This Date in SFD Football History (8/22/03)
Today we go back to August 22, 2003!
The Stallion Defense stood tall in the 2003 open in a 19-0 win against Worthington Kilbourne as the Purple and White held the Wolves to 67 total yards. Austin Addington led the way defensively with 12 tackles and Kevin Randolph had three sacks. Ronnie Smith, Chris Brown, and quarterback Danny Brandenstien each had rushing touchdowns and were part of a rushing attack that ammassed 250 yards rushing. Smith led the way with 70 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Where Are They Now? - Mekka Don '99
Week 11
Mekka
DON
1998
The first edition of “Where Are They Now” for the 2025 season, presented by Ben Aucoin, State Farm Agent, is Emeka Onyejekwe ’99, aka Mekka Don!
Mekka’s first love was soccer, and he was a member of the 1997 Boys Soccer team at DeSales. After a growth spurt and some encouragement from Coach Bob Jacoby, he decided to join the Stallion Football team and became part of the 1998 State Championship squad. Following his time at DeSales, Mekka joined The Ohio State University’s football program as a preferred walk-on. He graduated from Ohio State Cum Laude in just three years, and later earned his law degree from New York University School of Law.
These days, Mekka Don wears a lot of hats. He’s an entrepreneur, lawyer, hip-hop artist, and brand consultant. Over the years, he’s landed major deals with HBO, ESPN, The Ohio State University, Champs Sports, The Cleveland Browns, The Big Ten Network, and more.
Recently, he performed his hit song “Buckle Up” nationally on Fox Big Noon Kickoff. Building on that momentum, he released a documentary, “Buckle Up: The Soundtrack of Champions,” along with a book, “Buckle Up: The Playbook: 5 Winning Plays for Go-Getters,” written to inspire leaders.
Today, Mekka Don serves as the Executive Vice President of CB Tech, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, where he lives with his wife and their two children.
Click here to hear about Mekka’s playing days as a Stallion…
A special thanks to State Farm Agent and SFD Assistant Coach Ben Aucoin for sponsoring this series once again!
SFD Senior Jonathan Brown Verbals to Michigan
Senior running back Jonathan Brown verbally committed to the University of Michigan today (6/22/25). Last season, Brown earned First Team All-Central District honors after leading the Stallions with 1,295 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns.
SFD Senior Frankie McAllister Verbals to Army
Senior defensive lineman / tight end Frankie McAllister ‘26 made his verbal commitment to Army on Thursday (June 19)! Last year, McAllister earned Second Team All-Ohio honors as a defensive lineman after leading the team with 26.5 tackles for loss. He also finished second on the team with 98 tackles and 9 sacks.
Frankie will be the first Stallion to play football at West Point since Jalen Noble ‘12.
Four Stallions Participate in SFD's College Athletic Commitment Celebration
Pictured: Joel, Kean, Elazar, Dane
St. Francis DeSales High School celebrated the future of 18 standout student-athletes on April 29, and representing the football program were seniors Joel Aboagye (Mount Union), Kean Van Syckle (Washington & Jefferson), Elazar Hood (Dayton), and Dane Crabtree (Ohio Northern). These Class of 2025 members were honored during the school's college commitment ceremony.
Senior Elazar Hood Commits to the University of Dayton
SFD senior defensive back Elazar Hood verbally committed to play football at the University of Dayton. Hood recorded 46 tackles and intercepted three passes this year for the Stallions. Last season, Hood started all eleven games at cornerback and was named Special Mention All-Central District and Second Team All-CCL after leading the team with 4 interceptions. He finished his junior campaign with 27 tackles and 13 pass breakups.
Ty Neubert named First Team All-Ohio
Senior defensive lineman Ty Neubert was named Division-II First Team All-Ohio by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association. Neubert recorded a team-high 12 sacks and was second on the team 25 tackles for a loss. He finished with 79 tackles, including 17 in his final game as a Stallion, which was his 47th in his career.
Neubert, the Division-II Central District Defensive Player of the Year, is the 16th Stallion defensive linemen to be named first team.
On December 4, Neubert signed his National Letter of Intent with Ohio University.
Junior defensive lineman Frankie McAllister was named Second Team All-Ohio and led the Purple and White with 26 tackles for a loss and was second on the team with 98 stops.
Junior running back Jonathan Brown was recognized as Honorable Mention All-Ohio after leading the Stallions with 1,295 yards (in 11 games) and 16 touchdowns.
