The Greater Catholic League-Southhas four of the most storied football programs in the area, if not the country. Each of the teams has won at least two state championships this century. All four are capable of doing it again in any given season.
This year’s iteration of the conference features multiple future Divison I players and a lot of interesting storylines. Moeller returns nearly all of a record-breaking offense from 2023. Elder has a very experienced defense. St. Xavier has players with SEC offers on both sides of the ball. La Salle hopes for a further breakout from one of the conference’s best quarterbacks in his senior season. Each of those teams has reasons to be hopeful in 2024.
Here, listed alphabetically, is a preview for each of the teams in the GCL-South for 2024.
Elder
2023: 7-5, made Division I, Region 4 quarterfinals
Head coach: Doug Ramsey
Returning players: QB Eli Roden, RB Joey Thamann, RB Trenton Meyer, WR Christopher Paff, TE Brayden Boeing, DL Chris Cowans, DE Henry Heitz, LB Maddox Arnold, LB Luke Fortkamp, LB George Guidugli, LB Matthew Golinar, DB Derek Uran, S Cooper Sandhas, S Joey DiTullio
Outlook: Elder hopes to break out in 2024 after finishing second in the GCL-South in five of the last six seasons. The Panthers will have to replace the production of their main offensive weapon from last season, quarterback Ryan Brass. Brass rushed for 1,114 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2023, and he threw for 1,681 yards and eight more touchdowns.
Eli Roden is the only returning player who threw a pass in 2023. He completed six-of-10 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns last season. Rising senior running backs Joey Thamann (287 yards, 4.0 yards per carry in 2023) and Trenton Meyer (275 yards, 5.0 yards per carry) might take on bigger roles to offset the loss of Brass. Elder’s top two receivers have also graduated, but Thamann and Meyer have proved to be capable pass catchers, and Christopher Paff should step into a bigger role after grabbing 16 passes for 158 yards in 2023. Brayden Boeing, a tight end committed to Miami of Ohio could step into a bigger role as a pass catcher in 2024.
On defense, Elder returns its top three tacklers from last season. Linebackers Maddox Arnold, George Guidugli and Luke Fortkamp should form a formidable trio at the second level of the Panther defense, with Fortkamp going into his sophomore season after recording 75 tackles and four forced fumbles as a freshman. Arnold is committed to Toledo.
La Salle
2023: 4-7, made Division II, Region 8 first round
Head coach: Pat McLaughlin
Returning players: QB Pat McLaughlin, RB Devin Byrd, RB/LB Isaac Goldschmidt, RB Ty Brown, WR Max Welter, TE Hunter Ogdan, DL Fergus Kreider, DE Zach Gates, LB Caleb Lang, LB Markel McConnell, DB/WR Brady O’Connor, DB Sayre Smothers, DB Walter Berry, DB Drae Arnold, K/WR Jack Schroer
Outlook: La Salle football’s starting quarterback from 2023, Pat McLaughlin, son of the team’s head coach, returns for his senior season after a strong statistical showing in 2023. He recorded nearly 2,000 passing yards and 22 total touchdowns last season. Two more of Coach McLaughlin’s sons are part of the La Salle football program, both defensive backs and receivers. Neither caught a pass in 2023, but it will be interesting to see if the family connection flourishes in the eldest son’s senior season. Two of La Salle’s top three receivers from last year graduated, so there may be an opportunity to jump into the fold. Leading receiver Max Welter does return after recording 45 catches for 604 yards last season.
La Salle’s defense, which held opponents under 20 points five times in 2023, will be a very experienced unit with four of five of last year’s top tacklers returning as seniors. Sack leader Fergus Kreider will also return, and he and Zach Gates should be the foundation of a strong defensive line. La Salle is flush with defensive backs who saw significant action last season, returning four players who had an interception in 2023. The Lancers will enjoy the services of kicker Jack Schroer, who made 25/29 extra points last season and pinned a 47-yarder against Canisius (New York).
Moeller
2023: 10-5, made Division I state semifinal
Head coach: Bert Bathiany
Returning players: QB Matt Ponatoski, RB Desmon Gault Jr, WR Jovan Love, WR Roman Mason, WR Matthew Fogler, TE Cooper McCutchan, TE Sam Hamilton, OL Camden Pawlick (Transfer from Saline High School in Michigan), DL Will Adkins, DL Thomas Gerke, DL Christian Harris, EDGE Jonah Hayes, LB Connor Cuozzo, LB Nolan Kittle, DB Griff Daley, DB Lincoln Murphy, S Micah Rice
Outlook: Moeller was one game away from the state championship game in Bert Bathiany’s first season as the head coach of the Crusaders. The team will have strong continuity on offense this year, returning six offensive linemen who played significant time in 2023, along with starting quarterback Matt Ponatoski and the team’s top three receivers (by yards) from last year.
