Ohio State commit Tavien St. Clair used his legs to gain yardage in Friday’s opening win over Sidney. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie McMaken Wright)
Future Ohio State quarterback Tavien St. Clair plays with expected poise and helps new teammate Braylon Newcomb set a school receiving record on opening night against Sidney.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Sidney, OH – Tavien St. Clair’s quarterback future is secure at Ohio State. So much so that when he speaks with head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chip Kelly, they deliver a simple message.
“Just don’t even worry about the Ohio State stuff,” he said. “Just go play ball. And I felt like I did that tonight.”
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On opening night of the high school football season, the five-star recruit and Rivals.com national No. 1 player in the class of 2025 had fun being a high school kid. He led his team to a 48-21 victory over historic rival Sidney, he accumulated the kind of numbers you would expect – 17 for 32, 290 yards, four touchdown passes, 71 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns – and he found a new favorite receiver.
Braylon Newcomb.
He’s a 5-foot-9, 175-pound package of speed, change-of-direction quickness and soft hands. Newcomb is also the new Bellefontaine record holder for receiving yards in a game. He caught 13 passes from St. Clair for 235 yards and three touchdowns, surpassing Tyson Shirk’s record of 214 yards set in the 1990s.
Sidney’s Julius Spradling (7) tries to strip the ball from Braylon Newcomb in Friday’s loss to Bellefontaine.
And he did it in his first game as a Chieftain in the 117th meeting of a series that began in 1899.
St. Clair was surprised and, at the same time, not surprised by Newcomb’s numbers.
“I know what our offense is capable of doing,” he said. “But I am shocked – the first night of the season to start it off with a record is insane.”
St. Clair entered the offseason knowing last year’s top targets Riley Neer (113 receptions, 1,873 yards, 21 touchdowns) and C.J. Wilson (69 receptions, 761 yards, nine touchdowns) wouldn’t be back. Neer is a preferred walk-on at Ohio. Newcomb showed on opening night that the offense won’t be left up to only what St. Clair can create.
“He’s a dynamic playmaker, but more importantly, he’s a really great kid, great teammate, fun to be around, uplifting,” Bellefontaine coach Jason Brown said of Newcomb. “He’s helped us become better because he’s really locked in and works hard.”
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Newcomb was a playmaker the past two seasons at Centerville and even played quarterback as a sophomore when the starter was injured. His dad is from Logan County, and so he moved to Bellefontaine last spring. He worked out with St. Clair this summer and developed some obvious chemistry.
Tank Fleming runs in for a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown for the Yellow Jackets.
“That’s all the hard work and stuff that we put into the summer,” Newcomb said. “Our goal is to always give everyone the reps, but I’m going to do whatever it takes to win for this team. I love them. I’m gonna die for them on this field.”
St. Clair and Newcomb set an early tone that created a rhythm Sidney’s defense could do little to disrupt. The Yellow Jackets tried with exotic blitzes from the corners, the second level, you name it.
“Try to get pressure on him,” Sidney coach Dave Taynor said. “The reality was we felt like we could, and we did, create pressure on him. I would rather create pressure on him than just … we’re gonna play ball. St. Clair ran around and extended plays, did what he should do, and has the ability to do.”
On the Chieftains’ fifth play, St. Clair threw a dart to Newcomb on the right sideline. Then Newcomb did the rest, tip-toeing the sideline and flying over the pylon for a 6-0 lead three minutes into the game.
On the next scoring drive, one that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Stolly, Newcomb caught four passes, including a 12-yard sideline toe-tapper.
The Chieftains took a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter when Newcomb made an acrobatic twisting catch in the end zone, while being popped hard by a defender, for a 34-yard touchdown.
Touchdown No. 3 came late in the third quarter on a 16-yarder for a 48-14 lead and was his last catch of the game.
Braylon Newcomb snags a bomb thrown by quarterback Tavien St. Clair on a record-breaking night.
By the way, Newcomb played several series at cornerback. And he returned kickoffs 40-plus yards to midfield twice. His occasional breaks on the sideline were well-deserved.
“His speed, his quickness and just how he moves his feet is just different compared to the guys that I’m used to seeing,” St. Clair said. “He’s really electric. You put the ball in his hands, and he can make things out of nothing.”
And once St. Clair began to recognize Sidney’s pressure tactics, he began to step up and hurt the Jackets with his running. His first touchdown run was for five yards and a 27-14 halftime lead. His second was for 24 yards and a 34-14 lead almost two minutes into the second half.
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“He was mature, he did a good job driving the bus for us,” Brown said. “There were some pretty exotic blitzes coming from Sidney, and he did a good job dialing in the second half on protections. He’s dialed in on the intricacies and being able to understand how to protect himself with his offensive line.”
Sidney’s quarterback Ethan New used his legs to get some yardage for the Yellow Jackets.
Sidney’s offense showed promise in the first half after falling behind 20-0. Quarterback Ethan New moved to an H-back position and receiver Julius Spradling, who played some quarterback last year, became a Wildcat runner. He reversed field and went 46 yards on the first snap. Four plays later and three runs himself later, he scored from the 1-yard line.
After a three-and-out for the Chieftains, Spradling went to work again with a 33-yard pass to Tank Fleming and a 19-yard run to the 25. New, who threw for 210 yards, was back in the shotgun a couple plays later and threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Fleming to cut the deficit to 20-14.
But the Yellow Jackets couldn’t be as creative in the second half. Spradling spent the final 24 minutes on the bench with a leg muscle strain.
“We did some things that we can build on from the first half,” Taynor said. “We did some things in the second half of just trying to do a little too much instead of staying on process. But we’ve got an opportunity to grow.”
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Taynor has no worries that his team will remain confident after a fifth straight loss to Bellefontaine.
“We played against a team that has a No. 1 player in the country,” Taynor said. “He made some plays. We made some plays and had opportunity to make more. So I’m not at all concerned about anything like that.”
Tank Fleming hauls in a pass from Sidney’s quarterback Ethan New despite the Chiefs’ coverage.
But future Bellefontaine opponents have much to be concerned about. They’ve all seen St. Clair the past three years. They have scrimmage film and a record-setting night of film of what Newcomb can do.
They will see that blitzing St. Clair from every angle might not work. And they will see an inexperienced yet capable defense that learned a lot trying to contain Spradling and Fleming’s speed and explosiveness. Fleming caught nine passes for 161 yards.
“No doubt those are dudes,” Brown said. “They’re dynamic, they’re good playmakers, so you take your hat off to them. And those are great teachable moments for us.”
And moments, like the ones Newcomb had in his debut, just might keep coming. No one was happier after the game than he was.
“I love the people here,” he said. “They’re loud, they’re supportive, not to mention my teammates. They care a lot, and I care for them. I would never regret moving up here. I love it, and I couldn’t thank them enough for accepting me.”
Sidney’s Julius Spradling giving Chiefs Jacob Salyer the stiff arm to gain some yardage.
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