High school football: All-Lorain County teams announced

It should have been no surprise who Avon led the way with 14 selections when the Lorain County Football Coaches Association announced its All-Lorain County teams. But the number of schools that were also well-represented shows how deep the well of talent runs across the county. After completing its first 10-win season since 1978, North Ridgeville placed 11 players on the all-county team led by quarterback Cole Miller, who was named the Division I-III most valuable offensive back. "Winning 10 games in a season hasn't been done in almost 50 years," Miller said. "To be able to do that my senior year, it was amazing to see all of the hard work over the last four years pay off. We finally set the standard of what Ridgeville football should be." Miller was the only quarterback in the county to throw and run for over 1,000 yards this season. "Coach (Bryan) Morgan and the coaching staff pushed us to get in the weight room and get bigger, faster, stronger," Miller said. "He really preached that and everyone bought in and grinded to get those winning seasons and get us to where we are now." Miller was one of the three quarterbacks on the Division I-III first team, along with Amherst's Cy Christensen and Avon's Blake Elder, the 2025 Lorain County Golden Helmet Award winner. Avon Lake's Max Riley will be taking the Lombardi Award, given to the county's top offensive lineman, with him when he heads to Ohio State next year. "I thought it was pretty cool to win the Lombardi Award. I am grateful to be recognized in that way," Riley said. "It was definitely one of my goals going into this season to get the lineman of the year award for the county." Riley will be an early enrollee at Ohio State and has been focused on making the transition to college football. "I don't have too much time to reminisce on my high school career. I have to focus on the next step in my journey," he said. "Right now, I'm lifting four or five times a week and working with my trainer on a lot of specific stuff. "I imagine it's probably going to be the hardest thing I've even done. I'm just prepping myself mentally because I know adversity is going to hit one way or another and I have to be ready." Avon, which will face Walsh Jesuit in Friday's Division II state semifinal at the University of Akron's InfoCision Stadium, swept the other Division I-III special awards with Lance Dawson, a Cincinnati commit, earning the defensive lineman Lombardi Award, while his teammate Ryan Stolarski was named the most valuable defensive back. Morgan and Midview's Jack Armstrong were co-coaches of the year for Divisions I-III. Avon's Brendan Leister took home assistant coach of the year honors. Vermilion led the Division IV-VII schools with 10 first-team choices led by offensive back MVP Evan Kuhns. Kuhns set a school record with 1,600 yards on the ground despite only playing nine games. "Obviously, it's a pretty good feeling to be able to receive such a prestigious award, especially after all the work I've put in all these years. I feel like it's finally coming back to pay off," Kuhns said. Kuhns offered much of the credit for his success to his offensive line led by a pair of all-county selections — Sean Brownell and Chad Ellis. "My O-line did a lot of the dirty work up front, opening lanes and holes for me to run through. Really, they did most of the job, and I just make them look good," Kuhns said. Columbia's A.J. Lamb and Jose Rivera won the most valuable defensive linemen/defensive Back MVP awards, respectively, after leading the Raiders to the Lorain County League title. They were two of eight Columbia players to make the first team. For the second year in a row, Raiders coach Mike Rice shared the Division IV-VII coach of the year award, this time with Clearview's Coda Kaya. Kaya took over the Clippers in July and after a 0-4 start led them to five wins in their final six games to earn their way into the Division IV playoffs. "No, I didn't expect this at all," Kaya said. "It's a testament to our team and how we overcame some challenges and how they were able to rally together and play together as a team down the stretch." The Clippers had seven first-team selections, including the Division IV-VII most valuable offensive lineman Anthony Lachman, who led a unit that blocked for a trio of first-team backs — Tristin Lentile, Kam Williams and Christian Stevenson. "That says a ton about the guys up front across the board," Kaya said. "We've got some workhorses in the backfield, too. The entire offense came together this year." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. First-team selections D1-D3 Offensive linemenHunter Thornsberry, AmherstEian Englehart, Avon Max Hauck, AvonMax Riley, Avon Lake (Lombardi/MVP)Jackson Goodspeed, ElyriaJaylen Moore, LorainJason Ellison, North RidgevilleKnoepp Gavin, North RidgevilleQuarterbacksCy Christensen, AmherstBlake Elder, AvonCole Miller, North Ridgeville (offensive back MVP)Running backsMichael Colburn, AvonEzra Jones, Avon LakeToriano Allen, LorainMarcus McMahon, MidviewDylan DeShazo, North RidgevilleCole Allison, North RidgevilleTight endKillian Haessig, AvonWide receivers David Dudziak, AmherstGrant Barr, AvonFin Jerdonek, AvonAidan Stewart, Avon LakeMichael Summerfield, Avon LakeChris Rogers, ElyriaDefensive linemenPatrick Fellenstein, AmherstBen Strichek, AvonLance Dawson, Avon (Lombardi/MVP)Erik Van Euwen, Avon LakeCaleb Smith, Avon LakeParker Osborne, ElyriaEzra Williams, LorainAshton Cassetto, North RidgevilleChristian Ensley, North RidgevilleLinebackersTyler Denn, AmherstRyan Stolarski, Avon (defensive back MVP)Sam Huffman, Avon LakeLevi Springer, ElyriaJamiyus Gaines, LorainBrayden Homoki, MidviewNolan Gill, North RidgevilleDefensive backsJack Coleman, AmherstMichael Passerrello Jr., AmherstJakob Weatherspoon, AvonCaden Clapham, AvonTrevor Maly, AvonDolan Melendez, ElyriaCarter Clark, North RidgevilleBrian Strippy, North RidgevilleKickerJensen Petro, AvonPunterFinley Keller, North RidgevilleCoaches of the year: Bryan Morgan, North Ridgeville and Jack Armstrong, MidviewAssistant coach of the year: Brendan Leister, Avon First-team selections D4-D7 Offensive LinemenMichael Borgmann, BrooksideAnthony Lachman, Clearview (Lomardi/MVP)Sam Andrews, ColumbiaLandon Thomas, FirelandsSean Brownell, VermilionChad Ellis, VermilionAshton Roessler, WellingtonQuarterbacksDominic Bell, Black RiverMason Waechter, BrooksideLiam Tobicash, FirelandsRunning backsHunter Varney, Black RiverTristin Lentile, ClearviewKam Williams, ClearviewChristian Stevenson, ClearviewXavier Hendon, ColumbiaWyatt McKee, KeystoneEvan Kuhns Vermilion, (offensive back MVP)Wide receiversZane Bungard, Black RiverColton Casey, BrooksideAlex Arra, BrooksideAndrew Pawlak, FirelandsCarmelo Willams, OberlinJackson Cikalo, OberlinDefensive linemenJack Vancooney, Black RiverCarter Schuster, BrooksideManny Moore, ClearviewMontez Sanchez-Miller, ClearviewAJ Lamb, Columbia (Lombardi/MVP)Ryan Smith, ColumbiaJohn Faltay, KeystoneAiden Saunders, VermilionCole Rini, VermilionLinebackersKayden Hendershot, Black RiverAmbrose Beach, ColumbiaJose Rivera, Columbia (defensive backs MVP)Shane Ohl, KeystoneDrew Walter, OberlinDaniel Roy, VermilionAiden Kyser, VermilionTrey Moore, WellingtonDefensive backsBryce Murray, Black RiverNate Christensen, ClearviewCarter Duley, ColumbiaAndrew Sorenson, ColumbiaZach Taylor, KeystoneJames Bengele, VermilionBrock Meyers, VermilionKickerSam Lee, OberlinPunterDrake Hooks, VermilionCoaches of the year: Mike Rice, Columbia and Cody Kaya, Clearview