Olentangy Orange’s Zane Konczak fights for extra yardage as Olentangy’s Lucas Jackson, back, and Jacob Linley try and bring him down during the first half of Friday’s Division I, Region 3 playoff opener in Lewis Center.
Ben Stroup | The Gazette
Right when it looked like the the Olentangy defense had things figured out, Olentangy Orange’s offense showed it was the one doing the figuring out as the Pioneers, thanks to three second-half touchdowns, rallied for a 21-17 win in the first round of the Division I, Region 3 playoffs Friday night in Lewis Center.
Fourth-seeded Orange (9-2) couldn’t get out of its own way in the first half.
Quarterback Levi Davis threw an interception in the end zone, a fumble ended another first-half possession and a missed field goal at the end of the second quarter had Olentangy hanging on to a 3-0 halftime edge courtesy of a 33-yard field goal off the foot of Enrique James with 7:13 left before the break.
The 13th-seeded Braves (8-3) missed a field goal on the first drive of the second half, though, spoiling a long screen to Sam Uhlenhake to set things up, and the Pioneers — for the first time all night — took advantage in a hurry.
A key keeper by Davis moved the chains on a third-and-long play from deep in its own Territory before Orange took its first lead of the game when Davis found Will Musgrove open in the end zone from 39 yards out with 5:16 left in the third.
The Braves didn’t go anywhere.
Olentangy answered back with a 14-yard touchdown run by Andrew Wilber, making it a 10-7 game with 5:06 left.
After taking over at its own 20, Orange regained the lead when Davis hit Terryn Thomas on a quick hitter Thomas took 66 yards to the house for a 14-10 edge with 3:41 left.
The Braves, who finished the season 8-3 with their only losses coming to sister schools Orange, Liberty and Berlin, regained control with a quick drive of their own. A big run by Wilber set up a four-yard TD scamper by Jackson Wiley on a touch pass with 1:34 left, but the Pioneers were too much in the end.
Things were looking good for Olentangy after CJ Sanna sacked Davis to set up a fourth-and-13 play with 46 seconds left. Davis went deep to Thomas, though, and a pass interference penalty kept the drive alive.
Davis completed each of his next two passes, finding Musgrove to the Olentangy 36 and Beckett Miller on the sideline to the 23.
He hooked up with Thomas for a short gain to the nine with 20 seconds left and, after getting to the three on a keeper, Davis pitched to Cohen Weaver for a three-yard touchdown with nine seconds left to all but seal the deal.
Davis led the charge, finishing 17-of-26 passing for 260 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Musgrove had six grabs for 112 yards and his touchdown, Thomas had four receptions for 87 yards and his score and Weaver had a game-best 61 yards on the ground to complement the game-winning touchdown.
Olentangy quarterback Luke Chilicki was solid in the setback, completing all but three of his 21 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown. Wilber had 77 yards through the air to go with his game-best 61 yards on the ground.
Next up, Orange will take on fifth-seeded Upper Arlington in Friday’s second round. The Pioneers beat the Golden Bears 28-20 in their regular-season matchup.
Olentangy Berlin 28, Grove City 7
The 11th-seeded Greyhounds broke the scoring seal with a first-quarter touchdown, but the sixth-seeded Bears dominated the rest of the way, scoring 28 unanswered points en route to a Division I, Region 3 playoff win Friday night in Delaware.
Aiden Eviston finished with 152 yards and two touchdowns on the ground while throwing for 79 yards and another score — a touchdown to Colton Less.
Graham Phlegar added two field goals while Tyler Ward and Grant Gibson recovered fumbles for a Berlin (9-2) defense which held Grove City (7-4) to 217 yards of total offense.
With the win, Berlin will take on third-seeded Gahanna Lincoln in Friday night’s second round.
Olentangy Liberty 41, Lancaster 7
The top-seeded Patriots were all business in their postseason opener, rolling to a Division I, Region 3 win over the Golden Gales Friday night in Powell.
Liberty (9-2) led Lancaster (3-8) 35-0 at halftime and never looked back.
Andrew Leonard finished 11-for-12 passing for 161 yards and four touchdowns — two to Christian Moulton. Grayson Davis also had a big game, closing with six carries for 124 yards — a stat line which included an 82-yard touchdown.
Liberty will get eighth-seeded Groveport-Madison in Friday’s second round.
Big Walnut 42, Logan 0
The top-seeded Golden Eagles soared to a win in the first round of the Division II, Region 7 playoffs, coupling stout defense with a 42-point first-half explosion on the other side of the ball Friday night in Sunbury.
Big Walnut (10-1) led 28-0 after a quarter thanks in part to a pair of Nolan Buirley touchdown runs. Eli Stumpf also scored on the ground in the first while his 13-yard TD strike to Jackson Bowers accounted for the quarter’s other touchdown.
Buirley had 109 rushing yards to go with his two touchdowns while Stumpf completed nine of his 11 passes for 104 yards and two scores by the time all was said and done.
The defense, which allowed right around 100 yards of total offense, took care of the rest. Carter Dancer had a pair of interceptions while Judah Stewart had another.
Next up, Big Walnut will play ninth-seeded Massillon Perry in Friday’s second round.
Also: Groveport-Madison 48, Delaware Hayes 7; Steubenville 47, Buckeye Valley 7.
