Through five weeks of football, a dozen local student-athletes find themselves among the top performance players in Ohio high school football.
The top name on the list is Highland's ground-gaining Dane Nauman, who ranks sixth in Ohio with 935 yards rushing on 127 attempts for a 7.36 yards-per-carry average, and 187.0 yards per game, with 11 touchdowns. He trails Ohio high school leader Connor Smith of Gibsonburg by 333 yards. Centerburg’s Tyler Johnson ranks 19th with 702 yards on 116 carries – 6.05 ypc and 140.4 yards per game. Fredericktown’s Teegan Ruhl is 22nd with 670 yards on 80 carries – 8.38 ypc and 167.5 yards per game. Centerburg’s Caylan LeMaster is 33rd with 597 yards on 77 carries – 7.75 ypc and 119.4 yard per game.
Johnson of Centerburg has made an impact in two categories, as he is also the top-ranked local passer, coming in at No. 82 statewide, with 551 yards – 110.2 per game – on 91 passes. Utica's Zach Heckman follows at No. 86 with 526 yards on 47 passes, 172.0 yards per game. The state’s leading passer is Danny Stoddard of Medina, with 1,720 yards
Gavin Chinn of Utica is the top local receiver, coming at at No. 22 statewide, with 418 yards on 18 receptions, averaging 23.22 yards per catch and 83.6 yards per game. Ohio’s high school leader is Woodward (Cincinnati) wide receiver Donte Ferrell, with 916 yards on 35 receptions. Copley’s Lyke Brenner’s 44 receptions are tops in that category.
On defense, Zach Cyphers of Utica owns the No. 46 spot statewide with 47 tackles (22 solos and 25 assists), 9.4 per game. Ladon Hayes of Highland is No. 54 with 46 tackles, 9.2 per game, 18 solos and 28 assists. Danville’s Ryan Lucas is No. 75 with 42 tackles, 8.4 tpg, 23 solos and 19 assists. Jack Moore of New Richmond holds down the top spot in Ohio with 81 tackles (43 solos and 38 assists) for a 16.2 tackles-per-game average. No. 3-ranked Brayden Koeller of Twin Valley South has the most solos, with 59 of his 78 total tackles by himself. No. 7 Travis Merrill of Elyria Catholic has the most tackles for loss with 19.0, and most sacks goes to Dylan Horsley of Norwood, with 10.5.
Kaiden Colopy of Danville has four interceptions, which puts him just one off the statewide lead, held by three players. Highland’s Hayden Kline, Centerburg’s Jesse Rings and Utica’s Chinn each have a pair of INTs.
