Nine of the 10 diocesan high school football teams will open the season on Friday, Aug. 22, with New Philadelphia Tuscarawas Central Catholic getting things underway one day earlier at Bowerston Conotton Valley.
Columbus Bishop Watterson will be defending the Ohio Division III championship it won last season and trying to make it to the state final in December at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton for the third straight year.
The four other Columbus-based teams will be aiming for a return to the playoffs, as will two of the five from outside Franklin County. One of the remaining three will be trying for the postseason after a near-miss last year, while the other two had rosters filled with underclassmen in 2024 and hope the experience those players gained will help them rebound from disappointing seasons.
Watterson was unbeaten in 16 games in 2024, defeating Toledo Central Catholic 19-14 for the Division III state title after losing to the Irish in the previous year’s championship game. The Eagles were dominant all season, averaging 39.8 points and 368.3 total yards per game and having the running-clock rule invoked in 13 of their 16 victories.
“We’re in a different position this year, but it’s one we’re glad to be in,” ninth-year Watterson coach Brian Kennedy said. “Two years ago, we wanted to make it to Canton and we did. Last year, we wanted to win a state championship and we did.
“This year, we know everyone we play has us circled on their schedule and will have their best week of practice when they get ready to play us, but we’re ready. We have eight starters back on offense and six on defense, all with lots of playoff experience, so we’re well-stocked.”
Drew Bellisari, a first-team Division III All-Ohio selection by the state’s high school sports writers in 2024, will be back for a second season at quarterback. He passed for 2,106 yards and 30 touchdowns last year and ran for 734 yards and 14 scores and has college offers from Grand Valley State and Indianapolis.
“Drew just kept getting better each week,” Kennedy said. “He had a deep thigh bruise for most of the playoffs and we wondered each week if he could play as he hobbled around school, but come game time, he always seemed to get better.”
Another returning first-team All-Ohioan is offensive lineman Pete Eglitis, who has committed to Iowa State. “He’s the first Power 4 conference commitment Watterson’s had in more than 20 years,” Kennedy said. “He’s 6 foot 7 now and is up to around 290 or 300 pounds. He just keeps growing and, like Drew, has been getting better all the time.”
Defensive lineman Michael Boyle, a two-time state wrestling champion, has several offers in that sport from major colleges. “It’s hard to describe his impact,” Kennedy said. “The best way is to say the energy he brings to every play spreads to his teammates.” Also with college offers in other sports are junior wide receiver-cornerback Nate Henderson (baseball) and junior cornerback Joe Hayes (lacrosse).
Columbus Bishop Hartley will have a new coach for the first time since 2008 as Matt Melle replaces Brad Burchfield, who left the Hawks after 168 victories and three state championships in 17 seasons. Melle was Hartley’s defensive coordinator last year and linebacker coach in 2023 and has more than 20 years of coaching experience in Ohio and Pennsylvania, including two years as head coach at Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph.
He has retained several members of Burchfield’s staff and brought in Jahari Murdock, head coach at KIPP Columbus last year, as defensive coordinator and Austen Rankin and Drysen Crallie from Thomas Worthington and Dublin Coffman, respectively, as co-offensive coordinators.
“I’m honored to take over for Brad but won’t try to be him,” Melle said. “That won’t work for us or the team. Things will change, but we want to retain the constant level of success Brad brought. We have an outstanding running back in Robert Lathon and will be trying to develop our passing attack because we want to be a little less ground-oriented.”
Lathon gained 2,032 of Hartley’s 4,112 rushing yards and was on the All-Ohio Division III first team last year. Melle said he has offers from 13 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) schools, including Marshall, Ohio University and Purdue. “He’s bound to be the focus of many defenses, so we plan to have Matt Galich (who passed for 630 yards in 2024) be more active at quarterback and less of a game manager this year.”
Offensive and defensive lineman Jake Beatty, described by Melle as having “a work ethic second to none,” was a second-team All-Ohioan last year and will be attending the U.S. Air Force Academy. Linebacker Jay Zang was a third-team all-state player. Melle describes him as “the poster child for toughness and accountability.”
