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PhotographyStephanie Porter, Gary Housteau,

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ContributorsMarty Gitlin, Jeff Williams, David Gatwood,Brad Morris, Shayne Combs, Jeff Rice

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Ohio High Magazine is published online nine times a yearand also produces an online and hard copy issue in July(Football Preview/Year in Review). Ohio High is an inde-pendent source of news and features relating to Ohio highschool sports. Ohio High strives to report informationbased on fact, but assumes no responsability for any inac-curacies that may appear. Ohio High is not authorized,sponsored or sanctioned by any university, athletic confer-ence or athletic governing body. Subscriptions are avail-able and may be purchased online at jjhuddle.com.Copyright 2009, Ohio HighMagazine andMVPMagazine, LLC.

All rights reserved.COVER PHOTOS: Jim Metzendorf, Impact ActionSports Photography

c

Volume 7 Issue 2

JJHuddle.com

Levies, losing streaks, injuries and more captured head-lines in the first five weeks of the football season

Top 10 Football Stories6

These teams deserve recognition...who are they?Top 10 Teams To Watch8

Ohio’s weakest playoff region? State powers back ontop...others have fallen flat. Who and what is on the list?

Top 10 Surprises10

Keep an eye on these guys down the stretch...they are special10 Players To Watch12

Who has helped themselves the most in the eyes of collegerecruiters? These 10 players have stock that’s soaring.

10 Prospects To Watch14

Toledo Whitmer is 5-0 and on theradar. Who else is? Turn thepage...

Team To Watch? Surprise?

Photoby

ScottW

.Grau/w

ww.nwo

prepsports.com

Cleveland Glenville head coach Ted

Ginn, Sr. congratulates Wayne’s

junior QB Braxton Miller after

the Tarblooders convincing Week 3 win.

PhotobyGaryHousteau

J JHUDDLE .COM6 JJ Huddle ’ s Ohio High

HS Footbal l Midseason Repor t

Teams snapping losing streaksSuddenly the losers are winners. After five weeks of the high school football

season, several programs have already notched season-saving victories. InWeek 2 Whitehall-Yearling snapped a 36-game losing skid that dated back to2005 with a 13-8 win over Columbus Linden McKinley. Channin Porter rushedfor 133 yards and scored two TDs for the Rams, who rallied from an 8-0 deficitand turned momentum with a huge defensive stop in the third quarter when theydenied Linden any points after the Panthers had first-and-goal from theWhitehall 2.

Also in Week 2, New Paris National Trail snapped a 32-game losing streak ofits own. The Blazers downed Bradford 20-18 thanks in part to three short TDruns by John Day. Ironically, National Trail’s last win was a two-point decision(14-12) over Bradford on Oct. 21, 2005.

In Week 1, Akron Springfield ended a 34-game losing streak with a 23-13 winover Akron Ellet. The win was second-year head coach Kevin Vaughn’s first var-sity victory. Also in Week 1, Rittman snapped a 27-game losing streak by beat-ing Conotton Valley 27-0; Chillicothe Unioto snapped a 22-game losing streakwith a 21-12 win over Vinton County; Elida snapped a 20-game losing streakwith a 49-35 win over Liberty-Benton and Lyndhurst Brush snapped a 19-gamelosing streak with a 45-34 win over Eastlake North.

In Week 4 Holgate snapped a 20-game losing streak with a 21-12 win overAyersville. — EF

The GCL South is 18-1 against non-conferenceteamsLast year was an oddity for Ohio’s toughest big school football conference.

Usually dominant, the Greater Catholic League South Division only got twoteams into the D-I playoffs, one of which was Moeller who nabbed the No. 8spot with a 6-4 record. The real stunner was Cincinnati St. Xavier – a yearremoved from winning the D-I title – missing the playoffs all together with a 4-6record. This season things are back to normal.

Through the first five weeks, the GCL South in 18-1 against non-conferencefoes. Moeller and Elder are 5-0 and St. Xavier and LaSalle are 4-1. LaSalle lost23-13 to Elder, while St. Xavier lost 12-7 to Highlands (Ky.), the No. 23 team inthe country according to USA Today. Elder is No. 3 and St. Xavier is No. 25.

Not coincidently, Elder, St. X and Moeller are Nos. 1-3 in Region 4 playoffpoints. LaSalle is No. 8. — EF

Steubenville’s regular season win streak stillintact – for nowBig Red has won 65 straight regular season games and is trying to put

together its seventh straight undefeated regular season. So far so good.Steubenville, which was the D-IV state runner-up last year, is 5-0. Big Red

should be 6-0 after playing Wheeling Park (W.Va.) in Week 6, but then things getinteresting. In Week 7, Steubenville hosts Massillon Washington. In Week 8Poland Seminary comes to town, and in weeks 9 and 10, Big Red hosts Inkster(Mich.) and Cardinal O‘Hara (N.Y.).

