Is it time to get rid of Neutral site games in playoffs?

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neofootball10

Active member
Why not let team with higher Harbin score host games until finals? Looking at some of these neutral sites like Byers Field which is an hour plus away from Lake and Massillon is so ridiculous. You would get bigger crowds and the OHSAA can make enough money to get rid of 16 playoff teams out of 17 in d-1.
 
 
neofootball10 said:
Why not let team with higher Harbin score host games until finals? Looking at some of these neutral sites like Byers Field which is an hour plus away from Lake and Massillon is so ridiculous. You would get bigger crowds and the OHSAA can make enough money to get rid of 16 playoff teams out of 17 in d-1.
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I'd rather see Padua travel to NoRo to play on Holy Name's home field than Maple Hts. for sure.
 
cincifbfan said:
It should be higher seed until the state semi finals. It makes logistics that much easier, and only 1 team has to travel in each game instead of both. So, it's also cheaper.
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If that changes, it will probably be gradual.

I also wonder why anyone would want to help host a game when your team isn't involved. Saint Clairsville is one site that will be hosting games two weeks in a row after getting knocked out. They might have been expecting to be playing this week instead of watching the playoffs.
 
I agree with the OHSAA that games should be played on turf, so field conditions and the game aren't effected by weather, poor maintenance, etc...I also think it would make sense for the OHSAA to make football like other sports and just say "hey, the regional semifinals and regional finals will be held at these locations". Easier said than done, but there are some regions compact enough that you can say "The regional semifinals will be at Stadium X and Stadium Y and the Regional Finals will be held at Stadium Z". Football is basically the only sport they operate this way, and since half the posts on this message board this week are from mouth breathers who don't understand how the system works and just want to complain, it couldn't hurt to just have it planned out ahead of time. If schools have no problem driving an hour and a half to watch their volleyball team play in the regional finals, why would they have a problem driving to watch their football team?
 
How soon we forget the not so good olden days......

Too many poor playing surfaces in the playoffs. The odds of having good grass fields the further you go keeps on dwindling. We were lucky this year with very little rain games in October.


Keep it as it is.......on turf from 13-16. As far as having tough times to find site in week 13......maybe in some areas but not around these here parts. More than ever there are turf fields galor. Maybe, just maybe, give sites more incentives to host and also having alternating night games helps as well as many dont wanna host nights they also play.

So, to the OP......horrible idea, horrible.
 
It's mid-November, and a lot of the state has snow last weekend. Run over to your local HS field that has grass instead of turf and see how it looks and whether anyone would want to play a game there this weekend. Fortunately the last 3 weeks have been good weather. Imagine if it had rained 3 Friday in a row. There's no way a grass field would be anywhere close to playable. Also, not every team has anywhere close to enough seating to handle a playoff game this late in the season.
 
“Why don’t we play on grass fields in mid-November?”

E6D6F974-FA44-4630-8EA8-493BC54592DA.jpeg


Because the school whose field this happened to was, understandably, displeased!
 
tcgobucks said:
It's mid-November, and a lot of the state has snow last weekend. Run over to your local HS field that has grass instead of turf and see how it looks and whether anyone would want to play a game there this weekend. Fortunately the last 3 weeks have been good weather. Imagine if it had rained 3 Friday in a row. There's no way a grass field would be anywhere close to playable. Also, not every team has anywhere close to enough seating to handle a playoff game this late in the season.
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Aren't things like that why they call it home field advantage?
 
Thavoice said:
How soon we forget the not so good olden days......

Too many poor playing surfaces in the playoffs. The odds of having good grass fields the further you go keeps on dwindling. We were lucky this year with very little rain games in October.


Keep it as it is.......on turf from 13-16. As far as having tough times to find site in week 13......maybe in some areas but not around these here parts. More than ever there are turf fields galor. Maybe, just maybe, give sites more incentives to host and also having alternating night games helps as well as many dont wanna host nights they also play.

