He will play for the East in the 42nd Southwestern Ohio Football Coaches Association Ron Woyan East-West All-Star Game on Thursday night at Kings.
“It’s more fun, but we want to win,” said Thomas, who endured an 0-10 senior season with the Middies. “It’s pretty big to me. This is something I worked for, and I want to go out to the All-Star Game and show what I have.”
Middletown teammate Marquise Petty is playing for the East as well in the senior showcase event. Lakota East, Franklin and Lebanon will also be represented on the East roster, while Hamilton, Talawanda, Fairfield, Monroe, Ross and Edgewood will have West players.
Thomas, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound wide receiver, said it’s been a pretty easy meshing process with the East’s players and coaches.
“Some of these schools are in the (Greater Miami Conference), so we’ve been playing these guys for a couple years. We’re just getting to know them a little bit more,” Thomas said after Monday’s practice at Sycamore’s Bud Acus Alumni Field. “We did a lot of hard practices last week. Now we’re just perfecting our crafts and getting ready to beat West.”
Winning is important, even in a showcase event like this. The East leads the series 23-18 and has won nine of the last 10 meetings.
“We plan on doing it again,” Thomas said. “Every time we do jumping jacks or we break out, we say, ‘Beat West,’ so that’s what we plan on doing.”
Blanchester’s Brandon Sammons is the East head coach. He’s heard quite a bit about the East’s recent dominance.
“It’s a little bit of pressure,” Sammons said with a smile. “We’ve been told the East has done well in this game, and we definitely want to carry on that tradition. We definitely want to make the people on the east side of Cincinnati proud.
RECENT MATCHUPS
“It’s a showcase of talent and a fun night, but none of us like to lose. We’re going to see what we’ve got and hopefully what we’ve done in the 10 days we get with them is enough to do that.”
Talawanda offensive lineman Kyle Broshear, a 6-3, 265-pound tackle, said his West squad is looking strong and will be looking to get its first win in the series since 2014.
“It’s a big game for us to try to prove ourselves,” Broshear said. “The offensive line’s looking good, nice and big this year, and we’ve got some athletes to go behind it. It should be a good game.”
West head coach Chris Mobley of Hughes likes what he’s been seeing from his crew.
“I feel there’s a really good energy and chemistry with this group,” Mobley said. “They’re really good athletes, but they’re all just really bright and pick up on things quickly.
“Winning is a big deal, and our guys know that. One of the kids texted me over the weekend. Monalo Caldwell, the running back from Colerain, talked about wanting to change that streak and get a win up on the board. I think our guys are going to compete.
“I just want it to be a good game both ways. I don’t want it to be a blowout. Hopefully there’s a lot of points put up just so the fans can have something fun to watch. It’s good to give them a little taste of football in June.”
Broshear, headed to Ohio Northern University, said he’s already made a bunch of new friends on the West team.
“Everyone’s outgoing, friendly,” Broshear said after Monday’s session at the Hughes practice field. “You don’t have anything to worry about.
“It’s a big game for me coming from a small school. We didn’t have anyone in it last year, so it’s big to represent the hometown.”
Broshear will have two Talawanda teammates, quarterback Logan Kamphaus and tight end Andrew O’Donnel, playing with him Thursday.
Mobley said Hamilton’s Eric Jackson likely will start at quarterback, but Kamphaus will play a lot.
“They’re both good leaders, very intelligent young men, and they’re working their butts off,” Mobley said. “They’ll probably play about 50-50.”
Mobley has an injured local player, Edgewood’s Hunter Boggs, on his roster. Boggs is out with a knee injury suffered during lacrosse season, but Mobley said he’ll still be part of Thursday’s event.
Mobley is a former college coach who said he’s honored to lead the West team. He’s about to begin his second season as the head man at Hughes, while Sammons is also starting his second year at the Blanchester helm.
Sammons said he’s thankful for his wife Betsy for “being a trooper” in regard to his all-star workload.
“We leave for vacation on Friday,” Sammons said. “We’re going down to Myrtle Beach where all the sharks are coasting around the shore, so I’ll be in the pool.
“This has been a great opportunity for me working with all these kids and coaches. I’ll pick up the little things we do in practice and take them back to Blanchester. Hopefully we’re a better football team this year because of it.”
There are some restrictions in what teams can do in the game. Defensively, a 50 front and man coverage have to be used. Offensively, there must always be a back in the backfield.
“The offensive line is probably the hardest thing because those guys have to be a cohesive unit,” Sammons said. “Receivers are kind of on their own. It’s man coverage, so there’s not a whole lot of concept there. Just go be an athlete and hopefully the quarterback gets you the ball.
“In a game like this, at the end of the day, athleticism has to come out, and there’s some kids with a lot of athleticism. It’s fun when you don’t have to explain a lot of the little things. They know what you want them to do, and they just go.
