Columbus-area high school football: 5 things we learned in Week 4
Twenty-one central Ohio football teams survived the first four weeks unbeaten, and many are preparing for the final week of non-league play.
The first Associated Press state poll comes out this week, and the first official computer ratings should not be far behind.
Yes, the gravity of each week is more noticeable as the season progresses.
Week 4 further established the area’s hierarchy. Here are five things we learned:
1. Pickerington North can win in multiple ways
If the Panthers’ 39-34 win over Pickerington Central did not entirely stick to a script, North (4-0) came away knowing there are multiple means to the end.
Powered by Preston Bowman’s five catches for 205 yards and three touchdowns, the Panthers passed for 277 yards and ran for 206. In their first three games, they rushed for 761 yards with a potent backfield of Dorian Hamilton, Michael Taylor and Sam Williams-Dixon and threw for 401.
North also overcame 16 penalties for 128 yards, matching its total infractions entering Friday, and trailed twice in the second half.
“We were going to take what the defense gave us,” Panthers coach Nate Hillerich said. “When they were selling out for the run, we had to win some of those one-on-one battles. … Teams have to make a choice against us. Load the box and sell out to stop the run or try to double some guys? That left Preston with some one-on-one opportunities.”
Sam Williams-Dixon: How Pickerington North is preparing the running back for Ohio State
North, which defeated Central for only the fifth time in 22 meetings, hasn't been 5-0 since 2013. The Panthers play at winless Reynoldsburg on Friday.
“No moment is too big for this team,” Hillerich said.
2. Delaware Hayes remains perfect
The Pacers are off to their first 4-0 start since 2018 after holding off visiting Big Walnut 38-31 in the OCC-Capital opener for both teams. They also snapped a five-game losing streak in the Delaware County rivalry dating to 2013.
Jake Lowman completed 11 of 16 passes for 267 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Austin Koslow had six receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns, and Josh Russell rushed for 120 yards and two scores on 23 carries to power an offense averaging 44.3 points.
“Starting off strong like we have obviously helps not only the program, but the players believe in what we’re doing,” coach Ryan Montgomery said. “We’re really happy with how our offense has (played). The guys are doing a really good job up front. Our wide receivers are getting open. We’re running the ball more consistently and our quarterback, Jake Lowman, is really controlling things and making that car run.”
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Despite the strong start, Montgomery said there’s room for improvement. His team visits 4-0 Westerville North on Friday.
“When we look at the film, there’s a lot of stuff that we can fix,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve played our best game yet.”
For Big Walnut (1-3), Nate Severs ran for 193 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries and quarterback Jake Nier added 150 yards and two scores on 20 carries.
3. Dublin Coffman cruises past Dublin Jerome
Coffman quarterback Quinn Hart helped make sure Jerome didn't start a winning streak in the series.
Guiding the Shamrocks’ option offense, Hart rushed for 233 yards and touchdowns of 55, 51 and 37 yards on 15 carries to lead a 35-14 home win. He also completed 9 of 12 passes for 81 yards and one score.
Jerome won last year's meeting 16-7 for its first victory over Coffman.
“Quinn is a competitor,” Shamrocks coach Geron Stokes said. “We love Quinn. We’re playing pretty hard as a team.”
Daven White added 139 yards rushing and one touchdown on 18 carries, while Coffman's defense limited Jerome (2-2) to 56 yards rushing on 25 carries.
Stokes said the Shamrocks (3-1) haven't played their best game.
“We’re getting a little bit better, but we still have a really long way to go,” he said. “It’s just not very good football yet. We’re looking for focused, intentional, clean reps, and we’re not putting a lot of those together.”
4. Young Africentric showing steady improvement
Having carried over most of what coach Jamell Davis called “the youngest varsity team in the country” from a season ago, the Nubians have translated some growing pains into a 3-1 start that has included dominant defense.
Africentric, which opened City League-South play Friday with an 18-12 win at Walnut Ridge, has only four seniors — three more than a year ago — and features a handful of underclassmen in key positions. Sophomore Josh Smith runs the offense at quarterback, classmate Charles Jennings-Griffin is standing out on both sides of the ball and yet another sophomore, Caleb Anthony, was a first-team all-state defensive back in Division V as a freshman while also leading the team in touchdowns.
“We’re still young … so those guys are leading the team and they’ve learned a lot,” Davis said. “We have to hold each other accountable and keep our heads in it even if things are going right. Everything for us is about us.”
Jennings-Griffin (RB/LB) has two fumble recoveries and an interception return for a touchdown.
Africentric, which was 2-7 in 2022, has 10 takeaways and held Linden-McKinley to minus-40 yards of offense in a 50-0 win in Week 2.
5. London rides ‘selfless’ approach to 4-0 start
Few if any statistics jump off the page when it comes to the Red Raiders’ start, and coach Kyle Cutler isn’t surprised.
Junior fullback Noah Sollars’ 316 yards and five touchdowns led the ground attack through three weeks, and senior Zach Jones’ contributions at several positions on both sides of the ball pace a team that has outscored its four opponents 158-42.
“We’ve found out what we’re good at and we just try to keep pushing in the right direction,” Cutler said. “We’re a team. That’s the great thing. Our program and our organization prides itself on being selfless. We don’t care who gets the credit, as long as we achieve the goal. We definitely spread it out.”
Jones, who plays free safety and linebacker on defense, running back and wide receiver on offense and also kicks and punts, holds seven Football Bowl Subdivision offers.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio high school football: 5 things we learned in Week 4
