Liberty blows 17-point lead, then wins on late TD pass

Mitchell Okuley threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Ben Roderick with 3:36 remaining, and Olentangy Liberty escaped with a 31-28 victory over host Westerville Central on Friday night in an Ohio Capital Conference Buckeye Division game.

Liberty (4-2, 1-0), which squandered a 24- 7 lead, trailed 28- 24 after Isaiah Healy threw a touchdown pass to Cameron Phillips with 6: 51 left in the game. It was Healy’s third touchdown pass in just under six minutes. He finished with 238 yards passing and four touchdowns to four different receivers in nearly completing the comeback.

Okuley, who finished with 155 yards passing and two scores, threw his first TD pass to Roderick (four receptions, 53 yards) late in the first half for a 17-7 lead. Okuley added 89 yards rushing and a 27-yard score for a 17-point lead in the third quarter.

Ashton Gilkey led the Warhawks (2-4, 0-1) with 103 yards on nine receptions.

New Albany (3-3, 1-0) rushed for 233 yards on 51 carries in grinding out a win over host Canal Winchester (3-3, 0-1) in the OCC Capital. The Eagles, who converted 10 of 15 third-down attempts, were led by Jalin Jackson’s 78 yards and two second-quarter touchdown runs.

Cody Little threw two touchdowns and rushed for one, and host Franklin Heights (3-3, 1-0) topped Groveport (0-6, 0-1) in the OCC Capital. Jacob Slark and Kesean Reeves each caught touchdowns from Little, who completed 12 of 18 passes for 196 yards and rushed for 161 yards on 15 carries. Groveport’s Emmanuel Anthony ran for 144 yards and a score.

Elijah Young rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown, and host Kilbourne (3-3, 2-0) shut down Delaware (2-4, 0-2) in the OCC Cardinal. The Wolves held the Pacers to 87 yards.

Hayden Schell hooked up with Andrew Brim for a 5-yard TD pass with six seconds left to help visiting Dublin Jerome (4-2, 3-0) rally back from a 26-7 deficit and edge Thomas Worthington (3-3, 0-3) in the OCC Cardinal. Schell, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more, cut the Celtics’ deficit to five points with a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter before his game-winner to Brim. The Cardinals scored 19 consecutive points in the second quarter on a field goal, punt return, interception return and a safety.

Josh Stewart threw three first-half touchdowns in leading host Hilliard Bradley (6-0, 3-0) over Dublin Scioto (2-4, 1-2) in the OCC Cardinal. Stewart was 7 of 11 for 132 yards, and Grant Buehl’s 50 yards rushing and two TDs helped the Jaguars take a 35-0 halftime lead.

Canyon Uphouse scored three touchdowns — one rushing, one receiving and one on a punt return — to lead Hilliard Darby (3-3) past Mount Vernon (2-4) in a nonleague game. Uphouse finished with 72 yards rushing, 50 receiving and had a 61-yard punt return.

Ben Wright scored a pair of touchdowns on 78 yards rushing, and Kalib O’Connor racked up 140 yards on the ground to help Hilliard Davidson (2-4, 1-0) blank Central Crossing (2-4, 0-1) in the OCC Central. Sean Carrier kicked field goals from 46 and 52 yards.

Cam Scott ran for 120 yards and three touchdowns to pace Dublin Coffman (4-2, 1-0) over visiting Marysville (2-4, 0-1) in the OCC Central.

Avery Heath had 117 yards rushing and scored two firsthalf touchdowns to help Upper Arlington (3-3, 1-0) take a 32-0 halftime lead against host Westland (1-5, 0-1) in the OCC Central. Shea Goss ran for 153 yards and three touchdowns, and D.J. Pearson returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to help host Lancaster (4-2, 1-0) beat Grove City (1-5, 0-1) in the OCC Ohio. The Golden Gales have won four straight games. Devin Dukes rushed for 133 yards and a TD to lead Grove City.

Riley Bruening threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns to pace visiting Olentangy (5-1, 1-0) over Westerville South (3-3, 0-1) in the OCC Buckeye. Ian Drummond had seven receptions for 103 yards and two TDs, and Caden Kaiser added two receptions for 114 yards and a score.

Luke Schmeling tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Zach Harrison, and visiting Olentangy Orange (6-0, 1-0) held Westerville North (2-4, 0-1) to 32 total yards in the OCC Buckeye.