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Blake Annen (84) and Upper Arlington were ready for battle.

Bear Market (10/17) -- Upper Arlington 23, Hilliard Davidson 14 -- This huge OCC Central matchup was worth the advertisement as the Golden Bears (8-1, 6-0) rode three big plays and some good defensive stops to defeat division foe Hilliard Davidson (8-1, 5-1). Receiver Blake Annen, a Cincinnati recruit, was the main hero, catching two more TD passes, which stunned the Wildcat defense that was otherwise fairly staunch. Annen caught a short catch and run scoring throw of 50 yards from John Townsley before the half to give UA a 9-7 lead, and then caught a 34 yard fourth quarter pass in which he broke tackles and avoided the sideline for another streaking score. Alex Drake, who split time between QB and RB, added an impressive 28 yard TD run for UA. Jack Varanese notably filled in well at LB for injured star Mark Crawford who was on the sidelines but not dressed for the Golden Bears. RB's Ryan Meadows, Rico Butler and Spencer Delande fought hard for Davidson, especially on the first two possessions and on an impressive fourth quarter drive, but UA was able to run down the clock with Drake then hitting Annen on the second TD strike. Both squads will be playoff bound and may stay in the state top ten, but Davidson must play Darby at Crew Stadium on Thursday and UA must travel to Dublin Coffman as well. Independence 51, Marion-Franklin 17 -- This was the shock of the City League tonight. Not that Independence (7-2, 5-1)  was underestimated, but more that Marion-Franklin (8-1, 5-1) had been held on a pedastal during a magical year. Further, the two had each played City League South power Eastmoor Academy in back to back weeks with Marion-Franklin dominating the Warriors 35-6 but Independence falling 47-8. So much for the common opponent analysis, huh? Area rushing leader Devin Clodfelter had 186 yards and two TDs for Independence. Worthington Kilbourne 30, Dublin Coffman 20 -- The OCC Central provided another prime mathcup Friday night at Worthington Kilbourne (7-2, 4-2) as the Wolves put a wrench in the playoff hopes of Dublin Coffman (7-2, 4-2), which must play UA this coming week in the finale. Kilbourne QB Aaron Kingcade was again the star, throwing key TD passes of 78 and 60 yards, both to receiver Alan Tobey. They were Kincade's only completions of the night, however, but served to kill off a Coffman defense that was stuffing the Wolves' option play. Kilbourne's Colt Cannahan also added a 96 yard kickoff return for a score. Other Finals -- Pickerington Central 37, Grove City 19; Watterson 40, St. Charles 34 (5 OT); Canal Winchester 20, Hamilton Twp 6; DeSales 31, Cinti LaSalle 21; Brookhaven 38, Northland 0; Eastmoor Academy 58, West 14; Beechcroft 28, Whetstone 0; Granville 35, Heath 21; Westfall 42, Piketon 14; Reynoldsburg 12, Gahanna 10; Bishop Ready 43, Kiski Prep (Pa.) 0.

LaSalle will not have Buckeye Devier Posey when facing DeSales.

