Caden Williams ran for 189 yards and three touchdowns, Jagger Barnett threw for 212 yards and a score and the defense allowed just 74 yards of total offense as the Big Walnut football team rolled to a dominant 31-0 OCC-Capital Division win over Worthington Kilbourne Friday night in Sunbury.
Already up 14-0 on two Williams TDs, the Golden Eagles grabbed total control of things late in the second quarter, marching 99 yards in 1:42 to balloon their edge to 20-0 with five seconds left in the half.
The drive almost never happened as BW (3-1) failed to connect on a fake punt deep in their own territory. Kilbourne (2-2) took over at the 25-yard line with a little momentum — the first sniff of success it had all night — but it didn’t last long as Zach Willoughby-Neal intercepted the Wolves’ Mitchell Tomasek on the first play of the drive just in front of the goal line.
After a couple runs from Williams pushed the ball out of the shadow of the end zone, and a pass interference penalty on the Wolves moved it to the 30, Barnett completed six straight passes — the last a 37-yard scoring strike to Grant Coulson.
The Eagles failed to convert the ensuing two-point conversion, but the 20-0 lead was more than enough. It was a margin they only added to in the second half as Williams powered into the end zone from eight yards out with 8:38 left in the third quarter and Willoughby-Neal hit a 24-yard field goal with 9:03 left in the game to smooth out the scoring summary.
Big Walnut racked up 427 yards of total offense by the time things were all said and done, while the defense limited Kilbourne to less than 100 and just three yards in the first half.
Tomasek completed seven of his 21 passes for the Wolves while Cayden Dougherty had two grabs for 50 yards in the setback.
Olentangy Orange 31, Upper Arlington 14
The Pioneers jumped out to a 10-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back on the way to an OCC-Central Division win over the visiting Golden Bears Friday night in Lewis Center.
Josh Laisure, who had an efficient night throwing the ball, used his legs to break the scoring seal, powering into the end zone from three yards out to give Orange (2-2) a 7-0 lead with 4:54 left in the first.
Jake Behre made it 10-0 with a 29-yard field goal with 56 second left in the quarter.
Carson Gresock, who ran for 135 yards in the setback, got UA (1-3) on the board with a two-yard TD run midway through the second, but the Pioneers ballooned their lead back to 10 when Laisure found Rico Franklin for a four-yard touchdown 2:12 before the break.
Laisure ran for another score with 4:40 left in the third and, after the Bears answered with a quick 39-yard strike from James Hayek to Sam Cannon less than a minute later, he sealed the deal with a 25-yard TD pass to Caden Konczak late in the fourth.
Laisure completed 15 of his 18 passes for 228 yards while accounting for the four touchdowns. Isaac Campbell, meanwhile, led the Pioneers on the ground with 77 yards on 26 attempts while Konczak had five receptions for 125 yards in the win.
Hayek completed 12 of his 25 passes for 150 yards and the TD for the Bears. He also threw two picks — one to Brandon Fedio and the other to Jordan Rudolph.
Olentangy 37, Hilliard Darby 6
Kaden Doup had a big night, throwing for 207 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Braves to a lopsided OCC-Cardinal Division win over the host Panthers Friday night in Hilliard.
After a scoreless first quarter, Doup found Jace Middletown for touchdowns twice in the second, the first from three yards out with 6:10 left and the second a seven-yarder with eight seconds to go.
Caleb Gossett, who also had a huge night receiving — finishing with five grabs for 153 yards and a touchdown — broke thing open with a huge play on special teams to start the third quarter, returning the kickoff 97 yards to the house to make it 19-0.
A 28-yard field goal by Hayden Olcott made it 22-0 Olentangy (4-0) before two more touchdown passes — a 73-yard strike from Doup to Gossett and a 15-yarder to Ethan Hand — pushed the lead to 37-0 before Darby (1-3) got on the board with a five-yard TD run by James Hakes with 1:03 to play.
Westerville South 59, Delaware Hayes 20
Peter Pedrozo threw for 333 yards and five touchdowns as the Wildcats cruised to a lopsided OCC-Capital Division win over the Pacers Friday night in Delaware.
Hayes (0-4) fell behind 24-0 before getting on the board with 30 seconds left in the first half when Austin Dowell hooked up with Braeden Rhodes for a 20-yard scoring strike.
The momentum was short-lived, though, as South (4-0) regained its 24-point lead when Pedrozo found Matthew Bame for a 12-yard TD less than a minute into the third.
Ty Gillman, who had a seven-yard TD run in the fourth quarter, provided a bright spot for the Pacers in the loss, rushing for 125 yards.
Logan Hummel also had a big play for the Pacers, picking off Pedrozo and returning it for a touchdown early in the third.
Buckeye Valley 14, Whitehall-Yearling 13
The Barons started strong and held on late en route to an MSL-Ohio win over the visiting Rams Friday night in Delaware.
BV (2-2), which picked up its second straight win, took a 7-0 lead when Anthony Hughes scored from four yards out on a QB keeper with 1:38 left in the first.
The Barons then scored what proved to be the game-winning score 12 seconds before halftime, when Hughes hooked up with Ben Fisher for a 42-yard scoring strike.
Felipe Scharff converted the PAT after both scores — conversions that proved key in the win.
Whitehall (1-3) scored the only two touchdowns of the second half, but missed the extra point on the second to account for the final margin.
Olentangy Berlin 38, Dublin Jerome 27
Down 21-9 at halftime and 21-16 entering the fourth quarter, the Bears scored 22 points in the final frame to rally for an OCC-Capital Division win over the host Celtics Friday night in Dublin.
Jacob Moeller found Aidan Loeffler between two defenders in the end zone from 12 yards out and then hit Justin Rader for a two-point conversion to give Berlin (2-2) a 24-21 lead — its first advantage since taking a 3-0 edge midway through the first quarter — with 10:23 left in the game.
The Bears added some insurance when Nick Tiberio rumbled into the end zone from 22 yards out with 6:22 to play and, after a Celtic (1-3) score tightened the margin to four, 31-27 with five minutes to play, Moeller hooked up with Ethan Lee for a seven-yard score with 2:28 to go to all but seal the deal.
Moeller completed 30 of his 45 throws for 321 yards and three touchdowns. Tiberio had 27 carries for 148 yards and a TD and Bennett Lawrence finished with eight receptions for 137 yards to lead Berlin.
Preston Everhart had a big game for Jerome, rushing for 215 yards and four touchdowns in the setback.
