Olentangy Orange got off to a fast start, scoring the first 10 points of the game, but host Olentangy responded with 17 unanswered, including a pair of second-half touchdowns en route to a thrilling 17-10 non-league win Friday night in Lewis Center.

The Braves (4-0), who came into the showdown averaging better than 43 points per game, struggled to get going against the Pioneer (1-3) defense.

Treyton Schroeder picked off Ethan Grunkemeyer on Olentangy’s first play from scrimmage and Will Musgrove hauled in an interception just outside the red zone when the Braves were driving early in the second quarter.

Olentangy cleaned things up from that point on, though, turning the tables quickly once it got going.

After connecting with Gavin Grover on a fourth-and-10 play late in the first half, Grunkemeyer found Jackson Wiley for a 10-yard scoring strike. Matthew Tobias added the extra point as the Braves pulled within 10-7 with 59.2 seconds left in the first half.

Orange went into the break with its lead still intact, but it didn’t stay that way for long.

Olentangy recovered a muffed punt after Orange came up with a stop on defense and, a few plays later, Grunkemeyer hit Wiley for another touchdown, this time from five yards out to make it a 14-10 game with 6:34 left in the third quarter.

Aside from the Pioneers’ muffed punt and a three-and-out on offense, the Braves controlled the ball for virtually the entire third quarter. They had possession early in the fourth, too, and ballooned their lead to 17-10 when Tobias booted a 28-yard field goal with 9:20 left.

Orange finally got its hands on the ball in the fourth, but couldn’t do much with it. Quarterback Levi Davis hit Kobe Sharpe to convert a fourth-and-10 down to the Olentangy 32-yard line with 1:25 left.

Three incompletions later, it was fourth down again … and this time Davis’ fourth-down throw was batted down behind the line of scrimmage, turning the ball over on downs and all but sealing the deal with less than a minute to go.

Orange had a second half to forget — Olentangy had a lot to do with that — but played well early on the way to its 10-0 edge.

The Pioneers got points on their first possession of the game, driving all the way inside the Braves’ 15 before the drive stalled and they settled for a 24-yard field goal off the foot of Carter Musgrove midway through the first quarter.

A few possessions later, it was 10-0 as Davis hit Sharpe for an 80-yard TD connection with 2:20 left in the first.

From there, though, it was all Olentangy.

The Braves will look to stay perfect when they travel to take on host Central Crossing in their final non-league game of the season Friday night in Grove City. The Pioneers, meanwhile, will look to bounce back against visiting Newark. Both games are slated to start at 7 p.m.

Also: Olentangy Berlin 24, Olentangy Liberty 17, OT; Washington Courthouse 48, Buckeye Valley 18.