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.
ELDER AND ED'S IN CROSS-STATE SHOWDOWN
Saturday night in Cincinnati, in front of two Ohio State assistant coaches, the nation's top-ranked high school football team, Lakewood St. Edward's, hit the highway to Cincinnati to take on Elder. Kerry Coombs and Zach Smith watched the Panthers and 2016 star offensive lineman Tommy Kraemer held off the star-laden Eagles of St. Ed's 21-14, stopping a last minute game-tying-touchdown effort by South Florida commitment Brett Kean and his teammates.
Despite a roster full of committed Division One prospects, the Eagles failed to get their offense moving early and couldn't overcome the methodical Panthers offense and junior quarterback Payton Ramsey. For the Panthers, who'd fallen out of the state's top 10 a week ago, it was a chance to prove they belong among the nation's best and they did it with a grind-it-out-style.
That's how the panthers do it!!!
— Tommy Kraemer (@Big_TK75) September 21, 2014
"We came out and took it to them," Kraemer said. "We wanted to set the tone early. We knew all we'd be ready to play, but no one gave us a chance."
For St. Ed's wide receiver Alex Stump, the loss is tough to swallow, but he knows his veteran-led team will bounce back.
"I still can't really believe it," Stump shared about the loss. "It hurts, but we'll regroup and focus on our goal of winning the state championship."
AUSTIN V. AUSTON
The anticipated matchup between Wayne (Ft. Wayne, Indiana) and Bishop Luers (Ft. Wayne, Indiana) didn't disappoint. The Hoosier state's top two players in 2016, Austin Mack and Auston Robertson each put on a show, with Mack's Luers team racking up a 69-47 (!!!) win. For their part, the two close friends Mack and Roberston, each held their own, exchanging big plays for their respective teams.
"That was a big game, a big 'W'," Mack told Eleven Warriors. "They had a lot of hype coming into the game. It was awesome to win like that. All of my boys play for them. We were ready, we never go easy in our preparation."
Mack and Robertson will both be back at Ohio State next weekend when the Buckeyes take on Cincinnati. It will be the second trip to Columbus in two weeks for each of them. Robertson, who has yet to be offered by Ohio State, is expecting that to happen soon. Mack said his message for his friend after the game was one of support, not taunting.
"I just told him 'Hey man, I love you, great game,'" he said. "Maybe one day he and I'll be teammates."
MCCALL SHINES AGAIN, THIS TIME IN FRONT OF DRAYTON
North Ridgeville's Demario McCall has had no shortage of big plays in his junior season. Friday night, in front of Ohio State's Stan Drayton, McCall scored three touchdowns and racked up 217 yards on 23 carries, helping his Rangers topple Avon Lake, 21-14. McCall also had two touchdowns called back by penalty.
SLADE PUTS UP BIG NUMBERS WITH BUCKEYES ON HAND
Ricky Slade, Jr. is one of the most talked about running backs in 2017 and beyond, and Friday night he once again showed why. The 5-foot-9, 170 pounder rushed for 133 yards on just 11 carries and racked up five touchdowns in front of a pair of Buckeye coaches, Larry Johnson, Sr. and Ed Warinner.
"Larry Johnson was at the game and that was neat for Ricky," His father, Ricky Sr., told Eleven Warriors. "Four of those touchdowns were going in the direction that coach Johnson was, so that was really cool."
Slade is a high school teammate and close friend of Matthew Burrell, who remains at the top of the Buckeyes' 2015 wish list.
ALEXANDER FINDS PAY DIRT TWICE, INJURES LEG IN UPSET WIN
After committing to Ohio State a week ago, Lake Braddock, Virginia's A.J. Alexander and his teammates lost a nail-biter to rival Robinson, 19-17. This past Friday, against Virginia's fifth-ranked team they got back on track, besting Chantilly Westfield 36-23. Alexander said being a senior leader on his team helped him get teammates refocused.
"I try to go out there and lead by example," Alexander told 11W. "It's important that I'm out there and confident. If the seniors go out there and do that, the rest of the team will do the same."
