2022-23 News Archive

Let’s check out some of the top performances from all around the Buckeye State with this week’s Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association High School Football Notebook.

 

* Lucas senior running back Logan Toms rushed for 152 yards on 21 carries and scored three touchdowns as Lucas bounced back in convincing fashion from its first 0-2 start to a season since 2014 with a 41-7 win over Smithville.

 

* Ontario quarterback Bodpegn Miller was 16-for-24 for 192 yards and three touchdowns while running for 45 yards and a score in the Warriors’ 38-0 win over Madison. Miller collected with nine different receivers including Peyton Dzugan, Dylan Floyd and Jon Mahon for touchdowns of more than 15 yards each.

 

* The Lexington Minutemen picked up their first win of the season with a dramatic 28-27 win over Clear Fork as Clay Caudill connected on 12-of-21 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns while also running for 54 yards. Seven Allen was his favorite target with six catches for 152 yards and a touchdown while Brayden Fogle caught three passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns including the game-winner, a 35-yard strike early in the fourth quarter.

 

* Williamsport Westfall quarterback Bryce Wickline passed for a single-game program record of 412 yards in a 48-36 win over Circleville. Wickline completed 26 of 40 passes and tossed four touchdowns.

 

* Circleville Logan Elm churned out a single-game program record of 30 first downs in a 41-20 win over Washington Court House Miami Trace. Aaron Walters was 20 of 29 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns, and Camden Redd caught both scoring passes and had a career-high seven receptions for 121 yards. Landon Thompson chipped in 142 yards rushing on 21 totes and scored three touchdowns. The Braves are 3-0 for the first time since 2014.

 

* Findlay’s four-star rated quarterback Ryan Montgomery completed 32-of-37 passes for 491 yards and six touchdowns in the Trojans' 49-14 win over a 2-0 Sylvania Southview team. The 491 passing yards broke Ben Roethlisberger’s single-game school record. The six TD passes were two shy of Roethlisberger’s record in that category. Through three games, Montgomery had competed 75-of-107 passes for 982 yards and 11 TDs. Montgomery’s main target has been senior receiver Ja’vonte Hill. Hill caught 11 passes for 200 yards and four touchdowns in Friday’s win over Southview. A fifth TD pass, a 61-yarder in which Hill zig-zagged through and around three defenders over the final 15 yards, was negated by a holding penalty. Through three games, Hill has 24 receptions for 415 yards and seven touchdowns.

 

* In a 21-14 victory over Pandora-Gilboa, Leipsic’s Quin Schroeder started a last-minute drive by completing a 26-yard pass, then hauled in a twice tipped 51-yard pass for the go-ahead score, and capped things off by intercepting a pass in the end zone.

 

* Liberty-Benton quarterback Mason Modd passed for one touchdown and ran for three in helping the Eagles build a 27-22 lead on Arlington. When Arlington scored and went ahead 30-27 with 2:40 left in the game, Modd stepped up again, returning the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for the winning score in a 34-230 victory.

 

* Hopewell-Loudon’s Braylon Martinez rushed for four touchdowns and caught a pass for another in the Chieftains’ 47-12 win over Fostoria.

 

* Elmwood’s Brennan Hiser rushed for 243 yards on 37 carries and scored three times in the Royals 46-32 win over Riverdale.

 

* Danny Stoddard threw for 366 yards and four touchdowns — all to Austin Knowles (6 catches, 173 yards) — while adding 82 yards on the ground as Medina held off Wadsworth 40-23.

 

* Rootstown senior running back Dawson Morgan has 799 yards rushing through three games. His Rovers are 3-0.

 

* Crooksville freshman quarterback Brayson Hill had more than 270 total yards and accounted for three TDs and Daniel Chapman had 124 yards and two scores, as the Ceramics earned the program’s 500th win against Berne Union.

 

* Maysville senior Wesley Armstead had touchdowns via a pick six, a reception and a running score in a victory over Coshocton.

 

* Philo’s Seth Henning had a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown in a win at Morgan.

 

* John Glenn’s Andrew Glaub collected four interceptions and teammate Cameron Barnhouse had an interception and a sack and blocked the potential tying extra point to send the Muskies past New Lex.

