As the 2024 high school football season gets set to kick off next Friday, The Blade is taking a look into the crystal ball to speculate on which area players have the best chance to be honored as the 30th All-Blade player of the year come late November.
The first player honored as Blade player of the year back in 1995 was Eddie Ziemke of St. John’s Jesuit, one of three Titans players to receive that recognition alongside Cheatham Norrils in 2010 and Dallas Gant in 2017.
Perrysburg has had the most Blade POY honorees with four — Gus Dimmerling (2014), Chaz Westfall (2015), Cade Zimmerly (2020), and Connor Walendzak (2022).
Central Catholic and Whitmer each match St. John’s with three apiece.
Dane Sanzenbacher (2006), DeShone Kizer (2013), and Michael Warren (2016) earned the honor for the Fighting Irish, and Donnie Dottei (2007), Chris Wormley (2011), and Nick Holley (2012) received the accolade for Whitmer's Panthers.
Findlay has had two All-Ohio quarterbacks collect the honor, with surefire NFL Hall-of-Famer Ben Roethlisberger earning it in 1999 and current Findlay senior Ryan Montgomery claiming the recognition last year.
Who will be the 30th All-Blade player of the year?
Here’s a preseason look at 10 top candidates.
Ryan Montgomery, Findlay
Perhaps the odds-on favorite to become the first two-time recipient of All-Blade player-of-the-year honors , the Trojans’ 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior looks to put the icing on the cake of a superb four-year career with another terrific season.
Montgomery, the most heavily recruited quarterback ever from northwest Ohio, has committed to national power Georgia , which won national championships in 2021 and 2022 and is the preseason No. 1 for 2024. He chose the Bulldogs from among 27 Division I offers, including from Ohio State, Michigan, and Notre Dame.
Montgomery was 258 of 376 passing for 3,377 yards and 38 touchdowns last season and rushed for 257 yards and 10 scores for Findlay (8-3), which claimed a share of the Northern Lakes League’s Buckeye Division title.
He was named first team Division I All-Ohio, All NLL Buckeye, all-district last year, and in three varsity seasons he has passed for 7,584 yards and 89 TDs.
One big challenge for Montgomery will be the graduation of his favorite target from 2023, All-Ohio receiver Javonte Hill (90 catches, 1,257 yards, 18 TD).
Grant Kinnee, Anthony Wayne
Should Montgomery or his Findlay Trojans falter, another QB with player-of-the-year potential is the 6-4, 195-pound Kinnee, who shook off an injury-plagued sophomore season in 2022 to lead the Generals to a 10-3 overall record and a share of the NLL’s Buckeye Division title last year.
The potent two-way threat was 109 of 197 passing for 1,556 yards and 22 touchdowns and ran 122 times for 1,245 yards and 19 scores. He was named second team All-NLL Buckeye Division at QB behind Montgomery but was selected as first team All-Ohio in Division II. He has committed to Colgate University.
Much will depend on whether Anthony Wayne can adequately fill the graduation void of a talented receiving core that created enough of a pass threat to allow Kinnee maximum freedom to carve up foes with his superior rushing skill.
Mason Heintschel, Clay
The University of Pittsburgh commit enters his third year as the Eagles’ starting quarterback, looking to add to his impressive statistics.
A combination of being a solid passer able to make all the throws and a creative scrambler with a knack for making something happen out of nothing, Heintschel hopes to lead Clay to an NLL Cardinal Division title in 2024.
Last season, the 6-2, 200-pounder was 199 of 323 passing for 2,385 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also rushed 121 times for 692 yards and 13 scores. He was named first team All-NLL Cardinal Division and second team Division II all-district.
Tyler Morgan, Central Catholic
A lethal combination of speed, power, and elusiveness, the 5-8, 165-pound Morgan is expected to be the No. 1 run-game option for the Irish, who are seeking a third straight state championship .
