It was another weekend chock full of action featuring the future of Ohio State football.
Let's take a look at some of the highlights of another packed weekend of Buckeye prep football:
Hicks, Alter blow past reigning state champs
This week, Ohio State outside linebacker commit C.J. Hicks saw a pretty major bump in his recruiting ranking, jumping from No. 71 overall to No. 53 overall while staying at No. 3 at OLB and No. 2 in the state of Ohio.
On Friday night, the potential five-star prospect proved once again why he deserved that bump.
Hicks and his Archbishop Alter teammates trounced reigning Division III state champion Trotwood-Madison, 42-0, cruising into the Division III, Region 11 state semifinals against Hamilton Badin next weekend.
Hicks' running back teammate, Branden McDonald, stole the show by rushing for more than 400 yards and six touchdowns en route to the big win, and Hicks provided a big defensive highlight of his own by breaking through the center and guard to land this sack:
Hello 9-1-1, I need to report a murder #FutureBuckeye pic.twitter.com/2e8Zo6Mxne
— Dan Morrison (@dan_morrison1) October 24, 2020
That play seemed reminiscent of one of Hicks' favorite all-time players, former Seattle Seahawks All-Pro safety Kam Chancellor, a player who Hicks told Eleven Warriors prior to this season starting that he was planning on emulating during his junior year.
“When he hits somebody, he would hit them so hard that he would say, ‘I’m tattooing that on them. I’m leaving that Bam on them,’” Hicks said this fall. “I’m coming with that this year.”
Sure seems like it.
Christman, Revere fall in heartbreaker
Obviously, the biggest event in Ohio State recruiting this weekend was the Buckeye Bash, and we will have coverage from that main event this week.
As part of the weekend's festivities, the commits' plan – or at least Jack Sawyer, TreVeyon Henderson, Evan Pryor and Tyleik Williams' plan – was to head up to Tiffin to check out Ben Christman and his Revere teammates take on Columbian in a playoff game. Instead, because of bad weather, those four elected to not make the trek up to northern Ohio.
If they had, they would have seen Christman and the Minutemen suffer a heartbreaking loss to end their season in a 28-21 defeat.
Revere held a 21-7 lead in the fourth quarter, but Columbian converted a pair of fourth downs that led to a 21-14 margin. Then, after recovering a fumble, Columbian tied the game at 21, and it took the decisive lead following another fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff. That led to the game-winning touchdown with less than 20 seconds left as the Minutemen's season came to an end with a 4-3 record.
BIG BOARD FRIDAY: This may be the game of the year. Tiffin Columbian scores 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to complete an epic comeback. They keep their special season alive.
— Jordan Strack (@JordanStrack) October 24, 2020
We've got full coverage here... pic.twitter.com/jxkvbNl65p
Devin Smith 2.0
Jayden Ballard has gotten some comparisons to Devin Smith, who also starred at Massillon Washington as a receiver before heading to Ohio State.
And Ballard showcased some of the same talent that Smith did with this incredible circus catch on Friday night:
@J_Ball21 @11W TD Tigers!! pic.twitter.com/hVHTqZalUp
— Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club (@Massillon_Tiger) October 24, 2020
Ballard's touchdown grab led to another blowout win for the Tigers, as they advanced in the playoffs with a 48-23 win on their quest to return to the state championship game for a second straight season.
Buckeye Roundup
A breakdown of all the Ohio State commits who were in action this weekend:
| Player (Class) | Team | Opponent | Result (Record) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDE JACK SAWYER (2021) | PICKERINGTON NORTH | SAWYER OPTED OUT | |
| OG DONOVAN JACKSON | EPISCOPAL (TEXAS) | ST. JOHN'S | W, 19-7 (2-3) |
| RB TREVEYON HENDERSON | HOPEWELL (VA.) | SEASON PPD UNTIL SPRING | |
| QB KYLE MCCORD | ST. JOSEPH'S PREP (PA.) | GAME PPD | (2-0) |
| CB JAKAILIN JOHNSON | DE SMET (MO.) | IDLE | (2-0) |
| WR JAYDEN BALLARD | MASSILLON WASHINGTON | HOOVER | W, 48-23 (7-1)* |
| DT MIKE HALL | STREETSBORO | DOVER | W, 54-21 (8-0)* |
| CB JORDAN HANCOCK | NORTH GWINNETT (GA.) | IDLE | (5-2) |
| LB REID CARRICO | IRONTON | JOHNSTOWN-MONROE | W, 42-0 (8-0)* |
| RB EVAN PRYOR | WILLIAM AMOS HOUGH (N.C.) | SEASON PPD UNTIL SPRING | |
| WR MARVIN HARRISON JR. | ST. JOSEPH'S PREP (PA.) | GAME PPD | (2-0) |
| OG BEN CHRISTMAN | REVERE | @ COLUMBIAN | L, 28-21 (4-3)* |
| S/CB ANDRE TURRENTINE | ENSWORTH (TENN.) | BRENTWOOD ACADEMY | L, 16-7 (2-5) |
| DT TYLEIK WILLIAMS | UNITY REED (VA.) | SEASON PPD UNTIL SPRING | |
| ATH DENZEL BURKE | SAGUARO (ARIZ.) | HAMILTON | L, 13-7 (2-1) |
| S JANTZEN DUNN | SOUTH WARREN (KY.) | CHRISTIAN COUNTY | W, 49-8 (5-0) |
| S/LB JAYLEN JOHNSON | CINCINNATI LA SALLE | STEBBINS | W, 49-0 (6-2)* |
| TE SAM HART | CHEROKEE TRAIL (CO.) | @ SMOKY HILL | W, 35-21 (1-2) |
| OT ZEN MICHALSKI | FLOYD CENTRAL (IND.) | IDLE | (7-2) |
| P JESSE MIRCO | PROKICK AUSTRALIA | SIGNED WITH OHIO STATE | |
| LB GABE POWERS (2022) | MARYSVILLE | SEASON FINISHED | FINAL RECORD: 6-2 |
| ATH DASAN MCCULLOUGH | BLUE VALLEY NORTH (KAN.) | @ BLUE VALLEY SOUTHWEST | W, 19-7 (3-2) |
| LB C.J. HICKS | ARCHBISHOP ALTER | @ TROTWOOD-MADISON | W, 42-0 (6-2)* |
| CB JYAIRE BROWN | LAKOTA WEST | COLERAIN | W, 23-7 (8-0)* |
| OT TEGRA TSHABOLA | LAKOTA WEST | COLERAIN | W, 23-7 (8-0)* |
| TE BENNETT CHRISTIAN | ALLATOONA (GA.) | IDLE | (5-0) |
*Denotes playoff game