 

* Cleveland Heights junior running back Marquise Davis rushed for 333 yards and four TDs on 37 carries in the Tigers’ 34-31 win at Hudson. Davis now has 755 yards and nine TDs on 70 carries through three games.

 

* Perry snapped Kirtland’s 57-game winning streak in the regular season, as senior Brayden Richards got the Pirates rolling with a 93-yard TD reception in a 24-6 victory. Richards added a two-point conversion with the Pirates’ second touchdown and finished with 111 yards on three receptions. Per Kirtland’s stat crew, the Hornets’ rare loss Friday marked just their sixth at home since Tiger LaVerde became coach in 2006. Kirtland is 157-10 in regular season play and 98-6 at home under him. Perry has two double-digit winning seasons under Bob Gecewich, formerly of Dublin Jerome and now in its third year leading the Pirates, who are in Division V.

 

* Shaker Heights is 3-0 for the first time since 2015, as junior Cornell Beard rushed for 284 yards and five TDs in a 53-27 win against Solon.

 

* Preston Hopperton of Streetsboro rushed for 207 yards and two TDs on 21 carries and had two more scores with 92 yards on eight receptions in the Rockets’ 37-28 win against Alliance. Hopperton has 592 yards rushing and 10 TDs through three weeks with another 143 yards and three TDs on 15 receptions.

 

* Medina Highland coach Mike Gibbons became the program’s all-time wins leader, according to the Medina Gazette. Gibbons’ 62nd win passed Lakewood St. Edward coach Tom Lombardo, who had 61 victories from 2008-14 at Highland.

 

* Hamilton Badin defeated Trenton Edgewood 42-14 to improve to 3-0 and extend the Rams' regular season winning streak to 31. That ties the school record set between 1963 and 1966.

 

* Riley Caldwell rushed 18 times for 180 yards and five touchdowns for Hamilton Ross in a 48-3 victory over Cincinnati Northwest.

 

* Ironton (3-0), a Division V power, will take on West Virginia Class AAA titan Cabell Midland (2-0) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Marshall University’s 30,475-seat Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. Cabell Midland features nearly 2,000 students and would be Division I in Ohio.

 

* Hillsboro senior Austin Barrett finished with 146 yards rushing with two touchdowns against Portsmouth West, giving Barrett three straight games of 100-plus yards rushing to start the season. Hillsboro sophomore Zac Brown had a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Portsmouth West. 

 

* Powered by a 487-yard offensive output, Paulding went 2-1 in nonconference games for the first time since 2009 with a 56-25 win at Delphos Jefferson. Jacob Fife had 218 yards and three TD passes, rushing for another, while Blake Rhonehouse caught six passes for 129 yards and two scores.

 

* Edon quarterback Kyler Sapp was bombs away for the Bombers in a 47-20 win at Hicksville, completing 35-of-52 passes for 427 yards and seven total touchdowns, five of them through the air to five different receivers.

 

* Plenty of outstanding efforts were shown off in Bryan’s 67-46 barnburner of a win at Fairview. For the winning Golden Bears, Sam Herold’s 245 yards and five rushing TDs on just 17 carries led the way while QB Jase Kepler passed for 211 yards and rushed for 132 with five total touchdowns as Bryan racked up 599 yards of offense.

 

* Fairview’s offensive output came more through the air as sophomore QB William Zeedyk passed for 387 yards and four TDs (29-of-53) while rushing for 113 yards and two more TDs. Gavin Meade caught 12 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown for the Apaches.

 

* Montpelier quarterback Hayden Sharps passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more, tallying 343 total yards and scored on a game-winning 20-yard touchdown run in the Locomotives’ first possession of overtime to snap a five-game losing streak to county rival Edgerton, 34-28. Brayden Brink added seven catches, 190 yards and a score.

 

* Liberty Center was dominant on defense and on the ground in a 45-0 smashing of Otsego. LC did not allow the Knights to cross midfield, holding them to 83 yards of total offense on 41 plays while racking up 406 rushing yards on 30 carries. Trenton Kruse led the run game with 137 yards and three TDs on nine carries while brother Colton added 129 yards and a score on nine totes.

