New Lex coach eager to coach Muskingum Valley football stars

NEW LEXINGTON — The heat of summer is already here, but it will feel like fall by next Friday.

That's when another rendition of the Muskingum-Licking All-Star Football Game will commence at 7 p.m. at Heath High School's Swank Field, where the staffs from New Lexington and Lakewood will continue the age-old rivalry for another year.

Muskingum Valley holds a 21-19 edge in the series following a heart-pounding 24-23 win in last year's game at Tri-Valley's Jack Anderson Stadium, a game where West Muskingum All-Ohioan Harley Hopkins earned Muskingum Most Valuable Player honors.

It's the first time Board, who has coached New Lexington since 2019, will experience the game from the inside. He was due to be an assistant under former Crooksville coach Casey Vallee for the game in 2020, but COVID-19 canceled it.

He's eager to have the experience.

"It's exciting," Board said. "When I talked to (game manager) Gene (Bess), thanked me up and down. It takes some time away from family, but it's an awesome opportunity to get with my guys one more time, and you get to coach an All-Star game with the best our area has to offer."

The team is headed by New Lexington standouts Lukas Ratliff, Hunter Rose, Brady Kennedy and Tatem Toth, all of whom earned All-Southeast District honors and figure to help the adaptation of the Panthers' system. They were linchpins on Board's Muskingum Valley League-Small School Division champs.

Others from the MVL-Small School Division on the roster include Crooksville's Trinton Cottrell and Corbyn Browning, Coshocton's Cadin Whiteus, Morgan's Carson Copeland, Wade Pauley and Seth Miller, Meadowbrook's Bailey Khune and West Muskingum's Ty Shawger, Slater Sampsel and Kam Foraker.

Tri-Valley's Jayden Walker, Thomas Williams, Hansel Holmes and Mason Prouty headline the MVL-Big School contingent, along with Sheridan's Reid Packer, Spencer Showalter, Andrew Holden and Noah Miller, John Glenn's Nathan Walker, Gunner Fox and Ethan Derwacter, River View's Jamal Watts, Konya Williams and Brady Winner and Philo's Cade Searls and Mason Thomas.

Zanesville's group features receiver Xavier Sowers, defensive back Dean Johnson and lineman Christian Ramirez, while Rosecrans has receiver Weston Hartman.

Board hopes his former players can help expedite the learning process. With only handful of practices, which are expected to be less than two hours each, there won't be much time to waste.

The 6-4, 200-pound Ratliff, headed to Marietta, figures to be a prominent figure at quarterback, while the 5-8, 180-pound Rose, who was also a standout wrestler, will be a prominent member of the backfield. He was an All-Ohio choice in Division IV.

They combined for more 3,000 yards of offense as seniors, when the Panthers won the Small School title and reached the Division IV, Region 15 playoffs. Rose had 1,476 yards rushing with an area-best 20 touchdowns as a senior — he also had 238 yards receiving on just 12 catches. He was also second on the team with 69 tackles.

"Having those guys will be a huge help," Board said. "With Lukas running the offense, that should speed things up, where if you're playing a quarterback from another team you have to adapt with someone new. We will do some things different, because the makeup is different, but you're trying to learn how to use these new guys."

Same goes for the defense. With players only going one way, that learning curve will also be simpler. All-Ohioans Packer and Shawger, safety and linebacker, respectively, are headlining that unit with the 6-4, 270-pound Winner on the line after playing there in the North-South All-Star Classic during April in Massillon.

Board said he will stress to the players that being a part of a game with this level of tradition — several fathers, uncles, sons and nephews have been in the game — is a "once in a lifetime experience," and wants them to have fun.

The majority will walk away as friends.

"Some of the guys, like Lukas, Winner, Shawger and Watts, they got to be a part of the North-South game, and even that is different because you're with guys from all over the state that you've never met," Board said. "This is guys you've scouted and game-planned for. You know who each other is."

sblackbu@gannett.com; @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: New Lex coach eager to coach Muskingum Valley football stars