Sandusky bumped up to Division II in football

Sandusky was the only area football program to get bumped up in the OHSAA's 2024 divisional assignments released Thursday. The Blue Streaks, coming off their first playoff berth since 2019, will play this coming season in Division II. Sandusky was among the largest schools in Division III last year in Ohio and had an enrollment number of 346 (boys grades 9-11). That went up to 374 this year, and coupled with a modest Competitive Balance number of 8 moved the Streaks to a new division. Nine schools were moved from D-III to D-II due to higher enrollment. Sandusky is tied with Trotwood-Madison and Louisville as the smallest D-II programs in the state this year with football enrollment numbers of 382. "It will be a really cool opportunity if we can put ourselves in a position to compete against those teams in the postseason," Sandusky coach Lucas Poggiali said. There will be 27 schools in Region 6, the region in which Sandusky participated from 2003 to 2012. Poggiali was Sandusky's quarterback when the Streaks upset top-seeded in 2010 in a Division playoff opener. "There's a lot of familiarity, a lot of teams that are consistently very good year in and year out," he said. Sandusky is one of two new teams in Region 6, joining Wadsworth, which moved down from Division I. Among other schools in Region 6 are Oregon Clay, which Sandusky hosts in its 2024 season opener, Fremont Ross (the Streaks' Week 2 opponent on the road), Avon Lake, Toledo Bowsher, North Olmsted, St. Francis de Sales and Toledo Start. Avon won the Region 6 title, defeating Medina Highland in the championship game. The Eagles lost 17-14 to Akron Hoban in the state semifinals. Sandusky will return plenty of talent from a 6-5 team, that lost to Medina Buckeye in a D-III playoff opener. "I can confidently say we're in a better position football-wise, talent-wise and culture-wise since I've been here," said Poggiali, who will be in his third year leading the program."We'll have some high expectations." The Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors approved the 2024 football breakdowns Thursday at its April board meeting. The largest 70 schools are placed in Division I, and all remaining schools are divided as equally as possible into Divisions II through VII, with approximately 106 schools per division. Two area schools — Clyde and Huron — will move down one division this year, joining Sandusky as the onlyl three programs in the area to switch divisions. Clyde moved from Division V down to Division IV while Huron dropped from D-V to D-VII. Division IV Region 14, which includes 26 teams, still has a big area flavor. Bellevue and Vermilion join Perkins in the region. Eleven of that region's teams are new this year. Among the newcomers are Bay Village Bay, Ontario and Rossford (all down from D-III). Ottawa-Glandorf moves up from Division V. Perkins is the biggest program in the state in Division IV with a football adjusted enrollment of 262. That total includes the Pirates' competitive balance number of 29. Perkins will remain in Region 14. Of note, defending state champion Glenville is moving to Region 13. Glenville defeated Perkins 36-26 in a hotly contested Region 14 final last year. Two teams the Pirates defeated in the playoffs — St. Marys Memorial and West Holmes — also have been moved out of Region 14. St. Marys is now in Division III while West Holmes is in Region 15. Huron, which played in Division IV three years ago, is now in the state's second smallest division. "Three years ago we had a couple bigger classes but our enrollment is going down a bit," Huron coach Sam Hohler said. "It's been an adjustment, but we've been able to keep all our levels of football and our (participation) numbers have been good." Huron will play in Region 22, which has 27 teams. Other Sandusky Bay Conference schools in that region are River Division members Margaretta, Hopewell-Loudon and Lakota. Margaretta's football adjusted enrollment of 151 is larger than Huron's (143). Also in Region 22 are Western Reserve and New London, which has not fielded a varsity team the past couple of years. Huron is one of seven new teams in the region, along with Patrick Henry and Spencerville. "You don't have too many of the traditional powers in there, but I'm sure there are a lot of good teams," Hohler said. "Our schedule is pretty brutal and we have a newer ball club. We have to find a way to get into the playoffs and go from there." The Tigers open the season at home against St. Paul. It will be the last game in the series against the Flyers, who will look for other options in 2025. Huron visits Brookside and Genoa in weeks 2 and 3 before hosting Dayton Dunbar in Week 4. Its SBC crossovers are against Columbian and Clyde. Norwalk remains in Division III Region 10, which also includes Columbian, Mansfield Senior, Elyria Catholic (up from D-IV) and defending state champion Toledo Central Catholic. Edison and Port Clinton will stay in Division V Region 18. Among other teams in that region are Genoa, Oak Harbor and Willard. St. Paul and Monroeville remain in Division VII. Earlier this spring, the OHSAA received updated base enrollment data from the Ohio Department of Education to use for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years. In football, competitive balance data from the previous season is used each year to create new adjusted enrollment counts, which take into account competitive balance data and the number of students who attend a school but don't live in the district. State enrollment counts are for boys in grades 9-11 last October. Beginning May 15, schools are permitted to have 13 days of practice without pads or hitting. An additional five days are permitted beginning July 15 for schools to complete the mandatory five-day acclimatization period, if they so choose. The OHSAA does not set a limit on physical fitness training and conditioning workouts in the summer. Football practice begins August 1 with the regular season kicking off on Friday, August 23. State championship games will be played in Canton from Dec. 5-7. ---- 2024 area football divisions Division II Sandusky Division III Norwalk Division IV Bellevue, Clyde, Perkins, Vermilion Division V Edison, Port Clinton Division VI Huron, Margaretta Division VII Monroeville, St. Paul