OHSAA football: Ohio playoff scores, quick hits from Columbus-area regional quarterfinals
For the second round of the high school football playoffs, we covered four programs with rich histories.
Frank DiRenna was at Dublin Coffman, which hosted Olentangy Liberty in a rematch of the Shamrocks' 24-14 home win Sept. 22 in OCC-Central action.
Dave Purpura was at Upper Arlington, which hosted Pickerington Central in a rematch of the Golden Bears' 21-14 triple-overtime win in a 2021 regional final.
We also received help from our USA Today Network colleagues at the Zanesville Times Recorder, who covered Harvest Prep hosting Zanesville West Muskingum.
Here are our quick hits from the regional quarterfinals.
Upper Arlington 23, Pickerington Central 17 (3OT)
It seemed like most coaches and players on both sides agreed that Friday night’s Division I, Region 3 quarterfinal went about as they expected — close with plenty of physical play and little margin for error. This meeting even echoed the last between the host and fourth-seeded Golden Bears and No. 5 Tigers in that it went to three overtimes, as did the regional final in 2021. In the end, a bruising 6-yard touchdown run from Connor McClellan was the difference as UA (9-3) won its fifth consecutive game and advanced to a regional semifinal next Friday at a neutral site against top-seeded Gahanna Lincoln (12-0). “For us to win, it had to be a low-scoring game, and even though it ended up high-scoring, we gave ourselves a chance,” Bears coach Justin Buttermore said. “We showed a lot of toughness. We got a huge stop on the goal line (in the third overtime) and then to pound the ball in and finish it, it was an unbelievable effort.”
McClellan’s final runs symbolized the type of lead back the 6-foot, 200-pound senior has become the past two seasons. After being stuffed on an inside run on first down, McClellan bounced outside for a 13-yard run, then did much the same on the final run, breaking a few tackles and getting a push into the end zone. “I’m definitely more a physical back; I try to be a speedster sometimes, but it usually doesn’t work,” said McClellan, who finished with 79 yards on 10 carries after UA was held to 9 yards on the ground as a team in the first half. “We knew this would be a dogfight. I never thought it would replicate the game two years ago. We’ve had a lot of close games that haven’t gone our way this year. We fought like heck to pull it out.”
The game was a 7-7 defensive slugfest in regulation and was tied at 10 after the first overtime. UA took the lead in the second on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Cox to Trent Wolpert, a fade route to the left side that echoed Cox’s 41-yard scoring pass to Austin Stutz on the first play of the second quarter. Photos and television replays seemed to indicate that Wolpert did not maintain control through the catch, a point Central (8-4) coaches vehemently argued. “It was very obvious to us,” Tigers coach Jeff Lomonico said. “There’s nothing you can do about it. That’s what’s so tough about it being over. These guys were playing well, the best football they’ve played all year … and none of that is to take anything away from Upper Arlington.” For his part, Cox said he was testing the waters on the first fade route, and once it worked it became an option for later. “We weren’t sure if we’d run it at all but once it worked, we kept going back at it,” Cox said. “Trent is my guy. I knew if I threw it up, he'd catch it.”
Central, which had a six-game winning streak snapped, tied it at 17 in the second overtime on a 4-yard touchdown run from Aaron Heller. The Tigers went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 2 in the third overtime, but Anthony Madison III was held to a yard. Madison set up Central’s only touchdown in regulation with a 25-yard run on a direct snap in the second quarter, and quarterback Rocco Williams scored from the 1 on the next play.
—Dave Purpura
Dublin Coffman 17, Olentangy Liberty 14
Coffman built a 17-0 lead in the third quarter and then held off visiting Liberty's comeback attempt in a Division I, Region 2 quarterfinal. The sixth-seeded Shamrocks (9-3) will play second-seeded Olentangy Berlin (11-1) in a regional semifinal next Friday at a neutral site. “It’s hard to win a playoff game,” Coffman coach Geron Stokes said. “It feels good. You get to spend more time with the guys. That’s the coolest part.”
The Shamrocks opened their 17-point lead behind the passing and running of quarterback Quinn Hart. He connected with Eli Losey for a 13-yard touchdown in the second quarter and scored on a 13-yard run late in the third to make it 17-0. Hart’s touchdown run was set up by Preston Phillips’ fumble recovery at the Liberty 35-yard line. Matthew Schramm’s 28-yard field goal as time expired in the first half gave the Shamrocks a 10-0 lead. “Every play is big,” Stokes said. “November football: your dudes have to be dudes, they have to be special. Every play matters. We played fairly clean. This is what seniors do, they just scrap. Low maintenance, high character and they just scrap. (It was) pretty cool to see.”
