Tavien St. Clair, OSU 5-star QB recruit, almost perfect in blowout of conference rival

BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio — In week four of the Ohio high school football season, Tavien St. Clair, Ohio State football's five-star quarterback recruit, and Bellefontaine dominated in a 49-0 win over conference rivals Benjamin Logan.

The win in Bellefontaine's inaugural conference game advances its season record to 3-1.

"Our goal was to be the aggressor, impose our will, I felt like we did a really good job of that," St. Clair said. "Tonight we really showed we were the better team, we were really aggressive early on, and that helped for sure."

St. Clair completed 11 of 12 passes for 222 yards in just under three quarters of play. While he was on the field though, St. Clair said he had the confidence, as well as the help from his teammates, to go out there and do his thing.

"The preparation was there and it helped me to be calm and confident, it allowed me to go out there and play the way I did," St. Clair said. "And it felt really good doing it."

All three of St. Clair's touchdowns were thrown to teammate wide receiver Braylon Newcomb, who caught six catches for 153 yards in the conference opener. The duo's connection this season has been elite without question, making Friday night's route just another display of greatness from the pair.

Two of St. Clair and Newcomb's combination touchdowns came on the opening two drives, within the first three plays of the drive. St. Clair credits this to the fire that county rival Ben Logan lit for Bellefontaine's motivation.

"We were really hungry," St. Clair said. "They were saying stuff before the game that fired us up, and we don't take disrespect very well. We take it personal."

It was 35-0 at halftime.

St. Clair's younger brother stepped in for the fourth quarter When St. Clair took a seat toward the middle of the third quarter, his freshman brother Reign St. Clair stepped into the quarterback position for Bellefontaine.

"I try to be a mentor and role model all the time outside of football and during it," St. Clair said of his younger brother Reign. "I thought he did a good job today. My biggest goal, I'm just trying to have him manage the huddle, be in control while he's out there ... it was his first Friday night action and I'm proud of him."

Reign St. Clair, who has a similar look to himself that his older brother did his freshman year, according to those in Bellefontaine who've seen both, saw two quick drives with a running clock against Benjamin Logan's JV unit.

What's next for St. Clair Another county rival, Indian Lake, is next on the schedule for St. Clair and Bellefontaine. Bellefontaine beat Indian Lake 41-19 last season.

"We'll be looking to capitalize off of this week," St. Clair said. "We had a really good night but there were still things we'd like to eliminate. We'd like next week to be the week we take a step, no missed assignments and play perfect football."