Morgan is adept at finding running lanes and is always tough to tackle one-on-one. This season, he seems destined to step out of the shadow of Central Catholic’s graduated first team All-Ohio RB Marquan Braswell (1,923 rushing yards, 31 TD) in leading the traditionally potent Irish ground attack.
Last season, Morgan carried 156 times for 1,055 yards (6.8-yard average) and scored 25 touchdowns for the 16-0 Irish.
One potential hurdle for Morgan is that Central graduated its entire offensive line, a vaunted quintet that averaged 6-2½ and 294 pounds and was the best up-front group in Toledo prep history.
Napoleon Jemison, Whitmer
Entering his third season as a starter at linebacker, the 6-3, 210-pound Jemison will also switch to defensive end based on the foe’s down and distance and will be relied upon as the Panthers’ defensive leader .
He will also see reps at tight end on offense, where Whitmer seeks to add his receiving talent to deepen its offensive scheme.
Jemison has offers from Mid-American Conference programs Toledo, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Kent State, as well as from Duke, Kentucky, Marshall, and West Virginia.
Last season, he had 78 total tackles in 10 games for 7-4 Whitmer, including 17 tackles for losses and seven sacks. He forced two fumbles and recovered two. He was named NLL Buckeye Division defensive player of the year, the Division I district defensive player of the year, and first team All-Ohio.
Carter Lowe, Whitmer
An imposing 6-6 and 310 pounds with great feet and the ability to run and pass block with similar excellence, Lowe has committed to Ohio State from an impressive final five choices as one of the nation’s top line recruits.
That elite group included defending national champion Michigan, 2021 and 2022 national champion and 2024 preseason No. 1 Georgia, along with perennial national power Alabama and fellow SEC power Tennessee.
Lowe, a left tackle, was named to the All-Ohio first team in Division I last season after being chosen to the All-Ohio third team as a sophomore in 2022. He is expected to help pave the way for a potent Panther offense this season.
Victor Singleton, Central Catholic
A four-star prospect ranked among Ohio’s best handful of players in the Class of 2026, the 6-foot, 165-pound junior has already garnered 18 Division I scholarship offers.
Included on his list are seven Big Ten programs (Ohio State, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State, Penn State, Purdue, and Wisconsin), four SEC teams (Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, and Tennessee), as well as Toledo and Bowling Green from the Mid-American Conference.
Singleton had four interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), 15 pass breakups, one forced fumble, and four tackles for loss for a defense that allowed 10.4 points per game.
In June, he showed his athletic versatility by winning the Ohio Division II state long jump championship.
Seth Elchert, Liberty-Benton
A first-team Division V All-Ohio receiver as a sophomore last season, the 6-4, 190-pound junior brings a load of promise with half of his high school career still remaining. He recently committed to the University of Toledo .
In 11 games in 2023, Elchert caught 74 passes for 1,052 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. Midway through his career, he has 123 receptions for 1,923 yards, and 24 scores.
Trey Rubinstein, Napoleon
The Wildcats’ versatile 6-3, 190-pound Rubinstein is a superb two-way player for Napoleon.
Along with his 45 catches for 587 yards and seven touchdowns as a receiver, he was also named first team Division IV All-Ohio in 2023 at defensive back. He had five interceptions last season for 6-6 Napoleon.
Rubinstein, recruited as a linebacker, has committed to play at Kent State. He was named first team All-NLL Cardinal Division on both offense and defense in 2023, and also excels in basketball and baseball for the Wildcats.
Josh Takats, Perrysburg
From within an NLL membership rich with proven quarterback talent this season , the 6-2, 195-pound Takats returns to trigger the Yellow Jackets’ offense after helping Perrysburg to an 8-4 finish a year ago.
Takats was 139 of 257 passing for 2,004 yards and 24 touchdowns in 12 games and added 82 rushes for 266 yards and four scores. He has scholarship offers from the Division II college level.
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