Brace for the Battles -- Previews for 10/17 -- There are a few major contests on the board this weekend as we bear down on the playoffs, so let's get right down to it. Hilliard Davidson  (8-0, 5-0) at Upper Arlington (7-1, 5-0) -- I'll be at this one at Marv Moorehead Memorial Stadium, and it's a big one on the surface. It'll certainly tell us much about what are probably the second and third best teams in Division I in Columbus and all of Region 3. What, you don't know who is Number 1?!? That's obviously Pickerington Central (8-0, 5-0), which defeated UA in week one 23-6. How obvious is it, though, when the new AP state poll puts Davidson at No. 2 statewide and Central at No. 3? The top team, more than incidentally, is Ted Ginn, Sr.'s Cleveland Glenville squad (8-0), which was down in the Capital City a few weeks back and roughed up Division I, Region 3 bubble squad Gahanna  . . . but I digress. Throw the polls out for this one; heck, throw out the OCC Central league records too, since the Wildcats and Golden Bears are both undefeated. This one comes down to the Davidson defensive front and linebackers being able to stop RB's Tommy Farwick, Isaac Wildermuth and Alex Drake, who will also see some time at QB. Get out to the old ballfield, folks!  Cincinnati LaSalle at DeSales (8-0) --  Once proud LaSalle (3-5), which has actually beaten behemoth St. Xavier (itself 4-4) this year, matriculated WR Devier Posey to our beloved Buckeyes and must now travel lighter to Buckeyetown this Friday to play at First and Ten favorite and Division II AP poll No.1 DeSales. Lasalle also just got dominated by Cleveland St. Ignatius, though that's no real embarrassment, but the generally anaemic offense might be. About the only thing going against DeSales this year, after travelling to Cincinnati to defeat defending champ and then No 1 Anderson, is that they are placed in the same region with Harbin computer ratings No. 1 Louisville (8-0), which appears to be on a mission this year. I really don't see LaSalle having the defensive ability to stop the Stallions' Adam Griffin, Thomas Gentile or Josh Kusan. Dublin Coffman (7-1, 4-1) at Worthington Kilbourne (6-2, 3-2) -- Another big OCC Central battle between good squads fighting for unsure Division I, Region 3 playoff spots. Coffman hopes to be in, though they must host Upper Arlington next week. Three losses after a 7-0 start would be devastating. Kilbourne is strong but is sitting "ratings low" and feels like it can't afford a loss. I'll leave the actual computer calculations to others. For a point of comparison, Kilbourne lost to Davidson 17-10, Coffman lost to Davidson 14-10. Coffman comes in with a strong defense; Kilbourne rides the passes, punts, runs and kicks of Aaron Kingcade. Pretty even game if you ask me, one worth heading to. Other Games to Watch -- Poland Seminary at Olentangy Orange; Marion-Franklin at Independence; Whetstone at Beechcroft;  Westerville South at Olentangy; New Albany at Delaware Hayes; Granville at Heath; Licking Valley at Newark Catholic; Westfall at Piketon; Madison-Plains at Clinton-Massie; North Union at Cardington; Canal Winchester at Hamilton Township; Watterson at St. Charles.

Davidson outlasted Coffman to stay unbeaten.

Rock'em Sock'em Robots -- Hilliard Davidson 14, Dublin Coffman 10 -- (10/10) -- The massive matchup of two state ranked and undefeated Division I OCC Central squads was all we had hoped for, except for a little bit of scoring. Davidson (8-0, 5-0) put up two first half TDs after fumbling on the first drive of the game and essentially dominated the initial 24 minutes, but there was no quit in Coffman (7-1, 4-1). The Shamrocks reversed the fortunes in the second half and threatened the Wildcats with a nice third quarter TD drive following a late short FG before halftime enabled by a personal foul penalty on Davidson. After bringing the game to 14-10, though, Coffman was stuffed by a tough Wildcat defense, yet the game was not over until the bitter end due to conservative play calling that enabled Coffman to get off one last failed throw attempt at the end. Davidson threw only 4 times all game, but won its fifth of the last six in this growing rivalry. Both squads must play tough OCC Central foe Upper Arlington in the next two weeks, starting with Davidson at UA and then the Golden Bears at Coffman to close out the regular season. All three hope to be part of the Division I, Region 3 playoffs.  Upper Arlington 51, Westland 3 --  UA kept rolling last night in this divisional game improving to 7-1, 5-0 behind two rushing TDs by RB Tommy Farwick, as well as a fumble return score. Farwick totalled 129 yards on the ground. Alex Drake also connected with Blake Annen on a nice 23 yard TD score. Eastmoor Academy 47, Independence 8 -- This was supposed to be a close important game, but Eastmoor (7-1, 4-1) geared up the offense and scored over 40 for the sixth time this year to defeat a good team at Independence (6-2, 4-1) in a City League South rivalry. Eastmoor looks to have better playoff chances this year, after having been shutout of the computer ratings postseason in 2007 despite a 9-1 record. Ronald Wallace ran for 84 yards and three TDs. 

Curb Your Enthusiasm -- Beechcroft 96, Centennial 0 -- A sad story here, but some dignity really. Centennial kept taking the field and kept fighting, and the coaching staffs agreed to shorten the quarters and have no timeouts. It was 55-0 after one, and Beechcroft actually broke the century mark but all agreed after a fumble in the end zone to place the ball at the one, whereupon Beechcroft took 4 straight knees despite almost a whole quarter left. Other Scores --  Dublin Jerome 42, Marysville 35; Big Walnut 17, New Albany 0; Delaware Hayes 21, Jonathan Alder 14; DeSales 41, Cathedral Prep (Pa.) 21; Brookhaven 49, East 0; Marion-Franklin 36, Briggs 0; Hilliard Darby 21, Thomas Worthington 7;Worthington Kilbourne 35, Central Crossing 7; Westerville South 30, Westerville North 24 (2OT); Pickerington Central 21, Newark 0.

Tags: football, high school football, high school sports