Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Tyler Dennis has amassed 97 completions in just four games.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Some teams work on their fastbreak during the autumn, on grass and with a football.
Wooster's Joe Gantz ran for 244 yards and two TDs on 31 carries in a 35-20 win over Millersburg West Holmes.
West Holmes' Tyler Dennis hit on 27 of 44 passes for 282 yards and ran for a TD. Dennis wound up with his school's single-season records for completions (97) and attempts (201) -- in just the fourth game of the season. He broke records set in 1972 by Joe Norman, who went on to play linebacker for Indiana U. and the Seattle Seahawks.
Dennis is the son of coach Bill Dennis. They moved from Chillicothe this year and brought the no-huddle offense with them. The Knights were primarily a running team under former coach Bob Maltarich, who retired after having four playoff teams in his 17 seasons.
"It's fun to watch," Maltarich, now the AD, said of the new offense. "I get home after games a lot later than I used to, that's for sure."
Fancy passing
Chris Hurtig of Sherwood Fairview threw for 462 yards and six touchdowns -- Mike Mack had seven catches for 260 yards and a TD -- and ran for 110 yards in a 62-35 victory over Edgerton; Paul Stelzer of Delaware Hayes completed 19 of 28 passes for a school record 388 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another in a 47-20 victory over London; Jack Rafferty of Dublin Coffman hit on 22 of 33 passes for 308 yards and four TDs, also rushing for 95 yards and two scores in a 42-7 win over Newark; Upper Sandusky's Greg Micheli threw for 210 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 67 yards and three scores to help the Rams defeat Norwalk 48-6; Nate Davis threw five touchdown passes in Bellaire's 48-6 victory over St. Clairsville; and Brent Meyer of Patrick Henry threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns and scored on a 22-yard touchdown run in a 48-12 win over Liberty Center.
Hamilton's Jason Bierly threw for a school-record 357 yards -- Brandon Harris was on the other end of 164 of those yards -- in a 28-25 loss to Cincinnati Princeton. Princeton's Jarrell Williams had a pretty good night himself, throwing for 236 yards, rushing for 210 yards, running for two touchdowns and throwing for two more along with a two-point conversion.
Rush to judgement
Nate Clark of Newark Licking Valley rushed 37 times for a school-record 327 yards in a 28-21 win over New Albany; Javon Ringer of defending state Division II champion Dayton Chaminade-Julienne ran for 307 yards on 29 carries and three touchdowns in a 44-27 win over Cincinnati McNicholas, giving him 968 yards in four games; Ohio State-bound Erik Haw needed only three quarters to amass 306 yards on 31 carries with four touchdowns as Columbus Independence blasted Columbus South 53-6; Ashland's Nate Summerfield rushed for 292 yards and six touchdowns on 28 carries in the Arrows' 43-14 win over Mansfield Madison;
Robert Orta rushed for 255 yards on 34 carries and scored four touchdowns in Defiance's 32-18 victory over Lima Shawnee; Harrison Central's Bryan Brooks set school records for rushing yards (237) and touchdowns (four) on 40 carries in a 46-36 win over Wellsville; Nate Kmic of Delta rushed for 233 yards and five touchdowns in a 40-19 victory over Wauseon; Dalton's Derek Jackson ran for 226 yards and three TDs in a 26-19 win over Rittman, giving him 119 carries for 939 yards and 14 TDs on the season; and Kevin McCann of Defiance Tinora rushed for 226 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns, while also catching one pass for 29 yards and another score in a 41-0 win over Defiance Ayersville.