D.L.Burnworth

  *Using rosters from the league website* Cincinnati, Ohio- Sunday afternoon, I made another trip to Cincinnati to watch Clark Montessori battle league against New Miami. This would be my first time seeing New Miami play. The Cougars defense would show they had come to play right away when Rayshaun Gibson stopped Dalson Hayes before the Vikings workhorse could gain a yard. When the Cougars got the ball, they went to their big dawg, De'Lorean James, and all he did was speed his way to a gain of thirteen. A busted play led to Kingston Royalty getting to the Vikings Amir Lawson for a loss of six. A sweep to the right would result in a 21-yard touchdown run by Camdyn Russell, then a two-point conversion run from Lawson made this an 8-0 game with 8:53 left in the opening quarter. A roughing the punter call on the Cougars kept the New Miami drive alive, and a 23-yard run from Hayes kept the momentum on the Vikings side. Sam Mayer would cap the drive off with a 12-yard touchdown ...

  *I am using the rosters from the league's website.* Franklin, Ohio- First, I want to say thank you to the Franklin coaching staff for finding me a seat in the pressbox, and to everyone I spoke to, thank you for your kindness. The Franklin defense got things off to a good start when Braydon Isaacs got to Karson Marcum for a loss of 3 yards. Then it was a fumble recovery from Tucker Campbell that not only brought the Wildcats offense onto the field but brought the homeside crowd to their feet. After getting on the field, the Wildcats offense, with their wishbone ways, used 9 plays to go 45 yards, with Isaacs chugging in from 3 yards out to put the Wildcats up 6-0. Tito Harrison was true on his conversion kick, making this a 7-0 game, with 6:27 showing on the opening quarter clock. The Hornets offense would convert a third and seven when Marcum found Brylan Miltenberger for a gain of 14 yards. The Wildcats defense would respond when Marcum decided to throw again when Dawso...

  My second game on Saturday had Taft (4-1) playing Withrow (0-5) in a game Taft really needed to keep their place in Region 16. For Withrow, a win would be a great start to the second half of the season. The Senators defense would make the first statement of the day when Marley Godfrey picked off a Sa"von Davis pass and then dded a 30-yard return. The Tigers defense would respond on the ensuing drive when Christian Browner stuffed Maurice Weaver for a 3-yard loss on fourth and five. Taft would get a sack on Davis with Bryce Brewster that resulted in a 12-yard loss with 4:11 left in the quarter. The last big play of the quarter would see Davis sacked by Tion Byrd and Drayden Peavey for a loss of five. Defense continues to rule the day with 11:44 left in the half, when Maruice Weaver was thrown for a 9-yard loss by the Tigers Erik Gayle. Some offense showed up with 10:11 left in the half with Jayel Harris breaking off a 20-yard run for the Tigers. At the 5:48 mark left in the q...

  My Saturday travels took me to Cincinnati, Ohio, to watch the double-header football game at Stargel Stadium, where in game number one Aiken was battling Woodward. Coming into the game, Aiken entered 3-1 with their opening game being cancelled against Cleveland. East Technical, Woodward entered the contest 0-4, being outscored 121-0. Andrew Underwood would bust free along the right side to pick up 30 yards, setting the tone for what was going to happen in this contest, though it would take sometime for the story to be told. The Bulldogs defense would growl a little with 6:01 left in the opening quarter when Cartier Page and Quantez Johnson teamed up to stop Aiken's Mikelle Moore for a loss of six. Defense continued to lead the quarter, but this time it was the Falcons turn to make a statement, with Trey Harris stopping the Bulldogs Anthony Jasper after quarterback Jasiah Williams mishandled the rock. Williams would cough the ball up with the Falcons Malachi Reid coming up with ...

*Using the roster from the league web site: Something that Every League Should Have! *Using the roster from the league web site: Something that Every League Should Have! Thursday night I made the Tip City to catch the big Miami Valley match-up between Butler and Tippecanoe. The Aviators entered 5-0, while Butler came in with a 4-1 record. During one of my interviews with a Red Divls player, I was informed that this game was circled on their schedule since the loss last season. I happened to be in the right place to hear a Butler player say after tonight, "We can call this our second home." The Red Devils defense made a statement early when Max Deckard picked off the pass thrown by Mason Reckner early in the game. The Aviators defense would stand tall and get the ball back to its offense a short time later. After getting the ball back, Reckner completed a 19-yard ball to Allen Mabson II , who made a nice grab after the ball was tipped. After that, the Red Devils offense ...

