Here are Cincinnati's best 10 high school football quarterbacks ahead of 2024

With another high school football season approaching, The Enquirer is choosing the city's best players by position in Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.

NFL fans know how crucial a franchise quarterback is to a team’s championship hopes. At the high school level, quarterbacks aren’t necessarily as important, especially for teams with a dominant running game. However, a team with a great leader under center usually has a chance to win early and often.

Here are the best 10 quarterbacks in Greater Cincinnati, listed alphabetically. Be sure to vote on your favorite at the bottom of the story.

Alex Amburgy, Waynesville

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior led the Spartans to an 11-3 record and the Division V regional finals. He threw for 2,817 yards and 25 touchdowns and rushed for 566 yards and six scores. He was second-team all-state, first-team all-district and first-team all-league. He returns one of the league’s top targets in senior Garrett Lundy.

Braden Bobo, McNicholas

The senior was third-team all-state in Division IV after leading the Rockets to a 6-6 record. He threw for 2,240 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2023 and will enter his third year as a starter.

Luke Brand, Milford

The senior led the Eagles to a record-setting season, finishing 11-1 and winning the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior threw for 2,400 yards and 13 touchdowns, directing an offense that averaged 35 points per game. He set school records for completions in a game (32) and yards in a game (435) and has had a great offseason, according to head coach Tom Grippa.

Justice Burnam, Anderson

The 6-foot, 180-pound senior led the Raptors to a 13-2 record and the Division II state semifinals. He became the latest standout player under center for Evan Dreyer’s explosive offense, throwing for 4,186 yards and 41 touchdowns while rushing for 600 yards and seven scores. He completed 71 percent of his passes.

The Raptors will have to replace standout running back Brodey Berg but will have several returning weapons for Burnam to throw to.

Dickie Engel, Harrison

The senior led the Wildcats to a 9-4 record, eight more wins than the previous season, and the Division II regional semifinals. He threw for 1,857 yards and 22 touchdowns and rushed for 541 and six scores.

He is in his third year as a starter after playing for Reading as a sophomore.

Clay Hayden, Beechwood

The 6-foot, 175-pound senior led the Tigers to a 12-2 record and the Kentucky 2A state semifinals. He threw for 3,910 yards and 48 touchdowns, completing 73 percent of his pass attempts. He returns two of his top receiver targets, Luke Erdman and Tyler Fryman.

He threw for 1,800 yards and 21 TDs as a sophomore, leading the Tigers to a state title. He has an offer from the University of Indianapolis.

Jamison Kitna, Lakota East

The 6-3, 225-pound senior is the son of Lakota East's head coach, former Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna. They and the Thunderhawks had a rough year statistically, going 1-9 as Kitna threw for 1,500 yards and nine touchdowns. But the senior QB is getting a lot of Division I recruiting interest, including schools such as Houston, Syracuse and Indiana, and the team is poised to make progress this season.

Devan Nigam, Turpin

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound senior was an overlooked QB on a Spartans team that struggled to a 3-8 record under first-year head coach Bryan Walker. He threw for a school-record 2,783 yards last year with 18 touchdowns, including a single-game record of 417 yards, and has a chance for the career passing yards record this season.

Cam O’Hara, Cooper

O’Hara led the Jaguars to a 12-3 record and the Kentucky 5A state finals, where they lost 28-14 to Bowling Green. He threw for 3,361 yards and 47 touchdowns and returns his top two targets in mega-talented Isaiah Johnson and Austin Alexander, who combined for 143 catches, over 2,500 yards and 40 TDs.

The junior has several Division I offers including the University of Kentucky and Miami (Ohio).

Matt Ponatoski, Moeller

Ponatoski put up an incredible sophomore season at Moeller, finishing with a school record 3,334 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns to nine interceptions. He was third-team all-state. He led the Crusaders to a 10-5 record and the Division I state semifinals, and with a deep stable of receivers returning this season, those numbers could only get better.

He's received offers so far from Cincinnati, Purdue and Vanderbilt, and is also a top baseball prospect for the Crusaders.

Jahmeir Spain, Mount Healthy

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior threw for 2,749 yards and 28 touchdowns last year after posting 2,001 and 19 as a sophomore. He led the Owls to an 8-3 record last season. Spain has offers from at least eight Division I programs and has a series of visits to high-major programs, including Ohio State.

Spain lost leading receiver JayJay Etheridge to graduation but returns one of the top athletes in the city, senior Jai’Mier Scott, who had 34 catches for 611 yards and seven TDs last season.

On the radar

Damien Dawson, Lockland; Armani Gregg, Dixie Heights; Chase Herbstreit, St. Xavier; Cale Leitch, Talawanda; Rio Litmer, Highlands; Pat McLaughlin, La Salle; Will Rivers, Walnut Hills; Isaiah Sebastian, Lloyd Memorial; Brady Sutton, Western Brown; Andre Underwood, Aiken; Sam Wiles, Lakota West

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati high school football's top 10 quarterbacks in 2024