SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Moeller junior quarterback Matt Ponatoski was named Friday morning as the Gatorade Ohio football player of the year.
Ponatoski, who earned the Ohio Mr. Football awardThursday afternoon, has thrown for 4,107 yards and 56 touchdowns this season for the Crusaders, according to Moeller Assistant Athletic Director George Smith.
Moeller (14-1) plays Olentangy Liberty (13-2) in the Division I state final at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.
The Crusaders are appearing in a state final for the first time since 2013 when they won the ninth state championship in program history. That 2013 state championship was the second of back-to-back state titles that Moeller won in Canton.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Ponatoski is the second Gatorade Ohio player of the year from Moeller in the past three seasons. University of Michigan freshman running back Jordan Marshall won the 2023 awardas a junior.
Ponatoski is the third overall Gatorade Ohio player of the year from Moeller, joining Marshall and former offensive lineman Michael Muñoz, who won the prestigious award during his senior year of 1999-2000. Muñoz, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Anthony Muñoz, later played at the University of Tennessee.
The Gatorade state award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Ponatoski as Ohio’s best high school football player.
Ponatoski, who has maintained a weighted 4.21 grade-point average in the classroom, is also a nationally-ranked baseball player.
A tour guide for prospective students at his school, Ponatoski has volunteered locally as a Victory Day Counselor, working with children with special needs. He has also donated his time as a youth baseball hitting coach and as a youth football referee.
“Matt is a great player and drives their offense,” La Salle coach Pat McLaughlin said in a news release. “He can make all the throws and is the difference-maker for their team. They are not the same team without him.”
Ponatoski said Thursday he is honored to win Mr. Football but added his job isn't finished yet as Moeller prepares to play in the state final.
“When you come into high school you only dream about stuff like that,” Ponatoski said earlier this week about the Mr. Football award. “I guess the dream kind of came true, but you know my job’s not finished yet. Our team’s job is not finished."
Ponatoski is No. 18 on the Ohio High School Athletic Association state record list for most passing yards in a season (4,107), according to Smith.
He is tied for No. 12 on the state list for most passing touchdowns in a season (56).
His 87 career passing touchdowns are tied for No. 18 and his 7,639 career passing yards are No. 29 on the OHSAA record list in the respective categories.
“He’s unbelievable,” Moeller coach Bert Bathiany said. “I get to see that every day in practice. He’s unbelievable. He’s the best player in Ohio in my mind. He absolutely is. I’ll just leave it at that.”
Ponatoski, the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association Southwest District Division I offensive player of the year, was also the Greater Catholic League South division offensive player of the year.
Ponatoski holds several Moeller records including career passing yards, season passing yards, career passing touchdowns, season passing touchdowns along with season and career attempts and completions, according to Smith.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track and field, and awards one national player of the year in each sport.