  Braxton Dente Akron Ellet High School Quarterback  2026 Leading up to the first practice for the 2024 season, what goals did you have in mind for your team? Transferring in from Barberton, I felt from a personal aspect I wanted to learn as much as I could about the guys on the team. I wanted to show them I was willing to work hard to be a part of what we are building. From a football aspect, I knew all of us on offense needed to be on the same page as fast as possible to have an opportunity for a strong start. After all of the practices were through, leading into week number 1, what had you learned about your team? As Coach Daraio says, "Rome wasn't built in a day; they were laying bricks every hour." I say that, meaning no matter how hard you work, some things just take time. It was important that we learn from mistakes and stay positive, but keep moving forward. I learned that we have the right players to accomplish our goal, but we just need to keep growing to...

  Sean Frank Valley Forge  QB 2026 6’2 215 Starting with that first week of practice, what were your personal goals? My biggest personal goal was to fill the shoes of the guy in front of me. He had a great senior year, and my goal is to play like there is no next week and help lead the team to lots of wins. From practice number one heading into the 2025 season to the last one before game one, what did you learn about your team? I learned that we have what it takes to win and make a push to some of our harder competitors, but we just have to put it all together and fix some of the mental mistakes.  In the last three weeks, you guys have won two of three. What must you guys do better in the 2nd half to finish the season strong and set yourself up for the playoffs? Offense has definitely started moving the ball how we should and doing what we need. Last week we just had nearly 700 yards of offense, and we just need to keep bringing the intensity and play clean, dis...

  Braxtyn Q. Brown Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech Running Back OLB Kicker 2025 5”10, 185 Going into the first week of practice, what were your personal goals? My personal goal was to get 3,000 rushing yards for the season, get better at cutting, have better vision, and go undefeated as a team. After all of the practice leading up to opening night, what had you learned about your team? I thought we had great chemistry. This year, when people had made mistakes, our teammates didn’t point fingers, but instead, they reminded others what to do and/or how to do it. What were your goals for your team heading into practice number one? Go undefeated and take practice much more seriously than last year. Not that I didn’t take it seriously last year, but being a captain this year, I knew I needed to set an example of what a disciplined player looked like. Heading into week one after all of the practices were completed, what were the goals for your team, and had they changed as you headed...

 * Cory has been playing on the Freshman team but will dress varsity this week* Ready for Varsity Cory Nicodemus  Grove City High School  Left offense tackle and defensive tackle 2028 6'5 290 Lbs. Starting with that first week of practice, what were your personal goals?  My first goal was to be the hardest-working player on the field. My second goal was to maintain a coachable attitude and establish myself as a role model for the other players. From practice number one heading into the 2025 season to the last one before game one, what did you learn about your team?  Going into my first freshman practice, I played with the majority of the players peewee football, and I noticed how most of them were developing into more athletic players, playing different positions and learning various techniques at those positions. By game 1, we had begun to gel. As a freshman heading into your first varsity practice, what were your feelings?  After being asked to ...

Lancaster, Ohio- Last night I made the drive to Lancaster High School to watch Fairfield Christian Academy battle Lancaster Fisher Catholic. The game turned out to belopsided, and it really seemed like two different games, with Fisher winning the first one and Fairfied Christian Acadeny dominating the second one. Hudson Harper and Danny Blair got the night started for the Knights defense as they teamed up to get Leo Hampshire for a loss of 6 yards. The Irish offense responded with a 20-yard pass from Grant Keefer to Jayden Morales. Hard-running Gage Armstong (6-1, 239) powered his way to an 11-yard run right up the got of the Knights defense. Bend, not break was what the Knihts defense was able to do when Keefer mishandled the ball and pouncing on it was Asher Rowly, with 7:09 left in the fast-moving opening quarter. The Knights offense would face fourth and one, and they would elect to go for it, and that decision turned out to be right for them when Blair was able to eek out just e...

