COLUMBUS, Ohio – Akron Archbishop Hoban senior running back Lamar Sperling has been named Ohio Mr. Football by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association. He is the 36th winner of the award and will lead his team into the OHSAA Division II state championship game Thursday night against Toledo Central Catholic.
Sperling, 5-foot-10-inches and 190 pounds, totaled 141 points in the statewide voting by OPSWA members. Cincinnati Wyoming senior running back/defensive back CJ Hester was the runner-up with 101 points. He will play in the Division IV state championship game Saturday night.
Other Mr. Football finalists included Darreon Fair, Cleveland Heights; Diore Hubbard, Gahanna Lincoln; Jordan Marshall, Moeller; Connor Walendzak, Perrysburg; and Mason Wolfe, Millersburg West Holmes.
Sperling enters Thursday with 3,511 rushing yards and 55 rushing touchdowns, both school records, on 377 carries in 15 games this season. Sperling, a University at Buffalo recruit, also has one receiving TD.
The Ohio Mr. Football Award was given by the Associated Press from 1987-2016. It has been given by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association since 2017.
The All-Ohio teams will be announced beginning Monday.
The OPSWA was created in 1972 to support, promote and recognize coverage of high school sports across Ohio and is endorsed by the Ohio High School Athletic Association. More about the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association is posted at: https://www.ohsaa.org/news/OPSWA.
Photo: OHSAA