Central Ohio high school football scores and first-round OHSAA playoff recaps

Hilliard Davidson 17, Grove City 7

Coach Jeremey Scally called his team’s win at Grove City on Oct. 28 “old-school Davidson football.”

Keevan Gibbon rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries, and the 11th-seeded Wildcats dominated time of possession in beating sixth-seeded Grove City in a Division I, Region 3 first-round playoff game.

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“As long as we’re chewing it up on offense then (Grove City quarterback Matthew) Papas has to sit on the sidelines and wait until his next possession,” Scally said. “If we’re three-and-out all the time then he chucks it up and they’re going to score their 40-something points. Our plan was basic, really simple, just try to execute at a high level and keep their offense off the field as long as we could — old-school Davidson football.”

Davidson, which also defeated Grove City 7-3 on Aug. 26, improved to 5-6 and will visit third-seeded New Albany in a quarterfinal Nov. 4. The Dawgs finished 6-5.

“They did a good job,” Grove City coach Greg Waits said. “We knew how physical they were and we knew we had to stop the run. They held the ball. Time of possession had to be crazy on the stats. They’re a good, physical team. You have to be like that in the playoffs and we have to be better next year.”

Grove City drove into Davidson territory on the game’s first possession before Paul Knapke intercepted a tipped pass, leading to the game’s first score. Brady Schwieterman capped an 82-yard drive with 1-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter for a 7-0 lead.

The Wildcats maintained that lead at halftime and took up nearly the entire 12 minutes of the third quarter before Ty Poole’s interception ended the threat.

Davidson added to its lead on its next possession with Gibbon scoring on a 33-yard run for a 14-0 lead with 9:13 remaining in the game.

Grove City cut the deficit in half on Papas’ 25-yard touchdown pass to Parker Toadvine with 6:41 to play. The Wildcats secured the win on Andrew Lewis’ 48-yard field goal with 2:40 left.

Davidson limited Papas to 13-for-25 passing for 114 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

The Wildcats outgained Grove City 232-168.

—Frank DiRenna

HILLIARD DAVIDSON: 0-7-0-10--17

GROVE CITY: 0-0-0-7--7

HD—Schwieterman 1 run (Lewis kick)

HD—Gibbon 33 run (Lewis kick)

GC—Toadvine 25 pass from Papas (Kline kick)

HD—Lewis 48 FG

Marysville 28, Dublin Coffman 24

The Monarchs ended a 40-year drought by rallying past the host Shamrocks in a Division I, Region 2 first-round game.

Marysville last defeated Coffman 13-0 in 1982, with the Shamrocks now holding a 26-4 edge in the series. The 11th-seeded Monarchs improved to 7-4 and will play Nov. 4 at third-seeded Centerville (9-2), which defeated 14th-seeded Clayton Northmont 34-21.

The Monarchs led 21-7 before sixth-seeded Coffman scored 17 consecutive points to take a 24-21 lead with 9:45 left in the fourth quarter.

After totaling 12 first downs in the first half, Marysville managed just one in the second half before the winning drive.

“I pulled the guys in and said that they could either tuck their tails or go win the game,” Monarchs coach Brent Johnson said. “They went down and scored and then we got a big stop (defensively).”

Marysville went 80 yards in 11 plays for the decisive score, a 6-yard run by Nascere Smith. The running back rushed for 91 yards on eight carries.

Colton Powers scored three touchdowns — on runs of 16, 10 and 5 yards — in the first half for the Monarchs.

“We both kept punching and swinging and it came down to who had the most heart,” said Powers, who finished with 123 yards on 16 carries. “Our team has a lot of heart, and we never give up.”

Coffman’s Carson Cox rushed for touchdowns of 1 and 4 yards, and quarterback Quinn Hart connected with tight end Braden Dougherty for a 20-yard score on a fourth-and-11 play with 18 seconds left in the first half.

“We were just out-coached, out-physicaled, out-toughed and out-disciplined all night long,” said Coffman coach Geron Stokes, whose team finished 7-4. “Good coached teams stop the wing-T, and we just got gashed.”

Running back Griffin Johnson had 95 yards on 15 carries for Marysville, which picked up 317 of its 383 total yards on the ground.

The Shamrocks were led by running back Daven White with 98 yards rushing on 19 carries, while Hart had 11 carries for 87 yards. Hart also was 6-for-12 passing for 87 yards with one score.

—Scott Hennen

MARYSVILLE: 7-14-0-7--28

DUBLIN COFFMAN: 7-7-3-7--24

M—Powers 16 run (Heller kick)

DC—Cox 1 run (Schramm kick)

M—Powers 10 run (Heller kick)

M —Powers 5 run (Heller kick)

DC—Dougherty 20 pass from Hart (Schramm kick)

DC—Schramm 23 FG

DC—Cox 4 run (Schramm kick)

M— Smith 6 run (Heller kick)

Dublin Jerome 24, Olentangy 14

The top-seeded Celtics used a lengthy fourth-quarter scoring drive to hold off the 16th-seeded Braves in the first round of the Division I, Region 2 playoffs.

