Oak Harbor has 4 named to all-state teams in D-IV 3

11/29/2006

COLUMBUS - Oak Harbor had four players named All-Ohio - three first-teamers and one second-teamer - when the Division III and IV teams were announced last night by the Associated Press.

Named to the first team in Division IV were offensive lineman Jamie Blair, junior defensive lineman Wade Ishmael and defensive back Aaron McCune. Named to the second team was linebacker Matt Bloomer.

Otsego running back Cody Donald was also first team in D-IV while Wauseon offensive lineman Kyle Borton and running back Brian Recker of Ottawa-Glandorf made second team.

Named to the first team in Division III were Fostoria junior receiver Chase Munoz, Bellevue running back Derrick Berberick and Napoleon defensive back Brian Hummer.

Named to the D-III second team were Napoleon offensive lineman Brock Carter and Clyde junior kicker Jerry Phillips.

Defensive standouts Ben Maxwell and Ishmaai'ly Kitchen headline the D-III and D-IV teams.

Maxwell, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound linebacker, will lead Kettering Alter (14-0) into its Division III state championship game Saturday afternoon against Steubenville (14-0).

While Maxwell was the defensive player of the year, as selected by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters around Ohio, Steubenville quarterback Zach Collaros shared the offensive award with Cambridge running back Stephen Ford.

In Division IV, Youngstown Mooney's Kitchen - a 6-3, 320-pound lineman - was selected as the top defender and his teammate, quarterback Dan McCarthy, shared offensive honors with Orrville quarterback Kyle Simmons and Columbus Eastmoor Academy running back Isaiah Pead.

Mooney (13-0) takes on Plain City Jonathan Alder (13-1) in Friday morning's championship game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.

Maxwell leads a defense that allowed an average of just 22 yards rushing and 78 passing through the regular season.

Collaros is a 6-1, 180-pound senior who is 25-0 as a starter with one state championship already under his belt. During the regular season, he completed 85 of 123 passes for 1,479 yards and 18 touchdowns with just two interceptions. Collaros also ran for 340 yards and eight scores and had four interceptions as a defensive back.

Ford, a 5-9, 185-pound senior, rushed for 1,956 yards on 298 carries and scored 21 touchdowns while topping 5,000 yards for his career.

Kitchen had nine tackles for minus yardage and five sacks during the regular season on defense, and is also a stellar offensive lineman.

McCarthy, a junior, ran for 1,150 yards and 13 touchdowns and passed for 500 more during the regular season.

A 6-1, 195-pound senior, Simmons completed 201 of 328 passes for 2,950 yards and 28 touchdowns and also ran for 858 yards and 12 more scores.

Pead, a track star who played his first season of football, gained 1,696 yards while averaging almost 11 yards a carry and scoring 24 touchdowns.

The coaches of the year in Division III were Justin Buttermore, who led Dresden Tri-Valley to its first winning season in 15 years and its first berth in the playoffs, and Steubenville's Reno Saccocia, who guided his team to a perfect record and its fourth consecutive AP poll title.

In Division IV, the coaches honored were John Magistro, who led Bellaire to a 10-0 season in his final year before retiring, and Mike Elder, who guided Perry to an 8-2 mark and the playoffs a year after a 4-6 record.