The 2020 high school football season as a whole has been unlike any other season in history.

Now, week six in particular promises to be the most unique weekend of regular-season games to date.

More than 40 area teams will head into the weekend already knowing their playoff fate, including first-round opponent and location. Some of those teams will use this weekend as a tournament tune-up, others will proceed with a business-as-usual approach.

Two area teams (Champion and Newton Falls) will be idle for a second straight week because of COVID-related situations. Both are expected to return for the playoffs. The Tigers have played just three regular-season games.

Chalker, which didn’t have enough healthy players to field a team a week ago, returns to action Saturday. The Wildcats will travel to Ashtabula St. John — the same opponent they faced in the opening week of the season. Pymatuning Valley (5-0, 5-0) is looking to knock off Fairport Harbor (4-1, 4-1) for a second time in three weeks.

Leetonia (5-0, 5-0) is likely playing for an outright league title tonight when it visits United Local (4-1). However, there is a chance that the Bears will return to regular-season league play in three weeks, depending on how they fare in the playoffs.

Warren G. Harding will play Columbus Bishop Sycamore, a non-Ohio High School Athletic Association online charter school that provides a fifth year for high school graduates. Harding scheduled Sycamore on Sunday, hours after its original week six opponent — Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary — canceled so it could rest up for the playoffs.

McDonald (4-1, 4-1) will play its last-ever regular-season game at its current stadium — maybe. The Blue Devils will move into a new stadium in 2021. They do have a pair of regular-season home games scheduled later this month. However, those games could get scrapped because of the playoffs.

Eight area teams look to remain unbeaten. They include Fitch, Canfield, South Range, Springfield, West Branch, Garfield, Leetonia and Pymatuning Valley.

Five other area teams — Lakeview, Chalker, Newton Falls, East and Grand Valley — are still seeking their first win of the season.

Youngstown’s Holy War will take place when Cardinal Mooney (1-4) and Ursuline (3-2) clash for the 67th time. The Cardinals lead the series 42-21-3.

Meanwhile, the revamped regular-season schedules allowed for the renewal of one of the area’s most heated rivalries –Kennedy and Howland. The Eagles (4-1) and Tigers (2-3) will meet Saturday afternoon at Mollenkopf Stadium.

Kennedy leads 22-20-1 in the series. The teams last played in 2009.

TOURNAMENT BRACKETS

RELEASED

The OHSAA on Thursday released the regional brackets for the playoffs, which this year will include 648 schools.

Locally, six area schools opted out of the playoffs. They include Sebring, Windham, East Palestine, Chalker, Mathews and Lakeview.

The tournament begins next Friday, however 16 local teams will have a first-round bye. Two area teams (Springfield in Division VI, Region 21 and Kennedy in Div. VII, Region 25) earned the top seed in their regions.

Sixteen other area schools will play a first-round home game. Ten area schools will begin their playoff journey on the road.

The first round of the tournament will feature three all-area match-ups. Valley Christian visits Lowellville, Columbiana travels to Western Reserve and Struthers will play at Salem.

An all-local match-up is already assured for week two of the tournament. McDonald and Jackson-Milton both received first-round byes, but the Blue Devils and Blue Jays will meet in McDonald on Oct. 16. Ironically, the two schools were scheduled to meet on the same night for a regular-season game.

Lisbon will have to take a 112-mile trip to Plymouth. New Washington Buckeye Central will travel 129 miles to visit Wellsville.

For each round, through at least the regional semifinals, the higher seeded team has the opportunity to host the game.

Divisions I, II, III and VII will play on Friday nights and IV, V and VI will play on Saturday evenings.