By Rick Cassano
HARRISON - Harrison High School's football team is taking a next-step mentality into the 2026 season.
The Wildcats have advanced to the third round of the Division II playoffs the last three years, getting bounced by Anderson (50-36), La Salle (37-0) and Trotwood-Madison (49-0).
Tenth-year HHS coach Derek Rehage believes his current crew has the proper mind-set, ability and work ethic to push even deeper in the postseason.
"This is the best unit we've had," Rehage said. "The most talented team I've had is still 2019, but this is the most cohesive team. One unit, one team, one goal and that is to win that regional championship. We've got to figure out how to get over that hump."
Harrison is 28-11 over the last three years and has won three straight Southwest Ohio Conference titles. This will be the last season of SWOC football with the four-team grouping of the Wildcats, Talawanda, Mount Healthy and Northwest.
"This would be the sixth title in my 10 years," Rehage said. "It's still something to play for. It's better than next year when we won't have a league."
HHS has beefed up its schedule this year and added playoff nemesis La Salle to the slate.
"One of the reasons is we're losing kids there," Rehage said. "If we can beat them, we might able to keep some of our kids who want to go there."
The Wildcats scored 29.8 points per game last season while taking three agonizing losses in the regular season, falling by a total of 5 points to East Central (Ind.), Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy and Columbus DeSales.
Senior Brady Lawhon (6-2, 210) returns at quarterback after throwing for 1,779 yards and 22 touchdowns with 13 interceptions last year. He also rushed 121 times for 643 yards and 10 TDs.
Lawhon said he improved his throwing mechanics over the summer, working out with Carlton Aiken at Black Sheep Performance.
"I love running the ball," said Lawhon, noting that he's been a QB since the first grade. "I know that's not normal for most quarterbacks, but I think it makes me very versatile at the position."
Rehage has seen the progress Lawhon has made as a thrower in the 12-personnel offense.
"He was a better runner than he was a passer last year, but he's really grown in the passing game this year with anticipation throws," Rehage said. "He's mastered the system. He knows the checks. He knows what I like to run.
"When you have a senior quarterback, you feel really good no matter what you're doing. I just love the kid. I told somebody that came in to recruit him that he's the type of kid you'd want to marry your daughter."
The Wildcats' running game figures to be strong with Lawhon, senior tailback Wyatt Dennis (5-7, 185) and junior H-back Colton Rehage (5-11, 185) leading the charge. Sophomore Trey Fette (5-10, 185) will be a contributor as well.
Lawhon, Rehage and Dennis combined for 1,206 yards and 17 scores on the ground last season behind leading rusher Preston Flick, who has graduated.
"Wyatt added 25 pounds in the offseason and still runs in the 4.6s," Derek Rehage said. "He's a first-year starter back there, but he had a great offseason and has great vision. I think he's proven a lot of people wrong.
"My Colton, I kind of see him playing everywhere. I call him my Swiss Army knife. He's the second-fastest kid on the team (behind Ben Markarian) and is very dynamic with the ball. He's very much a slasher, a space guy. He's a willing blocker in the run game, but he's athletic enough to run away from people and go out and play wide receiver.
"Being the coach's son, we go home and talk about football. We talk about football on Saturdays. We talk about football on Sundays. We talk about football over the dinner table."
Junior Christian Roether (6-4, 215) is back as a highly regarded tight end with Mid-American Conference offers from Eastern Michigan and Kent State. Senior Kyle Davidson (5-10, 185) and junior Dillon Witt (6-1, 190) are experienced receivers, and senior Markarian (6-0, 190) will catch some balls as well.
The offensive line returns senior Chase Blunt (5-9, 265) at center and junior Aydan Branditz (5-10, 240) at guard. Junior Levi Auciello (5-11, 240) will handle the other guard spot. Sophomore Blake Perdue (5-10, 290) and junior Colton Mitchell (6-3, 275) are in a rotation at one tackle position, and Rehage believes junior Jonathan Netherly (6-6, 280) will be a breakout guy as the other tackle.
"I would say it's probably the deepest skill I've had since 2019 top to bottom," said Rehage, who expects a 60-40 split in favor of the running game. "We're a big, explosive team on offense. When you have that kind of continuity, it allows us to do a lot of things. You'll see a lot of different things that you probably haven't seen in the past. We're going to run the ball and then we're going to take shots over the top. Turnovers really hurt us last year. If we don't give up the ball, I feel very good about what we can do."
