Friday night lights shining bright once again
Some players feel effect of crowds for first time
Blake Horvath had never really played in front of a full crowd on a Friday night.
The Hilliard Darby senior played some as a sophomore in 2019, but there’s a difference between occasional contributions as a sophomore and being the starting quarterback as a senior.
It was fitting, then, that Horvath was the one who brought the crowd to its feet for the first time all night early in the third quarter. As Horvath got past Olentangy Orange’s Andre Robinson at midfield with nothing but waning daylight between him and the end zone, the fans in attendance stood up and took notice.
One by one, the crowd rose and turned to see how far Horvath would go. When he crossed the goal line to score Darby’s first touchdown of the season, they exploded — not unlike the fireworks that were set off after the clock ran out on the 17-0 win.
“It felt great to have everybody back,” Horvath said. “Our student section was amazing, all the fans on their feet. I thought it was a great one.”
Throughout the night, everything from vocal battles between the two student sections to the gasps of the crowd during an electrifying play served as a reminder of how unique the atmosphere of Friday night football is.
When the game ended, Horvath and his teammates waved their arms to encourage the crowd to get even louder as they ran to ring the bell at the far end of the field and celebrate their victory.
After 18 months of uncertainty and limited capacity crowds, a full stadium on a Friday night felt like a return to a simpler time.
“How about a football Friday night under a full moon with the Panthers in the lead?” Darby’s public address announcer asked at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
How about it, indeed.
Around central Ohio football
Hartley started the 2021 football season early with a Thursday night matchup at Youngstown Ursuline. The Hawks had a chance to win the game with under 30 seconds left, but came up just short on fourth down and fell 62-58 — a final score that makes it hard to believe a defensive stand ended the game . ...
Upper Arlington senior running back Carson Gresock picked up where he left off in 2020 with a school-record 384 rushing yards and four touchdowns in Friday night’s comeback win over Reynoldsburg . ...
Not to be outdone by Gresock, Harvest Prep’s Jaylen Jennings scored five touchdowns, including a long run of 91 yards, and racked up 229 total rushing yards on 15 carries in the Warriors’ 6034 win over Eastmoor Academy . ...
West Jefferson senior Tyler Buescher passed for four touchdowns in the Roughriders’ 48-13 rout of Urbana. Buescher finished with 297 total yards while completing 25 of his 34 pass attempts.
Basketball
Former Ohio State basketball star Ron Lewis has joined Worthington Kilbourne as the boys junior varsity coach. Lewis spent 14 seasons playing professional basketball overseas and will be a permanent substitute teacher this year at Kilbourne.
Golf
New Albany senior and Ohio State commit Kary Hollenbaugh shot her first hole-in-one Aug. 16 at Centerville’s Lady Elk Invitational. Hollenbaugh carded a 60 for the round, though it’s unknown if that’s a state record because the Ohio High School Athletic Association doesn’t keep regular-season golf records.
Hollenbaugh’s hole-in-one came two days after Delaware Hayes senior Colin Bibler carded an ace of his own.
Soccer
Westerville North senior Chloe Robertson scored two goals on her birthday Thursday to lead the Warriors in a 5-0 win over Newark. Fellow senior Alison Rothmann also scored twice in the victory.
Diving
Bailee Sturgill, who placed third at the state diving tournament last year for Hilliard Darby as a freshman, has been named to Team USA for the Junior Diving World Championships. The competition will be held in Kiev, Ukraine, in December.
Baseball
Olentangy Liberty senior pitcher Nathan Leininger announced his commitment to the University of Toledo on Wednesday.
Athlete of the Week
Nominations are due Monday morning for the Dispatch’s Athlete of the Week award.
Anyone can nominate an athlete through a variety of methods, including via Twitter using the hashtag #Dispatchaow or tagging @Brianwhite13, through the Dispatch’s Facebook page or by email to bwhite1@dispatch.com. bjohnson@dispatch.com @baileyajohnson_