September 20, 2022
OPSWA High School Football Notebook Week 5
COLUMBUS – The midway point has arrived.
With the conclusion of Week 5 last weekend, the 2022 high school football regular season is officially in the second half.
Let’s check out some of the top performances that stood out during the final week of the first half of the season with this week’s OPSWA High School Football Notebook.
The Shelby Whippets held the Marion Harding Presidents to just 10 yards of total offense including -32 yards rushing in a 33-3 win in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action. The Whippet defense is allowing just 12.2 points a game and have allowed just nine total points over the last two weeks as Shelby improved to 4-1 on the season.
The Crestview Cougars were efficient in a 48-8 win over Monroeville on Friday night scoring 28 points in the first quarter on three rushing touchdowns and a Pick-6. The Cougars have pushed their regular season winning streak up to 18 games and are in control of their Firelands Conference title destiny.
CNBC was at the Centerville-Northmont game doing a special on the technology inside Centerville’s helmets. The Elks have special sensors in their Riddell helmets which collects data on hits to the head. The data is used to correct bad techniques and to track possible head injuries.
The Lexington Minutemen scored all 22 points in the fourth quarter during their 22-21 upset victory over Wooster last week. Lex scored on a blocked punt recovered by Mason Green and saw AJ Young connect with Brayden Fogle on the game-winning TD and two-point conversion to pull off the 11th-biggest upset in Ohio during the first half of the 2022 season.
Mansfield Senior’s Duke Reese connected with Amarr Davis on a 97-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of the Tygers’ 21-10 win over New Philadelphia to put the game on ice. Locked in a defensive battle and needed a momentum changer, Reese found Davis streaking down the sideline and found his speedy receiver for the game-clinching score. The Mansfield Senior defense pitched a shutout in the second half of the win to end the Tygers’ two-game losing streak.
The Clear Fork Colts piled up 459 yards of total offense in a 36-10 win over Galion. Quarterback Victor Skoog completed 8-of-12 passes for 165 yards while Pawie Ault ran for 122 yards and a TD and Luke Schlosser ran for 110 yards and two TDs helping the Colts improve to 4-1 and 2-0 in the MOAC.
Chardon senior linebacker Heath Fetchik had 11 tackles, including two TFLs, to lead the Hilltoppers to a 31-14 win over Mayfield. Fellow linebacker Mario Tolo, a junior, also had 11 stops.
Hawken's Dominic Johnson set a school record with seven touchdowns in a 62-28 win over Grand Valley. He ran for 181 yards and four scores, caught two touchdowns for 68 yards and two scores, and had a 92-yard kick return for a score. He also had a pair of two-point conversions. He nearly had eight touchdowns, but a first quarter pick-six was nullified by a penalty.
Painesville Riverside quarterback Mikey Maloney, a junior threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns, and also ran for 66 yards and two scores, in the Beavers' 59-0 win over Madison.
Burton Berkshire quarterback Miles Miller threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-21 win over Independence. A week ago, he ran for more than 300 yards in a win over Grand Valley.
Chagrin Falls Kenston junior Patrick ran for 82 yards and a touchdown, but on defense had nine tackles, an interception in the red zone, a PBU in the end zone and a TFL in the red zone in Kenston's 14-7 win over Lake Catholic.
Willoughby South's Tyrone Singleton scored all five of the Rebels' touchdowns in a 35-14 win over Eastlake North.
Alex Williams connected on 19-of-27 passes for 287 yards in Rossford's 47-7 win over Fostoria. The senior finished with five touchdowns and ran for another as the Bulldogs improved to 2-3, 1-1 in the Northern Buckeye Conference.
Lamar Sperling of Akron Archbishop Hoban already had more than 1,000 yards rushing in Hoban’s first four wins. Sperling added 232 yards and three TDs on a season-high 29 carries in a 28-7 win against Cleveland St. Ignatius. The University at Buffalo commit now has 1,235 yards and 17 TDs on 106 carries through five games.
Centerville’s sack for a safety in the first quarter marked the fourth game this year the Elks defense has scored.
Springboro, which had made a habit of having halftime leads and hanging on at the end, trailed Fairmont 13-0 at the half before rallying for a 21-19 win. Fairmont scored with less than two minutes in the game, but the two-point conversion was no good.
Zachariah Williams had 104 yards on 21 carries and five touchdowns in Wayne’s win over Miamisburg. Miamisburg’s Christian Davis had five kickoff returns for 214 yards including a 97-yarder for a touchdown. Wayne had a 426-193 advantage in total offense.
