Central Ohio high school football scores and Week 6 recaps
DeSales 7, Hartley 2
In the CCL opener for both programs, host DeSales became the first team to “flip the field” and then followed with the game’s only touchdown in a victory over Hartley on Sept. 23.
That was the phrase Stallions coach Ryan Wiggins used to describe what took place during the final minute of the third quarter with the game still scoreless.
Central Ohio high school football scoresfor Week 6; Columbus area Week 7 schedule
On third-and-14 at the DeSales 26, Stallions quarterback P.J. Noles found Gabe Caruso open on a screen pass and Caruso sprinted 63 yards down the sideline.
“We needed to convert that because it was third and long,” Caruso said. “I just knew I had to make a play and I ended up making one. We executed, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
DeSales, which improved to 3-3 while the Hawks dropped to 2-4, still had work to do to reach the end zone on that possession, however.
On fourth-and-2 from the Hartley 3, the Stallions didn’t attempt a field goal but instead faked a jet sweep and got just enough yardage on a keeper by Noles to give them first-and-goal from the 1.
Caruso reached the end zone on the next play for the Stallions' only score after they had come up short on two previous opportunities.
DeSales moved to the Hartley 1 late in the first quarter, but the Hawks’ Anthony Murphy stopped Caruso for a 2-yard loss and Hartley held again on the next play to take over on downs.
DeSales also drove deep into Hartley territory midway through the second quarter and lined up for a 25-yard field goal, but didn’t get the attempt off after a high snap.
“(The screen play) was a great call by (assistant) coach (Mark) Crabtree, something we’d worked on,” Wiggins said. “Our defense found ways to get us stops. Hartley, I’m sure, feels that they had opportunities they couldn’t make good on, but we were able to take care of the ball and that was probably the difference.”
Hartley drove to the DeSales 11 on its final first-half drive, but Peyton Underwood was intercepted in the end zone by Elijah Charles.
The Hawks scored their only points on a safety with 4:30 remaining when a punt snap went over the head of DeSales’ Brendan Ballard, who kicked it out of the back of the end zone.
Hartley — which was stopped 1 yard short on fourth-and-2 from the DeSales 15 early in the third quarter on a tackle by Jonathan Maas — had two possessions after the safety, but another interception by Charles ended its final drive.
“Our defensive line got the ball out quick and helped me get both of those interceptions,” Charles said.
Hartley outgained DeSales 263-190, with freshman Robert Lathon rushing for 155 yards on 24 carries in his second game as the featured back with senior DeAunte’ Hubbard out with an injury.
“They executed (the screen pass) really well and that was the bottom line,” Hawks coach Brad Burchfield said. “We’re still getting better. Nobody wants to have the score not go their way, but there’s no question we’re better than what we were and we’ve got to hang in there and keep going.”
—Jarrod Ulrey
HARTLEY: 0-0-0-2–2
DeSALES: 0-0-0-7–7
D—Caruso 1 run (Bangert kick)
H—Safety, punter kicked ball out of end zone
Dublin Jerome 24, Thomas Worthington 21
Faced with a deficit for most of the game, Jerome rallied in the final minute to stun visiting Thomas and remain unbeaten at 6-0.
Trailing 21-16, Celtics quarterback Zakk Tschirhart connected with Marek Tzagournis for a 68-yard touchdown on a post pattern with 48 seconds left. Tschirhart added the two-point conversion run as Jerome opened OCC-Cardinal Division play with a comeback win.
Ohio high school football: OHSAA football calendar in 2022
“I’ve never been on a team this beat up before, but kids are stepping up and we’re finding ways to do stuff,” Jerome coach Brett Glass said. “It was a post to Marek. Zakk stepped up and found him deep coming across and just made a heck of a play.”
The Cardinals, who are seeking their first winning season since 1999, dropped to 4-2.
“We’re a team that’s never really been successful in the past 20 years,” Thomas coach Mike Picetti said. “The boys are still learning how to finish games, so that caught up with us.”
Jerome trailed 21-10 entering the fourth quarter before Preston Stucke’s 1-yard touchdown run pulled the Celtics to within 21-16.
Early on it was Thomas in control, as quarterback Will Cooper connected with Joey Zalewski for an 80-yard touchdown on the game’s first play.
