D.L.Burnworth

  Caiden Anderson Hamilton Southeastern High School (Playing for the Noblesville Lions this season) Positions played: Quarterback/Safety Class: 2026 Height and Weight: 5'11 165 Jersey Number: 19 Awards won or earned: N/A What has been the highlight of your high school football career so far? Probably winning every game I’ve started, mostly by game-winning drives and blowing opponents out, and having fun with my teammates. Which game are you looking forward to the most this season? Explain One game that I’m looking forward to is the game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Our opponent is unknown, but we are prepared to go out there and put on a show for everyone in attendance. What makes playing for the Noblesville Lions so special? Just the brotherhood and the people you meet; it’s nothing like anything I’ve ever felt before, and I truly couldn’t have made a better decision coming out and playing for them this season. What is the toughest part of being a high school student-athlete? I would say...

  Logan Smith Calloway County (Ky.) LB/RB 2026 5’11/215 lbs Jersey Number: 15 Awards won or earned: 3* All-WKC, 3* Defensive MVP, 2024 Offensive MVP , 2024 Team MVP, 2024 All-Ledger Team With this coming season being your final as a high school player, have you trained any differently than you have in the past? Explain. I don’t think it’s different. I have always focused on gaining size and improving speed. Those are my main goals in the off-season. Currently I’m up 25 lbs, and my 100 time is the best I’ve ever had. What were the high point and low point of the 2024 season? My favorite part of the season was probably also the most difficult! We went to a military base for a weekend (camp) and were led by drill instructors. It’s really tough but also a great memory with my guys! What are you looking forward to the most this season? I just want to compete! What did you learn about yourself during the 2024 season that you can use to be a better player this season? That I can only cont...

  After work I drove to Westerville, hit Planet Fitness, and then after my workout I drove to North High School to watch Westerville North battle Worthington Kilbourne. The last time these two teams met, North used a 14-run seventh inning to pull away for a 24-4 win. Well, tonight after blowing an early 5-0 lead and seeing the Wolves lock the game up at five , the Warriors scored 15 runs in the bottom of the third to lead 20-5. The Wolves would score two final runs to make the final 20-7. North would bang out 17 hits. Emma Polovick would go 3-4, including a home run, to go with 4 RBI. Ali Merrell would go 2-4, with a home run, with 2 RBI. Ella Effrom had 3 hits and 4 RBI. Gabby Bote had 4 hits and 2 RBI. Ella Kacsandi had 3 hits and 2 RBI. Megan Ockerman had 1 RBI and 2 hits. Leila Morrison, Loren Anderson, and Addie Booth each had an RBI. For Kilbourne, they were held to 7 hits. Leading the way in defeat was leadoff hitter Scarlett Elder with 3 hits and an RBI. Juliana Orlins and ...

  Emarion Bell Columbus West High School LB Class of 2027 5’11 198 #2 First team all city and special mention all district What is your favorite part of being a member of the West football team? My favorite part is playing for the side of town I’m from. What is the toughest part of a West High practice? The toughest part is 15 to 20 gassers. What part of your game do you believe is the strongest? Coming downhill is the strongest part of my game. Which part of your game must you improve to become a better player? Opening my hips better will improve me as a player. What makes you a good teammate? Sportsmanship Who is the toughest teammate to square up against at practice? Jahmere Johnson, Amari Jones, Eli Broomfield, and Josiah Santiago Which game are you looking forward to the most? Franklin Heights What has been your biggest moment on the football field? Winning a home game. As a linebacker, which type of weather do you like playing in the most? Weather really doesn’t matter; all w...

  Israel Bam Bam” Baymon Horizon Christian School, Indianapolis. (Plays football for Noblesville Lions) defensive tackle/offensive tackle/nose guard/offensive guard Sophomore, heading into junior season. Height and Weight 5’10-310 Jersey Numbers #75 & #58 2027 Awards won or earned Florida championship top prospect award Can you share with the readers how you came to play for the Noblesville Lions? It could have started in 7th grade; an older player who played for the middle school team (a classmate) introduced me to the team because of my curiosity, but I never made up my mind. So it all started in 8th grade year, middle school team, before moving up to high school. Would you share with everyone where the Noblesville Lions play their home games? Sure, our home field is located at Traders Point, Indiana, a decent home field at a church school in the middle of nowhere. What are your goals for the 2025 season? I look to play strong this year. My goal is to be better than last year...

  After work and the gym, I drove over to Scioto High School in Dublin to watch Scioto host Delaware. The last time these two teams played, Delaware posted a 5-0 win. This time the game was a close run, 4-0, with Delaware again winning. I had watched Scioto beat Kilbourne earlier in the season, so I sort of knew how good their offense was, and in talking to a player from Kilbourne, I was told how dominant Hayes was. Well, tonight I would say the scouting report that was given to me about how good Delaware was was spot on. Tonight I got to see a no-hitter thrown by Bronwynn Leighty. The Monmouth University commit (how the heck did Ohio State not go 100% after her?) struck out 15 and had just 1 base on balls. Avery Reynolds, the pitcher for Scioto (link to my earlier interview with her: https://daveburnworth.blogspot.com/2025/04/2025-softball-interview-with-avery.html ) gave up just 5 hits, struck out 12, and had 4 walks. Laurel Day had just one hit, but it was a bomb over the high f...

