Across the state, here is what eliminating regions and going with top 32 based on Harbins would do to being IN v OUT:
DI - IN Stow, St. Ignatius (R1) Hilliard Darby and New Albany (R3)
OUT Marysville (R2) Princeton, Hamilton, Mason (R4)
DII - IN Barberton (R6) Winton Woods, Anderson, Talawanda (R8)
OUT Willoughby South, Warren G. Harding (R5) Olentangy Berlin, St. Francis de Sales (R7)
DIII - IN Ravenna, Canfield (R9) Bellbrook (R11)
OUT Glenville (R10) Kettering Alter, Trotwood-Madison (R12)
DIV - IN Clear Fork (R14) Washington Courthouse, Bethel-Tate (R16)
OUT Hubbard, Struthers, Girard (R13)
DV - IN
Northwood, North Union (R18)
** Northwood is 10-0
OUT Portsmouth, Wellston (R19)
DVI - IN Nelsonville-York, Columbiana (R21)
Gibsonburg, Spencerville (R23)
** Gibsonburg is 10-0
OUT Hillsdale, Crestview, Norwayne, Carey (R22)
DVII - IN Ansonia (R28)
OUT Malvern (R25)
A couple of observations:
- Gibsonburg and Northwood (both at 10-0) would have made the playoffs this year albeit just barely at 29th and 31st in their respective divisions.
- In DIII, I would venture to bet that Kettering Alter and Trotwood (both missed out in a top 32 scenario) would beat any of the 3 that made it in over them handily.
- R22 in DVI lost the most playoff teams at 4
Considering there are not a TON of changes, Regional Quarterfinals and Regional Semifinals could all still be played relatively close to home if the brackets were determined AFTER the 32 were determined.
The only thing that could throw travel off, which would HAVE to be the case if you truly want to make it a fair and equitable process, is to have a predetermined bracket based on 1-32 that gets placed NCAA style where the top 4 teams all go in different brackets followed by 5-8 where 8 would be in with 1, 7 in with 2, 6 in with 3 and 5 in with 4. After that, draw for bracket spots based on seed groupings (3's through 8's) This would get as close to guaranteeing that the BEST teams get to at least the final 4 every year with an occasional Cinderella team.
Just some data to digest! Enjoy