Through two weeks of the 2024 Ohio high school football season, 23 central Ohio teams remain undefeated.
An equal number of teams will seek their first victories this weekend, and two have yet to surrender a point.
Here are five things to watch in Week 3:
1. Pickerington Central, North prepare for latest meeting
The crosstown rivals have taken similar paths to their 23rd all-time meeting Friday at Central, shelving disappointing Week 1 losses with high-scoring Week 2 wins. Central leads the series 17-5, but North outslugged the Tigers 39-34 last year.
“We have to be on point to play with these guys,” said Central coach Jeff Lomonico, whose team is coming off a 45-40 win at Huber Heights Wayne. “Our offense did a great job simplifying movement (last Friday), figuring out what we’re good at and getting in good positions to play hard. They built some confidence to know they can do this.”
Junior quarterback Rocco Williams’ 275 yards passing paced Central, which led 38-13 in the second half before holding on.
North is coming off the highest-scoring game in terms of combined points in its 21-year history, a 53-51 win over Grandville (Michigan). Brandon Fowler made a 32-yard field goal as time expired.
“It makes your team tougher and more resilient,” North coach Nate Hillerich said. “This is going to be a four-quarter game. It will come down to the last possession. They’re the normal Pick Central. … They played their normal style of football (last week) and they were physical. We’re expecting a battle.”
2. Defense powers Grove City Christian’s fast start
One of two central Ohio teams yet to allow a point this season, the Eagles and coach Ben Schall anticipate a stiff test Friday at Mount Gilead (1-1).
Grove City Christian (2-0) has outscored its first two opponents, Cincinnati Miami Valley Christian Academy and Franklin Furnace Green, 87-0 and allowed 84 yards and five first downs. Watterson also has two shutout wins.
Ohio State connection: Sons of former Buckeyes help Watterson sustain success
Schall called senior Austin Dahmer, last year’s starting quarterback who has been converted to strong safety, and junior linebacker Landen Sams the catalysts of the defense.
“(Sams) is a great communicator and gets everybody in the right places,” Schall said. “He is an intense, relentless competitor. …
“(Dahmer) is usually to the strong side, about 10 yards from the ball. He just has a real knack for the ball. He’s deep enough where he can see things develop. He’s a little bit of a risk-taker.”
Senior Cayden Carroll has 264 yards rushing and six touchdowns on 21 carries, fueling the offense for a team that has 12 seniors and 17 juniors on a roster of 46.
3. Beechcroft expects ‘championship’ atmosphere against Walnut Ridge
With City League play a week away, Beechcroft coach Stephen Ayers considers Friday’s crossover game against visiting Walnut Ridge (2-0) a litmus test.
Ayers knows the Scots almost as well as his own team, given that he spent seven years as an assistant at Walnut Ridge in the 2010s and remains an instructional aide at the school, in addition to serving as its wrestling and track coach. Ayers took over at Beechcroft (1-1) in February.
“They’re extremely athletic, talented and physical up front … and they have a dual-threat quarterback in (Marquis Lucas),” Ayers said. “He makes plays running the ball and throwing the ball, an all-around playmaker. …
“We have to treat this like a championship game. This is the North Division versus the South Division. Ridge already beat Northland, who’s our rival (8-6), and Linden, which is in our division (32-22). It’s a big game for us, league-wise and confidence-wise.”
Tyrell Russell’s receiving touchdown and interception return for a score led Beechcroft to a 40-0 rout of Dayton Thurgood Marshall last week.
4. Westerville South set for ‘measuring stick’ matchup against Olentangy
South (2-0) visits Olentangy (1-1) on Friday seeking its first 3-0 start since 2020, when it went 7-1 in a season hampered by COVID-19.
First-year coach Eric Calland, an assistant under Matthew Christ in 2020, said Olentangy will be a “great measuring stick” for his team.
“Olentangy has guys all over the place,” Calland said. “Defensively, their nose guard (Daniel Stephens) is one of the best defensive linemen that we’ve seen on film in years. We had to play them last year, too. He just tore us apart. Their linebackers are really aggressive. They have those awesome deep safeties (Kaden Gebhardt and J.J. Jah).”
Watch Ohio high school football on NFHS Network
South lost to Olentangy 31-14 a season ago, snapping a two-game winning streak against the Braves. The Wildcats beat Westerville Central 41-11 last week for their fourth consecutive win in that series.
Junior quarterback Evan Andrews directs South’s offense, completing 18 of 40 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Ian Gordon has rushed for 210 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries.
Senior linebackers Ian Smith (14 tackles) and Preston Kawa (13 tackles) and junior defensive end London Vickroy (10 tackles) lead the defense.
Grandview Heights football coach Jason Peters previews 2024 season
Grandview Heights football coach Jason Peters discusses the outlook for his team coming off seven wins and a playoff appearance in 2023.
5. Grandview Heights isn’t resting on its laurels
In a small-school battle of 2-0 teams, Division VI Grandview hosts Division V Northridge on Friday.
Grandview is looking for its first 3-0 start since 2019, when it started 4-0 but went on to finish 7-5.
“The kids are responding really well,” coach Jason Peters said. “The kids have really put things together. You preach all the time about perfection. As a coach, you know that’s never obtainable. We’re never going to get there, but it’s not OK to rest on what we’ve done. We have to continue to get better.”
Predictions: Who’s going to win in Week 3?
Grandview lost to Northridge 35-8 last season.
“Northridge is going to line up and play old-school football,” Peters said. “They get under center. There’s going to be some I-formation stuff, some double-tight power I. The big thing for us is we’ve seen some of that stuff the first two weeks. When you never see stuff like that, it kind of gets you. … We’ll do our best to get our kids ready.”
Grandview has beaten Briggs (28-12) and West (40-6), while Northridge has edged East Knox (8-7) and Fredericktown (19-13).
Junior Owen Nugent (RB/WB/DB) leads a balanced ground attack for Grandview with 155 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Henry Ohlinger (RB/LB) has rushed for 122 yards and two scores.
Sophomore Jack Clifford (QB/DB) has passed for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
sports@dispatch.com
@DispatchPreps
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66d99141fd024cafa0631366b6a8319e&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dispatch.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school%2Ffootball%2F2024%2F09%2F05%2Fohio-high-school-football-week-3-ohsaa-games-columbus%2F74983639007%2F&c=18404007031344573130&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-09-04 23:06:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.