2023 high school football preview: A look at the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference
The Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference will be one of the most exciting leagues for football in Southwest Ohio this year as the league has no shortage of superstar athletes.
The CMAC hosts a long list of high-Division I college prospects spread throughout the league and should have several teams in the running for league titles and playoff berths. Here is a look at the teams.
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Aiken
2022: 1-9, sixth place in CMAC-Red (0-5)
Head coach: Harry McCall.
Outlook: The Falcons have one direction to go after being outscored 326-73 last season, and they graduated four of their five all-league picks.
Cincinnati College Prep
2022: 5-6, second in CMAC-Blue (3-1)
Head coach: Jeff Cargile (second year, 5-6. Career record: 6 years, 43-16)
Top returning players: RB/LB Rico Johnson, DT/OT Chris’Jen Dickey, WR/DB Marlin Keith, C/DT Petey Jones, WR/S Jaelen Griffin, WR/S Kendall Anthony, RB/DE Malik Simpson, RB/OLB LaBaron Oliver, OG Ivan Calles.
Outlook: Johnson, a senior, rushed for 379 yards and seven touchdowns last year. He was the team’s top tackler with 129, 74 solo, including 18 for loss. He was a first-team all-league and all-district selection, plus an all-state pick.
Dickey, a senior, was first-team all-league and all-district, plus an all-state pick after finishing second on the team in tackles with 80 and anchoring both lines.
Griffin, a junior, was CCPA’s leading receiver with 14 catches. He scored six touchdowns, three on kickoff returns, one on a punt return and two on defense. He led CCPA with five interceptions and was first-team all-league, all-district and an all-state pick.
Said Cargile: “After coming off a season where we only had four kids that had played varsity football, I'm very excited about this season. We had a very good offseason. The kids got much stronger and faster and they all had a whole season of varsity football in 2022. I'm looking for us to make a deep run in the postseason.”
Dayton Christian
2022: 5-5, third in CMAC-Blue (2-2)
Head coach: Adrian Sellers (third season, 7-13)
Top returning players: OLB Austin Sellers, MLB Dysson Wilcox, OLB Eli Manley, CB Tristan Hill.
Outlook: DC graduated nine seniors including three all-state honorees. They return five starters on offense and six on defense among 20 on the roster. DC returns four all-league picks. Sellers was second-team all-state at linebacker after posting 69 tackles with 19 for loss and 6.5 sacks. Wilcox, a junior, had 62 tackles. Manley, a senior speedster, had over 60 touches on offense in addition to three fumble recoveries and 46 tackles. Hill, a senior, had five interceptions in one game for a school record.
Gamble Montessori
2022: 7-4, champions of the CMAC-Blue (4-0)
Head coach: Robert Rachel (seventh season, 26-37)
Top returning players: RB Brent Thompson, DE Desmond Davis, DB Tayron Patterson, S Jaycee Houston.
Outlook for 2023: The Gators are looking to repeat as league champions and make a run in the Division V playoffs. Thompson was a first-team all-district and third-team All-Ohio selection as a junior last season. He led the CMAC in rushing yards (1,583) and rushing touchdowns (22) and was held under 70 yards just once in 11 games. Thompson opened the season with a 275-yard, four-touchdown performance in a 36-6 victory over New Miami. Over the final five weeks of the regular season, Thompson ran for 1,061 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also had 71 tackles, fourth on the team.
Davis, a senior, ranked second in the league in total tackles (102), finishing with 15 sacks, a pair of forced fumbles and 35 tackles for loss. He was named third-team All-Ohio. Houston had eight interceptions for the season.
Hughes
2022: 6-4, third in CMAC Red (3-2)
Head coach: Lorenzo Engleman (second year, 6-4)
Top returning players: Tony Crumpley, Lorenzo Engleman Jr., T.J. Engleman, Fiston Feruzi, Mike Jones, Juan Torres
Outlook for 2023: Said Engleman: "I have some very talented seniors poised to lead the way this year. We have a great schedule that allows us to be tested early.”
Chief among the returners is T.J. Engleman, who has committed to East Carolina. In five games last season, Engleman averaged nearly 15 yards per carry, running for 598 yards and nine touchdowns. He also played quarterback for the Big Red, throwing for 524 yards and nine scores. Engleman also had a 99-yard punt return for a score. Engleman is ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 43 overall prospect in Ohio for the Class of 2024, according to 247Sports. Engleman had a lengthy offer sheet before committing to East Carolina on June 25. He was named honorable mention all-district.
Lorenzo Engleman Jr. had 266 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Crumpley and Feruzi are returning senior two-way linemen.
Riverview East
2022: 3-8, not a member of the CMAC
Head coach: Eric Isaacs (first year)
Top returning players: TE/DE Anrico Lewis, FB/MLB Jamal Rashid, G/DT Arliss Estepp.
Outlook: Isaacs has over 15 years of coaching experience. Led by returning seniors Lewis, Rashid and Estepp, the Hawks hope to have their first winning season in over a decade.
Shroder
2022: 1-9, fourth in the CMAC-Blue (1-3)
Head coach: Darren Sellers (second season, 1-9)
Top returning players: QB Brian Mcgrady, RB/CB Kai Smith, WR/CB Anthony Collins, OL/DL Kaylen Richardson, WR/FS Shawn Trapp, LB/LS Reggie Griffin.