Ponatoski starred as a sophomore at Moeller, breaking the school’s single-season record for passing yards with 3,344 while passing for 29 touchdowns. Returning those top three receivers, Jovan Love (44 catches for 941 yards and nine touchdowns in 2023), Roman Mason (42 catches for 646 yards and nine touchdowns) and Matthew Fogler (28 catches for 460 yards and three touchdowns) will help Ponatarski continue his success in 2024.
So will another year with two Division I tight ends: Cooper McCutchan, who has offers from UC, Texas A&M and Duke, and Sam Hamilton, who has been offered by Kentucky, Miami of Ohio and Toledo. Losing star running back Jordan Marshall, who suits up for Michigan this fall, will hurt, and from the outside Moeller doesn’t have an obvious replacement.
The Moeller defense calls itself the “Havoc Mob.” The unit lost a lot of top contributors from last season. Cornerback Karson Hobbs, who had 12 passes defended and two interceptions last season, is now at Notre Dame. Last year’s leaders in sacks and tackles for loss, Kyler Paul and Jewett Hayes, are at Dayton and Virginia respectively to play college ball. Safety Drew Robinson will play at UC this season. Still, the players in the building believe that the team has more than enough depth to replace its graduated stars. Returners like safety Micah Rice (Louisville commit), Jonah Hayes (Northwestern commit) and Thomas Gerke, who had three sacks and 12 tackles for loss last year, appear to have what it takes to lead a strong defense in 2024. Moeller will have to find replacements for some of the top specialists in the area from 2023, Devin Orr who made 12 of 17 field goals and Ethan Page, who averaged over 40 yards per punt.
St. Xavier
2023: 7-5, made Division I, Region 4 quarterfinal
Head coach: Steve Specht
Returning players: QB Chase Herbstreit, ATH Daniel Vollmer, RB Jacob Britt, WR Cam Taylor, OT Tucker Kattus, DL Gordy Sulfsted, LB Jakobe Clapper, DB Brayden Reilly
Outlook: St. Xavier, one of the most storied football programs in the area, didn’t see its usual success last season, finishing 7-5 overall and 1-2 in GCL South matchups, good for third in the conference behind Moeller and Elder. The good news is, since Steve Specht took over as the head coach of the Bombers in 2003, less-than-stellar seasons have often been followed by massive success. St. X last went 7-5 in 2015. In 2016, the Bombers won the state championship. In 2018, the team went 5-6, and two years later it won another state championship.
The 2024 Bombers are laced with star power. Chase Herbstreit, the son of ESPN College Gameday analyst Kirk Herbstreit, hopes to take a further step forward in 2024 after throwing for 1,522 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior last season. Daniel Vollmer, a quarterback by trade who serves many different roles in the current St. Xavier offense, has offers from Harvard, Vanderbilt and Cincinnati going into his junior season. He has said he hopes to have a Deebo Samuel-type role in the Bomber offense this season, a threat from wherever his coaches choose to line him up. He rushed for over six yards per carry in 2023.
Jacob Britt, also a rising junior, had over 750 yards and four touchdowns last year. Rising senior offensive tackle Tucker Kattus will anchor the offensive line before heading to Lexington to play football at Kentucky in 2025. Three of St. Xavier’s top four receivers from last season graduated, but 6-foot-2 wideout Cam Taylor is expected to step up after recording 203 yards on 18 catches in 2023. Look for Vollmer to step up in the receiving game in 2024 as well.
The St. Xavier defense will be anchored by two future Power Four players, linebacker Ja’Kobe Clapper and defensive lineman Gordy Sulfsted. Clapper, who will be a junior, led the team in tackles last season with 90 and also recorded 2.5 sacks and an interception. He has offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State and Tennessee, among many others. Sulfsted led last year’s team in sacks, and he’s currently committed to Notre Dame. Losing Ted Hammond, who starred along the Bomber defensive line last season but will play at Michigan in 2024, will hurt, but St. X isn’t usually a team to lack depth. Defensive back Brayden Reilly returns after grabbing four interceptions in 2023.
Note: All stats are from the GCL website
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: High school football: Moeller hopes to stay atop loaded GCL-South
