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

Who advanced to the regional finals?Central Ohio high school football playoff scores

Regional finals: Statewide matchups for Nov. 18-19

Regional semifinals: Ready, Columbus East lose in Division IV, Region 15 semifinals

Olentangy Liberty 14, Perrysburg 3

Liberty’s Alex Okuley continued his habit of making big plays in big games.

The senior came up with an interception in the end zone during the first quarter, and his 25-yard touchdown catch on fourth down in the fourth quarter helped seal the victory for the eighth-seeded Patriots over fourth-seeded Perrysburg in a Division I, Region 2 semifinal Nov. 11 at Fostoria.

Liberty will face second-seeded Springfield in the regional final Nov. 18 at a neutral site after the Wildcats defeated third-seeded Centerville 49-14.

“I was just happy to make a play for my team,” said Okuley, whose team improved to 8-5. “Anything I can do to help my team win is a big play.

“Playoffs, not playoffs — I’m just happy to win. We believe in each other. To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. And we’ve played some great teams.”

The Patriots, who started the season 0-3 and gave up 107 points in losses to Pickerington Central, Glenville and Cincinnati St. Xavier, also upset top-seeded Dublin Jerome 28-14 in a regional quarterfinal Nov. 4. They’ve held opponents to just 24 points in three playoff games.

“(Our) team has been through a lot,” Liberty coach Steve Hale said. “We were 0-3 with the possibility of not having a winning season. I can’t say enough about these kids and what they’ve been through and how they’ve battled through. The way they’ve survived … I’m just so proud of them.”

Perrysburg, which finished 11-2, had the chance to take an early lead with the ball at Liberty’s 5-yard line. But left-handed quarterback T.J. Takats scrambled to his right and his pass was picked off in the end zone by Okuley, who got both feet down inbounds.

On Liberty’s ensuing possession, quarterback Andrew Leonard hit Evan Nelson in stride on the left sideline for a 68-yard touchdown to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead with 44 seconds left in the first quarter.

Perrysburg’s A.J. Bibb kicked a 34-yard field goal with 21 seconds left before halftime to cut it to 7-3, and a fumbled snap by the Yellow Jackets negated a chance at another field goal from 39 yards early in the fourth quarter.

Okuley caught a 25-yard post from Leonard on fourth-and-5 with 2:27 remaining to put the game out of reach.

“The kid is amazing,” Okuley said of Leonard. “To see him grow more and more … he’s going to become a superstar. The kid is incredible.”

Liberty running back Ryan Schapfer, filling in for an injured Jake Struck, had a 19-yard run on third down to set up Okuley’s touchdown after penalties had set the Patriots back.

Nico Scuillo recovered a fumble with 2:09 left to seal the win for Liberty, which was stopped for a 5-yard loss on fourth-and-inches at the Perrysburg 5 on the first possession of the second half.

“Perrysburg’s a very talented football program with some fantastic players and coaches,” Hale said. “This is what you expect in the third round of the playoffs. We’re just very fortunate to come out on top.”

—Michael Rich

OLENTANGY LIBERTY: 7-0-0-7–14

PERRYSBURG: 0-3-0-0–3

OL—Nelson 68 pass from Leonard (Archibald kick)

P—Bibb 34 FG

OL—Okuley 25 pass from Leonard (Archibald kick)

Gahanna Lincoln 38, Pickerington Central 14

Losing a fumble and trailing by a touchdown were grounds for what Gahanna senior wide receiver Ty Staples called a “serious talk” at halftime of his team’s Division I, Region 3 semifinal.

The top-seeded Lions apparently paid attention, putting up 31 second-half points while giving up none on their way to beating fourth-seeded Pickerington Central at DeSales.

The win advanced Gahanna to its first regional championship game since 1987, where it will face third-seeded New Albany on Nov. 18 at a neutral site.

“We went into the (halftime) locker room and just said, ‘One score, one stop, one score, one stop,’” Staples said. “(The first half) was (Central’s) best half, so once we started playing our best game, we dominated. We played our worst game when we played them the first time and they said it was a fluke.”

Gahanna, which beat the Tigers 22-20 on Sept. 16, improved to 12-1 while Central finished 9-4.

A bad snap on a punt by the Lions gave Central the ball at the Gahanna 28-yard line with 4:45 left in the second quarter. Quarterback Braden Mantooth ran for a 1-yard touchdown to complete the drive with 48 seconds to go before halftime for a 14-7 lead.

On Gahanna’s first drive of the third quarter, quarterback Brennen Ward hit Staples for a 31-yard pass to the Central 14, and they hooked up again for an 8-yard touchdown pass three plays later to tie it at 14-all.