Outlook: Said Sellers: “The Jaguars are a very young team that needs to grow up quickly in order to be able to compete in the CMAC-Blue and improve on their 1-9 record from last season. After starting the season showing their youth the Jaguars improved on down the stretch in the last four games of the season, which gives them a fighting chance for the 2023 season.”
Taft
2022: 11-3, second in CMAC-Red (4-1)
Head coach: Tyler Williams (third year, 21-6)
Top returning players: Tayshawn Banks, Elias Rudolph, Jay’Quan Bostic, Quinton Price, Charles Hawkins Jr., Drayden Pavey, Armoud Seals, Aaron Dowdell Jr.
Outlook: Said Williams: “We have a good amount of returning starters. We will play fast and physical. Working to win our league and make a great run in the state playoffs and earn ourselves a spot to compete for a state championship.”
Taft has a deep group of all-star athletes.
As a junior last season at Woodward, Seals led the CMAC in passing yards (3,095) and touchdowns (25) while completing over 60 percent of his throws. On the ground, he ran for 601 yards and eight scores on 72 attempts. Seals opened the year with four consecutive 300-yard performances. Against Hughes, Seals threw for 444 yards and six touchdowns.
Hawkins didn’t see the field the first two weeks of last season as a junior and still managed to finish second in the CMAC in rushing yards (1,371) and second in touchdowns (13). Hawkins rushed for a career-high 304 yards and two touchdowns in a 44-14 win over McNicholas in the playoffs. He was named first-team all-district and second-team All-Ohio.
A Cooper High School transfer, Pavey will suit up for the Senators this season. The junior is ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 29 player in Ohio for the Class of 2025. Pavey has already racked up 11 offers, including from Miami Ohio, Ohio University, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Purdue and West Virginia.
Rudolph, who is ranked by 247Sports as a four-star recruit, recently committed to Michigan. He is a two-time first-team All-Ohio selection and the CMAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 after racking up 87 tackles and 17.5 sacks last season.
Banks is ranked as a three-star corner and the No. 57 player in Ohio for the Class of 2024 by 247Sports. Banks committed to the University of Pittsburgh in March. Banks was a first-team All-Ohio selection last season after recording eight interceptions and also posting 55 tackles (including six for a loss).
Bostic, a three-star recruit and the No. 45 player in Ohio for the Class of 2024 by 247Sports, had 26 total offers before committing to West Virginia University earlier this month. Bostic had six interceptions last season to go with 28 tackles.
Price, a 6-foot-3, 172-pound defensive back, is ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 49 player in Ohio for the Class of 2024 by 247Sports. Price holds offers from West Virginia, Syracuse, Ohio, Miami Ohio, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Akron.
Western Hills
2022: 5-5, fourth in CMAC-Red (2-3)
Head coach: Derek Webster (first year)
Top returning players: Izayiah Camp, Daronte Copeland, Marqco Zanders, Taedon Maxberry, Rahson Hutchinson
Outlook: The Mustangs return their whole offensive line, running back and top two receivers. Webster said the defense is dynamic on the line and in the secondary.
“We have a tough schedule, but I expect big things for this season,” he said.
Withrow
2022: 8-4, CMAC-Red champions (5-0)
Head coach: Kali Jones.
Top players: The Tigers made noise with two key transfers, quarterback Luke Dunn from Moeller and receiver Chris Henry Jr. from West Clermont.
As a junior last season in the Greater Catholic League-South, Dunn led the conference in passing yards (1,856) with 18 touchdowns against just five picks to go with a pair of rushing scores. He completed 62.1% of his throws (131-for-211).
Henry committed to Ohio State last month. Henry was a second-team all-district selection at defensive back last season as a freshman playing for West Clermont. On the receiving end, he had 29 catches for 292 yards and five touchdowns.
Senior defensive back Terhyon Nichols held over 30 Division I offers before he committed to the University of Kentucky on July 2. Nichols is ranked by 247Sports as a four-star recruit and the No. 12 player in Ohio for the Class of 2024. Nichols' lengthy offer sheet also included Michigan, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Penn State, Alabama, Notre Dame and Tennessee. A first-team All-Ohio selection in Division II last season, Nichols had 59 tackles, including two for a loss, and three forced fumbles last season for the Tigers.
Woodward
2022: 5-6, fifth in CMAC-Red (1-4)
Head coach: Ricky Story Jr (first year)
Top returning players: Donte Ferrell, Mykell Grace, Jeremiah Hughes, Michael Cephas, Sirr Charles Brown, Myontae Stewart. Anthony Jasper, Ibn Nelson, Quisinn Wilson, Micah Nickles
Outlook: Ferrell, a three-star receiver and the No. 44 overall recruit in Ohio for the Class of 2024 by 247Sports' composite rankings, recently committed to Colorado State.
Ferrell was a first-team All-Ohio selection in Division II last season. He was one of the nation's leaders in receiving yards (1,744) and also had 12 touchdowns and 92 catches. He had a season-high 280 yards and two scores on nine grabs in a 42-28 win over Bethel-Tate and had a season-high 19 receptions against Western Hills. His quarterback from last year, Armoud Seals, is now with Taft as noted.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 2023 Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference high school football preview
