PREP FOOTBALL
Monday: Preseason practice begins.
Friday, Aug. 26: Week 1 games.
Nov. 4-5: Playoffs start.
Dec. 1-3: State championships at Columbus.
It’s probably too much to expect Wayne High School to make another run at an elusive state football championship, but that’s the Warriors’ goal.
There will be new stadiums at Chaminade Julienne and Miamisburg. Tippecanoe and Stebbins have been added into a robust Greater Western Ohio Conference. There’s also the usual high-profile area player watch, led by Ohio State University commit and massive offensive lineman Josh Myers with an impressive push from Trotwood-Madison running back Raveion “Shock” Hargrove.
Those are among the more prominent storylines to follow by area football teams heading into this season. High school preseason practice begins statewide on Monday for all fall sports: football, cross country, field hockey, golf, soccer, girls tennis and girls volleyball.
Wayne has accomplished what no other area team has done, play for consecutive big-school state football championships. But that also is the Warriors’ undoing, falling both times to Lakewood St. Edward, in 2014 and last season.
Wayne graduated many of its key personnel, including standout quarterback Messiah deWeaver (Michigan State), but that doesn’t mean the Warriors are lacking in talent.
A junior, L’Christian “Blue” Smith has already established himself as a deep-threat receiver. He had 54 catches for 1,311 yards (24.3 average) and 17 touchdowns in a breakout season last year. Sure handed, fleet footed and wrapped on a 6-foot-5, 210-pound frame, he’s become a top recruiting target, also. Still uncommitted and also an emerging basketball talent, Ohio State University is among the programs to offer him in football.
Wayne senior dual threat Matt Wilcox (58 catches, 753 yards, 15 total touchdowns) has verbally committed to Bowling Green. Senior running back Fred Pitts rushed for 867 yards and tallied 13 touchdowns. Senior center Ben Jackson, 6-2, 260, is the next great Warriors’ offensive lineman.
Defensively, Wayne is loaded with senior Mazon Walker at nose guard (6-0, 290) and junior Alex Reigelsperger (6-4, 230), another high-end recruit, at end.
And there’s more. Receiver Ray James transferred from Xenia to Wayne, as did Josh Wills from Bethel. James had 43 catches for 677 yards and nine total touchdowns as a junior. Wills was first team D-VI All-Ohio as a running back last season and also was a standout linebacker.
Admitted Wayne coach Jay Minton in a preseason survey, “All the pieces are in place for a deep (postseason) run if we stay healthy.”
• CJ has had multiple “home” fields over the years, including Welcome Stadium, West Carrollton Middle School, Wayne and elsewhere. Landlocked on its Ludlow Street campus in downtown Dayton, that slowly began to change as neighboring property was purchased. Now, two adjoining artificial-turf fields are anchored between the school and the Great Miami River, visible from State Route 35.
CJ will make its debut at Roger Glass Stadium on Aug. 26 against state small-school power and Midwest Athletic Conference titan Marion Local. The stadium will hold about 2,500 spectators.
Miamisburg has added to a massive athletic complex at its new high school. The centerpiece is the new Eudon Holland Field, a nearly 6,000-seat stadium that, like CJ’s, was named after a generous alum donation. Ironically, Miamisburg’s home opener is Week 2 against CJ.
• Myers, 6-5, 310, is a consensus five-star offensive lineman by all the major recruiting services and is committed to Ohio State University. Hargrove, an elusive 5-8, 165, tallied an area single-season best of 3,039 rushing yards (11.3 per carry) and 41 touchdowns in 14 games last season. He remains uncommitted.
Other returning running backs of note are Carlisle senior Ridge Reed (1,825 yards, 20 TD’s), Piqua senior Darien Tipps-Clemons (1,664 yards, 24 TD’s) and Brookville junior Bailey Wallen (1,379 yards, 22 TD’s). Tipps-Clemons is committed to Michigan State, where he’ll likely play linebacker.
Lebanon senior Dakota Allen is the most prolific returning quarterback. The 6-foot-5, 210-pounder threw for 2,844 yards, 30 TD’s and just nine interceptions last season. He’s committed to Eastern Kentucky.
• The MAC is on an unprecedented roll. Each of the last two seasons the 10-team, small-school conference has landed teams in the D-V, D-VI and D-VII state championships. Coldwater is seeking its fifth straight D-V title. Fort Recovery is the defending D-VII champ and Marion Local had a four-year streak of state championships snapped in D-VI last season.
• The addition of Tipp and Stebbins bumps the GWOC to a 20-team colossus, one of the state’s largest. An additional — and fourth — division was added and all were renamed: The American North and South and the National East and West. Teams were paired based on proximity and student size.
Noteworthy
• There is a mandatory five-day acclimatization period before contact. Gear is limited to helmets only for Days 1-2, helmet and shoulder pads on Days 3-4 and full gear on Day 5. Teams can hit on the sixth day of practice.
• GWOC, SWBL, CBC, GCL Co-Ed North, SOPL and OHC Friday games all will start at 7 p.m. Remaining as 7:30 p.m. Friday kickoffs are games in the MAC and CCC.
• ABC 22 and FOX 45 will debut its Thursday night football special, featuring a 10-game schedule of area games. The Week 1 matchup is Xenia at Beavercreek on Aug. 25. Other notable matchups are Centerville at Springboro in Week 5 (Sept. 22) and Trotwood at Wayne in Week 10 (Oct. 27).
All the Thursday games will start at 7 p.m. and will air live on Channel 45.2, Time Warner Cable and the Dish Network.
• The weekly Associated Press state polls will start following Week 3. The first computer rankings will be released after Week 4 games.
• There are 716 football-playing members in the Ohio High School Athletic Association and 224 will be playoffs bound, or 32 teams in each of the seven divisions. Playoff teams are determined by most computer points based on regular-season wins and wins by a defeated opponent. Each division consists of four regions. The top eight teams in each region advance to the playoffs.
• The playoffs begin Nov. 4-5 and run for five weeks, culminating with the state finals on Dec. 1-3 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Divisions I, II, IV and VI will play at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Divisions III, V and VII at 7 p.m. on Saturdays. One division will be moved to Thursday, Dec. 1, for its state final. This will be the first time since 1980 that D-I playoff games will be held on Friday.
• This is the second of a two-year cycle for the OHSAA to adjust divisional alignment for all sports. Placement is based on student enrollment and a new competitive balance plan that was delayed for one year. The 2017-19 data should be released by the OHSAA next spring.
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