MaxWire National Blog

Covering High School Sports in America

Tag: Wayne High School

  • Football players are used to braving adverse weather, but McKinley (Canton, Ohio) and host Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio) suffered through a truly bizarre game on Saturday night.

    File photo by Jeff Heffran

    McKinley persevered Saturday.

    The Dayton Daily News reported that the game was stopped with 11:54 remaining in the second quarter due to heavy rain, lightning and thunder. Three inches of rain fell in two hours and power was lost in the pressbox, stadium lights and scoreboard.

    After a delay of three hours and 51 minutes, the game resumed at 11:23 p.m. with referees keeping time on the field.

    McKinley eventually won 17-14 behind the efforts of Jeff Richardson, who scored on a 76-yard punt return, returned another punt 43 yards to set up a touchdown by Eric Glover and halted a fourth-quarter Wayne threat with a 60-yard interception return.

    Wayne coach Jay Minton told the Daily News, "We really shouldn't have played it. After three and one-half hours, it was ridiculous going back out there, but we had to do it. The rules say you have to play."
  • When Urban Myer became head coach at Ohio State, Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio) coach Jay Minton said the biggest difference between the Buckeyes last regime and new one would be line play – both sides. On National Signing Day, Meyer made Minton look like a genius.

    Netting a strong national class, Meyer excelled in his home state signing seven of Ohio's Top 10 players according to JJHuddle.com‘s Top 200 rankings. Since his hire, Meyer has gotten three of Ohio's Top 10 recruits to switch verbals – the most recent being Cleveland Heights (Ohio) lineman Kyle Dodson, who flipped from Wisconsin to Ohio State. Dodson's commitment was the most highly anticipated in Ohio on signing day.

    Dodson joins McKinley (Canton, Ohio) defensive end Sevon Pittman and Butler (Vandalia, Ohio) lineman Taylor Decker as Top 10 Ohio recruits to switch to OSU in the past month. Pittman and Decker were committed to Michigan State and Notre Dame, respectively. It shouldn't be considered a coincidence that all three players are linemen.

    BCS and Big Ten Battle Ground
    Every Big Ten Conference school except Wisconsin signed a player from Ohio. Ohio State led the way with 15 Ohio recruits, while Michigan was second (nine). Michigan State was third (seven), followed by Illinois (six), Northwestern (four), Indiana (three), Iowa (two) and Nebraska (two). Purdue, Penn State and Minnesota each signed one Ohio recruit. In all, more than 150 Ohio seniors (2012) signed to play NCAA D-I football on signing day. Other schools Ohioans committed to include Oklahoma, Oregon, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and Missouri.

    Buckeyes keep the ball rolling
    Photo by Michael Noyes

    Jalin Marshall, Middletown

    Next year expect Ohio State to notch another impressive haul on signing day. The Buckeyes are off to a fast start. In the last two weeks Ohio State has received verbal commitments from two of Ohio's top 2013 recruits: Trotwood-Madison (Trotwood, Ohio) defensive back Cam Burrows and Middletown (Ohio) quarterback Jalin Marshall. Burrows and Marshall are Top 200 MaxPreps 2013 players. Head coach Urban Meyer also extended OSU's first 2014 offer recently when he offered St. Ignatius (Cleveland) lineman Jimmy Byrne.

    Early Look at Top Ohio 2013 prospects
    * Shelton Gibson, WR, Cleveland Heights (Ohio): Gibson, who caught 27 passes for 518 yards and four TDs last year, has rare speed (finished fifth in the 100-meters in 10.72 seconds at the state track meet last year). He has seven offers including Ohio State and Auburn.

    * Malik Zaire, QB, Archbishop Alter (Kettering, Ohio): One of the nation's top 2013 dual threat QBs, Zaire has nine offers, including Ohio State, Wisconsin and Nebraska. He lists OSU as his leader.

    * Billy Price, OL/DL, Austintown-Fitch (Youngstown, Ohio): Price has 12 offers including Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan State, UCLA and Tennessee. He tabbed OSU as his favorite this week and also mentioned Michigan State and Oregon as potential finalists.

    * DeVeon Smith, RB, Howland (Warren, Ohio): The punishing back has two offers right now – Ohio State and Michigan. Enough said.

    * Dymonte Thomas, RB/DB, Marlington (Alliance, Ohio): Thomas has committed to Michigan, choosing the Wolverines over Michigan State, Notre Dame, Iowa and Tennessee.

    * Evan Lisle, OL, Centerville (Ohio): Lisle got an offer from Oklahoma on signing day to bring his total to seven.

