Here are Cincinnati’s best 10 special teams players in high school football in 2024

As another season of football and Friday night lights approach, so do player rankings and previews. The Enquirer has been ranking the best players by position from Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.

Here the the 10 best special teamers, kickers, punters and returners, in the area, listed alphabetically. Be sure to vote for your favorite in the poll at the bottom of the story.

Mason Cooper, Milford

Cooper was successful on 50 of his 54 extra-point attempts, but his most memorable performance came when he didn’t attempt any at all. In the final minutes of the fourth quarter at Winton Woods on Oct. 6, Cooper drilled a 22-yard field goal, which was the game’s only score in a 3-0 Milford win. In consecutive weeks, Cooper drilled seven and eight extra points against Loveland and Anderson respectively.

Antonio Hunter, Princeton

On offense, Hunter had nearly 400 receiving yards and over 100 rushing yards last season. On special teams, he averaged over 25 yards per kickoff return, including a 72-yard return against Mason and a 64-yard return for a touchdown against Middletown. Hunter also returned punts for scores, going 81 yards for a score against Mason and 75 yards for one in the season opener at Elyria.

Colson Lair, Beechwood

Playing in the powerful Beechwood offense works well for a kicker with an accurate boot like Colson Lair. In 14 games as a sophomore last season, Lair was 81-of-82 on extra points and his 5.8 points-after per game were second in the state.

Nathan McFee, East Central

McFee has nailed playoff game-winners but mostly adds more and more cushion to the lead for the back-to-back Indiana state champions. McFee broke the school record with 87 extra points kicked last season after converting 61 in 2022. With 148 extra points made, the senior needs just 12 more to break Sophie Browndyke’s school record.

Aiden McGuire, Fairfield

Now a senior, McGuire has been kicking for Fairfield since his freshman year. In three seasons, McGuire is 96-of-101 on extra points, including a 33-for-33 season last year, and is 11-of-14 on field goals with a long of 35 yards.

Gavin Moses, Ryle

Moses impressed while making his rounds in the camp circuit and is ranked by Kohl’s Kicking Camps as the No. 32 kicker nationally in the 2026 class overall and the top kicker in Kentucky.

Jacob Rudowski, Kings

Rudowski handled punting duties for Kings, averaging just over 40 yards per punt with a long of 71 yards. He pinned the opponent inside the 20-yard line nine times. He earned third-team All-Ohio honors as a punter.

Carter Rummer, Wyoming

Rummer scored 76 points last season in his junior campaign, led by a 43-of-44 year on extra points for a 97.7% rate. Rummer was 5-for-5 in three games and went 6-for-6 on points-after on two occasions. In a 44-6 win over Aiken, Rummer scored 14 points when he was 5-for-5 on extra points and 3-for-3 on field goals.

Brady Stidham, Loveland

Stidham was a sophomore kicker last season when he earned first-team honors in the district for Division II and was third-team All-Ohio. Stidham handled field goals for Loveland and was 5-for-7 overall, twice succeeding on 43-yard makes with one 42-yard make.

Andrew Weitzel, Covington Catholic

Weitzel was 71-of-76 on extra points for the Covington Catholic as the Colonels finished as Class 4A state runner-up, good for a 93.4% success rate. In total, Weitzel scored 77 points and was second on the Covington Catholic squad, one point behind Owen Leen.

Connor Yeager, Clermont Northeastern

In Division V, Yeager was the first-team All-Ohio selection as a punter. In 10 games, Yeager punted 41 times and averaged just under 45 yards per kick. He led the Southern Buckeye Conference in punting average as well, pacing the conference with a 70-yard punt and 18 times leaving the ball inside the 20.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Here are Cincinnati’s best 10 special teams players in high school football in 2024