Closing out the regular season and entering play-offs, 20 local gridiron players finished among Ohio’s high school elite, with several earning spots in mutliple categories.
In rushing, despite being held to only 79 yards last week by Clear Fork, Highland’s Dane Nauman finished as the No.2 rusher in Ohio, with 2278 yards, trailing only Gibsonburg’s Connor Smith by 95 yards (2373 total yards). Fredericktown’s Teegan Ruhl finished No. 9 with 1739 yards rushing. Centerburg’s Tyler Johnson was No.11 in Ohio with 1501 yards. Mount Gilead’s scrambling quarterback, Matthew Bland, is 24th with 1309 yards. Bland’s teammate Garrett George is 36th with 1185 yards, nosing out No. 37 Caylan LeMaster of Centerburg, who has 1184 yards. Danville’s Max Payne is 55th, with 995 yards gained. Johnson’s 36 touchdowns tied him for first in Ohio with Marco Cirigliano of Columbia. Nauman is seventh with 28 and Ruhl is 10th with 25.
In passing, Medina’s Danny Stoddard was No.1 with 3488 yards. The top local passer, Northmor's AJ Bower was 29th with 1902 yards. Centerburg’s Tyler Johnson, finished at No. 62 in Ohio with 1287 yards. Mount Gilead’s Matthew Bland is tied for No. 99 with 1027 yards passing. Danville’s Walker Weckesser finished just outside the Top 100 at No. 101, with 1004 yards and Utica’s Zach Heckman was at No. 107 with 950 yards.
In receptions, Woodward (Cincinnati) WR Donte Ferrell was good for 1744 yards to win the top spot by 529 yards over No.2 Collin Dixon of Tallmadge (1215 yards). Leading local receiver Northmor’s Hunter Fulk gained 625 yards for the No. 56 spot, Utica’s Gavin Chinn finished with 615 yards for No. 60 in Ohio and East Knox’s Carson Steinmetz gained 603 yards to tie for 69th place. Mount Gilead’s Owen High caught passes for 554 yards on only 21 receptions for a tie at No. 86.
On defense, St. Bernard-Elmwood Place’s Demico Harris led with 158 tackles and 122 solo tackles. Locally, Cardington-Lincoln’s Colin McAvoy is 32nd with 107 tackles and Danville’s Levi Lyons is tied for No. 36 with 103 tackles (57 solos and 46 assists). Danville's Ryan Lucas had 85 tackles for the No. 90th spot. Fredericktown's Mason Hoeflich is tied for No. 101 with 83 tackles on 29 solos and 54 assists.
In the secondary, AJ Stroud of Keystone-La Grange leads with eight interceptions. Locally, Kaiden Colopy of Danville, Jesse Rings of Centerburg, and Zachary Church of Highland each have five INTs to tie for No. 15. Utica’s Gavin Chinn, Highland’s Hayden Kline and Mount Gilead’s Matthew Bland have each picked off four passes to tie for No. 36.
