Massillon's Pringle, Moore, Alliance's Zurbrugg lead Division II, III All-Ohio football

The state championship duo of Massillon linebacker Dorian Pringle and head coach Nate Moore, along with Alliance quarterback Brendan Zurbrugg, lead the local honorees on the Division II and III All-Ohio high school football teams, which were released Wednesday.

The All-Ohio teams are sponsored by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association and chosen by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters from across the state. The Ohio High School Athletic Association released the Division VI and VII teams Monday and the Division IV and V teams on Tuesday. The Division I all-state team will be released Thursday.

Pringle is Ohio's Division II Co-Defensive Player of the Year, sharing the award with Hoban's Jordan Pritchard-Sewell. Moore is the Co-Coach of the Year, sharing it with Avon's Mike Elder. Zurbrugg is the Division III Co-Offensive Player of the Year along with Akron East's Ziaire Stevens and Kenston's Sean Patrick.

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Joining Pringle on the Division II first team were Massillon teammates DaOne Owens and Michael Wright Jr., as well as Lake's Nate Baker and Green's Michael Schaal. Joining Zurbrugg on the Division III first team was Marlington's Beau Himmelheber.

Pringle, a first-team All-Ohio linebacker for the second straight season, was the leader of a Massillon defense that allowed only 7.3 points and 167.5 yards a game. That defense wasn't scored upon during the Tigers' 7-2 win against Hoban in last week's state final, with Pringle registering a game-high 14 tackles, three of them for loss, to go with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He also helped force an incompletion on Hoban's final offensive play of the game.

The 6-foot, 215-pound Pringle led Massillon in solo tackles with 48 and tackles for loss with 24.5 despite missing three playoff games. He totaled 74 tackles overall, eight sacks, three forced fumbles and three recoveries. A Bowling Green recruit, Pringle also played some running back in short-yardage situations and finished with 14 touchdowns.

Moore guided Massillon to a 16-0 record and the program's first state championship in the playoff era. The Tigers are Stark County's first football state champion since Central Catholic in 2016.

Massillon did not allow more than 17 points in a game all season and did not allow more than seven points in a playoff game. In nine years at Massillon, Moore — the program's all-time winningest coach — is 99-22 (.818).

Owens, a first-team quarterback, proved to be an instant difference-maker after transferring from Copley to Massillon for his senior season. Capable of breaking a big run at any moment, the 6-1, 200-pound Owens averaged 9.3 yards a carry in gaining 1,302 yards and 15 touchdowns. He is the first Massillon quarterback to surpass 1,000 rushing yards in program history. A lefty, he threw for 1,566 yards, 18 touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 58.0 percent of his passes. Owens was the Northeast Inland District Co-Offensive Player of the Year.

Wright, a first-team defensive lineman, was a wrecking ball at nose tackle for the Tigers. The 5-10, 280-pound junior totaled 36 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and a team-high 10.5 sacks. Wright's presence in the middle was a big reason Massillon allowed only two rushing touchdowns all season. Wright also played some running back in short-yardage situations, finishing with eight touchdowns and a 2-point conversion.

Baker is a first-team running back. He was the area's leading rusher and the Federal League Player of the Year for the 9-4 Blue Streaks. The 5-11, 175-pound senior ran for 1,664 yards at 6.1 a carry and caught 20 passes for 218 yards. He scored 16 touchdowns, 15 of them rushing. Baker also started a cornerback, intercepting two passes and making 26 tackles. He averaged 23.5 yards a kick return and 14.3 yards per punt return.

Schaal is a first-team defensive lineman. The 6-1, 235-pound junior produced a school-record 14 sacks and 25 tackles for loss while playing with two broken hands much of the season. A heavy hitter, Schaal made 80 tackles overall, 58 solo, helping Green go 10-4 and advance to a regional final. A two-way starter, Schaal also was a stand-out right tackle on offense.

Massillon and Green had two second-team All-Ohioans each: offensive lineman Nolan Davenport and defensive lineman Chase Bond for the Tigers, and wide receiver Zach Baglia and defensive back Antonio Martin for the Bulldogs. Lake linebacker Charlie Christopher also was on second team.

Massillon linebacker Cody Fair made third team along with Hoover wide receiver Zach Braucher and Lake offensive lineman Anthony Miller.

In Division III, Zurbrugg passed for 2,322 yards, 26 touchdowns and four interceptions, completing 70.0 percent of his passes for the 6-5 Aviators. The Oklahoma University recruit also rushed for 1,038 yards at 6.9 a carry and 13 touchdowns. He holds virtually every Alliance passing record and his 6,376 career passing yards rank fifth in Stark County history. Zurbrugg also averaged 41.5 yards a punt and made 17 PAT kicks.

Himmelheber is a first-team wide receiver. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior caught 32 passes for 593 yards and seven touchdowns in the first six games of the season, then switched to quarterback when Marlington's starter was injured. Himmelheber threw for 397 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 270 yards and seven touchdowns. He added two punt return TDs and one fumble return TD, finishing with 17 touchdowns overall for the 6-4 Dukes. Himmelheber holds school records for career receiving yards and career receiving TDs.

Alliance wide receiver K'Vaughn Davis made third team all-state.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Division II, III All-Ohio high school football: Pringle, Zurbrugg