Note: This article has been corrected to reflect an error that was made in the district nominating process.
Conner Lehner earning Offensive Co-Player of the Year honors in Division VII from the Northeast Inland District is no surprise.
Just ask East Palestine and East Canton, Mogadore’s two playoff opponents thus far.
The Wildcats senior running back ended the regular season with 1,234 rushing yards (7.3 average) and 15 rushing touchdowns, before tacking on a 242-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Bulldogs in a regional quarterfinal.
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Arthur Scott III earning Defensive Player of the Year in Division IV also shouldn’t come as a shock. The Streetsboro senior is a Wisconsin commit who tallied 53 tackles (17 for loss) in just eight games.
Want to hold the fact that the Rockets didn’t win a league title against him? Well, all Scott did in Streetsboro’s lone league loss, to Norton, was tally a season-high 18 tackles, including three for loss.
The awards are particularly prestigious given the vast area covered by the Northeast Inland District, including Greater Akron, Canton and Youngstown. All told, the district encompasses at least part of Ashland, Columbiana, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne counties.
Now let’s take a division-by-division look at all of our Portage County-area honorees:
Division VII: Five Mogadore players earn first team
Lehner was one of five Mogadore players to earn first team all-district honors (there was no second team in Division VII). He was joined by senior James Pollock, one of his leading linemen, and senior Dylan Benedum, his lead blocker, although Benedum earned the honor on the defensive side of the ball. Again, that’s no surprise, with Benedum finishing the regular season with 41 tackles (five for loss), 12 quarterback pressures and three sacks.
Wildcats juniors Maddox Smith and Kade Thomas also were named first-team all-district at defensive back and wide receiver, respectively. Smith had 42 tackles and nine pass breakups in the regular season and added a huge end-zone pick against East Palestine. Thomas finished his regular season with 29 catches for 594 yards and six scores. Teammates Aiden Boylan and Shayne Thomas earned honorable mention.
Waterloo all-around star Keyshawne Anderson-King made honorable mention after rushing for 650 yards and five touchdowns on 66 carries, catching 11 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns and passing for two more scores. Teammate Brady Hakes, a senior lineman, earned honorable mention as well.
Division VI: Rootstown trio named first team
Three Rootstown players earned first team all-district: running back Damien Reuting, offensive lineman Braden Wright and kicker Blake Mullaly. Reuting ran for 1,242 yards (7.0 average) and 21 touchdowns, helped by the great blocking of Wright, a Sacred Heart commit who finished the year with 15 pancake blocks. In addition to his quarterback and punting duties, Mullaly made five of eight field goals, including a school-record 48-yarder, as well as 37 of 40 extra points.
Division V: Garfield lands three on the first team
Unsurprisingly, the G-Men, who won nine games and made the Region 17 semifinals, landed three players on the first team: Brandyn Bogucki, Ryder Cain and Logan Sell. Cain rushed for 1,523 yards (8.8 average) and 23 touchdowns, Sell had a team-leading 92 tackles and Bogucki had a team-high 356 receiving yards along with 722 rushing yards. Garfield also had two players on the second team — defensive lineman Jack Timmons (70 tackles, nine for loss) and defensive back Collin McGranahan (70 tackles) — and Devin Bates was honorable mention.
Crestwood had two players make the first team: seniors Wyatt Januska and Jake Eyerman. Januska was the heartbeat of the Red Devils offense with 70 carries for 825 yards and 11 touchdowns and 25 catches for 335 yards and three scores. Eyerman, an all-state punter a year ago, averaged 40.4 yards this season, landing seven inside the 20-yard line. Sophomore Chris Mory earned second-team honors, recording a team-high 83 tackles after entering the starting lineup in Week 3.
Southeast quarterback Joe Sharish and leading lineman Landon Durstine joined Mory on the second team, with Sharish running for 1,050 yards and passing for 761 more and Durstine serving as the team’s top offensive lineman (and leading the team in tackles in nine of 10 games). Peyton Donovan and Maverick Wood both earned honorable mention for the Pirates.
Division IV: Streetsboro honored with four on the first team
The Rockets were rewarded for their nine-win season with five players on the first team. That included senior linemen Cooper Richmond (Columbia) and Arthur Scott III (Wisconsin). Richmond was a first team all-district offensive lineman after helping Streetsboro gain 7.6 yards per carry while Scott had 53 tackles (17 for loss) in just eight games to earn defensive player of the year honors. Senior running back Janiere Cook led the Rockets in rushing yards (1,172) and touchdowns (17) while senior linebacker Ayden Knuebel had a team-high 187 tackles (14 for loss). Junior Marcus Council also landed on the first team after tying a program record with six interceptions.
Rockets junior kicker Logan Sadowski landed on the second team after making 55 of 57 point-after attempts, a 41-yard field goal and recording 31 touchbacks and eight onside kicks. Streetsboro’s Manny Gibson, Dallas Morris and Alan Podboy were honorable mention.
Field had two seniors make the first team: linebacker Blake Dunderman and defensive back Victor Brown. Dunderman amassed 78 tackles (11 for loss) in just six games, and Brown tallied 69 tackles. Sophomore teammate Alex Williams was honorable mention.
Ravenna seniors LaDarian Askew, Keon Fortson and C.J. Ross also were honorable mention.
Division III: Aurora lands three on the first team
Aurora’s Xavier Board, Luke Bonnette and Luke McGovern all landed on the first team. Board, a senior running back, had a team-high 812 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, and Bonnette, a senior defensive lineman, had 59 tackles (11 for loss), 13 quarterback hurries and seven sacks. McGovern, a junior, was first team at receiver, with 30 catches for 406 yards and three touchdowns along with another 409 yards and eight scores on the ground. Greenmen seniors Grant Courtnage and Josh Harrell made the second team, with Courtnage grading out at 91 percent on the offensive line and Harrell recorded 61 tackles (six for loss) and seven quarterback hurries at linebacker.
Roosevelt had three players named to the second team: senior wide receiver Jaiden Portis, senior quarterback Gavin Peeps and junior defensive back Tyler Ellington. Peeps passed for 2,068 yards and 21 touchdowns against just nine picks while rushing for another 537 yards and eight scores. Portis was one of his leading receivers (31 catches, 460 yards, seven touchdowns). Ellington was, too, but he was recognized for his work as a standout defensive back, as he tallied five pass breakups and two interceptions. Junior offensive lineman Max Froman was honorable mention.
Contact Jonah L. Rosenblum at jrosenblum@recordpub.com and follow him on Twitter at @JLRSports.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Mogadore’s Conner Lehner, Streetsboro’s Arthur Scott earn Northeast Inland District honors
Reporting by Jonah Rosenblum, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
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