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O H I O C A P I T A L C O N F E R E N C E- CA R D I N A L
Overview

Division title appears to be up for grabs

By PAUL BATTERSON
ThisWeek Staff Writer
Pickerington High School Central
football coach Jay Sharrett believes
his team was well-prepared for the
Division II playoffs last season after
surviving the OCC-Cardinal Division.
The Tigers, who finished 13-2 over-
all after losing to Piqua 26-7 in the
state final, won the OCC-Cardinal at
5-0.
“One thing we try to do every year
is just stay alive in the OCC,” Shar-
rett said. “We don’t worry about the
playoffs. If you’re in the race for the
OCC, the playoffs generally take care
of themselves.”
Central outscored league opponents
an average of 39.8-8.8 last year — it
finished ahead of Olentangy (3-2),
Worthington Kilbourne (3-2), West-
erville South (3-2), Dublin Jerome (1-
4) and Mount Vernon (0-5) — but
Sharrett said winning the league cer-
tainly didn’t feel easy.
“Every team in the league is well-
coached,” he said. “Some are well-
coached with a lot of talent and some
are well-coached where the talent
might be a little down that year. Some
of these might not have had the ath-
letes, but if you took them too lightly,
suddenly you’re in a 10-7 dogfight.”
Kilbourne coach Vince Trombetti
said he is not sure who is going to be
the one who wins the league this year.
“I’m hoping it’s going to be real
competitive,” Trombetti said. “I think
it’s anybody’s race. It’ll be pretty even
this year.”
The OCC-Cardinal may not have
the marquee players of a year ago.
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek Gone are South quarterback Rocco
Brennen Fraley, a senior linebacker, will help lead the defense for Picker- Pentello and South receiver B.J. Cun-
ington Central, which moves up to Division I this season. ningham. Pentello completed 78 of
Inside the division
2006 STANDINGS
Team League Overall
Pickerington Central 5-0 13-2
Olentangy 3-2 8-3
Westerville South 3-2 8-3
Worth. Kilbourne 3-2 4-6
Dublin Jerome 2-3 2-8
Mount Vernone 0-5 1-9
2007 SCHEDULE
Sept. 28
Olentangy at Dublin Jerome
Mount Vernon at Westerville South
Pickerington Central at Kilbourne
Oct. 5
Dublin Jerome at Pickerington Central
120 passes for 1,186 and 13 touch-
downs and rushed for 994 yards and
13 touchdowns before suffering a sea-
son-ending ankle injury in the seventh
game, and Cunningham had 45 recep-
tions for 770 yards and nine touch-
downs.
Central is without ChazzAnderson,
who last season completed 139 of 251
passes for 2,066 yards and 12 touch-
downs and rushed for 140 yards and
six touchdowns on 66 carries. He was
the league and district Player of the
Year and first-team all-state.
Gone from Olentangy are quarter-
back Daniel Johnson and receiver Ryan
Randolph. Johnson completed 82 of
182 passes for 1,206 yards and nine
touchdowns, and Randolph caught 35
passes for 695 yards and eight touch-
downs.
“There’s a whole new generation
of the players out there,” Olentangy
coach Ed Terwilliger said. “Every-
body is just like us. We graduated some
really good players, but we hope to
see if our younger players have
matured enough to turn into good play-
ers.”
Worthington Kilbourne at Mount Vernon
Westerville South at Olentangy
Oct. 12
Mount Vernon at Dublin Jerome
Pickerington Central at Olentangy
Worthington Kilbourne at Westerville South
Oct. 19
Dublin Jerome at Worthington Kilbourne
Olentangy at Mount Vernon
Pickerington Central at Westerville South
Oct. 26
Westerville South at Dublin Jerome
Mount Vernon at Pickerington Central
Worthington Kilbourne at Olentangy
The front-runner might be Kil-
bourne. The Wolves return 17 starters
— nine on offense and eight on
defense. Kilbourne won three of its
last four games, with the loss being
21-20 to South.
The Wolves will be led by running
back Rodney Tate, who ran for 904
yards and seven touchdowns on 124
carries last year.
South will turn to junior Ryan Clark,
who last year had 134 carries for 796
yards and seven touchdowns, and
senior receiver Brent Carter, who had
35 catches for 517 yards and three
touchdowns and was second-team all-
OCC and special mention all-district.
Central lost seven starters on
offense, including Anderson, running
back Jordan Jarrell and wide receiver
Brian Peters. Four offensive starters
— senior left guard Aaron Rittgers,
senior right tackle Tim McGougan,
junior wide receiver Patrick White
and junior tight end Blaine Burgess
— have returned, and even though
they will have to break in an inexpe-
See CARDINAL, page 28

Dublin Jerome
Team unity will be key for Celtics
to rebound from dismal 2-8 season
By FRANK DiRENNA
ThisWeek Contributor
The concept of unity has been a major empha-
sis during the preseason for the Dublin Jerome
High School football team.
Practices have featured team-bonding drills,
including where the players catch each coach
as they fall backward. The Celtics are hoping
that philosophy carries over to the football field.
“The biggest thing that we have to work on
with these guys is that unity,” said coach Mark
Hundley, whose team will open Friday at home
against Westerville Central. “We can’t let other
people dictate how we’re going to be. We have
to dictate that ourselves. We have to go out and
play our game. When a team does a certain thing
we can’t get down if they get up on us. You’re
going to have adversity and how you react to
that adversity makes a huge difference.”
Last season, the Celtics finished 2-8 overall
and 1-4 in the OCC-Cardinal Division.As junior
Kevin Jackson (5-foot-9, 151 pounds) prepares
for his third season as the starting quarterback,
Hundley noted the offense should have a new
look. The team will continue to utilize its power
running game, but also will emphasize a pass-
ing game.
Jackson, who missed the first three games last
season with a knee injury, completed 28 of 70
passes for 305 yards and one touchdown.
“The main focus this year is getting every-
body to be together as a team,” Jackson said.
“We can’t get anybody hurt and we have to pull
everybody together. People getting hurt last year
really hurt us. Even if someone goes out, we
have to stick together as a team.”
Seniors Tanner Seago (5-8, 190), who rushed
for 247 yards and two touchdowns on 61 car-
ries, and Ricky Kovatch (6-2, 230) return in the
backfield.
Senior Marshall Burkhart (6-1, 190), who
was featured in the backfield last season (50 car-
ries for 269 yards), is expected to play wide
receiver. Burkhart will play lacrosse at Johns
Hopkins.
August 22, 2007 • Central Ohio High School Football Preview ’07
Seniors Benjamin Hartman (6-1, 170) and
Adam Can (6-1, 175), and juniors Cody Burris
(6-0, 185), Jeffrey Robison (6-0, 175) and Robert
Carmona (6-0, 170) will be other targets at wide
receiver. Senior Tyler Kiste (5-11, 185) will play
tight end.
The offensive line will include seniors Jor-
dan Foreman (5-7, 210) and JonVogel (6-4, 275)
and juniors David Harless (6-0, 190) and Spencer
Breseman (6-3, 205).
Kovatch, who was named first-team all-OCC-
Cardinal last season, should anchor the defense
at linebacker.
“We have to get the defense and the offense
to play together as a team,” Kovatch said. “We
just have to go out there and have fun. It’s all
about having fun. Sometimes we think too much
and we’ll just make stupid mistakes.”
Senior Tyler Mordecai (6-3, 210), another
Johns Hopkins lacrosse recruit, will be featured By Steve Friend/ThisWeek
on the defensive line. Sophomores Chris Bahr Coach Mark Hundley and the Celtics open
the season Friday as host to Westerville
See JEROME, page 28 Central.
27