Dublin Jerome, Hilliard Darby ready for OCC-Cardinal finale
A potential share of the OCC-Cardinal Division title and postseason positioning will be on the line when Hilliard Darby visits Dublin Jerome on Oct. 21.
Jerome is looking to rebound from a 23-20 overtime loss at Olentangy on Oct. 14, as it dropped to 7-2 overall and 2-2 in the league. The Celtics remain atop the Division I, Region 2 computer ratings and have secured a first-round home playoff game.
“That tells us how tough our schedule has been and the teams that we beat early in the year, especially who continue to win, which is why we’re still sitting there at No. 1 even with the two losses,” Jerome coach Brett Glass said. “I’m not going to look too much into it until late Friday night or early Saturday morning and figure out who we’re playing (to open the playoffs).”
Darby appears to be gaining momentum heading into the postseason as it has won two consecutive games, including a 31-7 victory over visiting Thomas Worthington on Oct. 14 to improve to 5-4 overall and 2-2 in the league. The Panthers are seventh in Division I, Region 3 and looking to secure a first-round home playoff contest with a top-eight finish.
Darby, Jerome, Marysville and Thomas are tied for second in the league, behind Olentangy Berlin at 3-1. The Bears visit Thomas on Oct. 21, hoping to wrap up the outright league title. Olentangy is 1-3 in the league and looking to play spoiler for the second consecutive week as it visits Marysville on Oct. 21.
"One of our goals every year is to win the OCC and obviously dropping games against Berlin and Marysville and the way that we did were rough,” Darby coach John Santagata said. “To think that we still have an opportunity to get a piece of (the league title) is something positive.”
Darby lost to Marysville 19-14 on Sept. 23 and Berlin 31-28 on Sept. 30. Its other two losses also were close − 22-21 to Olentangy Orange on Aug. 19 and 19-14 to Hilliard Bradley on Aug. 26.
The Panthers lead the series with Jerome 11-3, including a 16-10 win last season.
The teams feature contrasting styles with Darby running a triple-option attack and Jerome running a spread offense.
Javi Quimba (SB/DB) leads Darby’s ground game with 913 yards and six touchdowns on 123 carries. Ben Marsh (RB/TE/LB) has added 466 yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns on 101 carries.
Sage Kean (QB/DB) has passed for 390 yards with three touchdowns and an interception and rushed for 394 yards and five touchdowns on 75 carries.
Defensively, Marsh leads Darby in tackles with 73, followed by Kaleb Dotson (56, SB/DB), Brayden Kohl (54, FB/LB), Cole Horvath (46, SB/DB) and Mac Link (43, SB/DB).
“Darby is physical up front on both sides of the ball,” Glass said. “They do something different than a lot of people do. A lot of our kids call it the wing-T, but it’s not the wing-T. It’s similar in some ways, but it’s more option-based. They run some power. We have to be very disciplined on defense. Offensively, we have to be balanced. We have to be able to run the ball better than we did (against Olentangy).”
For Jerome, quarterback Zakk Tschirhart has completed 184 of 266 passes for 1,875 yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. Running back Luke McLoughlin has rushed for 798 yards and seven touchdowns on 141 carries, and Marek Tzagournis (WR/DB) has 42 receptions for 600 yards and eight touchdowns.
“Jerome runs the ball well and they throw the ball well, so you aren’t really focusing on one particular thing because if you focus on one thing too much, they’ll hurt you,” Santagata said.
Linebacker Brady Sestili leads the defense with 111 tackles, followed by Mike Smith (70, LB), Caden Lockwood (65, DL), Derek Hole (56, OL/DL/LB) and Cole Saneholtz (51, TE/DB).
“Defensively, they play really hard,” Santagata said. “They have really good athleticism. It seems to be a growing program with a lot of numbers on the roster. With depth, if you’re beat up a little bit and they have more guys to go to, that’s a huge advantage.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Dublin Jerome, Hilliard Darby ready for OCC-Cardinal finale