Trailing 17-0, the 14th-seeded Patriots (4-8) began their comeback on Andrew Leonard’s 20-yard TD pass to Jake Struck with 46 seconds left in the third. Liberty closed to within 17-14 on Leonard’s 15-yard TD pass to Wilson Roberts with 5:28 to play, capping an 87-yard drive. Coffman was able to run out the clock, highlighted by Amari Valerio-Hudson's 7-yard gain on a reverse on third-and-3 from his team’s 40-yard line. “We knew we had to go get first downs because they had three timeouts,” Hart said. “Their offense does a great job spreading it out, so our goal was not to give them a chance to get the ball back and that’s what we did. Our offensive line just went crazy.”
The loss capped John Sansbury’s first season as coach at Liberty. After serving as a longtime assistant, Sansbury replaced Steve Hale, who stepped down after 20 seasons. “We just waited a little too long,” Sansbury said. “We had a tough first half, made too many mistakes and Coffman is a really good football team. You can’t give them points and you can’t give them too many opportunities because they’ll take advantage of them.”
—Frank DiRenna
Harvest Prep 24, Zanesville West Muskingum 0
For the second season in a row, the Warriors eliminated the Tornadoes in a Division V, Region 19 quarterfinal. But fourth-seeded Harvest Prep (10-1) faced more resistance this time from fifth-seeded West Muskingum (10-2) after winning 47-16 a year ago. The host Warriors led only 6-0 at halftime but pulled away in the second half, scoring 18 points off turnovers for the game. “The first half is what we wanted,” Tornadoes coach Nathan Brownrigg said. “We drove down the field on the first possession and once we got to the red zone it got tough for us (and we turned the ball over on downs). We were successful in limiting their possessions in the first half. If it wasn’t for the muffed punt, it could have been 0-0.” West Muskingum’s special teams mistake set up Harvest Prep’s first score, a 9-yard touchdown run by E.J. Pierce.
The Warriors expanded their lead in the third quarter, starting with a 61-yard touchdown run by Dezmond Porter to make it 12-0. Following a turnover, Elijah Brown scored from 9 yards for an 18-0 lead. A Jamarcus Jones interception led to the Warriors' final touchdown, with Porter scoring on a 3-yard run. Porter finished with 125 yards on nine carries, and Lenny Wicks added 105 yards on 14 rushes. Harvest Prep will play top-seeded Ironton (11-1) in a regional semifinal next Friday at a neutral site.
—Dan Blackburn, Zanesville Times Recorder
Ohio high school football regional quarterfinal scores
Division I
Region 1
Can. McKinley 28, Cle. St. Ignatius 24
Cle. Hts. 35, Berea-Midpark 0
Lakewood St. Edward 35, Can. GlenOak 0
Medina 22, Wadsworth 19
Region 2
Olentangy Berlin 23, Perrysburg 7
Dublin Coffman 17, Olentangy Liberty 14
Olentangy 38, Miamisburg 21
Springfield 17, Centerville 10
Region 3
Gahanna Lincoln 48, Grove City 42
Hilliard Bradley 27, Westerville North 22
Pickerington North 35, Hilliard Darby 16
Upper Arlington 23, Pickerington Central 17 (3OT)
Region 4
Cin. Moeller 10, Cin. St. Xavier 7
Cin. Princeton 31, Hamilton 14
Mason 10, Milford 9
W. Chester Lakota W. 24, Cin. Elder 14
Division II
Region 5
Akr. Hoban 41, Barberton 7
Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit 58, Austintown Fitch 21
Hudson 24, Warren Harding 21
Painesville Riverside 42, Twinsburg 30
Region 6
Avon 49, Brecksville-Broadview Hts. 7
Medina Highland 28, N. Ridgeville 7
Olmsted Falls 35, Sylvania Southview 28
Whitehouse Anthony Wayne 59, Avon Lake 14
