Central Ohio high school football OHSAA regional final playoff recaps and scores

Gahanna Lincoln 25, New Albany 17

Elijah King came up with a big play when the Gahanna needed it most.

The junior defensive lineman made a key sack in the fourth quarter to help the top-seeded Lions defeat third-seeded New Albany on Nov. 18 in the Division I, Region 3 final at Historic Crew Stadium.

The fifth-ranked Lions won their first regional championship since 1982, improving to 13-1. They advanced to play top-ranked Lakewood St. Edward in a state semifinal Nov. 25. The Eagles (13-1) defeated Mentor 27-0 in the Region 1 final.

Gahanna Lincoln: Grit carries Lions to historic regional title

Who advanced to the state semifinals? Central Ohio high school football playoff scores

King burst through the line of scrimmage, sacking New Albany quarterback Luka Garver for a 13-yard loss at the Eagles’ 32-yard line to give the Lions a needed confidence-boost.

“I felt I was really helping the team out with the sack,” King said. “It’s something I wanted to do the whole game and I was able to get out there and help the team. Coach (Bruce Ward) told me after that it was a big play and we really needed that.”

Gahanna — which also defeated New Albany 38-24 on Sept. 30 in OCC-Ohio Division play — used big plays to build a 18-3 lead at halftime, but missed all three of their conversions.

Running back Diore Hubbard raced 57 yards to the end zone on the third play from scrimmage to give the Lions a 6-0 lead.

“We came out with the same game plan. Smash the ball, throw the ball and really dominate the game,” said Hubbard, who finished with 163 yards on 14 carries. “I had the feeling I was going to bust one (on the first drive). It was just another touchdown.”

Gahanna quarterback Brennen Ward threw a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes to put his team up by 15 points at the break. He connected with wide receiver Makai Shahid on a 64-yard score and another for 7 yards to wide receiver Jalen Scott.

New Albany dominated the third quarter, with the Lions running only six plays from scrimmage. Christian Manville rushed for touchdowns of 18 and 59 yards in the third for the Eagles. Between those two touchdowns, however, Shahid had an 84-yard kickoff return as Gahanna led 25-17 going into what turned out to be a scoreless fourth quarter.

“I was surprised they kicked it to me,” Shahid said. “I found a crease and I hit it untouched. I had to put on the burners to get to the end zone. That changed the game.”

Manville rushed for 190 yards on 27 carries. In the earlier meeting, he was limited to 15 yards on 15 carries.

“We talk about this all the time in our program,” New Albany coach Brian Finn said. “I don’t care if we win. I don’t care if we lose. I care how we win and how we lose.

“They came out in the second half and played New Albany football. I’m proud of that effort, but we came up short. No one is happy about that, but I’m proud that the guys never gave up and kept fighting.”

Gahanna defensive back Isaiah Wills-Jackson intercepted Garver with 4:32 to play to all but end the Eagles’ chances.

“I think that’s what Gahanna does well,” Finn said. “They wear you down and they have really good defense obviously and pinned us deep a couple of times (with punts). That’s a lot to ask any offense to go 80, 90, 70 yards on their defense.

“I was proud we kept responding in the second half. Our kids kept fighting. Give credit to Gahanna, though. I said they were the best team in the region and they showed it tonight."

—Scott Hennen

NEW ALBANY: 3-0-14-0--17

GAHANNA LINCOLN: 6-12-7-0--25

GL—Hubbard 57 run (run failed)

NA—Schuler 30 FG

GL—Shahid 64 pass from Ward (run failed)

GL—Scott 7 pass from Ward (pass failed)

NA—Manville 18 run (Schuler kick)

GL—Shahid 84 kickoff return (Gerhart kick)

NA—Manville 59 run (Schuler kick)

Springfield 35, Olentangy Liberty 7

Springfield responded to every big play Liberty made on its way to its fourth consecutive regional championship.

The second-seeded Wildcats used the precision passing of Bryce Schondelmyer and a stout defense to beat the eighth-seeded Patriots in the Division I, Region 2 final at London.

Springfield improved to 12-1 and plays Cincinnati Moeller in a state semifinal Nov. 25.

Liberty's Blake Hajjar forced a fumble and had an interception, and the Patriots had a goal line stand just before halftime, but they couldn’t turn those big plays into momentum.

“We just couldn’t make plays when we needed to,” Liberty coach Steve Hale said. “We were just one step short or just one play call off all night long. We just couldn’t get in a situation where we could get them out of their rhythm.”

Schondelmyer was 28-for-31 passing for 333 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He added 11 carries for 32 yards and scored on a 1-yard run to give the Wildcats the lead for good in the first quarter.

Anthony Brown and Daylen Bradley each had nine receptions. Brown went for 139 yards and a touchdown and Bradley had 117 yards.

Jayvin Norman added 12 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown for Springfield.

The Wildcats’ defense chased Liberty quarterback Andrew Leonard around all night, sacking him five times led by Robert Owens Jr., who had two.

“Defensively, we talk about sudden change,” Springfield coach Maurice Douglass said. “When bad things happen, you've got to respond. It’s not having the turnover happen, but how you respond to it. (Liberty) went out and got a first down (after the first-quarter fumble) and got to midfield and we stopped them.”

Springfield held the Patriots, who finished 8-6, to 209 yards of total offense and 42 yards rushing on 27 carries.

Jake Struck, who missed the first three playoff games with an injury, returned and carried 12 times for 35 yards for Liberty.

Leonard was 10-for-17 passing for 126 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Evan Nelson caught five passes for 76 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“They made the program proud (and) moved the program forward,” Hale said. “I’m just super excited we had this opportunity to spend time with them. I’m sad to see (our seniors) go.”

