| Columbus Dispatch
It’s the third round of the Ohio high school football playoffs, and The Dispatch is covering three regional semifinals: Canal Winchester at Big Walnut, Olentangy Liberty at Olentangy Orange and Upper Arlington at Pickerington Central.
Sixteen central Ohio teams are playing Nov. 14. We’re also getting coverage assistance from other USA Today Network papers on these games: Dresden Tri-Valley versus Watterson at Ohio Dominican, Massillon Washington at DeSales, North Union at Carlisle and Steubenville at Licking Valley.
Scroll down to read live updates. There’s also a separate live blog for Massillon-DeSales.
Watch OHSAA football playoffs on NFHS Network
OHSAA scores, updates from third round of Ohio high school football playoffs
Massillon leads DeSales 27-7 at halftime
A Zay-shawn Murray interception led to a 13-yard touchdown run for Anthony McMullen Jr. and a 27-0 Massillon lead. DeSales then got on the scoreboard on John Hockaday’s 40-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
Halftime: Pickerington Central 10, Upper Arlington 6
Some stats in a few minutes.
Big Walnut’s Buirley breaks loose again
Nolan Buirley scores his fourth touchdown of the night, ripping off a 56-yard run with 4:50 left in the second quarter to stretch the lead over Canal Winchester 28-0. Burley’s first-half line so far: 11 carries, 105 yards, 4 TDs, 9.5 yards per carry, long of 56.
Touchdown pass gets Upper Arlington within four
Luke Backes’ 15-yard touchdown pass to Oliver Backes with 48 seconds left in the first half gives UA some life and gets them within 10-6 of Pickerington Central. The extra point was missed. UA drove 72 yards in 13 plays in 6:02, by far its best possession of the night.
Orange leads Liberty 14-10 at halftime
Orange kicker Tyler Gibson misses a 35-yard field-goal attempt as time expires in the first half.
We have points, finally, in Steubenville at Licking Valley
After Lincoln Clements blocks a punt, Donevin Ghiloni scores on a 1-yard run with 3:31 left in the first half. Licking Valley leads 7-0.
Watterson increases lead to five touchdowns
Jack McCoy scores on a 2-yard run, giving the Eagles a 35-0 lead over Tri-Valley with 1:14 to play in the first half.
Big Walnut fails to increase lead
The Golden Eagles miss on a scoring chance as Owen Pyles’ 37-yard field-goal attempt sails wide to end a nine-play, 58-yard drive midway through the second quarter. Big Walnut still leads Canal Winchester 21-0.
DeSales trails Massillon 20-0 in second quarter
Samuel Doussous forces a DeSales fumble and Isaac Maxheimer recovers. That sets up a 21-yard touchdown run by Savior Owens.
Watterson builds four-touchdown lead on Tri-Valley
Drew Bellisari and Joe Hayes hook up again, this time from 9 yards, and Watterson leads 28-0 with 4:25 left in the first half.
Liberty answers Orange touchdown
Liberty again draws closer as quarterback Alex Leonard leads the Patriots on a 75-yard drive, capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass to Patrick McDonnell to pull Liberty within 14-10 with 3:03 left in the first half.
Steubenville, Licking Valley locked in scoreless draw
The Big Red and Panthers are tied at 0 with 6:20 left in the first half.
Watterson widens lead against Tri-Valley
Jack McCoy runs for a 65-yard touchdown, making it 21-0 Eagles with 8:30 to play in the second quarter.
Williams’ long run sets up Pickerington Central touchdown
A 47-yard run on third-and-2 to the UA 1 for Central quarterback Rocco Williams set up a 1-yard touchdown run for Jordan Sanders III, and Central leads UA 10-0 with 7:02 left in the first half.
Central has rushed for 122 yards, per team statistician Matt Smith. Conversely, UA has 21 total yards (16 rushing, 5 passing).
Olentangy Orange uses trick play to extend lead
Faced with a fourth-and-3, Treyton Schroeder takes a backward pass from quarterback Levi Davis and throws to a wide-open Jake Luling for a 21-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead on Liberty with 7:03 left in the second quarter.
Canal Winchester gets a stop as Big Walnut’s drive stalls
Facing fourth-and-9 from the Canal 29, Big Walnut keeps the offense on the field, but Eli Stumpf’s pass sails out of bounds to end a nine-play, 47-yard drive with 1:47 left in the first quarter. By the way, the Golden Eagles entered with a 128-14 first-quarter scoring margin, and they’ve added to it with their 21-0 lead.
DeSales trails Massillon 13-0 in second quarter
Anthony McMullen Jr. scores on a 2-yard run, capping a 93-yard drive for Massillon. The Tigers missed the extra point.
