MOUNT ORAB, Ohio — Western Brown High School senior quarterback Drew Novak is truly in rarefied air in Ohio high school football history.
Novak moved up to No. 3 on the Ohio High School Athletic Association's career passing yards listFriday night in a 50-28 win over visiting Clinton-Massie. Novak has thrown for 12,209 yards in his career.
"This win is all I care about," Novak told Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown organizer Tom Gamble. "I wanted this one so bad."
Novak was 15 of 19 passing for 348 yards and four touchdowns for the Broncos (6-1) on Friday night. He rushed 15 times for 102 yards and three touchdowns.
Only Kenton High School graduates — former University of Cincinnati quarterback Ben Mauk (17,364 yards passing) — and former University of Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk (18,392 yards) have thrown for more yards in Ohio high school foothall history than Novak, a 2021 Ohio Mr. Football finalist.
Novak has 118 career passing touchdowns which is in the top dozen players all-time in state history, too.
"He doesn't care about all the media attention he gets," said Western Brown coach Nick Osborne. "He really doesn't like it. But, our o-line guys, the defensive guys — they always give him grief. They're like, 'Oh, hey, it's mister third all-time or it's, 'Hey, he broke another record here.' So they kind of throw it in his face and give him some grief about it. He absolutely, he hates it man. It shows you how humble of a kid he is."
Novak is receiving recent interest from Rutgers and Eastern Michigan, according to Osborne. Novak is visiting Ashland University today and plans to visit Youngstown State next weekend. He visited University of Kentucky on Sept. 17.
"He's definitely going to be a diamond in the rough that somebody gets," Osborne said. "Someone is getting a steal with this kid. He is a freak of nature. You talk to anybody. They say they haven't seen anyone as good as him since the Burrows of the world. Six-foot-six, he's young — just turned 17, could be a junior. He's really grown up a lot this year. He's put on 35 pounds from last offseason to now. His leadership on the field and the way he can get to a second, third, fourth, fifth reads — he's really improved on it from last year to now."
On Friday night, Novak showed a regionally televised audience why he is one of Ohio's top players this season during the 25th annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown.
Western Brown opened its first offensive series Friday night with a memorable play for the home crowd.
Novak connected with senior Matt Frye on an 80-yard touchdown pass connection — a play that the Broncos decided to run watching film the previous Saturday.
Frye had four receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Isaiah Smith had six receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown. Senior linebacker Ayden Hatcher had 13 tackles (12 solo) and a fumble recovery.
Western Brown's victory over Clinton-Massie snapped the Falcons' 26-game regular season win streak in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference.
Western Brown is No. 2 in the Division III, Region 12 computer points standings behind Badin (7-0), a 2021 state runner-up.
Western Brown plays at Goshen (1-6) Oct. 7 with just three games remaining in the regular season.
"We think we should be undefeated right now," Osborne said. "The best we can do right now is 9-1 heading into the playoffs. These next three weeks are huge for us playoff points-wise."
