By Doug Haidet ASHLAND – It would be easy to view them as a trio of dominoes loaded with football talent, tipping over along a pathway to Ashland University. Ashland High School senior linebacker Gunner Lacey announced his commitment in mid-January to suit up for the Eagles. A few weeks later, his classmates – lineman Budda Martin and kicker Carson O’Brien – made the decision to follow in his footsteps. Ever the entertaining conversationalist, Martin thought about the situati

By Doug Haidet ASHLAND – He probably never really had the time to think about all the ways it made perfect sense. Gunner Lacey was too busy setting the Ashland High School record for tackles and becoming the first defensive player in team history to be named a first-team All-Ohioan twice. So the right moment for deep deliberation likely never arose. But last Thursday, on his official visit to Ashland University, it seemed like fate had finally arrived. Over time, becoming an

By Doug Haidet CUYAHOGA FALLS – There were enough narratives for the 2025 Walsh Jesuit football team to fill a semi-truck. * Monster season-opening win over an eventual state runner-up? Check. * Home win streak stretched to 24 games and still counting? Check. * Finally knocking off bitter nemesis and powerhouse Hoban in the playoffs? Check. * Final 11-2 record despite the second-toughest schedule of any Division II team in Ohio? Check. * Boasting the most seniors in team hist

By Doug Haidet CUYAHOGA FALLS – Nobody will ever say Marty Tobin isn’t a great author. With his college football destination still up in the air and a daunting postseason path in front of him, the Walsh Jesuit senior penned one of the finest final chapters of anyone in his school’s football history. A vital piece to a Warriors’ team playing one of the toughest schedules in all of Ohio this season, Tobin’s 1,856 rushing yards in 2025 are the third-most in Walsh Jesuit’s record

By Doug Haidet TOLEDO – If Joe Horn was looking for the easy road, he took a wrong turn. When he landed his first football head coaching job nearly one year ago at St. John’s Jesuit, Horn walked into a program that was trying to dig out from a 1-9 finish in 2024. Doing so while playing in one of the premier football conferences in the country – the Detroit-based Catholic High School League – was like scaling a wall while wearing rollerskates. “It can be tough on the mind when

By Doug Haidet ASHLAND – Seven months after originally committing to play football at Appalachian State – and with the NCAA Division I early signing period (Dec. 3-5) closing in – Ashland High School senior quarterback Nathan Bernhard has flipped his commitment to the University of Maryland. Bernhard said that when the Arrows’ season ended November 7 in the playoffs at Columbus DeSales, he felt he was still headed to the Division I Sun Belt Conference school in Boone, North C

By Doug Haidet ASHLAND – If Michael Shimek was asking around for a hype man, the first guy in line would be Ashland University defensive ends coach Andy Tabler. Now in his sixth season on the AU staff, Tabler still remembers watching film of Shimek getting to the quarterback while starring as a first-team All-Ohioan at Hoover High School. The recollection is so vivid, Tabler even remembers the number on Shimek’s jersey – No. 18 – as if it was the passcode to his ATM card. “Yo

TOLEDO – For anyone looking to ride a bull, someone has to throw open the gate.That’s exactly what happened on one of the most unforgettable nights in St. John’s Jesuit football history this season. In Week 10 at Lyden Stadium against the University of Detroit Jesuit High School, first-year Titans head coach Joe Horn knew he had to lean on junior RJ Mays as his man out of the backfield. Top running back Sam Harshman – who had essentially split carries all season with Mays – w

By Doug Haidet ASHLAND – So much for the weakness residing in the trenches. After last spring’s graduation purged the vast majority of their key contributors, Ashland’s linemen of 2025 have spent the past 11 weeks proving any doubters wrong. “The only returning (full-season starter) we had was (senior Brandon Briggs), so coming into this year we thought our biggest problem would be our line,” senior two-way lineman Budda Martin said. “But I think our line has done great and i

By Doug Haidet ASHLAND – After beating Madison in Week 6, Ashland senior quarterback Nathan Bernhard was handed a pair of game balls by AHS athletic director Jason Goings for posting the 100th and school-record-breaking 101st touchdowns of his career. Bernhard, an Appalachian State commit, has since bumped that number to 111 (64 passing, 47 rushing). Had Goings waited until the end of this season to give out such recognition for massive career numbers, he would have needed a

Written by Doug Haidet There is a case to be made that this week’s Ashland at Lexington collision is the biggest Week 10 face-off in the history of Ohio Cardinal Conference football. Since the league’s founding in 2003, only two other times has there been a winner-take-all meeting in the final week of the regular season between two league unbeatens (Orrville at Wooster in 2004 and Ashland at Lexington in 2007). This year’s version pits the Arrows (9-0, 5-0 OCC) against the Mi

Ashland High School standout Tyler Sauder has been a key figure on both sides of the football this season — a dynamic wide receiver and a...