[ad_1]
•The Hilliard Davidson football team reached a program milestone Oct. 15.
The Wildcats earned the 500th win in program history with a 23-20 victory over visiting Olentangy Liberty. Aiden Ighnat made the winning 31-yard field goal as time expired.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for our program,” coach Jeremey Scally said. “As the late Woody Hayes said, ‘You win with people.’ For generations, this community — and this program — has had so many tremendous people who have sacrificed and contributed to this milestone. I hope it offers a great sense of pride to those who have laid the foundation, while also energizing our program for continued success moving forward.”
Davidson is 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the OCC-Central as it prepares to visit unbeaten Upper Arlington (9-0, 4-0) on Oct. 22. Scally coached UA in 2019.
Under Scally, UA went 6-4 overall and 4-1 in the OCC-Central to share the league title with the Wildcats and Dublin Coffman.
—Frank DiRenna
•The Ready football team followed a three-game midseason losing streak by winning back-to-back games to move into playoff contention in Division V, Region 19.
The Silver Knights beat Bexley 26-0 on Oct. 8 and Grandview 36-0 on Oct. 15 to improve to 4-5. They close the regular season Oct. 22 at KIPP Columbus.
“We’ve progressively gotten better,” coach Michael Schaefer said. “We’re a young team that’s gotten better throughout the course of the season. The great thing is that if you can get into the playoffs, your record doesn’t matter.”
Ready has given up an average of 27.4 points during its losses but has shown steady improvement defensively, according to Schaefer, with senior linebacker Connor Moore, senior defensive back J’sun Gardner and junior lineman Jerad Koboi leading the way.
The teams Ready has lost to have a combined record of 29-13. KIPP Columbus is a Division VI program that is 6-3.
“We don’t control our schedule,” Schaefer said. “We’ve just got to focus on us.”
—Jarrod Ulrey
•With its 4-2 victory over Columbus Academy on Oct. 12, the Watterson boys soccer team closed the regular season on a four-game winning streak and at 9-3-2.
The Eagles are seeded second for the Division II district tournament and open postseason action Oct. 20 at home against 18th-seeded Heath.
Watterson is in the same bracket as top-seeded Bexley, which it played to a scoreless tie Aug. 28.
“Every game we’ve got to learn something and you learn from the victories, you learn from the losses and you learn from every situation,” coach Chad Smith said.
Senior forward Trent Maisano has 20 goals. Senior midfielder Johnny Hammerle missed the first four games with injury but has been one of the team’s top scorers since his return.
—Jarrod Ulrey
•The Dublin Scioto boys soccer team pulled off a program first.
The Irish captured their third consecutive OCC title by finishing first in the OCC-Capital at 7-0, ahead of second-place Worthington Kilbourne (4-1-2).
Scioto is seeded 10th for the Division I district tournament and plays play seventh-seeded Hilliard Darby or 46th-seeded Independence in the second round Oct. 21. The winner plays ninth-seeded Dublin Jerome, 23rd-seeded Kilbourne or 39th-seeded Briggs in a semifinal Oct. 26.
The Irish are 10-5-1 overall.
—Frank DiRenna
•The Upper Arlington boys soccer team enters the Division I district tournament as the third seed, 10th-ranked team statewide and, for the first time in 12 years, OCC-Central champions.
Miles Bonham and Emmett O’Brien each scored twice Oct. 12 in a 5-1 home win over Hilliard Davidson that wrapped up only the Golden Bears’ second league championship since 1992. UA went 4-1 in the OCC-Central and is 14-1-1 overall entering a second-round district tournament game Oct. 21 at home against 34th-seeded Central Crossing or 40th-seeded Teays Valley.
Bonham leads the Bears with 11 goals. Constantinides has 10, and Evan D’Herete and Ethan Howe have six each.
—Dave Purpura
•After having one of central Ohio’s top runners last season in 2021 graduate Thaine Nederveld, the Whetstone boys cross country team has been using a different formula to find success this fall.
The Braves scored 31 points to capture the City League title Oct. 13 at home as Wyatt Starkie won in 17 minutes, 19.8 seconds and teammate Maitland Neff took third (17:39.6) while Mifflin’s Abdirizak Sheik was second (17:37.3) and teammate Gadisa Abubaker finished fourth (18:16.4).
Starkie, who finished fourth in the City last season, hopes that he and the Braves can have a strong performance in the Division I, district 2 meet Oct. 23 at Hilliard Darby.
“We knew what we had to do and a lot of guys ran a (personal-best time at the City meet),” Starkie said. “We knew with us losing Thaine it would be tough. I’m OK with where we’re at. We’re really just tapering down and getting in the right mindset for district.”
—Jarrod Ulrey
•The Bexley boys cross country team won the MSL-Ohio championship for the third consecutive season Oct. 16 at Whitehall.
The Lions were led by league champion Solomon McDow, who finished in 16:38.0. They totaled 28 points to finish ahead of runner-up Grandview (79).
Andrew DeLaCruz (third, 17:27.3), Jon Laing (seventh, 17:47.1), Athanasius Young (eighth, 17:55.4) and Miller MacDonald (ninth, 18:22.5) also scored for the Lions.
Bexley competes in the Division II, district 1 meet Oct. 23 at Hilliard Darby. The top three teams and top 12 individuals advance to regional Oct. 30 at Pickerington North.
—Scott Hennen
•Steven Miller (15:46.97) and Ryan Smith (15:50.12) finished second and third, respectively, to lead the Worthington Kilbourne boys cross country team to the OCC-Capital championship Oct. 16 at Canal Winchester.
The Wolves scored 47 points to edge Westerville North (55) in the seven-team meet.
Luke Miller (16:20.81) was eighth and A.J. Hawkins (16:50.43) finished 15th of 66 runners for the Wolves.
—Michael Rich
•The Upper Arlington boys water polo team earned the top seed for this weekend’s North Region tournament in its home pool.
St. Charles is seeded third as it tries to win its fourth consecutive state championship. Among other area teams, Thomas Worthington is seeded fourth, Worthington Kilbourne is fifth and New Albany is eighth.
Play begins Oct. 23 and finishes Oct. 24 with semifinals, the third-place game and championship at approximately 5:45 p.m.
The top two teams advance to state Oct. 29 and 30 at Cincinnati Princeton.
—Dave Purpura
sports@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekSports
[ad_2]
Source link