Athlete of the Week: Evan O’Leary, Lehman Catholic High School

The Lehman Catholic senior wide receiver caught 18 passes for 393 yards and four touchdowns in the Cavaliers 48-27 victory over Bethel last week. The performance set a state record for receiving yards in a game, according to the OHSAA’s unofficial record book.

For his efforts, O’Leary was named the Dayton Daily News Athlete of the Week for Oct. 6 through Oct. 11, earning the honor through reader voting at DaytonDailyNews.com.

“I saw that I got nominated and that was pretty cool,” O’Leary said. " I didn’t know if I’d get it or not, but it’s a pretty cool feeling."

The record-breaking performance wouldn’t have been possible without his teammates, he said.

“We’ve got a really good quarterback (senior Turner Lachey) that knows the game of football really well, and the line did a really good job of keeping our quarterback safe and letting him just play his game,” O’Leary said. “The other receivers blocked really well when I got those short passes, and it was really a team effort for the success of that night.”

As the Cavaliers were running out the clock, O’Leary said his coaches knew he was 15 yards shy of the record and wanted to give him an opportunity to make a few more plays. They ran a few more bubble screens to help him enter the record books.

“I knew I had a pretty good amount of yards, but I didn’t really expect to hear that I had 393,” O’Leary said.

Credit: Bryant Billing

Credit: Bryant Billing

The previous state record for receiving yards in a game was set by Urbana’s Barry Quinn, who had 382 yards against Shawnee in 2002.

The 18 receptions also placed him in the state record book. Mogadore’s Larry Bennett set the state record for receptions in a game with 32 against Hudson in 1942.

The key, he said, has been the team chemistry they’ve built up over the years.

“We’ve built more chemistry over the years, putting that work in the weight room this summer, just going to all the team events early on that has helped with our team chemistry and everything like that,” O’Leary said.

O’Leary - who leads the nation with 1,724 yards according to MaxPreps - expects to play collegiately next year. However, his main focus is helping his team do what it takes to make the postseason and make a deep run in the Division VII, Region 28 playoffs.

“We’ve got to have a good mindset every day and every game,” O’Leary said. “We have to have the mindset that every play is our last, just trying to finish the season strong and make the playoffs.”

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