Central Ohio high school football: 5 things we learned in the OHSAA regional finals
Regional final weekend was, in large part, a mixed bag for central Ohio teams.
Gahanna Lincoln won its first regional championship in 40 years, Bloom-Carroll held off a kind of challenge it hadn’t seen all season and Newark Catholic got a special boost to earn its state-record 28th regional title.
Seasons came to an end for the other four teams, in resounding if not heartbreaking fashion with a few lopsided losses.
Here are five things we learned in the regional finals:
1. Gahanna is, in fact, the best Division I team in central Ohio.
It’s one thing to rack up the fourth-most computer points in the state, although that is an unbiased and generally reliable indicator of a team’s strength. The Lions, who with 36.7 points were far and away the top seed in Region 3, backed that up by holding off third-seeded New Albany 25-17 at Historic Crew Stadium.
Gritty Gahanna: Lions earn first regional championship in 40 years
There was some domination, largely on the strength of three touchdowns from 51 yards or longer — one on a run on the second play of the game, another on a pass and yet another on a kickoff return. But Gahanna still won despite getting just two first downs in the second half, thanks to a timely sack and interception in the fourth quarter. It was the Lions’ first game decided by single digits in nine weeks.
2. Facing an unfamiliar test, Bloom-Carroll rose to the occasion.
Like Gahanna, the Bulldogs hadn’t been in many knockdown, drag-out showdowns this season. They had played one game decided by fewer than 10 points all year, yet found themselves trailing third-seeded Watterson 28-27 with 6 minutes remaining in the Division III, Region 11 final at DeSales and with the ball on their own 5-yard line.
Fifth-seeded Bloom-Carroll put together a masterful drive, converting a third-and-18 at its own 23, advancing past midfield on a pass interference call and then getting the winning 18-yard touchdown run from Dylan Armentrout — his third of the night — with 1:14 left. Jayse Rockwood’s interception thwarted the Eagles’ last chance.
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Armentrout and Andrew Marshall combined to rush for 329 yards.
It’s one thing to know you have talent. It’s another to put together a possession like that with the season on the line, but so Bloom-Carroll goes, back to its third consecutive state semifinal.
3. The magic ran out for Harvest Prep and Olentangy Liberty.
Seeded eighth in Division I, Region 2, Liberty embodied the underdog these playoffs seem to produce every year. Only Cincinnati Anderson and Parma Padua — the 10th seeds in Division II, Region 8 and Division III, Region 10, respectively — remained alive as lower seeds in the regional finals.
All of their runs came to an end. The Patriots fell 35-7 to second-seeded Springfield at London, despite Blake Hajjar forcing a fumble and making an interception and the team putting up a goal-line stand shortly before halftime. The Wildcats still amassed 452 yards, 337 through the air.
The highly anticipated Division V, Region 19 final between second-seeded Harvest Prep and top-seeded Ironton at Waverly turned into a case of the unstoppable force barreling through another formidable foe. The Warriors couldn’t overcome four turnovers and lost 34-0 a week after winning despite five giveaways, and two drives deep into Tigers territory proved fruitless.
At 13-1, Harvest Prep still wrapped up the best season in program history.
4. Tanner Wert provided a huge lift for Newark Catholic.
Returning after a month out because of mononucleosis, the Green Wave’s senior two-way lineman played a crucial part in a 27-12 win in the Division VII, Region 27 final.
More on the Green Wave: Newark Catholic wins by controlling line of scrimmage
Newark Catholic came in averaging 41.1 points during an eight-game winning streak and Hannibal River was scoring 46.0 for the season, and the Green Wave held the Pilots to only 41 yards on the ground. Wert was limited to defense in his return but made the most of it, recovering a fumble to set up the Green Wave’s first score.
Wert also turned 18 on Nov. 18, but he might be celebrating the next two weeks if his team has its way.
5. Statewide, brackets largely held … but not entirely.
Better-seeded teams went 20-8 in the regional finals, including clean sweeps in divisions I and V.
Bloom-Carroll’s “upset” of Watterson was more the norm than the exception in Division III, where the only favorite to win was top-seeded Parma Heights Holy Name. Holy Name routed Padua 56-21 in the Region 10 final.
Better seeds went 3-1 in divisions II, IV and VI and split in Division VII.
dpurpura@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekDave
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Columbus high school football fourth-round playoff news, notes