So, to the OP......horrible idea, horrible.
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It is a great idea till the ohsaa pays more to host....it is not worth all the time and hassle for most AD's to take this on when they make absolutely no money for their efforts. Lake has been the host for a ton of games..numerous semi-finals...now with the current situation, it really is not worth the effort
 
cincifbfan said:
Aren't things like that why they call it home field advantage?
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At some point, we want to see who is the best team, not the best team who can plan in the absolute muck.
I get it, field conditions are a part of the game but to me tha tis what the regular season is for. Once the rubber hits the road and teams prove themselves by making the playoffs and winning some games then I want to see who is the 'best of the best' and taking out the field conditions is the way to make sure we get the best.
 
cincifbfan said:
It should be higher seed until the state semi finals. It makes logistics that much easier, and only 1 team has to travel in each game instead of both. So, it's also cheaper.
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But 1 team may have to travel twice as far so it nullifies the savings of the home team
 
neofootball10 said:
Why not let team with higher Harbin score host games until finals? Looking at some of these neutral sites like Byers Field which is an hour plus away from Lake and Massillon is so ridiculous. You would get bigger crowds and the OHSAA can make enough money to get rid of 16 playoff teams out of 17 in d-1.
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Why would you get bigger crowds? Only from the home team. You may shoot yourself in the foot and lose crowd size because visiting team fans may not travel as far.
 
adog said:
But 1 team may have to travel twice as far so it nullifies the savings of the home team
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and to be quite honest......i rather play elsewhere. My team would, most seasons than not, would host the extra games under the OP's proposal but I would rather go to a nice neutral venue during the playoffs.
 
Thavoice said:
At some point, we want to see who is the best team, not the best team who can plan in the absolute muck.
I get it, field conditions are a part of the game but to me tha tis what the regular season is for. Once the rubber hits the road and teams prove themselves by making the playoffs and winning some games then I want to see who is the 'best of the best' and taking out the field conditions is the way to make sure we get the best.
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Agree 100%. I have also heard different coaches mention, once they get to neutral sites, it feels more like playoff football. Sounds dumb but it's true for the kids, gives the kids a more energized atmosphere
 
adog said:
Agree 100%. I have also heard different coaches mention, once they get to neutral sites, it feels more like playoff football. Sounds dumb but it's true for the kids, gives the kids a more energized atmosphere
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and to be quite honest, in HS FB there isnt really a Home Field Advantage other than the surface it is played on really. NOt enough crowd sizes to be an advantage like College and NFL.
Also.......many of the playoff hosts sites we have gone to ahve better amentites for the players than the participants...
 
Bluestreakoffice said:
It is a great idea till the ohsaa pays more to host....it is not worth all the time and hassle for most AD's to take this on when they make absolutely no money for their efforts. Lake has been the host for a ton of games..numerous semi-finals...now with the current situation, it really is not worth the effort
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I guess it depends what your time it worth. If an AD can get dedicated volunteers who are invested in their school/team, then it can absolutely be worth the time. Between the hosting fee, parking, and concessions, there is money to be made. Some decide they’d rather do no work and make no money, which is fine, but some prefer to do some work and make money.
 
serpico said:
I guess it depends what your time it worth. If an AD can get dedicated volunteers who are invested in their school/team, then it can absolutely be worth the time. Between the hosting fee, parking, and concessions, there is money to be made. Some decide they’d rather do no work and make no money, which is fine, but some prefer to do some work and make money.
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I know our local AD volunteers to host a number of basketball, baseball and volleyball tournaments to make money for the different groups who man said stations. The $$ the school receives is just on top of that, but mostly $$ for the groups who do the work.
 
Just leave it the way it is. Any typical year, at this time, a grass field would be in terrible shape. Then people would complain about that. Leave it alone. No one on here has any say-so or control on this issue.
 
bad, bad idea. no one should gain a “home field advantage” throughout the playoffs just because they had the most harbins. also, the OHSAA is very subpar at creating the regions so this would create a TON of long drives, even more than there already is. how would you feel if you were Van Vert heading to Cleveland Glenville this week? grass surface in this November weather would be hell for a grounds crew to fix after a wet game.

too many negatives, IMO. the only way i would be for this is if the OHSAA didn’t draw the regions until harbins were finalized. this way you can almost ensure that there won’t be many outrageous trips. then you play the regional finals at a site set ahead of time that’s central to the overall region.
 
