High school football for 2022 in Ohio begins on its earliest opening date ever – Thursday, Aug. 18, when Columbus St. Charles plays at Columbus Northland in one of a handful of games scheduled statewide. Most teams begin play the following night, with all five Columbus teams from diocesan high schools playing on the road for the first weekend.
Earlier starting and ending dates for the season began last year when the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) increased the number of teams eligible for the playoffs in each region to 16 from eight, adding a week to the season.
Four of the five diocesan schools from Columbus – Bishop Hartley, Bishop Ready, Bishop Watterson and St. Francis DeSales – were playoff qualifiers, with only St. Charles Preparatory not making the postseason. Hartley and DeSales won their first playoff games but lost in the second round, making 2021 a rare year without a Columbus-based Catholic representative in the regional finals.
Hartley, Watterson, St. Charles and DeSales constitute the Central Catholic League (CCL), one of the state’s most fiercely competitive conferences. Ready, the smallest of the five schools, is part of the Mid-State League’s Ohio Division.
Here is a brief look at each of the five teams entering the season:
Bishop Hartley
The Hawks will be road warriors for most of the season, with only their final two games at Jack Ryan Field. “We had five home games scheduled, but three teams backed out, and we had to replace them with road games. That’s the challenge CCL teams often face,” coach Brad Burchfield said. “But home is where the Hawks are.”
The road trips include visits to Cincinnati McNicholas and Lima Central Catholic in successive September weeks, plus a trip to Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph in October. Hartley, which will be trying to make the playoffs for the 14th time in 15 seasons with Burchfield at the helm, finished unbeaten in the CCL but lost to London in Round 2 of the playoffs in what for the Hawks was an unusually early exit. Last year’s team included two first team all-state players in receiver Trey Saunders, who went to Division I Colgate, and lineman Daniel Tooson, who will be at Division II Slippery Rock.
“We are excited and love our team,” Burchfield said. “We lost some great players, as we always do, but we also return some great players. We love how we have developed as a team thus far. The schedule is difficult with those eight road games, but it’s going to be exciting. We will be prepared when the games matter the most, late in the season.”
This year’s team has one player who has committed to an NCAA Division I school – 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior Anthony Murphy, a three-year starter who will be at H-back and inside linebacker. “He will be entering the Air Force Academy next fall and is an incredibly versatile player,” Burchfield said.
“Another three-year starter, senior DeAunte Hubbard, is at tailback. He’s bigger, stronger and faster this season, and we expect an incredible year from him. He looks to be spelled by freshman Robert Lathon Jr., who already has an offer from Kentucky, so it’s obvious he has great potential.
“Peyton Underwood returns for his third year as a starter at quarterback. He throws the ball better than anyone we’ve ever had. He has been around the program since he was born, and we are fired up for his senior year. Freshmen Matt Galich will back him up and will be prepared to take the reins for the next three years.
“I think we have really good depth, a lot of kids that can play at a high level, and we are going to need it,” Burchfield said. “Our expectations are always the same, and we are excited to try and reach those expectations. It’s going to be a great year.”
Bishop Ready
The Knights are anticipating a big year from senior running back Brian Fitzsimmons, who was a third-team all-state player in Division V last year and had nearly 140 yards per game in total offense. He ran for 1,234 yards in 254 carries with 13 rushing touchdowns last year, adding 154 yards on 21 catches with one receiving touchdown. “He’s a great kid on and off the field, with close to a 4.0 grade-point average, and he sets a great example in the weight room,” said coach Michael Schaefer.
The other running back, Kentrell Rinehart, totaled 574 yards rushing and receiving with four touchdowns as a freshman in 2021. Senior quarterback Kaleb Schaffer completed 92 of 144 passes for 760 yards and a 64 percent accuracy mark last year, with three touchdowns.
“Our strength is going to be our defense,” Schaefer said. It will be led by junior linebacker Cullen Dent, who was tops in the team with 59 tackles, 29 of them solo, leading the Knights in both categories. He also had 7.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, a pair of fumble recoveries, and intercepted a pass for a 15-yard touchdown.
Another junior, JD Catena, had 45 tackles, 24 of them solo, with three tackles for loss, five pass breakups and four interceptions as safety. Schaefer said his other top linemen are seniors Logan Dimel on offense and Jared Kobol on defense.
Schaefer is a veteran of two decades of coaching, but this is only his second year as a head coach. He took over at Ready last year after serving as the team’s defensive coordinator in 2020. He began his career at Davenport (Iowa) North, then moved to Columbus and spent 17 years as an assistant at Upper Arlington and Hilliard Davidson.
“I was an assistant long enough that the adjustment to being a head coach was about what I expected,” he said. “As you’re around a group of kids more, they get more comfortable with you and you with them, your relations get stronger and there’s more team bonding.
“One thing that’s important about this year is that we’ll have an offensive coordinator, allowing me to concentrate on defense. That extra support is so important because it allows all the coaches to focus better from Friday night to Sunday night on preparing for the next game.”
