NWO Football 2024

What league(s) will you be following this year?

  • Toledo City League

    Votes: 13 16.3%

  • NLL Buckeye

    Votes: 22 27.5%

  • NLL Cardinal

    Votes: 22 27.5%

  • WBL

    Votes: 22 27.5%

  • NBC

    Votes: 17 21.3%

  • CHSL (Central + AA)

    Votes: 9 11.3%

  • BVC

    Votes: 14 17.5%

  • TAAC

    Votes: 6 7.5%

  • NWC

    Votes: 20 25.0%

  • MAC

    Votes: 18 22.5%

  • Other

    Votes: 8 10.0%

  • NWOAL

    Votes: 15 18.8%

  • GMC

    Votes: 5 6.3%
  • Total voters
    80
ayCC!

ayCC!

NWO Realignment Enjoyer
We're in year two of post-realignment. 7 months out until the first snaps of NW Ohio HS football in 2024. Might as well get a head start!

I'll post my responses later, but in your wayyy too early opinion, what are your answers to these questions? Can be players, teams or leagues.

Who's back?

Who's reloading?

Who's going to surprise?
 
 
Who's back?
- Trenton Barraza from Columbus Grove is a 1st team all-Ohio running back with another year to go. He's sitting at #3 in all-time rushing at Grove with over 3,700 yards already. He also is an all-conference corner and an electric kick/punt returner (when teams actually kick to him). If you've never seen him play, it's worth a trip down to Putnam County to watch him. Grove is obviously a small school but I have no doubt in my mind that he would start and be a top player, if not the best player, on any team in northwest Ohio.
www.hudl.com

Trenton Barraza on Hudl

Watch Trenton Barraza's videos and highlights on Hudl. More info: Columbus Grove High School - Columbus Grove Football / RB, SS / Class of 2025 / Columbus Grove, OH
www.hudl.com www.hudl.com

His all-Ohio classmate Kylan Mayes is pretty dang impressive too. Might not have the size to play big time college ball as an offensive or defensive linemen, but pound for pound he's one of the best linemen in the state on both sides of the ball.

Kylan Mayes on Hudl

Watch Kylan Mayes's videos and highlights on Hudl. More info: Columbus Grove High School - Columbus Grove Football / DT, T / Class of 2025 / Columbus Grove, OH
www.hudl.com www.hudl.com
 
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Who's back?
2025 QBs.
This year's senior quarterback class is probably one of the more loaded in recent memory in terms of offers. Here are my top 3 from the Toledo area:

#1 Ryan Montgomery - Findlay
(top five: Georgia, South Carolina, Auburn, Michigan State, Florida)
Can he get the Trojans some hardware before he heads off to greener (and hopefully warmer) pastures in college?

#2 Mason Heintschel - Clay
(offers from: Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Coastal Carolina, Toledo)
A very fun QB to watch, could make some noise in a weakened NLL Cardinal.

#3 Brady Ford - Whitmer
(offers from: Central Michigan, Bowling Green)
With a great supporting cast around him, he will be the main thorn in any potential NLL Buckeye contender's side as Whitmer looks to defend their conference title.
 
ayCC! said:
Who's back?
2025 QBs.
This year's senior quarterback class is probably one of the more loaded in recent memory in terms of offers. Here are my top 3 from the Toledo area:

#1 Ryan Montgomery - Findlay
(top five: Georgia, South Carolina, Auburn, Michigan State, Florida)
Can he get the Trojans some hardware before he heads off to greener (and hopefully warmer) pastures in college?

#2 Mason Heintschel - Clay
(offers from: Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Coastal Carolina, Toledo)
A very fun QB to watch, could make some noise in a weakened NLL Cardinal.

#3 Brady Ford - Whitmer
(offers from: Central Michigan, Bowling Green)
With a great supporting cast around him, he will be the main thorn in any potential NLL Buckeye contender's side as Whitmer looks to defend their conference title.
Click to expand...
Grant Kinnee - Anthony Wayne. Just received an offer from Bowling Green.
 
The other could be the GMC, Green Medows.

Not many schools farther North or West in Ohio than Edgerton.
 
Last edited:
ayCC! said:
Who's back?
2025 QBs.
This year's senior quarterback class is probably one of the more loaded in recent memory in terms of offers. Here are my top 3 from the Toledo area:

#1 Ryan Montgomery - Findlay
(top five: Georgia, South Carolina, Auburn, Michigan State, Florida)
Can he get the Trojans some hardware before he heads off to greener (and hopefully warmer) pastures in college?

#2 Mason Heintschel - Clay
(offers from: Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Coastal Carolina, Toledo)
A very fun QB to watch, could make some noise in a weakened NLL Cardinal.