    * Ben Gedeon, LB, Hudson (Ohio): Gedeon ran for 1,418 yards and 19 TDs and had more than100 tackles as a junior. He has 10 offers including Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Stanford and Michigan State.

    * Jake Butt, TE, Pickerington North (Ohio): He already has 18 offers including Stanford, Michigan, Iowa, Tennessee, UCLA and Northwestern.

    * Jacob Matuska, TE, Bishop Hartley (Columbus, Ohio): Oklahoma and Michigan are among Matuska's seven offers.

    * Mike McCray, LB/TE, Trotwood-Madison (Trotwood, Ohio): McCray has 10 offers including Michigan, Penn State and Tennessee, but he covets Ohio State. His father – Michael McCray – was a Buckeye captain in the 1980s.

    * Taco Charlton, DE, Pickerington Central (Ohio): Charlton has 10 offers including Michigan, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Iowa.

    * Tra'Von Chapman, QB, Roosevelt (Kent, Ohio): So far, only Kent State has offered. That will change. Chapman's father, Thad Jemison, is an assistant coach at Kent.

    News, Notes & Nuggets

    * Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) kicker Ross Martin signed with Duke. Martin, an All-American selection by USA Today, Under Armour, Sports Illustrated and ESPN, was 95-for-95 on PATs in his high school career. He also had offers from Texas, Pitt and Northwestern.

    * Bedford (Ohio) defensive end Myles Hilliard flipped from Pitt to Syracuse. He cited the Panthers' coaching change as the reason why.

    * Marion-Franklin (Columbus, Ohio) defensive lineman Terrell Jackson finally landed at Pitt. After originally committing to Duke, Jackson also considered Iowa and Illinois before choosing the Panthers on signing day.

    * Roosevelt (Kent, Ohio) offensive lineman Curtis Black signed with Akron. Why's that of note? His senior year was Black's first season of high school football.

    * To date Ohio State has offered nine Ohio 2013 prospects. Michigan has offered 13.

    * More than 50 Ohio juniors (2013) already have a D-I offer.
  • Although the region boasted the nation's top-rated quarterback in the 2011 class, National Signing Day came and went with little suspense in southern Ohio Wednesday.

    Huber Heights Wayne graduate Braxton Miller – who verbally committed to Ohio State in June 2010 – officially signed with the Buckeyes on Wednesday after he enrolled at the school in January. Miller threw for 2,167 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushed for 658 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior at Wayne.

    Miller was one of 12 Wayne seniors who signed on Wednesday. The Warriors were Division I state runners-up last December.

    Although there weren't any blockbuster changes on signing day, there were some interesting storylines.

    Moeller senior defensive lineman Jesse Hayes (Wisconsin) and Centerville defensive tackle Michael Bennett (Ohio State) had to deal with rolling blackouts in Austin, Texas during the morning. Both players were in Austin for the Team USA vs. The World game. Hayes was finally able to sign and fax his letter of intent to Wisconsin after an inconvenient delay. Bennett signed with Ohio State.

    Springfield linebacker Trey DePriest and Lakota West offensive lineman Ryan Kelly signed letters of intent with Alabama – the Crimson Tide gaining two signees from southwest Ohio in the same year is fairly uncommon. But, it shows the depth of talent in the region.

    Other highlights included St. Xavier linebackers Sean Duggan and Steven Daniels signing with Boston College and Cincinnati getting signings from players that included Badin quarterback Patrick Coyne, La Salle wide receiver Rodriguez Coleman, Sycamore offensive lineman Justin Murray and Withrow defensive tackle Brandon Mitchell.

    SEYFRIED CHANGES COMMITMENT
    Wyoming senior quarterback Kyle Seyfried committed to Miami University as a preferred walk-on, according to the Enquirer. Seyfried, who is 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, had previously committed to the University of Dayton. Seyfried was one of the state's top quarterbacks in the 2011 class.

    ANTHONE TAYLOR SIGNS WITH BUFFALO
    Huber Heights Wayne senior running back Anthone Taylor signed with Buffalo last week, according to Wayne coach Jay Minton. Taylor was the third leading rusher in the Greater Western Ohio Conference during the regular season. He rushed for 1,533 yards and 13 touchdowns overall for the Warriors. Wayne was the Division I state runner-up in 2010.

    MORE RECRUITING NEWS
    Oak Hills junior offensive lineman Caleb Stacey was offered by Illinois on Wednesday. Stacey, who is 6-4 and 280 pounds, also has offers from Toledo, Bowling Green and Ohio. …Centerville junior defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo (6-4, 215) has added offers from Northwestern and West Virginia, according to ScoutingOhio.com. He also has offers from Cincinnati, Stanford, Syracuse and Toledo.