Bishop Watterson
The Eagles have a core of three Division III all-state players returning – linemen Cole Rhett, a senior, and Dominic Purcell, a junior, who were third-team selections by the state high school sports writers association, and junior kicker Rudy Kessinger, who was a second-teamer.
Coach Brian Kennedy said Rhett has made a verbal commitment to play for the University of Toledo next year. “He’s a big guy (6-6 and 290 pounds), and we expect big things from him. He’s gotten stronger during the off-season, and there’s no doubt he’s ready for another all-state year.
“Purcell lettered as a freshman and started as a sophomore last year and was having a great season before tearing his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) against DeSales. The kids selected him as a captain this year, which is a big honor for a junior. He’s already a leader, and we expect big things from him,” Kennedy said.
“Kessinger is a soccer player who just started playing football last year and is playing both sports this season. You can tell he knows his potential because he went to kicking camps this summer. He had a good year last year, and with what he learned at the camps, we expect him to be better this year.”
Kennedy said the quarterback will be either senior Ryan Rudzinski or junior AJ McAninch. “Ryan was our starting quarterback last year, and AJ was on the JV team, but Ryan also has potential at receiver, while AJ has a strong arm and is an NCAA Division I baseball prospect. His brothers also played baseball in college. We’ll see whatever combination of the two works best for the team.
“Brandon Trout is coming back for his fourth year as a starting wide receiver. By the end of the season, he should have the school record for receptions. He’s just a good, consistent player,” Kennedy said. “Treyton Mercer, a junior, is our top returning running back, another fine all-around athlete. He plays lacrosse in the spring, and that’s made him a better football player.”
Kennedy said the team has a bit of a chip on its shoulder after last year’s 5-6 record. “Nobody in the Watterson football community is happy at finishing 5-6,” he said. “Regardless of our record, the goals never change – win the CCL, make the playoffs, go as far as we can. We’ve had a lot of really good teams who have set a high standard. We’re out to maintain that level of play.”
St. Charles
Fifth-year coach Deke Hocker said the Cardinals have plenty of experience coming back from last year, with a roster of 70 players including 15 seniors and 20 juniors trying to improve on 2021’s 2-7 record.
He said senior wide receiver-defensive back Pete DeSocio is likely to lead the way on offense. He had about 450 yards rushing, 400 receiving and 300 in returns last year. Juniors Luke Sheaffer and Will Lawler and sophomores Ryan Mooney and Michael Schrank are contending to be the starting quarterback.
“We’ll miss Fred Nimely, a running back who carried most of the load on offense last year,” Hocker said. “We’re looking to DeSocio and some of our other guys to take his place.”
Other starters coming back include senior running back-linebacker Mason O’Reilly; junior running back- linebacker Colin Greenhaqlge; 6-5, 300-pound senior lineman Ryan Caretta; junior lineman Abrem Igewebuike; and junior running back-defensive back Aidan Fox.
“Without saying too much, we’ll be running a couple of different offensive schemes this year,” said Hocker, who before coming to St. Charles was an assistant coach at Western Kentucky and Otterbein universities and Bucyrus and Buckeye Valley high schools.
The Cardinals open the season at Columbus Northland. “I know it’s a coaching cliché, but we’re just focusing on Northland right now,” he said. “That’s our most important game. With the kind of schedule we play in the CCL, it’s best not to look too far ahead.”
St. Francis DeSales
Coach Ryan Wiggins is aiming for the Stallions’ 11th trip to the playoffs in his 16 years at DeSales. Last year’s team finished 7-5 and lost 21-14 to Granville. That was a bit of a disappointment after the Stallions reached the state championship game in 2020, losing in double overtime to Chardon.
Last year’s team had to deal with the loss of Jonathan Thompson, the Central District’s Division III player of the year in 2020 as a junior, who will be playing at the University of Cincinnati this year. Thompson was hurt in the preseason and appeared in only three games all year.
“We had to throw a bunch of guys in to make up for his loss and figure out who would work best in his place, so that held us back a little,” Wiggins said. “But because we had guys step up and play more than they expected last season, it made us better off for this year.”
Junior linebacker Max Shulaw was one of those who filled the gap and was a third-team All-Ohioan in 2021. “Max is a throwback to the old days,” Wiggins said. “He’s physically tough, playing at a higher level than most players and has been that way from the beginning.”
Shulaw started 11 games last year and four as a freshman in 2020, closing his first season with a game-leading 17 tackles in the state championship game. He led the 2021 team with 92 tackles, three defensive touchdowns and two blocked kicks and intercepted a pair of passes.
In the tradition set by Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell at DeSales, he’s also an outstanding wrestler, finishing as state runner-up at 215 pounds this past spring and fourth at 195 in 2021.
Senior Gabe Caruso, junior Avery Garlock and sophomore PJ Noles are in a three-way battle for the quarterback slot, with Caruso being the only one with varsity experience.
The Stallions’ roster has a good balance of experience and youth, with 21 seniors, 23 juniors and 20 sophomores. Other returning players who started or saw considerable playing time last year are seniors Kofi Oduro, Asher Hayles and Omar Conteh; juniors Cameron Gwinn and Cooper Simpson; and sophomore Ty Neubert.