Talk about setting the tone.
Jake Vanchieri broke free for a 77-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage and Mark Roberts ran four four total touchdowns, three in the first half, as Orange rolled to a lopsided 35-7 non-league win over visiting Big Walnut Friday in Lewis Center.
The Pioneers (2-2) were pumped up from the start, outscoring the Eagles 29-0 through the first 15 minutes of the game.
Vanchieri’s TD, coupled with Kellen Sargent’s extra point, made it 7-0 less than a minute in. Roberts powered into the end zone from two yards out later in the first quarter and broke free for a long scoring sprint of his own early in the second — an 89-yarder with 11:46 until halftime.
Roberts’ third TD of the half made it 29-0 with 8:55 left in the second quarter. His fourth and final — a 22-yarder midway through the third — smoothed out Orange’s scoring summary.
Big Walnut (1-3) quarterback Jagger Barnett found Jakob Daniels for a five-yard TD with 3:03 left in the game to spoil the shutout.
Ethan Adkins had an interception while Zach Harrison, in his first start of the season, had a sack and two tackles for loss to anchor a Pioneer defense that allowed just 102 yards of total offense.
Roberts finished with 14 carries for 154 yards and the four touchdowns while Vanchieri had 149 yards on 10 carries to go with his score.
Buckeye Valley 8, River Valley 6
Better late than never.
The Baron offense didn’t score its first points until the clock struck zero, but they were enough to get the job done in Friday’s MOAC opener against the host Vikings in Caledonia.
Down 6-2 from the River Valley two-yard line, with just five seconds left, BV (1-3) knew it only had one play … and it worked. Quarterback Grant Owens bought some time with his feet and found a crossing Beau Ewing as time expired to give the Barons their first win of the season.
“We just wanted to make sure we put the game in the hands of our senior quarterback … and I’m glad we did,” BV coach Matt Stephens said. “He faced some pressure, but kept the play alive with his feet before finding Beau over the middle.”
Up 6-0 late in the fourth quarter, with the Buckeye Valley defense pinning it against its own goal line, the River Valley offense took a safety to get some breathing room.
That’s when the tide turned.
BV, down 6-2 with 1:50 left, set up shop near midfield before embarking on its game-winning drive.
Hilliard Davidson 22, Olentangy Liberty 21
The Wildcats outscored the host Patriots 12-0 in the fourth quarter to rally for a tight non-league win Friday in Powell.
Liberty built a 14-3 lead through a little more than a quarter of play. Mitchell Okuley found Aidan Kenley for a five-yard touchdown with 9:35 left in the first and, after a Davidson field goal, scrambled into the end zone from a yard out to give his team an 11-point lead with 11:30 left in the half.
Okuley’s second rushing touchdown of the game made it 21-10 with 4:54 left in the second.
The Wildcats got going in the second half, though. Jordan Hicks started the comeback with a seven-yard TD run. The two-point conversion was no good, but it didn’t matter.
Kalib O’Connor sealed the deal with a three-yard touchdown run with 2:32 left in the game. Davidson missed the two-point try again, but the defense was able to make the one-point lead stand up.
Okuley completed 15 of his 21 passes for 181 yards and the touchdown through the air while Kenley was Liberty’s leading rusher with 56 yards on 11 carries. Kyle Wilson was also steady, finishing with three receptions for 73 yards.