The dean of diocesan coaches, Ryan Wiggins, returns to DeSales for his 19th season and has two players – running back Jonathan Brown (Michigan) and defensive lineman Frankie McCallister (Army), with major-college commitments and one – tight end Jordan Karhoff – with offers from what Wiggins said are several FCS schools, including Ohio State and Penn State.
Brown had 1,295 yards and 16 touchdowns last season and was a first-team All-Central District and honorable mention All-Ohio pick. He bulked up over the summer and was chosen as most valuable player of a camp in Ann Arbor, leading to the Michigan offer.
“Some extra training and extra work on speed and agility and physical maturing has gone a long way” for Brown, Wiggins said. “He’s always been this long, athletic guy. Now he’s put a lot more muscle on that frame.
“Frankie (McCallister) is a dominant defensive end who really disrupts quarterbacks, with 25 tackles for loss and seven or eight sacks last year. Karhoff is a dangerous tight end, and his excellence also as a blocker led to his offers.”
Third-year starting QB RJ Day, a junior, is bound to draw a lot of attention because he’s the son of Ohio State coach Ryan Day, but Wiggins said he’d be noticed without his family connection.
“He’s passed for nearly 3,000 yards (the school record) and 29 touchdowns, so the skills are there,” the coach said. “He’s someone who works on his craft all the time and we’re looking to a great season from him.” Purdue and Syracuse are among 14 FBS schools that have made him offers.
Columbus St. Charles lost all three of its Central Catholic League (CCL) games to Watterson, DeSales and Hartley but went 4-3 in other games to get into the playoff field, losing to Ashland in the first round.
“We’re building on a strong foundation from last year and are excited to enter this season,” coach Anthony Colucci said. “We’re looking for big things from juniors Trey Davis and Ben Nickey at wide receiver and Nick Kummar, a senior running back and linebacker.
“Trey and Ben each caught 30 passes last year – Trey for 559 yards and seven TDs and Ben for 468 yards. Nick started on both sides of the ball and plays at a high rate of speed. He’s our leading returning rusher with 59 carries for 236 yards.
“Last year was my first as a head coach and it was such a learning experience,” Colucci continued. “Another coach I value said you might as well describe Year 1 as Year Zero because there’s so much you have to learn and this year is the true Year 1. Now I understand. I found so much last year that wasn’t on my radar, and now I feel I can really get into coaching.”
Bishop Ready, the only Columbus-based diocesan school not in the CCL, will be gunning for a third straight Central Buckeye League (CBL) championship.
“We lost 16 seniors and have only eight returning so this year’s team will be a young one, but joining the CBL, having back-to-back unbeaten seasons in the league and winning a first-round playoff game in each of the past two years has given us high expectations,” coach T.J. Burbridge said.
“Some of our senior leaders are center Jacob Troth, tackle Chaz Sanders and running back Wes Abbott. In the early weeks of practice, it’s been ‘quarterback by committee’ rather than having a definite starter, with Ethan Mutnich, Mikey Daniels and Tyler Moscinski all taking a turn. It’s the same at running back with Luke Kamerer, Sier Grimes and Kingston Norris.
“Abbott, Troth and Norris, a junior, were all-conference last year. Troth in particular is likely to provide a steady hand based on the way he moved into a leadership role last year.”
Zanesville Bishop Rosecrans and Lancaster Fisher Catholic are both in the Mid-State League Cardinal Division. Rosecrans finished 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the league and Fisher was 4-6 and 2-4, yet Fisher made the playoffs and Rosecrans didn’t because they were in different enrollment classes.
“We’re back in Division VII this year after being Division VI last year. This is where we should have been all along, so that gives us a break,” Rosecrans coach Chris Zemba said.
Brody Zemba, the coach’s son, was a third-team All-Ohio selection last year at running back. “He’s an extremely hard worker and has been a natural team leader since he started playing,” the coach said. “We didn’t have to tell him to lead. It just seems to have come naturally. One of his best attributes is he doesn’t care if he gets one or 50 carries in a game. He’s just out to win.
“Haiden Omen plays both ways and is extremely good on both sides of the ball. Hayden Perdue, our quarterback, has a great arm – he can throw more than 60 yards standing still – and at 215 pounds is bigger than some of our linemen. Coen Grandstaff is a tight end and linebacker with a nose for both sides of the ball.
“We have 10 seniors and about 20 returning players on a 23-man roster, so it’s a pretty experienced team. With such small numbers, it’s the epitome of iron man football.”
