Columbus-area high school football: 5 things to watch in OHSAA regional quarterfinals
For the second week of the high school football playoffs in central Ohio, two Division I regional quarterfinal matchups stand out.
Pickerington Central travels to Upper Arlington in Region 3, and Olentangy Liberty visits Dublin Coffman in Region 2.
Meanwhile, Hartley opens its postseason after first-round opponent Duncan Falls Philo forfeited because of an illness within its program, and Fairfield Christian hopes to make program history by reaching a regional semifinal for the first time.
Here are five things to watch in the regional quarterfinals:
1. Pickerington Central, Upper Arlington renew high-stakes rivalry
Fourth-seeded UA (8-3) hosts the No. 5 Tigers (8-3) in perhaps the most highly anticipated Region 3 quarterfinal, the teams’ first meeting since UA’s 21-14 triple-overtime win in the regional final two years ago.
At least some of UA coach Justin Buttermore’s film study invoked flashbacks to that game.
“They don’t have that one player where you think if you take him away, you’re going to beat them … and they’re difficult because they distribute the ball so well to so many guys,” Buttermore said. “They’re very similar in terms of scheme and the way they play (to 2021). They play a very physical brand of football. They want to run the ball down your throat and impose their will on you. Defensively, they just get after it. They’re extremely aggressive and fast with great players on all three levels.”
Four running backs and six receivers have racked up at least 100 yards for Central, which is seeking its seventh consecutive win and six in 10 all-time meetings with UA.
Connor McClellan’s 883 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns in the regular season pace a balanced Golden Bears offense (1,392 yards passing, 1,293 rushing).
2. Dublin Coffman, Olentangy Liberty meet for second time this season
Sixth-seeded Coffman hosts 14th-seeded Liberty in a Region 2 quarterfinal that is a rematch of Coffman's 24-14 home win Sept. 22 in OCC-Central play.
The Patriots (4-7) are coming off a 36-35 win at third-seeded Findlay. Quarterback Andrew Leonard scored the winning two-point conversion on a double-reverse pass after he hit Wilson Roberts for an 8-yard touchdown as time expired.
Leonard has completed 204 of 314 passes for 2,244 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also has rushed for 505 yards and two scores.
The Shamrocks (8-3) have won three of their last four games. They beat 11th-seeded Kettering Fairmont 14-7 in a first-round contest.
Coffman quarterback Quinn Hart has completed 131 of 212 passes for 1,379 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions, and he has rushed for 890 yards and 11 touchdowns on 182 carries. Daven White has rushed for 692 yards and two scores on 161 carries.
“Facing Coffman for a second time presents a great challenge,” Liberty coach John Sansbury said. “They are a team that plays extremely hard and disciplined. Those types of teams are always tough to play against. They have a strong running attack with a very physical offensive line and have playmakers on the perimeter.
“Defensively, they create problems with their multiple coverages and the way they disguise it along with a strong blitzing attack, and their kicking game is one of the best we’ve seen.”
Coffman won the first eight contests against Liberty and holds an 11-3 edge in the series.
3. Hartley hopes to benefit from week off
The third-seeded Hawks (9-2) finally start their postseason Friday when they host sixth-seeded St. Clairsville (9-2) in Division IV, Region 15.
As a result of the first-round cancellation, coach Brad Burchfield and his staff saw St. Clairsville’s 44-12 win over Marion-Franklin in person while the players received a weekend off.
“Obviously, we’d rather have played, but we didn’t worry about the stuff we can’t control,” Burchfield said. “Knock on wood, we haven’t had a lot of bumps and bruises. You’d rather try to keep getting better. We were able to do some of things (last week that) we did back in August to get better when it came to fundamentals and correcting mistakes.”
Sophomore running back Robert Lathon’s 1,417 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns lead the Hawks’ power-based offense, which Burchfield said St. Clairsville strongly resembles. The Red Devils ran for 285 yards last week, with three backs amassing 73 to 89 yards.
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4. Fairfield Christian looks to make history
Fairfield Christian, which opened in 1998 but didn’t begin playing football until 2007, hopes to advance past the regional quarterfinal round for the first time. The Knights earned their first playoff win last season.
Seeded fourth in Division VII, Region 27, Fairfield Christian (9-2) plays fifth-seeded Hannibal River (8-2) on Friday at Berne Union.
River defeated the visiting Knights 55-12 in a quarterfinal last season.
“They were good, very big,” Fairfield Christian coach Marcus Pardon-Dudash said. “They dominated us at the line of scrimmage. They’re very athletic. They have about 30 kids on their roster and we have 22, and 10 of them are sophomores.”
Fairfield Christian advanced with a 61-54 win over 13th-seeded Portsmouth Sciotoville East. Gabe Welsh completed 9 of 16 passes for 233 yards and four touchdowns, Rusty Hutchinson had six receptions for 178 yards and four scores and Danny Blair rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries.
Hutchinson added a rushing touchdown and a kickoff return for a score.
“I’m ecstatic,” Pardon-Dudash said. “I’m very proud of our team and our coaching staff. Everybody else does all the work. I have the title of being the head coach, but I have an amazing coaching staff, a veteran staff. I’m the youngest one on the staff at (35). I have great kids and great families.”
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5. Central Ohio schools lend a hand
Danville found its grass field an unplayable mess after a run-heavy, rain-soaked Week 10 rivalry game against East Knox, and its biggest neighbor immediately stepped in to help.
The second-seeded Blue Devils (11-0) played their Division VII, Region 25 first-round home game against 15th-seeded McDonald at Mount Vernon’s Yellow Jacket Stadium, winning 51-7. They return there Friday to face seventh-seeded New Middletown Springfield (8-3).
Mount Vernon, about 20 miles from Danville, is the only high school in Knox County with a turf field.
“Their field was torn up pretty good (and) knowing we have turf and it was available, we were happy to help,” Mount Vernon athletic director Justin Sanford said.
Fairfield Christian played its regular-season home games at Millersport. Needing a stadium for the postseason, Berne Union offered to host.
Ready, which does not have a stadium, is playing its two Region 15 home games at Central Crossing. The fifth-seeded Silver Knights (10-1) play 13th-seeded Gnadenhutten Indian Valley (8-3) this week.
Past host sites for Ready have included DeSales, Fortress Obetz and Hilliard Bradley.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA football playoffs: 5 central Ohio things to watch in 2nd round