    RANDOM THOUGHTS
    Colerain senior cornerback Chris Dukes wore a very stylish bow tie at the National Signing Day ceremony Wednesday at Colerain High School. The bow tie matched the gold and blue colors of the University of Toledo, where he signed.
  • With the commitment of quarterback Cardale Jones, Ohio State retakes a spot in the Top 10, currently sitting at No. 9.

    The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Jones, a dual-threat behind center, starred at Cleveland-area powerhouse Glenville (Cleveland, Ohio), where he led the Tarblooders to the Division 1 finals as a junior.

    He becomes the second quarterback to commit to Ohio State in the Class of 2011, joining Braxton Miller.
  • If not seeing live updates on your browser, please refresh the page.

    10:18 p.m.
    Bertolet's second attempt is good. Red Team blows a big lead, but comes from behind to win 24-22. Surprising that they put it all in the kicker's hands (foot?), but Bertolet has quite a leg. That's all she wrote for the 2010 Under Armour All-America game. Check back Saturday when we'll have live coverage of the U.S. Army All-American Game.

    10:16 p.m.
    Kick is BLOCKED! But there's some laundry on the field. Illegal blitz on the defense. Red Team will get another chance.

    10:14 p.m.
    Taylor Bertolet will attempt a 28-yard field goal. White Team coach Mike Ditka will attempt to ice the kicker. NFL strategies in a high school All-American game.

    10:12 p.m.
    Steve Mariucci continues to refer to Savon Huggins as "the running back." Also called Frazier "the quarterback." Surprised he doesn't know more names.

    10:10 p.m.
    This time, Frazier chooses to air it out, hitting Eli Rogers for a 43-yard gain. Red Team is playing for a game-winning field goal attempt now.

    10:09 p.m.
    Frazier needs to keep that ball tucked away. He might be able to get away with that in a regular high school game back in Arkansas, but not in an all-star game like this.

    10:07 p.m.
    Max Wittek is the player of the game. An overall very impressive performance for the future Trojan. The Red Team still has some time.

    10:05 p.m.
    Wow, Lady Momentum is now wearing white. Max Wittek finds Malcolm Mitchell for a 49-yard score with 1:47 left. After a failed two-point conversion, White Team now leads 22-21. An impressive, and quite frankly, surprising comeback.

    10:00 p.m.
    Less than three minutes remaining, the White Team has a chance to win, but starting on its own 10-yard line.

    9:56 p.m.
    The 2012 Under Armour All-Americans features MaxPreps Junior All-Americans Mario Edwards and Kwon Alexander. The graphic had "Qwon", but they really meant this guy.

    9:50 p.m.
    Wittek to Landry once more, this time for a touchdown. The White Team is back in the mix, trailing only 21-16 with over five minutes remaining. Almost zero effort to block the extra-point attempt by the Red Team.

    9:47 p.m.
    The White Team is driving once again, but it's likely too little, too late. Brandon Williams is rushing with purpose right now. 6:25 left, 21-9 Red Team.

    9:45 p.m.
    Some nice camera time for Kevin McReynolds. This Kevin McReynolds, not that Kevin Reynolds, of New York Mets quasi-fame.

    9:38 p.m.
    Quan Bray is Auburn-bound. "War Eagle baby! War Eagle baby!" That concludes the announcement portion of this broadcast (and the announcement portion of this blog.)

    9:36 p.m.
    An Erique Florence interception thwarts that drive. Amazingly, although he's an Under Armour All-American, he was not even an all-state selection this season in Alabama's 5A.

    9:34 p.m.
    After a nice Bellamy run, White Team is threatening, have a third-and-goal situation. Could really use points.

    9:33 p.m.
    Our team recruiting rankings will definitely see some changes after tonight. Here's the current Top 25.

    9:29 p.m.
    One name I haven't heard much tonight: MaxPreps All-American Lawrence Thomas.

    9:27 p.m.
    That does it for the third quarter. White Team is still struggling on offense. Score remains 21-9.

    9:20 p.m.
    Oregon adds another weapon in Devon Blackmon, who announced for the Ducks. Chip Kelly's really starting to gain some recruiting momentum.

    9:16 p.m.
    Speaking of breaking a play, Driskel puts his elusiveness on display, making a number of cuts en route to a 63-yard touch down. Red Team scores again, leads 21-9.

    9:15 p.m.
    Savon Huggins continues to chip away. Eventually, he'll make a cut and just break one. Very patient runner. While popular thought has him committing to Rutgers, I think UNC and Notre Dame have a better shot.

    9:11 p.m.
    Anthony Chickillo is quietly putting forth a really impressive performance. Gotta believe he'll stick with Miami, probably one of the first recruits Al Golden called.

