As the regular season winds down, 18 local high school football athletes have made their presence felt and are among Ohio’s statistical leaders.
Following his third 300-yard performance in four games, Highland’s Dane Nauman – 341 yards vs. River Valley – remained the No. 2 high school running back in Ohio with 2,199 yards, climbing within 40 yards of the top spot held by Connor Smith of Gibsonburg, with 2,239 yards. Nauman closed the gap by 248 yards. Nauman is averaging 244.3 yards per game and 8.66 yards per carry on 254 attempts. He holds a 345-yard lead over No. 3 ranked Cody Coontz of Rootstown.
Fredericktown’s Teegan Ruhl maintained his No. 8 spot after gaining 214 yards on 13 carries against Cardington-Lincoln. Ruhl has 1,602 yards on 216 carries – 7.42 ypc and 178.0 ypg.
Centerburg’s Tyler Johnson gained one position to No. 15, after his 162-yards rushing against Northmor. Johnson has 1,307 yards on 206 carries.
Mount Gilead’s scrambling quarterback, Matthew Bland, is 31st with 1,132 yards on 162 carries.
Johnson’s Trojan teammate Caylan LeMaster gained 133 yards on 13 carries against Northmor to jump two spots to 38th, with 1,054 yards on 136 carries.
Bland’s teammate Garrett George is 41st at 1,008. Danville’s Max Payne is 63rd, with 847 yards gained.
Johnson’s 31 touchdowns place him fifth in Ohio – Marco Cirigliano of Columbia is No. 1 with 35. Nauman is sixth with 28, and Ruhl is ninth with 23.
In the air, Medina’s Danny Stoddard continues to hold a big yardage lead with 3,488 yards, 422 yards ahead of No. 2 passer Drew Novak of Western Brown.
The local passing leader, Centerburg’s Tyler Johnson, moved up the list, ranking No. 54 this week (No. 61 last week) with 1,216 yards on 93-for-170 attempts.
Mount Gilead’s Matthew Bland is No. 92 with 942 yards passing on 52-of-107 attempts. Danville’s Walker Weckesser moved into the top 100 at No. 99, with 896 yards on 71-for-136. Utica’s Zach Heckman sits just outside the top 100, at No. 103, with 851 yards.
Utica’s Gavin Chinn had four catches for 46 yards against Northridge and was ranked in the No. 42 spot with 610 yards on 28 receptions. Mount Gilead’s Owen High has 510 yards on only 19 receptions for a three-way tie at No. 68.
The state high school leader is wide receiver Donte Ferrell of Woodward (Cincinnati), with 1,603 yards on 85 receptions for a 509-yard lead over No. 2 Collin Dixon (Tallmadge), with 1,094 yards.
On defense, Cardington-Lincoln’s Colin McAvoy is tied for 24th with 97 tackles. Danville’s Levi Lyons is tied for No. 36 with 93 tackles (54 solos and 39 assists), and his Blue Devil teammate Ryan Lucas is tied for 60th with 81 on 49 solos and 32 assists. Fredericktown’s Mason Hoeflich is tied for No. 76 with 78 tackles on 28 solos and 58 assists.
Brayden Koeller of Twin Valley leads Ohio with 143 tackles, and Demico Harris of St.Bernard-Elmwood Place has the most solo tackles with 111. Travis Merrill of Elyria Catholic has the most tackles for loss with 31.0. Greg Miller III has the most sacks, with 16.5.
In the secondary, Brodie Stanton of Big Walnut and AJ Stroud of Keystone-La Grange each has seven interceptions. Locally, Kaiden Colopy of Danville, Jesse Rings of Centerburg and Zachary Church of Highland have five INTs each to tie for No. 11. Utica’s Gavin Chinn and Highland’s Hayden Kline have each picked off four passes to tie for No. 29.
