And we’re off.
The 2026 Ohio high school football season began Aug. 1, the start of three weeks of preseason practice for 708 teams statewide and almost 100 in central Ohio.
Olentangy Orange will seek a championship repeat in Division I, and Watterson will try for its third title in a row – albeit in Division II rather than its longtime home of Division III.
Dispatch high school reporters Frank DiRenna and Dave Purpura visited Dublin Coffman and Watterson, respectively, for the official first day of their seasons. Here are their observations:
Loaded on defense, Watterson seeks reload on offense
With Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia looking on, the Eagles officially began pursuit of a championship three-peat with what coach Brian Kennedy called a solid day, and one he hoped was the team’s “worst” of the season.
“Whatever today is, that [has to be] the worst day … so we keep continuing to get better,” Kennedy said. “We are fortunate that we have all these guys who have played so much football and won a bunch of games. The challenge is getting those next guys ready to go because we are going to need them. We are going to need them on special teams. We will have some new starters. …
“It’s the first day of real practice and we have everybody here. It’s supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to look kind of ugly at this point.”
Ten of 11 starters return on defense, including Michigan State lineman commit Jack Schuler, Ohio University-bound middle linebacker Ben Uhlenhake and three future Buckeyes in lineman Michael Boyle (wrestling commit) and defensive backs Nate Henderson (baseball) and Joe Hayes (lacrosse).
Ohio State lineman commit Davis Seaman leads six returning starters on offense. Junior Dash Hoy is expected to succeed Drew Bellisari as starting quarterback, and senior Caden Mangini should take over primary running back duties.
“It’s so much fun,” Uhlenhake said. “It’s the first day of hitting. Our energy is great. It’s exciting … but it starts to get serious now.”
Watterson takes a 30-game winning streak into its opener Aug. 21 at Whitehouse Anthony Wayne. The Eagles’ first home game is seven days later at Ohio Dominican against Division I Pickerington Central.
–Dave Purpura
Dublin Coffman forges ahead after disappointing 2025
Second-year Coffman coach Nick McVay believes his team has made strides since last season’s 2-8 finish.
“They definitely understand expectations and what we’re trying to do moving forward, which is nice,” McVay said. “We have 11 seniors, but they really embrace what we’re trying to do. We have a young team, but their work ethic and everything we’re trying to do in the offseason is paying off. They’ve embraced that everything earned is not a given. That has been our mindset all offseason and it’s been good to see.”
The Shamrocks return several key starters, including junior quarterback Jack Morris and senior two-way lineman Mason Parrill. Morris will also handle punting duties.
Other key returnees include seniors Andrew Alliance (WR/RB/LB), Pat Barrington (OL/DL) and Reid Caviness (TE) and juniors Kalifa Dabo (DB) and Gavin McClain (RB).
Coffman faces a challenging schedule. After opening Aug. 21 at Hartley, the Shamrocks have other non-league tests against Big Walnut, Dublin Jerome, Pickerington North and Grove City.
Coffman opens OCC-Central play Sept. 25 at Olentangy Liberty. The following week, the Shamrocks host Orange.
“The nice thing is once you go through a schedule like that, you come out with enough wins, you make the playoffs and you’re battle-tested,” McVay said. “Now you’re trying to make a run [in the playoffs]. I don’t mind it. You have to play good teams at some point.”
The Shamrocks held an intrasquad scrimmage Aug. 1.
“We have about 26 juniors and 31 sophomores, so we have a young team with some nice potential that we’re happy with,” McVay said. “We’re trending young, which is what the nice piece is.”
–Frank DiRenna
High school sports reporters Frank DiRenna and Dave Purpura can be reached at sports@dispatch.com and at @DispatchPreps on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: As calendar turns to August, Ohio high school football kicks off
Reporting by Dave Purpura and Frank DiRenna, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dave Purpura and Frank DiRenna, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