    9:07 p.m.
    Bradley Sylve strikes back! 92-yard touchdown return. No one was going to catch him. In addition to his football exploits, he's also a track star. Not sure there's a faster player in this game. 14-9, Red Team.

    9:03 p.m.
    Karlos Williams with a HUGE play. Takes a tipped pass over 40 yards for the the pick-six. Early favorite for game MVP?

    8:59 p.m.
    Clowney with another sack. He's truly on another level. Check out some of his highlights here.

    8:55 p.m.
    Third quarter begins. The White Team begins with the ball, trailing 7-3. Kendall Thompson, headed to Oklahoma, is behind center.

    8:53 p.m.
    In the latest commitment, Robenson Therezie chooses Auburn. Really like how the production folks are keeping the commitments moving. No histrionics with the hats.

    8:45 p.m.
    Greg Townsend Jr. is on his way to USC. Considered TCU, but it seems like distance was the deciding factor.

    8:41 p.m.
    Fabolous is performing at halftime in front of an eclectic crowd of all ages. Seems like the energy left the field with the players, however.

    8:30 p.m.
    Big drop by Devon Blackmon. Would've given the Red Team another score before the half. At least it was fun watching Driskel air it out. 7-3 Red Team at halftime.

    8:25 p.m.
    Jadeveon Clowney terrorizing Miller. Here's a Clowney flashback: He was a 2008 MaxPreps Sophomore All-American, along with James Wilder, Christian Westerman, et al.

    8:20 p.m.
    Marcus Roberson picks off a Brett Hundley pass that just sailed over A.C. Leonard's head. Roberson was named a U.S. Air Force All-American earlier this week.

    8:18 p.m.
    Despite his fumble, I like what Braxton Miller has done. Jamal Turner just dropped a beautiful pass from him that would've been a first down. Miller shredded some really good defenses and took Wayne to the Division 1 state finals this season.

    8:12 p.m.
    Marcus Jackson commits to Tennessee. Nice grab by the Vols.

    8:08 p.m.
    TOUCHDOWN RED TEAM! Brett Hundley connects deep with Devon Blackmon for a 58-yard touchdown. Hundley is heading to UCLA. Blackmon may be going there as well. We'll find out later. 7-3 Red Team.

    8:06 p.m.
    First turnover of the game. Marqise Lee live forces a fumble and Anthony Chickillo pounces on it.

    8:02 p.m.
    Doran Grant makes his pick.

    7:57 p.m.
    Kiehl Frazier now in at quarterback. He's been on our radar since after his freshman season.

    7:52 p.m.
    White Team stalls out on its drive, settles for a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. On that drive, Mike Bellamy showed glimpses of his shiftiness. He's a real home-run threat. Clemson fans are excited to have him, but also fearful someone will poach him before National Signing Day.

    7:46 p.m.
    Wittek is on fire, completing seven-straight passes. No one has been this comfortable facing Jadeveon Clowney since Justin Worley in August.

    7:40 p.m.
    0-0 after the first quarter. The White Team is starting to drive, as Wittek and Landry demonstrate some solid rapport.

    7:38 p.m.
    He may not be an absolute burner, but Jarvis Landry has great hands and is an outstanding overall receiver.

    7:33 p.m.
    Jabari Gorman is heading to Florida. No shock there. The surprise thus far is that there haven't been any hat game antics in the selection process. Well done, class of 2011.

    7:29 p.m.
    Karlos Williams making his presence felt earlier with a big hit. Florida State fans are thrilled to have him.

    7:25 p.m.
    Neither offense has been able to do much thus far. Interesting note: Vinnie Sunseri and Max Wittek, who did battle last series, have both attended high school in different states. Sunseri was in North Carolina last year before moving to Alabama, while Wittek spent ninth grade in Connecticut before moving to California.

    7:14 p.m.
    First commitment of the day: Xzavier Dickson to Alabama

    7:11 p.m.
    Desmond Jackson gets to Max Wittek. Jadeveon Clowney was also in pursuit. I simply cannot imagine being a 17-year old kid staring down the field with those two giants rushing after me. White Team is also three-and-out, punts it away.

    7:08 p.m.
    Red Team goes three-and-out. May take a while for these offenses to get going. The defenses are pretty loaded.

    7:05 p.m.
    Kickoff! The Red Team will start with the ball on their own 28-yard line after a return from Savon Huggins.

    6:30 p.m.
    We'll be blogging live throughout the 2010 Under Armour All-America Game, set to kickoff at 7 p.m. EST.

    In the mean time, check out our college fan's guide to the game.