OHSAA football: Ohio playoff scores, recaps from Columbus-area regional finals
We have reached the fourth week of the six-week high school football playoffs, and seven central Ohio teams were in action.
Dave Purpura and photographer Clare Grant covered Dublin Coffman-Springfield, and Frank DiRenna and photographer Graham Stokes covered Hilliard Bradley-Upper Arlington. Our colleagues in the USA Today Network pitched in with coverage of Danville and West Jefferson.
Hilliard Bradley 35, Upper Arlington 28 (2OT)
Bradyn Fleharty’s final run in Friday night's Division I, Region 3 final at Historic Crew Stadium might have been his most painful, but it also was the most rewarding.
The senior quarterback’s 2-yard touchdown in the second overtime proved to be the decisive score as second-seeded Bradley outlasted OCC-Central rival UA and captured its first regional title.
The Jaguars (13-1) will play two-time defending state champion Lakewood St. Edward (13-1) in a state semifinal next Friday at Arlin Field in Mansfield.
While diving into the end zone for the winning score, Fleharty injured his left ankle. After several minutes on the ground, he limped off the field.
Fleharty said he was ready to return to the game for a third overtime and expects to play in the state semifinal.
“I twisted my ankle a little bit,” he said. “It was an awkward angle, but I should be fine. I was ready to go back out there. I had it re-taped.”
Bradley’s defense sealed the win by holding UA on downs on the Golden Bears' possession in the second overtime.
“This means everything,” Bradley coach Mike LoParo said. “You work your whole career for this. I’ve assembled an unbelievable coaching staff.”
Trailing 28-21, fourth-seeded UA (10-4) forced overtime on Kyle Cox’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Trent Wolpert with 43 seconds remaining in regulation.
The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime, setting the stage for Fleharty’s heroics. Fleharty finished with 180 yards rushing and three touchdowns and passed for 169 yards and two scores.
“There’s a reason why he’s the Central District (Offensive) Player of the Year,” LoParo said. “Some things he misses, he makes up other ways. He runs around. Can you imagine trying to defend that? You get us covered well and then he just runs around on you. It’s a nightmare.”
Cox passed for 242 yards and two touchdowns to lead UA. Connor McClellan rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns and added 63 yards receiving and a score.
“This was an unexpected run, but it still stinks when it falls short,” UA coach Justin Buttermore said. “The offense battled all night. That’s the best offensive performance we’ve had all year.”
Bradley also beat UA 24-22 on Sept. 22.
—Frank DiRenna
Springfield 21, Dublin Coffman 14
Springfield has not christened itself “the Cardiac ‘Cats,” but to call the Wildcats “the fourth-quarter ‘Cats” would be appropriate given how they held off the Shamrocks at Hilliard Darby to win their fifth consecutive Division I, Region 2 championship.
Bay Bay Norman’s second touchdown of the night, a 20-yard run he finished by leaping across the goal line with with 4:23 left, was the clincher for 12th-seeded Springfield (9-5) and ended sixth-seeded Coffman’s hopes for its first regional title since 2007.
Springfield has outscored its four playoff opponents 48-13 in the fourth quarter.
“When they geared it up, we couldn’t get up to their level athletically,” Shamrocks coach Geron Stokes said. “Our kids played their tails off. I’m proud of them. We won’t necessarily outrun anybody and … in the second half, (Springfield) went and made plays.
“This time of the year, you have to have guys go do it, just make plays. And they did.”
Coffman (10-4) led 14-7 at halftime, scoring on back-to-back drives that totaled 20 plays, but came up empty on five second-half possessions.
Quarterback Quinn Hart scored from a yard out and running back Daven White ran in from 15 yards.
The Shamrocks drove to Springfield’s 19 in the final two minutes, but a fourth-down pass into the end zone fell incomplete. Coffman began that drive with its first pass completion of the night and finished with 173 of its 205 yards on the ground.
Coffman had a final chance to get the ball back with about 90 seconds left, but a roughing the punter penalty sealed the outcome.
Norman was the star for Springfield, bolting for a 74-yard touchdown on the Wildcats’ second offensive play. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound senior slotback finished with 192 yards on 23 carries.
“We’ve been in these games before,” Norman said. “If you go three down linemen against me, you give me too many holes. We just had to block.”
State runners-up each of the past two years, the Wildcats will play Cincinnati Moeller (10-4) in a state semifinal next Friday at Piqua.
After losing to Upper Arlington 21-3 in Week 9, Coffman put together a four-game winning streak to reach the cusp of its third regional title.
“Our guys were able to struggle and keep going,” Stokes said. “They raised the standards of our program, a lot.”
—Dave Purpura
Watterson 19, Bellefontaine 13
Trailing seventh-seeded Bellefontaine 13-6 in the third quarter of the Division III, Region 11 final at Marion Harding, Watterson coach Brian Kennedy never lost confidence in his team.
The top-seeded Eagles (13-1) rallied to win their first regional title since 2010, the same year they won their last state championship.
Last year, Watterson lost to Bloom-Carroll 33-28 in the regional final.
“You give credit to the seniors for maintaining composure,” Kennedy said. “These guys have been through enough and they’ve been in that situation before where we’ve been down and they don’t panic, and they find a way. They keep working and they keep doing what they’re supposed to do. That’s 100% credit to the kids.”
