See Scoreboard for SW District teams
Eight area players and five coaches were awarded top honors for the All-Southwest District high school football teams announced by the Associated Press on Wednesday.
Offensive players of the year were Miamisburg’s Josh Myers (Division II), Franklin’s Ryan Montgomery (D-III), Mechanicsburg’s Kaleb Romero (D-VI) and Nathan Blei of Covington (D-VII).
Chosen as defensive players of the year were Alter’s David Rueth (D-IV), Greeneview’s Isaiah Harding (D-V), Mechanicsburg’s Dylan Hartley (D-VI) and Deron White of Covington (D-VII).
Coaches of the year included Troy’s Matt Burgbacher (D-II), Franklin’s Brad Childers (D-III), Valley View’s Bob Skidmore (D-IV), Mechanicsburg’s Kurt Forrest (D-VI) and Tyler Cates of Covington (D-VII).
Myers was a rare offensive player of the year as an offensive lineman. The 6-foot-6, 310-pound senior is regarded as one of the nation’s top prospects and was the first in the 2017 class to commit to Ohio State University. He’s a big reason Miamisburg (10-2) will play two-time defending state champ Cincinnati La Salle (10-2) in a D-II, Region 8 final at Mason on Friday.
Montgomery, a junior, rushed for 1,609 yards and scored 30 touchdowns for Franklin (11-1), which had its postseason ended by St. Marys Memorial last week. Romero, a senior who signed this week to wrestle at OSU, has amassed more than 10,000 yards total offense as a four-year starter at quarterback for Mechanicsburg. Also a senior quarterback, Blei passed for 1,773 yards and 24 touchdowns at Covington.
Rueth, a senior linebacker, led unbeaten Alter in tackles and also was the goalkeeper for the soccer team, which won the D-II state title this past Sunday. Alter (12-0) will play Cincinnati Wyoming (12-0) in a D-IV, Region 16 final on Friday at Monroe.
Harding, also a linebacker, led Greeneview (9-3) to the D-V, Region 20 semifinals, losing to four-time defending state champ Coldwater last week. Like his Mechanicsburg teammate Romero, Hartley, a defensive lineman, is a repeat player of the year and first team All-Ohio. White had 67 solo tackles for Covington, including eight for loss.
Coming off a 2-8 program debut, Burgbacher guided Troy (10-2) into the D-II, Region 8 semifinals in his second season. Both losses were to Miamisburg. Childers led Franklin (11-1) to a tie for fourth in the final state AP poll and a No. 1 seed in the D-III, Region 12 playoffs. Skidmore was a longtime Valley View assistant until this season. The Spartans (10-2) lost only to Southwestern Buckeye League rival Franklin in the regular season and advanced to the D-IV, Region 16 semifinals.
Forrest guided Mechanicsburg to its second straight unbeaten regular season. Mechanicsburg (12-0) will play Marion Local (11-1) in a D-VI, Region 24 final at Sidney on Friday. Cates also led Covington to a perfect regular season in his first year after leaving Cross Country Conference rival Twin Valley South. The Buccs (11-1) were the D-VII, Region 28 top seed and were eliminated by defending state champ Fort Recovery last week.
Based on the regular season only, the Southwest District teams were one of nine chosen throughout the state. Teams were selected by a districtwide panel of media based on coaches’ nominations. Players must be first team all-district to be considered for All-Ohio.
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