Thursday marked the first day of preseason practices for high school football teams across Ohio, although the exact time varied.
Some practiced in the morning, and others waited until late afternoon or evening to mark their first official activity of the season as full teams.
“I woke up this morning at 4 o’clock and I couldn’t get back to sleep,” Watterson coach Brian Kennedy said. “I just told myself, ‘yeah, I think I’m excited for the first day.’
“I went to work and tried to stay focused, but I was excited to be out here on the field.”
The Dispatch checked in Thursday with Grandview Heights, Hilliard Bradley and Watterson, three of central Ohio’s more successful teams a season ago and the latter last year’s Division III state runner-up. Here are some observations:
State runner-up Watterson moves ahead
The Eagles took the field just after 3 p.m. Thursday, eight months to the hour after their state final kicked off against Toledo Central Catholic in Canton. But Kennedy’s first offseason message to the team put that in the rearview mirror.
“I (said) it the very first morning,” Kennedy said. “Everybody we play this year has us circled because we either played them last year and beat them, or we got to the state championship game, whatever. We will get everybody’s best game. Anything that happened last year doesn’t mean anything now.”
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Senior wide receiver Jake Uhlenhake (69 catches for 1,263 yards in 2023) and senior linebacker Zack Weber (104 tackles, 3 interceptions) are among eight returning starters on offense and five on defense.
Three are sophomores in cornerback Joe Hayes, defensive end Jack Schuler and running back Ben Uhlenhake.
Given its youth, especially at the skill positions, Watterson participated in five 7-on-7s.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” Jake Uhlenhake said. “We just have to stay level-headed through the highs and lows.”
Grandview Heights looks to take next step
Things went so well for the Bobcats on their first official day of practice that coach Jason Peters sent his team home more than an hour ahead of the scheduled 1 p.m. finish.
Camp days earlier in the week and a heat index that soared well into the upper 90s by midday played a part, but so did having eight starters back on offense and 10 on defense from a team that went 7-4 a season ago – three more wins than in the previous three seasons combined – and reached the Division VI, Region 23 playoffs.
“Last year we started a lot of freshmen and sophomores and now they’re sophomores and juniors; they’ve played a lot of football,” Peters said. “We didn’t give up big plays and made teams drive the ball. We wanted (opponents) to make them snap the ball again; that’s more opportunities for them to make mistakes.
“We’re about the run game. That was really strong. Our passing game is coming, but we’re going to run the ball and control the clock.”
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Junior Henry Ohlinger (1,360 yards, 17 TDs) anchored the run game, complemented by senior receiver Will Sanzo’s seven scores. Senior lineman Braddock Lusher (97 tackles; 7 TDs at running back) leads the defense, and junior Owen Nugent amassed 89 tackles at cornerback and six total touchdowns as a receiver and kick returner.
“The big problem we’re going to have this year is we still only have one ball,” Peters said.
12 starters back for Hilliard Bradley
Bradley came up a win short of its first state final, losing to eventual Division I champion Lakewood St. Edward in a semifinal, but coach Mike LoParo emphasized the benefits of five extra weeks of practice for a team that returns a dozen starters – six on each side of the ball.
“We gained … half a season of preparation and practice thanks to what they did,” LoParo said. “They come in with that confidence, but they’ll have to go do this on their own.
“It feels the same (as previous preseasons). You have a process you go through the whole year from January to summer; we added some 7-on-7’s, we got through that and everybody came through healthy, so now it’s go time.”
Defensive backs Terris Dudley (senior) and Jordan Reed-Davis (junior) pace a veteran defense that also includes the coach’s son, Joe LoParo, at middle linebacker and 6-foot-4, 320-pound nose guard Michael Ogunuwe. Dudley is a Toledo commit.
They will complement an offense led by sophomore quarterback Declan O’Neil, who started the state semifinal because of an injury to 2024 graduate Bradyn Fleharty and is “a special passer,” LoParo said. Most of the offensive line returns to aid O’Neil’s progression.
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