Alexander definitely led by example on Friday, even if he missed most of the second half with a leg issue.
"My leg is fine, just had to be cautious," he said. "I had a touchdown on a hand-off that was like 60 yards, and I also had a kick-off return for a touchdown."
The Washington Post has an excellent post-game reaction video from Alexander, including highlights.
| Player | Class | Pos | High School | Opponent | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JOE BURROW | 2015 | QB | Athens (The Plains, OH) | Alexander (Albany, OH) | Won 55-9. Burrow was 12-19 for 298 yards and five touchdowns. He threw his first interception of the 2014 season in the first quarter. |
| JOSH MOORE | 2015 | TE | North (Olathe, KS) | South (Olathe, KS) | Won 27-26 in double overtime. |
| AJ ALEXANDER | 2015 | ATH | Lake Braddock (Burke, VA) | Westfield (Chantilly, VA) | Won 36-23 over Virginia's 5th-ranked team. Alexander injured his leg and only played one half. Story above. |
| GRANT SCHMIDT | 2015 | OL | Roosevelt - 03 (Sioux Falls, SD) | Central (Rapid City, SD) | Won 45-7 |
| KEVIN FEDER | 2015 | OL | Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ) | Off Week | N/A |
| LIAM MCCULLOUGH | 2015 | OL (LS) | Kilbourne (Worthington, OH) | Hayes (Delaware, OH) | Won 22-0. |
| JOSH ALABI | 2015 | DL | Cass Tech (Detroit, MI) | Frederick Douglass (Detroit, MI) | Won 50-0. Alabi had three sacks and three tackles in a dominating defensive effort by the Technicians. |
| JASHON CORNELL | 2015 | DL | Cretin Durham Hall (St. Paul, MN) | Forest Lake (Forest Lake, MN) | Won 42-20. Cornell had 14 tackles, including six TFLs and two sacks. |
| DRE'MONT JONES | 2015 | DL | St. Ignatius (Cleveland, OH) | Assumption (Brantford, Ontario, CA) | Won 49-13. |
| NICK CONNER | 2015 | LB | Scioto (Dublin, OH) | Central (Westerville, OH) | Lost 26-16. |
| JUSTIN HILLIARD | 2015 | LB | St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) | Cathedral (Indianapolis, IN) | Won 27-0. Hilliard had 8 tackles and a forced fumble. |
| CARLTON DAVIS | 2015 | DB | Norland (Miami, FL) | Homestead (Homestead, FL) | Won 12-8 |
| JAMEL DEAN | 2015 | DB | Cocoa (Cocoa, FL) | Trinity (Louisville, KY) | Lost 35-32 |
| TYLER GREEN | 2015 | DB | DeMatha (Hyattesville, MD) | St. Frances (Baltimore, MD) | Won 47-26. Green recovered a fumble to go along with four passes broken up and two tackles. |
| DENZEL WARD | 2015 | DB | Nordonia (Macedonia, OH) | Highland (Medina, OH) | Won 44-21. Ward finished with near 150 yards receiving and one score. |
| ERIC GLOVER-WILLIAMS | 2015 | ATH | McKinley (Canton, OH) | Hoover (North Canton, OH) | Won 28-21. EGW found pay-dirt twice as the Bulldogs get a big cross-town win. He finished with 117 yards on 16 carries. |
| TYLER GERALD | 2016 | OL | Sciotoville (Portsmouth, OH) | Manchester (Manchester, OH) | Won 64-34 |
| GEORGE HILL | 2016 | RB | Hubbard (Hubbard, OH) | Notre Dame-Cathedral (Chardon, OH) | Won 49-15. Hill scored three touchdowns as Hubbard rolled. |
| DANNY CLARK | 2017 | QB | Washington (Massillon, OH) | St. John's (Brantford, Ontario, CA) | Won 77-13, Clark played only one-half of the first quarter as the Tigers lambasted their Canadian opponents. He finished 9-11 passing for 109 yards and two touchdowns. |
