Prep Football Stats Report: Versatile offensive player doing his part in revival of Dayton program

By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

Jordan Marksberry finished last season with a net total of 92 yards in rushing and receiving for the Dayton football team that didn’t win a single game. This season, the Greendevils are off to a 3-1 start and Marksberry has played a significant role in the Class 1A program’s progress under new head coach Jesse Herbst.

Last season, Jordan Marksberry finished with 92 total yards for Dayton. He surpassed that in the team’s first two games this season.

In the Northern Kentucky high school football statistics compiled by the NKyTribune, Marksberry is the area’s second leading scorer with 68 points and ranks fifth in rushing with 397 yards. The versatile junior is also Dayton’s leading pass receiver with 154 yards and he threw an option pass for a game-winning touchdown in the final seconds of his team’s 18-14 win over Pendleton County last Friday.

The area’s leading scorer is Ryle senior running back Kyle England with 70 points. He’s also tied for the top spot in rushing yards with Holmes junior Tayquan Calloway. The both have 581 yards in five games for a 116.2 average.

The top two pass receivers are only six yards apart. Holy Cross junior Brandon McClendon has 562 yards on 22 catches and Bellevue junior Gunner Barnes has 556 yards on 25 catches. They both rank among the state’s top pass receivers based on yards-per-game averages. McClendon is ninth with a 112.4 average and Barnes is 11th at 111.2.

Conner senior quarterback Jared Hicks passed for 1,075 yards and 10 touchdowns in his team’s first five games. If he maintains his current 215 yards-per-game average, he’ll become the first Conner quarterback to surpass the 2,000 mark since Drew Barker in 2013.

Covington Catholic junior Caleb Jacob and Highlands senior Collin Hollingsworth are closing in on the 1,000-yard mark in passing. During his team’s 5-0 start, Jacob has completed 56 of 90 for 62.2 percent. Hicks has a 61.1 completion percentage followed by Hollingsworth at 55.6.

Here are the top offensive players in Northern Kentucky compiled by the NKyTribune. Walton-Verona was excluded because the team did not have up-to-date statistics posted on the KHSAA website by Wednesday night.