Valley View held Madison to eight first downs and 115 yards in total offense in improving to 4-1 with the 56-0 victory.
Gallia Academy quarterback Brody Fellure rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and completed 10-of-18 passes for 170 yards in the Blue Devils' 36-34 win at Portsmouth on Friday night.
Franklin Furnace Green running back Nathaniel Brannigan rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries in the Bobcats' 43-18 win at Ashland Fairview (Ky.) on Friday night.
McDermott Northwest running back Wyatt Brackman rushed for 158 yards and four touchdowns on 34 carries, and caught one of only two Mohawk pass completions, in the Mohawks' 37-22 victory at Lucasville Valley on Friday night. Northwest's win over Valley snapped the Mohawks' 17-game losing streak to the archrival Indians, as their last win in the series came in 2000. The two did not play between 2014 and 2018.
Portsmouth Notre Dame running back Gavin Hart rushed for 295 yards and five touchdowns on 16 carries in the Titans' 62-26 win at Zanesville Bishop Rosecrans on Friday night.
Portsmouth West senior Ryan Sissel rushed for 179 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries, and had 13 tackles and a tipped pass on defense in the Senators' 42-8 win over Columbus KIPP on Friday night.
Wheelersburg placekicker Connor Estep accounted for all dozen Pirate points in their 20-12 loss to Jackson on Friday night. Estep is now 5-of-5 on field-goal attempts this season, including makes of 24, 37, 40 and 37 against the Ironmen. His other field goal came against Ironton in the opener, as he is also 16-of-16 on extra-point kicks this season.
Matthew Papas completed 25 of 43 passes for 448 yards and four touchdowns and also rushed for 104 yards on 10 carries for Grove City in a 48-35 win over Marysville. JJ King (eight receptions for 196 yards) and Ryan Reber (7 for 103) each caught two TDs for the Greyhounds, who are 4-1 for the first time since 2002. Grove City went 12-68 the previous eight seasons.
Westerville South rushed for 322 yards in a 31-24 upset of previously unbeaten Big Walnut. Nasir Phillips ran for 164 yards and two scores and Ethan Hanna added 130 on just five carries. Just as important were Craig Morton's two fourth-and-1 stops of All-Ohio running back Nathan Severs.
Taizaun Burns rushed for 202 yards on just 12 carries and scored two TDs in Columbus East's 28-0 win over Dayton Belmont. Burns has amassed 691 total yards and scored 11 TDs in East's 4-0 start.
Talon Fisher and Ki’Arran Love each ran for more than 100 yards and two touchdowns as Fairfield knocked off Oak Hills 45-17 on Friday night. Fisher tallied 14 carries for 179 yards, while Love had six rushes for 133 yards. Fisher also had a touchdown pass in the third quarter. With the win, the Indians remain undefeated overall and tied at the top of the Greater Miami Conference with Lakota West and Mason.
Carroll quarterback Ryan Chapman threw four second-half touchdown passes in leading his team to a come-from-behind 44-37 win over Talawanda on Friday night. The senior signal caller threw for more than 300 yards total with Jack McGeady catching five passes for 120 yards and two scores. The Patriots (3-2) successfully ran two hook-and-ladder plays in the game that resulted in touchdowns, both by McGeady.
Jake Valerio and Braden Sullivan combined for more than 300 yards rushing and four touchdowns in leading Edgewood to a 35-21 win over Chaminade Julienne on Friday night. Valerio had 23 rushes for 155 yards and two touchdowns and Sullivan added 13 carries for 149 yards and a pair of touchdowns. It was the first time since a Division II second-round playoff win over Stebbins last season that the Cougars had two players with more than 100 yards rushing in the same game.
Monroe junior Ryan Miles rushed for 263 yards and two touchdowns as the Hornets topped Southwestern Buckeye League rival Oakwood 34-20 on Friday night. The win snapped a two-game losing skid for Monroe (3-2). It was the third straight game in which Miles ran for more than 100 yards and at least one touchdown. Senior Elijah Jackson also ran for 117 yards and two scores for the Hornets.
Valley View had not one, but two punt returns for touchdowns in a 56-0 win over Madison on Friday. Austin Stidham returned a punt 54 yards for a score early in the third quarter and Jacob Clark added a 74-yard return late in the period for the Spartans (4-1).