 

* Patrick Henry senior quarterback Nash Meyer broke the school record of 6,163 career passing yards by completing 16-of-19 passes for 373 yards and three scores in a 40-28 win over Columbus Grove. The record was previously held by Meyer’s current head basketball coach, Bryan Hieber.

 

* In eight-man football, Holgate quarterback Xavier McCord had a second straight big game on the stat sheet as the Tigers routed Britton-Deerfield (Mich.), 48-26. The signal-caller completed 13-of-19 passes for 168 yards and two scores, rushed for 120 yards and two TDs and returned an interception 95 yards for a touchdown to outgain Britton-Deerfield offensively, 362-311.

 

* After taking a 14-6 lead through one quarter, Stryker allowed 28 straight points from Morenci (Mich.) in a 66-42 defeat in eight-man football. Jacob Cadwell set program records for completions (40) and attempts (53), passing for 279 yards and four TDs. Jacob Myers (18 catches, 118 yards) and Gavin LaBo (11 catches, 113 yards, three TDs) were Cadwell’s top targets.

 

* Galion's Gabe Ivy rushed for 372 yards on 20 carries scoring four touchdowns (50, 43, 8, 27) in the Tigers' big win over Upper Sandusky.

 

* Colonel Crawford's Trevor Vogt scored four touchdowns — 75-yard kickoff return, 43-yard run, 57-yard pass, 25-yard run — finishing with 294 all-purpose yards in the Eagles' win over East Knox.

 

* Valley View senior quarterback Caden Henson had a hand in five touchdowns as the Spartans moved to 3-0 with a 42-21 win over Bellbrook (1-2). Henson was seven of 15 for 139 yards and a 39 yard scoring toss to Caleb Musgrove through the air and carried the ball 18 times for 153 yards including scoring runs of 80, 7, 4 and 6 yards.

 

*It was a three-star night for the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes on Friday night, as the Buckeyes rolled Liberty Union 47-19 in a non-league game. Gavin Richards racked up 23 total tackles, had five tackles for loss, forced a fumble and had two fumble recoveries on defense, while rushing for 123 yards on 10 carries and making four receptions for 44 yards. Landon Inman added an interception, a pass breakup, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, while catching six passes for 144 yards with four touchdowns. Makhi Williams completed 12-of-14 passes for 258 yards with five touchdowns.

 

*Ironton opened its final football season as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference by crushing the visiting Fairland Dragons 62-14 on Friday night. Last year, the OVC voted Ironton out of the conference — for football only. The Fighting Tigers have captured four consecutive conference championships, and have been OVC members since the 2015 season. Against Fairland, senior quarterback Bailey Thacker threw four touchdown passes and rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, as Shaun Terry made three receptions for 129 yards —two of which went for scores.

 

* Minford senior running back Jeffrey Pica, closing in on the Falcons’ career rushing record, carried 21 times for 162 yards with two touchdowns — and added two receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown in the Falcons’ 42-18 victory over visiting Wellston on Friday night. Sophomore quarterback Peyton Caudill completed 17 passes on 26 attempts for 241 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for a pair of scores.

 

* McDermott Northwest senior wide receiver Connor Lintz made eight receptions for 115 yards and a hat trick of touchdowns in the Mohawks’ 44-26 non-league win over visiting Chillicothe Huntington on Friday night. He also returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. Jake Brown completed 11-of-16 passes for 199 yards and four touchdowns.

 

*The Portsmouth West Senators amassed 507 rushing yards on 56 carries in their 49-34 high-scoring non-league win over visiting Hillsboro on Friday night. Mason Parker put up 257 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 totes, while senior standout all-purpose performer Jeffery Bishop rushed for four touchdowns and 139 yards on 13 carries, while making two of the Senators’ three receptions on the night —for 79 yards with one score.

