Ohio High School Football Forecast
2nd Edition
July 22th 2002
By Sportscaster17
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The main purpose and goal for these forecasts and projections is to provide an in-depth look at the top high school football teams in each division for fans across Ohio. Information for these reports is taken from the previous three seasons, as well as from first-hand information given by coaches, players, and fans from the teams. Please keep in mind that these reports are the thoughts of one person, but also keep in mind that in last year’s edition, three out of the six eventual state champions were selected correctly two months before a single game was played.
DIVISION I
Last Year’s Champion: Cleveland Saint Ignatius
THE CHAMP: MASSILLON WASHINGTON
WHY: 2001 was supposed to be “the year” for the beleaguered Tigers, and with Justin Zwick at the reins, it was hard to pick against the Tigers. Unfortunately, Cleveland St. Ignatius was that proverbial thorn in Rick Shepas’ side, as the Wildcats won both matchups. No one will give the bengals much of a shot this year because of Zwick’s departure, but you can bet that they will be in the thick of the big school race. For the Tigers to win the title, they’ll have to beat Chuck Kyle and Iggy, something they never seem to be able to do. With veteran Shawn Crable as its poster boy and the extremely underrated Craig McConnell as a key supporting actor, the Tigers will rock into post-season play where they’ll finally bring that coveted title to the streets of Tiger Town.
THE UNDERCARD: CLEVELAND SAINT IGNATIUS, CINCINNATI ELDER
WHY: Picking against the St. Ignatius Wildcats suits Coach Chuck Kyle and his boys just fine. After all, they did finish a paltry 6-4 last year. Of course they did go undefeated in the tournament which is perhaps all that matters in the end. The bottom line is that Kyle knows how to win with what he’s got, and the cupboards are far from bare in Wildcat land. The Cats have a mental edge on Massillon, something to keep in mind when the two teams meet. Losing Nate Szep and John Kerr would hurt any team, but Tony Gonzalez is ready to step in and be the leader of a team that is also going to be in this thing to the bitter end. If the Elder Panthers could play all 15 of their potential games in “The Pit”, they would have a clear advantage. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Elder welcomed a tough-as-nails Warren Harding team to the Pit last October and handled the Raiders. The Panthers were upset in the Regional Finals by St. Xavier, which went on to lose to Iggy in the state finals. Elder will easily qualify for the playoffs, and could avenge last year’s loss with a trip as far as Canton for the state finals.
THE OPENING ACT: WARREN HARDING, CINCINNATI SAINT XAVIER, LAKEWOOD SAINT EDWARD, DUBLIN COFFMAN
DIVISION II
Last Year’s Champion: Toledo Saint Francis DeSales
THE CHAMP: DAYTON CHAMINADE-JULIENNE
WHY: The Eagles are a relatively unknown ball club that hails from Montgomery County in southwestern Ohio. They have an explosive offense, the same offense which tallied 27 points against Massillon at Tiger Stadium in a non-conference regular season matchup in week nine last October. The Eagles have a pretty well-paved route to the finals, though even paved roads have cracks and obstacles. The bet here is that the Eagles clearly have enough to at least get to the championship game, and my bet is that they will come away victorious.
THE UNDERCARD: DEFIANCE, TOLEDO SAINT FRANICS DESALES
WHY: The type of football played in the Western Buckeye League is extremely respectable. The Early 90s saw St. Marys Memorial win a pair of titles, and Kenton tasted championship victory just last year. The Defiance Bulldogs are the elder statesmen of the conference and consistently field competitive teams. I have little doubt that battling the likes of Kenton, Lima Bath and St. Marys Memorial each week will prime this team for a fairly long run into the playoffs. Toledo St. Francis did indeed lose its offensive general Rodney Gamby, but still returns a solid group of underclassmen. The Knights will have to beat several tough clubs if they wish to relive their 2001 memories.