“Our defensive guys are flying around and doing a fantastic job. It’s fun to watch them from the head coach perspective, but as the offensive guy, it’s like, ‘You’re killing us.’ ”
GAME INFORMATION
What: 42nd Southwestern Ohio Football Coaches Association Ron Woyan East-West All-Star Game
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Kings Stadium, 5500 Columbia Road, Kings Mills
Admission: $5 at the gate
Series: East leads 23-18
SERIES RESULTS: EAST 23, WEST 18
1971 — West 23-12; 1972 — East 37-21; 1973 — East 20-8; 1974 — East 12-8; 1975 — East 14-7; 1976 — East 22-7; 1977 — East 35-14; 1978 — West 22-7; 1979 — East 17-14; 1985 — West 15-14; 1986 — West 15-8; 1987 — West 35-14; 1988 — West 10-6; 1989 — East 18-6; 1990 — West 24-20; 1991 — West 35-0; 1992 — West 25-7; 1993 — West 27-6; 1994 — East 8-3; 1995 — West 24-18; 1996 — West 19-17; 1997 — East 18-0; 1998 — East 23-14; 1999 — West 14-13; 2000 — East 18-7; 2001 — East 21-16; 2002 — West 21-17; 2003 — West 6-0; 2004 — East 26-13; 2005 — West 42-19; 2006 — West 35-0; 2007 — East 28-18; 2008 — East 41-21; 2009 — East 42-35; 2010 — East 21-13; 2011 — East 39-35; 2012 — East 17-14; 2013 — East 21-19; 2014 — West 63-43; 2015 — East 40-20; 2016 — East 21-12
WEST ROSTER
Head Coach: Chris Mobley (Hughes)
Assistant Coaches: Mike Bellamah (St. Xavier), Luke Cripe (Oak Hills), Armand Tatum (Western Hills), Derek Wiggins (North College Hill), Chad Yeargin (North College Hill)
Quarterbacks: Eric Jackson (Hamilton), Logan Kamphaus (Talawanda), Franklin Steward Jr. (North College Hill)
Running Backs: Monalo Caldwell (Colerain), Will Coker (Woodward), Kenneth Jones II (Gamble Montessori), Cooper Scholz (Oak Hills), Lee Young (Mount Healthy), Ormoni Zanders (Taft)
Receivers: Alex Bannister (Monroe), Tony Buckley (Hughes), Kevon Cephas (Hughes), Dequan Freeman (Aiken), Eriquan Price (Aiken), Trey Reliford (Woodward), Gerald Smith (Harrison)
Tight End: Andrew O'Donnel (Talawanda)
Offensive Linemen: Kyle Broshear (Talawanda), Justin Clark (Mount Healthy), Malik Harris (Gamble Montessori), Andrew Kerobo (Winton Woods), Peyton Ogle (Wyoming), Samari Thurmond (Northwest), Tahjay Woodward (Aiken)
Defensive Linemen: Rayshaad Roddy (Mount Healthy), Khalil Scott (North College Hill), Troy Smythe Jr. (Woodward), Kwantay Stanley (Colerain), Juwahn Williams (Colerain)
Linebackers: Eric Allgeier (Ross), Hunter Boggs (Edgewood/injured), TiAriq Dailey (Elder), Cade Harper (St. Xavier), Damien Hopkins (Western Hills), D'Meko Pryor (Taft), Adrian Ward (North College Hill)
Defensive Backs: Aaron Bishop (Elder), Savion Brown (Lockland), Jacob Buerkle (St. Xavier), Domonick Johnson (Hamilton), Tory McNeil Jr. (Taft), Tony Trame (Oak Hills), Alex Wachendorf (Reading)
Place-kicker/Punter: Jerred McGuire (Fairfield)
EAST ROSTER
Head Coach: Brandon Sammons (Blanchester)
Assistant Coaches: John Adleta (Mason), Joe Clements (Roger Bacon), Scott Dattilo (Sycamore), Dave Honerlaw (Sycamore), Brian Veil (Anderson)
Quarterbacks: Zairn Davis (Summit Country Day), Tristan Greene (Blanchester)
Running Backs: Ryan Bagnoli (Loveland), Luke Bohenek (Turpin), Greg Corn (Madeira), Adam Phelps (Wilmington)
Receivers: Brandon Conklin (Miami Valley Christian Academy), Braxton Rodenberger (Franklin), Amari Rogers (Roger Bacon), Will Thomas (Middletown), Maysico Tribble (Riverview East)
Offensive Linemen: Nick Finley (Lakota East), Brant Fluehr (Amelia), Cory Higginbotham (New Richmond), James Meckey (Loveland), Zack Richardson (Sycamore), Garhett Thompson (Fayetteville), Jacob Ungruhe (Little Miami), Clark Willhoite (Roger Bacon)
Defensive Linemen: Caleb Bastin (Bethel-Tate), Noah Hill (Western Brown), Jamal Hines (Princeton), Elijah Hollis (Sycamore), Sammy Myres (Turpin)
Linebackers: Ben Collado (Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy), Hunter Collier (Blanchester), Jacob Cyrus (New Richmond), Lang Evans (Turpin), Larry Jones Jr. (Purcell Marian), Luke Newton (Clermont Northeastern), Hazen Petit (Roger Bacon), Stephen Trainor (Batavia)
Defensive Backs: Cameron Beck (Loveland), Khadim Fall (Sycamore), Isaiah Gordon (Ponitz), Nick Hopkins (Blanchester), Tyler Kingus (Fayetteville), Marquise Petty (Middletown), Terrence Smith (Princeton), Ryan West (Lebanon)
Place-kicker/Punter: Andrew Hauer (Mason)
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