Dave Berk's Huddle

Trotwood (Ohio) Madison head coach Jeff Graham played the game at the highest level during his playing career. 

Over the past several years, Graham has stayed connected to the game, coaching many young and talented players over the years. In 2019, Graham led the Rams to the OHSAA Football Division III state championship.

With success, Graham and the Rams saw their conference push them aside, forcing them to become independent and play one of the most demanding schedules in Ohio.

Week One saw the Rams take on defending Division II state champion Winton Woods, then an always challenging and undefeated Kettering Fairmont team followed in Week Two, both losses for the Rams. If the sting of starting off 0-2 wasn't nasty enough, Graham and the Rams followed up in Week Three, playing up two levels and taking on Division One state runner-up Springfield. 

While no head coach wants to see his team start 0-3, Graham refused to allow his players to hang their heads going into their Week Four match-up against Kettering Alter. 

After some early game struggles, Graham and the Rams started to find their groove and used a solid second half to come back for a 26-24 win over the Knights.

DBHuddle spoke with the Rams head coach about his young squad and why the future is bright for one of Ohio's top programs over the last decade. 

This interview is presented by First Star Logistics.

During our recent visit to Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton Woods High School, we caught up with standout defensive back Cameron Calhoun who spoke about his team's goals this season, 100+ yard interception returned for a touchdown against Walnut Hills and future at the University of Cincinnati with Bearcats cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs.

Centerville (Ohio) head coach Brent Ullery knows all about the rich tradition of Elks football, having grown up in the program. Last season the Elks finished 8-4 with high expectations for 2022.

They say defense wins championships, and Ullery is watching his defense play a significant role in the team's 3-0 start to the season, having only given up 20-points so far this season.

The Elks pitched a shutout over a talented Gahanna Lincoln squad that entered the game undefeated Friday night. Coach Ullery spoke with DBHuddle about the win, top performers on his team, and the quality of football in Southwest Ohio, especially the Dayton area, which is often overlooked.

The Centerville Elks are off to an impressive 3-0 start to the season. One reason is the play of junior Reggie Powers, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound two-way player for the Elks.

Powers, who already has verbal offers from Cincinnati, UConn, and a handful of Mid-American Conference schools, played a significant role in the Elks 10-0 shutout win over Gahanna Lincoln on Friday night. DBHuddle spoke with Powers following the game.

Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton Woods senior running back Trey Cornist brings the combination of power and speed to the Warriors' offensive attack.

The Georgia Tech verbal pledge spoke with DBHuddle.com about transferring to Winton Woods after being at Mt. Healthy High School, playing with a target on his back as Winton Woods looks to repeat as OHSAA Division II State Champions, and why the Yellow Jackets were the right choice when it came to his college future.

Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton Woods athlete KC Spears might not match what those in the world of the football recruiting media like. However, after watching the Spears and his Winton Woods football team in action against Eastern Cincinnati Conference opponent Walnut Hills, you'll get a different impression as he's a Mighty Might on the field.

This season, Spears has seven catches for 116-yards and two touchdowns while also adding a rushing touchdown. Last season, Spears rushed for 526 yards and ten touchdowns while also adding 464 receiving yards and four scores.

Dave Berk of DBHuddle spoke with Spears following his team's impressive 52-0 win on Friday night over Walnut Hills in this exclusive one-on-one interview presented by First Star Logistics.

Tradition runs deep at Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton Woods High School. Success came before head coach Chad Murphy led the Warriors to the OHSAA football Division II State Championship last season.

Murphy is responsible for ensuring his team understands they are not the hunters but "The Hunted" when they take the field each week.

With three players, Trey Cornist (Georgia Tech), Cameron Calhoun (Cincinnati), and Jermaine Mathews Jr. (Ohio State), having ended their recruitment with early pledges and young players receiving early interest, Murphy feels blessed to have seniors who have grasped leadership roles.

DBHuddle.com sat down with Coach Murphy to learn more about his 2022 squad, including his top players and the challenges they face going from hunters to the hunted on the field.

