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DeSales braces for Marion-Franklin.

Movin' On -- This coming weekend showcases the regional Semi-Finals for local teams Divisions I-VI. Actually, we no longer have any true "local" Division VI teams left, so I'll have to give some updates on Mechanicsburg (11-0), which travels to Troy on Friday to play Covington (9-2). For teams more within our sphere, or at least my peripheral vision, we have -- Division I (Sat. 11/8, 7 pm) -- Upper Arlington (10-1) vs. Pickerington Central (11-0) at Gahanna  and Kilbourne (9-2) vs. Davidson (10-1) at Coffman; Division II (Fri. 11/7, 7:30 pm) -- Marion-Franklin (10-1) vs. DeSales (11-0) at Dublin Scioto and Olentangy Liberty (8-3) vs. Medina Highland (10-1) at Ashland; Division III (Sat.) -- St. Mary's Memorial (9-2) vs. Big Walnut (9-2) at Indian Lake, Chillicothe (8-3) vs. Logan Elm (11-0) at Teays Valley, Poland Seminary (9-2) vs. Licking Valley (10-1) at New Philadelphia and Thornville Sheridan (11-0) vs. Eastmoor Academy (10-1) at DeSales; Division IV (Fri.) -- Ottawa-Glandorf (7-4) vs. Pleasant (10-1) at Findlay; Division V (Sat.) -- Portsmouth West (11-0) vs. Ready (7-2) at Logan, Liberty Union (10-1) vs. Wheelersburg (10-1) at Jackson and West Jefferson (9-2) vs. Cincinnati Hills Christian (11-0) at Kettering Fairmont. Get out to a game!!

Upper Arlington and Pickerington Central will rematch next week.

FINALS -- Division I, Region 3 -- The Big Boys -- Worthington Kilbourne 14, Brookhaven 6 -- The triple option got rolling early, and then got knocked off track, but the quick start was enough for the Worthington Kilbourne Wolves (9-2) to keep the Brookhaven Bearcats (9-2) at bay and advance in the local big school playoff opener at Brookhaven. The initial dominance came through fullback Mike Johnson, who stole the limelight from usual suspect QB Aaron Kingcade (mentioned often in these columns). Johnson stormed through the Bearcat defense during the first series for a 42 yard burst and then blasted up the gut for a 29 yard TD run on third and 9 for a 7-0 lead after the extra point. Johnson bulled for another first half TD as well on a 1 yard dive to cap the Kilbourne scoring. Johnson actually had only 6 other carries for just 22 more yards, but the two scores were enough for the Wolves' victory. The second score came after a perfect Kingcade screen pass to Ryan Richardson for 55 yards. Brookhaven's blitzing worked better as the game went on, but the Bearcats could only muster a single TD on a 19 yard run by Andrew Harrell. Kilbourne will now face Hilliard Davidson which won Saturday night as follows . . . Hilliard Davidson 38, Grove City 7 --  The Wildcats played like the No. 1 seeded hosts that they were and dominated Grove City (6-5), which had been glad to make the postseason. Hilliard Davidson (10-1) advanced on the efforts of many, including Kenny Klatt's 105 yard INT return to end the scoring, after Grove City's Cody Funk's 42 yard punt block TD accounted for the only Southwestern City Schools score of the playoffs. Ryan Meadows was the main force on the ground for Davidson with two TD runs of equal 14 yards. Upper Arlington 28, Marysville 16 -- This was quite a game and was the one I personally attended. Marysville (7-4), played the tough, visiting underdog role well and brought a large crowd to cheer on their Monarchs as they challenged Upper Arlington (10-1) in most aspects of the game before bowing out in a 12 point defeat. Anthony Finissi was the early hero for the Golden Bears with a 3 yard TD burst and an interception. Later, the vaunted UA running trio of Tommy Farwick, Isaac Wildermuth and Alex Drake took over, with some help of the big man, #84 tight end Blake Annen, a stalwart for the season. Once again almost 9000 fans packed Marv Moorhead Memorial Stadium, and they saw great competition. Farwick busted a 31 yard run just before Annen caught a 22 yard TD just before the half. Wildermuth kept busting nice runs in the second half too. Hayes Chrispin of Marysville punched through a short FG for the Monarchs, but that represented the only points gained from two drives within the UA ten yard line. Chrispin was also the recipient of a 49 yard early fourth quarter TD pass, but the Golden Bears put together a classic drive afterwards to tuck away the win. Pickerington Central 38, Delaware Hayes 21 -- The magical first playoff season for the Delaware Hayes Pacers (7-4) came to an end at Pickerington Central (11-0) Saturday night as the Tigers took control with 28 second quarter points and showed why they have stayed near the top of the Division I state polls all year. Fullback Zach Boren, getting ready to join his Michigan-abandoned brother at Ohio State, blasted the Pacer line for 2 TDs and Tyler Hammond added two long TD runs for Pickerington Central. The Pacers tried to keep up with 24 and 77 yard TD passes from Taylor Wood to Girard Ogletree but fell far short. The Tigers move on to face Upper Arlington in a rematch of a game PC won in week one, 23-6. The game will be Saturday 11/8 at 7 pm at Gahanna.

