Second-ranked Rebels playing for MVAC title

COLUMBIANA — Crestview will travel to Garrettsville Garfield in a state-ranked battle Friday with the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Gray Tier title on the line.

Crestview (8-0) climbs to second in the Division VI state poll, while Garfield (7-1) is ranked 17th in Division V.

Garfield has never lost a league game since joining the MVAC in 2021. The G-Men have won 32 consecutive league games.

The G-Men have rolled off seven straight wins after a season-opening 51-43 double-overtime loss at Ashtabula Edgewood.

Crestview has won 12 of its last 13 league games, losing 23-22 to Garfield last season.

It will be a high-powered matchup as Garfield averages 44.4 points a game and Crestview 39.4 points a game.

Also in Division VI, Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference leader United (7-1) is ranked 13th and Columbiana (4-3) is 15th.

West Branch (7-1) is 13th in Division IV and East Palestine (7-1) is 14th in Division VII.

NIL could be coming to Ohio high schools soon

COLUMBUS — A lawsuit filed Thursday in Franklin County could force an emergency statewide vote on whether Ohio high school athletes can profit from their name, image and likeness, a move that could end Ohio’s status as one of just six states still banning such compensation.

The suit targets the Ohio High School Athletic Association and could trigger a referendum among the organization’s member schools to consider a bylaw allowing student-athletes to be paid for endorsements, appearances and social media promotions.

OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute said the organization anticipated possible legal action and is prepared to proceed with a vote earlier than planned. “We were hoping this would wait for the referendum voting period in May,” Ute said, “but as we told our schools this fall, the vote may have to come sooner due to a lawsuit.”

The OHSAA Board of Directors had already approved NIL language to appear on the May ballot. However, under OHSAA bylaws, legal challenges can prompt an emergency referendum vote before that time.

If approved, the bylaw would permit high school athletes to sign NIL agreements while maintaining amateur eligibility under OHSAA rules.

Member schools previously rejected a similar NIL proposal in 2022 by a 538-254 margin.