Lakota
West (West Chester, Ohio) football standout
Ryan
Kelly announced last week that he has verbally committed to
Alabama, according to several published reports.
Kelly, who is
considered one of the nation’s top offensive linemen in the 2011 class,
also seriously considered finalists that included Cincinnati, Florida
and Florida State, according to the
Cincinnati
Enquirer. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound senior also had offers from
Arizona, North Carolina State, Boston College, Michigan State,
Louisville and others, according to the publication.
Kelly, who has
committed to play in the Under Armour All-America Game next January,
said Alabama was the right fit.
“I’ve been there three times and the
relationships just keep getting stronger and stronger,” Kelly told the Enquirer.
“They always treat me first class. That’s where I feel the most at home.
I feel like that’s where I can get the best education and the best
future for myself in both football and off the field.”
2. Stark County, Columbus awarded state football finals: While Cincinnati continued to sit on the sidelines like a third-string quarterback, Stark County and Columbus celebrated being in the spotlight last week.
The future locations of the state football finals were finally announced July 21, ending months of popular speculation on what an 11-person subcommittee would recommend to the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
In the end – incumbent Stark County (Canton and Massillon) and Columbus were the winners.
Stark County, which has hosted all or portions of the finals for the past 20 years, has two years remaining on its current contract. It was awarded the 2012 and 2013 finals. Columbus will host in 2014 and 2015.
“When we narrowed down our choices to the final two groups, the subcommittee felt that there was no question that both would do an outstanding job in hosting the championships and that both had a lot to offer,” OHSAA commissioner Daniel B. Ross said. “We feel like using both locations will give us the best of both worlds and that the real winners will be our participating schools and their fans.”
The championships were first held in Stark County partially in 1990 and in its entirety in 1991. Prior to Stark County, 37 state finals in all divisions were held at Ohio Stadium in Columbus from 1982 to 1989.
Stark County will continue to use Canton’s Fawcett Stadium (next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame) and Massillon’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium for the six title games in a two-day format. Ohio State will host the six games also in a two-day format once the finals move to Columbus.
While the Cincinnati area continues to be a very successful hotbed of high school football in the state and around the country, the Queen City and its neighbors don’t appear to be getting any closer to hosting the state finals.
The possibility of hosting the state finals would certainly benefit schools and fans of Southwest Ohio programs – most of which have to travel four hours to northeast Ohio every year to watch the finals.
Ross told the
Dayton Daily News that the Cincinnati area is still being evaluated as a possible future site. The area submitted a proposal earlier this year but the Queen City was not among the finalists.
“I think we would have to walk through the rotation piece for a cycle or two to see how that piece works,” Ross told the publication. “To see if there are bugs that (needed) to be addressed or worked out. After that process was visited and revisited and reviewed again and again, the board, if they felt like that was an option to improve on what we do for young people, I think they would certainly listen to that. But I think that would probably be down the road a way.”
3. Ready for football: Several Southwest Ohio teams are preparing for the official start of practice on Aug. 2. Teams are allowed 10 days of instruction and several players take advantage of mini-camp or participate in 7-on-7 scrimmages without full uniforms or pads.
St. Xavier (Cincinnati, Ohio) – a perennial state power – was among the teams scheduled to begin mini-camp today (July 24). “Mini-camp starts (today),” St. X coach Steve Specht wrote in a text message Friday. “Always feels like the night before Christmas.” St. X opens the season Aug. 29 in a nationally-televised home game against Good Counsel (Md.). Huber Heights, which plays Moeller in another nationally-televised game Aug. 29 at St. Xavier, is optimistic about its season.
Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio) was at Camp Higher Ground in rural Indiana this weekend. “We are having a great camp,” Wayne coach Jay Minton said. “We should be very much improved and ready.”
4. Minor to coach Wilmington College: Veteran high school coach Ken Minor resigned at
Summit Country Day (Cincinnati, Ohio) to become head football coach at Wilmington College, the Enquirer reported last week. Former
Roger Bacon (Cincinnati, Ohio) coach Dan Starkey will take over at Summit, according to the publication. Minor had a 170-129-1 record in 29 years as head coach at Reading but left after the 2007 season, according to the Enquirer. Starkey was the defensive coordinator at Summit in ’09 and was 61-47 as head coach at Roger Bacon before he stepped down after the ’06 season, according to the publication.
5. Mincey plans visits: Fairfield senior defensive end Robert Mincey told the
Pulse Journal he plans to take five official visits this fall. Mincey (6-foot-5, 240 pounds) will visit Kansas, Cincinnati, Illinois and Memphis and another school to be determined, according to the publication. He has several scholarship offers.
Recruiting news Northland (Columbus, Ohio) senior defensive back
Jarrell Jones (5-10, 170) has reportedly made a verbal commitment to play football at Miami (Ohio), according to
ScoutingOhio.com. …
Sycamore (Cincinnati, Ohio) senior defensive back/wide receiver Darius Hillary was scheduled to visit Boston College July 24-25. Hillary, one of the state’s top players in the 2011 class, visited Stanford two weeks ago. He has offers that include Duke, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Stanford, Boston College, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana and several others. … …
Winton Woods (Cincinnati, Ohio) senior linebacker
Antonio Poole (6-1, 225) recently added an offer from Wake Forest, according to the Enquirer. He also has offers from schools that include Cincinnati, Michigan State, Indiana, Kentucky and others.
Briefly Madeira (Cincinnati, Ohio) will induct its 2010 Hall of Fame class on Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. before the Madeira-Finneytown football game. Inductees include Drew Cloran (Class of 2002, football and wrestling), Alison DeWitt (1990, volleyball, basketball and softball), Ed Hausgen (1992, football, basketball, baseball, track) and Mary Lou “Petie” (1955, field hockey, basketball and softball). …The football team at
Amelia (Batavia, Ohio) will be in the Southern Buckeye Conference this season after an offseason re-alignment of the conference. Amelia had been in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference. …The
Glen Este (Cincinnati, Ohio) at
Kings (Kings Mill, Ohio) football game is expected to be televised on a regional cable network Sept. 24, according to the
Pulse Journal.
