ST. BERNARD, Ohio — Lucas Cannady is "Mr. Everything" at St. Bernard-Elmwood Place High School.
The senior has earned every statistical quarterback record in program history. He also plays four other sports — baseball, basketball, wrestling and track and field.
If that wasn’t enough, the 17-year-old is an honor roll student who finds time to volunteer and works for the Village of St. Bernard in helping to maintain green spaces such as Ross Park.
“The kid — he’s a monster on the football field,” said SBEP football coach Kyle Hogan. “He may not be the greatest basketball player in the world, but here at St. Bernard, the effort, the energy and what he brings to the table — he’s our best basketball player. He’s right up there in baseball. He wrestles and wins conference championships. And he still throws shot put during baseball season. So it’s a kid that kind of gives us everything.”
Cannady’s goal is simple: He wants to help lead the Titans to an undefeated football regular season. In 2025, the Division IV football program earned a single-season program record of 10 wins. This season, it wants to take another step in the playoffs.
“It would mean a lot to me because I’ve worked so hard for it my entire high school career,” Cannady said. “I would really just love to see it happen.”
The Titans earned a good start with an 18-13 win over host Dayton Northridge during Week 1 on Aug. 21. Cannady was 20 of 27 passing for 201 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 47 yards.
“I tell this to the kids, I tell this to our coaches,” said Hogan, who starred at Simon Kenton High School. “He reminds a lot of me through my playing days, and I’ve kind of molded him to kind of be better than I was but do a lot of things similar to what I was doing. He’s taken the reins of everything since he was a freshman, and that’s a reason why he’s at where he’s at right now.”
Cannady and Hogan have a special player and coach dynamic. The competitiveness is the central bond.
“I’m going to push him; he’s going to push me,” Hogan said. “We’re going to kind of have a different relationship back and forth. I think the competitive drive that he has is unmatched. There may be kids that play at bigger schools or better schools or more rosters or whatever that may be. But, I don’t know that you’re going to find anybody that has a drive that this kid has.”
Cannady is grateful for every opportunity. His pocket presence has improved. He’s also learned to trust the coaches’ guidance. His inspiration for being a five-sport athlete is his admiration for the St. Bernard community.
“You just got to love the sports,” Cannady said. “You got to want to win; you got to want to be there. And all the players you’re with. St. Bernard — they bring good players in so you can connect with them. It’s like a bunch of buddies you’re hanging out with just playing your sport.”
Hogan has also coached Cannady in baseball and wrestling. He knows the type of effort the senior invests into each season.
“It takes a lot of mental toughness but also someone that physically is willing to take care of their body to put the time into the weight room,” Hogan said. “When you look at a football player playing two sports in the winter and two sports in the spring — you worry about a kid like that missing out on the weight room. That’s not just a thing for him. We’re talking about a kid that squats over 500 pounds. He isn’t in the weight room every day like the rest of the football team because he’s playing another sport. So it just goes to show kind of the work ethic that he has.”
Cannady said he plans to compete in college. Hogan believes Cannady will succeed.
“I’ve always said I wanted to play in college,” Cannady said. “I’ve wanted to be able to show that I can play at the next level coming from a smaller school, helping my school get noticed.”
The Titans (1-0) play host to Finneytown (0-0) at Shea Stadium in Norwood on Friday night.
