Week 5 Recap
By: Joshua Niemann
Sunday, September 22nd, 3:53pm
Photo: Joshua Niemann
We have reached the halfway point of the high school football regular season, as the great teams cement themselves, showing themselves evident in dominant performances. Here are some of major events that happened this past weekend of football.
Watterson Makes a Statement
Photo: Joshua Niemann / Drew Bellisari, Quarterback at Bishop Watterson High School
Returning Divison III State Finalist, the Bishop Watterson Eagles, have kept the fire burning from last season. The Eagles traveled up to the Hilltoppers of Chardon, a #2 vs #3 match up in Division III according to Yappi Sports power rankings.
The Eagles set the tone early, as Jake Uhlenhake took the opening kickoff 95 yards for a quick touchdown. While Chardon bounced back with a touchdown of their own, that would be the closest this game got all night.
Quarterback Drew Bellisari led the Watterson offense to a 41-9 victory over the Chardon Hilltoppers, accounting for 5 of the touchdowns, 1 rushing and 4 passing, continuing to power this high power offense who have put up at least 20 points a game this season, and an average of 41.2 points a game.
Bishop Watterson improves 5-0 on the season, they have outscored their first five opponents 198-22.
Chaos Continues in Olentangy
Photo: Peter Siler / Levi Davis, Quarterback at Olentangy Orange High school
Region 3 never has a boring week. Coming off a thrilling 22-21 victory over Olentangy Liberty, Olentangy Berlin came into crosstown rivals Olentangy Orange with high hopes to knock off a second Olentangy team in back-to-back weeks. Orange, coming off a 31-21 loss to Gahanna Lincoln, was not having any of it Friday night.
Led by one of Ohio’s top class of 2026 quarterback prospects, Levi Davis, led the Pioneer offense to 35 points, accounting for 4 of the 5 total touchdowns, 2 rushing, 2 passing, continuing to showcase his dual-threat abilities as a quarterback.
Levi and the offense weren’t the only stars of this performance, as the Pioneer defense held the Bears to only 7 points of offense, while causing 5 turnovers on the night, 4 being interceptions, truly making it a no fly zone in the Pioneers secondary.
Orange bounces back and improves to 4-1 and joins a plethora of teams in region 3 with that very record.
Moeller Wins an Electric rivalry game over St. Xavier
Photo: Joshua Niemann / Matt Ponatoski, Quarterback at Archbishop Moeller High School
Coming off a brutal overtime loss at the Ironton Gridiron Classic last week, Archbishop Moeller did not let the shortcomings of the previous week affect them in the slightest.
Led by junior quarterback Matt Ponatoski, Moeller jumped way ahead early, leaving the first quarter up 28-7, and held onto that lead for the rest of the 3 quarters, despite the Bomber offense throwing everything they had, it wasn’t enough. Ponatoski was 18 out of 25 on the night, continuing his streak of video game like numbers, as he accounted for 321 yards and 6 touchdowns in the victory. He is the all-time leading passer in yards and touchdowns at Archbishop Moeller, all as a junior.
Moeller improves to 4-1 on the season and will travel to La Salle high school next week to take on the Lancers.
Massillon Defeats Ed’s for the Third Year in a Row
Photo: Joshua Niemann / Ja’Meir Gamble, Running back for Massillon Washington High School
Massillon traveled up to Lakewood Friday to take on the Eagles of St. Edward in MaxPreps #2 Game of the Week, and it lived up to all the hype. In front of sold out crowd, while two of Ohio’s finest programs fought for every yard both ways under the lights of Frist Federal Lakewood Stadium.
St. Edward, out their all-American running back Brandon White, relied heavily on their pass game as Ashland University commit, Thomas Csanyi, threw for 251 yards and all 3 of their touchdowns on the night. Even with that performance in the air, the Tigers defense held the Eagles rushing game to a mere 53 yards, an anomaly from the past 4 games where they rushed for an average of 159.5 yards, only barely eclipsing half of their previous season low, which was 103 yards against St. Joesph Prep.
While the Eagles struggle to rush the ball, Massillon did not have that issue. Led by running back Ja’Meir Gamble who rushed 22 carries for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns, and ultimately led the Tigers to their 3rd straight win over the Eagles in the past 3 years, and a 4-1 start on the year.
Stay up to date all things high school sports with Yappi Sports! Follow our Instagram to see all the top high school highlights each week around the state, and beyond!