Jermaine Mathews Jr. is one of the top players in Ohio for the Class of 2023.  

With his future already planned out by giving Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day his verbal pledge, Mathews and his Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton Woods teammates are working on repeating as OHSAA Division II champions.

DBHuddle.com caught Mathews in action on Friday night in the Warriors 52-0 win over Walnut Hills in Eastern Cincinnati Conference action.

Watching Mathews in action, it's easy to see why Ohio State and many college programs across the country recruiting Mathews hard. 

Learn more about Mathews goals for this season, why Ohio State was the right pick for him, and how having former Winton Woods standout Miyan Williams makes Mathews comfortable with his future in Columbus in this exclusive one-on-one interview presented by First Star Logistics.

Since becoming head coach at Cincinnati (Ohio) Elder high school in 1997, Doug Ramsey has seen his players reach the highest level of success on and off the field. 

With over 200 career wins, Ramsey entered his 26th season with many questions to be answered. However, a 42-21 win over Covington (KY) Catholic on Friday night answered several questions while also leaving areas his team will need to improve upon to reach their goals of winning a Greater Catholic League title and making a solid push for an OHSAA Division One championship game.

DBHuddle.com spoke with Coach Ramsey in this exclusive one-on-one interview presented by First Star Logistics after his team's win about his long career at the helm of the Panthers, players who stepped forward in Week One, and having his son, former Elder quarterback Peyton Ramsey coaching the quarterbacks this season.

Cincinnati (Ohio) Elder senior quarterback Ben Schoster earned his first starting assignment and came away looking like an under-the-radar quarterback prospect in the process.

Schoster was solid in the Panthers 42-21 win over Covington (KY) Catholic high school in Week One of the OHSAA football season, going 15-of-17 for 165 yards and a touchdown while also adding 52 yards rushing with two touchdowns.

DBHuddle spoke with Schoster in this exclusive one-on-one interview presented by First Star Logistics after the game.

When the time came for Fairfield (Ohio) defensive back Josiah Jackson to make a college decision, he looked no farther than what he's experienced since he stepped foot on his high school campus.

Family is often a word overused by coaches at all levels, but Jackson and his twin brother Jordan Jackson experienced its real meaning when they started playing for Fairfield head coach Jason Krause.

It played a significant role in deciding his college of choice, with the West Virginia Mountaineers coming out on top.

Following his team's win over Huber Heights Wayne on Thursday night to open the 2022 OHSAA football season, Jackson, a top Class of 2023 football recruit, spoke with DBHuddle.com in this exclusive one-on-one interview presented by First Star Logistics about his future in Morgantown, goals for his senior season that include winning a GMC football title. Along with playing a role in Coach Krause earning his 150th career coaching win and more.

Fairfield (Ohio) athlete Jordan Jackson knows this is the year to leave a legacy at the high school level before heading off to West Virginia University with his twin brother Josiah Jackson.

Thursday night, Jackson played a crucial role in helping Fairfield get off to a 1-0 start with a 41-24 victory over Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne.

DBHuddle.com spoke with Jackson in this exclusive one-on-one interview presented by First Star Logistics.

A significant statement is that a prospect holding 20 college scholarship offers is underrated. However, for Fairfield (Ohio) senior lineman James Thomas, we feel the "Big Boys" of college football are missing out on what will make Thomas a possible major prospect at the next level.

DBHuddle.com, presented by First Star Logistics, spoke with Thomas after his team's win over Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne to open the 2022 OHSAA football season.

Fairfield head coach Jason Krause has enjoyed many great wins during a coaching career with 150 career wins. However, to get to his 150th win, Krause needed his team to fend off a late rally by Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne before walking away with a 41-24 victory over the Warriors.

Krause has coached many great players during his coaching career, including MLB All-Star Kyle Schwarber and NFL players Jackson Carman (Bengals) and Josiah Scott (Eagles). 

However, Krause feels his 2022 Fairfield squad may be his most talented group.

