Midview Football returns to OHSAA playoffs with round one match-up at Highland

Who: No. 14 Midview High School (4-6, 2-5 SWC) and No. 3 Highland High School (8-2, 6-1 Suburban League American Division)

What: OHSAA Division II Region 6 Round of 16 Varsity Football Playoff Game

Where: Highland Stadium - North Gateway Tire Field (4150 Ridge Rd, Medina, OH 44256)

When: Kickoff is Friday (October 27) at 7 p.m. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m.

OHSAA Playoff Tidbits: For the third-consecutive season, the top 16 schools in each region qualified for the postseason, giving playoff berths to 448 schools. The regional playoffs will follow bracket format. Second-round games will be played on Friday, November 3, at the better seeded team's venue. Neutral sites will be used beginning in the third round on Friday, November 10, and the regional finals on Friday, November 17. The state semifinals will be on Friday, November 23, with the state championship games then hosted at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton on November 30, December 1 and 2. The final complete football report showing all teams in every region is posted at: https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/Football/2023/2023HarbinReportWeek10.pdf

Tickets: All Tickets are General Admission. Everyone 6 years of age and older must have a ticket in order to enter. Presale Tickets are $12 for Adults and $9 for Students and available starting on October 23 exclusively here: https://www.ohsaa.org/Tickets All tickets at the gate will be $15. No passes accepted during OHSAA Tournament games.

Specator Note: All kids in attendance will be expected to sit in the stands with their parents or in the assigned student sections. Spectators are prohibited from bringing sporting equipment (footballs, basketballs, etc.) inside Varsity Football Games. They will be turned away at the gate. Alcohol and Smoking are also prohibited on the campus of Highland Local Schools.

Halftime Performance: The Midview Marching Blue will perform first, followed by the Highland Marching Band.

Midview in 2023: Midview finished the regular season 4-6. The Middies opened with a 42-28 loss to Westlake before defeating North Olmsted (23-6) and Elyria Catholic (21-13). Midview then lost to Amherst Steele (17-7), Avon Lake (48-7) and Berea-Midpark (37-0). The Middies followed with a 35-28 win over North Ridgeville, 45-7 loss at Avon, 35-28 win against Elyria and 49-31 loss to Olmsted Falls.

Highland in 2023: Highland went 8-2 during the regular season. The Hornets lost to Hudson (35-21) in week 1 before winning eight straight—North Royalton (35-7), Brunswick (35-14), Copley (88-14), Tallmadge (28-7), Barberton (35-7), Roosevelt (42-0), Revere (56-20) and Cuyahoga Falls (58-7)—before falling to Aurora (9-7) in week 10.

New Era: Head Coach Jack Armstrong takes the reins of Midview Football in 2023-24. He was promoted to Head Coach on May 31. Armstrong, a 2012 graduate of Midview High School, is a Special Education teacher at his alma mater and has served as a varsity assistant coach with the Middies for six of the last seven seasons. He becomes the just the eighth coach in program history, which dates back to the consolidation of Belden, Eaton and Grafton high schools in 1955.

First-Year Coach Playoff Streak: Head Coach Jack Armstrong becomes the third straight Midview Head Football Coach to make an OHSAA playoff appearance in his first year under the helm.

Midview's Last Game: The Middies suffered a 49-31 defeat to visiting Olmsted Falls High School. Senior Ethan Elbert completed 14-of-31 passes for 130 yards, while running 24 times for 158 yards and a TD. Senior Dane West had a team-high 4 receptions for 38 yards, while senior Connor Rose added 3 carries for 41 yards and a TD. Senior Hunter Anderson finished with a team-best 12 total stops, and junior Dior Jones had an 89-yard kickoff return for a TD in the loss.

Highland's Last Game: The Hornets snapped an 8-game win streak with a 9-7 loss to Aurora High School.

Midview Stat Leaders: Senior quarterback Ethan Elbert has completed 110-of-219 (50.2%) passes and thrown for 1,681 yards and 12 TDs and 8 INTs. He also has 129 carries for 556 yards and 6 more TDs. Sophomore Michael Passerrello Jr. has added 51 carries for 178 yards and 2 TDs and senior Hunter Anderson has 65 carries for 192 yards and 2 TDs on the ground. Midview's top three receivers are junior Cameron West (24 receptions for 285 yards and 1 TD), senior Dane West (28 receptions for 461 yards and 4 TDs) and junior Dior Jones (25 receptions for 614 yards and 6 TDs). Junior Wyatt Lehman has a team-high 97 total tackles, while senior Connor Rose has added 85 total tackles and senior Gabe Borror has 78 stops.

SWC Standings: Midview finished in sixth place in the SWC Football Standings. Highland placed runner-up in the final Suburban League American Division Standings.

2022 Records: Midview finished 2-8 overall and 1-6 in the Southwestern Conference, while Highland went 12-1 overall and 7-0 in the league play. The Hornets won their first two playoff games—49-14 over Clay High School and 49-7 over North Olmsted High School—before falling to Toledo Central Catholic High School 42-6 in the Regional Semifinal.

Midview Playoff History: Midview will make its 12th OHSAA playoff appearance in 2023. The Middies, who are 4-11 in OHSAA Tournament play, first qualified in 1998 when they defeated Revere 27-21 and then fell to Mayfield 35-21 in the Regional Final. Midview also qualified in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2012, 2014 (Regional runner-up), 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2020.

Highland Playoff History: Highland will make its 13th OHSAA playoff appearance in 2023. The Hornets, who are 13-12 in OHSAA Tournament play, first qualified in 2000 then returned in 2001, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Highland made the State Semifinals in 2013.

Watch Live: A Hudl Focus stream and broadcast will be provided free of charge on the Highland Local School's YouTube Page. The Link is https://www.youtube.com/@HighlandHornetsLIVE

Midview Photos: Looking for photographic documentation of Midview student-athletes' success on the field? Jeff Barnes is the official photographer of Midview Athletics and his photos can be purchased at https://jeffbarnesphotography.zenfolio.com/

What is at Stake: The winner of the No. 14 Midview and No. 3 Highland match-up will take on the No. 6 North Ridgeville and No. 11 Valley Forge winner on the campus of the best seed on November 3 at 7 p.m.

Regional Bracket: The OHSAA Division II Region 6 Bracket is available here: https://www.ohsaa.org/Sports-Tournaments/Football/Football-2023/2023-OHSAA-Football-Playoffs-Coverage

Media Credentials: Host sites handle media credentials for all regional playoff games. Media requesting space in the press box are allocated according to the OHSAA Football Press Box Priority Seating Chart: https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/Football/FB-MediaPressBoxMemo.pdf