Six local teams went into the OHSAA football playoffs last weekend, and it was tough sledding on the Big Game trail, as only one of the six is moving on to Round Two.
Danville 41, Windham 18
Third-seeded Danville (9-2, 5-1) faced Windham (4-5) in the opening round of the Division VII, Region 25 playoffs last week, and Walker Weckesser put on a show for the Blue Devils to lead the team to a 41-18 win, making Danville the only local team still standing in the playoffs. Danville, which has outscored its foes 295-149 this season, took advantage of a porous Bombers defense that has allowed 336 points.
Weckesser went 9-for-11 passing with five touchdowns on the day. He also had three carries for 37 yards.
Leading the rushing attack was Ryan Lucas with 10 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown. Max Payne had four carries for 71 yards, including one rush for 32 yards.
The top receiver for Weckesser was Kaiden Colopy, who snagged seven receptions for 114 yards and four touchdowns. Ryan Lucas caught the other touchdown pass, good for 38 yards.
On defense, Dustin Beckett had nine tackles and two for a loss. Levi Lyons had seven tackles, one for a loss. Joshua Byers posted nine tackles. Jack Hackman had one interception and one tackle.
Next up for Danville is sixth-seeded Hillsdale (7-4) on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m.
Eastwood 49, Fredericktown 7
On Oct. 28, the 14th seed Fredericktown Freddies (6-5, 4-2) faced off against undefeated third-seed Eastwood in the first round of the Division V, Region 18 playoffs, and the Freddies were outmatched in a crushing 49-7 loss. The Eagles are now 11-0 and have outscored opponents 507-150, and they played like it against the Freddies.
Teegan Ruhl was a standout back this season with 248 carries for 1,814 yards and 24 touchdowns, but this week he was held under 100 yards and couldn’t find the end zone. Ruhl wrapped up what was an outstanding senior season as once again the team’s top rusher, however, with eight carries for 75 yards. He also caught a pass for 13 yards.
Ben Mast went 9-for-13 for 76 yards passing with an interception. His top receiver was Xavier Mullins, with three catches for 33 yards. Mason Hoeflich had 14 carries for 58 yards, and Billy Woodring ran the ball six times for 50 yards.
Leading the defense was Logan Small with nine tackles. Hoeflich added eight tackles for the Freddies. Woodring had a tackle and a fumble recovery.
Eastwood will take on Oak Harbor (10-1) in the next round.
Tinora 37, Highland 7
The seventh-seeded Highland Fighting Scots (7-4, 6-1) faced 10th seeded Tinora (8-3) in the first round of the Division V, Region 18 playoffs, and the Scots were shocked by the Rams in a 37-7 loss last week. The Rams have outscored their opponents 263-128 this year, and their stout defense swarmed all over the Scots, Friday.
Dane Nauman has been a force running the ball for the Fighting Scots this season, ranking as the No. 2 high school ground gainer in Ohio and posting three 300-yard games, eight games of 200 or more yards and rushing for more than 2,200 yards. However, he was kept in check this game, relatively speaking, with 22 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Zachary Church went 5-for-11 for 30 yards passing. He also ran the ball five times for 11 yards. Aaron West was the top receiver with two catches for 13 yards.
Nauman was the team’s defensive leader with 10 tackles, two going for a loss. Aaron West had four tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Tinora will meet Elmwood (10-1) in the next round.
Worthington Christian 55, Mount Gilead 20
The 11th seeded Mount Gilead (6-5, 4-3) football team took on six seed Worthington Christian (8-3) in the opening round of the Division VI, Region 23 playoffs, and Worthington Christian came out hot and never looked back on the way to a 55-20 win. A scoring machine, with stingy defense, the Warriors have outscored their opponents 487-184 this season and continued that offense-defense trend in this game.
Worthington Christian went up 14-0 on a touchdown pass and a 44-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter. In the second quarter, they added 21 more points, but Mount Gilead was able to get on the board on a 12-yard touchdown run by Matthew Bland and a two-point conversion (a pass from Bland to Gabe Simpson).
