OPSMA High School Football Notebook: Week 2 brings best performances to life

COLUMBUS – And just like that, the 2024 high school football regular season is 20% in the books.

But Week 2 was quite impressive. Let’s take a look at some of the top performances from all around the state with this week’s Ohio Prep Sports Media High School Football Notebook.

-Brayden DeVito continued his torrid pace with another big football performance in the Whippets’ 21-10 win over Lexington. DeVito was 16-for-22 passing for 275 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 83 yards and a touchdown. Nic Eyster caught six passes for 80 yards and a TD while Brady Bowman added four catches for 90 yards.

-Guy Trader provided the fireworks for the Mansfield Senior Tyger football team. In a 20-14 overtime loss, Trader had an 82-yard and 90-yard kickoff return for touchdowns for the only scores for the Tygers.

WEEK 1: OPSMA High School Football Notebook: Week 1 brings plenty of highlights from around the state

-Mason Vantilburg cemented himself as one of the top running backs in Richland County after two weeks when he torched Centerburg for 161 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries as he led the Ontario Warriors to a 2-0 start.

-Bodpegn Miller put a tough passing week behind him in Week 1 and came out slinging against Centerburg completing 14-of-20 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 93 yards on 15 carries as the Ontario Warriors beat the Trojans 35-21.

-Ethan Keefe helped the Plymouth Big Red put up a great fight against Willard in a 24-21 loss as he ran for 119 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. Owen Wright also ran for 99 yards and a score as the Big Red nearly pulled off the upset.

-Sam Evans and Allen Carver scored touchdowns and Galion's defense held Carey to 164 yards of total offense in a 14-8 non-conference win here Friday night. The Blue Devils drop to 0-2 and the Tigers stay unbeaten at 2-0.

-Fisher Catholic senior Hyde O’Rielley had a night. In a 49-0 win over Tuscarawas Central Catholic, O’Rielley returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown, caught a 28-yard touchdown pass and returned an interception 32 yards for a another score. Defensively, he had 11 tackles, including four tackles for loss.

-Amanda-Clearcreek junior Hayden Dunn kicked four field goals of 27, 25, 30 and 36 yards in a 27-21 win over Unioto.

-Coal Grove senior Kaden Murphy rushed for 157 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, and Kaden Turner tacked on 104 yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts, in the Hornets' 30-16 victory over visiting Lucasville Valley on Friday night.

-Chesapeake senior Drew Plantz rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries, and caught a 13-yard touchdown reception, in the Panthers' 42-0 shutout at Minford on Friday night.

-Portsmouth senior and first-year starting quarterback J.T. Williams completed 13-of-21 passes for 166 yards and two first-half touchdowns, and rushed for 91 yards on 13 carries and one second-half score, in the Trojans' 41-7 runaway win against archrival Portsmouth West. The Trojans scored the game's final 35 points over the final 25 minutes and 52 seconds. This was the first victory for the Portsmouth High senior class against the Senators. The schools are a mere five miles apart in Portsmouth and West Portsmouth.

-Coldwater’s 31-15 win at Clarksville Clinton-Massie allowed coach Chip Otten his 169th career win at his alma mater, passing another Hall of Fame Cavaliers coach in John Reed (whom Otten was an assistant coach and took over for after Reed’s death in 2010) for most wins at Coldwater.

-St. Marys Memorial gained all 321 yards off offense on the ground in winning the 106th meeting of the Battle of Grand Lake 35-6 over Celina. Colton Mabry and Dominik Osborne combined for 209 yards and three touchdown.

-Maria Stein Marion Local won its 50th consecutive game with a 49-0 win at Franklin. The streak is the nation’s longest active winning streak.

-Sophomore quarterback Max Miller was 16-for-24 passing for 241 yards and three touchdowns in leading Springboro to its second straight win of the season, a 38-7 victory over Edgewood. His favorite target was senior Brayden Wilhite, who had seven receptions for 106 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

-Miamisburg senior quarterback Landen Roberts completed 24-of-35 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Dublin Coffman. Senior Hunter Deer caught 10 of those passes for 111 yards in the Vikings loss.

-Valley View had a pair of runners go over 100 yards on the ground in its win over Milton-Union. Junior Anthony Valenti and sophomore Brodie Hopkins combined for 233 yards and five touchdowns. Valenti led the way with 123 yards on eight carries and three touchdowns, while Hopkins had 110 yards on three touches and two scores.

-Western Reserve quarterback Hayden Keith completed 13-of-16 passes for 335 yards and a career-high six touchdowns in the Roughriders' 42-14 win over Margaretta. Keith was 9-of-10 for 264 yards and four touchdowns in the first half.