Dave Berk of DBHuddle.com spoke One-on-One with Fairfields all-time winnest football coach about this team's big win, the talent that included twins Jordan Jackson and Josiah Jackson, who gave West Virginia University their verbal pledge, and coaching with his son Hunter Krause.

First Star Logistics presents this interview.

The 2022 high school football season is here, and Dave Berk of DBHuddle.com has his eyes on two big games that he'll be attending. Dave gives a quick preview of each game, starting with the Thursday night match-up between Greater Western Ohio Conference power Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne with future Ohio State Buckeye offensive lineman Josh Padilla and offensive lineman Evan Tengesdahl who is pledged to play for the University of Cincinnati will head to Fairfield (Ohio) high school out of the Greater Miami Conference with future West Virginia recruits Jordan Jackson and Josiah Jackson.

In Game Two, Dave looks at the First Star Logistics - Star64 Saturday High School Rivals opener between Cincinnati Elder and Covington (Ky) Catholic high school. Both teams come in young and hungry for success.

With talk of the NCAA extending the current "Dead Period" in Division One football recruiting until the end of May, one top Class of 2022 prospect, Carter Smith of Powell (Ohio) Olentangy Liberty high school took to social media (Twitter) with his plea with hopes the calendar doesn't change with recruiting getting back on track on April 15th.  

Dave Berk spoke with Smith about his need to make public his thoughts on why the NCAA should allow members of the Class of 2022 to have coaches visit high school and prospects to visit college facilities.

First Star Football Report publisher Dave Berk joined Dave Lapham for his First Star Logistics "In the Trenches" podcast to talk Southwest Ohio High School football playoffs. In this episode, Anderson head coach Evan Dreyer and Hamilton Badin head coach Nick Yordy will talk about their upcoming games with a discussion about key players and what they need to do to advance. 

Podcast Breakdown

Opening
Division I - Region 4 title game between St. Xavier and Lakota West.
Division 2 - Region 8 match-up between Anderson and La Salle with guest Anderson head coach Evan Dreyer.
Division 3 - Region 12 rematch between Kettering Alter and Hamilton Badin with guest Rams head coach Nick Yordy.
Shoutout to West Clermont head coach Nick Ayers.
Quick Hits - Other games to watch. Kings @ Winton Woods, Valley View @ Wyoming,  Versailles @ Roger Bacon.

Dave Berk catches up with former University of Cincinnati linebacker Solomon Tentman.

The two first crossed paths in 2007 when Tentman was a sophomore at Cincinnati (Ohio) Roger Bacon High School with Dave having covered his high school and college career at the University of Cincinnati.

ALSO TALKED ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE

TOP PROSPECT COREY KINER
HIS COACHING CAREER
BUTCH JONES
KERRY COOMBS
URBAN MEYER
OTHER PLAYERS TO WATCH AT ROGER BACON
CURRENT JOB AND FAMILY LIFE

Dave Berk speaks with former Miami RedHawks standout defensive back Heath Harding about his football career at the prep and college level, going through the recruiting process and how he learned to overcome adversity during each step of the process that continues to help him today.

Heath was an All-Mid-American Conference award winner during his career after playing in high school at Dayton Christian where some advised him to leave for a bigger high school program to achieve his recruiting goals.

During his prep career, Heath rushed for 5,124 yards and 102 touchdowns and was an Ohio Mr. Football nominee. However, college coaches didn't seem to like Heath as a running back and after being advised to camp as a defensive back, Heath earned several scholarships to Division One FBS programs before selecting Miami University.

We look at all four games in Division I Region 4 of the 2019 OHSAA football playoffs as Round One play gets underway on Friday night. We'll discuss the following games.

#8 MASON (5-5) @ #1 ST. XAVIER (8-2)
#5 LAKOTA WEST (7-3) @ #4 ELDER (8-2)
#7 HAMILTON (5-5) @ #2 FAIRFIELD (9-1)
#6 PRINCETON (6-4) @ #3 COLERAIN (9-1)

The regular season is over and we move forward with five weeks of football action that will see seven state championships crowned in Canton, Ohio at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. We start with a look at Division I Region 2 action that will see three teams from Southwest Ohio, No. 1 seed Springfield, No. 5 seed Springboro and No. 7 seed Northmont take the field on Friday night.