Also at stake heading into the final four weeks of the season is Steubenville’s57-game home win streak. — EF

Big School Sweet Spots: D-I, Region 4 & D-II,Region 7No D-I region in the state is as deep as Region 4. The same can be said in D-

II for Region 7. Both of these brackets are where the big boys play.In Region 4, 22 of the 31 teams have winning records and only one team is

winless. Centerville – which has a 4-1 record – is No. 16 in computer points.That’s how deep it is. Region 4 is also home to seven of Ohio High’s Top 10 col-lege prospects. Enough said.

In Region 7, an undefeated Athens team – should it happen – could possiblybe left out of the playoffs. Right now the Bulldogs are 5-0 and No. 14 in theregion in points. Undefeated Vincent Warren is No. 9. In this region – with thelikes of Lousiville, Logan, Big Walnut, New Philadelphia, Zanesville andColumbus St. Charles – some first round games will basically be regional finals.— EF

Don’t forget the little guys: D-V, Region 19 & D-VI,Region 21In Region 19, over half the teams (16 of 29) have records of 4-1 or better. A

regional favorite? The list of names includes: Baltimore Liberty Union,Nelsonville-York, Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant and Fredericktown. It’s wide-open.

Region 21 is loaded with six of the Top 10 teams in the JJHuddle D-VI PowerPoll, including: Bucyrus Wynford (No. 2), Norwalk St. Paul (No. 3), Mogadore(No. 5), Berlin Center Western Reserve (No. 7), Dalton (No. 8) and McDonlad(No. 9). Coincedently, the six also lead Region 21 in points. Hopewell-Loudon,which is looking for its third straight D-VI state final appearance, was ranked inWeek 5 before losing in overtime to Fremont St. Joseph. — EF

Friday Night Lights Turned OffThe Ohio Capital Conference in Central Ohio lost four teams from its lineup

August 5 following a rejected levy in the South-Western City School District. Thefour-year, $8.3-million property tax failed for the second straight time thus elimi-nating all extra-curricular activities at Central Crossing, Franklin Heights, GroveCity and Galloway Westland high schools and their accompanying middleschools.

As a result, many football players elected to transfer out of those schools toschools fielding football teams, including Williamsport Westfall, Grove CityChristian, Teays Valley, London and others.

Some players reluctantly refused to transfer to play because it just didn’t feelright.

“I couldn’t play anywhere else,” former Grove City linebacker Ryan Mullinstold JJHuddle.com early in the season. “It just wouldn’t have been the same. I’vegrown up with Grove City football all my life and I’ve gone to all the games. Thisjust doesn’t have the same feel.”

Grove City senior Kyle Schneider chose to forgo his senior season as well.“(Football) is pretty much life and death in Grove City,” he said. “Either you

play or you don’t. That’s the mentality.”The levy will be on the ballot again in November but for multiple-sport athletes

like Grove City senior Adam Boggs, who plays baseball, leaving Grove City isn’tan option even if the levy is defeated again.

“Even if the levy fails again (in November) I’m probably going to stay,” Boggssaid. “It’s hard to leave Grove City.” — MN

On The ShelfOhio High’s top two players in the Class of 2010 Top 150 got their senior

campaigns off to a rough start.And for one, it also ended.Cincinnati Anderson offensive lineman and Ohio State recruit Andrew Norwell,

the No. 2 ranked player in the state, suffered a season-ending injury in Week 4in a 28-25 win over Columbus St. Francis DeSales. On the second series of thegame, Norwell limped off the field with an apparent ankle injury.

“I broke my tibia just above my left ankle,” Norwell told Bucknuts.com.Norwell (6-7, 275) underwent surgery the following Monday and will also miss

his senior basketball season. A U.S. Army All-American Bowl nominee, it wasunclear whether or not he would be able to participate in the game in January.

“I’ll be ready for next (football) season (at Ohio State),” he said.While West Chester Lakota West linebacker Jordan Hicks didn’t have quite as

rough a start as Norwell, the Under Armour All-American was on the shelf early.Hicks, who is rated as the top player in the state by Ohio High, sat out of

Lakota West’s 20-6 win over Hamilton Week 4 with a bout of strep throat.“It was difficult (sitting out) but I didn’t want to risk getting (sicker),” said Hicks.

