Here are the Week 1 OHSAA Football Recap and Headlines in Southwest Ohio:
Thursday Night
Fairfield Finishes Wayne in 4th in Game of the Week Behind Jackson Twins
The Fairfield Indians was able to stop the Wayne Warriors by a score of 42-24 in the season opener of the OHSAA 2022-23 season.
Early in the game Wayne and Fairfield were tied before Fairfield would take a lead led in which Wayne would respond to tie it at 7. However, Fairfield would end up with a halftime lead, as the offense, specifically the quarterback, was creating havoc against a tough Wayne defense.
The Jackson Twins, both headed to West Virginia, was a major part of the game, as Josiah played great defense on the vaunted Wayne Train as he held the Warriors top Wide recievers to minimal yards, while Jordan scored 2 TD's, one during a game clinching drive in the 41-24 win over the #5 seeded Warriors. Fairfield was #7 ranked in the state as well.
The game was close until a couple of miscues helped push Fairfield to a 3 possession lead early in the 3rd quarter (27-10).
Players of the Game: Josiah Jackson, Jordan Jackson, Fairfield
Carroll Knocks off Ponitz after Late Comeback Led By Chapman
The Carroll Patriots were down 19-10 after a Storm Cook TD run, and it seemed as if the Panthers would get a season opening win. But Ryan Chapman was able to lead the troops back with a 3-yard TD run and a huge TD pass to Luke Hermann in the final minutes and the Patriots shocked the Panthers, who literally did everything they needed to do to win. Ponitz was led by Dayjuan Anderson and Cook, who scored 2 TDs in the game. The Panthers 3 turnovers was critical in the loss.
Players of the Game: Ryan Chapman, Carroll Storm Cook, Ponitz
Fairmont Shuts Down Alter As Baker Runs Wild
Fairmont continued its winning ways against a team who had literally dominated them for over 20 years, as the Firebirds shut down the Knights vaunted running game and Drew Baker went wild for over 200 yards rushing, including a 74 yard scamper, as Fairmont rolled 31-7. DB Carmron Payne blocked a FG to get ther Firebirds started, then got a Interception later as well. Fairmont was up 24-0 at one point and held the Knights to under 30 yards for the game rushing the ball. Dalton Gustwiller forced 2 fumbles, had 3.5 tackles for loss, and was a menace the entire game.
Players of the Game: Drew Baker, Dalton Gustwiller, Carmron Payne, Fairmont
Other Thursday Games:
Taft Posts Shutout; Withrow Powers to Season Opening Victory
Friday Games:
Xenia Rolls over Beavercreek Behind Saunders, Wright
Xenia Head Coach Maurice Harden felt like his team is going to be very solid this season, and it showed in week one, as they handled Beavercreek in the season opening week, amassing over 500 yards in the 40-3 win. Tre'Shaun Saunders, one of the top players in the Miami Valley, went wild and led the team to a big w scoring on a 84-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage, which set the tone for a rushing attack that put in ovcr 300 yards of offense. The loss for Beavercreek spoils Beavers new head coach Marcus Colvin debut. Harden was an assistant coach on Colvins staff at C-J. On a positive note, Beavercreek defensive stud C.J. Crawford set a MVL record for 21 tackles in a game.
Top Players: Tre'Shaun Saunders,Trammell Wright, Offensive Line, Xenia; C.J.Crawford, Creek'
Piqua Hammers Belmont as Roberts Duo Sets Tone
The Piqua Indians came out like they was last year, as they started the season hot with a Bryson Roberts TD off the first drive and never stop rolling. Dre'Sean Roberts TD run on the kickoff in the 2nd half setup a huge day for Roberts and the Indians squad as they rolled past Belmont 55-0. Sam Schmiesing led the squad in rushing yards and led the Piqua running attack which ran for 6 TDs in the big win. Victor Fleming and Tay Arnold led the Bison in the loss.
Top Players: Dre'Sean & Bryce Roberts, Sam Schmieshing, Colton Beougher, Piqua; Vic Fleming, Belmont
Miamisburg Wins Big At West Carollton in Shootout As Rushing Game Leads Way
The Vikings continued to roll in the rivaly game as the running game ran for over 340 yards and the Burg rolled to a 62-26 win at West Carrollton, ruining the home debut of Chris Mobley, the new Pirates coach. While the running game was vicious, the passing game wasn't needed as much, as Jackon McGohan, the star WR, had a easy night as the running game and defense set the tone. The Pirates was led by senior QB Logan Cloyd, who threw for a league high 254 with 3 TD's and ran for 87 tough yards as well. Despite the lopsided score, the Pirates did show signs of life under their new head coach.