In the third quarter, Worthington Christian scored again, but Garrett George was able to put six points on the board for Mount Gilead on a 13-yard touchdown run. In the fourth quarter, Worthington Christian scored two touchdowns, and while George provided some late fire power with a 75-yard touchdown run, it was too little, too late for the Indians.
George was the top rusher for the Indians with 23 carries for 172 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Bland had 13 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown. Throwing the ball, he was 6-for-13 for 106 yards and three interceptions. Simpson was the main target for Bland with two receptions for 34 yards. Cam Vickers also had a pair of catches for 29 yards.
The Warriors move on to play Bellaire (7-4) in the next round.
Bellaire 54, Northmor 27
The 14th-seeded Northmor Golden Knights (5-6, 2-5) entered the opening round of the Division VI, Region 23 playoffs on the heels of three straight losses, and their string of tough losses continued with a 54-27 loss to the third-ranked Bellaire Big Reds (7-4) last week. Bellaire has cored 324 point this season, and they found the end zone often in this one.
Bellaire set the tone with 11:49 left in the first quarter on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Jake Heatheringon to RayRay Pettigrew. Pettigrew ran the ball in from 8 yards out with 5:40 left in the quarter to go up 14-0, but then Northmor got on the board 38 seconds later on a 3-yard touchdown run by Max Lower.
Bellaire scored twice in the second half, making it 28-7, but with 1 second on the clock, AJ Bower completed a 39-yard touchdown pass to Bo Bo Landin to make it 28-14 at halftime.
With 11:16 left in the third quarter, disaster struck on an intercepted AJ Bower pass. Logan Edgar picked off the pass and ran it back for a score, making it a 34-14 game with the kick blocked by Lucas Little. Bellaire scored again with 6:55 left in the quarter on a 3-yard run by Brayden Roth.
With 6:09 left, Max Lower put the Golden Knights back on the board with a 75-yard scamper for a score. Bellaire went on to score another touchdown in the third quarter on a 4-yard Drew White run, and with 9:21 left in the fourth quarter, they crossed the goal line again on a 5-yard run by Roth. With 34 seconds left in the game, Bower hit Landin for a 38-yard touchdown pass to make it 54-27.
Max Lower played a strong game despite the loss. He ran the ball 22 times for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also had an 18-yard catch.
Bower was 8-for-26 for 127 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. His favorite receiver was Landin with four catches for 103 yards and a pair of scores.
Defensively, Hunter Fulk had an interception for the Golden Knights.
Bellaire will play Worthington Christian (8-3) in the next round.
Columbus Academy 36, Centerburg 14
The four seed Centerburg Trojans (10-1, 6-0) have been a dominant force this season, but last week they faced 13 seed Columbus Academy (6-5) in the Division V, Region 19 playoffs, and the Vikings came away with a stunning 36-14 win in the opening round.
Centerburg started off the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown pass by Tyler Johnson to Trevin Harris with 9:42 on the clock. With 8:37 left in the first quarter, Columbus Academy’s Jake Calodney had a 10-yard rushing touchdown.
In the second quarter, Columbus Academy went up 14-7 on a Justin Alpert pass to Rex Whitney for 23 yards with 7:52 left in the half. Johnson tied the game up with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Mason Turske with 5:07 remaining. With 27 seconds left, Cole Spaulding ran the ball in from 6 yards out to give Columbus Academy a 21-14 lead at halftime.
Columbus Academy went on to score two unanswered touchdowns to secure the win. One came with 5:23 left in the third quarter on a 10-yard run by Calodney. Then with 11:44 left in the game, Spaulding connected with Emanuel Jenkins for a 52-yard touchdown pass.
Columbus Academy did a great job pressuring Johnson by forcing him to throw five interceptions in the loss. On the day, he was 13-for-33 for 140 yards and a pair of scores. He also ran the ball 18 times for 42 yards.
Mason Turske led the receiving core with four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. Jesse Rings had four catches for 33 yards.
Tanner Hott had eight tackles and Chris Marshall added 7.5 tackles as the team’s defensive leaders.