Luke McLoughlin’s 1-yard run capped an 11-play, 72-yard drive with 7:40 left for the game’s final points.

“Being a 16 seed versus a No. 1 (seed), it sure didn’t feel like it,” Jerome coach Brett Glass said. “They’re a really good team. They’ve got some really good players. They’re really well-coached. They nipped us a couple weeks ago, and I feel good for our guys.”

The Braves’ 23-20 overtime win in Week 9 cost the Celtics a share of the OCC-Cardinal title.

Jerome, which improved to 9-2, will play host to eighth-seeded Olentangy Liberty on Nov. 4 in a regional quarterfinal.

McLoughlin, who finished with 120 yards on 23 carries, put the Celtics ahead only 20 seconds into the first quarter when he scored on a 23-yard run.

Jerome’s defense set up the touchdown when it sacked Braves quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer and recovered a fumble on the game’s first play from scrimmage.

In a back-and-forth first half, Grunkemeyer made it 7-all when he broke free for a 50-yard touchdown run, and his 31-yard touchdown pass to Kaden Gebhardt put Olentangy up 14-10 with 7:30 left in the second quarter.

“Very, very proud of our kids,” said Olentangy coach Wade Bartholomew, whose team finished 4-7. “Like I told them, there’s not a whole lot of 16th-seeded teams that probably were within seven points the whole game. We have to be proud of where we grew this year.”

—Scott Gerfen

OLENTANGY: 7-7-0-0–14

DUBLIN JEROME: 7-10-0-7–24

DJ—McLoughlin 23 run (Holden kick)

O—Grunkemeyer 50 run (Tobias kick)

DJ—Holden 23 FG

O—Gebhardt 31 pass from Grunkemeyer (Tobias kick)

DJ—Tzagournis 33 pass from Tschirhart (Holden kick)

DJ—McLoughlin 1 run (Holden kick)

Olentangy Berlin 42, Delaware Hayes 24

Berlin quarterback Harrison Brewster isn’t really sure what makes him such an adept runner. And Bears coach Mark Nori isn’t always sure what Brewster is going to do on any given play.

But for fifth-seeded Berlin, whatever uncertainty there might be wasn’t evident against No. 12 seed Delaware in a Division I, Region 2 first-round game.

“We hike the ball to him and then after that, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Nori, whose team improved to 8-3. “We do give him a lot of autonomy to make decisions.”

Brewster rushed for 232 yards and three touchdowns and added 134 yards passing and another score to help Berlin advance to a regional-quarterfinal matchup at fourth-seeded Perrysburg on Nov. 4.

“When I’m running the ball, I don’t know what I’m thinking about to be honest,” Brewster said. “I don’t know. It’s a weird feeling and I can’t explain it. I give all credit to my teammates.”

Mason Ziegler added 89 yards rushing and two scores on 16 carries as Berlin amassed 457 yards of total offense, including 323 yards on the ground.

Brewster’s 94-yard run in the first quarter gave the Bears a 14-0 lead, and the Pacers never again got within a one-score deficit.

“We were just trying to get out of harm’s way,” Nori said. “We just called a basic power play up the middle and he squeezed through. He’s capable of doing that, too. He’s pretty slippery.”

Delaware’s Sawyer Sand scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter to cut it to 21-10, but Brewster responded with touchdown runs of 7 and 27 yards to extend the lead to 35-7 by the end of the third quarter.

Delaware got a 15-yard touchdown run by Josh Russell and a 30-yard touchdown pass from Jake Lowman to Kaden Gannon late in the fourth after trailing by as many as 32 points.

“I thought we came out a little anxious,” said Pacers coach Ryan Montgomery, whose team finished 7-4. “We settled down a little bit in the second quarter and our guys battled for 48 minutes. That’s been the characteristic of this team all year … to go and compete.”

Joe Beaumier finished with four catches for 70 yards and Evan Fabrizio had a 10-yard touchdown reception for the Bears, while Dylan Robertson had six tackles and Bennett Arend added an interception to lead the defense.

For the Pacers, Lowman finished 21-for-39 passing for 282 yards, Gannon caught nine passes for 120 yards and Russell finished with 79 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Sand had 5.5 tackles and Aidan Pili had four tackles and a blocked field goal for Delaware.

“When you look at it historically, it’s been since 2008 that we’ve had seven wins,” Montgomery said. “It’s the (17th) time since 1960 where we’ve had a winning season. It’s the first time since 2008 where we’ve had a winning conference record (at 4-3). And it’s all attributed to our players and the buy-in to the program. This one stings (because) it’s a ride that you don’t want to end.”

—Michael Rich

DELAWARE HAYES: 3-0-7-14–24

OLENTANGY BERLIN: 14-7-14-7–42

OB—Ziegler 3 run (Conrad kick)

OB—Brewster 94 run (Conrad kick)

DH—Goble 33 FG

OB—Fabrizio 10 pass from Brewster (Conrad kick)

DH—Sand 1 run (Goble kick)

OB—Brewster 7 run (Conrad kick)

OB—Brewster 27 run (Conrad kick)

OB—Ziegler 9 run (Conrad kick)

DH—Russell 15 run (Goble kick)

DH—Gannon 30 pass from Lowman (Goble kick)

Canal Winchester 23, Independence 6

The visiting Indians’ defense rose to the occasion in the second half, forcing three turnovers on downs, recovering a fumble that led to a crucial touchdown and then adding insurance on another score to defeat the eighth-seeded 76ers in a Division II, Region 7 first-round game.

