Two summers ago, my neighbors across the street hosted a party. On our short, dead-end street, parking for attendees came at a premium. One partygoer decided to solve that problem by parallel parking across my driveway. Do you become a killjoy and party pooper all wrapped into one and ask the car be moved? Not me, but some people might escalate the matter and call the police. Or do you leave well enough alone? It’s a no-win situation, especially if you speak up. Yet sometimes you must. That summarizes my sentiment in conveying this — begrudgingly: The recent volume-heavy iterations of All-Ohio football are a watered-down, unrecognizable shell of the selection concept that is no longer so much all-star as it is all-recognition. There are legitimate reasons why. Some will contend honoring a lot more people isn’t “wrong.” Except compared to tried-and-true All-Ohio requirements for decades, there is. The Ohio Prep Sports Media Association inherited All-Ohio football selection in 2017 from The Associated Press, so the organization just completed its eighth season as arbiter. In 2024, there were 73 All-Ohio honorees from News-Herald coverage area schools on first, second or third team or receiving a player or coach of the year nod. That figure — not including honorable mention — is low for the OPSMA era. Because in 2019, there were 83. In 2023, there were 81. With fewer divisions. Under the OPSMA selection model, there have been 570 coverage area honorees in the last eight seasons alone. All-time since the implementation of All-Ohio football in 1933, current News-Herald coverage area schools have had 1,658 All-Ohio selections. So 34.4% of every All-Ohio football selection over 92 seasons has occurred over the last eight. Put another way: 65.6% happened from 1933 to 2016 — and bear in mind, the first All-Ohioan in football from a current coverage area school didn’t come until 1951, when Euclid defensive end Sam Intihar was a second-teamer. Put another way, since there were 73 honorees this season: The 73rd coverage area All-Ohioan on the gridiron overall didn’t happen until 1974, a span of 41 seasons. The standard of high school football locally is always high. But can we objectively argue, with a litany of perennially strong teams up to and including state champions, the standard locally has increased to a point at which more than one-third of all All-Ohioans have happened in the last eight years? To me, no way. Of course, let’s not limit it to who makes it from our schools. How much volume there is today is quantifiable. No, by the way, expanded divisions alone does not justify this much volume. There were 17 quarterbacks recognized as All-Ohio in Division I, including honorable mention. So there was a nearly 1-in-4 chance of being a D-I All-Ohio quarterback by being a starting D-I quarterback. There were 41 offensive linemen recognized across all levels in D-VI, 29 defensive backs in D-III, 48 linebackers in D-VII, 29 wide receivers/tight ends in D-IV, 32 running backs in D-V, 29 defensive linemen in D-I. Just taking one division as an example, much of our coverage area contingent is D-III. Across all positions, including honorable mention, there were 236 D-III All-Ohioans — 131 first, second or third team and 105 honorable mention. There were 109 D-III football teams. Not that they all had representation, obviously, but that equates to an average of two All-Ohio players for every team. There is no issue with aspiring to be All-Ohio caliber. There is no issue with being in that conversation. The same skill and performance level of student-athletes continues to be enough reason to be a high-end All-Ohioan. That doesn’t change and never will. But shouldn’t it be similarly difficult to garner All-Ohio recognition as it had been for decades? This is such dicey territory. Because a coach, a student-athlete, “Dad”  or “Uncle” somewhere might see this and wonder, “Are you saying someone specific isn’t good enough to make All-Ohio?” The answer is, “No.” In almost all cases, nominees are good enough to make All-Ohio. But based on long-held standards, compared to counterparts seeking the same recognition, they might not be good enough to be All-Ohio. There’s a difference. The reason the numbers have spiked so high is because OPSMA had to streamline the All-Ohio selection process. It’s not practical in 2024 for many reasons to argue one-by-one through each spot. Also, it’s not as if the majority are going to dislike more All-Ohioans — except for contrarians like me. But what we’re left with in the present is a gluttony that isn’t handled. It’s just morphed into spots and given away with much less stringency. What’s ironic is, even with the historically high volume of student-athletes who are getting All-Ohio, people still get upset about who didn’t make it. It was mentioned in this space last winter. But during the 2023 Ohio Mr. Football process, a finalist’s parent tried to interject into the voting. Without rehashing that awkward situation again, in the end it swayed voting against their son. This season, two parents sent blanket statewide emails to OPSMA members advocating for their sons’ All-Ohio placement, separate of the coach’s nomination and of the district’s media being entrusted to do their due diligence. It’s worth noting not every OPSMA member plays a role in determining All-Ohio football. Full disclosure, I’m one of the non-voters. But I can’t sit on the sidelines any longer about this. Something has to change going forward. Positional caps. A max number of honorees for a team based on performance. Limiting honorable mention better — as harsh as this may sound, perhaps even eliminating that level altogether. Whatever it is, Ohio high school football is not being done the best service by its All-Ohio arbiter. Inclusion to an extent of overwhelming volume does nothing more than water down what should be the highest honor available to those on the gridiron across the Buckeye State. Sometimes, you need to speak up. Even for parking at your neighbor’s party. And even for something considered so sacred as the All-Ohio football team.