21 Mahoning Valley area football teams currently hold playoff positions

With one week to go in the regular season, 21 Mahoning Valley-area football teams are currently holding playoff spots for the upcoming OHSAA postseason tournament.

Those teams currently among the top 12 teams in their respective divisional regions include the following:

In Division II, Austintown Fitch (7-1) is holding a playoff spot, as is Canfield (9-0) in Division III.

There are four area schools holding playoff spots in Division IV, including West Branch (8-1), Hubbard (7-2), Salem (6-3) and Beaver Local (6-3).

In the Division V ranks, five area teams are holding playoff spots, including Girard (9-0), Cardinal Mooney (7-2), Poland (7-2), Youngstown Liberty (7-2) and South Range (5-4).

Division VI is also loaded with area schools holding playoff positions. Those schools are Crestview (9-0), United (8-1), Mineral Ridge (7-2), Springfield (5-3) and Columbiana (5-3).

In the small-school Division VII class, five teams are currently holding playoff positions, including McDonald (9-0), East Palestine (7-2), Lisbon (6-3), Lowellville (3-6) and Warren JFK (4-5).

The top 12 teams at the end of this weekend’s 10-week regular season will advance to the playoffs. The OHSAA will announce the playoff qualifiers and first-round pairings on Sunday afternoon.