SFD Alumnus Cole Potts named First Team All-Sun Belt
Photo credit: James Madison Athletics
Class of 2020 alumnus Cole Potts was named First Team All-Sun Belt, in a vote by the league's 14 head coach coaches and media members. Potts started all 12 games at right guard for the Dukes, who finished 8-4 overall. The senior set a school-record with 55 career starts.
Ty Neubert named the DII Central District Defensive Player of the Year
Brown became the 27th player in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards.
DeSales senior defensive lineman Ty Neubert was named the Division-II Central District Defensive Player of the Year by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association. The Ohio University verbal commit tallied 12 sacks and was second on the team with 25 tackles for a loss. Neubert finished with 79 tackles, including 17 in his final game as a Stallion, his 47th career start.
Juniors Jonathan Brown (running back) and Frankie McAllister (defensive end) were also recognized as First Team All-Central District. Brown led the Stallions with 1,295 yards (in 11 games) and 16 touchdowns. McAllister in his first year as a full-time varsity player, led the Purple and White with 26 tackles for a loss and was second on the team with 98 stops.
McAllister recorded the most tackles for loss since Jonathan Thompson (31.5) in 2020
Earning Second Team All-Central District honors were sophomores RJ Day (quarterback) along with senior defensive back Davis Anderson. Day’s 1,425 passing yards were the fifth-highest for a DeSales quarterback in a single season. Burrell helped anchor an offensive line for an offense that rushed for the most yards (2,246) since the 2020 season. Anderson recorded a team-high four interceptions and finished with 88 tackles.
Junior kicker Elvis Castro, senior linebacker Dane Crabtree and senior linebacker Adam Faulkner were named Special Mention All-Central District. Castro, a member of the Regional Championship Soccer team, converted 35-of-36 point after attempts and was 3-of-4 kicking field field goals. Crabtree was third on the team with 89 tackles, with 16 for a loss. Faulkner led DeSales with 117 stops, the most as a Stallion since Malcolm Burrell (182) in 2009.
Sophomore receiver Dax Middleton, who became the 13th Stallion to record a 500-yard receiving season, was recognized as Honorable Mention All-Central District.
This Date in SFD Football History - 11/8/19
Quinn finished 2019 with 1,808 rushing and 20 touchdowns
Junior running back Quintell Quinn had a career-high 278 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 38 carries as DeSales beat Cincinnati Turpin in a DII Regional Quarterfinal, handing the Spartans their first loss of the season. In their first playoff game in two years, DeSales out-gained Turpin 366-180 and were led defensively by Owen Faulkner’s 14 tackles and an interception. Sophomore linebacker Jonathan Thompson also recorded 9 tackles, with 4 for a loss for DeSales, the 7 seed in Region 8. With Turpin leading 14-13, Quinn’s 26-yard run gave the Stallions the lead for good in the third quarter as DeSales would score the game’s final 20 points.
DeSales 48, DeSales 28, final.
DeSales 48, New Albany 28, final. RJ Day moved into first all-time in career passing yards, unofficially at 2,822 yards, and also had three passing touchdowns as the Stallions advance and will play Ashland (11-0) next Friday in a Regional Quarterfinal.
Jonathan Brown rushed for 182 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore receiver Dax Middleton moved into sixth place for most receptions in a season (39) and became the 12th Stallion in SFD history to account for 500 receiving yards or more in a single season. Elazar Hood returned an interception 60 yards for his second touchdown in as many weeks.
Day passed Brian Emmerling (2,752 yards) to become the career passing leader.
This Date in SFD Football History - 11/1/86
DeSales captured their second straight CCL title after their 20-14 win over Bishop Hartley and finished 10-0. Jared Van Guilder ran for 133 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns as the Stallions won their 24th game in a row. Van Guilder’s first score capped-off a 16-play, 82-yard drive in the 2nd quarter and after a missed extra point it was 6-0 DeSales. John Crabtree, who recorded 21 tackles on defense, added a 1-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter, followed by the second score by Van Guilder in the final period. The Stallions, the defending Division-III State Champions, finished the season ranked 3rd in the state in final AP Class AA Poll, but only finished 5th in the Division-II Region 7 computer polls. In 1986, only the top four teams in each of the four regions qualified for the playoffs.
