Marauders Face Off In CFP National Championship

Prep Football Alum Cody Simon, '20 and RJ Oben, '19 faced off on opposite sides of the field in this year's College Football Playoff National Championship. Ohio State defeated Notre Dame by a score of 34-23 and OSU Captain and defensive leader Cody Simon was named the Defensive Player of the Game. Cody became the third Prep Football graduate to star on a national championship team in recent memory. He joins 2015 graduate Minkah Fitzpatrick (University of Alabama) and 2008 graduate Will Hill (University of Florida).

Both RJ and Cody played instrumental roles in their teams road to the finals. In the CFP Semifinals, Ohio State defeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl and Notre Dame defeated Penn State in the Orange Bowl. In the Quarterfinals, Ohio State routed the #1 seeded Oregon Ducks while Notre Dame upset the #2 seeded Georgia Bulldogs. Oben had the biggest defensive play of the game when he turned the corner and executed a perfect strip sack of Georgia QB Gunner Stockton. The forced fumble set up ND in Georgia territory and led to a TD before the half to put ND up 13-3. In the Rose Bowl, Simon led the Buckeyes to a huge win over Oregon. Cody was named the Rose Bowl Defensive MVP and finished the game with 11 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 TFLs, and 1 pass defended.

When the book was closed on the 2024-25 college football season, Cody had a dream season capped off with an amazing playoff run. Oben shined in his own sense. This article in the Haitian Times recaps his college career and this year's playoff run. Congrats to both Marauder alum!