St. Vincent-St. Mary junior Parris Campbell Jr. has committed to continue his academic and athletic careers at Ohio State University on a football scholarship.
Campbell, 15, helped St. V-M win the Division II state championship in football in 2012.
Campbell is 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. He emerged as the Fighting Irish’s top running back this past season when he rushed for 1,353 yards and 28 touchdowns on 160 carries.
Campbell, who turns 16 on July 16, is also a capable wide receiver, defensive back and special teams player. He had one receiving touchdown, returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown and scored two touchdowns (65 and 81 yards) on punt returns.
Campbell won Division II state titles in track and field as a member of two Irish 400-meter relay units. He joined Doran Grant, Sae’Von Fitzgerald and Mark Murphy as a freshman, and then combined with Fitzgerald, Fransohn Bickley and Matt Matuska as a sophomore.
Campbell also had scholarship offers from Michigan State, Tennessee and Indiana. Akron, Penn State, Cincinnati and Northwestern were also interested in him.
Revere chooses coach
Revere will hire Michael Murphey as its new football coach, Superintendent Randy Boroff and Athletic Director Bill Schumacher announced.
Murphey is set to leave Case Western Reserve University to take over as Revere’s football coach. He was CWRU’s offensive line coach and a guidance counselor at Kenston.
Murphey will officially be appointed Feb. 19 at the school board meeting. He has 12 years of coaching experience, including four at the college level. Murphey began his coaching career as an assistant at John Carroll University, his alma mater. He also worked at Trinity, Chagrin Falls and Kenston as offensive or defensive coordinator. He was selected to coach the East squad in the Cuyahoga County East/West All-Star Game in 2007.
Murphey, who was chosen from a field of more than 60 candidates, will work as a secondary level guidance counselor dividing his day between Revere Middle School and Revere High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and a master’s degree in school counseling from JCU.
“We are pleased to have Mike join the staff at Revere,” Boroff said. “With his experiences and successes, we feel he is the right person to establish new expectations, create new traditions of excellence and develop an atmosphere of excitement for all of our students and especially our football program.”
WRA commitments
• Western Reserve Academy senior Eli Dawson signed a commitment to attend the Naval Academy Prep School for one year before enrolling at the United States Naval Academy in the fall of 2014 to play football.
Dawson, a Columbus native, is a wide receiver and linebacker for the Pioneers.
“The Naval Academy stood out because it offers the opportunity to play Division I football, receive a world-class education and be part of a real football family,” Dawson said. “I also want to surround myself with a community of individuals who are committed to being successful, and my visits lead me to believe I would be successful not only over the next four years, but moving forward after college.”
Dawson had 75 tackles (seven for loss) and six sacks for WRA as a senior. He also contributed 22 receptions for 210 yards.
“Eli is a great leader who is not afraid to say what needs to be communicated to his teammates,” WRA coach Jeff Hildebrand said. “Eli always plays with a high motor and is a fine example of a hard worker.”
Dawson plans to major in economics at the Naval Academy.
• Western Reserve Academy senior Nicky Waldeck signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Michigan to play soccer.
Waldeck chose Michigan because of its proximity to her family home in Illinois and its academic reputation.
“Being close to home and staying in the Midwest is important,” Waldeck said. “The coaching staff made me feel at home when I visited the campus. It is an incredible school and the liberal arts program offers several opportunities with a strong focus on academics.”
During her four years on the Pioneers soccer team, Waldeck scored a school-record 111 goals, including 43 her senior year. As a senior, she earned a Gold Medal, the school’s highest athletic honor, was named the Pioneers’ Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row, the Tri-County League Player of the Year, the Greater Akron Division III Player of the Year, was a first-team All-Ohio selection and All-Midwest selection.
She was also named a high school All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association and was selected to participate in the U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program.
“The only teams that were able to stop Nicky on her way to 43 goals were the ones who could stop her teammates from getting her the ball in the front of the net,” WRA coach Joe DiBiase said. “Nicky would be quick to tell you that her success this year came from a tremendous team effort, leaving out the part where she seemed able to elevate the game of those around her.
‘‘While she always gave 100 percent, her 100 percent is now in a different class.”
Waldeck is also a captain on WRA’s girls basketball and girls lacrosse teams, plays cello in the WRA Orchestra, is a prefect, student ambassador, senior class president and a Morgan Leader.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.