—Michael Rich

OLENTANGY LIBERTY: 0-0-0-7--7

SPRINGFIELD: 7-7-7-14--35

S—Schondelmyer 1 run (Fralick kick)

S—Norman 1 run (Fralick kick)

S—Brown 16 pass from Schondelmyer (Fralick kick)

OL—Nelson 24 pass from Leonard (Archibald kick)

S—Martin 2 pass from Schondelmyer (Fralick kick)

S—D. Owens 2 run (Fralick kick)

Bloom-Carroll 33, Watterson 28

Bloom-Carroll doesn’t seem fazed by its move to Division III.

After reaching Division IV state semifinals the previous two seasons, the Bulldogs earned their third consecutive regional title by edging third-seeded Watterson in the Division III, Region 11 final at DeSales.

Bloom-Carroll won its 13th consecutive game to improve to 13-1 and will play Tipp City Tippecanoe in a state semifinal Nov. 25.

After the Eagles took a 28-27 lead on A.J. McAninch’s 1-yard touchdown run with 5:56 remaining in the game, the Bulldogs responded with a game-winning 94-yard drive, capped by Dylan Armentrout's 18-yard scoring run with 1:14 left.

Watterson’s comeback bid ended when Jayse Rockwood intercepted a McAninch pass with 52 seconds remaining, as the Eagles closed the season 12-2.

“We’ve leaned on our senior offensive linemen and our run game all year, so when push comes to shove, that’s what we want to do. We want to run the football,” first-year Bloom-Carroll coach Jeremy McKinney said.

Armentrout finished with 188 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, while Andrew Marshall added 140 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries.

Fifth-seeded Bloom-Carroll went ahead 13-0 in the first quarter and was up 20-14 at halftime before regaining the lead with its final drive.

The Bulldogs struck quickly as Armentrout broke free for an 80-yard touchdown on the game’s first play. Marshall scored on an 11-yard touchdown run on Bloom-Carroll’s next possession, pushing the lead to 13-0.

After Watterson closed within 13-7 on McAninch’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Purcell, the Bulldogs responded with Armentrout’s 21-yard touchdown run. Zach Weber’s 22-yard touchdown run pulled Watterson within six points at halftime.

Weber rushed for 105 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, and McAninch completed 16 of 21 passes for 225 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the Eagles.

“This team doesn’t fold,” Watterson coach Brian Kennedy said. “Good for Bloom-Carroll. That’s obviously a really good team. They came out ready to play and they got us. They punched us in the mouth a little bit and it took us a little time to get our feet underneath us.”

—Frank DiRenna

BLOOM-CARROLL: 13-7-0-13–33

WATTERSON: 0-14-7-7–28

BC—Armentrout 80 run (kick blocked)

BC—Marshall 11 run (McKee kick)

W—Purcell 9 pass from McAninch (Kessinger kick)

BC—Armentrout 21 run (McKee kick)

W—Weber 22 run (Kessinger kick)

W—Purcell 1 run (Kessinger kick)

BC—Plantz 3 run (McKee kick)

W—McAninch 1 run (Kessinger kick)

BC—Armentrout 18 run (run failed)

Ironton 34, Harvest Prep 0

The winningest season in program history ended for the second-seeded Warriors in the Division V, Region 19 championship game at Waverly.

Ironton, which was the region’s No. 1 seed and improved to 14-0, stopped Harvest Prep twice inside the red zone in the first half and forced four turnovers overall.

The Warriors, who reached a state semifinal last season, finished 13-1.

“It hurts, but it’s called ‘life,’ and they’ll be better men as a result of it,” Harvest Prep coach Milan Smith said.

Senior Ty Perkins led the way for the Tigers, who will play Germantown Valley View on Nov. 25 in a state semifinal.

With 5:53 to go in the first quarter, Ironton quarterback Tayden Carpenter hit Perkins for a 23-yard touchdown.

On the ensuing drive, Harvest Prep converted on third-and-18 from its own 9 when quarterback Aidan Rogers connected with Justin Batista and then on fourth-and-6 from its own 49 on a 12-yard pass from Rogers to Batista, but the possession ended with a fumble on a poor shotgun snap.

The Warriors also reached the Ironton 33 on their next drive, but turned it over on downs.

A 2-yard touchdown run by Carpenter made it 14-0 with 6 minutes left in the first half, but the Warriors converted on two fourth-down plays on their next drive and moved to the Ironton 17. On third-and-8, Rogers was intercepted in the end zone by Perkins with 39 seconds to go before halftime.

In the third quarter, Perkins scored on a 17-yard pass midway through to make it 21-0 and intercepted Rogers at the Harvest Prep 45 on the first play of the next possession.

The Tigers made it 28-0 on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Carpenter to Perkins with 2:58 to go in the third period.

Perkins finished with five catches for 123 yards.

“We didn’t have a lot of momentum going into the second quarter, but we had big plays that really started to allow us to get momentum and that changed the way the game went,” Perkins said. “My quarterback, the line blocking for me, the linebackers covering their man, I couldn’t do it without them. It was a good team win.”

—Jarrod Ulrey 

HARVEST PREP: 0-0-0-0–0

IRONTON: 7-7-14-6–34

I—Perkins 23 pass from Carpenter (Williams kick)

I—Carpenter 2 run (Williams kick)

I—Perkins 17 pass from Carpenter (Williams kick)

I—Perkins 20 pass from Carpenter (Williams kick)

I—Keyes 2 run (pass failed)

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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Central Ohio high school football fourth-round playoff recaps