D.L.Burnworth

  Maurice Harden  Xenia High School  Head Football Coach Would you let the readers know about your coaching career? First job to current job? I started my coaching career as a graduate assistant at Urbana University. I coached running backs along with being the strength and conditioning coach while I was there. I also assisted in coaching the OL and TEs. I transitioned to high school, where I became a co-offensive coordinator at Fairborn High School. I was there for a year, then transitioned to Chaminade Julienne, where I went to school. I was the offensive coordinator there for over 5 years under the legendary Coach Marcus Colvin. During my time at CJ, we had great success, which propelled me to my next opportunity. In the winter of 2021, I was named the head football coach of Xenia High School. During my time at Xenia, we are currently 21–12 in 3 years, with 1 MVL championship and the first undefeated season in school history.  Who are some of the coaches that...

  Corey Parsley Martin County High School Guard/Defensive Tackle 2025 5”11, 235 What were your personal goals entering the 2023 season, and were you able to achieve those goals? My main personal goal was to excel as an offensive lineman and gain reps on the defensive line, and ultimately, I believe I exceeded both of these goals. I even started most of the year on D Line. What were the goals you had set for your team entering the 2023 season, and did the team achieve those goals? The main goal set for the team was to win a district championship. We met this goal and even got to play in a regional championship, which we unfortunately lost. What were your overall thoughts about playing in the Pike County Bowl? The Pike County Bowl was a tough game for us. We walked in there and acted like we were going to steamroll Pike County Central, and we lost, which is always tough, even though we ended up getting revenge later in the year.  Who was the best team that Martin Coun...

  Trevor Murithi  Westerville Central High School  OT/DT 2025 6’2 240 pounds What were your personal goals entering the 2023 season, and were you able to achieve those goals? My goals for 2023 were to get stronger as the season went on and be able to win football games. What were the goals you had set for your team entering the 2023 season, and did the team achieve those goals? The goals for the team were to have a winning season, and unfortunately we were not able to get that, but I believe in the coaching and the players, and I think we can switch that around and prove people wrong. What are you going to miss the most from the 2024 class? The bond I had with the team is something I will miss. Which road game did you enjoy the most during the 2023 season? Explain The North game was fun because the environment and the energy from both teams were fun to watch. Which stadium that you played in during the 2023 season was the worst to play in? Explain The N. A g...

  Andre McConnell Stebbins High School  Slot WR, RB 2026 Height and weight 5’8 175 What were your goals entering the 2023 season, and were you able to achieve those goals? I was able to achieve my goals of being an amazing leader for my team and continuing to get good grades. There’s always more work to be done in the future to better myself and the team. What was the high point of the 2023 season? I would say the game we fought against West Carrollton. Unfortunately, I  was out with a hip injury, but the team prepared mentally and physically to beat them. Even though I was out, it was an amazing night for all of us. What was the low point of the 2023 season? When we played our last game in the playoffs, unfortunately, we lost, but it was an amazing experience with my team. What are you going to miss the most from the 2024 class?  My graduating teammates were more than teammates to me. They’re family, and forever will be. I’m going to miss the preparatio...

  Couri’Ahn Henderson  Bloom-Carroll Highschool  WR, CB, and a little bit of DE my junior year 2024 6’2 187lbs  Otterbein What will you miss the most about playing high school football for Bloom Carroll? I feel like the Carroll community really comes together, and it makes you want to play better. What mark do you believe your class left on the football program? I wasn’t here very long, but I feel like the mark would just be to work hard whenever you can. What was your biggest accomplishment as a high school football player? I like to compare myself every year to who I was a year ago and look at how much better I got for the upcoming season. What was your biggest disappointment as a high school football player? Being told by an athletic trainer that I couldn’t play in my last game ever  What were your feelings as you walked off the field after your last game? I had mixed feelings—bittersweet,  some would say. All-star games used to be such a...

  Brody Hall West Portsmouth  Quarterback  2026 6'0", 187 lbs I always dreamed of going to Ohio State or UCLA. What do you believe will be the biggest difference for you as far as going from JV to varsity? I believe the speed of the game will be different; just everything developing and coming at me at a new level will for sure be different, but I trust my teammates and coaches, so I believe it will be different, but it should be a fairly easy adjustment. In the last couple of seasons, West has had some solid players in the QB slot. What have you been able to learn from them that you are using to be a better player? Mitchell for sure showed how to be a leader; he obviously led our team to the SOC title my freshman year, and it was fun being able to learn from him and have him and that group be who I got to learn from. Cole also showed a great deal of toughness and resilience; he took some tough shots in a few games, and to see him just jump right back up for sure...

