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.
Note: For those of you that have followed the countdown since the beginning, you will remember that the Fighting Irish were featured in the No. 93 spot. Ludwig Yards correctly noticed that Mike Scannell was not listed as a Toledo Central alum. Ohio State's roster had Scannell as a Central Catholic player, but from Sylvania. I am not from that region and mistakenly place him on "Sylvania Central Catholic" in my notes.
With the addition of Scannell, Toledo Central Catholic is in its proper ranking and all is right in the world.
No. 64, Toledo Central Catholic
Qualification
Six players from Toledo Central Catholic have been listed on 14 Ohio State rosters. The first was FB Patrick Eggers in 1971. Eggers earned All-Ohio honors as a senior with the Fighting Irish, but did not return to the Buckeyes after his sophomore season. 13 seasons later, Central Catholic had its second Buckeye, Tom Anderzack. The outside linebacker entered Ohio State as a defensive tackle, but was moved to linebacker due to his quickness. He had limited action on the special teams unit in 1986 and his junior season, 1987, was his last with the team.
DE Mike Scannell (1970-72) played behind Van DeCree during his time in Columbus. As a senior, he recorded 19 tackles and two tackles for loss. Scannell was an All-Ohio linebacker at Toledo Central Catholic.
The Central Catholic alum that most Ohio State fans will recognize is Dane Sanzenbacher. He left Central Catholic with the school record in career receiving yards (2,808), receptions (151) and all-purpose yards (4,079). The Fighting Irish also won the 2005 state title with Sanzenbacher catching three touchdown passes in the championship game.
The wide receiver joined the Buckeyes in 2007 and hauled in 12 passes for 89 yards as a freshman. He was the team's leading receiver during his senior season with 55 receptions for 948 yards and 11 touchdowns. Sanzenbacher was also named a captain, team MVP and All-Big Ten in 2010. Not sure if it was because of his efforts, or the sound of his name, but Jon Gruden loved saying "Sanzenbacher" during Terrelle Pryor's QB Camp episode.
Jayme Thompson (2013) and kicker Zack Hoover (2018) are the other Central Catholic alum to make the Ohio State roster.ah
Back To School
Toledo Central Catholic High School is located in Lucas County and is a member of the Three Rivers Athletic Conference. The team currently competes in Division II, Region 6. The Fighting Irish defeated Avon Lake 56-16 in round one of the playoffs before losing to Avon. The team finished 12–1 in 2018. Central Catholic has made the playoffs in 15 straight seasons and 2014 was the last time the school won the state championship.
Notable
Central Catholic has won seven state titles. The football team won the state championship in 2014, 2012, 2005 and 1962. Volleyball won in 2007, Boys Track in 1997 and Golf was state champs in 1930.
Famous Alumni
Some names you may know: MLB umpire Jim Joyce, 1987 Miss Ohio Mary Zilba, NFL and Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer and Tennessee Titan TE Keith Towbridge.
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.
| 100 | 99 | 98 | 97 | 96 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 92 | 91 |
| 90 | 89 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 85 | 84 | 83 | 82 | 81 |
| 80 | 79 | 78 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 71 |
| 70 | 69 | 68 | 67 | 66 | 65 | 64 | 63 | 62 | 61 |
| 60 | 59 | 58 | 57 | 56 | 55 | 54 | 53 | 52 | 51 |
| 50 | 49 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 |
| 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 |
2,771 days since Ohio State has not defeated That Team.
155 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.
