Top 20 performers during the Ohio high school football playoffs

The 2021 Ohio high school football season is in the books, with St. Edward, Winton Woods, Chardon, Clinton-Massie, Versailles, Carey and Marion Local emerging as state champions.

Not surprisingly, those seven teams are represented very well on our list of the top 20 players of the postseason.

(Zyion Freer-Brown photo above by Mike Cook)

Carson Bey, Versailles QB/DB

Bey was the engine on offense for Versailles, which ended Kirtland's nation-leading 55-game win streak in the state championship game. Bey was a force with his arm and legs, and he also repeatedly came up with big plays on defense, including a diving interception against Kirtland.

Beau Brungard, New Middletown Springfield QB

Brungard racked up 200-yard, four-touchdown games on the ground throughout the playoffs, sprinkling some long TD passes in for good measure. Eventual state champ Carey held the Youngstown State commit to a playoff-low two TDs in the state semifinals.

Sean Carr, Chardon RB

Badin did a good job limiting Carr in the state championship game, but he scored the winning touchdown in the Hilltoppers' 21-14 victory. Carr was the Hilltoppers’ leading rusher all year, and while he gave the credit to his offensive line, teammate Nathanael Sulka said, “We don’t get here without (Carr).”

Danny Enovitch, St. Edward RB

Enovitch was explosive on the ground yet again in the state championship game, with 210 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He had 180 yards rushing the previous week and a career game with 264 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries in a 42-0 win over Canton McKinley.

Zyion Freer-Brown, St. Edward LB

Brown was all over the field throughout the playoffs, making tackles, tipping passes and causing turnovers for a team defense that harassed every offense it played, including Drew Allar and high-flying Medina.

Jayron Gibson, Winton Woods DE

Gibson was menace as a pass rusher and stopping the run for probably the team of the playoffs in Winton Woods, a No. 7 seed that won all of its playoff games by at least 10 points on its way to the Division II state championship.

Easton Korody, Carey OT

Korody anchored a dominant Carey offensive line that helped the state champs control every game during the playoffs. "You don’t get tired from a 17-play drive that takes seven minutes off the clock," the Youngstown State commit said. "It’s an awesome feeling knowing you can just dominate and control the game like that.”

Jordan Marshall, Archbishop Moeller RB

Marshall is just a sophomore, but he took Ohio high school football by storm late in the season and especially in the playoffs. He scored three touchdowns in Moeller's semifinal loss to Springfield and carried the offense a week earlier in the Crusaders' 21-17 win over Lakota West.

DeMarcus McElroy, Ursuline RB

McElroy was a 100- and sometimes 200-yard machine during the playoffs, when he set the school record for touchdowns in a season. He added two more TDs in the state championship game, but Ursuline fell just short against Clinton-Massie.

Logan Neu, Badin DE

Neu anchored a defense that was among the best in the playoffs regardless of classification. He helped Badin reach the state championship game by routinely keeping offenses off the scoreboard. The Rams fell just short to the Hilltoppers in a punt-filled game.

Peyton Otte, Marion Local QB

Otte finished 13-for-18 for 252 yards and three touchdowns (19-, 51- and 39-yard passes) and rushed for 65 yards and two more touchdowns to secure Marion Local’s Division VII state championship. He was dominant throughout the playoffs, especially in the running game.

Gabe Powers, Marysville RB/LB

Despite all the rushing yards and touchdowns Powers racked up in the playoffs, it's the defensive side of the ball where he wreaked havoc every week until Springfield ended Marysville's run. Next up for Powers is his freshman year at Ohio State.

Te'Sean Smoot, Springfield QB

Springfield's vaunted defense, led by massive defensive tackles Tywan January and Jokell Brown, deserves lots of credit for getting the Wildcats to their first championship game, but Smoot was the team leader in the regular season and playoffs. He was a terror as a passer and runner throughout the playoffs.

Lamar Sperling, Archbishop Hoban RB

No one put up gaudier numbers than Sperling this postseason. His playoff totals would suffice to be among the state rushing leaders during the regular season (which he already was). Sperling racked up 1,411 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns in the playoffs in Hoban's run to the state championship game.

TyRek Spikes, Winton Woods RB

Spikes led his team to the Division II state championship with 153 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, and it was a typical playoff performance for the 5-foot-4 running back. Besides his speed to the outside, Spikes showed repeatedly he wasn't afraid of contact running between the tackles or diving for the end zone. 

Nathanael Sulka, Chardon WR/LB

Sulka caught the touchdown pass to kick off the scoring in the Division III state championship game, but defense is where Sulka set the tone for the Hilltoppers throughout the playoffs. “(On defense) we’re just constantly encouraging each other and getting on each other to play faster, play more violent,” he said.

Gage Sullivan, Kirtland WR/RB/DB

Sullivan was a handful all season at wideout, but he added to his arsenal in the playoffs, becoming a back-to-back 100-yard rusher as well. And besides running and catching the ball, he was all over the field on defense. There's a good chance nobody racked up more miles running than Sullivan during the playoffs.

Taran Tyo, Versailles OL/DL

Versailles' run game chewed up everything in its path during the playoffs, and the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Ball State commit was the biggest lineman leading the way. And on the other side of the ball he helped make sure the other team couldn't do the same.

Jordan Vallejo, Carey RB

Vallejo looks like he could be a lineman, and then he carries the ball and you realize why he's a running back. Vallejo was a touchdown machine throughout the playoffs, and he epitomized the ball-control offense that cared more about racking up first downs and chewing up clock than striking for big plays.

Carson Vanhoose, Clinton-Massie RB

Vanhoose scored the first touchdown and the game-winning two-point conversion with 45 seconds remaining to give Clinton-Massie the Division IV championship. He rushed for yet another 100-yard game and finished the season just a shade under 2,000 yards.