Here we are ready for another high school football season. For the next 10+ weeks, Friday nights are reserved for cheering on our local teams. As we enter another season there are many interesting stories from players to coaches to who will win conferences. Here are 24 storylines for the 2024 football season.
1. Bellefontaine QB Tavien St. Clair
Coming off a junior season where he threw for over 3,000 yards, 37 TDs, with only 6 INTs, St. Clair looks to lead the Chiefs on another run in the DIII playoffs before he departs for Ohio State. After falling in the Regional Final in 2023, St. Clair has unfinished business this season. He’s a generational talent and you’re missing out if you don’t go see him play.
2. Indian Lake looks to build on 2023
Indian Lake shocked the CBC last year by turning a 1-9 2022 into a 7-3 regular season and a playoff berth. QB Burke Lillard graduated, but the Lakers return firepower with Quest Clay and Madden Lillard will take over the QB duties from his brother. The Lakers have the tall task of replacing their offensive line from last season too.
3. Benjamin Logan’s progress in Paul Jenne’s second season
The Raiders were in full rebuild last season and finished 1-9. Jenne has had a full year to implement his system and get to know his new school. 14 starters return this year and the roster is bigger than it has been in years with nearly 70 players. The schedule is pretty tough on Benjamin Logan. Their first five opponents all made the playoffs last year. Progress will come from more than wins and losses. The Raiders had a running clock in 8 of their 10 games last season. Step 1 will be staying close in games, then wins will come. This feels like the Urbana program 4 years ago. Hopefully, the Raiders turn it around like the Hillclimbers.
4. Chiefs looking to reload their offense
Bellefontaine still has Tavien St. Clair, but they lost their top 2 receivers, most of the offensive line, and last year’s leading rusher. Underclassmen will look to fill those roles and WR move-in Braylon Newcomb from Centerville and Ayden Clary (transfer from Riverside) will help the offense.
5. Urbana replacing Will Donahoe
Donahoe did everything for the Hillclimbers last season as the QB and the kicker. He accounted for over 3,300 yards of offense and 39 touchdowns while kicking 4 field goals and 56 extra points. The Hillclimbers will use the running game with Austin Hill to ease the transition to talented QB Grady Lantz.
6. New QBs set to takeover
Indian Lake, Riverside, Urbana, and West Liberty-Salem will have new quarterbacks this year. Tavien St. Clair is the only seasoned QB back this season. Riverside seems to be in the best position here as their “new” starter actually played last season. Gavin Orsborne filled in for an injured Myles Platfoot in the last half of 2023. He will start week 1 against Ansonia. Grady Lantz will be the new signal caller for Urbana replacing Will Donahoe. Coach McGill hasn’t committed to his QB yet for WL-S saying it’s a competition between seniors Hunter Knotts and Nick Shifflet. Indian Lake will move Madden Lillard from WR to QB and he will make his first start in week 1.
7. Who will win the CBC Mad River?
The last four seasons have produced five different winners in the Mad River. Shawnee is the defending champ, while Urbana won in 2022, North Union and Indian Lake in 2021, and Graham in 2020. The last time a team won back-to-back Mad River titles was Indian Lake in 2016 & 2017.
8. Will London continue to dominate the CBC Kenton Trail?
The Red Raiders have won the Kenton Trail three straight seasons (outright twice and split once with Bellefontaine). Is this the year someone knocks London off the throne? The schedule favors the Red Raiders as three of their five league games are at home including Bellefontaine (9/27) and Urbana (10/25).
9. WL-S replacing top RB, WR, and QB
The Tigers will need to replace most of their offensive weapons from last season and replace Gabe McGill on both sides of the ball. Coach Dan McGill will lean heavily on his senior class as the Tigers have 17 seniors on this year’s team. Taran Logwood and Josh Wilcoxon are expected to step up on offense while the starting QB is still up for grabs between Nick Shifflet and Hunter Knotts.
