11 Fighting Irish Garner All-Blade Laurels
Eleven members of the unbeaten Central Catholic football squad have been named to the 29th-annual All-Blade Team. CCHS’s 11 honorees are the most by any school. In addition, Head Coach Greg Dempsey was tabber the Coach of the Year, becoming the 1st 3-time recipient of this honor.
The Fighting Irish had 7 1st-team selections. That list included senior RB Marquan Braswell, senior OL Marc Nave, senior OL Elijah Williams, senior WR Jaylen Watson, senior DL Michael Cannings II, senior LB Davonte’ Wright-Ward, and senior DB Marvon Greenlee.
Four Fighting Irish also garnered special mention honors – senior OL Kendric Bankston, senior OL Tyrell Green, senior DL Ronald Collins III, and senior DB Jayden Barnes
The foursome of Bankston (SM), Cannings (1st), Nave (1st), and Williams (SM) are collecting All-Blade laurels for the 2nd-straight fall.
CCHS (15-0) will conclude its quest to secure a 2nd-straight state title against Columbus Bishop Watterson (14-1) on Friday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium (1835 Harrison Ave. NW, Canton, 44708). Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. and tomorrow’s matchup will be televised LIVE on Spectrum News 1. The Spectrum telecast is also available on BCSN, as well as spectrumnews1.com, SpectrumNewsApp.com, and OHSAA.tv. In addition, the game can be heard on The Ticket l 100.7 FM with the “Voice of the Irish” Bill Clark & Jim Oswald, starting at 2 p.m.
Tickets for Friday’s state championship contest MUST be purchased online at OHSAA.org/tickets (Division III). All playoff tickets are General Admission. Tickets will cost $16 for adults and $13 for students.
The Fighting Irish, who are seeking their 5th state title (2005, ’12, ’14, ‘22) under Coach Dempsey and 6th (1962) in program history, reached the state finals on the heels of postseason victories against Bowling Green, 42-7, Defiance, 41-26, Mansfield Senior, 41-10, Tiffin Columbian, 41-6, and most recently Charon, 35-7.
Coach of the Year
Greg Dempsey
1st-Team
RB – Marquan Braswell
OL – &Marc Nave
OL – @Elijah Williams
WR – Jaylen Watson
DL – &Michael Cannings II
LB – Davonte’ Wright-Ward
DB – Marvon Greenlee
Special Mention
OL – @Kendric Bankston
OL – Tyrell Green
DL – Ronald Collins III
DB – Jayden Barnes
& – 2022 1st-team All-Blade
@ – 2022 Special Mention All-Blade
