OHSAA names 2 Ohio Mr. Football finalists from Cincinnati for 2025
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The Ohio High School Athletic Association has announced the eight finalists for the 2025 Mr. Football Award. Moeller's Matt Ponatoski, who won in 2024, and Lakota East's Ryder Hooks are the finalists from the Southwest District.
The other finalists are Olentangy Orange's Levi Davis, Shelby's Brayden DeVito, Hoban's Brayton Feister, Glenville's Cincere Johnson, Indian Valley's Grady Kinsey and Pickerington Central's Rocco Williams.
The winner will be announced at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4.
Ponatoski completed 66.1 percent of his passes in 2025 for 2,402 yards and 28 touchdowns to just one interception as the Crusaders went 8-4 and advanced to the regional semifinals. For his career, he owns school records for passing yards (10,058) and passing touchdowns (115), and led Moeller to three regional titles and an appearance in the 2024 DI state championship. He is committed to play football and basketball at the University of Kentucky.
Hooks had one of the greatest individual seasons in Lakota East history. It began with 286 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a Week 1 win over Centerville. Thanks to five games with 200 rushing yards, including a school-record 321-yard performance against Colerain, he ended the season with 2,032 yards and 19 touchdowns.
He also caught 25 passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns. Playing defense for the first time, he recorded 37 tackles, forced and recovered a fumble and grabbed three interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. In the last two seasons, the Thunderhawks went 8-4 and advanced to the second round of the regional playoffs.
Should Ponatoski or Hooks win the award, it will be the third consecutive season a player from Cincinnati has been named Mr. Football (Ponatoski in 2024, Jordan Marshall in 2023). Additional winners from Cincinnati include Marc Edwards (Norwood, 1992), Evan Prater (Wyoming, 2019) and Corey Kiner (Roger Bacon, 2020).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: OHSAA names two Mr. Football finalists from Cincinnati in 2025
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