Landon Johnson ran for 147 yards and three touchdowns and Kaden Doup threw for a score and ran for two more as the Olentangy football team pulled away from visiting Olentangy Berlin for a 45-33 OCC win Friday night in Lewis Center.
The game was tight throughout, with the Bears taking an early 7-0 lead when Gavin Angell plowed into the end zone from a yard out with 8:31 to play in the opening quarter.
The Braves were quick to counter, though, evening things up when Johnson scored his first TD on a six-yard scamper with 4:58 left in the first.
The back-and-fourth battle continued in the second. Berlin’s Jacob Moeller hooked up with Justin Rader for a 37-yard scoring strike at the 11:02 mark before Johnson again answered, this time with a four-yard TD run four minutes later.
Moeller found Rader for a 12-yard TD 22 seconds before halftime to give the Bears a 20-14 lead at the break, but the Braves outscored them 10-3 in the third and 21-10 in the fourth to put the finishing touches on the come-from-behind win.
Rader connected on a 22-yard field goal to put an end to what was a 10-0 Olentangy (2-0) run and give Berlin (1-1) a 26-24 lead with 11:51 left in the fourth, but it was all Braves the rest of the way.
Doup scored from a yard out to make it 32-26 with 6:30 left and Johnson’s third TD of the game all but sealed it, making it a 38-26 game with 3:09 to play.
Doup completed eight of his 14 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown — a 10-yarder to Caleb Gossett. He also rushed for two scores. Malik Wade complemented Johnson’s big night with a solid showing of his own, rushing for 84 yards on just seven carries.
Moeller completed 18 of his 28 passes for 444 yards and three touchdowns to lead Berlin. Nick Tiberio had 74 yards rushing on 21 carries, Rader finished with five grabs for 128 yards and three scores and Bennett Lawrence finished with eight receptions for 224 yards in the setback.
Olentangy Orange 20, Hilliard Davidson 7
The Pioneers jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead on the way to a convincing league-opening win over the visiting Wildcats Friday in Lewis Center.
Luke Applegate and Caden Konczak scored first-quarter touchdowns — Applegate’s on a one-yard run and Konczak’s off a two-yard pass from Josh Laisure.
Laisure found Konczak again, this time from four yards out, to make it 20-0 with 18 seconds left in the second quarter.
Davidson’s Leo Nixon scored on a one-yard run early in the fourth to smooth out the scoring summary.
The Pioneer (1-1) defense limited the Wildcats to just 151 yards of total offense, all but three of which came on the ground.
Laisure completed 11 of his 15 passes for 98 yards and two TDs, Applegate had 12 carries for 60 yards and a score and Julian DiSabato had a team-best five receptions for 47 yards.
Dublin Coffman 24, Olentangy Liberty 17
The Patriots got off to a great start in their home opener, jumping out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, but the visiting Shamrocks scored 24 of the final 27 points to rally for a win Friday night in Powell.
Liberty (1-1) quarterback Mitch Fields plowed into the end zone from two yards out to break the scoring seal with 7:27 left in the first and found Dom Magistrale for a 23-yard scoring strike to make it 14-0 with 1:25 left in the opening quarter.
Coffman outscored the Patriots 17-3 in the second to tie things up by halftime and, after a scoreless third, Connor Mathews found Sheron Phipps for a 67-yard TD with 11:15 to play in the game.
Mathews completed 13 of his 17 passes for 238 yards and two TDs. He was also the team’s leading rusher, covering 79 yards on 17 attempts. Bryon Threats was also solid on the ground, finishing with nine carries for 66 yards and a score.
Fields finished 22-for-30 passing for 229 yards and a touchdown while Aidan Kenley had 23 rushes for 96 yards in the setback.
Chase Brecht was Liberty’s leading receiver, finishing with three grabs for 90 yards.
Westerville South 50, Big Walnut 41
The Golden Eagles found their form after failing to get anything going early, but couldn’t climb out of an early 22-0 hole en route to an OCC setback at the hands of the host Wildcats Friday night in Westerville.
BW (1-1) quarterback Jagger Barnett hooked up with Sam Fortney for a 30-yard score to slice the deficit to 22-7 with 5:09 left in the first half, but South QB Peter Pedrozo scored on a four-yard keeper 3:13 before the break to balloon the lead back to 22, 29-7.
The Wildcats led by as many as 29 points before the Golden Eagles outscored them 27-14 in the second half.
Barnett completed 17 of his 26 passes for 237 yards and three TDs. He also rushed for 46 yards and a pair of scores while Gordon Rond had 15 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown of his own.
Fortney led the Golden Eagle receivers with six grabs for 116 yards and a touchdown while Grant Coulson had five receptions for 52 yards and two TDs.
Pedrozo, meanwhile, had a huge game for South, completing 24 of his 29 attempts for 404 yards and five touchdowns.
Westerville North 24, Delaware Hayes 7
The Pacers grabbed some momentum just before halftime, slicing their deficit to 10-7 when Orion Ward blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown with 3:34 left in the second, but couldn’t maintain it as the visiting Warriors pulled away for a league win Friday night in Delaware.
North’s Brennan Albertini broke the scoring seal with a two-yard TD run with 8:19 left in the second and Hunter Weigand made it 10-0 with a 27-yard field goal later in the quarter.
The blocked punt gave Hayes (0-2) some juice, but it didn’t last.
Sylvester Bockarie scored on a three-yard run late in the third to make it 17-7 and a pick six by Donovan Varney midway through the third all but sealed the deal.
