Ohio high school football games are played at neutral fields for quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. It has worked well here in Ohio. Has that ever been tried in Kentucky? I know that a lot of prior planning would be required, but it would create a more level playing field (no pun intended).  In Kentucky where traveling distance/time is much greater than Ohio, the current procedure defiantly gives the home team a great potential advantage. All participating teams have equally earned their right to fair and equal treatment by this point in the season.

I understand the thought and see some merit in it.  But, I really like the teams that do better getting the home field advantage.  In the current format, the RPI is used and rewards a team for their performance during the season.  The old format was by luck of the draw.  I like every game having some worth, district game or not.

Ohio has something like 700 football playing schools (that was from memory, so if the number is off, please correct it), Kentucky has a little over 200.  Out of that 200, not many have turf and during the playoff season, field conditions do matter and can change the game.  Just something to think about.  

One of the reasons I love high school football is the crowd and the community.  I love the community being a part of the game.  And, moving the "home" games to a neutral site removes the community, to an extent.  I hate it when I go to a game and the home team's community doesn't overcrowd the field and show their support.  It is sad.   

But, I come from #lawnchairnation, so my view may be unique and out of the norm.

 

KSR game of the week:  #lawnchairnation

Kroger KSR Game of the Week: Lawn Chair Nation Unique and Loud in Raceland’s 38-14 Win over Paintsville

Raceland supporters have persistently asked to host the Kroger KSR Game of the Week for three years now. They got their chance on Friday night and the Lawn Chair Nation didn’t disappoint. I made the two-hour trip east on Friday and really didn’t know what to expect. I’d been to Ashland a few times but I didn’t know where Raceland was on the map, to be honest. 

I like them played at home fields. 

Using the RPI was a definite step in the right direction as far as it went. I guess I don't understand all of the factors used. Take Class 4A for example.

If the RPI was used as it exists today, why wasn't it used in the final pairings? Ranking the eight finalists and pairing them by RPI alone (1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5) would have resulted in Corbin vs Franklin Co., Boyle Co. vs Central, Lexington Catholic vs Johnson Central, Warren East vs Logan Co. That would have allowed one more of the historically strong teams (Corbin, Boyle, Lexington Catholic, Johnson Central) to advance to the final four.

What am I missing here? Thanks for any clarification you can provide.

I'm assuming the thought is pairing 1 through 4 in the East and West would eliminate a drive from Eastern KY to Western KY or vise versa in the "regional" round. It would work out this year in those pairings listed but imagine having to travel between Logan County and Johnson Central 4 and a half hours for a "region" championship".

Using the RPI was a definite step in the right direction as far as it went. I guess I don't understand all of the factors used. Take Class 4A for example.

If the RPI was used as it exists today, why wasn't it used in the final pairings? Ranking the eight finalists and pairing them by RPI alone (1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5) would have resulted in Corbin vs Franklin Co., Boyle Co. vs Central, Lexington Catholic vs Johnson Central, Warren East vs Logan Co. That would have allowed one more of the historically strong teams (Corbin, Boyle, Lexington Catholic, Johnson Central) to advance to the final four.

What am I missing here? Thanks for any clarification you can provide.

I like the way Ohio uses neutral locations for the quarter and semifinal rounds. Each team travels approximately the same distance.  

We used to do neutral field playoff games in California in the 80’s. The problem they found was a total lack of preparation by the host field, typically NOT in the playoffs. Fields not properly mowed/maintained, inadequate numbers of volunteers for the press booth, concessions, etc., or people simply coming late, providing for very low quality venues for the games.

We play the finals at Kroger Field on UK's campus, it would be cool to play the semis at eku, wku, murray, UofL, morehead and the quarterfinals at some of the smaller colleges like gtown, centre, pikeville, ky weslyan, cumberlands, union, campbellsville, thomas more, kcu and others. It would take the KHSAA doing a lot more planning but would be really cool showcase our best high school teams at our college football stadiums around the state.

I like that one of the teams being able to play at home. Plus I think attendance would be negatively impacted if they went to neutral site games.

I personally can’t stand the state championships being played at UK either.

 

What a great idea to use Ky. colleges/universities for semi/quarterfinals games!!!

It would reward many teams the opportunity to play in great locations that may not ever be able to play for a state championship. Playing on a college/university campus might even encourage an increase in attendance.

Over the years, great teams have lost to perennial power houses in semi/quarterfinal games that probably could have gone on to participate/win a state championship.

It certainly would require extra effort to pull it off, but the student athletes deserve the effort. After all, most of these guys will never wear a football helmet again. What a memorable way to finish their career!

4 hours ago, HedgeHog8 said:

We play the finals at Kroger Field on UK's campus, it would be cool to play the semis at eku, wku, murray, UofL, morehead and the quarterfinals at some of the smaller colleges like gtown, centre, pikeville, ky weslyan, cumberlands, union, campbellsville, thomas more, kcu and others. It would take the KHSAA doing a lot more planning but would be really cool showcase our best high school teams at our college football stadiums around the state.

I honestly like this idea.  Probably would never happen, but it would be cool if it did. 

I think more money for the schools if they host instead of playing neutral site. 

It is not broke.  Don't try and fix it.  It is High School folks; that spells community involvement.

On 11/15/2022 at 11:08 AM, HedgeHog8 said:

We play the finals at Kroger Field on UK's campus, it would be cool to play the semis at eku, wku, murray, UofL, morehead and the quarterfinals at some of the smaller colleges like gtown, centre, pikeville, ky weslyan, cumberlands, union, campbellsville, thomas more, kcu and others. It would take the KHSAA doing a lot more planning but would be really cool showcase our best high school teams at our college football stadiums around the state.

That would be awesome for a lot kids when it came to help being recruited. Playing this games on a college field in the playoffs gets no better in my opinion to see what type of player you’re getting and finding hidden gems.