 

* The Portsmouth Notre Dame Titans tallied 33 first downs and 632 yards of total offense on 83 plays from scrimmage on Saturday night, as Notre Dame defeated host Fisher Catholic for the third consecutive season — by a count of 46-17. Ethan Kingrey completed 17-of-27 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown — a 78-yarder to fellow sophomore Luke Cassidy, who made five receptions for 141 yards. The senior running back, Jordan Davis, carried 26 times for 193 yards and four touchdowns — and added four two-point conversion runs. Davis is the son of first-year Notre Dame head coach Buster Davis, who played college football for Florida State and in the National Football League for four franchises.

 

* Justin Giffin’s 8-yard TD run and Hayden Piper’s 40-yard TD pass to Gavin Chinn gave Utica the final 15 points in a 34-20 victory against Fredericktown. Utica has won six times in its last eight home games since snapping a 29-game overall losing streak in Week 10 of the 2021 season.

 

* Isaiah Mitchell’s 53-yard TD run clinched Hebron Lakewood’s 27-7 victory at Bexley. The Lancers, who are 2-1, won on the road for the first time since Week 10 of the 2019 season.

 

* The Washington Blue Lion defense forced seven turnovers in a 42-6 victory against Columbus Marion-Franklin, including defensive touchdowns from Rocky Jones and Charlie Eplin. Senior Mason Coffman recorded his 28th career interception during the game, moving him into second place all-time in OHSAA history for career interceptions.

 

* Junior Joey Jackson scored five touchdowns to lead Beloit West Branch past Girard 52-43. Jackson caught four scoring strikes from senior QB Beau Alazaus (32-of-50, 370 yards, 6 TDs) and returned an interception 73 yards for a score. Jackson finished with 15 receptions (a school record) for 208 yards and his four receiving TDs tied a school record. Girard QB Tuff McConahy was 29-for-51 for 416 yards and six TDs. The Indians' Stephen Sims caught eight passes for 144 yards and three scores.

 

* Fenwick junior quarterback Austin Rickert engineered a 60-yard drive on six plays with 1:25 remaining Friday night that ending with a game-winning touchdown pass to senior A.J. Kiser as the Falcons came from behind to beat Monroe 23-20. Rickert was 4-for-5 passing for 40 yards on the drive including the TD toss and he went 13-for-20 for 135 yards for the game in his first year as the varsity starter. Fenwick remains undefeated at 3-0 on the season.

 

* East Clinton's Glenn Peacock ran for 232 yards and five touchdowns in a 62-12 win over Fayetteville-Perry. East Clinton also had two Pick-6s in the game, a 62-yarder by Brody McCulley and a 25-yarder by Aiden Conger.

 

* Eastern Pike quarterback Dylan Morton provided more than just signal calling during the Eagles' 36-20 road win over the Southeastern Ross Panthers. In the fourth quarter when Eastern was clinging to a one-score lead with Southeastern gaining momentum, Morton booted a 68-yard punt that rolled dead at the Southeastern 1-yard line with 7:15 left in the game. Southeastern continued to threaten. With less than a minute left, Morton punted one out of the Eastern end zone that went 39 yards. Morton also handled kickoffs and hit two extra-point kicks.

 

* Waverly junior receiver Kody Swords caught 10 passes for 211 yards and a pair of touchdown in his team's 28-14 win at Unioto, accounting for all but 88 yards of quarterback Mason Kelly's 299 yards.

 

* Quentin Youngblood's breakout season for Beavercreek continued with career highs in carries, yards and touchdowns. He touched the ball 28 times for 209 yards and 5 TDs in a 39-8 win. CJ Crawford had 19 tackles, a sack and fumble recovery on defense.

 

* Gabe McGill of West Liberty Salem had his third straight game with at least three touchdowns and rushed for 147 yards in a win at Jamestown Greeneview.

 

* Maumee quarterback Chase Maulucci rushed for 98 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns, and he completed 7-of-12 passes for 101 yards and another TD in a 42-0 win over Toledo Bowsher. It was Maumee's first shutout win since 2017. The Panthers defense also shined, allowing negative 3 rushing yards and 68 total yards.

 

* Hillsdale quarterback Jack Fickes had 264 passing yards, 44 rushing yards and threw four touchdown passes in the Falcons’ 31-3 win over Loudonville. Hillsdale receiver Hayden McFadden caught nine balls, for 180 receiving yards and two touchdown catches.