For the first half Friday night, a Cincinnati Taft line that had four players over 300 pounds and the others who played weighing in at 240 and 260 helped their speedy backs to a pair of long runs for scores as the Senators took a 19-0 halftime lead at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin. Sparked by Matt Urda, Luke Peroni, Josh Grambo, and Brayden Buell, a very hard hitting band of linebackers for the NDCL Lions, who stopped the Taft offense early and often, recovering four second half fumbles including a score for Peroni, the Lions came up just short in a 25-22 thriller. Five fumble recoveries overall helped keep the Lions in the game, but Taft has major speed to go with the massive size, and held on for dear life to win after the long bus ride across the state. Taft won the total yardage battle by a 320-75 count, holding NDCL to just five first downs, but hard hitting in the second half by NDCL made the bus ride back to Cincinnati a rough one.
For the first time since 2003, Antwerp defeated Tinora in Green Meadows Conference football, downing the Rams 20-14 to move into a tie for the league lead. The Archers, led by QB Carson Altimus’ 286 pass yards and four completions to Landon Brewer for 102 yards, have never won a league title in football.
For the first time since the late 1990s, Defiance had two different players rush for over 100 yards in a single game during Friday’s 42-6 rout of Kenton. Junior Brogan Castillo rushed for 163 yards and two TDs on 17 carries for the Bulldogs while senior Craig Nichols added 108 yards and two scores on 13 attempts as Defiance beat Kenton at home for the first time since 2006.
Archbold saw a streak of 24 straight regular-season victories snapped in Friday’s 16-0 loss to No. 5 Liberty Center, but an even longer streak came to an end in the loss. The blanking marked the first time Archbold had been shutout since a 7-0 loss to Wauseon on Sept. 23, 2016, a run of 66 straight games.
Speaking of streaks, Paulding saw its 14-game losing streak snapped with a 29-10 win at Fairview. The victory marked the first win of the year, first for interim coach Jim Menzie and the first Green Mewadows Conference win for Paulding after nine straight losses in league play since re-joining in 2021 after 47 years away.
North Central running back Joey Burt was dominant on the ground with 272 yards and three touchdowns as the Eagles defeated Fairport Harding 46-0 to move to 3-2 on the season.
A week after offensive tackle Ty Goodwin ran for 288 yards and 2 TDs, Blanchester got another big performance in a 45-22 win over Goshen. Michael Mulvihill, the quarterback who missed Week 4 and forced the team to go with the unusual offensive gameplan, was back and made his mark. The sophomore passed for a school record 438 yards and 4 TDs while running for 132 yards and another score. Bryce Sipple was the favorite target with 13 receptions for 179 yards and 2 TDs. However, Dustin Trace was the big-play guy with TD catches of 70 and 80 yards.
Wilmington has scored defensive and/or special teams points in each of the first five games this season. The Hurricane has a safety, 2 fumble recoveries for a touchdown, 4 interception returns for a touchdown and a punt return for touchdown.
Cameron Snider of Bethel-Tate passed for 279 yards and 2 scores while also running for 96 yards and 3 TDs in a 49-7 win over Batavia.
Defending Div. IV state champion Clinton-Massie won its first game of the year 31-17 over Div. II Harrison. The Falcons did not attempt a pass, rushing 49 times for 343 yards.
Anderson junior Brodey Berg rushed for 131 yards and five touchdowns in their 51-18 win at Walnut Hills.
Kings quarterback Will Kocher was 27-for-34 passing for 338 yards and four touchdowns plus rushed for 67 yards and two scores in their 41-7 win over Milford. Kings receiver Michael Mussari had eight catches for 235 yards and four scores in the Knights 41-7 win over Milford.
Winton Woods running back Trey Cornist ran for 176 yards and two touchdowns in their 41-7 win over Little Miami.
Moeller’s Jordan Marshall was MVP of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown game at St. Xavier with 134 yards rushing and a touchdown and the game-winning 29-yard scoring reception. Moeller won 20-17.
Edgewood junior Braden Sullivan ran for 149 yards and two scores in their 35-21 win over Chaminade-Julienne.
Eric Davis of Lakota East had 214 yards rushing as the Thunderhawks beat Hamilton 21-7.
Fairfield junior quarterback Talon Fisher ran for 179 yards and two touchdowns and had 81 yards passing for a score as Fairfield defeated Oak Hills 45-17.
Deer Park’s Kendall Luckett had 227 yards and two touchdowns as the Wildcats beat Taylor 34-27.
Western Brown’s Zachary Chisman had 121 yards rushing and three touchdowns and three receptions for 75 yards and a score in Western Brown’s 51-14 victory over Miami Trace.
