'26 FB alignment takes shape; Allen, Knapp, Meeker repping Scioto County in prestigious events

2026 OHSAA Football Alignment sees Minford, Northwest, Valley drop to Division VI

Major changes to the outlook of postseason play for the 2026 season will occur in the Scioto County landscape, as for the first time, there will be more OHSAA Division VI schools in Scioto County playing football than those in Division V. Minford, Northwest and Valley will join West in the OHSAA Division VI realm this season after the Senators were the only team in Scioto County in Division VI in 2025.

With the new layout, only Wheelersburg and Portsmouth remain as Scioto County schools in the OHSAA Division V realm. Portsmouth was just eight boys above the OHSAA Division V cutoff.

The Pirates and the Trojans each remain in Division V, Region 19, while the Falcons, Mohawks, Indians and Senators will all play in Division VI, Region 24.

Longtime Division VII members East, Green and Notre Dame will again be in Division VII, but will each move to Region 27 from Region 28.

Allen, Knapp, Meeker rep Scioto County in OHSBCA North-South Game, Division IV-VII North-South Game respectively

Scioto County natives from three different high schools will represent the county over the weekend in two prestigious events, as Portsmouth's Sienna Allen will play in and Green's Melissa Knapp will coach in the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game Friday evening at Olentangy Liberty High School in the suburbs of Columbus, while Ryan Meeker will play the following afternoon in the annual North-South Classic at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.

Allen, an Ohio signee, will be appearing in her second all-star contest in three weeks.

Obviously an integral piece in all facets toward the two-time defending OHSAA State Championship winning Portsmouth Trojans' girls basketball program, Allen dropped 11 points to help the Ohio All-Stars defeat the Kentucky All-Stars, 93-73, on April 11 at Thomas More University in Crestview Hills, Ky.

Behind Allen's help, the Ohio squad outscored Kentucky 19-9 in the second quarter and 26-14 in the fourth en route to the win.

Knapp, who will coach Allen and Unioto's Milee Smith on the OHSBCA North-South All-Star squad, has led Green to back-to-back OHSAA Division VII District Championships and two OHSAA Division VII Regional Semifinal appearances as well. Knapp's middle child, Jon Knapp, has signed to play baseball at Rio Grande, while her youngest daughter, Abbie Knapp, has committed to play for Marshall.

Meeker, a standout lineman who is walking on at Kentucky in continuing his own football career, helped lead Wheelersburg to its best season since 2017 as the offensive line's lynchpin at center.

A team captain, Meeker, who is listed at 6-3, 295, helped Wheelersburg compile 4,484 yards of total offense in 2025 en route to a 14-1 overall record. Meeker also saw extended playing time on defense in the 2025 OHSAA Division V State Championship Game and made eight tackles from the middle of the defensive line.

SSU Softball drops close contests to No. 18 Cumberlands (Ky.)

In two tight setbacks, the Shawnee State softball program dropped tight 3-1 and 2-1 decisions to No. 18 University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) Tuesday afternoon in Williamsburg, Ky. in a pair of nonconference contests.

Shawnee State (32-12) got complete game outings from Abbie Deeds and Gabby McConnell in the circle in both games.

At the plate, the Bears were led by Sierra Dunnagan (2-for-3, run scored), Haley Myers (1-for-3) and Keegan Uhl (1-for-3). Dunnagan scored in the sixth inning on an RBI groundout by Sydney Skiver in Game 1.

In Game 2, the Bears got a solo home run from Gabby Adams, who went 1-for-3 with a home run, an RBI and a run scored in the contest. Skiver, Uhl and Lexie Lockwood each went 1-for-3 while Myers went 1-for-4 in the tight second-game setback.

Despite the losses, the defeats are of a high-quality fashion and show Shawnee State's capability and talent level in not only advancing to a NAIA National Tournament, but an NAIA World Series as well. Over the past six seasons, Cumberlands, under head coach Bailey Dillender, has gone 248-70-1 with three consecutive appearances in the NAIA World Series. The Patriots went 49-5-1, 49-9 and 40-9 over the past three years with No. 3 rankings nationally in both 2023 and 2025.