OHIO — The Ohio High School Athletic Association will drop the number of games required for teams to qualify for the postseason from eight to five. The OHSAA said an announcement will be made Thursday afternoon. 

Earlier on Thursday, schools were notified of the change. 

Tradtionally, teams play a 10-game regular season before the playoffs.

The decision to reduce the number of contests required for postseason eligibility comes as a number of schools have canceled or postponed games due to COVID-19. Several Week 1 contests were canceled last week due to the pandemic. 

In 2020, due to the pandemic, the OHSAA allowed all 11-man teams to enter the state football playoffs. While not every team will make the 2021 state playoffs, the OHSAA implemented an expanded field starting this fall.