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Countdown: 41 Days Until Ohio State Football

Matt Gutridge's picture
July 21, 2019 at 9:30am
9 Comments
Orrville

Recruiting is said to be the lifeblood of college football. This series will countdown the top 100 high schools in Ohio that have provided the Buckeyes with football players. The rankings are based on how many times a player from each high school has been listed on Ohio State's roster between 1970 and 2018.

No. 41, Orrville

Qualification

Five players from Orrville have been listed on 19 Ohio State rosters. The first Red Rider to make a Buckeyes' roster was Craig Pack. He arrived in Columbus in 1978 as a linebacker and left in 1982 as the starting center. Pack started every game of his senior season. The team finished the year by defeating Michigan, 24-14, and BYU, 47-17, in the Holiday Bowl.

At Orrville, Pack played linebacker and tight end. He caught 26 passes for 387 yards as a senior and the program had a 25-game winning streak during the three years that he played.

QB/P Tom Bolyard (1985-86) missed the 1985 season due to an ankle injury. The hurt ankle carried over to spring practice of 1986. He was not on the team after the '86 season. Bolyard started three seasons at quarterback for Orrville and was an All-Ohioan. He threw for 1,248 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior. Bolyard also averaged 42.1 yards per punt that year. When he was 11, he won the Ohio Punt, Pass and Kick competition and competed in the national semi-finals in Houston. 

C/LS Tom Moore (1985-88) was the first player to be recruited at Ohio State specifically to be a long snapper. He played in all 47 games during his four-year career. Moore was "discovered" when Ohio State scouts were checking out his Orrville teammate, Bolyard. 

DB Dennis Maag (1992-94) Came to the Buckeyes as a walk-on and earned two letters with the program. He originally played cornerback, but was moved to free safety as a junior, his last year with the the team. During the '94 season, Maag had 28 tackles and broke up one pass. At Orrville, he was the team MVP on the football, wrestling and and baseball teams. 

K Dan Stultz (1996-00) Stultz's Ohio State career almost never began. After graduating high school, he was diagnosed with Graves disease and lost 20 pounds. He fought through it and still made the team. In 1997, Stultz set an Ohio Stadium record by banging home a 55-yard field goal. The injury bug hit in 1998 as he played through a bulging disc in his lower back. He had surgery to correct the disc in February of 1999. It was successful and Stultz was Ohio State's punter and kicker during his junior and senior seasons. He left Columbus as an All-Big Ten player and the program's leader in made field goals (59). 

Stultz was rated as the best kicker in the Midwest by Blue Chip Illustrated and made 134 of 140 extra points at Orrville. He made field goals of 53, 52, 50 and 48 yards during his high school career. Stultz also average 43.9 yards per punt and did not miss a field goal inside 50 yards as a senior. He an All-Ohioan as a junior and senior.

Back To School

Orrville is located in Wayne County and is a member of the Principals Athletic Conference. The school was part of the Ohio Cardinal Conference between 2004 and 2016. The team competes in Division V, Region 17. The Red Riders went 8–2 in the regular season last year and then went on an incredible playoff run.

In the second round, Orrville defeated Gilmour Academy in triple overtime. The Red Riders won their next to games to make it to the state title, where they defeated Johnston-Monroe, 49-34, for the program's second championship in football. The football team's first state title was in 1998.

Notable

Orrville has won 7 state titles in four different sports. The Boys' basketball team has 3 championships (1996, 1995, 1992), the football team has 2 (2018, 1998) and the girls volleyball team (2003) and boys' track team (1999) each have one.

Famous Alumni

Famous names you may know: MLB player Mike Birkbeck, OHSAA Football Hall of Fame Coach Thom McDaniels, Seargent Major John R. Massaro, the director of the Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" commercials, Joe Sedelmaier and some guy named Bob Knight.

Explanation of the Rankings
School "A" had 14 players appear 16 times on Ohio State's roster. School "B" had 11 players appear 20 times on Ohio State's roster. School "B" will have the higher ranking. Why? Even though school "B" has less players, those players played for more years. 

If two or more schools have the same number of appearances, the tie will be broken by the school with the highest average of roster appearances per player. If there is a tie in the average, the tie breaker will be the school with the most prominent Ohio State player. 

Top 100 Ohio High Schools
100...LOUISVILLE  99...URBANA 98...CAMBRIDGE 97...WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS 96...COLUMBIAN 95...NEWARK CATHOLIC 94...VILLA ANGELA-ST. JOSEPH  93...AVON LAKE 92...DAYTON DUNBAR 91...STRONGSVILLE
90...PORTSMOUTH  89...MASSILLON PERRY 88...LAKEWOOD 87...AMHERST/MARION L. STEELE 86...WAPAKONETA 85...ROGER BACON 84...BEREA 83...WESTLAKE 82...COLDWATER 81...HOOVER
HOOVER (80) 79...READY 78...LAKE CATHOLIC 77...OLENTANGY 76...GROVE CITY 75...INDEPENDENCE 74...WESTERN RESERVE 73...GARFIELD 72...LAKOTA WEST 71...LOGAN
70...SOUTH 69...NORTHMONT 68...WESTERVILLE CENTRAL 67...MENTOR 66...FREMONT ROSS 65...HOWLAND 64...TOLEDO CENTRAL CATHOLIC 63...VALLEY FORGE 62..MEADOWDALE 61...MAUMEE
60...MARION PLEASANT 59...BRUSH 58...MIAMI TRACE 57...KENT ROOSEVELT 56...MARION FRANKLIN 55...LA SALLE 54...PIQUA 53...HAMILTON 52..TROTWOOD-MADISON 51...AKRON CENTRAL-HOWER
50...STEUBENVILLE 49...WALSH JESUIT 48...KENSTON 47...BEECHCROFT 46...MAYFIELD 45...BROOKHAVEN 44...PERKINS 43...ELYRIA 42...WOOSTER 41...ORVILLE
40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31
30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2,794 days since Ohio State has not defeated That Team.
132 days until The Game.

Are you a former player, graduate, live near or have something to add about today's featured high school? Please share your story with us in the comments. What makes the 11W community unique is the amount of great information everybody is willing to share.

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