10. Can anyone slow down the West Jefferson offense in the OHC?
Quarterback Austin Buescher returns after throwing for 3,747 yards and 38 touchdowns last season. The Rough Riders scored 32 points per game last year and split the OHC North title with WL-S. The Rough Riders will have a tall task repeating as OHC North champs with two tough road games later in the season at Mechanicsburg and West Liberty-Salem.
11. Who will lead the CBC in rushing?
The top six rushers from 2023 all graduated including 2,000-yard backs Cameron Jewell (Jonathan Alder) and TJ Meeks (Shawnee). Only Indian Lake’s Drake Cosby and Urbana’s Austin Hill return this season after finishing in the top 10 in rushing from 2023. The rushing title is up for grabs in the CBC.
12. Zero coaching changes for 2024
This wasn’t the case 8 months ago. Bellefontaine’s Jason Brown stepped down after last season and passed the whistle to Aaron Peitsmeyer, but after Peitsmeyer resigned in early 2024, Brown reclaimed the position. All the coaches in the area are the same as in 2023 with Jonn Rapp at Indian Lake, Paul Jenne at Benjamin Logan, Jason Brown at Bellefontaine, Bryce Hodge at Riverside, Carleton Cotner at Urbana, Kurt Forrest at Mechanicsburg, Mike Braun at Triad, Rich Clark at Graham, and Dan McGill at WL-S.
13. Will the Pirates turn more to throwing the football?
Coach Hodge has opened up the offense more in the last few seasons, but the Pirates running game has carried them (pun intended) for years. This season may be different. Riverside’s leading rusher graduated and their top player back on offense is QB Gavin Orsborne. This may be the season the Pirates lean on the passing game.
14. Mechanicsburg looking to get back to elite status
The purple went 6-4 last season before winning a playoff game and losing in the second round. 6 wins is the fewest in the regular season for the ‘Burg since they went 4-6 in 2012. They’ll need to replace Jayden Roland who accounted for over 30 TDs in 2023, but junior QB Conley Bogard returns after a solid sophomore season under center. The Indians will need to get off to a fast start because the backend of their schedule sees them home against West Jefferson, at Fairbanks, home against rival West Liberty-Salem, and at Northeastern in a brutal four week span.
15. Chieftain linebackers look to lead the defense again
Three Chieftain linebackers each had over 100 tackles last season leading a defense that only allowed 19 points per game. Two of them return this year. Senior Jayden Temple will anchor the defense with his 140 tackles and 5 sacks from his junior year. Carter Caudill notched 132 tackles a year ago including a 17-tackle performance in the Regional Final. The Chiefs defense will be a big factor in their success in 2024.
16. Will the Raiders get their first win at their new stadium?
Benjamin Logan opened their new turf field last season complete with a brand new scoreboard. The Raiders did not win a home game and are still looking for that coveted first win on the new field. They only have four home games this season and they are Bluffton (8/23), Jonathan Alder (9/20), Northwestern (9/27), and Graham (10/25). We’re circling the Northwestern game as the Raiders only win last season was at the Warriors.
17. The weather
Last season had 9 weeks of nice football weather with only one week of rain. The playoffs even brought little impact from Mother Nature. Will we be fortunate again this fall and avoid rain, wind, lightning, or snow?
18. Who will be the surprise team this year?
Indian Lake was the surprise team in 2023 winning 7 games after a 1-9 season. Is anyone in a position to do that this year? We’re not sure a team will make that big of a jump, but how about the Fairbanks Panthers in the OHC? They went 2-8 last season but played West Jefferson to within a touchdown (21-14) and they were impressive in a scrimmage with North Union a few weeks ago. The Panthers start with Jonathan Alder and Indian Lake before facing 4 straight winnable games with Cedarville, Catholic Central, Greenon, and Triad. Perhaps the Panthers start 4-2 or dare we say 5-1 before running through the gauntlet of the OHC North.
19. Will Ohio’s Mr. Football Award come to Logan County?
Since 1987 Ohio sportswriters have selected the best Ohio football player and awarded him with Mr. Football. Players like Joe Burrow and Charles Woodson are previous winners. No one from Logan County has won the award, but maybe this year. Bellefontaine’s Tavien St. Clair will be a front-runner as he continues to break records at BHS.