#3 Brady Ford - Whitmer
(offers from: Central Michigan, Bowling Green)
With a great supporting cast around him, he will be the main thorn in any potential NLL Buckeye contender's side as Whitmer looks to defend their conference title.
Click to expand...
Whitmer hired a new OC this offseason that should help Brady Ford's numbers/stock.
 
irish_buffalo said:
Whitmer hired a new OC this offseason that should help Brady Ford's numbers/stock.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah. Gucciardo back in the coaching saddle will help Whitmer out a lot. They have so many weapons on both sides of the ball, I'd love to see them go on a run a lot of fans have been thirsting for.
 
mountain view said:
The other could be the GMC, Green Medows.

Not many schools farther North or West in Ohio than Edgerton.
Click to expand...
Very few further west.

North you've got Edon, Montpelier, North Central, Hilltop, all of Fulton County, all of Lucas County. 😜

But I get the point. GMC being left off makes it seem pretty Toledo centric.
 
Fun little development... All of our NWO D1s just got moved to Region 1.

If it wasn't hard for them already, they now must get past St. Ed in the postseason just to get out of the region. Ed is down some of their guys from their D1-studded lineup, but still, path to Canton just got a little harder.
 
ayCC! said:
Fun little development... All of our NWO D1s just got moved to Region 1.

If it wasn't hard for them already, they now must get past St. Ed in the postseason just to get out of the region. Ed is down some of their guys from their D1-studded lineup, but still, path to Canton just got a little harder.
Click to expand...
As Columbus continues to explode, I expect in future years D1 will be more and more like this. With the Intel facility coming to Central Ohio, I think roughly half of D1 by 2030 will be this region. Wouldn't shock me to see a wave of school consolidations across the state to make room in the budget for more schools around there.
 
smurfyeah19 said:
As Columbus continues to explode, I expect in future years D1 will be more and more like this. With the Intel facility coming to Central Ohio, I think roughly half of D1 by 2030 will be this region. Wouldn't shock me to see a wave of school consolidations across the state to make room in the budget for more schools around there.
Click to expand...
You won't see consolidation, you are just going to see more suburban districts building their 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th high school. 30 years ago, Olentangy schools had one high school, now they are trying to pass a levy to build their 5th high school. Today Columbus metro is about 2.5 million. The prediction is by 2050 Columbus metro may be as big as 5 million people.
 
smurfyeah19 said:
As Columbus continues to explode, I expect in future years D1 will be more and more like this. With the Intel facility coming to Central Ohio, I think roughly half of D1 by 2030 will be this region. Wouldn't shock me to see a wave of school consolidations across the state to make room in the budget for more schools around there.
Click to expand...
What?
 
Buck1977 said:
You won't see consolidation, you are just going to see more suburban districts building their 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th high school. 30 years ago, Olentangy schools had one high school, now they are trying to pass a levy to build their 5th high school. Today Columbus metro is about 2.5 million. The prediction is by 2050 Columbus metro may be as big as 5 million people.
Click to expand...

Where are you seeing 5 million? Everything I see says 3.15.
 
Buck1977 said:
You won't see consolidation, you are just going to see more suburban districts building their 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th high school. 30 years ago, Olentangy schools had one high school, now they are trying to pass a levy to build their 5th high school. Today Columbus metro is about 2.5 million. The prediction is by 2050 Columbus metro may be as big as 5 million people.
Click to expand...
Unless they are expanding what is called the metro area no way the road system can handle that many people unless they are all just staying at home or walking places.
 
Hi again. One day closer to high school football!

The Blade posted this story about "sleeper" teams to watch recently. Here are my thoughts:
www.toledoblade.com

2024 high school football: 4 Toledo-area sleeper teams to watch

Sometimes, a true sleeper team just comes out of nowhere to surprise everyone. A middle-of-the-road team from a year ago, perhaps benefitting from a weak ...
www.toledoblade.com www.toledoblade.com

Clay has the most athletic QB in the area in Heintschel and two receiving weapons in Hazuda and Byers. Biggest key to their success is giving Heintschel enough time to throw the ball behind their OLine. They do have one O-Lineman receiving D1 interest in 6'5 281 T Zach Rahm. Here's how I think their regular season will go.

08/23 H Sandusky - W by 10
08/30 H Sylvania Northview - W by 14
09/06 A Toledo Whitmer - L by 21
09/13 H Findlay - L by 14
09/20 A Perrysburg - L by 14
09/27 H Bowling Green - W by 30
10/04 A Fremont Ross - W by 7
10/11 H Napoleon - L by 3
10/18 A Sylvania Southview - W by 10
10/25 H Toledo Rogers - W by 30+

Napoleon is in no way a sleeper, kind of weird that they are here. My pick for the NLL Cardinal, and the second best team in their region is a sleeper? Trey Rubinstein is probably the best two-way athlete in both his conference and region, the Kent State commit is primed for an explosive year. Owen Espinoza back under center helps a ton as well, but a schedule in which they only play one of the Big 3 will benefit them the most, LC notwithstanding.

