Central Ohio High School Sports Awards: ThisWeek reveals Super 24 football team
The members of the ThisWeek Super 24 football team shined all over the field.
The Athlete of the Year in each sport will be announced at the Central Ohio High School Sports Awards, presented by Encova Insurance. The winners will be announced during the live show on June 15 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The show is produced with the support of Raising Canes and Nationwide Children's Hospital.
Nominated athletes will receive a free ticket to the event thanks to sponsors when they RSVP here. Additional tickets may be purchased on the show’s website.
Braylon Beckwith
School: Canal Winchester
Year: Junior
The 6-foot, 160-pound free safety, Division II district Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-state honoree made 131 tackles — 89 solo — with eight interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Half of Beckwith’s interceptions came Sept. 23 against Dublin Scioto. The Indians went 7-5, losing to Massillon Washington 34-0 in the second round of the Division II, Region 7 playoffs.
Tom Bohman
School: New Albany
Year: Senior
A two-way starter at guard and linebacker, the 6-1, 230-pound Bohman played a critical role in the Eagles going 10-4 and reaching the Division I, Region 3 final.
The first-team all-league and all-district and second-team all-state honoree recorded 117 tackles and three sacks with a forced fumble and a pass breakup. On the offensive line, he helped paved the way for a unit that averaged 326.7 yards and 31.8 points.
Taizuan Burns
School: Columbus East
Year: Sophomore
With the 5-10, 165-pound Burns standing out as a running back, defensive back and returner, the Tigers went 10-2 overall and 5-1 in the City League-North Division to share the title.
Burns rushed for 1,388 yards and 16 touchdowns on 136 carries and added 16 receptions for 449 yards and nine scores. He also had three touchdowns on defense and three on special teams while earning first-team all-state, all-district and all-league honors.
Ryan Carretta
School: St. Charles
Year: Senior
Carretta anchored the offensive line for the Cardinals, who finished 4-6 with an offense focused on the ground game.
The 6-5, 310-pounder was named first-team all-state and all-district in Division II and first-team all-CCL. Last season, he was third-team all-state and first-team all-district and all-league.
Kobi Gorman
School: Pickerington Central
Year: Senior
A four-year starter on both the offensive and defensive lines, Gorman was a first-team all-state and all-district honoree on defense.
The 6-3, 255-pounder had 76 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks and two fumble recoveries and was named the OCC-Buckeye Player of the Year as the Tigers won their fourth consecutive league championship. He helped Central go 46-8 during his career.
Damon Griffin
School: Columbus South
Year: Sophomore
The 5-10, 150-pound Griffin was first-team all-state and all-district in Division II on offense, but he stood out on both sides of the ball while leading the Bulldogs to an 8-2 record and 6-1 City-South finish for a share of their first league title since 1994.
Griffin rushed for 1,107 yards and 12 touchdowns and passed for 18 scores at quarterback. At defensive back, he had 37.5 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and five interceptions.
Cameron Gwinn
School: DeSales
Year: Junior
This 6-2, 240-pounder led a defensive line that helped the Stallions allow an average of 14.3 points per game. He was first-team all-state, all-district and all-CCL with 81 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, seven sacks and 11 quarterback hurries during his first season as a full-time starter.
The Stallions went 7-5 and reached a Division II, Region 7 quarterfinal.
Mason Hackett
School: Newark Catholic
Year: Senior
After helping the Green Wave to a Division VII state runner-up finish in 2021, Hackett was the key cog in the program making it back to a state semifinal and going 11-2.
The 5-8, 195-pound running back rushed for 1,357 yards and 21 touchdowns on 171 carries, caught one touchdown pass, averaged 37.7 yards on 16 punts and returned one punt for a score while earning first-team all-state and all-district honors.
Diore Hubbard
School: Gahanna Lincoln
Year: Junior
A finalist for Ohio Mr. Football, the 5-11, 185-pound running back was the Division I district Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-state, helping the Lions finish 13-2 and reach a state semifinal.
Hubbard rushed for 2,365 yards and 25 touchdowns on 323 carries and had 23 catches for 296 yards and four scores. Also a co-Player of the Year in the OCC-Ohio, he helped Gahanna win its first league title since 2001.
Austin Koslow
School: Delaware Hayes
Year: Junior
Koslow was Delaware’s “big-play machine,” as coach Ryan Montgomery described him. The 5-9, 150-pound wide receiver caught 43 passes for 1,027 and 11 touchdowns as the Pacers went 7-4 for their most wins since 2008.
Koslow, who was second-team all-state and first-team all-district, ended up with almost half of Delaware’s 2,243 receiving yards and catching more than half of its 21 receiving touchdowns.
Christian Manville
School: New Albany
Year: Senior
The 6-0, 200-pound Manville led a potent Eagles ground game, with 233 carries for 1,904 yards and a single-season program-record 29 touchdowns — topping Jadyn Garnes’ 27 in 2021 — as the team advanced to the Division I, Region 3 final.
The first-team all-state, all-district and all-league honoree also caught 11 passes for 234 yards and three scores and finished his career with 3,008 rushing yards and 45 scores on 355 carries.
Ben Marsh
School: Hilliard Darby
Year: Senior
The 6-4, 240-pound Marsh was on the field in every phase of the game on his way to earning third-team all-state and first-team all-district and all-league honors. He had 83 tackles, including three for loss, five passes deflected, three forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions.
He also rushed for 549 yards and 11 touchdowns on 122 carries as a fullback and averaged 38.5 yards per punt, with five of 19 placed inside the 20.