After forcing a punt on the Tigers’ next drive, Gahanna gained possession at the 50 and took a 21-14 lead when Ward hit Diore Hubbard for a 19-yard touchdown pass.

A 66-yard touchdown pass from Ward to Staples with 11:04 remaining made it 28-14.

“We didn’t really play up to our potential in the first half,” Lions coach Bruce Ward said. “There were a lot of self-inflicted wounds. We were hungry and knew what we needed to do. We had a little attitude adjustment at halftime. It was about getting our heads back into it and doing what we needed to do.”

Hubbard finished with 156 yards on 29 carries, and Ward was 8-for-15 passing for 207 yards with four touchdowns — including a 54-yard score to Brayden Sanders that tied it at 7-all late in the first quarter.

“It hurts tonight, and it should hurt because they poured everything they had into it,” Central coach Jay Sharrett said. “(Gahanna) hit the big plays and made some really athletic catches. I thought we had pretty good coverage on them and you just tip your hat to it.”

—Jarrod Ulrey

PICKERINGTON CENTRAL: 7-7-0-0–14

GAHANNA LINCOLN: 7-0-14-17–38

PC—Alexander 1 run (Goulet kick)

GL—Sanders 54 pass from Ward (Huliba kick)

PC—Mantooth 1 run (Goulet kick)

GL—Staples 8 pass from Ward (Huliba kick)

GL—Hubbard 19 pass from Ward (Huliba kick)

GL—Staples 66 pass from Ward (Huliba kick)

GL—Huliba 28 FG

GL—Jones 12 run (Huliba kick)

New Albany 20, Upper Arlington 7

The third-seeded Eagles used a smothering defense to exact what they considered “redemption” against the second-seeded Golden Bears in a Division I, Region 3 semifinal at Westerville Central.

Four interceptions — one each from Sabian Harris, Chidi Mabatah, Roman Orsinelli and Aidan Shipman — resulted from consistent pressure on UA quarterback Tommy Janowicz and helped the Eagles build a 14-0 lead by the early second quarter.

Orsinelli’s first-quarter interception and Mabatah’s early in the second — which he returned 58 yards to the UA 7 — directly led to touchdowns. Christian Manville scored from 7 yards and Dylan Rosser added a 9-yard score.

“There’s a moment whenever you’re about to do something good and you freeze. I knew I was getting that pick. It was exhilarating,” Mabatah said. “(Janowicz) looked at me with wide eyes every play, I swear. This was our best game by far all year. This is the kind of game we feel like pushes us to the next level.”

Manville’s 122 yards and two scores on 29 carries led New Albany, which improved to 10-3 and had lost 41-10 to UA in a regional semifinal last year.

The Eagles will get another chance to avenge a loss Nov. 18 when they face top seed and OCC-Ohio Division rival Gahanna in the regional final at a neutral site. New Albany fell to the Lions 38-24 on Sept. 30.

“This is what I thought it would be, a defensive game,” Eagles coach Brian Finn said. “We executed enough early in the first half to give us the lead, and our defense did the rest. If somebody could get the momentum and a lead early, that was going to be to their benefit.”

The Bears stiffened defensively after New Albany’s second touchdown, forcing three punts, a turnover on downs and a fumble recovery and interception for Quinn Crotty on the Eagles’ next six possessions.

New Albany burned most of the last 6:20 off the clock with a 15-play drive capped by Manville’s final touchdown, from 15 yards, with 40 seconds left.

UA’s only touchdown came on Janowicz’s 7-yard pass to a leaping Rocco Prati in the back right corner of the end zone midway through the second.

“They pressured the pass, but we couldn’t put together a consistent running attack,” said Bears coach Justin Buttermore, whose team finished 10-3. “When that happens, you’re stuck in second- and third- (down) and long and they pinned their ears back and came after us.”

—Dave Purpura

NEW ALBANY: 7-7-0-6--20

UPPER ARLINGTON: 0-7-0-0--7

NA—Manville 7 run (Schuler kick)

NA—Rosser 9 run (Schuler kick)

UA—Prati 7 pass from Janowicz (Milliken kick)

NA—Manville 15 run (run failed)

Watterson 24, Jackson 22

Defensive back Charlie Bernatos wasn’t fooled by the Jackson power alignment and made the play on a two-point conversion pass in the final minute, sending the third-seeded Eagles to the Division III, Region 11 championship game.

