Elder, rated No. 3 nationally in the MaxPreps Xcellent Top 25 poll, remained undefeated with a 26-7 win over Louisville Trinity. The Panthers (3-0) play at Cincinnati La Salle (3-0) in a Greater Catholic League South division matchup Friday night.
Coming off a big win over Cincinnati Colerain on national TV on Sept. 6, the Panthers had little time for rest preparing for the reigning 6A state champions in Kentucky. However, the Panthers got the job done Friday night.
The Panthers’ leaders included: Senior quarterback Mark Miller threw for 161 yards on 14-of-20 passing and a touchdown; senior tight end Alex Welch (a Notre Dame commit) had five receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown, and junior running back Ben Coffaro with 127 yards rushing and a touchdown.
It was also a night to celebrate some of the school’s coaching legends, past and present. Elder coach Doug Ramsey won his 112th career game to become the school’s all-time winningest coach. Ramsey passed J. Walter Bartlett for the milestone.
"It means a lot, but I think mostly about the kids I’ve gotten to coach and the people I’ve worked with," Ramsey told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "There’ve been so many great relationships. That’s what really strikes me and makes me proud."
Ironically, the school named its football field the Walter J. Bartlett Field on Friday. Bartlett coached almost 1,000 games at Elder from 1927 to 1953.
2. The Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Board of Directors approved video replay for the state basketball tournament for this upcoming season. The OHSAA made an announcement through a press release last week. The National Federation of State High School Associations approved video replay on a national scale earlier this summer. Video replay won’t be used in regular-season games in Ohio, so the OHSAA has until March to work out details on how to properly implement it during the tournament. Replay would only be permitted to review last-second attempts at the end of regulation or in overtime. It would have to directly affect the outcome too.
3. Ohio State-USC showdown: The Ohio State-at-USC football game had a significant impact on some of the state’s top football players last week. Several top college prospects from the 2010 and 2011 classes were scheduled to be in Columbus to view the game, including West Chester Lakota West senior linebacker Jordan Hicks, who was scheduled to take an official visit to Ohio State. Cincinnati St. Xavier senior offensive lineman Matt James was scheduled for an unofficial visit. Huber Heights junior quarterback Braxton Miller was also expected to be at the game for an unofficial visit. The game also impacted a high-profile prep showdown with Cleveland Glenville at Huber Heights Wayne. Originally, both teams were supposed to play on Saturday. It was moved to Friday late this summer because of the college game. Glenville defeated Wayne 57-28 on Friday night.
4. The Columbus St. Francis DeSales boys soccer team defeated Dayton Carroll 3-0 in a matchup of the top two teams in the Division II state coaches’ poll. Carroll was ranked No. 1 last week, while DeSales was No. 2. The game was a rematch of the 2008 Division II state semifinal in which Carroll won 2-1. DeSales plays host to Bishop Hartley on Tuesday night. Carroll plays at Chaminade-Julienne on Saturday night.
5. Cincinnati Princeton senior QB Spencer Ware returned to the starting lineup on Thursday night and made an instant impact in a local TV matchup at Glen Este. Ware, one of the nation’s top college prospects, is orally committed to LSU. He was injured in practice in late August. He was not the starting quarterback for the first two games. On Thursday, he returned to lead the Vikings to a 27-21 overtime win. Ware rushed 26 times for 155 yards and four touchdowns. He had a 7-yard touchdown run in overtime to lift the Vikings (2-1). Princeton plays host to Fairfield on Friday night.
Among the outstanding efforts this week:
- Wyoming had several offensive standouts in the Cowboys’ 46-13 win over host Norwood on Friday night. Junior quarterback Kyle Seyfried was 17-of-24 passing for 279 yards and three touchdowns. Senior running back Isaiah Nearor had 13 carries for 140 yards and three touchdowns. He also had three receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown.
- Westerville Central girls golfer Sona Khan aced a 104-yard hole with a 9-iron at Wedgewood on Thursday, according to the Columbus Dispatch. She took co-medalist honors with a 39 against Worthington Kilbourne, according to the Dispatch.
- The Dublin Coffman girls volleyball team improved to 4-0 this season with wins over Thomas Worthington and Hilliard Darby last week. Dublin Coffman plays at Hilliard Davidson on Tuesday and plays host to Worthington Kilbourne on Thursday. Dublin Coffman, rated No. 14 in the MaxPreps Xcellent Top 25 national rankings, has matches against Pickerington North and Bishop Hartley on Saturday. Andrea Baylin (46 kills) and Alex Blair (39 kills) are among the team’s leaders. Blair is committed to Xavier, while Baylin has committed to Southeast Missouri State. Setter Lindsey Zitzke is in her third year on varsity and has been a significant key to the offense lately.
Looking ahead
- Cincinnati St. Xavier’s football team will play host to Louisville Trinity at 7:30 p.m. Friday. It is the second consecutive week that St. X has played a Louisville opponent. The Bombers, ranked No. 2 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Ohio poll, defeated host Louisville St. Xavier 24-7 last week.
- Columbus DeSales will play host to Cincinnati Anderson in a football showdown at 7:30 p.m. Friday. DeSales won 38-17 at Anderson last year. Anderson is led by senior offensive lineman Andrew Norwell, who has orally committed to Ohio State. Anderson is ranked No. 17 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Ohio poll. DeSales is Division III, while Anderson is a Division I program.
- Columbus Bishop Watterson will play host to Cincinnati Winton Woods in a high-profile football game at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Watterson and Winton Woods are considered to be two of the premier teams in Division II in Columbus and Cincinnati, respectively. Winton Woods is led by senior QB Dominique Brown, who has orally committed to the University of Cincinnati. Winton Woods is ranked No. 16 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Ohio poll.
Recruiting news
Middletown senior receiver Nick McKnight (6-foot-2, 195 pounds) made an oral commitment Sept. 8 to play at Bowling Green. He also had offers from Mid-American Conference schools and Air Force. McKnight is the second Middletown player to commit to BG. Middletown senior QB Caleb Watkins made an oral commitment to the Falcons in the summer… Two Cincinnati Colerain juniors received their first scholarship offers last week. Fullback Trayion Durham was offered a scholarship from Colorado; Cornerback Chris Dukes was offered by Pittsburgh.... Cincinnati St. Xavier junior linebacker Steven Daniels (6-1, 240) was offered by Indiana last week; it’s his first offer.
Random thoughts
Former NFL running back Marc Edwards had his jersey retired by Norwood High School in suburban Cincinnati last week. Edwards, a 1993 Norwood graduate, played at Notre Dame before his successful nine-year career in the NFL. He won a Super Bowl ring with the New England Patriots. ….The OHSAA said attendance was up 32 percent for the state baseball tournament at Huntington Park in Columbus this past spring. … Attendance was up 15 percent for the state softball tournament in Akron.
Mike Dyer has covered high school sports in Ohio for nine years.
