Every weekend in the fall, thousands of high school football times line up and take their shot at prep glory. The Sunday morning Prep Tracker is your final stop for the names, numbers and scores that mattered to Ohio State's recruiting efforts.
BAKER ADVANCES, FARRELL SHINES IN SHOWDOWN
Jerome Baker and Cleveland Benedictine may have won the game, but it was Perry 2016 tight end Luke Farrell that stole the show. The Bengals, on the strength of a late touchdown run by Ohio State commit Baker, escaped with a 24-20 win.
"It's a tough loss," Farrell, the state's second-ranked 2016 tight end shared with Eleven Warriors. "Still, it was a great game. It's sad for the seniors, but it's not 'bad.' They left everything on the field and did everything they could. There's no regrets."
Farrell had nine catches for 147 yards for Perry. Benedictine, the top-ranked team in the region will advance to take on Youngstown Cardinal Mooney next Friday night.
NORWOOD LEADS VALDOSTA TO WIN
New Buckeye commitmment Josh Norwood and Valdosta traveled to Leesburg, Georgia — the home of former Trojan and current Buckeye Stephen Collier — for a huge game on Friday night. Trailing all night, including a 21-15 deficit with five minutes to play, the Wildcats found the endzone with 1:10 remaining in the game and topped Lee County 22-21. With the win, Valdosta locked themselves in to a No. 2 seed in the playoffs and a home game next week.
BURROW FINDS PLAYOFF RHYTHM
For Joe Burrow and his Athens High School teammates, getting to the playoffs hasn't been a problem; winning in the playoffs? That's a whole different enchilada.
Consider this delicious Mexican food challenge accepted, at least as far as this weekend is concerned. Burrow led the Bulldogs to a 65-14 victory over the Blue Aces of Granville on Friday night. The Ohio State commitment was dynamic yet again in victory, racking up 285 yards and three touchdowns through the air. He now has thrown 45 touchdown strikes on the season. Ahead 48-14 at half, Burrow attempted only five throws in the second half as the Bulldogs attempted to pound the running game and keep the clock moving.
Next week, Burrow and Athens will take on the top-seeded Tri-Valley Scotties in a matchup of two undefeated teams.
BERRY GIVES MENTOR ALL THEY CAN HANDLE
Whatever position Rashod Berry plays in college, one thing is clear right now: he's a dangerous weapon on offense. The 6-foot-5, 245 Berry, who lines up at wide receiver and tight end for the Lorain Titans, single-handedly kept his team in the game yesterday against No. 4 Mentor. Unfortunately for Berry and his teammates, they still fell short, losing 49-34 and ending their season.
Berry caught eight passes, scoring on three of them, for 139 yards receiving for Lorain, who were the first Lorain city school to qualify for the state playoffs since 1984. Mentor's head coach, Steve Trivisonno, was impressed by what he saw from Berry.
"Berry is one of the best football players I’ve seen," he told Cleveland.com. "Ohio State should have him play on offense.”
| Player | CLASS | Pos | HIGH SCHOOL | OPPONENT | RESULTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JOE BURROW | 2015 | QB | Athens (The Plains, OH) | Granville (Granville, OH) | Won 65-14. Burrow was 20-30 for 288 yards and three touchdowns in first round playoff win. |
| TORRANCE GIBSON | 2015 | QB | American Heritage (Plantation, FL) | Kathleen (Lakeland, FL) | Won 35-13. Gibson threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns in one half of football. |
| ALEX STUMP | 2015 | WR | St. Edwards (Lakewood, OH) | Brunswick (Brunswick, OH) | Won 37-3. Stump did not play. He's out for the season with a foot injury. |
| AJ ALEXANDER | 2015 | ATH | Lake Braddock (Burke, VA) | Springfield (Springfield, VA) | Won 47-20. Alexander is out for the season while he recovers from a torn ACL. |
| RASHOD BERRY | 2015 | ATH | Digital (Lorain, OH) | Mentor (Mentor, OH) | Lost 49-34. Berry had eight catches and three touchdowns in the the loss. |
| GRANT SCHMIDT | 2015 | OL | Roosevelt - 03 (Sioux Falls, SD) | Brandon Valley (Branden, SD) | Won 20-9. |
| KEVIN FEDER | 2015 | OL | Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ) | Depaul (Wayne, NJ) | Won 38-20. |
| LIAM MCCULLOUGH | 2015 | OL (LS) | Kilbourne (Worthington, OH) | Watkins Memorial (Pataskala, OH) | Won 32-9. |
| JOSH ALABI | 2015 | DL | Cass Tech (Detroit, MI) | Fordson (Dearborn, MI) | Won 28-21. Alabi paved the way for a last minute, game winning touchdown. |
| JASHON CORNELL | 2015 | DL | Cretin Durham Hall (St. Paul, MN) | OFF | Season Finished. |
| DRE'MONT JONES | 2015 | DL | St. Ignatius (Cleveland, OH) | Elyria (Elyria, OH) | Won 42-14. |
| JEROME BAKER | 2015 | LB | Benedictine (Cleveland, OH) | Perry (Perry, OH) | Won 24-20. Baker scored the game-winning touchdown with less than three minutes to play. |
| NICK CONNER | 2015 | LB | Scioto (Dublin, OH) | Teays Valley (Ashville, OH) | Won 38-14. Conner did not play, he's out with a leg injury. |
| JUSTIN HILLIARD | 2015 | LB | St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) | Central Crossing (Grove City, OH) | Won 50-13. |
| CARLTON DAVIS | 2015 | DB | Norland (Miami, FL) | Miami Lakes (Hialeah, FL) | Lost 3-2. Davis led his Vikings' defense again as their offense struggled. His season ends with six interceptions. |
| JAMEL DEAN | 2015 | DB | Cocoa (Cocoa, FL) | Rockledge (Rockledge, FL) | Won 47-0. Dean had a 67-yard touchdown reception in the win. |
| TYLER GREEN | 2015 | DB | DeMatha (Hyattesville, MD) | Archbishop Carroll (Westminster, MD) | Won 40-12. |
| JOSH NORWOOD | 2015 | DB | Valdosta (Valdosta, GA) | Lee County (Leesburg, GA) | Won 22-21. |
| DENZEL WARD | 2015 | DB | Nordonia (Macedonia, OH) | Fremont Ross (Freemont, OH) | Won 58-26. Ward blocked three kicks (two punts, one FG) had contributed with a handful of receptions on offense and tackles on defense. |
| ERIC GLOVER-WILLIAMS | 2015 | ATH | McKinley (Canton, OH) | OFF | Season finished. |
| TYLER GERALD | 2016 | OL | Sciotoville (Portsmouth, OH) | OFF | Season finished. |
| KIERRE HAWKINS | 2016 | ATH | Maple Heights (Maple Heights, OH) | Mayfield (Mayfield, OH) | Lost 49-12. Hawkins' season is finished. |
| GEORGE HILL | 2016 | RB | Hubbard (Hubbard, OH) | Tallmadge (Tallmadge, OH) | Won 45-14. Hill did not play with a lower leg injury. |
| DANNY CLARK | 2017 | QB | Washington (Massillon, OH) | Perrysburg (Perrysburg, OH) | Lost 56-7. The Yellow Jackets dominated Massillon from start to finish. |
