Toledo Christian (5-5) at Gibsonburg (5-5); Montpelier (7-3) at Pandora-Gilboa (6-4)

Region 27: Crown City South Gallia (6-4) at Shadyside (8-2); New Metamoras Frontier (5-5) at Strasburg-Franklin (7-3); Lucas (5-5) at Beaver Eastern (7-3); Steubenville Catholic Central (7-3) at Lancaster Fisher Catholic (7-3)

Region 28: Fort Recovery (3-7) at Waynesfield-Goshen (7-3); McGuffey Upper Scioto Valley (5-5) at Cincinnati Country Day (5-5); Mt. Victory Ridgemont (3-7) at New Bremen (5-5); Lewisburg Tri-County North (6-4) at Fort Loramie (5-5)

The statewide picture, by the numbers


Undefeated teams: 25 teams finished 10-0, plus four more at 9-0 on nine-game schedules (Watterson, Keystone, Indian Valley, North College Hill). The most striking seed/record mismatches: Columbus West, 10-0, only a No. 6 seed in D-II Region 8; Collins Western Reserve, 10-0, only a No. 5 seed in D-VI Region 22.

Sub-.500 teams in the field: 13 total — five in D-I, two in D-II, one in D-III, two in D-IV, none in D-V or D-VI, four in D-VII. The lowest records to qualify: Hoban (3-6), Clinton-Massie (3-7), Fort Recovery (3-7) and Ridgemont (3-7). No 2-8 or worse team qualified anywhere.

All seven 2025 champions are back — but three changed divisions: D-I champ Olentangy Orange (D-I Region 3, No. 9, 5-5); D-II champ Avon (D-II Region 6, No. 3, 8-2); D-III champ Watterson (now D-II Region 7, No. 1, 9-0); D-IV champ Glenville (now D-III Region 9, No. 5, 8-2); D-V champ Liberty Center (now D-VI Region 22, No. 1, 10-0); D-VI champ Kirtland (D-VI Region 21, No. 1, 9-1); D-VII champ St. Henry (now D-VI Region 24, No. 9, 7-3).

Best first-round games on paper: Goshen (9-1) at Hughes (9-1), D-III Region 12; Columbus South (8-2) at Dover (8-2), D-III Region 11; Kenton Ridge (8-2) at Oakwood (8-2), D-IV Region 16; Grand Valley (8-2) at Smithville (8-2), D-VI Region 21; Hamilton Township (7-3) at Whitehall-Yearling (8-2), D-II Region 7.

Story assisted by Muse AI