EAST DRAGONS
- HEAD COACH: Marques Hayes , 13th season, 67-59
- LAST YEAR: 8-3 overall, 4-1 City Series
- POSTSEASON: Division III, Region 9
East football's returning lettermen (14)
Latrelle Allen , LB, 6-0, 180, Jr.
Dereon Ballard, DL/OL, 6-2, 195, Jr.
Lavance Bratton, DB/RB, 5-10, 180, Jr.
Marlin Engram Jr. , WR/QB, 6-2, 195, Jr.
Marquan Davis, DB/RB, 6-0, 180, Sr.
Michael Ford, OL, 5-10, 255, Sr.
Armani Holloway, DE, 6-2, 215, Sr.
Denico Knight Jr. , OL/DL, 6-2, 290, Sr.
Jaikyh McIntyre, DB/WR, 6-0, 185, Sr.
Darshaun Sales , QB/P, 5-11 175, Sr.
Darshawn Spragling , OL, 6-5, 390, Jr.
Ziaire Stevens , RB/DB, 5-11, 195, Sr.
ZiVelle Thomas , DB/RB, 5-11, 180, Sr.
Terrell Wharton Jr. , DB/WR, 6-1, 170, Jr.
East football’s impact players
Ziaire Stevens, Darshaun Sales, Darshawn Spragling and Denico Knight Jr. are four of East's top returning players on offense . ... "Our running back Ziaire Stevens , for him it is work as usual," Hayes said. "He works hard in practice, he is getting ready to lead this team again and trying to make his senior season the best one that he has had. Knowing that he has his college stuff taken care of and he is on his way to Purdue — he will be a mid-year graduate — so he will be able to get down there early and take in all that they have to offer." ... Stevens chose Purdue over scholarship offers from Akron, Ball State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Eastern Kentucky, Indiana, Kent State, Marshall, Massachusetts, Pittsburgh, Temple and Toledo. ... " Darshaun Sales is going to be our quarterback this year," Hayes said. "Darshawn Spragling and Denico Knight Jr. are returning offensive linemen. [Cornerback] Terrell Wharton Jr. pretty much has scholarship offers from everybody in the [football] world. Braylon Bush, a 2026 wide receiver, garnered a Marshall offer this offseason at one of our showcases. Wide receiver Marlin Engram Jr., who was our quarterback to start the season last year, and then we converted him to play wide receiver." ... Hayes said defensive leaders are end Armani Holloway, safety Lavance Bratton, safety ZiVelle Thomas, linebacker Latrelle Allen and Terrell Wharton Jr. at cornerback and safety . ... "These guys are pretty doggone good," Hayes said. "A lot of them have [college] scholarship offers. A lot of these guys are young guys. They have varsity playing experience, and they have two years left to play as well because a lot of them are juniors." ... Wharton has scholarship offers from Wisconsin, Penn State, Boston College, Pitt, Kentucky, Indiana, Purdue, Central Michigan, Toledo, Akron and Kent State.
What's new with East football in 2024
Sales is set to start at quarterback in Week 1 after taking over under center toward the end of last season. ... "He has the ability to throw and run," Hayes said of Sales. ... Hayes said he is excited about the prospect of playing four fast receivers on certain plays: 6-3 Engram, 6-3 Bush, 6-2 Wharton and 5-10 Swain. ... "I think we are going to bring a lot to the table," Hayes said. ... Junior Rhykim Small, who is 6-foot-5 and 406 pounds, is expected to make an impact on the offensive line. Small did not play football last season. ... The following players transferred to East : junior wide receiver-cornerback Donte Swain Jr. from Barberton, senior safety-wide receiver Juelz Causby from Firestone, senior defensive lineman Charles Reddick from St. Vincent-St. Mary, junior defensive lineman Marcus Henderson from Ellet and junior linebacker Jon Jeffries from Barberton. ... Swain, Causby and Henderson were starters last year. ... Jeffries was injured last year.
East football’s outlook
East is 65-41 in 10 seasons and has made six OHSAA Division III playoff appearances under Hayes. ... East shared the City Series title with Buchtel last season and lost to Canfield in the opening round of the playoffs. ... "The starting point always for us is to try to go out there and win your league," Hayes said. "I think the league is getting better, for one. I thought the games last year were definitely more competitive. We need to continue to get better and continue to work on some of these weak spots that we might have on our team leading up to the season. The league is going to be super competitive, so we are going to have to bring hardhats every week. When I look at the roster, I say 'Man, we really do have a complete team from top to bottom.' Granted, you still have to go out there and you have to perform, but you can look and say, 'We have got really good talent at the defensive line. I think we have great talent in the defensive backfield, we have some emerging talent at the linebacker positions, we have a massive offensive line and I think we have the potential for our offensive backfield between quarterback and running back to be one of the best that we have ever had here at East.' That backfield is always something we have been able to pride ourselves on." ... Hayes added East has "potentially the best collection of talent at one time at wide receiver that we have ever had."
East football schedule for 2024
- Aug. 23 at Youngstown Chaney
- Aug. 30 at Bedford
- Sept. 6 at Elyria
- Sept. 13 vs. Archbishop Hoban at Ellet
- Sept. 20 at University School, 5 p.m.
- Sept. 28 at Ellet, noon
- Oct. 4 vs. North, at Ellet
- Oct. 12 vs. Firestone, at Ellet, noon
- Oct. 19 vs. Buchtel, at Ellet, noon
- Oct. 26 vs. Garfield, at Kenmore Stadium, noon
All games at 7 p.m., unless noted .
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron East Dragons 2024 high school football schedule, preview
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