Rudy Kessinger kicked a 38-yard field goal to put Watterson up 24-16 with 5:11 left in the fourth quarter. The second-seeded Ironmen answered with a 15-play, 81-yard drive ending on a 2-yard touchdown run by Eli Broermann with 39.8 seconds to play in a regional semifinal at Chillicothe.

Jackson lined up in a power set and faked the handoff, but Bernatos didn’t bite. The senior stayed home and was able to make the play on the conversion-pass attempt to Broermann.

“They faked like they were running a sweep outside and (Broermann) came out of the backfield to the corner,” Bernatos said. “I went over and did my best to defend it. I wasn’t too surprised (with the pass) because they had been running all game and they decided to throw on the last play. We found a way to win.”

The Eagles improved to 12-1 and advanced to the regional final against fifth-seeded Bloom-Carroll on Nov. 18 at a neutral site. The Bulldogs defeated top-seeded Thornville Sheridan 17-7 in the other semifinal.

The Ironmen, who finished 10-3, took the opening kickoff and drove quickly downfield to score on a 13-yard run by running back Cade Wolford, who added the two-point conversion run. Jackson was forced to forego extra-point attempts because its two kickers were injured earlier in the season.

“We talked all week that they would do some things that we hadn’t seen on film and we wouldn’t be ready for,” Watterson coach Brian Kennedy said. “They came out and absolutely did that. Then we made some adjustments and I thought we did a much better job on defense after that.”

The Eagles answered with three consecutive scores, including a 1-yard run by quarterback A.J. McAninch, who also connected with Brandon Trout on an 8-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.

Then Ryan Rudzinski took the second-half kickoff back 90 yards to put Watterson up 21-8.

“They started putting me back there in Week 10, and we have some guys out there blocking for me,” Rudzinski said. “I took it down the left side and we had some awesome blocks and made a cutback and beat a guy to the pylon.”

Jackson also scored when Drew Wiley recovered the ball in the end zone with 3:05 left in the third after it was snapped over the head of McAninch from the Eagles’ 8-yard line. Wolford added the two-point run.

Zack Weber led Watterson in rushing with 150 yards on 25 carries. Wolford had 107 yards on 25 carries for the Ironmen.

—Scott Hennen

WATTERSON: 7-7-7-3--24

JACKSON: 8-0-8-6--22

J—C. Wolford 13 run (C. Wolford run)

W—McAninch 1 run (Kessinger kick)

W—Trout 8 pass from McAninch (Kessinger kick)

W—Rudzinski 90 kickoff return (Kessinger kick)

J—Wiley recovers fumble in end zone (C. Wolford pass from Winters)

W—Kessinger 38 FG

J—Broermann 2 run (pass failed)

Uniontown Lake 16, Westerville South 7

With its leading rusher out for most of the game with a left foot injury, second-seeded Lake turned to quarterback William Butler II and its defense to hold off third-seeded South in a Division II, Region 7 semifinal at Dover.

Matthew Sollberger, the Blue Streaks’ leading rusher with 1,127 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season, was lost for the game on his team’s second play from scrimmage.

In stepped Butler, one of two quarterbacks for Lake, who replaced Sollberger at tailback and rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

“It’s going to be a frustrating game to watch on film,” said South coach Matthew Christ, whose team finished 11-2. “They’re tough. (Butler) is the dude for them, but we had several opportunities offensively and for whatever reason, we didn’t get it done. Credit to Lake. They played a hell of a game defensively. They tackled, they were physical and we made some mental mistakes that we’re certainly going to want back.”

Lake, which lost 32-10 to South in the first round last season,improved to 12-1 and will play Massillon Washington in a regional final Nov. 18.

With the game tied at 7, Celton Dutton’s 34-yard field goal with 10:38 remaining in the fourth quarter gave Lake the lead for good at 10-7.

After South turned over the ball on downs with 2:07 left, Butler clinched the win with a 5-yard touchdown run with 1:55 to play.

“That really hurt us,” Lake coach Dan DeGeorge said of losing Sollberger to injury. “We’re going to miss Matthew, but that’s been the story of our year. We’ve had so many guys get hurt and other guys step up and make up the difference. We moved Butler to tailback and we continued to play really good defense.”

Butler opened the scoring on a 6-yard run with 9:04 remaining in the first half.

South got its offense untracked midway through the second quarter, with quarterback Dominic Birtha capping a 68-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run with 1:51 left in the half.

Playing in a steady rainfall for most of the game, Nasir Phillips rushed for 87 yards on 23 carries to lead South.

Lake finished with 232 total yards while limiting the Wildcats to 155, and had a 29:25-18:35 advantage in time of possession.