This Date in SFD Football History - 10/25/85
The Stallion defense forced six Watterson turnovers in the 19-6 victory over the Eagles. With the win, DeSales (9-0) clinched at least a share of the CCL title. The game was tied at zero, when the Stallions scored on three out of their four possessions between the end of the 1st half and the start of the 2nd half. Quarterback Mike Asbeck was 8-16 passing for 86 yards and two touchdowns (Dan Lauderback, Jamey Cua) to lead DeSales. Asbeck also rushed for 44 yards. Linebacker John Dennis recorded 18 tackles, recovered two of the four Watterson fumbles and also had an interception.
Where Are They Now? - John Callaghan '91
Week 10
John
CALLAGHAN
1988-1990
The tenth and final edition of "Where Are They Now" for the 2024 season, presented by Ben Aucoin, State Farm Agent, is John Callaghan ‘91! John is the school’s all-time leader in career tackles with 400 tackles from 1988-1900 and was named Second Team All-Ohio on the 1990 Division-II State Runner-up Team. John was also a standout baseball player and earned First Team All-Ohio honors on a Stallion team that captured a 1990 Regional Championship.
After DeSales, John went onto to play baseball at the Air Force Academy and he still works for the Air Force. He’s a civilian analyst at the Headquarters, United States Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces in Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and lives in village outside of Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Click here to hear about John’s playing days as a Stallion…
A special thanks to State Farm Agent and SFD Assistant Coach Ben Aucoin for sponsoring this series once again!
Callaghan (middle row, left) was named First Team All-Metro by the Columbus Dispatch along with teammates Adam Asbeck and Luke Fickell
DeSales 38, Northwest 6, final
John Hockaday had a career-high 115 yards rushing and three touchdown as the Stallions won their 8th in a row, the most since 2016, and improved to 8-1 overall. Dax Middleton also had a career-high 117 receiving yards and RJ Day moved into third place in all-time career passing yards.
This Date in SFD Football History - 10/18/96
The Stallions rallied from a 14-2 2nd quarter deficit to defeat Kettering Alter 23-20, behind 3 touchdowns and 130 rushing yards by Matt Stewart. With Stallions down 14-10, Stewart scored twice (1, 64) in the 3rd quarter to cap-off the rally and improve to 7-1 overall.
Where Are They Now? - Brian Emmerling '93
Week 9
Brian
EMMERLING
1990-1992
The ninth edition of "Where Are They Now" for the 2024 season, presented by Ben Aucoin, State Farm Agent, is Brian Emmerling ‘93! Emmerling is the all-time career passing leader for the Stallions and recorded the most wins as a starting quarterback in his career, including two league titles and a Regional Championship in 1990. After DeSales, Brian went onto play football and baseball at John Carroll University.
Click here to hear about Brian’s playing days as a Stallion…
A special thanks to State Farm Agent and SFD Assistant Coach Ben Aucoin for sponsoring this series once again!
DeSales 39, KIPP 6, final
Quarterback RJ Day threw for 3 touchdowns to lead the Stallions, including two to Dax Middleton. With 135 yards tonight, Day is now 4th all-time in SFD history with 2,373 career yards, passing Tony Borghese and Whit Hobgood. Jonathan Brown scored his team-leading 13th touchdown. John Hockaday and Bryce Herrick also scored for the Stallions, who improve to 7-1 overall. Game Notes
DeSales clinched a playoff spot with the win
The Stallions turned the ball over for the first time since week 3
Middleton, Herrick and Davis Anderson each recorded interceptions.
Where Are They Now? - Brian Dytko '15
Week 8
Brian
DYTKO
2011-2015
The eight edition of "Where Are They Now" for the 2024 season, presented by Ben Aucoin, State Farm Agent, Brian Dytko ‘15.
Brian was a two-way player and a two-year starter for the Stallions. As a senior, he anchored an offensive line that amassed 4,127 rushing yards on a team that captured the CCL Silver Division Championship and made a Regional Final appearance. Brian earned All-CCL honors, in addition to being named First Team All-Metro, All-District and Second Team All-Ohio.
Dytko went onto play at John Carroll University, where he finished his career with 34 appearances. In 11 appearances in 2018, he helped the Blue Streaks score 33.3 points a game and average 425 yards per contest and earned Second Team All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors.
Click here to hear about Brian’s playing days as a Stallion…
A special thanks to State Farm Agent and SFD Assistant Coach Ben Aucoin for sponsoring this series once again!