The Cardinals made it 14-0 on Cooper’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Zalewski with 11:01 left in the second quarter.
Jerome pulled within 14-7 on Braydon Alford’s 5-yard touchdown run with 3:18 left in the second quarter. Alford is the son of Ohio State football assistant coach Tony Alford.
Thomas stretched its lead to 21-7 in the third quarter on Cooper’s third touchdown pass to Zalewski, covering 10 yards. Cooper completed 19 of 29 passes for 247 yards, and Zalewski had six catches for 130 yards.
“I’m not going to lie, it got dark there,” said Tschirhart, who was 16-for-27 passing for 241 yards. “We couldn’t move the ball. We didn’t have a rhythm. It’s not our normal thing. They had our number. It was a struggle for most of the game and then we had that flicker and we had to take advantage of it.”
Stucke started at running back in place of the injured Luke McLoughlin and Cael Abdul Haqq.
Tzagournis had six catches for 141 yards.
—Frank DiRenna
THOMAS WORTHINGTON: 7-7-7-0--21
DUBLIN JEROME: 0-7-3-14--24
TW—Zalewski 80 pass from Cooper (LaPrad kick)
TW— Zalewski 9 pass from Cooper (LaPrad kick)
DJ—Alford 5 run (Holden kick)
TW—Zalewski 10 pass from Cooper (LaPrad kick)
DJ—Holden 40 FG
DJ—Stucke 1 run (run failed)
DJ— Tzagournis 68 pass from Tschirhart (Tschirhart run)
Dublin Coffman 14, Olentangy Liberty 9
Shamrocks coach Geron Stokes has tried to keep his team focused on complementary football, where the offense helps the defense by producing points and controlling the time of possession.
Carson Cox’s 2-yard touchdown run finished off Coffman’s drive to open the second half, which went 70 yards in 18 plays and wiped out 8:51 of the third quarter.
It helped ensure the Shamrocks’ road victory in the OCC-Central opener for both teams.
“We’re not good enough to throw it around and be cute and fancy,” said Stokes, whose team improved to 4-2. “We have to out-tough people and out-discipline people. We found a way to win the line of scrimmage, and our defense came up with humongous stops when it mattered.”
None was bigger than Trevor Earl’s interception that ended the Patriots’ final scoring chance around midfield with 2:03 left in the fourth quarter.
“I was just staying back waiting for one and the opportunity came up and it ended the game,” Earl said.
A little luck helped Liberty cut the lead to 14-9 with 8:15 left, when the Patriots’ Ryan Schapker fumbled near the goal line but lineman Luke Fleet fell on the ball in the end zone after it was batted around.
Cox, who finished with 62 yards on nine carries, made it 7-3 with 7:32 left in the second quarter when he broke free up the middle for a 35-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-3.
Coffman quarterback Quinn Hart completed 13 of 19 passes for 134 yards, while Liberty’s Andrew Leonard finished 16-for-29 passing for 158 yards.
—Scott Gerfen
DUBLIN COFFMAN: 0-7-7-0–14
OLENTANGY LIBERTY: 0-3-0-6–9
OL—Archibald 33 FG
DC—Cox 35 run (Schramm kick)
DC—Cox 2 run (Schramm kick)
OL—Fleet fumble recovery in end zone (pass failed)
Upper Arlington 29, Hilliard Bradley 0
Connor McClellan scored three touchdowns and Holden Milliken kicked a pair of field goals to help lift the Golden Bears past host Bradley in the OCC-Central opener for both teams.
“We challenged the kids,” said UA coach Justin Buttermore, whose team improved to 5-1. “They had a better week of practice, and they came out and executed at a high level. That’s the best we’ve executed all year.
“I’m proud of our effort because that’s a good (Bradley) team. Our league is going to be a grind, and this was a heck of a start.”
McClellan rushed for 63 yards on 12 carries with two 1-yard touchdowns, and he also caught a 29-yard scoring pass from quarterback James Hayek. Hayek was 10-for-15 passing for 149 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Milliken kicked field goals of 42 and 22 yards.
“They do what they do and they do it well,” said Bradley coach Mike LoParo, whose team dropped to 3-3 with its third consecutive loss. “They put pressure on you and keep your defense out there for a long time.”
