The superlatives have been flying around the county for the last three days, and with good reason.
Two Richland County high schools are making the first-ever trek to Canton later this week to play in championship games for their respective Ohio High School Athletic Association football divisions. One of the largest and perhaps the smallest enrollment schools are making a statement about the quality of sporting in the north central Ohio area.
State championships can be transformative. When Galion won the Divison II state football title in 1985 in a 6-0 victory over Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, the win had a ripple effect that lasted for years in a city where economic hard times had eroded optimism.
In several places on social media, the fact that two schools from the same county is being remarked upon — two schools, mind you, out of nine (that’s a whopping 22%). Comments shared include the following:
There will be 14 teams playing next weekend in Canton for @OHSAASports football championships.
There are 88 counties in Ohio.
Two of those teams come from The 23rd largest county in the state.
Congratulations @ad_cubs!
Congratulations @TYger_Football!!
— John Davis (@johndavis1966) December 1, 2019
2 teams in Richland County in the state finals 😍😍 https://t.co/Op9C1EPomH
— Nick Michaels (@nickmichaels89) December 1, 2019
Congratulations to @ad_cubs on your win. We’ll see you in Canton next week!! Two Richland County teams going to the finals!!! What a weekend!!!
— TYger Football (@TYger_Football) December 1, 2019
Both contests will be played at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. Tickets are available online at this location. Stadium policiies can be found here. A list of permitted and non-permitted items can be found here. A parking map is below.
OHSAA audio coverage will be avialable here.
DIVISION III FINAL — MANSFIELD SENIOR (13-1) v. TROTWOOD-MADISON (11-3)
Friday, December 6 at 3 PM
DIVISION VII FINAL — LUCAS (12-2) v. MARIA STEIN MARION LOCAL (12-2)
Saturday, December 7 at 10 AM
