HILLIARD — With a chill in the air and rain falling periodically throughout the evening, Olentangy Orange rode an overpowering rushing attack and a stingy defensive effort to a 36-17 win over Hilliard Darby to remain unbeaten.
One week after finding the end zone three times in a win over Westerville North, senior running back Cohen Weaver was at it again, turning in his second hat trick in as many weeks. Junior quarterback Levi Harris added 67 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and the Pioneers rushed for 196 yards as a team to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2017.
Harris also threw for 168 yards and a touchdown while completing 13 of his 20 attempts.
After inclement weather delayed the start of the game by 45 minutes, Darby (0-3) jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a 26-yard field goal from Arthur De Almeida late in the first quarter, but the Orange run game began to take control on the ensuing drive.
After Harris got the Orange offense rolling with a pair of completions, five of the next six plays were runs as Weaver and Harris combined for 40 rushing yards to move the ball to the Darby 10.
Harris’ 10-yard scramble gave Orange a 7-3 lead one minute into the second quarter, and the Pioneers never trailed again.
Weaver’s 2-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter, his first of the game, sent Orange into halftime with a 14-3 lead that teetered on insurmountable for Darby given its offensive struggles.
Orange held Darby to 126 yards of offense in the first half, including only 12 passing yards, and the Panthers never could find their footing offensively.
Any questions about Orange’s ability to put Darby away were answered early in the third quarter. After receiving the opening kickoff of the second half, the Pioneers’ offense put together an eight-play, 70-yard drive to take full control of the game.
Consecutive rushes by Weaver for 22 yards got the drive started, and a pair of completions by Harris to Treyton Schroeder and Beckett Miller had Orange again knocking on the door.
Weaver paid off the drive with his second touchdown of the game, this time from 15 yards out, to increase Orange’s lead with 8:14 left in the third quarter. A bad snap on the PAT attempt ultimately led to a successful two-point conversion to push the lead to 22-3.
Darby temporarily got off the mat on its first drive of the second half when Kaiden Molnar found the end zone on a 3-yard run, cutting the lead to 22-10 late in the third quarter. Orange wouldn’t be denied, though, and the Pioneers wasted no time reestablishing a three-score lead on the next possession.
After Will Musgrove returned the ensuing kickoff to the Darby 45, setting Orange up with great field position, Harris’ 31-yard run had his offense back in the red zone in just one play. Weaver finished the drive four plays later with his third touchdown of the game, capping off his big night and leaving no doubt about the outcome as Orange maintained its unblemished record.
“It’s great but I give all the credit to my offensive line,” Weaver said of his consecutive three-touchdown performances following the game. “They’re my people, and all the credit goes to them.”
First-year Orange head coach Wes Schroeder said of Weaver, “We really want to be a physical football team, and physical football players find their way on the field. He runs with his pads down. He runs hard, he runs angry. That’s how you win football games on Friday nights, with tough, physical football.”
Orange added to its lead on the first play of the fourth quarter as Harris connected with Miller for a 20-yard strike to round out the scoring for the Pioneers. The drive was set up by a 51-yard scamper from junior running back Lucas Fickel.
Miller finished with three catches for 49 yards and the touchdown.
While Orange may be off to its best start in seven years, Schroeder said there’s still plenty his team must improve upon if the success is to continue.
“It’s good early on to be 3-0, but we’re not playing anywhere near our best football,” he said. “A lot of undisciplined stuff we’re trying to fix. We’re still trying to figure out what it takes to win, and it’s good to be able to learn after wins, but we have a long way to go. The kids played hard. They’re battling and competing, so we’re happy with that.”
He added of keeping his team focused, “Going 3-0 hasn’t happened since 2017, and our kids are aware of that. We knew it was a possibility. But our schedule just gets more difficult from here on out. It’s hard, I’ll be honest with you. It’s been a little bit of a challenge to get them to understand that it’s about the next week, that you enjoy the win for the night, and then move on. We just have to figure out how to go week to week.”
Orange will look to stay perfect next Friday when it travels to take on Gahanna Lincoln (1-2).
Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on X @DillonDavis56.