Region 7
Canal Winchester 7, Watkins Memorial 3
Massillon Washington 50, Westerville South 7
Green 31, N. Can. Hoover 7
Uniontown Lake 21, Big Walnut 20 (3OT)
Region 8
Cin. Anderson 41, Kings Mills Kings 3
Cin. Withrow 16, Cin. Winton Woods 7
Harrison 20, Clayton Northmont 17
Troy 42, Lima Sr. 15
Division III
Region 9
Aurora 30, Gates Mills Gilmour 27
Chardon 28, Geneva 14
Cle. VASJ 43, Chagrin Falls Kenston 14
Youngs. Ursuline 16, Canfield 13
Region 10
Mansfield Sr. 55, Rocky River 21
Medina Buckeye 49, Norton 47
Tiffin Columbian 55, Ontario 35
Tol. Cent. Cath. 41, Defiance 26
Region 11
Watterson 44, Washington C.H. Miami Trace 7
Bloom-Carroll 14, Jackson 10
Bellefontaine 35, London 28
Granville 32, Dresden Tri-Valley 29
Region 12
Celina 41, Trotwood-Madison 35
Hamilton Badin 24, Bellbrook 6
Tipp City Tippecanoe 30, Day. Chaminade Julienne 21
Wapakoneta 42, Vandalia Butler 7
Division IV
Region 13
Beloit W. Branch 31, Streetsboro 28
Can. South 27, Akr. Buchtel 26
Mentor Lake Cath. 35, Niles McKinley 21
Struthers 14, Poland Seminary 9
Region 14
Cle. Glenville 44, Napoleon 7
Millersburg W. Holmes 22, Galion 19
Sandusky Perkins 28, St. Marys Memorial 21
Shelby 71, Van Wert 41
Region 15
Hartley 23, St. Clairsville 13
Gnadenhutten Indian Valley 34, Ready 13
Steubenville 50, Licking Valley 26
Thornville Sheridan 42, Gallipolis Gallia Academy 0
Region 16
Cin. Wyoming 35, Cin. Taft 26
Clarksville Clinton-Massie 24, Cin. McNicholas 23, OT
Kettering Alter 31, Cin. Indian Hill 6
Spring. Shawnee 42, Urbana 7
Division V
Region 17
Canfield S. Range 35, W. Lafayette Ridgewood 0
Garrettsville Garfield 56, Cadiz Harrison Cent. 35
Lorain Clearview 19, Creston Norwayne 16
Perry 34, Magnolia Sandy Valley 7
Region 18
Coldwater 28, Archbold 14
Liberty Center 41, Huron 7
Milan Edison 38, Pemberville Eastwood 7
Oak Harbor 41, Highland 7
Region 19
Barnesville 19, Columbus Academy 17
Harvest Prep 24, Zanesville W. Muskingum 0
Wheelersburg 34, Portsmouth 0
Ironton 37, Heath 28
Region 20
Brookville 28, Camden Preble Shawnee 18
Cin. Purcell Marian 30, Chillicothe Zane Trace 28
Germantown Valley View 49, Bethel-Tate 0
Waynesville 49, Spring. NE 14
Division VI
Region 21
Cuyahoga Hts. 26, Hanoverton United 7
Kirtland 48, Can. Cent. Cath. 26
Mineral Ridge 17, Rootstown 9
Mogadore 29, Andover Pymatuning Valley 8
Region 22
Bluffton 38, Bucyrus Wynford 0
Carey 48, Columbia Station Columbia 0
Columbus Grove 34, Sullivan Black River 6
Tol. Ottawa Hills 28, N. Robinson Col. Crawford 21
Region 23
Beverly Ft. Frye 50, Newcomerstown 13
Galion Northmor 31, Glouster Trimble 6
Sugarcreek Garaway 49, East Knox 7
West Jefferson 29, Nelsonville-York 7
Region 24
Anna 52, Williamsburg 28
Cin. Country Day 26, Bainbridge Paint Valley 14
New Madison Tri-Village 50, W. Liberty-Salem 29
Versailles 41, W. Alexandria Twin Valley S. 8
Division VII
Region 25
Dalton 35, Lucas 10
Danville 32, New Middletown Springfield 6
Lowellville 32, Berlin Center Western Reserve 7
Norwalk St. Paul 20, Malvern 14
Region 26
Bascom Hopewell-Loudon 33, Pandora-Gilboa 3
Hamler Patrick Henry 40, Arlington 14
Lima Cent. Cath. 44, Convoy Crestview 28
McComb 57, Edon 0
Region 27
Caldwell 50, Portsmouth Notre Dame 0
Hannibal River 48, Fairfield Christian 15
Reedsville Eastern 55, Woodsfield Monroe Cent. 14
Waterford 26, Beaver Eastern 21
Region 28
Ansonia 34, Mechanicsburg 8
Maria Stein Marion Local 69, Cedarville 0
Minster 33, New Bremen 7
St. Henry 16, Ft. Loramie 8
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA football: Second-round playoff scores, central Ohio quick hits
