Winton Woods still hungry after winning OHSAA 2021 Division 2 football state title

The defending state champions feel they have something to prove in 2022

Author:
Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports
Updated:
Aug 3, 2022 3:29 PM EDT
Original:
Jul 28, 2022

SBLive is previewing some of the best Ohio high school football teams from all divisions. Here, we focus on defending Division II state champion Winton Woods.

Winton Woods Warriors

HEAD COACH

Chad Murphy, second season, 13-3

2021 AT A GLANCE

Overall Record: 13-3. Division II state champions

Conference Record: 6-2, third place, Eastern Cincinnati Conference

Playoffs: Def. Turpin 46-29; Def. Kings 31-21; Def. La Salle 42-25; Def. Piqua 38-17; Def. Green 20-7; Def. Archbishop Hoban 21-10 in state championship game

Key Departures

DL Jay’Ron Gibson, Division II Defensive Player of the Year, Robert Morris University

LB Seven Blue, first team all-Ohio

RB Ty'Rek Spikes, honorable mention All-Ohio, Tiffin University

QB Austin Ellery

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Senior DB Jermaine Mathews – The Ohio State University commit is the No. 10-ranked player in the class of 2023 in the state of Ohio, according to 247Sports. He had five interceptions last season for the Warriors.

Senior DB Cameron Calhoun – The University of Cincinnati commit led the Eastern Cincinnati Conference with none interceptions last season. He was also fifth on the team with 61 tackles.

Senior DB Lorenzo Hudson – Had two interceptions and 72 tackles last season.

Senior DL Qierstin Williams – The team’s leading tackler from 2021, Williams made 85 stops last season.

Senior DL Terren Macklin – The three-year starter brings plenty of experience up front to help anchor the defensive line.

Senior RB/LB Trey Cornist – The Georgia Tech commit transferred to Winton Woods after three seasons at Mount Healthy. He ran for 1,304 yards last season and earned honorable mention All-Ohio honors in Division III.

Senior RB James Minor III – While Spikes ran for 1,858 yards last season, Minor III added 621 yards on the ground for the Warriors and scored four touchdowns.

Senior ATH KC Spears – He combined for almost 1,000 yards of total offense last season. Spears led the Warriors with 464 yards receiving last season and had 526 yards rushing. He scored 14 touchdowns on offense and also had a kickoff return for a score.

Junior QB Van George – Transferred to Winton Woods after two seasons at Cincinnati Moeller. Van George saw some time for Moeller last season and completed 54.3 percent of his passes for 578 yards and five touchdowns.

OUTLOOK

A Cinderella no more, Winton Woods enters the 2022 football season with a target on its back after taking home the 2021 Division II state title.

Despite losing 26 seniors from last year’s team, including Gibson, Blue and Spikes, the Warriors will still have the talent on the defense that helped lead them to that state championship.

The Warriors will return Calhoun, Hudson and Mathews on the back end of the defense in the secondary. In the front seven, Williams and Macklin both return to one of the best defenses from last season.

With Ellery and Spikes both graduated, the offense will be in the hands of two transfers in the backfield, as Van George and Cornist are now at Winton Woods. Cornist will split time at running back with Minor III, along with do-everything athlete Spears, who will also line up at wide receiver and can return kicks as well.

Murphy returns for his second year as the head coach of the Warriors and is very optimistic about his team after their state title run that saw the Warriors defeat the top two teams in the final AP poll in the playoffs in Kings Mills Kings and Piqua. Winton Woods then went to Canton and defeated heavily favored and perennial powerhouse Archbishop Hoban 21-10 to capture the program’s second state championship.