With the Ohio high school football playoffs starting Oct. 30, The Dispatch is taking a final look at the regular season by ranking the top 10 players from the past 10 weeks.
All of them have a chance to further build their legacies in the postseason, but these rankings are based solely on their accomplishments in guiding their teams into the playoffs.
Rankings were determined through a vote of The Dispatch sports staff.
Here are The Dispatch’s top 10 central Ohio players from the regular season:
1. Jackson Szabo, Worthington Kilbourne
The junior quarterback surpassed 4,000 yards of offense in the regular season, completing 175 of 268 passes for 2,977 yards and 31 touchdowns with three interceptions and rushing for 1,183 yards and 22 touchdowns on 154 carries to lead the Wolves (9-1) to the third
seed in Division I, Region 3. Szabo was also The Dispatch’s No. 1 player at midseason.
2. Nolan Buirley, Big Walnut
The senior running back and Northwestern commit has run for 1,638 yards and 26 touchdowns on 171 carries for the undefeated Golden Eagles, the second seed in loaded Division II, Region 7. Buirley also leads the Golden Eagles (10-0) in receiving touchdowns with seven, having caught 26 passes for 428 yards, and has nine tackles at linebacker.
3. Michael Boyle, Watterson
The senior defensive lineman and Ohio State wrestling commit continues to star for the undefeated and two-time reigning state champion Eagles (9-0), racking up 88 tackles with 23 solo, 28 for loss and 19 sacks. Watterson earned the top seed in Region 7.
4. Jamari Snow, Canal Winchester
The senior running back rushed for 2,052 yards and 30 touchdowns and added two more scores through the air for a Canal team (7-3) that won its last five regular-season games and earned the fifth seed in Region 7.
5. RJ Day, DeSales
The senior quarterback and Northwestern commit has completed 145 of 215 passes for 2,005 yards and 21 touchdowns with seven interceptions and rushed for 274 yards and four scores. The 21 touchdown passes are tied for second most in program history for one season, behind Day’s 25 scores in 2025. The Stallions (7-3) are the sixth seed in Region 7.
6. Dior Hansard, East
The junior quarterback has passed for 2,185 yards and 34 touchdowns against only four interceptions and run for 333 yards and eight touchdowns on 41 carries. East (9-1), the third seed in Division III, Region 11, averaged 41.1 points in the regular season.
7. Declan O’Neil, Hilliard Bradley
The Jaguars’ senior quarterback completed 152 of 219 passes for 2,207 yards and 17 touchdowns with eight interceptions and ran for 220 yards and two touchdowns on 77 carries. Bradley (6-4) is the fifth seed in Division I, Region 2.
8. Cyren Wallace, Danville
The junior plays a huge part on both sides of the ball for the undefeated Blue Devils, rushing for 826 yards and 14 touchdowns on 66 carries as well as making 47 tackles at defensive back with one interception, two fumble recoveries and two pass deflections through nine games. Danville (10-0) is the No. 2 seed in Division VII, Region 27.
9. Ryan Sager, Johnstown
The senior running back is closing in on another 2,000-yard season with 1,971 yards and 34 touchdowns on 247 carries. He has five games with at least 200 yards this season, including a 338-yard performance in Week 1 against Vermilion, and six games with at least four touchdowns. The Johnnies (8-2) earned the fourth seed in Division IV, Region 15.
10. Davell Brock, Linden-McKinley
The junior quarterback led a 9-0 start for the Panthers on both sides of the ball. Brock passed for 1,264 yards and 18 touchdowns, ran for 875 yards and 12 scores on 90 carries and had six interceptions on defense. Linden (9-1) is the eighth seed in Region 11.
Others receiving votes
Drew Hughes, Jonathan Alder; Jackson Reynolds, Lancaster
High school sports reporters Frank DiRenna and Dave Purpura can be reached at sports@dispatch.com and at @DispatchPreps on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who were central Ohio's top football players in the regular season?