Losing streaks, injuries, failed leviesand more impacted the first five

weeks of football

STORY BY ER IC FRANTZ & MATT NATAL I

J JHUDDLE .COM 7JJ Huddle ’ s Ohio High

The Top 10 Stor ies

“My immune system has already down so they just decided it would be better if Isat the game out and let the team take over.”

Hicks, rated the No. 2 player in the country by ESPN Scouts, Inc., is enter-taining offers to Ohio State, Texas, Florida, USC and Alabama. — MN

Speaking Of DeSales…Oh, how the mighty have…stumbled.Ranked No. 1 in Division III in the Ohio High preseason Power Poll,

Columbus DeSales has hit a wall.After opening the season with a 38-0 win over Gahanna Lincoln, it looked as

though DeSales was well on its way to its third straight undefeated regular sea-son. But the Stallions fell to Youngstown Cardinal Mooney 21-14 the followingweek then barely squeaked by New Albany 13-6 before losing to CincinnatiAnderson in Week 4 to start the season 2-2.

The Stallions bounced back in Week 5 against Findlay with a 56-23 win butthe task doesn’t get any easier with, Columbus St. Charles, rival ColumbusWatterson, Division I/No.1-ranked Cincinnati Elder, Division I Cincinnati LaSalleand Cleveland Benedictine left on the schedule.

“With our schedule, we have to regroup and bring our ‘A-Game’ every week ifwe want to win any games on our schedule,” DeSales head coach RyanWiggins. “We’ve got to look at ourselves and get our mistakes corrected andlook at our next opponent. We’re going to do that each and every week.”

With a program used to winning coming off back-to-back undefeated regularseasons, DeSales is in unfamiliar territory.

“I think you get a spoiled sometimes when you go 10-0,” Wiggins said. “Thebottom line is we’ve got some goals and all the goals we’ve set are well withinreach. We need to keep improving and take it one (game) at a time.

“We’ve been down this road before and that’s what happens when you play adifficult schedule.” — MN

And Speaking Of Difficult Schedules…To be the best, you have to play the best.That was the mantra of several Greater Western Ohio Conference teams

when it came time to putting together their 2009 schedules. Having struggled inrecent years against the Cincinnati powers in Region 4 come playoff time,Centerville, Huber Heights Wayne and Clayton Northmont beefed up their non-conference schedules.

“I think you see (the Cincinnati schools) playing such a competitive schedule

down there because they have to,” Wayne head coach Jay Minton said. “I thinkwe all that if we don’t up our level of play in the regular season, we’re not goingto be ready at the end of the season. I think we’re all trying that and I think we’reall responding well.”

But the GWOC powers went 0-3 in Week 3 against a few of the state’s topteams.

Centerville lost to Moeller 21-19 in a Region 4 clash to drop to 2-1. Wayne,with wins over Canton McKinley and Princeton, lost to Cleveland Glenville 57-28for its first loss, while Northmont dropped a 17-7 road decision at WestervilleSouth. Northmont, now a deceiving 3-2, owns a win over Lakota West and aloss at Cleveland St. Ignatius. Northmont led that game 20-0 before falling 27-20.

“I don’t think anyone can accuse the GWOC of scheduling patsies,”Centerville head coach Ron Ullery told JJHuddle.com before the season.

And after being tested by fire early in the season, the GWOC powers are hop-ing that experience will carry over into the postseason to get over the Region 4hump.

“You divide your season into sections,” Minton said. “The first three games isthe part where you establish yourself.” — MN

Wildcat Repeat?Cleveland St. Ignatius won an unprecedented tenth state title last season fin-

ishing 14-1 and the Wildcats haven’t skipped a beat in the first half of this sea-son boasting an undefeated record and a 19-game winning streak dating back toWeek 2 of last season.

Ignatius tallied big wins over Cleveland Glenville, Clayton Northmont andMentor scoring 33.6 points per game.

But the second half of the season will show whether or not Ignatius is a con-tender or pretender with Massillon Washington, Warren G. Harding, Inkster(Mich.) Cincinnati St. Xavier and Lakewood St. Edward on the schedule

“As for our regular season schedule, it’s always tough and we look forward tothat challenge with St. Ed’s and Glenville and the other teams we play,” headcoach Chuck Kyle said before the season. “We look at it like it gets us ready forthe playoffs so we want to learn from those 10 games.”

Ignatius is powered by senior quarterback Mark Myers and Louisville runningback recruit Kevin Johnson on offense. Ohio State linebacker recruit ScottMcVey, who is ranked as the No. 12 prospect in the state by Ohio High, is theleader on defense despite suffering an early season knee injury. — MN

Cincinnati Moeller and

Centerville hooked up for

a Week 3 slugfest which

the Crusadres won 21-19.

Photoby

Brian

Swartz