  Tavion Brooks  Stebbins High School  Wide Receiver  6’0 195  2024  Otterbein What were your personal goals heading into the 2023 season, and were you able to achieve those goals? To be able to play the sports I love and get good grades. Yes, I was able to reach the goals, but there is always more work to be done to better myself for the future. What will you miss the most from the 2024 class? The Friday night games and being able to perform to the best of my abilities for the team  What was the high point of the 2023 season? When we beat Piqua in a close game, which I and the team fought so hard to beat, it was a great night for all of us. What was the low point of the 2023 season? When we played our last game in the playoffs, which I couldn’t play because of transfer rules, I just wish I could’ve played that last game with my teammates. Which game from the 2023 season had the most intensity? Explain When we played Xenia because that w...

  Ace Alston  Anderson High School Cornerback 2027 What were your goals entering the 2023 season, and were you able to achieve those goals? Win the state championship, and no I came up short in the state semifinals. What did you learn about yourself during the 2023 season that you can use to be a better player this season? Be more vocal and lead my team more . What is the best part of being a high school student athlete? Playing with my brothers and going out there and competing every single day. What is the toughest part of being a high school student athlete? Maintaining and balancing my schedule. What were your biggest achievements on the field for the 2023 season? Winning the regional finals, getting 14 offers and starting varsity as a freshman. What were your biggest disappointments of the 2023 season? That we lost in the state semifinals. Who was the best player Anderson faced in a game during the 2023 season? Best player we faced was ourselves playing e...

  Zane Brownfield Piketon Running Back/Middle Linebacker 2024 What are you going to miss the most about playing high school football? The environment of playing under the Friday night lights. What were your feelings as you walked off the field for the last time? I kept thinking, “Wow, this is really it,” over and over. What mark do you believe your class left on the football program? My class helped win a gold ball as sophomores, and with that came more people joining the team the following year, and I believe we left behind what it takes to get to that level. As a high school football player, what was your biggest accomplishment? My biggest accomplishment, in my eyes, was either winning the gold ball or becoming Piketon’s all-time leader tackler. All-star games used to be such a big deal, almost an honor for the player. If you are invited to play in one, will you? Why or why not? I’ve been invited to a couple big ones, but I’m not going to play. I feel like if there w...

  Davon Hutchinson Mechanicsburg Area Senior High Defensive Tackle & Defensive End 2024 Clarion University  Heading into the 2023 season, what goals did you set for yourself, and did you achieve those goals? The main goal I set for myself was to have at least 60 tackles. I did not reach that goal when I was mainly playing defense tackle, but I got relatively close. Even though I didn’t get there, I was able to really improve my technique andIQ at the position of defense line. From squeezing down the line, to maintaining my gap, to working down the line of scrimmage to get a tackle across the field,.  What was the highlight of the 2023 season? The highlight of the 2023 season was probably beating our rivals at Northern. There was a lot going into that game because they were doing a lot of talking on social media, so it felt pretty good. What was the biggest disappointment as far as the 2023 season goes? The biggest disappointment was not making it into the pl...

  Brian Pitzer New Richmond High School Head Football Coach/Physical Education Would you let the readers know about your coaching career? First job to current job? I started my coaching career in 2013 at Anderson High School as a quarterbacks coach. I held that position until 2016, when I moved to WRs. From 2016 to 2018, I coached WRs and QBs and was the JV offensive coordinator. In 2019, I took the offensive coordinator/QQB job at Loveland High School. In December of 2019, I was hired as the head football coach at Norwood High School in Cincinnati. I was there for 2 seasons. I then took on the head football job here at New Richmond. I will be heading into my third year as their head coach! What major changes did you make when you took over the team in 2022? There were no major changes that had to be made. Pat Burke, the former head coach (and now head coach at Dixie High School in Kentucky), did a phenomenal job with discipline and structure. Not to mention, NR Football is t...

