Muskingum Valley League Small – Conference Preview
By: Andrew Bowlby
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The Muskingum Valley League Small Division enters its sixth year of existence for the 2025 season. Following a conference championship season by New Lexington in 2024, there are many questions entering the new year on who will take the crown.
New Lexington
2024 Record: 11-2 (5-0)
New Lexington had a dream season in 2024. With 11 wins, MVL Small title and a run to the regional semifinal the Panthers put together one of the great seasons in school history. Now though, things will be tougher.
Last season’s team was led by a trio of outstanding seniors who have since graduated. Isaiahs Stephens for over 3,000 yards and 36 touchdowns while also rushing for five. His play alone could have carried the New Lex offense through last season.
But he also had the assistance of his backfield partner Carson Kellogg who found the endzone 23 times last year and ran for 1,349 yards. Plus, Stephens always had the reliable Bentley Hanson downfield. Hanson terrorized the secondaries of the MVL catching 64 passes for over 1,500 yards and 20 TDs.
Without those three for the upcoming season, there are questions about what the offense will look like.
Lane Ratliff, a junior, backed up Stephens last year and threw eight passes during his sophomore season. He could be the week one starter and be under the watchful eye of head coach Kevin Board who has a proven ability to develop his quarterbacks.
While the offense will go through a significant overhaul, the defense retains a lot of the talent it had last year. Of the top 10 Panthers for tackles, eight of them are back for next year and a solid New Lex defense should remain consistent.
West Muskingum
2024 Record: 9-3 (4-1)
West Muskingum was as close to winning the MVL Small title in 2024 as you could be without finishing the deal. The Tornadoes fell just three points short of a conference repeat against New Lex in the week four meeting last season. Had a few plays gone differently in that matchup, West Muskingum very well could have won it and taken the conference crown.
Even though they were unable to win their conference, the Tornadoes still put together another strong season. With nine victories, and two playoff wins, it was the fourth-consecutive winning season under Nate Brownrigg.
This upcoming year the Tornadoes will be without a number of key pieces from the 2024 squad. Those missing faces include running back Carter Winland, quarterback Jake Anton, offensive lineman Kaiden Fleming and linebacker Wes Houston. All of whom earned DV All-State honors.
West M will, however, return a number of players from last season’s team that will take on larger roles. Carter Smith was a member of the All-MVL Small 1st Team and a DV All-State Honorable Mention. The Tornadoes also return defensive back Braxton Brownrigg and linebacker Cooper McKenzie who played parts on a dominant West M defensive group.
Last year the Tornadoes conceded just 169 points, coming out to 14.1 per game. That is the lowest total since the 2009 season when the team allowed 13.1 during a nine-win campaign.
Defense may be the team’s calling card in 2025 without some of the offensive power they are now without.
Maysville
2024 Record: 4-6 (3-2)
Maysville finished its 2024 season with a victory over Crooksville marking the second-straight season ending with a 4-6 record. Their standing in the MVL Small was right in the middle with three wins over the teams below them and two losses to the pair of teams above them.
Arguably the most notable part of the Panthers season came after it concluded. In December long-time Maysville head coach Craig Clarke retired from coaching. Clarke had been the head man for the program since 2012 and amassed a 75-60 record overall during his 13 seasons. He was not only the longest tenured coach in Panthers history but also was one of the longest tenured MVL coaches before retiring.
Now, in steps Chase Bowman for his first season with the Panthers. Bowman spent the past seven years with the Morgan program serving as head coach from 2018-2023. Before that, he was part of Clarke’s staff as an assistant with the Maysville Program.
Bowman is taking over a program hungry for the playoffs. Having missed out on postseason action for the past four seasons, he has pieces returning that could help get the Panthers over the hump.
Kade Rock was an All-MVL Small 1st Team quarterback having put together a strong junior season. Plus, both Gator Nichols and Kohen Lewellen will be back as pieces on offense.
Meadowbrook
2024 Record: 4-6 (2-3)
The 2024 Meadowbrook season was full of ups and downs. The year began with a pair of losses to a Tri-Valley team that ended up winning the MVL Big and then a defeat to Indian Valley who won the DIV State Championship. Neither one of the games was a bad loss, and the team responded with a pair of wins over Cambridge and Crooksville.
A loss to Philo in week five followed by two more victories set the Colts up for the final three weeks of the season against conference opponents. While they went into that stretch with a 4-3 record, they came out of it 4-6 and missed out on the playoffs.
For the 2025 season, well the schedule is nearly a carbon copy of the 2024 one, except a swap of Indian Valley in week two for Barnesville this year. And it’s an important year for Steve Norman and his Colts as they look to break a three-year playoff drought. Since the group won the MVL Small titles in 2020 and 2021, they have not made the postseason and have won just five games against MVL Small opponents.
Meadowbrook does return a number of pieces including Brayden Lowery, who led the squad in receiving yards from last season. However, they will be without a pair of key ones. Quarterback Justice Huey, who threw for nearly 3,000 yards last year, has graduated. Plus, the Colts stellar offensive lineman Mitchell George is off to play at Ashland University this year.
This could be a key transition year for the Colts to see if they’ll be able to break a drought it what is likely to be a very competitive MVL Small.
Coshocton
2024 Record: 2-8 (1-4)
Coshocton had a disappointing 2-8 season in 2024, and the program has been without the playoffs since 2021 (without a true playoff run since 2016). As Steve Smith enters his sixth season with the program, he will have a number of pieces to build around this year and attempt to move the season win total over three for the first time since 21’.
Coshocton has a pair of strong running backs in Logan Wince and Champ Haley. The former was a Division V All-State Honorable Mention and All-MVL Small First team member, while the latter was also on the All-MVL Small first team. The two split most of the carries last year and were effective in their sophomore seasons.
This season, however, the Redskins will be starting a new quarterback after Colton Conkle started for Coshocton for the past two seasons.
For the schedule, it’s the same to last seasons except for a change in week two facing Tuscarawas Valley instead of Johnstown. Getting off to a good start could be the key to finding some success for the Redskins. In each of the past three seasons, Coshocton has started the season with a pair of six-game losing streaks (2022, 2023) and a seven-game skid to start last year.
If the Redskins can get an early victory, it could give them momentum going forward into MVL play.
Crooksville
2024 Record: 4-6 (0-5)
With four wins in the 2024 season, Crooksville hit their highest win total since 2017. However, even with a high like that, the program continues to go through change. For the third consecutive season, the Ceramics are starting their season with a new head coach. Marcus Pardon-Dudash takes the reigns after Nathan Van Meter stepped in last season.
Pardon-Dudash comes from Fairfield Christian Academy where he led the Knights to a conference title in 2023. He’s already been busy with Crooksville installing a new culture of doing it the ‘Ceramic Way’.
Two of the key returners for Crooksville include Jace Thompson and Brayson Hill. Thompson, a lineman, was Division V All-State Honorable Mention plus on the All-MVL Small first team. Hill, the Ceramics 2024 quarterback (and potential QB for 2025), was a conference second team mention.
Both will likely play significant roles as upperclassmen on a team trying to improve. And there has been a steady improvement over the past couple of seasons. Last year, as mentioned, the Ceramics hit their highest win total in almost a decade plus they beat an MVL opponent for the first time in three years. That victory came in five at Morgan.