Top Players: Christian Davis, Preston Barr, Nathan Ennis, Baylor Stickel, Miamisburg; Logan Cloyd, WC
Northmont Sets Tone, Shows Dominance in 1st Game Behind Cortner
The Northmont Thunderbolts came out with a vengence in the first game, and with it came a big win as Junior QB Cahke Cortner scored 2 TD's and threw 2 more TDs, as the Bolts powered past Butler 49-13 as they scored the first 42 points of the game. Payton Lupton, a two way player, and Brian Jones Jr was the defensive stoppers, accounting for 7 of the 11 tackles in the backfield en route to pure disruption the entire game.
Top Players: Cahke Cortner, Payton Lupton, Brian Jones Jr, Northmont;
Centerville Squeaks out Tough W Thanks to Coppock, Defense
The Centerville Elks lost a lot of juice on the offensive side last year (Chase Harrison and Cam Smith leaving for D-1) but was able to use their stifling defense to hold off a tough Lakota East team and get a gutty 9-6 win on the road. Emable Wakilongo, star RB, led the Elks offense with a TD and 63 yards rushing in a defensive struggle.
Jackson Courville 45-yard FG proved to be the difference in the score after a late TD by Lakota East late in the game. Ross Coppock was the player of the game, as he forced a fumble, Intercpeted a ball and kept Lakota East WR's frustrated all game. Joseph Jean-Lewis was dominant as well, with 16 tackles, a sack, and 3.5 tackles for loss.
Top Players: Emable Wakilongo, Ross Coppock, Jackson Courville, Joseph Jean-Lewis; Cville; Jake Reisner, Lakota East
Trotwood Falls to Winton Woods As Joseph, Defense, Set the Tone for State Champs
The Trotwood Rams fell to the OHSAA State Champs in Winton Woods in their season opener 39-16 in week 1 of the season. Vance Joseph was on point all night against a tough defense, as the QB went 13-19 with 3 TDs and 0 INTs, with 2 of his TD's going to Carlos Cox, Jr in the big win at home. James Minor ran for 95 yards at a TD as well as the rushing game was solid too as they ran for 189 and threw for 187 in a balanced attack. Jermaine Matthews Jr forced 2 fumbles - and recovered them as well - to cause chaos in the backfield and at the line.
Trotwood wasn't able to get anything going until late in the game after it had been decided. Tim Carpenter, one of the elite QB's in Ohio, was pressured all night by the tough defense, but did throw for a TD and ran for another one.
Top Players: Vance Joseph, Carlos Cox Jr, James Minor, Jermaine Matthews, Winton Woods; Tim Carpenter, Devon Sims, Corey Jackson, Trotwood
Troy Powers Past Dunbar Behind 3-Headed Rushing Monster
Troy used an dominant rushing attack to take out the Dunbar Wolverines in Troy on season opening night as the Trojans took advantage of the miscues, a inexperienced Dunbar defensive line and ran to a 56-24 win in Troy on Friday night. Dunbar struck first as new QB Jay'Vian Graves directed a TD drive to give the Wolverines a early lead. But it was mostly downhill from there, as the Trojans would rack up over 300 yards of rushing behind the trio of Jahari Ward (103 yds, 2 TDs), Nick Kaweki 102 yds, 3TDs, and Colin Stotz (92 yds, 2 TDs).
The Graves to Ke'Shaun Golden connection was unstoppable, as Golden caught 5 passes for 167 yards and 3 TD's. But in a key point of the game, (down 21-6), the Wolverines would throw a critical pick-6 (by Logan Ullery) to take the lead from 21-6 to 28-6 and the lead was too big to overcome.
Top Players: Jahari Ward, Nick Kaweki, Colin Stotz, Offensive Line, Logan Ullery, Troy; Jay'Vian Graves, Ke'Shaun Golden, Dunbar
Chaminade Falls on the Road in "White Era" Season Opener
Earl White, arguably the best coach in Southwest Ohio, now is running the Chaminade Julienne football team. They would fall in their first game on the road, as they lost to Columbus Eastmoor 20-14. In a game that was tight throughout, C-J would take a 7-0 lead, as the defense led by Dorian Carter (16 tackles) and Donovan Cummings (16 tackles) and Calven Russell (12 tackles, forced Fumble) had done well and locked down. But in the 2nd half Eastmoor took advantage of some mistakes made by C-J, and got the offense going well enough to pull out a tough 20-14 win.
While White was upset about the loss, the feeling is that if they can clean up some little things, they could be a very solid team, with playoff hopes.