  Max Lyall Tri Valley Quarterback  2025 Entering the 2023 season, what goals had you set for yourself, and were you able to achieve those goals? To win the MVL, make the first team all Ohio again, and make a playoff run, we achieved the first two. We won our first playoff game but lost the second in a close game to Granville. What were the high and low points of the 2023 season? Low was after week 3 being 1-2, and high was beating our rival Sherdan and winning the league. The last time we did an interview, you said that you were looking forward to your week-one game with Columbus DeSales. You guys played them much better than you did in 2022. What went wrong in that game? 2022 was my first game at QB since 7th grade. We didn’t really have an identity as a team, and they just destroyed us in every way, but we came into last season ready and with a mindset and unfortunately came up short. What will you miss the most from the 2024 class? The friendships and relationsh...

  Gabriel Ervin  Pickerington North High School Offensive Tackle  2025 6-5, 280 O.T. What were your personal goals heading into the 2023 season, and were you able to achieve those goals?  My personal goal heading into the 2023 season was to become a more well-rounded player by focusing on my technique as an offensive tackle and getting stronger in the weight room. Whether it was working on better footwork or focusing on my IQ as a tackle, these are the things I needed to focus on equally to evolve as a player. Although I am constantly looking for ways to evolve as a player, I have experienced a lot of growth by focusing on these particular goals. However, to my own personal standards, there is a lot more to accomplish. Who was the best player you faced in a game during the 2023 season? In my opinion, the best player I faced in the 2023 season was Elijah King, who played for Gahanna Lincoln High School. His length and speed made him a challenge on the field. He...

  JD Matiz Minford OLB, slot, catcher, third baseman  2025 Sport Football, baseball What was the highlight of the 2023 season? The highlight of the season would have to be beating the Northwest. What was the biggest disappointment as far as the 2023 season goes? The biggest disappointment would have to be that we looked like a winning team, but due to injuries to some key players on our team, we did not play to our capabilities. Have you thought about what you will miss most about playing football for Minford as well as going to school there once you graduate? What I’m going to miss about playing football and going to school here is definitely how strongly our community supports our sports teams, and I’ll miss the friends I have made here. What were your feelings as you walked off of the football field for the last time after the 2023 season?  I felt upset that I knew we could have performed better than we did that season, and I thought about a plan that I cou...

  Ellis Tye Pickerington North Offensive tackle 2025 How long have you played football, and why do you continue to play? I have been playing football for about 10 years now. I continue to play football because I love it. I love watching myself become a better player than I was a year ago and continue to build on top of what I know.   Heading into the 2023 season, what were your goals, and were you able to achieve those goals? Some of my goals were to lose more weight, get stronger, and get faster. I was able to achieve those goals. What were the goals you had set for your team, and did the team achieve those goals? To go undefeated and win the chip. Unfortunately, we were not able to complete those goals, but we still had a good season. During the 2023 season, who was the best team you guys faced, along with the reasons that made them so good? Elder, for sure, is a very disciplined and  very good team. Who was the best player you faced in a game during the 2023...

  Theodore Talbott Granville High School S, OLB, RB, WR 2025 Uncommitted Heading into the 2023 season, what goals did you set for yourself, and did you achieve those goals? Heading into the season, I wanted to make sure that I was on the field as much as possible, and by starting on both sides of the ball, I made that happen. What was the highlight of the 2023 season? I think the highlight of my 2023 season was when we shut out Licking Heights. The Green Wave suffered a rare losing season, going just 3-7. What do you believe went wrong? I don’t think that there was a very good player-coach connection throughout the season. During the 2023 season, who was the best player you faced, along with the team he played for? In the 2023 season, I think the best player I played was Connor Corbett, a RB from Heath. What are you going to miss the most as far as playing football at Newark Catholic? Newark Catholic has a very strong community and a great history to back up their foot...

  Jahmir Davis Lasalle High School Right tackle  2025 You missed last season due to an injury. Can you share with the readers the injury and how your recovery has gone? I tore my ACL and meniscus. The recovery has been challenging, but for the most part, I have a good team to keep me focused and on top of it. What will you miss the most from the 2024 class? There was drive and love for the game; they all wanted to win. What is the toughest part of playing right-tackle? Playing tackle, you don’t get noticed a lot, so when you lose a rep, all eyes are on you, so I would have to say being versatile with the different fronts we face  What is the best part of playing right-tackle? Just knowing that I’m protecting my quarterback and the relationships built with my lineman  What has been your biggest accomplishment as an athlete? How far I have come as a player and how I am getting better every day I read that you also wrestle. How do you believe wrestling hel...