The homestretch of the fall season is here
There are only two more weeks left in the high school football regular season.
In Divisions II and III golf, the state championships are next weekend. For Division I golf and tennis, it’s time for districts. Soccer, volleyball and field hockey are barely more than a week away from their postseasons beginning. Cross country districts are in less than two weeks.
The most intense part of the fall high school sports season is here. In these final weeks, there is still much to be decided in every sport, and a team or player getting hot at the right time can have massive implications for the playoff picture.
Many of Ohio’s top players and teams are here in the Columbus area, and they’re about to have the opportunity to show that on the state’s largest stages.
Buckle up, high school sports fans. The most exciting time of year is here.
Football
Heath sophomore quarterback Brayden Bayles threw a touchdown pass on three of his five completions in a 57-10 win over Northridge. Bayles finished with 175 passing yards — an average of 35 yards per completion . ...
Olentangy Berlin sophomore quarterback Harrison Brewster had 228 allpurpose yards in a 22-21 win over Dublin Jerome. In addition to scoring the gamewinning touchdown with 34 seconds left, Brewster was 13-of-17 passing for 131 yards and one interception, had 57
rushing yards on 15 carries and had a 40yard reception . ...
Reynoldsburg quarterback Dijon Jennings had over 250 passing yards and three touchdowns just in the first half of a 52-20 win over Lancaster, and he wasn’t done there. Jennings finished with 395 yards — averaging 18.8 yards per completion — and five touchdowns, and added another 43 yards on the ground . ...
Upper Arlington running back Carson Gresock racked up 291 rushing yards on 26 carries and scored three touchdowns, including a long of 75 yards, as Upper Arlington beat Olentangy Orange 35-10 . ...
Worthington Kilbourne running back JJ Calip rushed for 171 yards and scored two touchdowns on just 10 carries in a 58-7 win over Franklin Heights . ...
Brian Fitzsimmons rushed for 166 yards and scored two touchdowns in Ready’s 26-0 win over Bexley . ...
Northmor senior quarterback Marcus Cortez accounted for six touchdowns in a 49-16 win over Mount Gilead. He completed all seven of his pass attempts for 120 yards and four touchdowns, and added 155 yards and two scores on the ground.
Soccer
Dublin Scioto’s boys team secured the Occ-capital title with a win over Big Walnut on Tuesday. It is the Irish’s third straight OCC championship . ...
Olentangy’s girls team clinched the Occ-cardinal championship with a win over Dublin Jerome on Tuesday . ...
Hilliard Darby senior Scott Griffith scored a hat trick in a 7-1 win over Groveport on Thursday . ...
Jeremiah Kanu scored two goals for Desales in a 2-0 win over Thomas Worthington on Thursday . ...
In the latest statewide soccer poll, New Albany is No. 2 and Upper Arlington is No. 4 in the Division I boys rankings. Grandview Heights is No. 4 and Worthington Christian is tied for ninth in the Division III boys poll . ...
In the girls poll, Olentangy is eighth in Division I. In Division II, Granville ranks second and Bloom-carroll is ninth. Grandview Heights is fifth in Division III.
Volleyball
Lancaster senior Campbell Nowland recorded her 2,000th career assist on Tuesday . ...
Newark Catholic senior Brooklyn
Smith recorded her 1,000th career dig on Thursday . ...
Bexley won the MSL-OHIO championship for the first time since 2018 with a win over Grandview Heights on Thursday.
Golf
Newark Catholic’s boys team shot a school-record 302 at the Division III district competition at Denison . ...
Dublin Jerome senior Sheil Iyer committed to Ohio University.
Cross country
Gahanna’s Alyssa Shope broke her own school record of 17:58 with a time of 17:44 at Centerville’s Saturday Night Lights meet on Oct. 2.
Basketball
Liberty Union junior combo guard Abbie Riddle committed to Bowling Green.
Softball
Brandon Twiss will be the new softball coach at Canal Winchester, pending school board approval. Twiss was the head coach at Upper Arlington from 2016-17 . ...
Jon Parker is retiring after 26 seasons as the softball coach at Berne Union.
Baseball
Legendary Lakewood baseball coach Don Thorp is calling it a career after 48 seasons and over 1,000 wins. bjohnson@dispatch.com @baileyajohnson_