5 things learned in Week 7
The mystery involving many of central Ohio's league title and playoff races is starting to dissipate, but the intrigue has not.
It's become clear that teams such as Gahanna and Dublin Jerome in Division I, Westerville South in Division II, Watterson in Division III, Columbus East in Division IV and Harvest Prep in Division V should remain in the discussion of the area's best teams in their divisions.
Of those six teams, the only one to lose in Week 7 was Jerome, which had a difficult road task against Marysville.
Three weeks remain in the regular season, so there's time left for surprises, but the teams that have appeared to be for real probably are.
Here are five things we learned in Week 7:
Liberty season not as shocking as it would appear
With three weeks of regular-season action to go against a deep slate of Occcentral competition, there is a possibility that Liberty could head into the playoffs at 3-7.
No one, though, is going to want to play the Patriots.
Liberty went 5-6 last season, which is probably the reason its 28-27 overtime win over Upper Arlington on Sept. 30 feels a bit jarring. All of the Patriots' wins during their 3-4 start have come against teams that are now 5-2.
Another thing that makes Liberty a team to fear is that one of its losses was to Cleveland Glenville, which is 7-0. Another was to perennial-power Pickerington Central and its most recent loss was to emerging Dublin Coffman.
It never has been wise to discount the Patriots under 20th-year coach Steve Hale, who has guided the program since its inception and has led it to three state semifinals.
Briggs putting together one of its best seasons
There are feel-good stories emerging in the City League with East and Marion-franklin battling for titles in the City-north and City-south, respectively.
Not to be overlooked is what is happening at Briggs, which is 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the City-south for its best start since it posted its last winning season while going 6-4 in 2010.
The Bruins lost each of their first 23 matchups against Eastmoor Academy but ended that streak with a 34-28 overtime over the Warriors on Thursday.
The only playoff appearance Briggs has experienced other than in 2020, when every team was eligible, was in 1990 when it went 10-2, but the Bruins
are in the hunt to make it.
Pieces falling in place for Gahanna
The last time the Lions started 6-1, as they are now after beating New Albany 38-24 on Friday, was in 2015 during coach Bruce Ward's second season.
Gahanna ended that season by losing three of its final four, but there's every indication that similar late-season struggles won't return this time.
Not only do the Lions have a Region 3 championship-contending defense with standouts such as linemen Kamari Burns and Elijah King and linebacker Jaden Yates, but they've got one of the area's best running backs in Diore Hubbard.
What should be scary to opponents is how much Gahanna's passing game has improved with Ward's son, sophomore Brennen Ward, now having 11 career starts at quarterback. Ward has nine touchdown passes and three interceptions, with his best career game coming against New Albany.
Marysville has season-defining win
After putting together a perfect regular season and earning a runner-up finish in Region 2 last fall, the Monarchs opened this season by losing 35-0 to New Albany and also fell 48-35 to Grove City.
Marysville is in the thick of the Occcardinal title race through two weeks, though, following a 49-28 victory over previously unbeaten Jerome on Friday.
The Monarchs asserted their will, with Colton Powers rushing for six touchdowns and 175 yards on 24 carries to lead an attack that produced 420 yards on the ground.
Licking Heights should be a factor
Another team that could be flying under the radar after posting back-to-back 5-5 finishes is Licking Heights, which blew past Zanesville 64-13 on Friday to improve to 5-2.
The Hornets also have wins over Newark Catholic and Granville. Leading the way has been senior quarterback Deuce Caldwell, who has rushed for 868 yards and 13 touchdowns and has thrown for five scores.
Heading into its game Friday against Watkins Memorial (6-1), Licking Heights is seventh in Region 7.