Unusual script for Olentangy football
The Olentangy school district historically boasts big success in football across the board. Olentangy and Liberty have made the playoffs every year since 2014, Orange likewise since 2016 and Berlin the past two years.
But after Week 3, the newest program — Berlin — was undefeated while the others were a combined 1-8, with Liberty having the only win. Things still are a bit topsy-turvy after Week 6: Berlin, in its fourth season, boasts the best record at 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the Occ-cardinal Division, but Liberty has won three in a row and Olentangy has won two of three.
Orange remains winless but isn't panicking.
All four of the Olentangy head coaches have built strong cultures and are confident in their assistants and players to stay the course.
“I respect every coach in our district,” Olentangy coach Mark Solis said. “I think every program is run first-class. I have tremendous respect for (Liberty coach) Steve Hale, (Orange coach) Zebb Schroeder and (Berlin coach) Mark Nori.
“That is due in large part to the support that we get from our administrative teams. It's a big deal in our district — athletics and extracurriculars across the board, whether it's male or female. So, when you're competing against all these other coaches in our district, you better be on top of your game.”
Liberty began to turn the corner with a 38-14 win over Berlin on Sept. 10 and is now 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the Occ-central. Olentangy also started its turnaround Sept. 10 with a 24-21 win over Orange and then edged Reynoldsburg 31-30 on Sept. 17 before losing to Berlin 28-21 on Sept. 24 to stand at 2-4 overall and 0-1 in the Occ-cardinal. Orange is 0-6 overall and 0-1 in the Occ-central.
Liberty scored just 14 points in its 1-2 start while trying to break in a new lineup after losing 30 players to graduation.
“We want to focus on getting better,” Hale said. “We know we've played really good teams and we had some things we needed to work on. We're not quite the same team we were a year ago.”
The Patriots' top returning receiver, Chase Brecht, is now their top option out of the backfield with 421 yards and five touchdowns on 83 carries. J.J. Sebert and Ryan Grohe began the season splitting time at quarterback, but Sebert has gotten the bulk of the snaps the past couple of weeks.
Olentangy has had one losing season (5-6 in 2018) under Solis, who took over in 2013.
The Braves have the smallest roster in the district at 50.
“We had to go through the valley to get where we're at right now (and) I really like how this team is starting to come together,” Solis said.
Sophomore quarterback in Ethan Grunkemeyer is a prime example of how Olentangy is trending. He is 101-for-151 for 1,261 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions, with six touchdowns and two interceptions over the past three games.
Orange has yet to experience the success that Liberty and Olentangy have seen over the past few weeks. Quarterback Jake Werling has led the Pioneers, going 56-for-111 for 722 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions and rushing for 366 yards and three scores on 109 carries.
The Pioneers have led or been tied in the final period in three of their games.
With the top 16 teams in Division I, Region 3 qualifying for the newly expanded playoffs, Orange still has a lot to play for. There are 19 teams in the region.
“What we try to get (our players) to understand is that everything they've done is still worth it,” Schroeder said. “There's still a lot of things out there for us if we keep working.”