The Buckeye Valley football team landed the first blow, but visiting Delaware Hayes used the ground game — specifically 231 yards and three touchdowns from Favour Akih — to turn things in its favor en route to a 28-14 season-opening win Friday night in Delaware.

The Pacers (1-0) pulled away late, but the Barons, thanks to defense and special teams, made a splash early.

After forcing a three-and-out, BV’s Zaine Furr returned the ensuing punt 99 yards for a touchdown. Furr, after letting the ball bounce once, fielded it inside his own five-yard line and made a man miss before streaking down the sideline for the game-opening score.

Gradin Gentner added the extra point to make it a 7-0 game with 9:09 left in the first quarter.

The Baron (0-1) defense continued to make plays — Owen Hall recovered a fumble on the Pacers’ second possession and Tristan Pemberton came up with an interception later in the quarter — but things changed in the second. Hayes started running the ball more and, well, BV had trouble stopping it the rest of the way.

With less than four minutes left in the opening half, Pacer quarterback Caleb Rowe hit Garrett Brown to move the chains on a huge third-and-eight conversion and, on the very next play, Akih found a crease and raced 77 yards down the sideline for what turned out to be the game-tying score. Chaz Sakala nailed the extra point to even things, 7-7, with 2:46 left in the half.

From there, Akih and Hayes had all the answers.

Rowe hit Brown for an 11-yard scoring strike in the third and Akih had two long touchdown runs in the fourth — the first from 30 yards out and the second from 27 yards away — to all but seal the deal.

Nathan Huss hit Hayden Mays for a 31-yard TD early in the fourth to smooth out the Barons’ scoring summary.

Rowe completed 14 of his 25 passes for 125 yards to go with a touchdown and an interception. He also had 70 rushing yards while Brown had seven receptions for 59 yards and the score to supplement Akih’s huge night.

Huss completed 25 of his 42 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown. Le’Den Jones was his top target, finishing with 10 grabs for 90 yards.

Olentangy Liberty 28, Olentangy 0

The Patriots started the season with a signature win, blanking the host Braves Friday night in Lewis Center.

Andrew Leonard broke the scoring seal with a 15-yard touchdown run at the 7:10 mark of the first quarter.

Jake Struck returned a Cooper Tracy punt 77 yards for a touchdown to double the lead midway through the first and Leonard hit Christian Moulton for an 80-yard scoring strike to make it a 21-0 game with 2:17 left until halftime.

Liberty (1-0) got a three-yard TD run from Struck with 27 seconds left in the third to smooth out the scoring summary.

Leonard, a three-year starter at QB, was efficient in the opener. He completed seven of his nine passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. He also carried the ball 10 times for a team-best 51 yards and a score.

Luke Chilicki went 10-for-18 passing with 121 yards in his debut for Olentangy (0-1). Jackson Wiley was his top target, finishing with seven grabs for 64 yards.

Austin Stamp led the Patriot D, which allowed just 72 yards on the ground, with 11 tackles in the win.

Olentangy Orange 49, Marysville 13

The Pioneers got pretty much whatever they wanted on offense, especially in the first half, en route to a lopsided season-opening win over the visiting Monarchs Friday night in Lewis Center.

Orange (1-0) quarterback Levi Davis accounted for four total touchdowns in the win — three through the air and another on the ground. He completed six of his seven passes for 138 yards while rushing once — a 26-yard TD run that made it a 14-0 game in the first quarter.

Terryn Thomas was his top target, finishing with three receptions for 89 yards and a couple TDs. Jack Funk also had a 28-yard touchdown grab in the win.

The Monarchs (0-1), meanwhile, managed next to nothing against the Pioneer D. Marysville QB Kayden Hines completed just seven of his 14 passes for 66 yards while Orange’s Will Musgrove picked him off twice.

Olentangy Berlin 17, DeSales 10

The Bears got their season off to a strong start, outscoring the visiting Stallions 10-0 in the second half on the way to a non-league win Friday night in Delaware.

Down 10-7 at the break, Aiden Eviston found Colton Less for a 24-yard touchdown to put Berlin (1-0) up 14-10 in the third.

Graham Phlegar added a 28-yard field goal in the fourth before the Bears got a four-play, goal-line stand by the defense to end the game.

Eviston was 8-for-14 passing for 119 yards and a touchdown. Alejandro Aguilar led the ground attack with 39 yards and a score while Less had five grabs for 67 yards and the touchdown.

Watterson 20, Big Walnut 0

The Eagles used a 10-0 second quarter to take control and a 10-0 second half to cement a non-league win over the host Golden Eagles Friday night in Sunbury.

After a scoreless first, Watterson (1-0) went up 10-0 courtesy of a 38-yard field goal and five-yard TD connection between quarterback Drew Bellisari and Jake Uhlenhake.

Jack McCoy added a 15-yard touchdown on the ground to help the Eagles pull away.

Big Walnut (0-1) found yards hard to come by in the setback. Eli Stumpf completed six of his nine passes for 48 yards and an interception while Nolan Burley was the top rusher with 18 carries for 44 yards.