08/23 H Defiance - W by 10
08/30 A Liberty Center - L by 21
09/06 H Sylvania Northview - W by 14
09/13 A Whitehouse Anthony Wayne - W (hot take) by 3
09/20 H Holland Springfield - W by 14
09/27 A Fremont Ross - W by 14
10/04 A Toledo Bowsher - W by 30+
10/11 A Oregon Clay - W by 3
10/18 H Bowling Green - W by 21
10/25 H Sylvania Southview - W by 10

Fremont Ross is in a precarious spot. They have two solid players, one under center in Karson Kayden, and the other on the line in big Kaden Mayle on the line. However, they lost one of their better players in Montcrief and are more than likely going to get hammered by the big 3 and will struggle with a tougher NLL Cardnal schedule.

08/23 A Tiffin Columbian - L by 14
08/30 H Sandusky - W by 10
09/06 A Perrysburg - L by 30+
09/13 H Toledo Whitmer - L by 30+
09/20 A Findlay - L by 30+
09/27 H Napoleon - L by 21
10/04 H Oregon Clay - L by 10
10/11 A Sylvania Southview - L by 3
10/18 H Toledo Waite - W by 30+
10/25 A Bowling Green - W by 10

Start could be primed for one of their best seasons in recent memory under 2nd year HC Nate James as they look to finish over .500. Returners at RB in Jonah Tall and DB in Marvon Thompson and a newcomer in Dru Archer will bolster their lineup. The only team that will stand in their way in the City League will be the Spartans of Lima Senior.

08/23 H Norwalk L by 20
08/30 A Clyde L by 30+
09/06 H Springfield W by 7
09/13 H Scott W by 14
09/20 A Anthony Wayne L by 30+
09/27 H Rogers W by 10
10/04 A Waite W by 14
10/10 A Bowsher W by 14
10/18 A Woodward W by 20
10/25 H Lima Senior W by 3
 
TheDude89 said:
Interesting choice to have 3/5ths of the NLL Cardinal in their 4 sleeper teams... have to be some others they could've picked to add some variety
Click to expand...
That's what I'm saying. Napoleon and Clay will be the top two teams in the NLL Cardinal. Maybe in the playoffs, but surely not the regular season.

No SBC, NBC, or even NWOAL teams? That's just kind of lazy.
 
Yeah, Napoleon will totally go from a 25 point loss to a 10 point win against a team that returns almost every important player off last year's team. Sounds legit.
 
dhsdog06 said:
Yeah, Napoleon will totally go from a 25 point loss to a 10 point win against a team that returns almost every important player off last year's team. Sounds legit.
Click to expand...
Did you see I also took them over a local power 3 divisions higher than them, too? Maybe my prediction(s) was unserious, but I'm looking forward to the River Rock Rivalry Week 1.

I know they get back Zipfel at QB and Brady Borton at WR, but who else should I be keeping an eye out for? Looks like they have some big guys upfront on the line, too.
 
Happy National Joe Eitel Day! To coincide, I'm picking the best NWO-area team in each region that features one. I'm getting D1-D3 in first, try to get the rest in tonight/tomorrow.

D1-D3
D1 Region 1 - Whitmer (prediction 9-1, loss to Central Catholic)
The Panthers will be the D1 team to beat this year in NWO. A great coaching addition in OC Pat Gucciardo, a proven QB in Brady Ford, a 1-2 punch on the ground in RBs Joey Morales and Jaden Jones, a flat out athlete in Tylin Davis, the best OT in Ohio in Carter Lowe, and two additions from Scott that bolster their lineup as well in 6'5 274 OL Denell Nix and two-way spark plug Demecus Beach Jr.

The only problem? They're in the same region as Iggy, McKinley, Medina, Mentor, and St. Ed. Hopefully the basketball magic of this year can follow them onto the gridiron too...

D2 Region 6 - Anthony Wayne (prediction 7-3, losses to Napoleon, Whitmer, and Perrysburg)
With Central Catholic staying another year in D4, the Generals take their spot as the top NWO team in a region with an Avon team hungry to make up for last year's loss. Anthony Wayne themselves will look to improve from last year's 10-3 regional semi-final team that graduated two top receivers. Colgate commit Grant Kinnee will lead them under center, while RB Braden Gardner will be the source of much offensive production both on the ground and through the air. Lineman Maddox Barrow and Brayden Cole lead the charge in the trenches.

