• Xenia quarterback coach Mike Schneider is high on QB Danny Naylor. The senior holds every significant season and career passing record for the Buccaneers.
“I’ve had the opportunity to coach many outstanding QBs and he certainly ranks among the best,” said Schneider, the former head coach at Miamisburg and Wayne and a longtime assistant at Northmont. “Great kid and very coachable.”
Naylor had his fourth 300-yard passing game in last week’s 61-31 defeat of Lebanon, in which he also threw for five touchdowns. Xenia senior Rocky James has 44 catches for 754 yards (17.1) and 12 scores. He’s the Bucs’ career receiving yardage leader and is closing in on the single-season reception mark.
Xenia (4-5) is at Fairborn (2-7) on Friday.
• Piqua’s (5-4) game at Troy (2-7) is part of the Great American Rivalry Series, a season-long marketing effort by the U.S. Marine Corps to feature long-running rivalries throughout the country. This is the 12th year for GARS, which will feature games in 40 states and 100 communities this season. A trophy will be presented to the winning team and MVPs for both teams also will be selected.
This series began in 1899 and fittingly is tied 62-62-6. Piqua lost its shot at the Division II playoffs following a 17-14 loss to Sidney last week. Troy is in its first season under coach Matt Burgbacher. The Trojans stunned Trotwood-Madison 21-20 in Week 7. Piqua beat Troy 41-10 last season.
• Former Patriots All-Pro offensive lineman Matt Light is Greenville’s greatest champion. The Green Wave alum will present an NFL golden football to the team prior to Friday’s game against visiting Sidney.
This is part of the NFL’s celebration of its 50th Super Bowl. Every former player or coach who participated in a Super Bowl has been encouraged to contact their high schools for these presentations this fall. As a bonus, Light also will donate a grant from the Bill Belichick Foundation to Greenville’s football program.
“It is an honor to be able to present this award to my high school,” said Light in a statement. “The NFL is doing a great service by recognizing the schools and communities which shaped their current and former athletes. Giving back is what it is all about and this is a unique way to give back to the roots of our game.”
Greeneview alum Roland James previously did the same for the Rams. Like Light, the former defensive back spent his entire 11-year career with the Patriots.
• Oakwood (5-4) has won four of its past five games and has an outside shot at making the playoffs in the stacked D-IV, Region 14 field. The Lumberjacks also will try to record their first winning season since 2008 when they host rival Bellbrook (4-5) on Friday.
Oakwood senior Michael Hoecht leads the Southwestern Buckeye League in rushing with 1,550 yards. The physical 6-foot-4, 260-pounder, who has committed to play football at Ivy League member Brown University, also has rushed for 17 touchdowns and is a force on the defensive line.
Senior quarterback Adam Gallatin has adjusted well to first-year coach Butch Snider’s triple option offense, rushing for 938 yards. Senior Sam Banke has rushed for eight TDs and has caught five of Gallatin’s eight TD passes.
• Springboro alum and Georgetown College kicker Josh Depp is spearheading a cancer fund-raiser. A Fred Mitchell Kicking Watchlist nominee, he’ll kick three field goals at halftime of Springboro’s game against visiting Lebanon on Friday. Page’s Carpet will make a donation to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for each kick.
A 2013 Springboro grad, Depp created the “Kicking Cancer Challenge” in honor of his aunt Nancy who succumbed to cancer in October 2013.
About the Author