Football Game Preview: Olentangy Braves vs. Hilliard Darby Panthers

Two dominant backs in Andrew Wilber and Kohen Kornegay are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Olentangy Braves will welcome the Hilliard Darby Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Olentangy has four straight victories, Hilliard Darby has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.

Olentangy hadn't beaten Marysville on the road since September 22, 2017 but that history sure didn't bother them on Friday. The Braves simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Monarchs 49-17. Considering the Braves have won five matchups by more than 19 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Meanwhile, Hilliard Darby scored first but ultimately less than Dublin Jerome in their contest on Friday. They fell 18-14 to the Celtics. While the Panthers didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Celtics 7-0 in the first quarter.

Olentangy will have to contain Jackson Huffman as he made an impact in Hilliard Darby's last game. He rushed for 94 yards and a pair of TDs.

Hilliard Darby didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Cedric Holman Jr and Aj Smith. Hilliard Darby got some further help from Logan Krooner: he picked up three sacks, forced one fumble, and made 12 total tackles (4.0 for loss).

Olentangy's win bumped their record up to 6-1. As for Hilliard Darby, their loss dropped their record down to 2-5.

Olentangy took their victory against Hilliard Darby when the teams last played back in October of 2024 by a conclusive 21-0 score. Will the Braves repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.