Ray helps Pickerington North stun rival
Editor's note: Each week, we will highlight some of the top games from Friday night's high school football matchups. For recaps of all the games, go to Dispatch.com.
Malik Ray wasn't about to miss out on the opportunity that he and his teammates had been waiting for all game.
The Pickerington North junior linebacker, who had three tackles for loss in a defensive struggle, stripped the ball from Pickerington Central's Olando Kamara with 1:20 remaining, picked it up and sprinted 45 yards to the end zone to force overtime.
In the extra session, Central quarterback Braden Mantooth was intercepted in the end zone by Cayden Christopher on fourth-and-16 from the 20. North then moved the ball to the Central 8, and Michael Agganis kicked a 25-yard field goal for the 13-10 victory.
“I was reading the ball, they were pulling it to the left and I was coming up playing fast,” Ray said. “I saw (Kamara) was holding it loose and I stripped it. All I could see was the end zone.”
North, which earned its first victory over Central since 2013, improved to 3-1 while the Tigers dropped to the same record. It also snapped Central's 19game winning streak against teams from the Central District.
Agganis made a 40-yard field goal with 1:36 to go to cut it to 10-3. With the game tied at 10, Central drove deep into North territory, but Khaleb Rykard missed a 26-yard field goal with 9 seconds left in regulation.
“We wanted this so bad,” said North senior wide receiver and defensive back Eli Coppess.
Central scored the only offensive touchdown of the game with 4:06 to go in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Kamara. That came two plays after Mantooth ran to the 4 and appeared to fumble, but it was ruled that he was down.
North managed just 106 yards of offense. Kamara finished with 71 yards on 25 carries and Mantooth rushed for 68 yards to lead the Tigers' offense.
“We knew they've got the best defense maybe not even in Ohio, but maybe compared to anybody in the country,” Panthers coach Nate Hillerich said. “We knew we'd have to have some big plays. (We) never quit.” —Jarrod Ulrey
Hilliard Darby 29, Hilliard Davidson 23
Facing fourth-and-2, Darby quarterback Blake Horvath connected with tight end Ben Marsh on a short pop pass and Marsh finished off the 34-yard touchdown.
That play — which put Darby ahead 29-16 after Horvath's two-point conversion run — ended up being the gameclincher for the visiting Panthers as they improved to 4-0.
“I just had a hunch,” Horvath said. “They were tight to the line and I thought we could hit a little tight end pass over top of their safety.”
The win was Darby's first over the Wildcats since 2019, and the 52 combined points were the most since the rivalry began in 2007. Horvath finished with 209 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 23 carries and James Hakes added 82 yards and a score on 21 carries to lead the Panthers. —Michael Rich
Olentangy 24, Olentangy Orange 21 Hayden Olcott's 21-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining lifted host Olentangy (1-3) to its first victory of the season over Olentangy Orange (0-4).
Olcott's kick, his third field goal of the game, finished a drive that started with 48 seconds left. Ethan Grunkenmeyer threw for 226 yards and hit Ryan Petrone for a 22-yard score in the second quarter.
But Jake Werling, who led Orange with 101 yards rushing with two scores and 57 yards passing, scored on an 18yard run and from one-yard out to help the game at 21 before the Braves' final drive.