D2 Region 8 - Lima Senior (prediction 7-3, losses to Findlay, Harding, and Start)
Being the only NWO-area-ish team in R8, the Spartans take this by default, but Lima Senior is no slouch this year, though. Second year HC Bill Lawrence looks to build off from where the defending Toledo City League champions left off last year. QB Ja'naius Hall returns for a high flying Spartans offense that lost its two top receivers to graduation. However, two two-way athletes in Keyon Smith and Boog Wilson (Miami OH offer) will certainly keep them competitive in non-league play and dominant in the City League.

D3 Region 10 - Toledo Central Catholic (prediction 10-0, close games: Whitmer, Det. Cath. Cent., and DLS)
The two-time defending state champs have not lost a game since the first week of 2023 against St. Ed. It will be interesting to see how the Fighting Irish adapt to an entirely new offensive line and a new face at QB. However, their skill positions retain much familiarity in RB Tyler Morgan, four-star DB Victor Singleton and WR standout Preston Fryzel. In a year where the CHSL's talent will rise again, games against DCC and De La Salle will be critical in determining how tough the Fighting Irish will be for their opponents come playoff time.

D3 Region 12 - Wapakoneta (prediction 9-1, loss to Defiance)
Outside of Defiance, I admittedly am not too hip to WBL ball, but I know Wapakoneta has some big pieces and a lot of expectations to win after coming up four short to R12 favorite Badin last year. WR Kaden Page (3 MAC offers) and Louisville commit TE Grant Houser will be popular targets for QB Caleb Moyer. DL Chris Martin will be a big part of the Wapak defense as well.
 
Back here with my picks for the best NWO-area team in each region that features one in D4-7.

D4 Region 14 - Sandusky Perkins (prediction 10-0, close games: Rocky River and Harvest Prep)
To the delight of many in the region, Glenville is no longer in R14, keeping the Pirates' hopes for a run at the state title alive. They return a multitude of talent on the gridiron, including their best athlete in MSU commit Braylon Collier. Up front, Eli Sanchez (5 D1 offers), Joey Ziegler, and Javier Keys will be part of a big trench squad, paving the way for new QB Tim Boals and All-State RB Isaac Bunts. Harvard commit LB Mikey Young and three-star prospect at WR/DB Weston Sturzinger will both be problems on the defensive side of the ball. This is a Perkins team that only lost to a loaded Glenville team by 10 last year, and with their returners should be considered as a serious contender for the state championship.

D5 Region 18 - Oak Harbor (prediction 10-0, close games: Eastwood and Maumee)
Bar none the most competitive small school division in NWO, last years R18 field featured 10 teams with 7 wins or more. However, last year's dominant champions in the mighty Tigers of Liberty Center lost 4 of their best playmakers to graduation. The same can't be said for Oak Harbor, as the Rockets return many experienced starters on both sides of the ball. QB Michael Lalonde is back under center while being joined by RB/LB Carson Ridener in the back field. Jaxson Overmeyer and Garry Brooks will be two dangerous receiving threats for a potent Rocket offense while Carson's twin brother, Jacob Ridener will be a threat on the defensive line.

D6 Region 22 - Ottawa Hills (prediction 10-0, close games: none)
Ottawa Hills made an impressive push to the regional semi-final last year under new HC Brandon Carter. They'll look to build upon that, but strength of schedule (only two of their regular season opponents had 7 wins or more last year) and loss of a conference opponent in Cardinal Stritch could be an issue if the Green Bears don't return to their winning ways of last season. Regardless, they return a ton of talent from last year's team. Reddik and Rocco Pillarelli both return at WR/DB and RB respectively, while Chase Miller returns at QB after throwing for over 1900 yards last season. Nick Anderson at WR/DB and Cooper Eidenier at TE/DE bolster what will be a dominant team in a weak TAAC but could be a sleeper in a much stronger Region 22.

D7 Region 26 - Columbus Grove (prediction 8-2, losses to Liberty Benton and Bluffton)
Last year's Bulldog football team made it all the way to the state semifinal before faltering against Kirkland. They'll look to win it all this year as they drop a division but also retain much of last year's talent, too. QB Landon Best returns, joined by All-State RB Trent Barazza in the backfield as well. Two of Best's best targets in WR Kyle Hopkins and TE Brady Basinger will return for Columbus Grove as well. DT Kylan Mayes and DE Layton Blankemeyer will be a tough combination for opposing OL's to handle. In addition to all of these returners, the Bulldogs will play a loaded schedule that will almost certainly get them battle-tested for the playoffs.
 
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