The Olentangy football team did a little of everything in its Division II, Region 7 quarterfinal win over visiting Worthington Kilbourne, coupling a balanced offensive attack with a stingy defense to earn a spot in Friday’s regional semifinal.
Kaden Doup completed 10 of his 18 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, Jace Middleton had five grabs for 137 yards and two scores and the Braves rushed for 214 yards as a team en route to a convincing 35-13 win in a game that started Friday and finished Saturday due to inclement weather.
The defense more than did its part as well. Caleb Gossett, Jordan Wilkerson and Mike Parsio all had interceptions and the guys up front held their ground as well, limiting the Wolves to just 61 yards rushing on 24 carries.
Olentangy broke the scoring seal when Landon Johnson powered into the endzone from three yards out with 6:59 left in the opening quarter, and made it 14-0 when Doup tossed a 42-yard TD to Middleton just 42 seconds before halftime.
Kilbourne answered on the ensuing kickoff — Cayden Dougherty returned it 85-yards to the house — slicing its deficit in half by the break, but the Braves made all the plays down the stretch.
Johnson scored from a yard out late in the third quarter and Doup and Middleton’s second touchdown connection of the game, this time from 62 yards out, made it 28-7 with 11:47 left in the fourth.
Doup scored on a keeper from a yard out to make it 35-7 two minutes later and the Wolves smoothed out the scoring summary when Mitchell Tomasek found Skylar Scott in the endzone from 16 yards out with 7:12 to play.
Next up, Olentangy will take on top-seeded Massillon Perry in Friday’s regional semi. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Olentangy Liberty 18, Dublin Coffman 15
The Patriots forced five turnovers, including a fumble in the red zone in the game’s final minute to put the finishing touches on a Division I, Region 2 semifinal win over the top-seeded Shamrocks Saturday afternoon in Dublin.
After Mitch Fields fired a nine-yard TD pass to Chase Brecht to give Liberty an 18-7 lead late in the third quarter, Coffman’s Connor Mathews scored on a six-yard run, then used his legs to convert the ensuing two-point conversion to make it an 18-15 game with 2:14 to play.
The Shamrocks got the ball back with a chance to win or tie, and moved it into the red zone, but a fumble at the 17 short-circuited the comeback bid.
Aidan Kenley led Liberty with a pair of touchdowns — one through the air and the other on the ground. He finished with 57 yards rushing to go with 11 receptions for 119 yards.
Fields, meanwhile, completed 28 of his 35 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns.
Mathews completed 14 of his 28 passes for 111 yards for Coffman. Bryon Threats led the team in rushing and receiving, closing with 112 yards of total offense.
With the win, the Patriots advance to Friday’s regional final against third-seeded and host Springfield. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Westerville South 56, Olentangy Berlin 29
The Bears looked good early, recovering an onside kick to start the game before taking a 10-7 lead when Gavin Angell scored on an 80-yard run and Justin Radar connected on a 32-yard field goal late in the first quarter, but it was all Wildcats the rest of the way.
South piled up 497 yards of total offense and eight touchdowns on the way to a Division II, Region 7 win it wrapped up Saturday morning in Westerville.
Jacob Moeller led Berlin, completing 21 of his 36 passes for 352 yards and two TDs. Angell had 94 yards rushing, most coming on his long touchdown run, and Rader finished with six receptions for 90 yards.
Peter Pedrozo threw for 240 yards and three TDs, Ethan Hanna had 119 yards on the ground and Kaden Saunders finished with four receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns for the Wildcats.
Licking Heights 17, Delaware Hayes 7
The Pacers never quite found their form on the offensive side of the ball, managing just 147 yards of total offense en route to a non-league loss to the host Hornets Saturday.
One of the few highlights — a three-yard TD run by Ty Gillman — sliced Hayes’ deficit in half, making it a 14-7 game just before halftime. But, the two teams combined for just three second-half points as Heights’ Drew Kingery booted a 21-yard field goal to smooth out the scoring summary.
Gillman finished with 63 yards on the ground to lead the Pacers in the setback.
Olentangy Orange 13, Westerville North 10
Junior Sarpong made the play of the game, intercepting a pass by Ty O’Hearn and returning it 75 yards for a touchdown with 15 seconds left in the third quarter to lift the Pioneers to a non-league win over the host Warriors Friday night in Westerville.
The game only last another 15 seconds as inclement weather forced the teams to call it a night after three.
Ryan Swiger hit Andre Robinson for a nine-yard TD to account for Orange’s other score while Sylvester Bockarie ran for a game-high 143 yards for North.
Mount Vernon 14, Big Walnut 13
The Golden Eagles strung together a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to take a brief 13-7 lead, but the host Yellow Jackets scored a TD of their own with 1:01 left in the quarter to notch a non-league win Friday night in Mount Vernon.
Caden Williams scored both Big Walnut touchdowns, finishing with 25 carries for 169 yards in the setback.
Also: River Valley 28, Buckeye Valley 6.
