Eaton defeated Preble Shawnee 18-14 on Friday, Aug. 16 in the final tuneup for both teams before the regular season begins this Thursday and Friday.
Eddie Mowen Jr. | The Register-Herald
PREBLE and NORTHERN MONTGOMERY COUNTIES — The high school football season kickoff this week with all seven area teams in action.
Eaton will get the season started on Thursday when the Eagles host Greenville for a Thursday Night Lights game. On Friday, Brookville will travel to Tri-County North; National Trail will visit Bethel; Preble Shawnee will host Middletown Madison; Twin Valley South will travel to Carlisle and Northmont will host Butler.
BROOKVILLE (10-3, 4-2; T-3rd in SWBL Buckeye)
The Blue Devils are coming off 21 wins in two years and look primed for another double-digit W run. Veteran head coach Mike Hetrick (150-92 in 24 years) graduated three all-league players, but returns five. Line play will be an enormous strength.
Seniors Jordan Meyers (36 tackles and five TFL) and Xavier Stacy (46 tackles and 6.5 TFL) earned All-SWBL honors on both sides of the ball last year, while senior Trent Brooks (25 tackles) was an all-league selection on defense. Senior Walt Adams (DB/RB/K) was first team all-league on both sides of the ball as well. He ran for 931 yards and 11 TDs on 120 carries and caught 24 passes for 388 yards and two TDs.
On defense Adams made 56 tackles and had three interceptions. Senior DB Seth Hoover earned all-league honors after making 59 tackles and three interceptions. Junior RB/LB Jake Lesner was second on the team in tackles (61) last year and fourth in rushing yards (710) and third in TDs (11).
The Blue Devils move up to Division IV this season.
EATON (8-3, 4-2; T-3rd in SWBL Buckeye)
The Eagles are 26-10 the last three years. Maintaining momentum is a goal. “We have a core group of experienced seniors that we’ll lean on,” head coach Brad Davis (42-54 in nine years) said.
“As with every year, we’re looking forward to seeing some young guys step up and fill roles.” Eaton returns six all-league selections in seniors Conner Bach (WR/DB), Cordis Berard (RB/DL), Brandon Couch (TE/DB), Preston Orr (WR/DL) and Cooper Wilson (OL/DL) and junior Jon Hewitt (K). Berard led the team in rushing last year (746 yards and seven TDs), while Bach was a reliable target (33 receptions for 543 yards and four TDs). Couch and Orr are the top two returning tacklers with 64 and 52 stops, respectively.
Hewitt is an All-Ohio kicker that canned 57- and 50-yard field goals against McNicholas and Waynesville, respectively.
Eaton remains in Division IV.
PREBLE SHAWNEE (8-4, 7-2; 3rd in WOAC)
The Arrows are coming off their fourth straight playoff appearence and are primed to make the postseason for a first consecutive season with a veteran group coming back.
Head coach Dave Maddox begins his seventh season at the helm of the Arrows where he has posted a 40-24 record, including a regional runner-up finish in 2021. “We have a lot of returning starters on both sides of the ball. Nothing will come easy, but I expect this team to be in contention for a league title this season. This team has the potential to be very good. I expect us to be in contention for a league title and to be very competitive in the playoffs,” Maddox said.
On offense the Arrows return quarterback Brody Morton, who will leading the offense for a third straight year. His main targets will be senior Isaac Blankenship and Reece Smith. Lane Lovely will handle a majority of the running back duties. Brody Lynch will help anchor the offensive line and play a key role at linebacker. Cooper Shrout and Bryson Doran will also help anchor the offensive line.
Maddox said he expects several other players to step up and play key roles. “We had great numbers in the weight room and our players have been working very hard all off-season. We have the best numbers we have had on the team since I came here in 2014. We have a great group of seniors and juniors that have an awesome work ethic, excellent attitudes, and are setting a great example for the underclassmen.
Preble Shawnee will be in Division V this season.
TWIN VALLEY SOUTH (7-5, 6-3; 4th WOAC)
Brian Butts enters his second season at Twin Valley South. The Panthers are coming off a 7-5 season and a playoff win. Butts is looking for his team to improve on and will be looking at moving up the WOAC standings.
“We had a really great year in the weight room. WE are a lot stronger than last year. We may not be quite as fast as the group of seniors we had last year but we are still pretty fast. I think our strength from the weight room will give us a chance to compete for the WOAC title. We are down a bit in number so our depth is not great. If we stay healthy we have a shot of moving up in the standings. We know we are chasing Ansonia, Tri Village and Preble Shawnee. Those will be the teams everyone is thinking will have the best shot at the WOAC Title. We talk about one week at a time so our focus is on Carlisle. We will focus on those games when the time comes,” Butt said.
Butts noted he will be relying on a group of seniors in Carson Hurst, Griff Roell, Mason Crews, Caden Bishop, Conner Mowell and Malakai Miller to provide leadership.
”We had a great summer in the weight room and at the camps we went too. We are really excited about the progress the program has made and looking forward to competing every Friday night,” Butts said.
The Panthers drop to Division VII.
NATIONAL TRAIL (4-7, 4-4; 5th in WOAC)
The Blazers will be under new leadership this season as veteran coach Mark Hoffman retired after leading Trail to a 4-7 record and the postseason last season.
Erik Wolfe takes over for Hoffman. The Blazers will start the season with a roster of 33 players, which includes eight seniors James Baker, Zach Lawson, Henry Toschlog, Zack Creager, Jaxson Thacker, Copper Smith, Brancin Mowen and Brady Thompson. Trail will open the season with three straight road games. They will visit Bethel to begin the season, then make trips to Tri-County North and Preble Shawnee in Week 2 and 3.
The Blazers will compete in Division VI.
TRI-COUNTY NORTH (4-7, 3-5; 6th in WOAC)
A familiar face returns to the lead the Panthers in 2024. Steve Boozier returns to guide North after Trace Smitherman left after just two seasons.
Boozier coached the Panthers in the late 1990’s but returns to coach a team that went 4-7 and reached the playoffs, falling to eventual state champion Marion Local in the first round.
North will need to replace quarterback Logan Flory and running back Colten VanWinkle. They will have to do so with a roster of just 24 players to begin the season. The Panthers have seven seniors on the roster: Madison Jeffers, Mason Donahue, Dylan Boone, Cullen Davis, Jacob Dawson, Nick Meyer and Jeffery Ricketts Jr.
North will open the season hosting traditional rival Brookville before hosting National Trail in Week 2 to begin WOAC play.
Tri-County North will compete in Division VII.
NORTHMONT (7-5, 3-4; GWOC)
The Thunderbolts return to Divsion I this season after competing in D-II a year ago.
Led by veteran coach Tony Broering, the T-Bolts will look to improved on their 7-5 record from last season. They finished 3-4 in the rugged GWOC, which was good for sixth place. Of the five losses last season, the T-Bolts lost four games by six points or less.
Northmont will be lead by returning all-league performers Calilien Grant and Brady Lupton.
The Thunderbolts will open the season at home against Vandalia Butler.
(Editor’s note: SWBLsports.com contributed to this story)
Reach Eddie Mowen Jr. at 937-683-4061 and follow on X @emowenjr.