20. Playoff streaks
Mechanicsburg fans probably can’t remember not playing in the postseason. That’s because they hold the area’s longest playoff streak at 11 straight seasons. The last time the Indians were left out of the postseason was 2012. Bellefontaine and Riverside are tied for the second-longest streaks at 4. Urbana and West Liberty-Salem will be looking for their third straight this year. The longest active steak in the state belongs to the Coldwater Cavs who have made the playoffs 27 consecutive seasons!
21. Benjamin Logan’s quarterback
Last season it was Hunter Andrix and Soli Hughes splitting the snaps and coach Jenne went with who he felt was the best-fit game by game. Andrix was the more mobile quarterback leading the team in rushing while Hughes was the guy to push the ball downfield through the air. Coach Jenne said last week it would be Soli Hughes starting week 1 against Bluffton. Will Hughes be the QB full-time?
22. Who will be next to put in field turf?
Bellefontaine was the first to change their facility and Benjamin Logan opened last season. Which school will be next to make the change from grass to turf? The pros and cons can be argued, but one thing turf does is make your school eligible to host playoff games after the second round.
23. Players to watch this season
Tavien St. Clair is an obvious answer here, but how about some of the other players who could stand out this year? Quest Clay Indian Lake- last season Burke Lillard made the Laker offense run. This season we’re betting coach Rapp will be looking to get Clay more involved. He’s electric in the open field. He led the team in receiving last year and will be more involved with the running game in 2024. He also returns kicks and plays defense for the Lakers. Josh Wilcoxon WL-S—Wilcoxon will get the most carries out of the backfield this season. Coach McGill needs someone to shoulder the work on offense and Wilcoxon will be the Tigers top rusher. Landon Purtee Riverside—Gavin Orsborne needs a #1 target and we’re picking Purtee to have a big season. Camden Spriggs Benjamin Logan—Spriggs is 6’ 4” and has moved to TE. He presents a big target for the passing game which needs a “go-to” guy to move the ball beyond the chains. Austin Hill Urbana—Reports say Hill will have a big season as the Hillclimbers will use their running back more this season. Awesom Mitchell Triad—He rushed for nearly 1,300 yards last season and scored 12 touchdowns. Mitchell is Triad’s best athlete and needs Mitchell to have a big season if they want to improve on a 1-9 2023.
24. Games to circle on the schedules
9/27 Bellefontaine @ London…The Chiefs have yet to beat the Red Raiders in the regular season, however, BHS marched into London last year and knocked London out of the playoffs.
9/27 Jonathan Alder @ Urbana…The Hillclimbers lost a high-scoring game at JA in 2023 and this game starts the CBC Kenton Trail schedule.
9/27 West Jefferson @ Mechanicsburg…The OHC North is one of the toughest divisions in the area. West Jefferson’s high-flying offense will clash with the gritty Mechanicsburg Indians for an important league game. This series has been tight with West Jefferson leading 4-3 since joining the OHC North.
10/4 Benjamin Logan @ Indian Lake…The annual Backyard Brawl is always a can’t miss game.
10/4 Lehman @ Riverside…These two teams have built a nice rivalry over the years and there will be plenty on the line when they meet this season.
10/4 West Jefferson @ West Liberty-Salem…The Tigers defense let them down last season as West Jeff hung a 60 spot on the scoreboard. The Tigers will look to avenge that loss and seize control of the OHC North.
10/11 Bellefontaine @ Urbana…Fans were happy when this rivalry was renewed in 2023. The Chiefs pounded the Hillclimbers last season. Part 2 could be interesting at Urbana.
10/11 West Liberty-Salem @ Mechanicsburg…This game is like Ohio State/Michigan. It’s a bitter rivalry and will have major implications on the league title and playoff positions.
Good luck to all the area teams this season. Follow all of your scores right here at PeakofOhio.com.