—Frank DiRenna

WESTERVILLE SOUTH: 0-7-0-0-7

UNIONTOWN LAKE: 0-7-0-9-16

UL—Butler II 6 run (Dutton kick)

WS—Birtha 11 run (Sheets kick)

UL—Dutton 34 FG

UL—Butler II 5 run (kick failed)

Massillon Washington 42, Big Walnut 21

The top-seeded Tigers didn’t let an early deficit faze them and used a run-heavy offense to pull away from the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles in a Division II, Region 7 semifinal at Arlin Field in Mansfield.

Willtrell Hartson helped Massillon score 28 unanswered points with touchdown runs of 1, 4 and 79 yards. The senior rushed for 214 yards on 29 carries.

Quarterback Jaylen Slaughter completed eight of 14 passes for 130 yards and three touchdowns.

“Everything we prepare for is to deal properly with adversity, and I’m proud of the guys of how they responded there,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said.

Massillon, which improved to 11-1, will face second-seeded Uniontown Lake in a regional final Nov. 18 at a neutral site.

Big Walnut, which ended its season at 10-3, couldn’t have asked for a better start, with Nate Severs returning the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown.

It got worse for Massillon when Zach Griffith intercepted Slaughter at midfield on the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage, setting up a scoring drive that gave the Golden Eagles a 9-0 lead following Cam Gladden’s 20-yard field goal.

From there, the Tigers got their running game going, getting chunks of 4, 5 and 6 yards and big plays in between.

Massillon finished off a 16-play, 99-yard drive on Hartson’s 4-yard touchdown run with 17 seconds left in the second quarter to take a 21-9 halftime lead.

“They’re big, they're physical, they're tough and they get downhill on you and they break tackles and they do a great job,” Big Walnut coach Rob Page said. “Hats off to them. Their running back’s a great player, and their offensive line moved the line of scrimmage.”

Massillon defeated Big Walnut 38-0 in a regional semifinal last season.

—Scott Gerfen

BIG WALNUT: 9-0-6-6--21

MASSILLON: 7-14-7-14--42

BW—Severs 92 kickoff return (kick failed)

BW—Gladden 20 FG

M—Hartson 1 run (Keller kick)

M—Toles 39 pass from Slaughter (Hartson run)

M—Hartson 4 run (run failed)

M—Hartson 79 run (Keller kick)

BW—Severs 40 run (pass failed)

M—Banks 17 pass from Slaughter (Keller kick)

M—Toles 40 pass from Slaughter (Keller kick)

BW—Severs 7 pass from Nier (pass failed)

Harvest Prep 25, Wheelersburg 21

Despite committing five turnovers, second-seeded Harvest Prep rallied to beat sixth-seeded Wheelersburg in a Division V, Region 19 semifinal at Nelsonville-York.

The win improved the Warriors to 13-0 and advanced them to the regional final Nov. 18 against top-seeded Ironton, which also is 13-0.

“Obviously, it’s a good thing to win, but we didn’t play very well,” Harvest Prep coach Milan Smith said. “We made some catastrophic mistakes and you can’t do that this late in the season. But hats off to our guys for staying resilient.”

Wheelersburg, which finished 9-4, trailed 13-0 after one quarter following touchdown runs of 42 and 45 yards by Marchello Cox.

But In the second quarter, the Warriors lost a fumble at their own 1 and Wheelersburg’s Jacob Richardson ran for a touchdown on the next play.

The Pirates also got a 12-yard touchdown run by Ethan Glover and a 74-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Eric Lattimore early in the second quarter to go ahead 21-13.

Harvest Prep then answered with a minute left in the third quarter when quarterback Aidan Rogers ran for a 53-yard touchdown, but the two-point conversion pass failed.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Wheelersburg turned it over on downs at its own 40 after failing to convert on fourth-and-6.

That set up a short field for the Warriors and they took advantage, with Rogers running for a 4-yard touchdown with 5 minutes left.

“We came out at halftime and took a deep breath because we knew what we had to do,” senior two-way lineman Xavier Cain said. “We came together better as a team in the second half.”

—Jarrod Ulrey 

WHEELERSBURG: 0-21-0-0--21

HARVEST PREP: 13-0-6-6--25

HP—Cox 42 run (Krill kick)

HP—Cox 45 run (kick failed)

W—Richardson 1 run (Estep kick)

W—Glover 12 run (Estep kick)

W—Lattimore 74 fumble return (Estep kick)

HP—Rogers 53 run (pass failed)

HP—Rogers 4 run (pass failed)

sports@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekSports

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