“We’re just young,” said Shawnee coach Rick Meeks. “We’ve got some guys back, but we’re completely rebuilding up front. We’ve got one guy back on our offensive line (senior Nikoli Beers). We’ve got guys that had significant time, but they were role players last year and now they’re asked to be the stars this year.”
Shawnee dominated the CBC Mad River Division last fall, winning its five division games by an average margin of 29.4 points per game. They also qualified for the playoffs for the sixth straight season and advanced to a D-IV regional semifinal game, falling to Cincinnati Wyoming 21-20.
The Braves graduated running back T.J. Meeks and defensive tackle Darian Dixon, the offensive and defensive players of the year in the CBC Mad River Division. Meeks, Dixon and Thomus Morgan all earned All-Ohio honors last season.
Shawnee returns several key players from last year’s squad, including seniors Connar Earles (WR/LB), Hayden Coppess (RB/LB), Logan Collier (WR/DB), Caden Craig (TE/LB) and Beers (OL/DL).
Sophomore Carter Bumgardner will take over at quarterback for Shawnee.
“He’s going to be really good, but he’s a sophomore and inexperienced at that position,” Meeks said. “I think his ceiling is really, really high. He’ll continue to improve. He works his butt off at practice. He wants to be good — he listens and he’s very coachable. He’s a big, strong physical kid. He’ll continue to get better. He’s going to have a good year.”
Coppess, Earles and junior Julian Dixon will serve as the Braves main ball carriers, Meeks said. Collier and Craig will also play key roles in Shawnee’s passing game. The Braves will also have several new faces, especially on the offensive and defensive lines.
The goal, Meeks said, is to get the squad ready to compete when conference play begins in Week 6.
“I’m hoping we can get these young guys some experience at the beginning of the year and be ready to defend (the title),” he said. “They won when they were growing up, they’re just in a different environment and we need them to grow up really fast,” Meeks said.
Shawnee and Indian Lake were the only two Mad River Division squads to make the postseason last fall. The Braves beat the Lakers 35-0 last season.
“It’s going to be a work in progress,” Meeks said. “It’s like (former assistant coach) Joe Vanuch used to say, ‘It’s not where you start, but where you finish’. The kids are working hard. I think we’ll get better as the year goes along. The young kids will get experience. It’s all about improvement.”
Northwestern will look to compete in the Mad River Division after going 3-7 and 1-4 in Lance Lambert’s first season as head coach. Junior quarterback Ried Smith and junior running back Preston Allen were each named first team CBC Mad River Division last season.
CBC Kenton Trail: The big school side of the CBC will be as loaded as ever.
London returns 26 upperclassmen from a squad that won the league title for the third straight season in 2023.
Bellefontaine finished second in the division with a 4-1 record, but knocked London out of the playoffs with a 35-28 victory in a D-III, Region 11 quarterfinal game. The Chieftains return Ohio State five-star quarterback commit Tavien St. Clair, who was recently named the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 class by Rivals. They also added Braylon Newcomb, a transfer from Centerville, who accumulated 509 total yards and eight TDs for the Elks last season.
Kenton Ridge will play five road games in the first six weeks of the season due to its grass renovation project being delayed. The Cougars went 4-6 last season and return several key players in junior quarterback Julian Daniels, junior wide receiver Caleb Gutierrez and senior running back Jackson Patton.
Urbana went 8-4 last season, but graduated 11 seniors, including four-year starting quarterback Will Donahoe. Hillclimbers junior running back Austin Hill rushed for 742 yards and 15 TDs last season.
Tecumseh has a new coach in Randy Kerns, who previously coached at National Trail and Fairborn.
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