-Sandusky St. Mary running back Bryan Gibson ran 15 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns as the Panthers defeated Fremont St. Joseph, 40-6, in 8-man football Saturday. SMCC led 33-0 at halftime as Gibson had already amassed 14 rushes for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

-Vermilion won the Stillman Cup for the first time in 10 years. With a 42-23 victory over Firelands, running back Evan Kuhns rushed for 272 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Aaron Mathis had 128 yards on the ground, as Vermilion compiled 449 team rushing yards. This is their first 2-0 start since 2018.

-Kirtland's junior quarterback Jake LaVerde carried five times for 199 yards in the Hornets' 42-6 win over Ashland Crestview. Through two weeks, LaVerde has carried 21 times for 540 yards.

-Mentor's junior running back Jackson Farley carried 20 times for a career-high 208 yards, scoring three touchdowns, in the Cardinals' 20-14 win over St. Ignatius.

-Mayfield staged a comeback for the ages in a 32-26 win over Elyria Catholic. The Wildcats (2-0) trailed, 26-0, before coming back for a 32-26 win, with A.J. Rogers throwing for 214 yards to lead the team.

-VASJ senior Lamar "Bo" Jackson carried 15 times for 178 yards and four touchdowns in the Vikings' 38-7 win over Cardinal Mooney. Through two games, the Ohio State commit has run for 350 yards and seven touchdowns.

-New Miami's Josh Schnetzer had three interceptions and four receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings' 40-20 win over Manchester on Friday night. The senior also had an 82-yard kick return for a touchdown. New Miami senior Dalson Hayes ran for 249 yards and three scores on 28 carries.

-Middletown's Jeremiah Landers threw for 168 yards and a touchdown on 14 of 21 passing in the Middies' 34-14 win over Oak Hills on Friday night. The senior also rushed for 163 yards and three scores on 12 attempts.

-Lakota East's Cohen Reip had 16 total tackles in the Thunderhawks' 20-13 win over Mason on Friday night. East's Chauncey Peck rushed for 116 yards and two scores on seven attempts, including a 98-yard touchdown run.

-Rocky River's Ryan Taylor completed 13 of 16 passes for 263 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-3 win over John Marshall. He played just the first half.

-Benedictine running back Chris Maloney gained 208 yards on 11 carries that included two 80-yard touchdown runs, one of which was on the game’s first play. Benedictine beat Avon Lake 40-13.

-Toledo Ottawa Hills junior running back Rocco Pillarelli ran for 231 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries in a victory over Evergreen.

-Toledo Christian's Tyler Grace completed 11 of 16 passes for 414 yards and five touchdowns in a victory over Adrian Lenawee Christian.

-Maumee's Ben Kubicz completed 9 of 13 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns in a victory over Bryan.

-Mason Heintschel, quarterback from Oregon Clay, completed 11 of 13 passes for 199 yards and school-record six touchdowns in a victory over Northview.

-Ravenna defeated Mogadore, 21-0, on Friday night, sending Mogadore to its first 0-2 start since, technically, the 1994 season. That season, the Wildcats actually started 1-1 based on the results on the field, with a win over Manchester (15-12) in Week 1 and a loss to Coventry (14-27) in Week 2. However, Mogadore was forced to forfeit the Week 1 win that season, creating the 0-2 start. The last time Mogadore "physically" lost the first two games in a season was 50 seasons ago in 1975, when they opened with losses to Manchester (0-18) and Crestwood (0-39).

-Casey Myser rushed 23 times for 288 yards and four touchdowns as Medina Highland defeated North Royalton 50-20. The Hornets finished with 601 yards total offense.

-Medina Buckeye's Troy McCann upped his season totals to 518 rushing yards and eight touchdowns after going for 229 and two in a 42-21 loss to Amherst Steele.

-Moeller’s Matt Ponatoski was 24-36 passing for 362 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-18 win at Bishop Dwenger (Fort Wayne, Ind.)

-Anderson senior Trace Jallick caught eight passes for 193 yards and a pair of touchdowns from 63 and 54 yards out in the Raptors’ 52-7 win over West Clermont.

-Turpin’s Devin Nigam threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns in the Spartans’ 34-14 win over Little Miami.

-Lakota East senior Chauncey Peck had a  98-yard scoring run to lead the Thunderhawks, 1-9 last year, to a 20-13 win over Mason.

-Mt. Healthy senior quarterback Jahmeir Spain, one of Ohio’s top QB prospects, threw eight touchdown passes (tied for second in the OHSAA record book) in the Owls’ 62-35 win at Ross. He completed 21-of-29 passes for 453 yards.