THE OPENING ACT: YOUNGSTOWN CHANEY, PIQUA
DIVISION III
Last Year’s Champion: Mentor Lake Catholic
THE CHAMP: COLUMBUS BISHOP WATTERSON
WHY: Mike Golden’s club has run into some tough competition in its two appearances in Stark County. A year ago, it lost a very good game to Toledo St. Francis in the Division II final 28-14. This year, the Eagles move down a division, the variable which will finally bring that state title to a very deserving coach and program. Cross-town power DeSales looms as well, adding fuel to the speculation that this year’s division three champion will come from the state’s capital. Defending champ Lake Catholic is falling apart daily these days, what with the dismissal of its high-strung head coach, and the imminent transfer of junior quarterback Mark Petruziello. Watterson coach Mike Golden wins the close games, and his returning lettermen and underclassmen are eager to right a wrong which has been burning inside them for some 300 days.
THE UNDERCARD: POLAND SEMINARY, WILLARD
WHY: Since it first began to make playoff noise in 1998, the Poland Seminary Bulldogs have been a constant when discussing the contending teams and programs in Division III. The Bulldogs don’t really play all that tough of a schedule, but sure do know how to turn it on in November. I don’t really anticipate Seminary making it to the finals straight out, but perhaps with a few breaks here or some help there, the Bulldogs could be battling for D-III’s top spot. Willard may be best known for its basketball tradition, but in 2002, it’ll be all about football in the city of blossoms. The Crimson Flashes return every one of their skill position players, including a very good quarterback in Nick Strance. They also feature newcomer Eric Barrison, a hot-shooting basketball star who was also crowned state champion in track earlier this summer. As if that weren’t enough, they are coached by a man who has a 3-1 record against his biggest rival. The Flashes have very few holes, but one could be up front. If they can find anyone to plug the holes on the lines, this team will be downright scary. Not only do I think Willard will own the Northern Ohio League, I don’t see anyone touching them in Region 10 either. My prediction: Regional Champions with a shot at the title game.
THE OPENING ACT: COLUMBUS DESALES, AKRON HOBAN
DIVISION IV
Last Year’s Champion: Kenton
THE CHAMP: KENTON
WHY: Basketball on grass. Arena Football. Call it what you will, but in 2001, offensive records ran scared from the Kenton Wildcats and their ace quarterback Ben Mauk. Led by Mauk and his amazing fleet of receivers, the Wildcats scored touchdowns… lots of them. So many in fact that Mauk annihilated the single-season passing record. Think of it this way: The Wildcats scored at lest 40 points in each of their five playoff games! Using an almost ridiculous-looking offensive formation, head coach Mike Mauk turned away every challenge presented to him, including an early season miracle against St. Marys Memorial, when with two minutes left, Mauk guided his team down the field, scored and notched the two point conversion for an improbable 22-21 victory. This year, the Mauk's will have a little tougher road. They’ll need to rebuild the lines, fill the spot vacated by Brandon Cornell, and keep their eye on a team from the east, in Youngstown Ursuline. In my mind, Ben Mauk is too good, and makes too many good things happen to let a few graduations keep the Wildcats from back-to-back championships. We’ll get a good gauge on this Kenton team in the very first game, when they open with Coldwater. The odds are good that one of those two teams will meet Ursuline for the DIV crown.
THE UNDERCARD: YOUNSTOWN URSULINE, COLDWATER
WHY: It was no laughing matter a year ago when the Ursuline football secretary failed to properly register the paperwork for her football team, which kept a very potent team out of the playoffs. This year, everyone is another year older, and another year wiser. That includes the Ursuline coaches and players, who last tasted championship victory in the 2000 season in a high-scoring slugfest with Coldwater during a snowstorm in Canton. The talent the Irish have for a division four school is amazing. Ursuline will likely have to deal with Portsmouth or Ironton to get into the finals. Ursuline and Kenton are neck-and-neck on paper, but the thought of Ben Mauk on astroturf is scary enough to make even Big Ten scouts run and hide. The Hoyng’s at Coldwater have been outstanding. They’ve made a school with good football tradition great. Head coach John Reed is another reason the Cavaliers get mentioned a lot when talking about contenders. Coldwater must first deal with its MAC foes, something that will easily get them into the post-season. I then think they can advance back to at least the regional finals, where I have little doubt they want another date with Kenton in the semis. I just don’t think Coldwater is at the level Kenton and Ursuline are. Not yet anyway.