By: Joshua Niemann
Sunday, September 22nd, 3:53pm
Photo: Joshua Niemann
We have reached the halfway point of the high school football regular season, as the great teams cement themselves, showing themselves evident in dominant performances. Here are some of major events that happened this past weekend of football.
Watterson Makes a Statement
Photo: Joshua Niemann / Drew Bellisari, Quarterback at Bishop Watterson High School
Returning Divison III State Finalist, the Bishop Watterson Eagles, have kept the fire burning from last season. The Eagles traveled up to the Hilltoppers of Chardon, a #2 vs #3 match up in Division III according to Yappi Sports power rankings.
The Eagles set the tone early, as Jake Uhlenhake took the opening kickoff 95 yards for a quick touchdown. While Chardon bounced back with a touchdown of their own, that would be the closest this game got all night.
Quarterback Drew Bellisari led the Watterson offense to a 41-9 victory over the Chardon Hilltoppers, accounting for 5 of the touchdowns, 1 rushing and 4 passing, continuing to power this high power offense who have put up at least 20 points a game this season, and an average of 41.2 points a game.
Bishop Watterson improves 5-0 on the season, they have outscored their first five opponents 198-22.
Chaos Continues in Olentangy
Photo: Peter Siler / Levi Davis, Quarterback at Olentangy Orange High school
Region 3 never has a boring week. Coming off a thrilling 22-21 victory over Olentangy Liberty, Olentangy Berlin came into crosstown rivals Olentangy Orange with high hopes to knock off a second Olentangy team in back-to-back weeks. Orange, coming off a 31-21 loss to Gahanna Lincoln, was not having any of it Friday night.
Led by one of Ohio’s top class of 2026 quarterback prospects, Levi Davis, led the Pioneer offense to 35 points, accounting for 4 of the 5 total touchdowns, 2 rushing, 2 passing, continuing to showcase his dual-threat abilities as a quarterback.
Levi and the offense weren’t the only stars of this performance, as the Pioneer defense held the Bears to only 7 points of offense, while causing 5 turnovers on the night, 4 being interceptions, truly making it a no fly zone in the Pioneers secondary.
Orange bounces back and improves to 4-1 and joins a plethora of teams in region 3 with that very record.
Moeller Wins an Electric rivalry game over St. Xavier
Photo: Joshua Niemann / Matt Ponatoski, Quarterback at Archbishop Moeller High School
Coming off a brutal overtime loss at the Ironton Gridiron Classic last week, Archbishop Moeller did not let the shortcomings of the previous week affect them in the slightest.
Led by junior quarterback Matt Ponatoski, Moeller jumped way ahead early, leaving the first quarter up 28-7, and held onto that lead for the rest of the 3 quarters, despite the Bomber offense throwing everything they had, it wasn’t enough. Ponatoski was 18 out of 25 on the night, continuing his streak of video game like numbers, as he accounted for 321 yards and 6 touchdowns in the victory. He is the all-time leading passer in yards and touchdowns at Archbishop Moeller, all as a junior.
Moeller improves to 4-1 on the season and will travel to La Salle high school next week to take on the Lancers.
Massillon Defeats Ed’s for the Third Year in a Row
Photo: Joshua Niemann / Ja’Meir Gamble, Running back for Massillon Washington High School
Massillon traveled up to Lakewood Friday to take on the Eagles of St. Edward in MaxPreps #2 Game of the Week, and it lived up to all the hype. In front of sold out crowd, while two of Ohio’s finest programs fought for every yard both ways under the lights of Frist Federal Lakewood Stadium.
St. Edward, out their all-American running back Brandon White, relied heavily on their pass game as Ashland University commit, Thomas Csanyi, threw for 251 yards and all 3 of their touchdowns on the night. Even with that performance in the air, the Tigers defense held the Eagles rushing game to a mere 53 yards, an anomaly from the past 4 games where they rushed for an average of 159.5 yards, only barely eclipsing half of their previous season low, which was 103 yards against St. Joesph Prep.
While the Eagles struggle to rush the ball, Massillon did not have that issue. Led by running back Ja’Meir Gamble who rushed 22 carries for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns, and ultimately led the Tigers to their 3rd straight win over the Eagles in the past 3 years, and a 4-1 start on the year.
Written by: Joshua NiemannStay up to date all things high school sports with Yappi Sports! Follow our Instagram to see all the top high school highlights each week around the state, and beyond!
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