WMVO Good Times Great Oldies
TONIGHT ON 100.9FM, 93.7HD2 AS WELL AS LIVESTREAMING ON THE WMVO FACEBOOK AND YOUTUBE PAGES HIGHLAND AT FREDERICKTOWN WITH CURTIS NEWLAND AND WILL HARTLEY
CENTERBURG HOST UTICA ON THE WMVO FACEBOOK PAGE LIVESTREAMING WITH KYLE KERSTETTER AND RON STRONG
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL WEEK ONE PREVIEWS
Centerburg looks to build off 8-4 season behind Andy Collela
The Centerburg Trojans football team finished 8-4 last season but they have several key pieces back to
try and make a run at a KMAC crown in 2025. Of the Trojans 4 losses last year two game to 14-1
Northmor with another loss to Bodpegn Miller led Ontario team and 12-3 Danville squad. Centerburg’s 4
losses came to teams with a combined record of 38-6.
Back to lead the offense is quarterback Blane Ball who threw for nearly 1700 yards and 21 scores. Back
also is Miles Marshall who ran for 1,224 yards and 16 rushing scores while averaging nearly 8 yards a
carry last year as a Sophomore. Junior Jackson Ballinger will be a big target for Ball this year. Ballinger
stands 6 foot 4 and has received collegiate offers from Northwestern, Colorado, Arizona State,
Washington, Wisconsin, Purdue, Missouri as well as Ole Miss. Florida, Indiana and Kentucky are also
among the offers Ballinger holds.
Meanwhile Utica will have a new quarterback as Aaron Hays takes over for All Ohio selection Hayden Piper. Hayden McKinney and Braxton Fisher are back as targets at wide receiver. Kamden Hall, Kyler Zyski and Elijah Bland are names to watch for a Utica team that went 4-7 last season. Centerburg won last year’s match up 21-6.
Fredericktown has new head coach and a lot of experience
The Fredericktown Freddies finished last year 5-6 and 4-3 in the KMAC, they will bring back a wealth of
experience this season. Of the Freddies six losses five were by 14 points or less. Leading the way will be
Blake Sipes at quarterback. He threw for over 1100 yards last year with 8 touchdown passes but also ran
for 1346 yards and 17 scores while averaging over 7 yards a carry. Sipes top target will be Senior Gavin
Toombs. Toombs had nearly 300 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns along with 231 yards rushing and 2
scores and like Ballinger at Centerburg has been getting a ton of interest at the college level. Among
Toombs offers are Avila University, Grand Valley State University among others. Brode Davis will also be
a weapon for the Freddies as he can rush it and catch it. Davis had over 400 yards receiving and
averaged over 11 yards a catch as a Junior.
Additionally the Freddies have a new head coach. Scott Spitler takes over as Will Hartley will now be
calling games on Friday Nights on WMVO. Spitler spent 15 years at Lucas going 103-69. Highland has Zach Church back. He was a first team All MOAC pick last year. Fredericktown won last year’s meeting 30-28. The Scots have an inexperienced group having to replace a three year starter at quarterback. They want to run between the tackles and east some clock while playing stout defense which could be tough against this veteran Freddies squad. Blake Sipes ran for 173 yards and a touchdown and threw a pair of touchdown passes to Gavin Toombs in that win.
Danville looking to reload after knocking on the doorstep of a State Final Appearance
Danville was oh so close to getting their shot at Marion Local in a State Final last year. They finished 12-3
and fell to Hillsdale 25-22 in a State Final Four in Division 7. Gone though is the KMAC’s leading tackler in
Josh Byers, Quarterback Jacob Hackman, Running back Aidan Burke and Defensive End and Tight End
Caleb Lucas also graduated. Cy Wallace will be expected to take more snaps at running back in his
Sophomore season after rushing for just over 1,000 yards last year with 14 rushing scores. Wallace had
the highest yard per carry average in the conference at 12 yards per carry. Nolan Ridgeway takes
over at quarterback while the Blue Devils will miss the production of Aidan Burke to pair with
Wallace the ground game should still be strong. Burke ran for over 1600 yards and 19 scores last season.
Carson Proper will patrol the backside of the Danville defense after picking off 5 passes last season. The
Blue Devils will have to replace 333 tackles from last year with the losses of Lucas and Byers. Coach Blum says the secondary on defense will be a strength of this team.
The Blue Devils play at Worthington Christian Friday Night. The Warriors have a new head coach in Chris Royal and they bring back their starting quarterback from a year ago in Tommy Hartings who passed for 1,558 yards and 18 touchdowns but also threw 10 interceptions. This will be difficult for him on Friday Night. CJ Royal, Cortland Haynes and Jack Smolenski will be targets on the outside for Hastings. Gabe Long is also back as the team’s running back after rushing for 789 yards and 10 rushing scores a season ago.
East Knox begins the post Blake Elliott era hosting Northridge
The East Knox Bulldogs bring back a number of skill players but must replace the production of All Ohio player Blake Elliott who rushed for 1,224 yards and nine touchdowns despite team’s keying on him. Rush Beatty is the leading tackler returning for the Bulldogs who also have Jax Lester back at quarterback after he threw for nearly 1300 yards and 6 touchdowns last season. Logan Clark and Dakota Cooper will be weapons on the outside. Clark finished with 287 yards receiving last year and was third in the KMAC in yards per catch. On defense the Bulldogs must replace 280 tackles between Elliott and Parker Kimball.
The Northridge Vikings will look to go to the air more this season but their strength lies on defense where they held 6 opponents to 20 points or fewer a year ago. Key players include Riley Wheeler, Sr., RB/LB; Charlie Kinkead, Sr., WR/DB/K; Ty Koehler, Sr., QB/LB; Landon Thompson, Sr., OL/DL; Kam Lowry, Sr., OL/DL; Carson Beaver, Sr., OL/DL; Gavin Wood, Sr., TE/DL; Lincoln Walton, Sr. TE/DL; Jayce Golden, Jr., RB/LB; Jamie Odrumsky, Sr., WR/LB.
The Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets are young but hungry in Mark Weber’s second season
The Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets finished 2-8 last season but look to play fast and have a solid season in the LCL. Back is Mason Richards at quarterback and Landon Dawson has been added for offense and defense. The Jackets will be young with 19 freshman on the roster but the addition of Dawson who had 10 tackles for loss last season should help on both sides of the ball. Dakota Stafford will be the running back and the Jackets will look to open the season with a win over Marion Harding. Mount Vernon’s last season opening win was over the Presidents week 1 of 2023.