The UA defense limited Bradley to 100 total yards, including 42 rushing on 25 carries.
Linebacker Steven Ye sacked Bradley quarterback Bradyn Fleharty in the end zone with 6:18 left in the third quarter, and the junior suffered a hip injury and did not return for precautionary measures. Sophomore Brady Rasor finished the game behind center.
“It was third down, (the Jaguars) blocked to the left and I found my seam,” Ye said of the safety. “We played well defensively. I think we flipped the switch and our mindset changed because we started league play.”
Fleharty was 5-for-8 passing for 60 yards with one interception, and Rasor went 1-for-5 for minus-2 yards. Trevor Schuler had 21 yards rushing on 10 carries, and defensive back Andrew Miller had an interception.
Wally Swiney caught three passes for 63 yards for the Bears, and defensive back Quinn Crotty picked off a pass.
—Scott Hennen
UPPER ARLINGTON: 7-10-12-0–29
HILLIARD BRADLEY: 0-0-0-0--0
UA—McClellan 1 run (Milliken kick)
UA—Milliken 42 FG
UA—McClellan 1 run (Milliken kick)
UA—McClellan 29 pass from Hayek (Milliken kick)
UA—Safety, Ye sacked Fleharty in end zone
UA—Milliken 22 FG
Olentangy Berlin 38, Olentangy 0
There was plenty of credit to go around in Berlin’s win at Olentangy to open OCC-Cardinal play. A stout defense held a high-powered offense at bay and a formidable one-two punch in quarterback Harrison Brewster and running back Mason Ziegler led the Bears on offense.
“(Olentangy) has a quick-strike offense, so that’s always a concern,” said Bears coach Mark Nori, whose team improved to 4-2. “Especially at the high school level, you don’t know what’s going to happen once that thing goes up in the air. I think our defensive coaches came in with a good game plan. Most importantly, the kids were able to execute it. That’s the biggest piece.”
And it was quite a performance by the Berlin defense, which started early. Dom Giannetto came up with a key fourth-down stop on a fake punt in the first quarter that jump-started the Bears.
Olentangy, which was held to 127 yards of total offense, turned the ball over on downs on its first two possessions and Berlin’s Angelo Johnson and Casen Ward each had interceptions.
“It starts with our coaches,” Giannetto said. “Saturday morning, we knew what we wanted to do. I just didn’t do it (by myself). All 11 guys did their job and I was just there to make the tackle (on the fake punt).”
Brewster and Ziegler rushed for two touchdowns apiece as the Bears gained 262 of their 326 total yards on the ground.
Giannetto stopped Olentangy’s Andrew Leech for no gain on a fake punt on fourth-and-1 at the Braves' 44 with 4:08 remaining in the first quarter.
“It’s not (the players') fault. … It’s on me,” said Olentangy coach Wade Bartholomew, whose team fell to 3-3. “(We’re) not running our basic plays and not getting better at what we do, basically. I’m trying to throw in a different pass play here or run play there that we think will catch them off guard.”
Six plays later, Brewster broke free on a 30-yard touchdown run around left end to put the Bears up 7-0.
Brewster finished with 142 yards on 13 carries and Ziegler, who gave Berlin a 14-0 lead in the second quarter with a 3-yard run, added 70 yards on 15 carries.
“I just give all the credit to my teammates,” Brewster said. “All the blocks they make, they allow me to do what I do, so I appreciate them a lot. (Ziegler) has just been getting better every single week. He’s really grown.”
Spencer Conrad kicked a 50-yard field goal to give the Bears a 17-0 lead at halftime a week after he set the program record at 53 yards. Brewster (44-yard run) and Ziegler (7-yard run) each scored again in the third quarter.
Olentangy's Ethan Grunkemeyer finished 9-for-17 passing for 91 yards and two interceptions.
—Michael Rich
OLENTANGY BERLIN: 7-10-14-7--38
OLENTANGY: 0-0-0-0--0
OB—Brewster 30 run (Conrad kick)
OB—Ziegler 3 run (Conrad kick)
OB—Conrad 50 FG
OB—Brewster 44 run (Conrad kick)
OB—Ziegler 7 run (Conrad kick)
OB—Eviston 1 run (Young kick)
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Central Ohio high school football scores, Week 6 recaps
