Pickerington Central
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Central Ohio High School Football Preview ’07 • August 22, 2007
32
Tigers to build on trip to state title game
By AARON BLANKENSHIP
ThisWeek Staff Writer
Pickerington High School Central football
coach Jay Sharrett said there’s no danger of the
Tigers resting on their laurels after winning the
OCC-Cardinal Division, advancing to the Divi-
sion II state championship game and finishing
13-2 overall.
In fact, Sharrett expects the success from last
season — which ended with a 26-7 loss to Piqua
in the state final — to have a positive carryover.
“I was pleased to see that a lot of the momen-
tum from last year carried through into the off-
season for us,” said Sharrett, whose team will
open Friday at home against Reynoldsburg.
“That experience has been beneficial for us
in so many ways. Our kids’morale is good, and
after getting a taste of that kind of success they
all want to have that feeling again. They know
what it’s like to play in big games, and you need
to be ready to handle that atmosphere if you’re
going to be a champion. Because of our playoff
run, they all got in an extra five games and five
weeks of practice, which is very valuable, too.”
The Tigers have some key players to replace
on offense after losing quarterback ChazzAnder-
son, running back Jordan Jarrell and wide receiver
Brian Peters to graduation.
Anderson completed 139 of 251 passes for
2,066 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for
140 yards and six touchdowns on 66 carries. He
was first-team all-state and all-district and the
OCC-Cardinal Player of the Year.
Jarrell rushed for a program-record 2,185
yards on 312 carries and scored a program-record
28 touchdowns. He was second-team all-state
and first-team all-district and all-OCC. Peters
had 32 catches for 491 yards and four touch-
downs.
“I don’t know if you can fill any of those guys
shoes with one player,” Sharrett said. “We’ll
need several players to contribute and carry that
burden.”
Four offensive starters have returned — senior
left guardAaron Rittgers (6-foot-2, 215 pounds),
senior right tackle Tim McGougan (6-1, 235),
junior wide receiver Patrick White (6-1, 175)
and junior tight end Blaine Burgess (6-3, 230).
White had 20 catches for 366 yards and one
touchdown.
Vying to start at quarterback are juniors John
Montgomery (6-0, 165) and Nick Raymond (5-
8, 160) and sophomore Josh Kristoff (6-0, 175).
Montgomery completed five of 18 passes for
46 yards.
Seniors Trae Myers (5-9, 165) and Austen
Payne (5-7, 165) will share the running back
duties. Senior Kyle Wood (6-1, 180) and junior
Jamie Wood (6-2, 185) have returned to a
receivers corps that includes Matt Burgoon (5-
8, 165) and D.J. Morris (6-3, 180).
Last year, Kyle Wood had 15 catches for 178
yards and Jamie Wood had 16 catches for 332
yards and a touchdown.
Senior J.D. Wisniowski (6-2, 190) will play
tight end, senior Eddie Jackson (5-11, 200) will
start at center, senior Mike Blake (6-0, 225) will
play left tackle and junior Max Holbrook (5-11,
200) and sophomore Bill Hinterschied (5-9, 185)
will split time a right guard.
“We’re still running the same one-back (pro
set) offense, and I have confidence in our new
starters,” Sharrett said. “Our bigger concern right
now is special teams because we’re still wait-
ing for a kicker and a punter to emerge and win
those jobs.”
Central lost seven starters on defense, includ-
ing strong safety Zach Burk, tackle Matt Smith
and Peters at free safety.
Peters had three interceptions, four fumble
recoveries and three defensive touchdowns. Burk
had six interceptions and three fumble recover-
At a glance
PICKERINGTON CENTRAL TIGERS 2006 RESULTS
Colors: Purple and white (13-2 overall, 5-0 OCC-Cardinal)
Coach: Jay Sharrett, fifth season Reynoldsburg.............................................W, 34-0
Key players: Zach Boren, Blaine Burgess, Brennen Canal Winchester.......................................W, 35-0
Fraley, Eisen Hardy, Tim McGougan, Aaron Rittgers, Groveport ..................................................W, 35-7
Patrick White, Jamie Wood and Kyle Wood Westerville North .....................................W, 42-10
On the Web: pickerington.k12.oh.us Lancaster.................................................L, 24-10
2007 SCHEDULE Worthington Kilbourne..............................W, 42-21
Dublin Jerome ...........................................W, 31-0
Aug. 24..............Reynoldsburg .....................Home
Olentangy..................................................W, 50-7
Aug. 31..............Piqua .................................Home
Sept. 7...............Groveport ............................Away Westerville South.....................................W, 27-10
Sept. 14 ............Westerville North .................Away Mount Vernon ............................................W, 49-6
Sept. 21 ............Lancaster...........................Home PLAYOFFS
Sept. 28 ............Worthington Kilbourne ..........Away Canfield...................................................W, 42-37
Oct. 5 ................Dublin Jerome ....................Home Watkins Memorial ......................................W, 49-7
Oct. 12 ..............Olentangy ............................Away Watterson..................................................W, 13-3
Oct. 19 ..............Westerville South.................Away Macedonia Nordonia ....................................W, 7-3
Oct. 26 ..............Mount Vernon.....................Home Piqua .........................................................L, 26-7
Be a champion for life — donate blood!
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ies. Peters and Smith were special mention all- On defense, Central allowed 1,689 rushing
state and first-team all-district and all-league, yards on 569 carries and 1,313 passing yards
and Burk was second-team all-district and first- on 123 completions and 250 attempts.
The Tigers went 5-0 in the OCC-Cardinal and
team all-league.
The returning starters are senior inside finished ahead of Olentangy (3-2), Westerville By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
linebacker Brennen Fraley (5-10, 190), senior Central coach Jay Sharrett has four starters
cornerback Eisen Hardy (5-10, 170), junior See TIGERS, page 33 returning on both offense and defense.
linebacker Zach Boren (6-1, 240) and White at
cornerback.
Ohio Regional Campus Conference Athletics
Other key defensive returnees are senior line-
men Rittgers and Michael Williams (6-0, 260),
senior defensive backs Chris Turner (5-10, 170),
junior defensive backs Raymond and Jamie
. . . .
Wood, sophomore defensive back Kristoff, senior Volleyball • Men’s Basketball
linebacker Ken Stanback (6-2, 190) and Burgess
at linebacker. Women’s Basketball • Men’s and Women’s Tennis
Last year, Fraley, Hardy (4 interceptions) and
Rittgers were second-team all-league. Baseball • Golf • Softball
“Defensively, we’ve been an attacking front
since 1998, and we’re going to continue to turn
Associate’s Degrees • Bachelor’s Degrees
our kids loose,” Sharrett said.
The Tigers set a program-record for victories Master’s Degrees • Skills Certificates
last season and advanced past a state semifinal
for the first time. Central outscored its oppo-
nents 473-161, rushed for 3,232 yards and 48
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touchdowns on 574 carries and completed 149
of 272 passes for 2,153 yards, with 14 touch-
downs and 10 interceptions.
Good Luck
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Pickerington Central
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