Let the talk begin as head coaches in the National Football League and College Football have started to receive their walking papers. What does that mean? Yes, your head coach may soon be looking to leave the university you love for another job. We look at three schools already hearing talk as Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has seen some mentions as a possible future NFL head coach along with University of Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell and University of Toledo's head coach Jason Candle both look like top names to watch when the college football regular season ends.

We also take a quick look at some Southwest Ohio high school football as we talk about several programs, conference races and players making an impact on their teams.

On Monday September 2, 2019… Dave Berk appeared on 700 WLW Sports Talk with host Chick Ludwig talking high school and college football.

TOPICS COVERED

Football Under Attack

Cincinnati Bearcats Football Recruiting Success

Top Performers in Southwest Ohio high school football Week 1

Teams to Watch in Southwest Ohio

Former Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne and Ohio State Buckeye standout Braxton Miller was signed by the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday.

Can Miller get his NFL career on track with the Browns?

We look at what Miller has done so far during his pro career and what must happen if he's to make the Browns opening 53 man roster in this Dave Berk Podcast - Quick Hit...

Two special guests joined The Dave Berk Podcast as Middletown (Ohio) Madison head football coach Ricky Davis takes over the program at the young age of 25.

Coach Davis talks about getting his first head coaching job, his team and more during our visit.

Then we connect with Steve Robertson “AKA” The Stark Villain, down in Starkville, Mississippi. Steve covers Mississippi State on Genespage.com on the 247 Sports Network. He’s a longtime recruiting analyst for the state of Mississippi but made big news a year ago when he released his first book, Flim Flam, exposing the truth behind the culture of Ole Miss football that led to an explosive NCAA investigation. 

Steve also talks about his newest book, Stark Villains that will soon be released and talks about what type of team the Bulldogs will have in 2019.

Episode #3 of The Dave Berk Podcast is jammed packed with football talk.

We start with what Southwest Ohio public school conference has played the best football over the past three seasons as some feel the Greater Miami Conference might be the best.

Kicking off the season will be The Backyard Blitz with two games the first weekend of the season and we’re joined by founder Eric Horstman to talk more about putting on such a great event.

We switch over to college football talk with looks at the Purdue Boilermakers and Kentucky Wildcats. We give our quick look before being joined by Mike Carmin of the Lafayette Journal & Courier who has covered the Boilermakers for many years. Braxton Howard of BigBlueBanter.com will give us a look at how Mark Stoops and the Wildcats will look to replace a lot of graduated talent after a great season a year ago.

In the first episode of The Dave Berk Podcast, guest Malik Zaire was asked what advice he'd give young people looking to play the game of football past high school. Malik wasted little time in talking about Cleveland Browns wide receiver Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi on Wednesday. 

Thursday night, Sheehy-Guiseppi scored his first NFL touchdown on an 86-yard punt return. 

Listen to Malik Zaire talk about his friend in this quick hit from The Dave Berk Podcast.

What better way to kick off the very first The Dave Berk Podcast then talking with former four-star quarterback Malik Zaire from Kettering (Ohio) Archbishop Alter High School. Zaire took his game to Notre Dame before finishing the University of Florida. 

Malik goes back and talks about growing up with his father as his coach and what led him to Alter instead of his local high school. He also talks about an early life lesson when many wanted him to leave Alter prior to his senior season and return to his local school. 

Learn more about how Malik had thoughts of heading to The Ohio State University before the Irish won out in his recruiting. Also discussed the highs and lows of his college career and how everything he'd done prior to Notre Dame helped him once he arrived on campus.

What's it like to play for Brian Kelly? 

What big news did Malik receive as for the work he'll be doing this fall?

We asked Malik those questions and more in this exclusive One-on-One interview.

We’re also joined on the podcast by Madonna University head coach Brian Foos. Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan hired Coach Foos to build the Crusader's football program from scratch. Learn more about Coach Foos and the newest NAIA football program gearing up to play in 2020.