Large senior class helped Pickerington Central football team rebound from slow start

Mired in its worst start in more than two decades, the Pickerington Central football team turned it on in time to win its fourth consecutive league championship.

According to coach Jay Sharrett, that’s all the evidence that’s needed to show the quality of a 35-member senior class that featured key contributors throughout the lineup.

“This class that’s leaving us has won a heck of a lot of games, and I’m very proud of them,” Sharrett said. “We were sitting 2-3, kind of dead in the water, and some teams would have folded. But these seniors rallied us and got us an OCC title and three games deep into the playoffs.”

Central’s 2-3 start was its worst since losing three of its first five games in 1998, but it followed by going 5-0 to win the OCC-Buckeye Division championship and earning the No. 4 seed for the Division I, Region 3 playoffs.

With a 38-14 loss to top-seeded Gahanna in a regional semifinal, the Tigers finished 9-4 overall.

“We lost to a great Gahanna team and you just tip your hat to them,” Sharrett said. “These guys won four OCC titles and they’ve got nothing to hang their heads about.

“This season has kind of been a journey. We plugged different guys in at different times and it came together for us. We put a good string of wins together. We’ll heal up and guys will learn from this, and we got three extra weeks of football, so you can’t complain about that either.”

The most experienced players in the senior class were Kobi Gorman, a Miami University commit who started four seasons on both the offensive and defensive lines, and Kasey Middendorf, who was the holder for kicks during all four of his seasons and also started at wide receiver.

Both were key players for a program that won the 2019 state championship, was the 2020 state runner-up and went a combined 46-8 the last four seasons.

Gorman finished with 76 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks and two fumble recoveries while earning first-team all-district honors and being named the league’s Player of the Year. Middendorf was first-team all-league and finished with 12 catches for 100 yards and one touchdown.

The other first-team all-district honorees were senior linebacker R.J. Keuchler (84 tackles, 11 tackles for loss) and senior two-way lineman Keilin Smith (25 tackles, 5 tackles for loss). Both also were first-team all-league.

Senior Rasheem Biles (RB/WR/DB) went down with a season-ending injury during Central’s 22-20 loss to Gahanna in Week 5, but finished with more than 400 all-purpose yards and scored five touchdowns, including two on interception returns. The Pittsburgh commit was second-team all-district on defense.

Senior quarterback Braden Mantooth rushed for nine touchdowns and threw for 730 yards with five touchdowns while making first-team all-league, and senior offensive lineman Brock Egan was first-team all-league and special mention all-district.

Senior Gino Williams (DL) had 45 tackles and was second-team all-league and special mention all-district, senior Kendrick Mensah (LB/DL) had 50 tackles and was second-team all-league and honorable mention all-district, senior Isaiah Harper (WR/DB) had 47 tackles, returned 19 punts and was second-team all-league, senior Elijah Carter (LB) had 78 tackles and was second-team all-league, senior Gavin Meek was second-team all-league at long snapper and senior Isaiah Crozier (DB) was honorable mention all-league.

Earning honorable mention all-district honors were senior Troy Lane (DB/RB), who rushed for 281 yards and two touchdowns and had 60 tackles with five sacks, and senior Zavion Mattox (DB).

Other key seniors included Knowledge Gray (RB, 97 rushes, 528 yards, 2 TDs), Derek Grimes (WR, 11 receptions, 82 yards, 1 TD), Ethan Pinkins (WR/DB) and Caleb Taylor (DB, 46 tackles, 3 interceptions). Taylor returned one of his interceptions for a touchdown.

The top returnee should be junior Terrance Alexander, who split time offensively between running back, wide receiver and wildcat quarterback. He finished with 129 rushes for 688 yards and 10 touchdowns and had six catches for 82 yards to earn special mention all-league and honorable mention all-district honors.

Freshman Rocco Williams was part of a three-player rotation at quarterback and threw for 61 yards.

Junior running back Anthony Madison III rushed 56 times for 373 yards and six touchdowns, and sophomore running back Kaejuan Alexander, who is Terrance Alexander’s brother, had 110 yards and two touchdowns rushing.

Juniors Justin Terry and Levi Smith should be the top returnees on the offensive line.

Junior Dominic Shaw finished with seven catches for 116 yards and one touchdown at wide receiver and had 46 tackles with one fumble return for a touchdown at defensive back.

Sophomore Dae’Yuan Thompson-Green (DL/LB) should be another key returnee on defense after finishing with 50 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles, as should sophomore Braylin Landrum (DL/LB), who had 21 tackles.

Sophomore kicker Carson Goulet made one field goal and went 49-for-50 on extra points to make first-team all-league, and sophomore punter Nick Klipfer averaged 33.8 yards on 37 attempts.

“It was great just having the great bond that we had with the seniors and the coaches,” Terrance Alexander said. “We’ve got a good crew coming back.”

julrey@thisweeknews.com

@UlreyThisWeek 

CENTRAL FOOTBALL 

•Record: 9-4 overall

•OCC-Buckeye standings: Pickerington Central (5-0), Groveport (3-2), Reynoldsburg (3-2), Central Crossing (2-3), Lancaster (2-3), Newark (0-5)

•Seniors lost: Rasheed Biles, Rasheem Biles, Torrance Brown, Aiden Carpenter, Elijah Carter, Mamoon Choudry, Isaiah Crozier, Ivan Duran-Garcia, Brock Egan, Jalen Francis, Kobi Gorman, Knowledge Gray, Derek Grimes, Isaiah Harper, Onyedikachi Ikwuakam, R.J. Keuchler, Troy Lane, Warren Mallory, Braden Mantooth, Xavier Mattox, Zavion Mattox, Blair McMurray, Gavin Meek, Kendrick Mensah, Kasey Middendorf, Ethan Pinkins, Darrin Ray, Jared Rivera, Keilan Smith, Gavin Smith, Caleb Taylor, Braylin Wells, Dreyon White, Gino Williams and Jamari Willis

•Key returnees: Kaejuan Alexander, Terrance Alexander, Anthony Madison III, Dominic Shaw, Justin Terry, Dae’Yuan Thompson-Green and Rocco Williams

•Postseason: Def. Central Crossing 42-0; def. Pickerington North 28-20; lost to Gahanna 38-14 in Division I, Region 3 semifinal

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Large senior class helped Pickerington Central rebound from slow start