On the way to advancing to a Division I, Region 3 semifinal last fall,
Pickerington Central beat local rival Pickerington North by one point during the regular season and by two in the first round of the playoffs.
The Tigers not only showed how much the gap has widened against North with their 42-0 victory last Friday on the road, but they also should be opening eyes throughout the state.
Central is off to a 4-0 start, and they’ve posted shutouts in three of those victories. The only real challenge they’ve faced was when they beat Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) 36-20 in the Kirk Herbstreit Classic on Sept. 6.
The Tigers are No. 6 in the state poll.
"They have a strong offensive line and we stymied them and gave ourselves good tackling angles," coach Jay Sharrett said. "We won some very difficult games against them last year and it was nice to get a little bit of a cushion for these guys. It was a great crowd and great for Pickerington."
Eilar Hardy, who has verbally committed to Notre Dame, and fellow defensive back Tamani Carter, who has offers from a list of schools that includes Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota and Stanford, are the most notable Tigers defenders.
Several other members of their defense, including linebackers Greg Basalyga, Taco Charlton and Jake Kincaid and lineman Davion Bowers, also stood out last Friday.
North senior Darien Bryant, who has 11 Division I offers, had one catch while playing tight end but wasn’t much of a factor from his spot on the defensive line.
Central running back Tyler Hammond, who goes by the nickname “Speedy” because a non-related teammate has the same first and last name, rushed for 93 yards and three touchdowns. The Tigers play host Friday to Lincoln (Gahanna), which is off to a 2-3 start and hasn’t beaten Central since 2001.
2. St. Edward shuts down Elder: The
St. Edward (Lakewood) Eagles, who are off to a 5-0 start and are the state’s fourth-ranked Division I team, traveled last Saturday to Cincinnati Elder and left with a 20-3 victory. St. Edward senior defensive end
Deonte Gibson, who has verbally committed to play for the University of Pittsburgh, led the way by having a hand in six sacks of Elder senior quarterback Ben Gramke.
3. St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron) rolls rival: Last Saturday at the University of Akron, junior running back Sae’von Fitzgerald accounted for 199 of the 289 yards of offense for
St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron) and led his team to a 20-0 victory over Hoban (Akron). With a defense led by Indiana recruit
Mark Murphy, the Irish limited Hoban to just 34 yards on 33 plays.
4. Glenville, Davidson stay unbeaten: Davidson beat Glenville 16-15 for the Division I state title last year, and both teams are off to impressive starts.
Glenville (Cleveland) is 15th in the Xcellent 25 High School Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard and first in the state poll. The Tarblooders improved to 5-0 with a 61-0 bombing of Collinwood (Cleveland) last Friday.
Hilliard Davidson is ranked third in the state and moved to 5-0 with a 52-0 win over Thomas (Worthington) last Friday. Their first five opponents are a combined 8-17.
5. Marion-Franklin gets revenge: The No. 2 team in the Division II state poll,
Marion-Franklin (Columbus), pulled away for a 35-6 victory last Friday over Walnut Ridge in City League-South Division play. Last season, the Red Devils lost to Walnut Ridge 21-14 in week five of the regular season but won their next eight to advance to a state semifinal. The Red Devils got 89 yards rushing and three touchdowns from
Chad Jones and forced five turnovers last Friday.
TOP PERFORMERSChristian Smurthwaite, Grove City: The Dawgs’ quarterback rushed for 133 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries and completed 20 of 31 passes for 341 yards and two scores as his team rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to win 40-34 over previously undefeated Groveport-Madison (Groveport).
Kurt Laseak, Mentor: In the midst of a high-scoring affair, Laseak was a standout defensively as he intercepted two passes which led to 10 points as Mentor beat previously undefeated Willoughby South 48-47 last Friday. "I'm on cloud nine right now," Laseak told the Plain Dealer. "This is the turning point of our season." Mentor improved to 2-3 and travels Friday to St. Ignatius (Cleveland).
Cassidy Croci, St. Ursula Academy (Toledo): The Arrows are the second-ranked team in the Division I state volleyball poll for many reasons, including the play of this junior hitter. During a 25-14, 22-25, 25-18 victory over Notre Dame Academy (Toledo) on Sept. 22, Croci finished with 12 kills. She set the school record for hitting efficiency last year and is on pace to break that mark this season.
COMING THIS WEEK
Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls) at Jackson (Massillon), girls soccer: At noon Saturday, a pair of state-ranked Division I teams will meet when No. 7 Walsh Jesuit travels to No. 10 Jackson. Walsh Jesuit is off to a 7-1-2 start, with its only loss to fourth-ranked Dublin Coffman. Jackson has opened the season by going 8-0-2. Last season, the Warriors beat the Polar Bears 2-0.
Upper Arlington (Columbus) at Hilliard Darby, football: A pair of teams in the midst of bounce-back seasons will meet when Upper Arlington travels Friday to Darby in OCC-Central Division play. The Golden Bears went 5-5 last year but improved to 4-1 with a 21-18 victory last Friday over Worthington Kilbourne. Their only loss was to Springfield (26-10 on Sept. 3), which also is 4-1. Darby blasted Central Crossing 75-7 last Friday and is off to its best start since winning its first nine games in 2007. The Panthers, who went 3-6 last season, have defeated only one team with a winning record.
Southview (Sylvania) at Perrysburg, football: A pair of 5-0 teams from northwest Ohio will match up when Southview travels Friday to Perrysburg. Both teams are battling for playoff spots in Division I, Region 2.
Last season, Southview beat Perrysburg 28-0 as both teams finished with 7-3 records and neither made the postseason.
RECRUITING NEWSAccording to several news agencies including Cincinnati.com, the University of Akron has offered a scholarship to
Covington Catholic (Park Hills, Ky.) senior defensive end Troy Timmerman. Timmerman is a 6-foot-2, 205-pounder who also has offers from Buffalo, Kent State, Marshall and Murray State. … Three
Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls) girls soccer players have made verbal commitments. According to the Akron Beacon-Journal, forward
Kelsey Smigel will play for Dayton, forward
Elizabeth Bollinger will play for Marquette and defender
Brianna Kanz is bound for Kent State. …
Marlington (Alliance) juniors Alden Hill and Zach Higgins have received offers from Ball State, according to scoutingOhio.com. Hill is a 6-2, 220-pound running back and Higgins is a 6-5, 295-pound tackle.
BRIEFLYThe
Dublin Coffman girls volleyball team, which is fourth in the Division I state poll, defeated Bishop Hartley (Columbus) 25-15, 25-17 and Mother of Mercy (Cincinnati) 25-23, 25-18 last Sunday. The Shamrocks have won 12 of their first 13 matches to begin the season. … The prep postseason kicked off earlier this week throughout Ohio with Division II and III boys sectional golf tournaments and Division II sectional girls golf. Division I sectionals for boys and girls golf will be held this week.
Jarrod Ulrey covers Central and Northern Ohio for MaxPreps.com. He covers prep sports for ThisWeekSPORTS.com and can be reached at julrey@thisweeknews.com.
