There was bit of a shake-up in divisional placement for local schools on Thursday after the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s preliminary football numbers were announced.

The Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference went from a league with five Div. VII teams to now just two. Southern and Wellsville will be the EOAC’s only Div. VII teams. Leetonia, which left the EOAC for the Northeastern Athletic Conference, will also stay in Div. VII as one of the smallest schools in the state of Ohio playing 11 man football. Only 10 schools are smaller. Vanlue, which Leetonia beat 47-0 in the opener last season, is the smallest 11-man football playing school in the state with just 14 boys in grades 9-11.

On the other end of the spectrum, Salem’s program vaulted into Div. III as the Eastern Buckeye Conference begins its wind-down after Marlington, Minerva and Carrollton announced they will head to the Northeast Senate League by 2028. West Branch, which remains in Div. IV, has said it would approach the All-American Conference for membership in all sports but football. Salem would likely also become an attractive piece for that league if it remains Div. III.

Speaking of league alterations, the EOAC and Mahoning Valley Athletic Conferences are likely to announce shake-ups of their own by the end of the school year. School officials are tight-lipped about what may happen but a Lowellville Board of Education April meeting agenda item indicated that the Lowellville school district will meet to discuss the “future of the MVAC and potential league options” for the district.

Crestview will still be looking for a new league after the breakup of the MVAC Gray Division but options might be thin in the general vicinity. The Rebels and Cardinal Mooney are the only Div. V teams in Columbiana and Mahoning counties. South Range, which has been a solid Div. V for several years, will drop down to Div. VI this season and will continue to be the smallest school in the Northeast 8.

With Cleveland consolidating several of its high schools and Youngstown going down to one high school, there will likely be schools closely bordering divisions that will switch once the divisions are finalized.

For instance, Springfield Local, solidly a Div. VI school in the past, is the largest school in Div. VII at this point.

Whatever happens, it’s likely high school football fans in the area will have to learn to get used to an unfamiliar landscape.