The Ohio High School Athletic Association changed a football tournament regulation Thursday morning by saying that five regular season football games are the minimum requirement in order to qualify for the postseason this year.
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The previous minimum amount had been eight regular season games which were initially approved in the football tournament regulations earlier this year.
"We have received some concerns with canceled games due to COVID and how this could affect tournament eligibility," the OHSAA told member schools in a weekly football newsletter. "We have consulted with our Harbin expert, Joe Eitel, and made the following modification."
If a game is canceled due to COVID-19, it will be considered a no contest unless another opponent is found.
The OHSAA told WCPO that 16 season openers were canceled statewide last week due to COVID-19.
The regular season concludes Oct. 23 and playoff qualifiers are announced Oct. 24 with playoffs starting Oct. 29.
The OHSAA said earlier this month there are 712 Ohio high school football teams expected to participate in 11-player competition this fall. Not all teams will play enough 11-player games to potentially qualify for the postseason, but that is how many member schools are recorded to be playing 11-player competition.
