Pirate football playoffs loom on Halloween
The Bluffton High School football team has finished the 2025 season tied for sixth with Attica Seneca East (7-3) in the final Div. VI, Region 22 rankings after suffering their second defeat in their season finale. Bluffton is the seventh seed.
The top four teams in each region receive a first-round bye, while teams ranked five through 12 play in the first round.
Castalia Margaretta finished first (9-1) in region 22, followed by Hopewell-Loudon (9-1) and Archbold (8-2).
Paulding finished fourth at 10-0, as the only unbeaten team in Region 22. Sherwood Fairview (9-1) moved up to fifth after a week 10 70-22 win, coupled with the Pirate loss.
The higher seeds will host the first two playoff rounds.
Bluffton will host the 10th seed Collins Western Reserve (8-2) in the first playoff round at Harmon Field on Friday, October 31, on Halloween.
If they win, the Pirates would visit Hopewell-Loudon in the Region 22 quarterfinals on Friday, November 7.
The Pirates have gone 7-2 in the postseason over the last two years, including 4-1 last fall when they reached the state semifinals. Bluffton is 33-6 over the last three years. Four of the six losses have been to Grove.
The other two losses were to LCC this year, and to Coldwater in the 2024 semis.