5 burning questions for the 2023 Columbus-area high school football season: part 1
What begins any debate about sports, or any subject for that matter?
Usually, it’s a question.
With the high school football season two weeks away, The Dispatch’s Frank DiRenna and Dave Purpura have a lot of questions. So do players, coaches and fans, and leading up to kickoff of the first games Aug. 17 we’ll do our best to provide some answers.
Not all of them are coming today. (Not all of the answers will be correct, either.)
This is the first of two installments.
1. Will Gahanna Lincoln repeat as Division I, Region 3 champion?
The Lions absolutely have a chance, but the answer is not “absolutely.”
Gahanna returns eight starters on offense, including three on the offensive line in front of junior quarterback Brennen Ward (2,079 passing yards, 22 touchdowns in 2022) and senior running back Diore Hubbard, who rushed for 2,365 yards, was last year’s district Offensive Player of the Year and committed to West Virginia over the summer. Add dynamic threat Amir Simmons to both the backfield and receiving corps, and the Lions have a chance to match or exceed the 36.1 points they averaged during a 12-game winning streak last season that carried them to their first regional title in 40 years.
Coach Bruce Ward acknowledges that the biggest question marks center on a defense that graduated 10 starters and 16 of its top 17 players.
“We understand what this means and the target we have on our back,” he said. “It’s a welcome target, but changing the mindset and telling the guys you can’t win just by rolling your helmet out there is the key. Our kids are understanding that and starting to live up to the moment.”
2. Besides Gahanna, which teams are the top contenders in Region 3?
Even if this isn’t the deepest region in Division I, it’s as top-heavy as any.
New Albany, Pickerington Central and Upper Arlington comprised the rest of the final four a year ago. There’s no reason to think Central will fall off under “new” head coach Jeff Lomonico, who has been on staff for 30 years. New Albany will always be in games with its run-based but still diverse offense, and Ohio State lacrosse commit Tommy Janowicz can man both quarterback and linebacker for UA, which did not face the massive losses to graduation it took after winning the region two years ago.
High-powered Grove City (27.6 points per game in 2022) and Pickerington North, with Ohio State-bound running back Sam Williams-Dixon in the mix, will be among the other teams with a say in possibly toppling Gahanna.
3. Can Dublin Jerome take the next step in Division I, Region 2?
Jerome earned the top seed in Region 2 last season, but third-year coach Brett Glass wants more this fall.
After beating 16th-seeded Olentangy 24-14 in the opening round of the playoffs, Jerome lost to eighth-seeded Olentangy Liberty 28-14.
“I want us to repeat the success that we had last year and play with confidence and resiliency,” Glass said. “We really don’t think about the seeding because in the end that really doesn’t matter, and obviously we didn’t hold up our end of the bargain and lost in the second round.”
Liberty went on to lose to second-seeded Springfield 35-7 in the regional final. Springfield reached the state final, losing to Lakewood St. Edward 28-14.
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Springfield, which features Ohio State commit Aaron Scott at cornerback, also lost to St. Edward 23-13 in the 2021 state final.
John Sansbury is now coaching Liberty. Steve Hale resigned after going 154-76 in the Patriots' first 20 seasons with regional titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
“Every team has potential, but they have to go out and prove it,” Glass said. “Springfield is always going to be there. They’ve been to two straight state finals and they have great players. There’s a lot of good teams in our region, not just Springfield, but they’re obviously a top dog right now.”
For Jerome, senior Kyle White has replaced 2023 graduate Zakk Tschirhart at quarterback. Last season, Tschirhart was first-team all-district and third-team all-state, passing for 2,428 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Other key returnees are 6-foot-6, 280-pound senior two-way lineman Dane Wleklinski and senior Michael Arinze Ezirim, a wide receiver/defensive back who has committed to Toledo.
4. Which team will win the first Central Buckeye League championship?
The Central Buckeye League should feature a competitive race.
The football portion of the league is comprised of Bexley, Buckeye Valley, Columbus Academy, Ready and Whitehall-Yearling. Grandview Heights and Worthington Christian have joined the league, but are playing independent football schedules this fall.
Last season in the MSL-Ohio, Harvest Prep (5-0) won the title ahead of Buckeye Valley (4-1), Academy (3-2), Whitehall (2-3), Bexley (1-4) and Grandview (0-5). Harvest Prep, which won nine MSL championships in 10 years, is playing an independent schedule.
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Ready, which was an auxiliary member of the MSL-Ohio in football but played an independent schedule, is expected to contend for the league title under first-year coach T.J. Burbridge.
“Our kids are looking forward to this new league,” Burbridge said. “We were always the odd-man out in the MSL, where we couldn’t get any all-league honors. We have high expectations. Columbus Academy is good as well. That’s usually a swing game. Buckeye Valley is also good. Our kids understand it. They’re more excited about being part of a league.”
Academy coach Robin Miller expects his team to be in the mix. The Vikings won the MSL-Ohio in 2021.
“We have a tough schedule,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of games that might be a coin flip.”
5. Who will win the CCL: DeSales, Hartley, St. Charles or Watterson?
Watterson is coming off its first CCL title since 2012. The Eagles went 3-0 to finish ahead of DeSales (2-1), Hartley (1-2) and St. Charles (0-3).
Watterson beat DeSales 14-12, Hartley 17-13 — snapping an 11-game losing streak to the Hawks — and St. Charles 42-0.
“Last year was great because it had been too long since we won the CCL,” Watterson coach Brian Kennedy said. “Our league is different than other leagues. We only have four teams in the league and that doesn’t give you a lot of wiggle room in terms of wins and losses.
“You’re talking about schools that are really good. It’s been Hartley, DeSales for just over a decade. It felt like getting a 600-pound gorilla off our back beating Hartley and winning the CCL last year. Can we do it again? Yes. Is it going to be easy? No.”
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Watterson should be led by senior Dominic Purcell (LB/WR), a Navy commit. He was first-team all-state and all-district in Division III last year, finishing with 102 tackles, three sacks, 18 tackles for loss and four interceptions.
Hartley coach Brad Burchfield expects another tight battle in the league.
“I would imagine it’s all going to be real close, tough games,” he said. “All of us are pretty good. The league is small, but incredibly good. You can’t tell the history of Ohio high school football without (the) Central Catholic League being a real important factor.”
Hartley’s attack will include sophomore running back Robert Lathon (117 rushes, 768 yards, 12 TDs in 2022) and senior running back Rory Ralston (71 rushes, 349 yards, 2 TDs). Seniors Donovan Davis (OL/DL) and Ryan Perry (WR) and junior Denim Cook (LB) are other key returnees.
Key returnees for DeSales are seniors Avery Garlock (RB), Cameron Gwinn (DL) and Max Shulaw (LB) and junior Ty Neubert (DL).
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio high school football: 5 burning questions for 2023