-Indian Hill sophomore Devlan Daniel rushed for 222 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-12 win over Northwest.

-Western Brown QB Brady Sutton threw for 338 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-22 win at Washington Court House.

-In his first start at quarterback for Stryker, senior Jacob Myers racked up seven total touchdowns in a 48-46 win over North Adams-Jerome (Mich.) to open the eight-man football season. Myers completed 10-of-16 passes for 229 yards and five TDs while rushing 20 times for 192 yards and two more scores.

-Holgate’s Zack Boecker also made his first start at quarterback and had success in the Tigers’ 48-22 season-opening eight-man win at Camden-Frontier (Mich.), completing 10-of-16 passes for 221 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 49 yards on four carries.

-Fairview junior QB William Zeedyk tossed a career-high 67 attempts in the Apaches’ thrilling 35-28 loss to Delta, completing 39 passes for 446 yards and four touchdowns.

-Ottawa-Glandorf running back Grant Evers powered his way to 226 yards and two TDs on 30 totes as the Titans defeated Kenton 34-18. The win is No. 199 in the career of longtime O-G coach Ken Schriner.

-Joel Walkup of Edgerton needed just nine carries to reach 143 rushing yards, scoring two TDs while also returning a kickoff 80 yards to paydirt in the Bulldogs’ 69-14 win over Hilltop. Defensively, Braden Leppelmeier had an eye for the ball, snaring four interceptions by himself as the Bulldog defense picked off the Cadets seven times.

-Patrick Henry quarterback Lincoln Creager completed 6-of-8 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown, ripped off a 51-yard rushing TD and converted 6-of-6 extra-point kicks in the Patriots’ 48-2 win at Ayersville.

-Hicksville’s Parker Bassett set a school record with four interceptions by himself in the Aces’ 22-6 win over Swanton. Bassett also tallied 33 yards on one rush and 37 yards receiving on three catches.

-Paulding linebacker Colton Bashore led a dominant defensive showing in the Panthers 58-0 dismantling of North Central, racking up 10 tackles for loss and three sacks as Paulding held the Eagles to negative-75 rushing yards on 24 attempts and negative-44 yards of offense overall. The win also marks the first 2-0 start for Paulding since the team finished 10-0 in 1988.

-Lima Senior’s Boog Wilson caught seven passes for 141 yards, including an 84-yard TD reception, rushed for 51 yards, and returned a kickoff 90 yards for a TD in the Spartans 35-31 win over Findlay. Junior quarterback Ja’niaus Hall completed 25-of-49 passes form 354 yards and four scores, including a 9-yard strike to Amari Addy for the winning score with 14 seconds left, as Lima Senior came out on top in the I-75 rivalry for the first time since the 2017 season. Findlay’s Shawn Hines II rushed for 192 yards and two TDs in the loss.

-The schedule has been shuffled but the significance remains the same with Liberty-Benton (1-1) and McComb (2-0) set to battle on Friday. For nine straight years, this was a Week 10 showdown. And for the past five years straight – and eight of the last nine overall – the winner of this matchup won outright or gained a share of the league title. With Leipsic and Ada joining the BVC this year and a rotation of schedules, this game went from a Week 10 matchup to the BVC opener for both schools.

-Sidney and Stebbins managed to put more points on the scoreboard at Edmundson Stadium in Riverside on Friday than degrees on the nearest thermometer. The Yellow Jackets (1-1) won a Miami Valley League slugfest 67-55. They twice had a lead over 30 points in the second half, but Stebbins scored the last three touchdowns to narrow the final gap. The teams combined scored 18 TDs and had nearly 1,000 yards of offense; Sidney had 562 and the Indians had 421. Sidney senior quarterback Ethan New completed 6-of-14 passes for 299 yards and four TDs and ran for 110 yards and three TDs. Stebbins junior running back Andre McConnell ran for five TDs.

-Maumee sophomore wide receiver Eli Dodson caught five passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-14 win at Bryan. Senior running back Keishon Midcalf had 121 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns. The Panthers are 2-0 for the first time since 2017.

-Hillsboro senior fullback Dom Smart finished the Indians’ 32-7 win over the Goshen Warriors with eight carries for 104 yards and one touchdown. HHS teammate, junior running back Jeven Hochstuhl finished with seven carries for 69 yards, one catch for 15 yards, and on defense he collected a forced fumble and recovery, plus he had an interception for a touchdown.

The Ohio Prep Sports Media Association is an organization of 233 high school sports media members from all over the state. This list is compiled by those members. Visit the website here.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: OPSMA High School Football Notebook: Week 2 brings best performances to life