On Saturday afternoon, I made my second visit of the 2024 football season to Akron Buchtel High School to watch the Griffins battle a very stout Austintown Fitch squad. Fitch came in with a 4-0 record, while Buchtel came in with a 1-3 record, dropping their last three games. Treavion Davis muffed the opening kickoff, but he made fast work in recovering the ball, and then with a burst of speed that would have made Bullet Bob Hayes proud, he took off and did not stop until he had gone 65 yards for a touchdown. Anthony Ruggles made this a 7-0 game with his conversion kick. Doing the long snapping on the play was Hunter Smart. Smart is one of the best long snappers in the state, and Ruggles has been the best kicker I have watched all this year. Robert Maderitz set up the next Falcons touchdown when he took the ball to the Buchtel 3-yard line. Deon'Dray Richard ended the drive going in from the three to make this a 14-0 game, with 6:39 left in the opening quarter. In large part to...

  Cedarville, Ohio- Last night I made my way to Cedarville, Ohio, to watch the Indians host Northeastern. This would mark my first time at the school and the first time seeing each team play. Things went well for the Indians in the opening quarter defensively. Declan Pollock (6-1,230) would get to Jackson Jones, holding the talented runner to just a 2-yard gain. Jones would be thrown for a short loss by Isaiah Christian a short time later. To complete the trifect for the Indians defense, Colt Coffey would get to multi-talented Jets quarterback Diezel Taylor for a loss of three yards. With 5:40 left in the quarter, Will Mossing would find Coffey for a gain of 25 yards. The quarter came to a close with Jones picking up 13 yards on the ground. Cody Houseman (5-10, 175) would pick up 7 tough yards to give the Jets a first and ten at the Indians 15-yard line, with 11:11 to play in the half. The 13-play, 80-yard drive came to an end on an 11-yard run by Taylor. Taylor also nailed the p...

  *I AM USING THE ROSTERS FROM HUDL.COM ** I want to thank Head Coach Stephen Ayers and Beechcroft player Lashawn Wiliams for proving names of the players not on the roster I am using. Columbus, Ohio- I was able to catch my first game at Beechcroft High School, which now gives me at least one game at every active member of the Columbus City League. This one started off as wacky as one could imagine, with Cam Cooley coughing the ball up on the opening kickoff and his teammate #1. Gabriel Anyamene picked it up and took it to the Braves 11-yard line. Quarterback David Tran would find Khalil Samuel for the 18-yard touchdown with 10:06 showing on the clock. Tyrell Russell eased in for the 2-point conversion run to make this an 8-0 game. Cooley would break off a 22-yard run to get things going for the Cougars on their next drive. The drive would end with Tran breaking off a 14-yard touchdown run followed by a conversion kick from #3. Olaoluwa Obayemi to make this a 15-0 game with 7:4...

  Last night I drove to Crestline High School to watch the Bulldogs host East Cleveland Shaw in what turned into my 2nd four overtime game, but in this one I was able to see a team break a long losing streak of 19 games. The game had to have or seem to have at least 25 pentalties called, with five or six coming on play. There were player enjections called, but the refs never said which players were rejected, so who knows if they really were thrown out or not? Later in the game, another player looked to have been threw out, and he did not return. There were statements made by some players that a coach during the halftime made racist comments. Shaw had six fans setting on their side, but by the time the game was over, only two remained. There was also a very nice job done twice by the Cardinals coaches; first, they kept their bench players from entering the playing field when it appeared a big fight was going to break out. Second, the Cardinals coaches were able to settle one of thei...