Marion-Franklin and Beechcroft gave us a battle for the ages.

Second Division, Second Time, Same Result -- DeSales 20, Watterson 17 -- This was a rematch of a rivalry that has already given us a great close comeback victory for top-ranked, top-seeded DeSales (11-0). This one was close as well, but the Stallions did not need a late charge, just some late defense. Kevin Obyc of Watterson returned a DeSales fumble for an early second half TD and led the Eagles on a long fourth quarter TD drive that closed the gap, which at one point stood at 20-3. It was too little to overcome DeSales' early offense though, as the Stallions notched two nice end zone TD receptions in the first half to establish the lead. Josh Kusan had 124 yards on the ground for DeSales, which advanced to face a tough Marion-Franklin team whose result was . . .  Marion-Franklin 34, Beechcroft 28 (2OT) -- A great City League Division II matchup gave us a full out war on the south side. Host Marion-Franklin (10-1) gave us the Halloween treat with a double overtime playoff victory over Beechcroft (9-2). The Red Devils blocked a Beechcroft FG attempt in the first overtime and then intercepted a pass to block any Beechcroft scoring in the second extra-frame.That led to WR Brandon Wentzel grabbing a big first down on third and 15 to set up the winning 4 yard TD by Tyrell Massey. Wallace Hale of Beechcroft had 30 rushes for 217 yards and three touchdowns, including a 62 yard fourth quarter run. The Marion-Franklin vs. DeSales second round game will be held Friday 11/7 at 7:30 pm at Dublin Scioto. Olentangy Liberty 34, Toldeo Central Catholic 7 -- Olentangy Liberty (8-3), the bottom-dwelling eighth seed gave us the young tournament's best upset Friday night with a convincing 34-7 drubbing of host and favorite TCC (10-1). Allen Eggleston was the Patriot's star with 143 yards rushing and QB Zach Michael completed 13 of 19 throws as Liberty scored the final 27 points and advanced to play Medina Highland (10-1) in Ashland next Friday. Other D II Results -- Louisville 60, Independence 24; Logan 23, Dublin Jerome 7; Sylvania Southview 28, Olentangy 14.

Eastmoor rolls on to the second round.

Deep Into Division III -- Eastmoor Academy 48, Valley View 19 -- Eastmoor Academy (10-1) gave the home fans a taste of domination and avenged the disappointment of last year's 9-1 playoff snub. The win came over a normally confident and playoff hardened program in Valley View (7-4). Besides rooting for Eastmoor, being the home of Archie Griffin and all, this was nice for me on a personal level as Valley View has often been the playoff bane of my alma mater, Cincinnati Wyoming, which was barely shutout of the postseason this year. Malon Johnson passed for 111 yards and Alex Coleman totalled 99 receiving yards and two scores for the Warriors. RB Touch Hopkins had three TDs and 135 yards on the ground. Hopkins also threw a flea flicker/option TD pass to Coleman as part of Eastmoor's rout. By all accounts, Valley View was floored by Eastmoor's team speed. Eastmoor has fortunately drawn DeSales' stadium for the location of its upcoming second round game next Saturday against regional No. 1 seed Thornville Sheridan (11-0). Logan Elm 21, Bexley 14 -- An intriguing game this was as Logan Elm (11-0) continued its worst to first run over playoff newbies Bexley (7-4). Johnnie Brown was Logan Elm's hero with a late 66 yard TD. QB Seth White of Bexley gave it his best as well, with some big running and two TD strikes to Alan Hess, including one for 64 yards. White was coming off 442 yards of total offense in the season finale win over Heath, which propelled the Lions into the playoffs for the first time. Big Walnut 18, Clyde 17 -- Last year's Division II state champ Big Walnut (9-2) has had its ups and downs this year but squeaked by favorite Clyde (9-2) behind TDs by Seth Dunn and Patrick Dougherty to advance to round two. Licking Valley 37, Rayland Buckeye Local 6 -- Buckeye bound Storm Klein and 2007 state runner-up Licking Valley (10-1) continued its impressive season and advanced thanks to three TD runs and two TD passes by QB Drew Ryan. Other Scores -- Poland Seminary 27, Granville 24; Chillicothe 13, Canal Winchester 7.

Small School Scores -- Pleasant 20, Eastwood 7 -- Marion Pleasant (10-1) continued its recent playoff successes and advanced to round two in Division IV to face Ottawa-Glandorf next Saturday. Cody Harris continued his solid QB play for Pleasant and Cory Snyder ran for two fourth quarter TDs in the victory. Bishop Ready 21, Johnstown 17 (D V)-- After enduring a season full of opponents' cancellations followed by a rout of rival Hartley, Bishop Ready (7-2) needed a late 40 yard TD pass from Brennan McCarty to Stevie Christman to recapture the lead to overcome an equal yardage fumble recovery TD by Johnstown (8-3). Martins Ferry 20, Hartley 6 (D IV); Ironton 41, Westfall 31 (D IV); Dayton Oakwood 12, Jonathan Alder 10 (D IV); West Jefferson 20, Miami East 7 (D V); Liberty Union 15, Nelsonville-York 14 (D V); Mechanicsburg 42, New Miami 0 (D VI).

Tags: football, high school football, high school sports