*67 said:
I agree with the OHSAA that games should be played on turf, so field conditions and the game aren't effected by weather, poor maintenance, etc...I also think it would make sense for the OHSAA to make football like other sports and just say "hey, the regional semifinals and regional finals will be held at these locations". Easier said than done, but there are some regions compact enough that you can say "The regional semifinals will be at Stadium X and Stadium Y and the Regional Finals will be held at Stadium Z". Football is basically the only sport they operate this way, and since half the posts on this message board this week are from mouth breathers who don't understand how the system works and just want to complain, it couldn't hurt to just have it planned out ahead of time. If schools have no problem driving an hour and a half to watch their volleyball team play in the regional finals, why would they have a problem driving to watch their football team?
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Watching games on NFHS and seeing pictures, this stuck out to me.

Small sample size but on Saturday, most of Midwest/SW Ohio got snow.

Wapak was cleared off; looked GREAT
85B174D3-A39B-4060-A2A0-303CF43BC8C9.jpeg

Sidney was cleared off; looked GREAT
260D2842-8BA7-4C54-8C1B-FC6D6F3519AE.jpeg

Bellefontaine had little to nothing done to it
A65F3C4B-791D-4405-BC12-395429873D67.jpeg

Greenville had little to nothing done to it
8D17FC6C-AA96-4908-9C39-60E1AA64C1C6.png

All 4 of these towns had snow, but the efforts from 2 host sites was very noticeable from the screen.

Edit: All of these pictures are either right before the game started or shortly after it started. Still in 1Q
 
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BigK72 said:
Watching games on NFHS and seeing pictures, this stuck out to me.

Small sample size but on Saturday, most of Midwest/SW Ohio got snow.

Wapak was cleared off; looked GREAT
View attachment 36125
Sidney was cleared off; looked GREAT
View attachment 36126
Bellefontaine had little to nothing done to it
View attachment 36127
Greenville had little to nothing done to it
View attachment 36128
All 4 of these towns had snow, but the efforts from 2 host sites was very noticeable from the screen.

Edit: All of these pictures are either right before the game started or shortly after it started. Still in 1Q
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I think the snow accumulation had more to do with the temperatures at those sites. Unless Wapak somehow pretreated to prevent snow buildup, I didn’t see them do anything to the field.
 
serpico said:
I think the snow accumulation had more to do with the temperatures at those sites. Unless Wapak somehow pretreated to prevent snow buildup, I didn’t see them do anything to the field.
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Not disagreeing with you, but i don't think there'd be a significant temperature difference between a place like Greenville and Sidney.

I'd note too that Sidney/Wapak tend to host multiple games every year and have been doing so for years. I'm fairly certain this was Greenville's first, and I feel like Bellefontaine hosts sporadically.
 
BigK72 said:
Watching games on NFHS and seeing pictures, this stuck out to me.

Small sample size but on Saturday, most of Midwest/SW Ohio got snow.

Wapak was cleared off; looked GREAT
View attachment 36125
Sidney was cleared off; looked GREAT
View attachment 36126
Bellefontaine had little to nothing done to it
View attachment 36127
Greenville had little to nothing done to it
View attachment 36128
All 4 of these towns had snow, but the efforts from 2 host sites was very noticeable from the screen.

Edit: All of these pictures are either right before the game started or shortly after it started. Still in 1Q
Click to expand...
The field at Bellefontaine was terrible. When we walked in from the parking lot I was stunned. I couldn't believe there wasn't more done to make the playing surface better. They had a guy....one guy...with a tiny show shovel. Periodically he would clear off a few of the hashes.

To be clear, I'm an Allen East fan, so it's not sour grapes on my part. But neither team could really run their offense. It's regrettable that that's the surface these two teams got stuck with.
 
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