  Jesse Keith Wilmington TE OLB MLB RB S 2026 6’2, 205 lbs Jersey Number 4 Awards won or earned: 2x 1st team, 2nd all Ohio With this being your final high school football season, have you prepared any differently during the off-season? Explain Yes, I’ve been in the weight room since January and working harder, leading as an example. Which game are you looking forward to the most this season? Clinton Massie What makes a good leader? Someone who puts everything into what he/she is doing What is your favorite part of being a linebacker? Hitting What is the toughest part in preparing to play linebacker? Reading your keys Who is the best player that you have faced in a game, along with what made him so good and the team he played on? Jamie Scott from Mt.. Healthy, he was HIM on both sides of the ball, and the energy he came with. What has been your biggest moment as an athlete, any sport, any age? Getting 1st team as a sophomore. What was the high point of the 2024 season? Bouncing...

Game two of the 2025 season was the backend of the doubleheader played at Massillon High School, and it was the small school North vs. South game, and it turned out to be a defensive slugfest. With 6:48 left in the opening quarter, the North was facing a fourth and five, and they elected to go for it. That decision turned out to be a good one when Cohen Klimak (Streetsboro) found JR. Beato (Fairview) for a 15-yard gain and the first down. Twenty-two seconds later, Klimak was picked off by Jake Anton (West Muskingum). The South would get a 10-yard completion from Isaiah Stephens (New Lexington) to Alex Reese (Martins Ferry) with 6:19 showing on the clock. That drive fizzled out shortly after the play. With 1:49 remaining in the quarter, Brody Lynch (Preble Shawnee) got to Chase Badger (Northwest) for a short loss. Bager shook off the negative play by finding Reese Soltis (Cardinal) for 18 yards. With 0:44 seconds left on the clock, Blake Lawson (Carlisle) tackled Joey Jackson (West Bran...

My 2025 high school football season started today at Paul Brown Stadium in Massillon, Ohio, where both North vs. South games took place. The big schools kicked the season off. These are the schools in Divisions 1-3. First, I want to say thank you to the great people at Massillon for again treating the media really well with all-access passes and for the pizza and drinks. A nice run by Gabe Mansell (Copley) picked up 18 yards on the first play of the game. Mansell would cap off the 11-play, 67-yard drive with a pretty pass to a wide-open Troy Hazuda (Clay) in the back of the end zone on the right side. The kick from Anthony Ruggies (Austintown Fitch) was missed, leaving this a 6-0 North lead. The South All-Stars would need just five plays to answer the score from the North. A pass from Ethan Thanthanavong (Bloom Carroll) was picked up by Nate Lyman (Kings), picked up 56 big yards. Thanthanavong ended the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Gracen Goldsmith (Hamilton). Mason Keely (Ce...

    (I met this young man and his father last year while I was covering games in New Jersey.) Eric Beach Camden Catholic High School (NJ) Quarterback 2028 5’11, 165 lbs Jersey Number #6 Awards won or earned: None at this time For the readers, could you let everyone know what day New Jersey starts their high school football season? Usually week 1 is the first weekend of September, and anything prior to that is week 0. We start our season this year on August 28th. What is the toughest part of being the quarterback? Managing your time off the field. The non-stop training, film study, tournaments, camps, and practices are so important to your development. It’s very easy to allow any of these things to take over your off season. The importance placed on each area changes every off season. You need to set clear goals and plan around them. What is the best part of being the quarterback? My teammates. I’m always there to communicate with, encourage, and celebrate them. My goal is for ...

  Eli Welch I play for Bethel-Tate, but I'm actually home schooled. OT DT DE 2026 6'1 285 Jersey Number 74 Awards won or earned: First team all SBAAC, honorable mention all city With this being your final high school football season, have you done anything differently as far as preparing for the season? I've stepped up more as a leader for my team and really pushed myself the extra mile by getting extra in as much as I can and pushing the rest of the team to make sure we are ready come August. What is the toughest part of being a lineman? Being a big boy is great till it's 90-something outside. What is the best part of being a lineman? The linemen are their own family, and it is truly something special. Also, hand Swiping a kid into the turf in PassPro is great also. Which teammate is the toughest to square up against at practice? Talon Armacost, but now that he has graduated, it's going to be interesting to see who steps up. Who is the best player that you ...

  I am using the Eagles roster from MaxPreps, and the Flames have their stats online with the roster attached. Tonight I made the short drive to Madison Christian, where the Eagles were hosting the Shekinah Christian Flames. When all was said and done, the Eagles would improve to 8-2 on the season, and the Flames would fall to 0-6. The Eagles would spread their wings in the first, scoring four runs. Chloe Rice opened the scoring up with an RBI single. Lily Scholz tripled in the next run, putting the Eagles up 2-0. Lexi Wray and Bella Larocca each had RBI singles to end the first-inning blitz. A five-run second put the Eagles up 9-0. Scholz triples again to make this a 5-0 game. Cassie Flickinger singles, making it a 6-0 game. Wray singled in another run and scored later on a wild pitch to put the Eagles up 8-0. On a double steal, Lily Forresta scored the final run in the inning. Wray made this a 12-0 game in the bottom of the third on an inside-the-park home run. The Eagles, in all...

  Shawn Rife Jr. Whetstone High School RB, WR, SS, OLB (Rover/Sniper back) 2026 Height and Weight: 5’9, 180 lbs Jersey Number 8 Awards won or earned: First Team All-City, All-Conference, Honorable Mention All-District What or who got you started playing football, along with the reasons you continue to play? My dad got me into football at 4 years old. I’ve had a strong passion for the sport since then. I continue to play football because it’s an outlet for me. The early morning lifts and long practices, as hard as they may be, give me purpose and meaning. It’s where I can zone out the outside world and focus in on what I love doing. Without football, I’m not sure where I’d be today or the type of person I’d be. What makes you a good teammate? I always hold my teammates accountable. Making sure there’s effort in practice, focus in the film room, and everyone’s doing their job correctly. Just as importantly, I celebrate our successes as often as possible. Even something as simple as a...