Ohio high school football notes: Week 1 highlights

High school football returned last weekend, and there was no shortage of storylines in our corner of Ohio and beyond.

Press Pros Magazine (one of my new regular gigs) was out in force, covering games from Germantown up to St. Henry as well as in Central Ohio.

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Here are a few results that caught my eye: ¹

Bellefontaine won with a new St. Clair at QB, but he took a backseat to the guy who scored six touchdowns

Funny thing when a guy can throw for 329 yards and two touchdowns in his first start with his brother, an Ohio State quarterback, in attendance and still almost be an after thought.

For sure, the fans outside Logan County were more interested in Reign St. Clair’s stat line, but the ones in the stadium were entertained by Carter Caudill pounding out 120 yards and finding the end zone six times, including a 53-yard run late.

Here’s my recap.

Caudill also manned his familiar middle linebacker spot, though the Chieftain defense had more trouble than the offense.

Sidney gained 334 yards and showed off a stable of slippery running backs behind a massive offensive line. Jamari Combs led the way with 118 yards on 23 carries while Ishhod Diomande added 62 yards on six carries.

Ryan Day's surprising QB comparison

How Ryan Day settled on a starting QB at Ohio State

Tippecanoe was as good as advertised in spanking Bellbrook

The Red Devils are more worried about the playoffs (already) after going 10-0 but losing in the second round last year. They will be favored every week with a lot of key players back from that squad, but this was a satisfying performance against a Bellbrook team that is always good.

Alan Brads noted Collin Isaac, Tipp’s star linebacker, pulled double duty and ran for a touchdown Friday night while Will Strong caught seven of Larkin Thomas’ passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.

(The Golden Eagles host Bellefontaine this week, by the way.)

Ohio State tight ends have never been talked about like this before

Coldwater outlasted Valley View in another matchup between traditional powers

As explained by Jeff Gilbert, this one was more noteworthy for the Cavaliers because they have to replace a lot of players from their Division VI state championship team.

Karsyn Homan had 185 yards passing and 123 yards rushing with five total touchdowns for Coldwater, which won by stopping a two-point conversion in overtime.

Troy and Piqua lost close games

This is noteworthy not because we are interested in moral victories but because the old rivals are both looking for bounce-back seasons after going a combined 10-11 last year.

The Trojans had a 14-0 lead at Division I Middletown but couldn’t hang on against a Middies team on the rise with a few Division I college prospects.

Aiden Kirkpatrick is back at quarterback for Troy and put up more than 200 total yards. He also kicked two field goals and averaged 40.5 yards per punt in a 28-20 loss.

Meanwhile, Piqua gave up almost 400 yards but held Lima Senior to 12 points.

However, the Indians only found the end zone once and managed 176 total yards in a five-point loss.

Lima Senior was 9-2 last season, including a 15-point win over the Indians in Week 1.

Elsewhere in the MVL, Deaunte White ran for 167 yards and three touchdowns as Xenia beat rival Beavercreek 27-18, and Devin McCormick had over 300 total yards and five touchdown passes as Stebbins beat Carroll 36-8.

Greenville, 0-10 the last two seasons, started 1-0 this season with a 24-14 win over Eaton.

The Green Wave snapped a 22-game losing streak.

Lehman Catholic whipped Delphos St. John’s

Big win for the Cavaliers, whom I previewed a couple of weeks ago. They are looking to re-establish themselves as a perennial contender, and stopping the resurgent Blue Jays 56-35 is a good way to start.

Senior Turner Lachey threw for 501 yards and only eight touchdowns for Lehman while Evan O’Leary and CJ Olding had 245 and 246 yards receiving, respectively. (Not sure I have ever seen a stat line like that…)

Lachey also had a 61-yard punt, and O’Leary was the leading tackler with 11 stops, including two for loss.

DSJ was one of only two MAC teams to lose on opening night (Parkway was the other).

Also of note around the league: St. Henry rode its defense to a 31-7 win over Celina, and Marion Local won its 65th game in a row, this time 56-0 over South Adams.

READ MORE on Lehman here: Cavaliers pursue past glory

Bellisari cousins combined to lead another defending state champion to victory

Columbus Bishop Watterson, the state champ in Division III last season, scored 37 unanswered points to beat Big Walnut 37-15 on Friday night.

Ohio State fans will note Watterson is led by two guys with a familiar last name: Quarterback Drew Bellisari is the son of former Ohio State linebacker Greg in the mid-90s, and top receiver Carter Bellisari is the son of Steve, who played quarterback (and special teams ace for one year) for the Buckeyes from 1998-2001.

Drew completed 14 of 19 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns while Carter caught seven passes for 155 yards and both scores in their opener.