Liberty gets on scoreboard with long field goal
Carson O’Morrow boots a 52-yard field goal to pull the Patriots within 7-3 of Orange with 9:53 left in the second quarter.
Bellisari increases Watterson’s lead
Watterson quarterback Drew Bellisari scores on a 54-yard run, giving the Eagles a 14-0 lead on Tri-Valley with 11:11 left in the second quarter.
End 1st: Pickerington Central 3, Upper Arlington 0
Central forced a quick three-and-out after its field goal, but had to punt on its next possession and will take a 3-0 lead to the second quarter. UA begins the second with first-and-10 at its own 26.
Olentangy Orange leads after one quarter
Orange leads 7-0 after one quarter, but Liberty has responded with a nice drive. The Patriots will have a second-down play at the Pioneers’ 42 to begin second quarter.
Watterson jumps ahead of Tri-Valley
Watterson drives 90 yards in seven plays and takes a 7-0 lead on a 28-yard Drew Bellisari touchdown pass to Joe Hayes with 1:57 left in the first quarter. Tri-Valley was stopped on downs inside the Watterson 10-yard line on the opening drive.
Buirley’s third touchdown pushes Big Walnut’s lead to 21-0
Canal Winchester fans are shaking their heads. After Eli Stumpf hit Brody Hatfield for 21 yards to the Canal 8, Nolan Buirley finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run – his third TD of the first quarter – with 4:52 left to make it 21-0 Big Walnut.
Pickerington Central drive fizzles but produces points
Central held the ball for the first 8:16 and drove to Upper Arlington’s 17, but a 15-play possession produced only a 37-yard field goal for Mason Peirano that gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
Central committed three straight penalties, two false starts and a hold, once it reached the 17 and was backed up into first-and-30 at the UA 37. The Tigers gained yards back to the 20 for Peirano’s kick.
Olentangy Orange opens scoring on Fickel TD run
Orange takes advantage of its defensive stand, driving 65 yards in 11 plays for the first score of the game. Lucas Fickel’s 1-yard touchdown run gives the Pioneers a 7-0 lead on Liberty with 3:30 left in the first quarter.
Another Canal Winchester turnover gives Big Walnut a short field
With 5:23 left in the first quarter, Canal loses the ball again, and Big Walnut takes over at the Canal 29-yard line, already leading 14–0.
Big Walnut extends its lead against Canal Winchester
On fourth-and-3 at the Canal 28, Eli Stumpf hits Owen Pollock for a 27-yard gain to keep the drive alive. On the next play, Nolan Buirley powers in from 1 yard out with 6:10 left in the first quarter to make it 14–0 Big Walnut.
Owens touchdown run opens scoring in Massillon at DeSales
Savior Owens runs for a 22-yard touchdown run, giving Massillon an early 7-0 lead at DeSales.
Turnover puts Big Walnut right back in business
With 8:38 left in the first quarter, Canal Winchester coughs up a fumble, and Big Walnut recovers at the Canal 35-yard line.
Olentangy Liberty loses ball on downs
Liberty opens the regional semifinal with a nice drive, but loses the ball on downs at the Orange 35. The Pioneers are now on the move.
Big Walnut jumps ahead 7–0
One play, one score. With 9:32 left in the first quarter, Eli Stumpf finds Nolan Buirley on a swing pass, and Buirley takes it 62 yards for a touchdown to put the Golden Eagles up 7–0 against Canal Winchester.
Ohio high school football schedule third-round playoffs
The Division I, Region 3 semifinals feature sixth-seeded Upper Arlington at second-seeded Pickerington Central and top-seeded Orange hosting fifth-seeded Liberty.
If recent history is any indication, the UA-Central matchup will become an instant classic. UA defeated Central in triple-overtime Region 3 games in 2021 and 2023.
Central quarterback Rocco Williams leads an offense that averages 42.5 points. UA’s defense allows only 9.6 points per game and has four shutouts.
UA quarterback Luke Backes has already had a memorable week, signing to play lacrosse at Cornell.
The UA-Central winner will play the winner of Liberty-Orange. Liberty leads the series 12-4, but Orange won their Oct. 24 meeting 26-14 to capture the OCC-Central championship.
That is defending state champion Liberty’s only loss since its 0-3 start. The Patriots’ defense, coming off a shutout of Olentangy, will face a high-scoring Orange offense led by quarterback Levi Davis and running back Lucas Fickel.
In Division II, Region 7, Canal Winchester coach Rob Page will face his former team in Big Walnut, which he led from 2019-22. Big Walnut, which hasn’t lost since its season opener, reached a state semifinal last year.
Click here for the full schedule of Ohio third-round playoff games.