THE OPENING ACT: PORTSMOUTH, IRONTON, ONTARIO
DIVISION V
Last Year’s Champion: Bedford Saint Peter Chanel
THE CHAMP: DELPHOS SAINT JOHN’S
WHY: The Delphos St. John’s Blue Jays have ventured into the post-season wars in each of the past five years. The 2001 season marked their first as a member of Division V. Although they did qualify for the playoffs, they didn’t quite make it as far as they had in the past. St. John’s was a victim of eventual state finalist Marion Pleasant a year ago, something still very fresh in the minds of the Blue Jay players. Football starts young in Delphos, and as an added bonus, the Jays won’t have to worry about sharing the spotlight with inner-city rival Delphos Jefferson, as Jefferson is in for a long season. St. John’s won’t have to win the Midwest Athletic Conference to win the state title, but they will need to be on top of their game each week, and it wouldn’t hurt to treat each MAC game like a playoff game either. There is no team in division five that is head and shoulders above everyone else, so this will be the year the Jays reach state championship status once more.
THE UNDERCARD: SIDNEY LEHMAN CATHOLIC, GAHANNA COLUMBUS ACADEMY
WHY: Both of these clubs had sizzling starts to the 2001 season, but both faded and fizzled down the stretch. Lehman Catholic’s biggest win a year ago came against Marion Local, the eventual Division Six Champion. Columbus Academy suffered a couple of late-season losses, something that caught up with them in the playoffs. As I stated earlier, division five is wide open this year, which means both of these fine teams has a very legitimate shot at playing for the title.
THE OPENING ACT: LIBERTY CENTER, BEDFORD SAINT PETER CHANEL, MARION PLEASANT
DIVISION VI
Last Year’s Champion: Maria Stein Marion Local
THE CHAMP: MARIA STEIN MARION LOCAL
WHY: A sign hung from the stands at Tiger Stadium which proclaimed: “Mogadore, you’re the weakest link… Goodbye”. It was posted by a Marion Local fan following a 63-7 title game massacre. It was the second straight year that Marion Local throttled Mogadore in the finals, with a 54-0 win in the 2000 game. This year, the Marion Local Flyers are back, but not quite as strong as they have been in the past. In fact, if it weren’t for Delphos St. John’s, the Flyers could, in theory, be going for their fifth straight small- school championship. Mogadore just can’t hang with Marion Local no matter what the circumstances. For that matter, neither can anyone in division six. It would take quite a leap of confidence for someone to unseat the Flyers from the throne atop DVI. They’ve gotten pretty comfortable in that throne, and rest assured they’ll stay in it for at least another year.
THE UNDERCARD: DANVILLE, COLUMBUS GROVE
WHY: The Blue Devils of Danville have been dormant from those big playoff games since they were crunched in 1999 by Norwalk St. Paul. This year, they return a fine collection of offensive and defensive talent for coach Honaberger. Danville will be a terrific football team in 2002, one that should challenge Mogadore in the state semis for that coveted spot in the small-school title game. Columbus Grove put up an admirable effort against Marion Local at Lima Stadium in last year’s state semi-final contest. Grove lost the game 13-7, and the shot at playing for a state title in the process. However, that should serve as not only a learning experience, but as a stepping stone as well.
THE OPENING ACT: MOGADORE, NEWARK CATHOLIC, TIFFIN CALVERT
2002 OHIO MR. FOOTBALL AWARD: QB BENJAMIN MAUK, KENTON