The Eagles tied the game at 13 on Zack Weber’s 34-yard touchdown run with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter. They took the lead on A.J. McAninch’s 13-yard scoring pass to Jake Uhlenhake with 8:56 to play.
Bellefontaine (11-3) erased a 6-0 halftime deficit on Riley Neer’s 60-yard interception return for a score and Tavien St. Clair’s 11-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Wilson. St. Clair, a junior, is an Ohio State commit.
“Our kids found a way,” Kennedy said. “I’m certainly humbled. ... You have some bad years, so appreciating the success and everything, I can really appreciate it.”
Watterson will play Celina (12-2) in a state semifinal next Friday at Xenia.
—Frank DiRenna
Harvest Prep 22, Wheelersburg 0
Lenny Wicks ran for two touchdowns, Desmond Porter added a score and the fourth-seeded Warriors (12-1) shut out the seventh-seeded Pirates (9-4) in the Division V, Region 19 final at Athens to reach their fourth state semifinal in eight seasons.
Wicks scored from 20 yards in the first quarter and Porter added a 3-yard run on the next possession for a 14-0 lead.
Wicks, whose final touchdown came with 3:52 left, finished with 101 yards on nine carries. Quarterback E.J. Pierce added 14 carries for 52 yards.
Harvest Prep will play Perry (14-0) in a state semifinal next Friday.
Sugarcreek Garaway 42, West Jefferson 7
Garaway players don’t plan to spend too much time savoring their win over West Jefferson in the Division VI, Region 23 final at Zanesville.
The top-seeded Pirates (14-0) are hungry for more.
“It’s our goal to win a state championship this year,” junior quarterback Brady Geibel said. “It’s another game, another step in the right direction. We played well all-around. But we’ve got to get back in the film room (Saturday). It wasn't perfect. … We’ve got Kirtland next week. It's going to be a tough one."
Kirtland (13-1) defeated Mogadore 42-0 in the Region 21 final.
Junior tailback Dillon Soehnlen scored three touchdowns against second-seeded West Jefferson (12-2). His biggest play came on a 65-yard pass from Geibel that put Garaway ahead 28-0 in the second quarter.
“It means the world because these guys have poured their heart and soul into this program,” Garaway coach Jason Wallick said.
West Jefferson scored in the fourth quarter on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Owen Warner to Mason Book. Book finished with 12 receptions for 101 yards.
—Walt Doerschuk, Dover-New Philadelphia Times-Reporter
Dalton 31, Danville 8
Dalton won its first regional championship, dominating Danville in the Division VII, Region 25 final at Dover.
The Bulldogs (12-1) will play Caldwell (11-3) in a state semifinal next Friday.
"This is definitely a program win," Dalton coach Broc Dial said. "There's a lot of people that go into this. It's an awesome, awesome opportunity for (the players) and a great win."
While top-seeded Dalton made the first mistake in the regional final, allowing second-seeded Danville (13-1) to block a punt out of the back of the end zone for a safety in the first quarter, it more than made up for the early miscue.
A Danville offense that came in scoring 45.5 points per game was held to a late touchdown. Outside of that scoring drive, when Dalton already held a 21-2 lead, Danville didn't make a trip to the red zone.
"It starts with kids reading their keys, pursuing the football and playing football," Dial said. "It's not rocket science. You just gotta go do it."
Danville managed just 176 total yards and threw three interceptions, including two by Cade Mullet.
Greyson Siders led Dalton’s offense, rushing for 179 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.
Cole Delaughder rushed for 88 yards on 17 carries for Danville.
—Alex Tichenor, Wooster Daily Record
Ohio high school football regional final scores
Division I
Region 1
Lakewood St. Edward 42, Medina 7
Region 2
Springfield 21, Dublin Coffman 14
Region 3
Hilliard Bradley 35, Upper Arlington 28 (2OT)
Region 4
Cin. Moeller 22, W. Chester Lakota W. 0
Division II
Region 5
Akr. Hoban 30, Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit 6
Region 6
Avon 28, Medina Highland 14
Region 7
Massillon Washington 31, Uniontown Green 6
Region 8
Cin. Anderson 49, Cin. Withrow 28
Division III
Region 9
Chardon 31, Youngs. Ursuline 14
Region 10
Tol. Cent. Cath. 41, Tiffin Columbian 6
Region 11
Watterson 19, Bellefontaine 13
Region 12
Celina 37, Hamilton Badin 25
Division IV
Region 13
Can. South 35, Struthers 13
Region 14
Cle. Glenville 36, Sandusky Perkins 26
Region 15
Steubenville 14, Thornville Sheridan 7
Region 16
Kettering Alter 17, Cin. Wyoming 0
Division V
Region 17
Perry 32, Canfield S. Range 0
Region 18
Liberty Center 17, Coldwater 7
Region 19
Harvest Prep 22, Wheelersburg 0
Region 20
Germantown Valley View 42, Waynesville 24
Division VI
Region 21
Kirtland 42, Mogadore 0
Region 22
Columbus Grove 17, Bluffton 10
Region 23
Sugarcreek Garaway 42, West Jefferson 7
Region 24
Versailles 41, Anna 14
Division VII
Region 25
Dalton 31, Danville 8
Region 26
Hamler Patrick Henry 40, McComb 39
Region 27
Caldwell 20, Reedsville Eastern 19
Region 28
Maria Stein Marion Local 48, Ansonia 0
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA football playoffs: Regional final scores, central Ohio recaps