Andrew Marshall
School: Bloom-Carroll
Year: Senior
The Division III district and state Defensive Player of the Year, Marshall led the Bulldogs to a 14-2 finish that included their third consecutive regional championship. They made it to a state final for the first time, losing to Canfield 35-14.
The 6-2, 225-pounder had 164.5 tackles, 36 tackles for loss, seven sacks and two interceptions at linebacker and rushed for 1,099 yards and 14 touchdowns on 164 carries at running back.
Alex Okuley
School: Olentangy Liberty
Year: Senior
Okuley came through in the clutch, especially during Liberty’s run to the Division I, Region 2 final as the No. 8 seed. He caught two scoring passes in a 28-14 upset of top-seeded Dublin Jerome in a quarterfinal and had an interception in the end zone and a late touchdown in a 14-3 win over fourth-seeded Perrysburg in a semifinal.
The 6-3, 170-pound wide receiver, who was second-team all-state and first-team all-district and all-league, led the Patriots with 69 receptions for 941 yards and nine touchdowns.
Matthew Papas
School: Grove City
Year: Junior
The 6-0, 170-pound Papas directed the Dawgs’ spread attack, helping them record their first winning season since 2013 with a 6-5 finish as Grove City averaged 27.6 points per game.
The first-team all-district and all-OCC-Ohio and second-team all-state honoree completed 202 of 377 passes for 2,670 yards with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions and rushed for 459 yards and six touchdowns on 90 carries.
Nasir Phillips
School: Westerville South
Year: Junior
This 5-8, 195-pound running back helped lead the Wildcats to their 12th league title and a berth in a Division II, Region 7 semifinal.
Phillips rushed for 1,732 yards and 18 touchdowns on 261 carries and was first-team all-state in addition to being named Offensive Player of the Year in the district and OCC-Capital. South won the league at 7-0 and finished 11-2 overall.
Colton Powers
School: Marysville
Year: Senior
A standout on both sides of the ball, Powers led Marysville’s defense with 133 tackles from his spot at linebacker and rushed for 1,069 yards and 18 touchdowns on 173 carries.
The 5-11, 200-pounder was named Defensive Player of the Year in the OCC-Cardinal, first-team all-district and second-team all-state. He helped lead the Monarchs to a Division I, Region 2 quarterfinal and a 7-5 finish.
Ryan Rudzinski
School: Watterson
Year: Senior
Rudzinski was first-team all-state and all-district as the Eagles went 12-2 overall, 3-0 in the CCL and earned a Division III, Region 11 runner-up finish.
The 6-4, 195-pounder had 10 interceptions at defensive back and split time offensively between quarterback, running back and wide receiver, combining for 18 touchdowns and more than 1,500 total yards. He also averaged 38.1 yards per punt and returned a kickoff for a score.
Brady Sestili
School: Dublin Jerome
Year: Senior
A 6-3, 195-pound linebacker, Sestili led the Celtics in tackles with 152, including 13 for loss and four sacks. He was first-team all-state, all-district and all-OCC-Cardinal.
He helped Jerome earn the top seed in Division I, Region 2, losing to Olentangy Liberty 28-14 in a quarterfinal to finish 9-3.
Nate Severs
School: Big Walnut
Year: Junior
Severs, who was first-team all-state, all-district and all-league, rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 30 touchdowns for the second consecutive season to repeat as a Super 24 honoree. He finished with 2,021 yards and 32 scores on 275 carries.
The 5-11, 210-pounder topped 200 yards rushing in four games, with his best of 298 yards coming in a 35-12 win over Worthington Kilbourne on Sept. 30. He added 272 yards and three touchdowns receiving and returned 13 kickoffs for 418 yards and two scores.
Will Smith Jr.
School: Dublin Coffman
Year: Senior
The son of a former Ohio State and NFL standout, Smith earned first-team all-state honors in Division I and was named Defensive Player of the Year in the district and OCC-Central.
The 6-3, 278-pound defensive end had 47 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and five sacks during the regular season. The Shamrocks finished 7-4 overall and went 4-1 in the OCC-Central to tie for a league title.
Garrett Stover
School: Big Walnut
Year: Junior
The 6-2, 210-pound Stover, who was first-team all-state, all-district and all-league, led the Golden Eagles with 92 tackles and had 12 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, two sacks, a blocked kick and a defensive touchdown as a hybrid linebacker and defensive back.
He added 17 carries for 106 yards and 12 catches for 104 yards as Big Walnut went 10-3, falling to Massillon Washington 42-21 in a Division II, Region 7 semifinal.
Jaden Yates
School: Gahanna Lincoln
Year: Senior
Led defensively by this 6-1, 220-pound linebacker who was OCC-Ohio co-Player of the Year and a first-team all-district and all-state honoree, the Lions posted a program record 13 wins and reached a Division I state semifinal for the first time since 1982.
Yates had six games in which he posted double-digit tackles and finished with 122 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.
Joey Zalewski
School: Thomas Worthington
Year: Senior
The 6-3, 207-pounder was a playmaker at wide receiver and defensive end. He caught 64 passes for 1,188 yards and 17 touchdowns on his way to being named first-team all-state and all-district and OCC-Cardinal Player of the Year.
Defensively, Zalewski had a team-best 13 sacks along with 54 tackles, seven tackles for loss, six tipped passes, two fumble recoveries and a touchdown to help Thomas to a 6-5 record, its first winning season since 1999.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Central Ohio High School Sports Awards: Super 24 football team