At Fisher, “we lost an outstanding athlete in Hyde O’Rielley (a first-team All-Ohio receiver) last year but our cupboard certainly isn’t bare,” coach Luke Thimmes said. “Our strength is an experienced offensive line with senior Caden Delabar and the rest juniors.
“The thing we need to do is finish games. We let three or four losses slip away and that kept us from a winning record and a higher seed in the playoffs. We really must try to control the clock this year.”
He said his key players are Delabar and juniors Nick Harris and Jude Clum on the line, Sam Tencza, Mike Zachery, Leo Hampshire, Luke Cairns, Blake Wohler and O’Rielley’s brother Ethan in the backfield. Either senior Jacob Welsh or sophomore James Wilkinson will be the quarterback. “Jacob has more experience, but James is taller,” Thimmes said.
Portsmouth Notre Dame athletic director Bob Boldman unexpectedly had the title “interim head football coach” added to his job description when Buster Davis handed in his resignation in mid-July after two seasons, with the Titans making the playoffs both years. The Portsmouth Daily Times said indications are that Davis is taking a high school coaching job in his home state of Florida.
“That was kind of a shocker,” Boldman said. “I offered the job to two other guys, but they had previous arrangements, so it seemed the best thing was for me to take over for this year. I’ve been an assistant coach for nine years, including four here under (Davis’ predecessor) Bob Ashley, so I have that experience, plus we have two fine coordinators in Jason Coleman, who used to play here, offensively and Bill Shannon, with 20 years of coaching experience, handling the defense.”
Key players will be third-team All Ohioan Bryce McGraw teaming with Luke Cassidy at running back, along with all-state honorable mention quarterback Ethan Kingrey.
“Bryce at 5 foot 9 and 210 pounds is a gritty, thick player, a real leader and a talented kid,” Boldman said. “He started the season at quarterback, but Ethan took over that position after Week 5. Ethan is 6-2 and 220 and we found he had a strong arm that got more accurate as the season went on. He’ll be one of the best quarterbacks in southern Ohio.
“Luke missed half the season last year with an injury and could only play offense when he returned. He was a real speedster at receiver two years ago and we’re anxious to see him at full strength. We’ve also added a kicker, Coleman Shaffer, who hadn’t played in the last two seasons and has been booming 45-yard field goals in practice.”
For a team with eight state championships and 39 playoff appearances, Newark Catholic’s last two seasons have been uncharacteristically disappointing, with records of 3-7 in 2023 and an unprecedented 1-9 last year. Coach Josh Hendershot said his players have put that season behind them and have good reasons to anticipate a return to form in 2025.
“Most of our starters were sophomores last year, so combine that lack of experience with the loss of our top running back to a fractured leg bone and the loss of our quarterback to a broken wrist and it was the recipe for a tough season,” he said.
“But I feel pretty good this year because we have 38 players this year, the largest number in several years, and only three of them are seniors. Our 13 juniors have lots of experience now and we have plenty of strong leaders who took their licks last year and learned.
“Our best athlete is Jaxon Holman, who can switch between fullback and slot receiver. We’ll find multiple ways to get him the football. Max Childers should be strong at safety and linebacker and we’ll probably have him as a running back. Malone Hutchison will be back at quarterback after being hurt last year.”
Hendershot also anticipates good years from the three seniors – linemen Carmine Annarino and Billy Staneart and back Kylen Eskins.
Coach Giovanni Ionno said his Tuscarawas Central Catholic (TCC) team “had a perfect season last year. It just went the wrong way.” The Saints went 0-9 last year, but Ionne said he was grateful there was a season at all.
“At one point before the season, we only had eight kids and there was doubt we’d have a team,” said Ionno, a TCC graduate who shares ownership of a construction company with his father, who played at the school and was an assistant coach there.
Ionno took the coaching reins on June 24 with little time to prepare. “We ended up with 17 coming out and were down to 14 by the end of the season because of injuries,” he said. “This year, we have 25 on the roster, including 15 coming back. Last year, the theme was saving the season. This year, we hope to do something with it.”
He said his key players are senior Christian Tarralla, juniors Grady Stein and Anthony Bollon and sophomore Caleb Bowers.