Held to three Camden Roush field goals through three quarters and nursing a 9-6 lead with 4 minutes left, ninth-seeded Canal Winchester forced a fumble at its own 35-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Maxton Brunner broke loose down the Indians’ sideline for a 31-yard score that made it 16-6.

Three plays after that, Harlee Hanna returned an interception of Antonio Harris 40 yards for his first career touchdown.

“It felt surreal. I didn’t realize it happened until I was in the end zone and everybody was running down to celebrate with me,” Hanna said. “(Brunner’s touchdown) was a giant confidence boost. We were ready to finish.”

The Indians, who amassed all of their 215 yards on the ground, improved to 7-4 and will visit top-seeded Massillon Washington for a second-round game Nov. 4.

“We made some mistakes in the first half with a touchdown that was called back and a couple penalties that hurt … but our guys are fighters. That’s what we ask,” Canal Winchester coach Jake Kuhner said. “They hung in there and we made big plays at the end.”

Da’vaughn Bufford’s 3-yard run late in the second quarter gave the 76ers a 6-3 lead. Roush made a 28-yard field goal just before the half to tie the game.

The 76ers drove deep into Canal Winchester territory twice in the second half, including to the 5, but were shut out.

“We had the game where we wanted it, we just didn’t make enough plays to get over the top,” said Independence coach Maurice Douglas, whose team finished 7-3 and tied Columbus South and Marion-Franklin for the City League-South Division championship. “We wanted to get them deep into the second half. We felt like we could make enough plays and we didn’t.”

—Dave Purpura

CANAL WINCHESTER: 3-3-3-14--23

INDEPENDENCE: 0-6-0-0--6

CW—Roush 36 FG

IND—Bufford 3 run (pass failed)

CW—Roush 28 FG

CW—Roush 37 FG

CW—Brunner 31 run (Roush kick)

CW—Hanna 40 INT return (Roush kick)

Ready 50, Marion-Franklin 12

Keeping its running backs fresh provided a winning formula for ninth-seeded Ready in its Division IV, Region 15 playoff opener at eighth-seeded Marion-Franklin.

The Silver Knights improved to 7-3 and will take a five-game winning streak into their regional quarterfinal Nov. 4 at top-seeded St. Clairsville, while the Red Devils finished 6-4. St. Clairsville defeated McConnelsville Morgan 40-20 in the opening round.

Senior running back Brian Fitzsimmons finished with 125 yards and four touchdowns, junior running back Kentrell Rinehart had 114 yards and two scores on the ground as well as a receiving touchdown and sophomore running back Anthony Campbell added 51 yards rushing.

“We’ve got good chemistry with each other,” Rinehart said. “We’re a really good team and we can tire teams out.”

Ready’s Preston Tirey returned an interception to the Marion-Franklin 35 early in the first quarter to set up a 7-yard touchdown by Rinehart.

Then on the Knights’ second drive, a 30-yard pass from Kaleb Schaffer to Dalton Miller set up a 9-yard touchdown run by Fitzsimmons.

Marion-Franklin cut it to 15-6 on a 6-yard touchdown run by Terry Black with 1:12 to go in the first quarter, but the Knights’ J.D. Catena returned the kickoff 37 yards to the Devils’ 43.

Seven plays later, Fitzsimmons ran for a 6-yard touchdown to make it 22-6.

"We rely on our run game and try to work in passing components and have some success throwing when we need to throw it a little bit,” coach Michael Schaefer said. “Defensively, I thought (sophomore linebacker) Kasen Abbott and (junior defensive back) J.D. Catena played really well and (sophomore safety) Preston Tirey had one interception and almost had two.”

With Ready leading 36-6 by halftime and the game beginning the second half with a running clock, Black ran for an 82-yard touchdown to round out the scoring for the Devils.

Senior Carmello Yarbrough, whom Marion-Franklin coach Dave Lakso called his team’s best two-way lineman, was out with a concussion.

“They were a lot bigger than I thought they were,” Lakso said. “We had 10 seniors out of 40 kids (and they were) great leaders.”

—Jarrod Ulrey

READY: 15-21-7-7–50

MARION-FRANKLIN: 6-0-6-0–12

R—Rinehart 7 run (Rinehart run)

R—Fitzsimmons 9 run (Craddock kick)

M—Black 6 run (pass failed)

R—Fitzsimmons 6 run (Craddock kick)

R—Rinehart 2 run (Craddock kick)

R—Fitzsimmons 5 run (Craddock kick)

M—Black 82 run (run failed)

R—Rinehart 11 pass from Schaffer (Craddock kick)

R—Fitzsimmons 4 run (Craddock kick)

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Central Ohio high school football scores, playoff recaps