Akron, Ohio: Yesterday afternoon, Akron Buchtel hosted Bedford in a game where both teams really needed the win. Heading into this one, Buchtel was on a three-game losing streak, limping in at 1-30. Bedford came in with a 1-2 record and would for the 2nd week in a row using a wide receiver at quarterback. I was told at the game the starting quarterback was not playing offense because he broke a team role but would still be on defense. The backup quarterback, according to the roster provided to me at the game, for reasons unknown to the public, was not getting the start. The opening quarter was owned by the Bedford Bearcats. Defensively, Terrence Brown Jr. would tip a Buchtel pass, forcing a fourth and seven and a punt. Then, after Daurean Johnson muffed a punt, the Bearcats Jemes Warren pounced on it. The only score of the quarter came on a 46-yard run by wide receiver turned quarterback Kent Staten to put the Bearcats 7-0 lead, with 5:05 showing on the clock. Buchtel would wake up i...

*I used the rosters from Hudl and Maxpreps.* Gahanna, Ohio: On Friday I made the short drive to Gahanna High School to watch (3-0) Olentangy Orange battle (1-2) Gahanna in a really big O.C.C. matchup. Before getting into the game, I wanted to say that it was a pleasure to meet and speak with Coach Stout and Coach White from Gahanna. Both of these coaches, along with Coach Sayers from Columbus Northland, have an awesome podcast called 614 HEADSETS, and I recommend everyone listen to it. Things started off rough for the Lions when Kentucky recruit Brennen Ward threw into double coverage where Evan Thompson easily made the pick. Defense would continue to be the master, with Eddie Jenings getting to Orange quarterback Levi Davis for a 7-yard loss. Then, with 6:09 left in the quick-moving opening quarter, Pioneers Kameron Robinson got to Avion Brown for a loss of two. The Lions would be the first to score when Brown broke a tackle to go 19 yards, then out of the hold of Jake Bushelman, Ma...

West Alexandria, Ohio: Last night I made the 1:45-minute drive to Twin Valley South High School to watch their battle with Preble Shawnee. This was my first time taking in a game at Twin Valley South and my first time catching a game at their stadium. The Arrows needed just six plays to take a 14-0 lead with 7:49 left in the opening quarter. The first score came on a 31-yard run by Lane Lovely. The second score came on an 11-yard catch by Isaac Blankenship. Both point-after kicks were good off of the foot of Colton Schroeder. The Arrows defense would make the last big play of the opening quarter when Bryson Doran got to Twin Valley South ball carrier Conner Mowell for a loss of two. The Panthers defense would have a bright moment when Lucas Barlow sacked Brody Morton for a short loss. Later in the quarter, the Arrows defense stood tall when Caleb Blankenship picked off a pass. A 32-yard run by Reece Smith helped set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Lovely, making this a 21-0 game with 3:...

  Yesterday morning I made the two-hour plus drive to Lakewood High School to witness one, if not the most anticipated, games of the 2024 high school football season in the great state of Ohio. Boyle County, who has won four straight 4-A titles in Kentucky, vs. Lakewood St. Ed., who have won three straight D-1 state titles. Boyle County is a much smaller school and showed much more gumption than all of the public schools. especially the bigger ones, who are, for lack of better words, afraid to play the beast, known as St. Ed. Before getting into the game, I wanted to thank the St. Ed athletic department for having rosters for both teams available at the gate for all of the fans at no charge. Montavin Quisenberry, if not the best player in Kentucky, has to be in the conversation fast to introduce himself to everyone in the stadium when he acted as Barry Sanders would by reverisng his direction from one side of the field to the other, leaving most of his defense in his dust picking...

  Note: I used the rosters for each team from Hudl and Max Preps. Mt. Orab, Ohio On Friday night, Chilicothe came calling on Western Brown, looking not only for their first win of the 2024 tackle football season but also for their first points. For Werstern Brown and their all-gas no-break wide open offense, they were looking to stay undefeated. Things started off as well as the Cavaliers could have hoped when Vic Hitchens fielded the opening kickoff and took it all the way to the Western Brown 32-yard line. Facing a third on four later on the drive, Cartae Ligon broke to his left, picking up 5 yards to move the chians. Andrew Hamman would find Daniel Scissum for 9 yards. Scissum is listed as a defensive tackle and guard on the roster. With 10:16 left in the quarter, the 5-play, 32-yard drive came to a climax on an 11-yard run by Freshman Cartae Ligon. The point after a kichk from Connor Bolen was true to make this a 7-0 game, with 10:16 remaining in the quarter. The Broncos wou...