It's Week 2 of Ohio high school football, and there were numerous intriguing matchups on the OHSAA schedule for the Columbus area. That included the three games The Dispatch covered Friday night: Olentangy Berlin at Upper Arlington and Olentangy Orange at Westerville North in OCC crossover games, and the small-school showdown of Jonathan Alder at Columbus Academy.
Orange pulled away for a wild 54-41 win at North, UA edged visiting Berlin 17-14 and host Academy beat Alder 27-9.
Below are our live updates from the games.
Watch Ohio high school football on NFHS Network
OHSAA scores, updates from Week 2 of Ohio high school football season
Olentangy Orange earns wild win over Westerville North
Orange's Cohen Weaver and Treyton Schroeder were the stars of this game, but North quarterback Ronald Jackson also made plenty of big plays.
Jackson scored on 1-yard run to make it 6-0 with 8:59 left in the first quarter. Jackson's 58-yard flanker screen to Javier Matthews set up the score. The Warriors failed on the two-point conversion attempt.
Orange quickly responded as QB Levi Davis scored on 3-yard run to make it 7-6 with 6:36 left in first quarter. Davis' 20-yard run and a 25-yard pass to Weaver helped set up the score.
North reclaimed the lead when Jackson hit Micah Young with a slant pass for a 54-yard TD with 4:52 left in the first quarter. Jackson added the 2-point conversion for a 14-7 lead.
Weaver's 50-yard TD run on the next possession was nullified by a holding penalty, but Orange tied the game anyway thanks to its defense. Schroeder's 77-yard interception return for a score on a fourth-and-13 play made it 14-all with 1:07 left in the first quarter.
But the early scoring didn't end there. Shortly after Jackson's 59-yard touchdown run was nullified by holding, Marlon Walker scored on a 9-yard run for a 21-14 North lead early in the second quarter.
But wait, there's more. Weaver ran 40 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 21 with 8:02 left in the first half. Orange then recovered the ensuing short kickoff and took a 28-21 lead on Weaver's 2-yard TD run with 7:10 left in half.
Will Musgrove's 48-yard interception return then set up Lucas Fickel's 10-yard TD run, giving Orange a 35-21 lead with 5:52 left in half. The Pioneers scored quickly againas Davis connected with Zane Konczak for a 46-yard TD and a 42-21 lead with 3:45 left in half.
Jackson's 10-yard TD run on a fourth-and-3 play late in the first half pulled North to within 42-27 at halftime.
After a wild first half, the third quarter featured just one touchdown and numerous penalties. Orange led 42-35 after three.
Orange restored a two-score lead at 48-35 on Weaver's 1-yard run with 8:37 to play.
On North's next possession, a Schroeder interception in the back of end zone thwarted the Warriors.
Weaver then scored again on a 59-yard run for a 54-35 lead with 6:14 left.
Upper Arlington holds off Olentangy Berlin
UA split the run and pass evenly on its six-play drive to open the game, and Kyle Cox tossed a 55-yard touchdown pass to Wally Swiney to put UA on top 7-0 just 3:41 in.
UA already has exceeded its total yards (106) and first downs (6) from last week's 6-0 loss to Cleveland Glenville, amassing 154 yards and eight first downs through a quarter. The Golden Bears will start the second with second-and-goal at the Berlin 3, leading 7-0.
UA's drive fizzled early in the second, and Edward Oakley kicked a 24-yard field goal to make it 10-0 Golden Bears with 11:02 left in the half. The Golden Bears drove 71 yards in 16 plays, taking 7:25.
Neither team scored again the rest of the half, although an apparent Hail Mary touchdown pass by UA as time expired was negated because of an illegal man downfield. Michigan State commit Cal Thrush, who mostly plays defensive end but sees some time on offense as a tight end, appeared to have caught a 35-yard pass fromCox before the penalty was called.
UA outgained Berlin 148-80 in the first half.
The teams traded punts on their first possessions of the second half, but Berlin took over at midfield and got back in the game, trailing 10-7 on quarterback Aiden Eviston's keeper up the middle with 4:25 left in the third quarter.
Running back Alejandro Aguilar also has provided a spark. After not touching the ball in the first half, he has five carries for 44 yards since halftime.
UA started the fourth quarter with a needed insurance score, taking a 17-7 lead when Cox found an open Drew Parker in the back of the end zone. Cox escaped pressure, wheeled left and tossed a pass to the waiting Parker to at least temporarily stem Berlin's momentum.
But Berlin responded with its best drive of the night, covering 81 yards in 15plays and drawing within 17-14 when Eviston rumbled in 17 yards on a quarterback draw.
UA burned off the final 3:52, keeping the ball largely on the ground to seal the win. But Parker had another huge catch, for 13 yards on third-and-8 at the UA 43 to sustain the possession.
Columbus Academy pulls away from Jonathan Alder
A 358-yard rushing performance sparked Academy. The Vikings also held Alder to 69 yards rushing.
Alder went up 6-0 late in the first quarterafter recovering a fumble at the Academy 42-yard line. The Pioneers scored on a 24-yard pass from Grant Horne to Chase Muetzel.
Taking a chance on fourth-and-1, Academy quarterback Cole Spalding broke free and ran down the sideline for a 63-yard TD. The Vikings led 7-6 after the first quarter.
Alder went ahead 9-7 on a Logan Rich 21-yard field goal with 5:25 left in the second quarter. The Pioneers got the ball at the Academy 26 after a fumbled punt and moved to the 1 before the Vikings' defense held.
Griffin Bowman’s 48-yard touchdown run put Academy back on top, 13-9, with 45 seconds left in the first half. That was the score at halftime.
Academy had 171 yards rushing in the first half. Spalding had 85 yards on five carries, and Bowman had 71 yards on five rushes.
Academy’s offense continued to excel in the second half. The Vikings went for it on fourth-and-goal at the Alder 6 and Spalding hit Gabe Davis-Ray for a touchdown to make it 20-9 with 6:44 left in the third quarter.
Spalding scored on a 10-yard run with 8:15 left in the fourth, capping a 12-play, 71-yard drive.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
sports@dispatch.com