Top Players: Dorian Carter, Donovan Cummings, Calven Russell, Mishaun Stevens
Springboro Rides Ruzzo, Defense to Win Over Lebanon
Evan Ruzzo, the senior QB, led the Springboro football team over Lebanon on Friday night as he threw 3 TD passes in the 1st half (2 to Peyton Howard) and the Panthers were able to hold off Lebanon on their home field 21-19. Lebanon's offense came alive in the 2nd half and scored twice. After the 2nd TD, they went for 2 and the pass was incomplete, giving the Panthers the road victory.
Top Players: Evan Ruzzo, Peyton Howard, Connor Smith, Springboro; Sam Sako, Kyle Koch, Luke Berberich, Lebanon
Sidney Falls Big to Bellefontaine, Despite Spradling Efforts
Bellefontaine welcomed a tough Sidney team into their home and politely disgarded them after a solid all-around performance, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Bellefontaine racked up over 450 yards of total offense in route to the 43-13 win. Julius Spradling was the leading offensive weapon for Sidney in the loss and scored on a 98-yard kickoff return to go with his 5 catches.
Poronsky, Defense, Propel Tipp to Tough win at Bellbrook
Liam Poronsky, one of the best QBs in the Miami Valley, showed why he will be a force in the MVL this season as he threw for a TD late in the game to lift Tippecanoe to a huge road win over a tough Bellbrook team in week 1.
Poronsky, who threw for 115 yards and ran for 72 more, took the troops down in last few minutes and finished off the drive with a pass to Evan Liette that sealed the deal. The defense was tough as well, as they held serve against a tough team who seemed to have everything going for them in this game. Cael Liette and Josh Dietz were rock solid and nearly unstoppable all night as Liette had 20 total tackles, a sack, and 3 tackles for loss while Dietz registered 14 total tackles as well.
Top Players: Liam Poronsky, Evan Liette, Cael Liette, Josh Dietz, Tipp; Luke Benetis, Makai Smith, Bellbrook
SATURDAY GAMES
Western Hills Grind Out Victory Against Meadowdale as Offense Struggles
Western Hills was able to stop Meadowdale and ruin the season opener for DPS legend Derrick Shepard as he made his head coaching debut last weekend.
Meadowdale simply could not find any rhythm in their offense as Western Hills was able to methodically grind out a 30-3 win in front of a nice crowd at Welcome Stadium. While Western Hills took advantage of a couple of mistakes, they also was smart about it and didn't lose the game, as they limited their own turnovers and kept the Lions offense at bay.
The Lions would score at half to make it 14-3, which made it a ball game. But early in the 3rd quarter, Western Hills would grab a pick-6 deep in Lions territory to take a 14-3 lead to 22-3, and for all intentions and purposes, end the game.
The defense, despite giving up 1 big passing play, kept the Western Hills team to under 250 total yards on the game, despite being on the field for a large portion of the game.
Shepard was thrilled with his team's defensive performance. Offensively? Not so much.
The frustration was evident on all levels but expect the Lions to bounce back and have a better showing in the next game.
Stebbins Knocks Off Aiken Despite Protests as Norton, Dewberry Provide the Juice
The Stebbins Indians, coming off a very good year, started out fast this season as Adrian Norton, one of the elite WR's in the country, led the Indians to a win, despite a protest by Aiken.
The game was delayed twice and was finally stopped in the 3rd quarter, with Stebbins holding a 15-0 lead behind the offense of Norton and Damir Dewberry, the dynamic RB - DB who left Belmont after Earl White moved to Meadowdale. Norton scored the 1st TD, while Dewberry ran the 2nd TD.
Dewberry ran for 59 yards and a TD while Norton ran for 86 and a TD as well. That duo could become deadly come MVL season. Aiken is currently protesting the game due to excessive stoppage and not being able to finish the game.
Nevertheless, Aiken had accounted for all of -3 yards total at the point of stoppage, and the QB was 2-12 on the night.
You be the judge.
Springfield Game Cancelled Due to Weather
The OSHAA D-1 state runner ups were headed to take on Ignatius Saturday, but the game was called due to poor weather conditions. Springfield, who boasts some of the best talent in the country in HS football, will now host its season opener this weekend.
The Cats, despite losing All-State QB Tae'Sean Smoot Tywan January, Jokell Brown and Delian Bradley, they still have a bevy of weapons in the arsenal. With fast rising DB Aaron Scott Jr, hard hitting Jaivan Norman (LB), and the best duo of WR's in Ohio with Anthony Brown and Shawn Thigpen Jr, the Cats are focused on getting back to the OHSAA State Championship.