Blanchester sophomore quarterback Michael Mulvihill had 437 yards passing for four touchdowns and 132 yards on the ground for another score as the Wildcats beat Goshen 45-22.
Getting “six” took on new meaning for Liberty-Benton’s Kam Garlock and Upper Scioto Valley’s Alex Sanders on Friday. Garlock, a senior quarterback completed 20 of 23 passes for 460 yards and six touchdowns in the Eagles 70-0 win over Cory-Rawson. The six TD passes broke the single-game school record Garlock set last season in a playoff game with Elmwood. L-B kicker Cason Doolittle converted 10-of-10 PAT kicks in the contest, tying him with several others for the 12th most PAT conversions in a single game. Sanders had just seven carries in USV’s game with Crestline, but scored on six of those seven carries and churned out 236 yards rushing in the Rams 84-8 win.
McComb’s Andrew Swisher had 17 carries for 112 yards and three touchdowns and caught three passes for 35 yards in a key Blanchard Valley Conference game against Pandora-Gilboa on Friday. Swisher was clutch late in the game. When starting quarterback Grant Dishong was injured, Swisher stepped under center, rushed for 50 yards on seven carries on a make-or-break final drive, and guided the Panthers to a game-winning TD in the final minute of their 35-28 win.
Drew Doyle ran for 173 yards and three scores, as Zanesville rallied past Heath for a 22-11 win.
Josiah Cahill and Carter Fry combined for 144 yards and three TDs on the ground as Ridgewood downed previously unbeaten Malvern 34-7.
Jamal Watts delivered for River View, outrunning the Meadowbrook defense for 251 yards and three scores, including one for 83 yards, as the Black Bears won 39-20.
Coldwater kicker Justin Kaup had his streak of 56 consecutive extra points snapped when he kicked the first attempt against St. Henry off the goal post in a 41-7 win over the Redskins. The streak is second-most all-time in Coldwater history behind Mario de la Rosa’s 57 straight.
Van Wert defeated St. Marys Memorial 70-41. The 70 points is the most the Roughriders have allowed since 2012 (losing 62-0 to Ottawa-Glandorf) is likely the most allowed all-time. Roughrider running back Aiden Hinkle rushed for 246 yards and two touchdown in the loss.
Bryce Schondelmyer completed 17 of 18 passes for 343 yards and six touchdowns in Springfield’s 49-17 victory over Beavercreek. Daylen Bradley caught seven passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats’ deep and talented receiving corps.
Drake Wells completed 20 of 33 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns in Centerville’s 37-6 victory over Clayton Northmont. Joseph Jean-Louis led the defense with 2.5 sacks and the 2.5 tackles for loss. The Elks had six sacks and 11 tackles for loss against previously unbeaten Northmont. The Elks are allowing 5.2 points a game.
Xavier Jones rushed for 217 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries in Tipp City Tippecanoe’s 45-7 victory over Riverside Stebbins.
Gavin McManus and Tremmell Wright teamed up to lead Xenia to a 55-21 victory over Greenville. McManus completed 10 of 14 passes for 264 yards and four touchdowns. Wright caught five passes for 210 yards and four touchdowns. Brock Short led Greenville with 169 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.
Brock Ebright threw for 335 yards and a touchdown to lead Eaton to a 31-21 victory over Waynesville. Leslie Orr caught seven passes for 123 yards and Brayden Deem caught nine for 99 yards.
Elijah Brooks rushed for 195 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries to lead Bellbrook to a 35-7 victory over Franklin. Tanner Stewart added 127 yards and a 73-yard touchdown on nine carries.
Daniel Kamara rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries to lead Springfield Catholic Central to a 34-28 overtime victory over West Jefferson. Kamara scored the winning touchdown on a 24-yard run. Austin Buescher threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns for WJ.
Cade Houseman completed 10 of 15 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns to lead Springfield Northeastern to a 50-0 victory over Southeastern.
Will Donahoe threw for 281 yards and four touchdowns in Urbana’s 47-7 victory over Springfield Kenton Ridge. Rayvon Rogan caught seven passes for 131 yards and two scores, and Jonathan Hildebrand caught five for 150 and two scores.
R.J. Griffin completed 9 of 11 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns to lead Springfield Shawnee to a 53-13 victory over Springfield Northwestern.
Lucas Berner rushed for 305 yards on 35 carries and scored on runs of 2, 43, 9 and 41 yards in New Carlisle Tecumseh’s 35-14 victory over Bellefontaine Ben Logan.