For the first time since 2012, all three Dublin high school football programs will compete at Ohio's highest level when Jerome, Coffman and Scioto kick off their seasons simultaneously Aug. 21 at 7 p.m.

Jerome hosts Westerville South in the only home game of the trio. Coffman travels to Bishop Hartley, and Scioto heads to Thomas Worthington.

The milestone belongs largely to Scioto. The OHSAA placed the Irish in Division II for 2026, but the program voluntarily opted up to Division I, joining Coffman and Jerome in Region 2. The Columbus Dispatch reported that Scioto was the only local school to request the move, which expanded Division I from 72 to 80 programs statewide.

Dublin Daily newsletter author Nick Brodd wrote on June 23: "Nobody pushed them into this. They made the call themselves, and that says everything about where this program believes it is right now."

Scioto wrapped up its preseason schedule Aug. 17, with a scrimmage against Marysville.

Coffman's 80th season

Coffman enters its 80th year of football, a lineage stretching to 1947. The Shamrocks have claimed 18 league championships and reached the Division I Final Four in 2001, 2003 and 2007. Head coach Nick McVay's squad went 2-8 last fall and has been in preseason camp since Aug. 1, chasing a bounce-back year.

Quarterback Jack Morris, who earned the program's Off-Season Iron Rock award in July, leads the offense. Coffman gave fans their first look at the 2026 roster at the Community Kickoff on Aug. 12.

After opening at Bishop Hartley, the Shamrocks return home to host Big Walnut on Aug. 28, then welcome crosstown rival Jerome on Sept. 4.

Jerome's championship culture

Jerome rides momentum from a historic fall 2025 in which the school's boys golf, girls golf and boys soccer programs each won OHSAA Division I state championships. The boys soccer team defeated six-time defending champion Cleveland St. Ignatius 3-2 (4-3 on penalty kicks) on Nov. 10, 2025, for the program's first state title.

That winning culture now carries into football season under new principal Dr. Bryan Arnold, who took over the building after four years as assistant principal. In a Dublin City Schools profile published July 31, Arnold said: "I always joke that I've been at all three high schools … I understand what Dublin is like. They are all unique, but they are all great places to be."

Arnold, a 2002 Scioto graduate, isn't the only Dublin alum stepping into a principal's office. Wayne Tsai, Scioto class of 2004, takes over at Coffman after five years as assistant principal there. As we reported Aug. 3, both were promoted from within their buildings.

What's next

Dublin City Schools students return to class Aug. 20. One day later, the lights come on at three stadiums. Jerome hosts Westerville South at home; Coffman and Scioto fans hit the road.