Athletic Director: Division II Competition Still Difficult

To Athletic Director Alex Popovich, it doesn't matter what division the Tigers football team is in; the competition will be tough.

“I don’t think our competition is going to be any less difficult,” Popovich said. “There’s still quality schools that will be in that same level.”

On Thursday the Ohio High School Athletic Association by a 6-3 vote, forcing some teams -- including Twinsburg -- to change divisions.

Twinsburg will move from Division I to Division II in 2013. But Popovich doesn't think it will matter much to the Tigers.

"Obviously we’re still of the mindset that we’ll try to play with the best and do the utmost to compete against anyone,” Popovich said. Half of the Northeast Ohio Conference competition will still be Division I, he added, which may help Twinsburg in the playoff positioning.

While Popovich thinks the OHSAA’s financial benefit played a part in the change, he also thinks it added an extra division because so many schools were complaining because they were so much smaller than the competition.

Popovich said adding 32 more teams to the playoffs is a good thing for the school communities and great for high school football.