CINCINNATI — Elder football coach Doug Ramsey plans to pass out candy on Halloween. He may even find time to enjoy a nice meal on Friday night.
As Elder, the state’s No. 1-ranked team, prepares for the postseason, the undefeated Panthers (10-0) and other top four seeds around Ohio have a first-round bye this Friday night.
"It's Halloween, so spend some time with my wife handing out candy and doing that kind of stuff," Ramsey said. "And maybe we will go out and get something to eat."
The first-round bye remains to be seen whether it's a trick or treat for November.
“I think in football we’re very routine-oriented,” Ramsey said. “To break up the routine is not always the best thing. But I think if you handle it the right way, I think it will be fine.”
Ramsey, who is in his 28th season as the Elder head coach, knew a bye was a possibility a few weeks ago. The coaching staff made plans for its itinerary this week with 7-on-7 competition and additional time for individual drills.
The Panthers are keeping a similar practice schedule this week as they wait to play host Mason (5-5) or Fairfield (5-5) in a Division I regional quarterfinal Nov. 7.
“We had a physical (regular) season,” Ramsey said. “Down the stretch, our games were extremely physical. And a week to kind of back off that a little bit and get a little bit more healthy – I think is going to be a good thing for us.”
With Hudl, teams don't have scout in person.
"I don't think we've sent guys out to scout in maybe 12 to 15 years," Ramsey said.
This season is the first time in OHSAA football playoff history that will see the implementation of 12 football playoff qualifiers in each region.
The OHSAA had allowed 16 teams per region to qualify across seven tournament divisions since the 2021 season. But that changed in June when the OHSAA Board of Directors approved the football playoff regulations, which included a reduction of playoff qualifiers.
The OHSAA sent a football survey to member schools in April that featured a preference for the number of qualifiers in each region.
"I voted for 16 (teams)," Ramsey said. "Not so much that 16 necessarily deserved to make it, but just to try to eliminate the bye. I think I even filled in at the bottom where it said any other thoughts, I said, 'Yeah if we're going to do this, let's just go to eight and eliminate the bye that way.'"
The only other time in the OHSAA football playoff era (since 1972) that there were opportunities for first-round byes was during the shortened 2020 season during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This season, teams such as St. Xavier (Division I) and St. Bernard-Elmwood Place (Division VI) will be idle for two straight weeks before competing in November.
“The bye week does feel a little strange because the pretty consistent routine we have been following since mid-August is not really happening this week,” Kings coach Alex Garvin said.
“We are telling the players this is to our advantage because it gives us a week to heal some injuries and really work on skill work and timing without preparing for a specific offense or defense on Friday.”
Kentucky high school football, NCAA and NFL football teams have a bye week during their regular season schedule.
Moeller coach Bert Bathiany, a former Lexington Catholic coach, sought advice from Moeller athletic director Jonathan Hayes, a former longtime Bengals assistant coach.
“We want to compete,” Bathiany said. “You don’t want to lose your edge. You want to build this up with rest, recovery and push the team.”
Cincinnati Country Day coach Dennis Coyle liked having 16 teams qualify in each region.
However, Coyle — who said last week his Division VII team has often practiced with less 20 players — is grateful for the bye.
“We’ve got a banged-up team, so we’ll use this week to let our players rest, rehab, and get healthy for our round two game,” said Coyle, who is also the school’s athletic director. “We won’t practice in pads this week — instead, we’ll treat it more like the first week of camp and focus on fundamentals, technique, and getting back to the basics.”
Fundamentals are a theme this week at Anderson, where the undefeated Raptors (10-0) are the No. 1 seed in Division II, Region 8 and the state’s No. 2-ranked overall behind Elder (regardless of divisions).
“We are going to act like this is the beginning of fall camp 2.0,” Dreyer said. “We started off our weekend showing moments and situations that win in the playoffs.”
With Halloween on its bye week, Anderson’s leadership will demonstrate how focused the Raptors will be this weekend, according to Dreyer.
“Halloween is my wife’s favorite holiday,” Dreyer said. “She loves it. I despise it.”
Indian Hill, the No. 1 seed in Division IV, Region 16, is looking at offensive schemes and practicing those concepts.
Indian Hill coach John Rodenberg, who is in his 32nd season as a head coach, isn’t a fan of the bye week.
“It’s hard for high school athletes to deal with, especially since it is after the regular season,” Rodenberg said. “I feel like it’s natural for a player to think about their next season since they will be starting this week. My goal is to just keep our guys dialed in without wearing them out.”
