Not only were Crestview senior quarterback Jake Noling and Lisbon senior running back Ashton Hinchliffe the best players in their respective leagues, but among the best in the state.

Both players received first-team All-Ohio honors –Noling in Division VI and Hinchliffe in Division VII — from the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association on Monday.

Noling guided the Rebels to their first Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Gray Tier title and second 10-0 regular season by accounting for 34 touchdowns as a dual threat. He was named the league’s player of the year.

“He was the leader on and off the field,” Crestview coach Dom Perry said. “He improved from his sophomore year to the senior year, mentally and physically. He really grew as a leader for us.”

Noling completed 97 of 150 passes (65%) for 1,709 yards and 17 touchdowns with two interceptions and ran for 1,085 yards and 17 touchdowns on 133 carries (8.2).

With Noling leading the charge, the Rebels averaged 40.6 points a game in the regular season and finished with a 10-1 record.

“I wouldn’t take anyone over Jake,” Perry said. “We haven’t had a quarterback who could sling the ball like him for a long time, maybe since Carter Hill.”

Noling’s signature moment came in the league opener as he threw two touchdowns in the final four minutes as Crestview squeaked out a 28-21 victory at Liberty, which went 9-3 on the season.

“First-team all-state is icing on the cake,” Perry said.

He said a couple of small colleges have talked to Noling, but nothing has been offered yet.

“He’s definitely good enough to play, but don’t know if he wants to pursue that,” Perry said.

Hinchliffe enjoyed a record-setting career at Lisbon and ended it with a first-team All-Ohio berth.

“It’s the accumulative result of a lifetime of hard work to get to this level,” Lisbon coach Bill Meek said. “It’s a great honor and he’s excited about it. He’s not one to get too excited about anything, but I think he was for this.”

Hinchliffe, the Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference offensive player of the year, became Lisbon’s first three-time 1,000-yard rusher. This season he ran for 1,052 yards and 18 touchdowns on 109 carries (9.7), had 23 receptions for 635 yards (23.7) and nine touchdowns and set a single-season school records with 27 touchdowns and 164 points.

“I didn’t run him as much as I could have because I wanted to keep him healthy,” Meek said.

He led the Blue Devils to a 6-5 season. The five losses were to teams that won a combined 44 games.

Hinchliffe set career school records for most yards rushing (3,859), most touchdowns (53) and most points scored (328). He also had as school-record 224 yards receiving against East Palestine this season.

“I’m really happy for him,” Meek said. “It wasn’t a surprise. It’s something he deserved.”

All-Ohio second-team honors went to United junior linebacker M’Kyan Haynes and Crestview senior linebacker Mikey Proctor in Division VI and Southern senior running back Landen Heffner in Division VII.

Haynes was United’s leading tackler for the second straight season. Haynes was the Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference defensive player of the year as he led the Eagles to a 9-2 season and a third straight EOAC title.

He totaled 85 tackles, including five for losses, with one interception returned for a touchdown and a fumble recovery to spearhead a defense that limited opponents to an average of 14.4 points a game.

Haynes also was United’s second-leading rusher with 766 yards and 11 touchdowns on 86 carries (8.9).

Proctor was the leader of a Crestview defense that gave up eight points or less in seven games and 90 total points in the regular season. He led the team in tackles a second year in a row, totaling 128 tackles with nine for losses, three passes defended and one fumble recovery.

Proctor was Crestview’s second-leading rusher with 738 yards and nine touchdowns on 101 carries (7.3).

Despite playing hurt all season, Heffner had his third straight 1,000-yard rushing season and carried a young Southern team.

Facing defenses stacked at the line to top him, Heffner he ran for 1,222 yards and 15 touchdowns on 166 carries (7.4) and caught 25 passes for 271 yards (10.8) and three touchdowns in nine games this season.

He finished his career with 3,873 yards rushing and 41 touchdowns on the ground.

Receiving honorable mention were United senior offensive lineman Tyler Wood, Crestview junior offensive lineman Shane Bacon, Columbiana senior offensive lineman Brayden Clancy, Crestview senior defensive back Caidyn McElhaney, United junior defensive lineman Levi Lucas and Columbiana junior linebacker Danny Mangiarelli in Division VI and East Palestine senior offensive lineman Ayvre Klingensmith, Lisbon senior defensive lineman Marcus Miller and Leetonia senior defensive back Ethan Mathia in Division VII.

Wood was the best offensive lineman on a Golden Eagle team that averaged 37.6 points a game.

Bacon had a 98% blocking grade with 34 pancake blocks in leading the charge up front for Noling.

Clancy was one of only two seniors for the Clippers this season. He was the top lineman on an offense that averaged 28.8 points and the Clippers ran his way most of the time.

McElhaney totaled 105 tackles with two for losses, a team-high three interceptions and four passes defended. On offense, he had 15 receptions for 379 yards (25.3) and four touchdowns.

Lucas led the defensive front for the Eagles with 34 tackles for a loss, including six sacks.

Mangiarelli guided the Clippers’ defensive charge with 85 tackles, including 60 solos, seven for losses and broke up three passes.

Klingensmith was the Bulldogs’ leading lineman, totaling 21 pancake blocks for an offense that averaged 36.8 points a game.

Miller was a run stopper for the Blue Devils. He had 39 tackles with 15 for losses.

Mathia led the Bears with 49 solo tackles and totaled 61 tackles with four for losses and three fumble recoveries. On offense, he ran for 1,080 yards — more than the entire team had the last three years combined — and 10 touchdowns on 153 carries (7.1), had 18 catches for 293 yards (16.3) and five touchdowns and scored 98 points.