Hillsdale is the only Ashland County team still playing in the Ohio high school football postseason, according to a report on the OHSAA pairings published by Ashland Source. The Falcons, seeded fourth in Division VI Region 21, are scheduled to host fifth-seeded Mineral Ridge on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. Hillsdale enters at 9-1 and as a co-champion of the Wayne County Athletic League. Mineral Ridge is 10-1 after a 26-14 win over Wickliffe.
Three other north central Ohio teams will also be at home in the next round. Ontario, the No. 2 seed in Division III Region 10, hosts No. 7 Tiffin Columbian. In Division IV Region 14, second-seeded Shelby (10-0) hosts No. 7 Oberlin Firelands (7-4), while fourth-seeded Clear Fork (8-2) hosts No. 5 Tontogany Otsego (8-3). Ontario is 9-1, with its lone loss to Shelby, and Tiffin Columbian is 8-3.
Fredericktown faces a long trip: the No. 8 seed in Division VI Region 23 travels about 155 miles and nearly three hours to top-seeded Hannibal River. The Freddies are 9-2 and advanced by beating Newark Catholic 20-16. In Division VII Region 27, No. 10 Lucas (6-5) goes to No. 2 Danville (10-0) after a 14-0 win over Beaver Eastern.
The OHSAA format gives the top four seeds in each region a first-round bye and lets the better seed host through the first three rounds. Regional semifinals are set for Nov. 13; neutral sites begin with regional finals on Nov. 20. State semifinals are Nov. 27, and the championship games are Dec. 3-5 in Canton.