A recent conversation between Copley senior Weston Bridges and Archbishop Hoban senior Todd Sibley included some jokes, some laughs and some football.
The dynamic 17-year-old running backs are cousins and talk to each other often. As one might expect with teenagers, the chats are generally about school, sports and girls.
Oh, and about who has the better offensive line and how each would love to end 2016 with a state championship and with Ohio’s Mr. Football title attached to his name.
“I have the best offensive line in the state,” Bridges said.
Which prompted Sibley to say: “No, I have the best offensive line in the state.”
The two smiled and then rattled off the starters who block for them.
Seniors Zafeer Muhammad and Tommy Connolly, juniors Vincent Fonte and Andrew Martin and sophomore Tyler Lenke are set to line up in front of Bridges, a 6-foot, 204-pound Michigan State University recruit.
Sibley, a 5-foot-10, 214-pound University of Pittsburgh recruit, will rely on seniors Brandon Yankovich and Marc Westover, juniors RJ Kelly and Cade Thomas and sophomore Nolan Rumler to open holes for him to run through.
Whether the Indians or Knights have the best offensive line in the state is debatable, but what is not in question is the speed and strength Bridges and Sibley possess.
Sibley toted the ball 330 times for 2,360 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior to help Hoban (14-1) win the Division III state championship over Toledo Central Catholic.
Bridges had 185 carries for 1,620 yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior as Copley (9-2) shared the Suburban League American Conference title with Aurora and reached the Division II playoffs.
“I want our team to go farther in the playoffs than last year and get that experience, especially with this being my senior year,” Bridges said. “I have one specific individual goal in mind, and that is I want to win Mr. Football. I am going to compete for it with Todd because I know he wants it, too.”
Standout running backs at Hoban and Copley are not new. Knights fans witnessed brothers Tony Sutton and Tyrell Sutton star in the 2000s, and Indians fans watched Delone Carter and Aregeros Turner recently shine as well.
Tyrell Sutton and Carter each earned the coveted Mr. Football honor in Ohio. Sibley said he stays in touch with Sutton, and Bridges said he chats with Carter.
“Tyrell has given me tips and I know Delone talks with Weston,” Sibley said.
“The team goal for us is the same as last year — to win another state championship. We experienced that last year. We know what it takes. We have been through the injuries and all of that. ... We were 5-5 my first year when I was a freshman and then 14-1 last year.
“My personal goals are to stay healthy, produce and help my team win. At the end of the day, stats are all good, but as long as I can produce for the team and help us advance and grow then I am happy. Winning Mr. Football would be nice, too.”
Couple of Akron kids
Bridges and Sibley grew up in Akron and were pee-wee football teammates for five years on the Akron South Rangers between the ages of 9-13, yet never went to the same school.
Bridges attended Portage Path Elementary and Litchfield Middle School with his twin brother, William, until the family moved out of the Firestone High School cluster and into the Copley High School district the summer leading into his ninth-grade year.
Sibley’s family moved several times during his youth. He attended Margaret Park, Schumacher, St. Mary’s and Helen Arnold elementary schools, Perkins Middle School and the Buchtel Community Learning Center for eighth grade before enrolling at Hoban.
Bridges and Sibley are both star running backs now, but they never shared the backfield as little kids. Bridges played running back and linebacker, but Sibley did not meet the weight limit to play running back, and played on the offensive and defensive lines.
“Todd was always big, so he didn’t meet the weight limit,” Bridges said with a smile.
Sibley laughed and said, “I played guard and tackle on offense and end on defense, and I didn’t really enjoy it.”
Rushing to success
Four years later, Sibley and Bridges are enjoying their opportunities to play running back for the Knights and Indians, respectively.
“I learned from Todd after his freshmen year about his cousins, Weston and William Bridges at Copley and Treon Sibley [who is a year younger] at Coventry,” Hoban fourth-year coach Tim Tyrrell said. “They are all very talented kids.”
Sibley, whose parents are Erika Yarborough and Todd Sibley, finished his freshman year with 189 carries for 1,201 yards and 12 touchdowns. He rushed 190 times for 1,576 yards and 17 touchdowns as a sophomore.
“Todd is very unique,” Tyrrell said. “He takes his professional life, meaning the academics, very, very serious. He does not intermix the two. It’s not the, ‘I get good grades because of football.’ It’s the, ‘I play football and have good discipline because of what I have been taught to do academically.’ ”
Sibley enters his senior year with a 3.1 cumulative grade-point average. Bridges has a 2.8 cumulative grade-point average.
Bridges, whose parents are Alisa Whitlow and William Bridges III, had 52 carries for 312 yards and two rushing touchdowns as a sophomore before his breakout junior year.
“When I got here he was probably 170 pounds,” Copley third-year coach Scott Chouinard said. “He has always had a nice physique, but he has done a nice job of changing into a football player and changing his body so that he can play at the next level at a high level. He’s added good weight from offseason work and he’s matured as an individual.”
Bridges and Sibley each expressed a desire to play in the NFL and coach football someday, but both are focused on the present, which includes keeping tabs on buddies who play football at East, Ellet, Firestone, Buchtel, Garfield and St. Vincent-St. Mary.
“It’s fun to be part of this 2017 class,” Sibley said. “There are a lot of talented players in Akron and in the area that Weston and I grew up playing with or against. We have all been friends and we have all wanted the best for each other.
“To see everyone succeeding and doing well in football has been great to watch. We all dreamed about this, but we didn’t know if it would come true.”
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the #ABJVarsity high school blog at www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.