The linebacking corps in the odd-front defense returns senior David Baldock (6-1, 210) on the outside, and Dennis and junior Izzy Taylor (5-10, 200) on the inside. Rehage said Baldock is the leader of the defense, while Taylor and Dennis are "the heart and soul" of that unit.
"David is the mouth, the motor," Rehage said. "Then it goes to Izzy. He's probably the most physical kid in our program. He benches over 300 pounds. He's just going to be a tackle machine. I love his physicality. Sometimes I have to take him out of practice because he's so physical."
Junior Bronson Baker (6-1, 200) will be a new starter at outside linebacker. Colton Rehage will also see some action at OLB.
Seniors Henry Hickey (6-0, 200) and Brody Hall (5-10, 195) are back up front as the tackles. Derek Rehage said the nose-guard position is likely to be a rotation between a number of guys based on matchups.
The defensive backfield is a strength with Markarian and senior Jack Denier (5-10, 190) returning as cornerbacks. Markarian shares the school record for career interceptions with 12, while Denier is the program's single-season leader with eight picks.
Juniors Aaron Davis (6-2, 190) and Eli Kirby (5-10, 155) are the safeties.
The kicking game will include newcomer Michael Wiesemann Jr. (6-0, 155), a senior soccer player who will handle placements. Junior Griffin Musgrove (5-8, 125) is set to do the kickoffs. Davidson is the returning punter.
In addition, Colton Rehage will do the long and short snapping, and Lawhon and sophomore Owen Conley (5-8, 155) will be the holders. Look for Witt, Markarian and Rehage to be returning kicks.
"I feel really good about this team," Derek Rehage said. "We had over 20 kids playing 7-on-7 in the offseason, which helped our speed and agility. We also did after-school lifting instead of class lifting after last season, and we really bonded as a group. It's one of the strongest teams I've ever had. We're not the biggest team on defense, but we'll have an aggressive, attacking style of play."
Rehage will call the plays, though his brother Dan is the offensive coordinator. The Wildcats opened their scrimmage schedule against Colerain and Turpin, and Derek Rehage said "we were really humming" in the second scrimmage against West Clermont and Western Brown.
Lawhon said this year's squad is very supportive of every player on the roster. He's confident that this team will make its mark.
"Be ready," Lawhon said. "We're going to be special."
FACTS, FIGURES & SCHEDULE
Head Coach: Derek Rehage, 10th season (62-42)
Assistant Coaches: Drew Banks, Justin Berry, Chris Bryant, Jeff Caudill, Joe Conley, Sam Heimkreiter, Carl Huber, Tim Hughett, Connor Kinnett, Steve Kucera, Lucas Parks, Dan Rehage, Andy Roether, Nick Roth, Joey Taylor, Levi Tidwell
Offensive Coordinator: Dan Rehage
Defensive Coordinator: Carl Huber
Special Teams Coordinator: Drew Banks
Captains: David Baldock, Wyatt Dennis, Henry Hickey, Brady Lawhon, Ben Markarian
OHSAA Classification: Division II, Region 8
Last Year's Record: 9-4 overall, 3-0 SWOC (first place)
Last Losing Season: 1-9 in 2022
Playoff History: 13-17 record in 17 appearances (1987, 1988, 1989, 1997, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025)
2026 SCHEDULE
Week 1: Friday, Aug. 21, at Milford, 7 p.m.
Week 2: Friday, Aug. 28, at McNicholas, 7 p.m.
Week 3: Friday, Sept. 4, at Beavercreek, 7 p.m.
Week 4: Friday, Sept. 11, Withrow, 7 p.m.
Week 5: Friday, Sept. 18, at Ross, 7 p.m.
Week 6: Friday, Sept. 25, East Central (Ind.), 7 p.m.
Week 7: Friday, Oct. 2, Mount Healthy, 7 p.m.
Week 8: Friday, Oct. 9, Talawanda, 7 p.m.
Week 9: Friday, Oct. 16, at La Salle, 7 p.m.
Week 10: Friday, Oct. 23, Northwest, 7 p.m.
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